Tiny Tyrant, Big Checkup

As basically everyone has figured out by now, I am a huge fan of dachshunds. There is a reason I own six of them. Dachshunds have gotten wildly popular over the last few years, but I have been an owner of the breed for more than 15 years, and one thing I think is severely overlooked is just how much care goes into keeping these dogs healthy and aging well.

When it comes to dachshunds, prevention is basically the motto around here. There is no way to guarantee that your dachshund will never develop IVDD or another health problem, but there are things we can do from the beginning to support their health, reduce the risks we can control, and hopefully catch problems while they are still small.

Right now, I have two dachshunds who are right around two years old, which means they are brand new adults. I thought this would be the perfect time to show what an average vet visit looks like for a young, healthy dachshund who isn’t going to the vet because something is wrong.

This was a true wellness visit.

I’m going to share what we had noticed at home, what we wanted to discuss with our veterinarian, what came up during Thor’s exam, what we’re doing about it, and the actual cost of the appointment. Because while there are plenty of adorable dachshunds on social media, I also want to show what it really looks like to care for one when they’re young, healthy, and everything is going exactly the way you hope it will.

What We Wanted to Talk About

There wasn’t anything specifically wrong with Thor when we went to the vet. We really just wanted to check in, see how she was doing, and talk about a few little things we had noticed at home.

Her weight

Thor is our smallest dachshund. She normally weighs around 12 pounds, while most of our other dogs are somewhere between 13 and 15 pounds. We call her our Tiny Tyrant, but she really is tiny. She has a smaller frame than everyone else and isn’t quite as long or tall.

That makes it hard for me to judge her weight based on a number alone. Is 12 pounds perfect for Thor? Is she carrying a little more weight than she should for her smaller frame? I genuinely didn’t know, and especially with dachshunds, this isn’t something I want to guess about.

Her eyes

Like her brothers, Thor seems to have some seasonal allergies, but hers look a little different. Her brothers tend to show their allergies through their skin, while Thor occasionally gets red, watery eyes with some discharge.

It wasn’t severe enough that I thought she needed prescription medication, but I also didn’t want to assume it was allergies.

Routine testing

We also wanted routine bloodwork, fecal testing, and a heartworm test. Obviously, we wanted to make sure everything looked good now, but I also like having baseline bloodwork while my dogs are young and healthy. It gives us something to compare against later in their lives.

Her teeth

Finally, I wanted the vet to get a good look at Thor’s teeth. Dachshunds aren’t exactly famous for having fantastic teeth, and I’d rather get ahead of problems than wait for them to appear.

None of these things were emergencies. In fact, none of them were particularly concerning.

That’s kind of the entire point of a wellness visit.

Find a Veterinarian You Trust

I don’t think it can be overstated how important it is to find a veterinarian you genuinely trust.

Thor’s veterinarian is amazing. She loves dachshunds, owns dachshunds herself, and understands some of the intricacies that come with caring for this particular breed. Just as importantly, she is wonderful with my dogs. She talks to them the same ridiculous way I talk to them, she makes them comfortable, and I trust her judgment.

You don’t want to wait until your dog is sick or injured to start looking for someone you trust with their care. Routine appointments let your veterinarian get to know your dog while you get to know how your veterinarian approaches their care.

Then, if something really does go wrong someday, you’re not starting that relationship during a crisis.

So, What Did the Vet Find?

After all of our hellos, we turned Thor over to the vet team for her exam and testing.

When Dr. Beasley brought her back, she had a question for us before we even got to our list.

Did we think Thor had allergies?

Funny you should ask, because that was literally the first thing on my list.

The allergies

I explained the occasional red eyes and discharge and that I had noticed it seemed to happen more often after it rained. Thor’s eyes themselves looked great, but Dr. Beasley had noticed some congestion during her exam and agreed that allergies were the likely culprit.

She suggested we try something as simple as a daily Zyrtec.

So, daily Zyrtec it is.

The Tiny Tyrant is a tiny bit chunky

Next was Thor’s weight.

And, well…

I was right.

I didn’t want to be right, but I was right.

Thor is a little chunky.

At her appointment she weighed 12.24 pounds, and after evaluating her body condition, Dr. Beasley would like to see her closer to 11 pounds.

No biggie. This is exactly why I asked.

