establishing general animal health Flashcards
how to tell dogs age
- body shape; fat pads, muscle wastage
- lens opacity
- coat colour
- teeth; puppy teeth 4-6 weeks, lose puppy teeth from 12 weeks, adult teeth by 6 months
- dental wear and disease
- stiffness, hearing loss, behaviour, etc
ways to tell dogs reproductive status
- nipples, vulva
- desexing tattoo
- spey suture line
normal temps or cats and dogs
37.6-39
normal temp for bovine
38-39
normal temp for equine
37-38.5
high temp
infection, inflammation, cancer, heat stress, scared or agitated
low temp
shock or very ill
how do u take pulse
gently roll index and middle finger over femoral artery, feel for pulse
auscultation (heart rate)
listening to heart w stethoscope or placing hand of chest to feel heartbeat, can get heart rate this way
normal canine heart rate
70-120 bpm
normal feline heart rate
120-180 bpm
normal bovine heart rate
48-84 bpm
normal equine heart rate
24-44 bpm
high heart rate
ill ,painful, scared
low heart rate
shock or v ill, sedated or anesthesia, athletic
when listening to heart u can also listen for
- murmur: abnormal heart sounds caused by turbulent blood flow in heart
- arrhythmia; irregular or abnormal heart rhythm, can be fast, slow, variable
when feeling pulse can also
determine if pulses are synchronous and determine pulse quality; poor, fair, strong (normal), brisk, bounding
normal canine resp rate
16-34 br/min
normal feline resp rate
20-34 br/min
bovine normal resp rate
10-40 br/min
equine normal resp rate
8-20 br/min
when counting resp rare also note
respiratory effort, deepness, and noises
how to assess mucus membranes
- assess colour
- touch for moisture/ tackiness
- CRT (1-2s)
mucus membranes are moist membranes that line the body:
gums, conjunctiva, vulva, penis, prepuce
pale mucous membrane
low red blood cell count (anaemia) or
peripheral vasoconstriction (blood vessels constrict)
cyanotic mucous membranes (blue/purple)
- low oxygen content in blood
- severe heart or resp problem
ways to tell hydration status
mucous membranes, tent skin and look at eyes (bright or dull? sunken?)
when examining the neck what are you looking at
skin, jugular veins, larynx, trachea, lymph nodes
what could lung sounds mean
- wheeze: large airway disease
- crackles: distal lung disease (fluid= oedema/pus)
- Friction “velcro”: pleural disease
