A health check is a physical and visual examination. Done regularly, it finds problems before they become emergencies.
Put the check in order
Tap a body part, then tap the slot you think it goes in. Nothing is marked wrong — if something needs moving you'll be told which way.
Body parts
Why the order matters
You work head to tail, front to back, and finish with the areas an animal is least happy about being touched.
Starting at the back end of a nervous animal is how you get bitten, and how the rest of the check never happens.
Doing it the same way every time is also how you notice the day something is different.
Well and unwell
What healthy looks like, and what tells you something has changed. Choose a group of animals.
Saying it properly
Everyday words are fine for talking to an owner. Records and handovers need the proper term, because "bad" doesn't tell the next person anything.
Discharge — and describe it: colour, thickness, which side
Snot
Mucus
Gunk
Gait — how the animal moves
Walking bad
Lump — with a size and a location
Bump thing
Overweight or underweight — with a body condition score
Fat
Faeces and urine — amount, colour, consistency
Poo and wee
Saliva, or drooling
Spit
Alert and responsive
Fine
Dull, or subdued
Sad
Signs, not symptoms
A symptom is something a patient describes — a headache, feeling sick. An animal can't tell you any of that.
Everything you record is a sign: something you can see, measure or observe.
Three kinds of signClinical — what can be measured. Temperature, heart rate, weight, respiratory rate. Physical — what you can find with your own senses, no equipment needed. Behavioural — what you observe. Hiding, not eating, aggression that's out of character, changes in routine.