Thor already eats a weight-management food, so we’re making a small adjustment to her portions and continuing to track her weight. I’d much rather make a tiny change now than let extra weight hang around for years.

And then there were the teeth

Finally, we got to Thor’s teeth.

It turns out Thor has something I had never even heard of before: super-erupted canines.

Essentially, the gum line around Thor’s canine teeth sits higher than it should, making those areas particularly good at collecting debris and plaque.

The funny thing is that the rest of her teeth look fantastic. We already put dental powder in her lunch every day, and it seems to be doing a great job. Her canines were the problem area.

Dr. Beasley sent us home with enzymatic toothpaste and a toothbrush, and every night at 9 PM, we brush Thor’s canine teeth.

When I tell you the difference after one week was massive, I am not exaggerating.

We also got ridiculously lucky because the toothpaste smells like chicken and Thor thinks it is delicious. As far as Thor is concerned, 9 PM is apparently just the time when Mommy feeds her chicken-flavored toothpaste with a toothbrush.

The test results

Since I’m writing this after we’ve gotten all of Thor’s results back, I can happily report that everything looks great.

Thor is heartworm negative, her fecal testing showed no parasites, and her bloodwork looks pristine.

That might not be the most exciting update, but honestly, that’s exactly what I wanted. We now have healthy bloodwork on file from when Thor is two years old that we can use as a reference point throughout her life.

Hopefully every future test looks just as boring.

What Does a Routine Wellness Visit Actually Cost?

Let’s talk about money.

We live in North Carolina, so our veterinary costs are probably going to look different from what someone pays in a place like New York City or San Francisco. Prices can even vary between practices in the same area, so I’m including our actual receipt from Thor’s visit rather than giving you some vague estimate.

Our total was $231.99.

Her annual wellness exam was $73, her Bordetella vaccine was $30.99, and there was a $5 medical supplies charge. The largest portion was her Adult Canine Wellness package at $123, which included the routine testing we wanted.

We received a $57.47 discount through the wellness package, so without that discount our total would have been $289.46.

Was it worth $231.99?

Absolutely.

Not because $231.99 is an insignificant amount of money, but because I can look at what we learned and see the value.

We found an area of Thor’s mouth that needs extra attention and started addressing it before it becomes a bigger dental problem. We learned that she’s carrying a little more weight than she should for her frame and can correct that with a small change now.

And then there were her allergies.

I walked into the appointment thinking Thor was occasionally a little uncomfortable. Dr. Beasley being able to hear congestion during her exam told me that Thor was apparently doing a pretty good job of hiding how uncomfortable she was.

She’s been taking Zyrtec for about a week and a half now, and there is a big difference. She’s doing great.

Having my dog be more comfortable in her everyday life has enormous value to me.

Your veterinarian only sees part of the picture

There is another part of getting value out of veterinary care that I think gets overlooked: you have to participate.

Your veterinarian might see your dog for half an hour. You live with them every day.

They don’t necessarily know that your dog’s eyes get runny on random Tuesdays after it rains. They don’t know that she occasionally skips a meal, suddenly started drinking more water, or isn’t quite as enthusiastic about something she normally loves unless you tell them.

Those little observations matter.

Part of my responsibility as Thor’s owner is knowing what her normal looks like so I can walk into an appointment and say, “Hey, I’ve noticed this. Is it normal?”

I’m not just paying someone to tell me whether my dog is sick.

I’m paying for another set of educated eyes on a dog I love, while she’s still healthy.

Responsible Ownership Doesn’t Have to Cost a Million Dollars

I’m not going to pretend that owning a dog is inexpensive. If you’re doing it right, the costs can absolutely add up.

But responsible dog ownership doesn’t have to cost a million dollars, either. You can be an excellent dog owner while spending a reasonable amount of money. A lot of that comes down to staying on top of the little things, paying attention to your dog, keeping up with routine veterinary care, and dealing with problems while they’re still small.

Will doing all of this guarantee that Thor never develops IVDD, needs a dental cleaning, or has some other expensive medical problem? Of course not. She’s a living creature, and sometimes things happen no matter how much we try to prevent them.

But she’s two years old, healthy, comfortable, and at the beginning of her adult life. Now we know a little bit more about how to keep her that way.

And, of course, no veterinary appointment is officially complete without a pup cup.

Because every dog who survives a trip to the doctor gets a pup cup around here.

Even if the doctor did just tell us she’s a little fat.

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