Pet wellness exams
A wellness exam is a full head-to-tail examination of a pet who seems perfectly well — the appointment built to find a problem while it is still small enough to be worth finding.
Most of what a wellness exam finds, you would not have found at home. A heart murmur, dental disease below the gumline, a small mass under the coat, the first shift in kidney values — none of these announce themselves while your pet is still eating and playing normally. This is the appointment built to go looking for them, unhurried, before one of them becomes the reason for an emergency visit.
What happens during a wellness exam
The visit starts with a conversation rather than a table. Before anyone puts hands on your pet, you go through diet, lifestyle, any medications and any change in behaviour — partly because what you say shapes what the exam looks for, and partly because it gives your pet a few minutes to settle into the room before being touched. TKdoes this sequence match the practice's actual exam routine? Correct anything that differs rather than letting the standard version stand in for it
The physical exam itself is head to tail: eyes, ears, heart, lungs, skin and coat, abdomen, lymph nodes and teeth. TKare weight, temperature and a stool or parasite check standard parts of this exam? All three are common inclusions, but neither current site describes them Anything found is explained in the room rather than left for you to ask about, and if everything looks normal you hear that plainly too.
The rest of the visit is where the questions actually get answered: nutrition for your pet’s breed, age and lifestyle; which supplements are worth the money and which are not; behaviour changes worth raising early; and age-specific guidance on spay and neuter timing, on moving between puppy, adult and senior diets, and on what to watch for as a pet gets older. TKis heartworm, flea and tick prevention a standard part of this conversation — and does the line carried over from the old site copy, that heartworm is "more prevalent now than ever before", have a real source, or should it be dropped?
Fear Free at a wellness exam
A wellness exam is the visit your pet has most often, which makes it the one where a bad experience compounds fastest. A pet frightened at their first exam is usually more frightened at the next one, and more again at the one after that.
In the room that means starting slowly: letting your pet explore before being approached, rather than being lifted onto a table the moment the door shuts. Treats are used throughout where they suit the individual animal. Weighing happens without forcing a nervous dog onto a scale. Handling favours positions that leave a pet feeling in control of the interaction rather than scruffed or pinned. TKis the order of the exam adjusted so the less pleasant parts — taking a temperature, for instance — come last, once your pet has settled? A common Fear Free technique, but confirm it is this practice's before it is claimed
For an anxious pet, or one visiting for the first time, that is usually the difference between an annual ordeal and a routine they tolerate well. It is also the reason the exam takes as long as it takes.
Who performs wellness exams
All four Grayhawk doctors — Dr. Michael Berman, Dr. Katie Kitchen, Dr. Christina McBroom and Dr. Kendra Thomas — see wellness patients. Exotic species are seen by Dr. McBroom, who is both Fear Free and Avian Fear Free Certified.
Dr. Berman is Arizona’s first Fear Free Certified veterinarian, certified in 2016. Dr. Kitchen is Fear Free Certified as well. TKis Dr. Thomas Fear Free Certified? Nothing publishes either way until you confirm it
TKare wellness exams seen by whichever doctor is on the schedule that day, or can a client ask for a specific doctor when booking?
What a wellness exam costs
TKMichael — should the wellness exam fee publish on /pricing/? It is one of the three categories the IA recommends publishing, alongside dental estimates and spay and neuter by weight, because not one competitor scanned in this market publishes any pricing at all, and cost is the most commonly documented reason owners decline recommended care
Until that is settled, the honest answer for this page is that the exam fee is confirmed when you book, and nothing gets added part-way through the visit without being discussed with you first.
Ready when you are
Puppies and kittens, adult pets due for their annual, and senior pets who are seen more often all book the same visit. If something specific is worrying you, say so when you book.
Related
Wellness exams — common questions
How often does my pet need a wellness exam?
TKthis practice's actual recommendation. Annually for healthy adults and every six months for seniors is common veterinary guidance, but it should only publish as this practice's guidance once Michael confirms it
What should I bring to my pet's first wellness exam?
TKneeds a real answer. Prior medical records, a list of current medications and supplements, and a fresh stool sample are common asks — but only list what this practice actually wants clients to bring
Is a wellness exam the same as an annual vaccine visit?
TKneeds a real answer distinguishing the two, or confirming how far they overlap in practice — vaccines are usually discussed at a wellness exam, but whether they are given at the same appointment is Michael's call to state
My pet seems healthy — do we really need to come in?
Many of the things a wellness exam finds — heart murmurs, early kidney disease, dental disease below the gumline, small masses under the coat — cause nothing you would notice at home until they are further along. TKconfirm this is how the practice wants to make the case for examining a pet who seems well
Do you screen for valley fever during a wellness exam?
TKis valley fever discussion or screening ever part of a routine wellness visit here, or is it pursued only when a pet has symptoms? This needs a direct answer before it publishes either way
Book online, or call and speak to someone here
20801 N Scottsdale Rd, Suite 101 · Scottsdale, AZ 85255
480-585-3512