When to take our pets for healthcare is often a very hard decision. Certainly, many of us are guilty of waiting longer than advised for ourselves. We are busy, and we just don’t take time for our own health care. We are tough, we will be fine!
But when it comes to our children, whether they have two legs or four, there’s a great responsibility attached.
Here are a few considerations:
- If your pet isn’t improving.
- If the condition is getting worse.
- If you feel sick about it – worry all the time. Maybe every time you look at your pet you shake your head and “wonder what’s next.”
If what has been tried is counter to your personal healthcare philosophy.
Any of the above means it’s time to get help. I could list numerous specific health conditions – most likely you have already looked them up and are still wondering “is it time to go to the vet?”
What doesn’t work:
- Waiting for it to go away.
- Assuming this is the new norm. Too commonly people blame health issues on old age – we wouldn’t accept that answer for ourselves, why should we for our pets?
If this were a two-legged child and you already would have been for health advice, then it’s most definitely time to do the same for your four-legged child.
Dogs and cats don’t come with manuals. Nor do they have flashing lights like a car to tell us where the problem is. But they do have the ability to show us behavior changes that tell us there is a problem.
If you see a worsening behavior change, it’s time to go to the your veterinarian – hopefully she/he is holistically minded.