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Should I get her eyes, heart, patellas checked out at this young of an age?

Erin2854

Well-known member
My little girl will be 1 on March 30th. I saw that there is going to be a health clinic set up at a local dog club on feb 14th with doctors on site that will do heart, eye and patella checks for a set amount. Her last complete check up with our vet was around August and then she had a presurgical profile/blood work done the end of Sept before she got spayed (everything was fine) I know a regular vet isn't the same as going to a certified heart/eye specialists. Should I wait and take her when she is older? Or should I take her now? Thanks!
 
My little girl will be 1 on March 30th. I saw that there is going to be a health clinic set up at a local dog club on feb 14th with doctors on site that will do heart, eye and patella checks for a set amount. ... Should I wait and take her when she is older? Or should I take her now? Thanks!

Cardiologists recommend that every Cavalier's heart be auscultated (using a stethoscope) annually. preferably by cardiologists. The American ACVIM cardiologists specifically single out Cavaliers for these annual exams in a veterinary journal article published in December 2009.

Cavaliers also are predisposed to a variety of genetic eye disorders, some of which can cause blindness and/or be painful and should be treated as soon as they are diagnosed. So, I suggest that you take her to the clinic for the heart and eye exams. Patellas are another weak link in the Cavalier genetic chain, and it would be a good idea to have her patellas examined, too.

Every Cavalier owner should take advantage of health clinics sponsored by dog clubs and usually held at conformation show sites. The exam fees charged usually are significantly lower than those charged at the vet offices. In the US and Canada, there is a list of upcoming clinics at http://www.cavalierhealth.org/health_clinics.htm
 
I would definitely take advantage of the clinic and clinic prices. Not so much for the patella as a regular vet can check patellas but definitely eyes and hearts. This is an opportunity to specialists in these fields at phenomenal prices. I started heart/eye checks at 1 year and get them done annually at our clinics.
 
Ae you saying the health clinic has specialists doing the checks, or just vets doing the check? If specialists -- eg eye, orthopedic and cardiology specialists, then yes, do it! :) If just vets - no, I wouldn't bother. Any good vet generally will have checked for patellas at a normal exam and vets diagnose problems pretty easily (for a toy breed patient, this is pretty automatic to check knees as they are a common problem in toy dogs :) ) as well as eyes and a basic heart check. But if there are specialists then it is always worth getting that service at the reduced prices made available through dog club events. (y) It is useful to get a baseline exam at age 1. :)
 
Prob a stupid question but how do I know..

If they are just vets or are specialists? It says....

"EYE CLINIC- DR. JOSHUA , DVM, MS, WILL PERFORM THE TEST FOR $32.00 PER DOG."

"HEART CLINIC - DR. WILLIAM BROWN, DVM, ACVIM- $27.00 PER DOG"

I'm not quite sure what the "MS" or "ACVIM" means...help?
 
You can google them. :)

ACVIM: means this is a specialist

MS is Masters of Science degree

You could also give the organisers a ring and get more detail. Sometimes they want you to book in advance so they have an idea of numbers.
 
If they are just vets or are specialists? It says....

"EYE CLINIC- DR. JOSHUA , DVM, MS, WILL PERFORM THE TEST FOR $32.00 PER DOG."

"HEART CLINIC - DR. WILLIAM BROWN, DVM, ACVIM- $27.00 PER DOG"

I'm not quite sure what the "MS" or "ACVIM" means...help?

Here is a link to the health clinic flyer -- http://www.cairnmichigan.com/pdf/10_healthclinicflyer.pdf It turns out that Dr. Joshua really is Dr. Joshua Bartoe, who is a board certified veterinary ophthalmologist. Dr. Brown is a board certified veterinary cardiologist. They are the exact kinds of specialists you should be looking for.
--
Rod Russell
 
Great!

Thanks so much for your help :) I will definitely be taking advantage of the clinic then
 
Lucky you to be able to get access to these specialists.
I don't suppose such a service is available in Ireland - does anyone know?
 
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