Before You Call the Vet ...

Pet Health Checklist

Use these criteria to judge whether your pet may need help. If you send an email query to our holistic vet, Dr. Bea Ehrsam, be sure to mention any symptoms that apply.

  • Activity
    • Normal - he is active and in good spirits
    • Attitude - she is unusually quiet, inactive, depressed, lethargic
    • Coordination - he moves with loss of coordination, stumbling in his gait, wavering
    • Stiffness - she walks with stiffness, pain, or difficulty
    • Limping - he walks with a limp
  • Breathing
    • Normal - she is breathing normally with no coughing or straining
    • Difficult breathing - he breathes with difficulty, has a cough
    • Noisy breathing - she breathes with a wheeze
    • Panting - he pants when he breathes, even when relaxed
  • Eyes
    • Normal - he has bright clear eyes free of discharge, irritation, tearing, or cloudiness
    • Eyes - she has a discharge from the eyes, or eyes are clogged with discharge
  • Elimination
    • Normal - he urinates and defecates in usual amounts and frequency without straining
    • Bowel - he has soft, bloody, or watery bowel movements
    • Urinary - she urinates greater volumes or urinates more times per day than usual
    • Blockage - he attempts to urinate or defecate with little or no result
    • Discharge - she has a discharge or bleeding from anus or vagina
  • Diet & Weight
    • Normal - good appetite with no difficulty in chewing or swallowing, pink gums with no redness and no bad breath
    • Water - she drinks more than normal amounts of water
    • Food - he eats less than normal
    • Weight - she has been gaining or losing excessive weight without a change in diet
    • Teeth - he has discolored teeth, swollen, reddish gums
    • Breath - she has excessively bad breath
  • Skin - Coat
    • Normal - his coat is smooth, shiny, without lumps, bare patches.
    • Insects - he has fleas, ticks, or mites
    • Lumps - she has lumps on/just under her skin anywhere
    • Coat - he has a dull or scaly coat of hair
    • Skin - she has sores on her skin or an excessively oily skin
    • Scratching - he is scratching more than normal, especially if in one location
  • Ears
    • Hearing - she has trouble hearing
    • Odor - his ears have a bad smell
    • Wax - there seems to be excessive ear wax
    • Irritation - she seems to paw or shake her head a lot