The At-Home Nose-to-Tail Check Between Vet Visits

The best time to do this is when your pet is relaxed, on your lap or the floor, after a walk or a meal when they're settled. Keep it gentle and pleasant, with plenty of fuss, and treat it as handling rather than an inspection. Once a month is a sensible rhythm for most pets, and it's exactly the kind of recurring task worth putting on your prevention calendar so it doesn't quietly lapse.

There's a lovely side benefit, too. A pet who's used to being handled all over, having their paws held, ears looked in, mouth lifted, is far calmer at the vet and far easier to examine, which makes every real appointment better. You're building a habit that pays off both ways.

Work from the nose to the tail, so you don't miss anything.

Look at the nose. A little clear discharge can be normal, but note anything thick, coloured, or bloody, or a nose that's crusty and cracked. Glance at the overall symmetry of the face while you're there.

Book a vet visit if: there's thick, green, yellow or bloody discharge, persistent sneezing, or any new swelling or asymmetry on the face (a swelling below an eye can be a tooth-root abscess).

They should be bright, clear and open the same amount on both sides, with the pink lining a healthy colour and the white of the eye white, not yellow or bloodshot. A little clear "sleep" in the corner is fine.

Book a vet visit if: you see redness, cloudiness, a blue or grey haze, a change in the size or colour of the pupil, weeping or thick discharge, squinting, or any eye held shut. Eyes can deteriorate fast, so a painful or suddenly cloudy eye is a same-day call, not a "watch it".

Have a sniff and a look. Healthy ears are pale pink inside, barely waxy, and don't smell. A bit of pale wax is normal.

Book a vet visit if: there's a strong or yeasty smell, dark brown or black discharge, redness, heat, repeated head-shaking or scratching, or your pet flinches when you go near. Please don't go poking in with a cotton bud, look, don't excavate.

Gently lift the lip and look at the teeth and gums. Gums should be a healthy pink (some pets have naturally pigmented black patches, which is fine). Teeth should be reasonably clean; a rim of brown tartar and red gums along the gumline is dental disease, which is extremely common. Breath will always be a bit doggy or fishy, but a genuinely foul, rotten smell is a warning sign. For what you can do about all this at home, see preventing dental disease at home.

A quick trick worth learning: press a fingertip gently on the gum until it blanches pale, then lift off. The colour should return within about two seconds. Very pale, white, blue, yellow or brick-red gums, or a slow return, all point to a problem.

Book a vet visit if: gums are red, swollen or bleeding, there's heavy tartar, a broken, loose or discoloured tooth, drooling, or that rotten smell, or if the gum colour or refill test looks abnormal.

Run your hands slowly all over your pet, this is the part that matters most, because it's how lumps get found early. The coat should be reasonably glossy and even, the skin free of redness, scabs, flakes or bald patches. As you go, feel for any lump, bump or thickening under the skin. Part the fur to check for fleas (look for the black "flea dirt" specks) and, if your pet's been in long grass, for ticks.

Find a new lump? Don't panic and don't ignore it. Most lumps are harmless, but the only way to know is to have it checked, and the ones that matter are far easier to treat when small. Note where it is, how big (a pea, a grape, a marble), and whether it's soft or firm, then get it looked at. The Lump and Bump Tracker is a good way to record and monitor it, but a genuinely new or changing lump still needs a vet's eyes.

Book a vet visit if: you find any new lump or one that's changed, persistent itching, scratching or licking, bald patches, sore or smelly skin, or a flea or tick infestation you can't get on top of.

While your hands are on them, do a quick body condition check: can you easily feel the ribs, is there a visible waist from above, does the tummy tuck up from the side? This is the most powerful health number there is, and it drifts so slowly that a monthly check is how you catch it. The full method is in weight and body condition.

Book a vet visit if: you can no longer feel the ribs, or your pet is losing weight without you meaning them to. Unexplained weight loss in particular is always worth a check.

Feel down each leg for heat, swelling or a sore spot, and check the paws: pads for cracks or cuts, between the toes for grass seeds or sores, and nails for length (a nail curling towards the pad needs trimming). Then just watch your pet move across the room. You're looking for an even, comfortable gait.

Book a vet visit if: you see limping, stiffness (especially getting up after rest), reluctance on stairs or jumps, a swollen or painful joint, or an overgrown nail that's digging in. In cats, stiffness is easily missed, watch for a cat who's stopped jumping up to a favourite spot.

Have a look under the tail: the area should be clean, with no swelling, redness, or matted, soiled fur. This is also the moment to bring to mind what you've noticed in the litter tray or on walks, because changes here are some of the most useful early signals there are. Note any change in how often they go, straining, blood, diarrhoea lasting more than a day or two, or a change in what the urine looks like.

Book a vet visit if: you see straining to pass urine (in cats this is an emergency, a blocked cat is life-threatening and needs help immediately), blood in urine or faeces, persistent diarrhoea or vomiting, scooting the bottom along the floor, or any swelling around the back end.

Finally, step back and take in the bigger pattern. While your pet is resting calmly, you can count the breaths for a minute, a comfortable resting rate is one of the most useful things you can know, and a steady climb over days is a red flag that ties into the Care Hub tracking. Think about the last few weeks: are they eating and drinking normally, as bright and interested as usual, sleeping the usual amount? A cat drinking noticeably more, a dog who's gone quiet, an older pet who's slowing down more than the seasons explain, these are exactly the things that are invisible in a ten-minute appointment and obvious to the person who lives with them.

Book a vet visit if: the resting breathing rate is climbing or laboured, appetite or thirst has clearly changed, or your pet just isn't themselves in a way you can't put your finger on. That last one matters. "Something's off" from someone who knows the animal is genuinely useful clinical information, so trust it and say it.

Keep a simple note of anything you spot, and bring it to the annual health check, where it gives your vet a running head start. Most months you'll find nothing, and that reassurance is worth having too. When you do find something, the rule is easy: the home check tells you that something's changed; your vet tells you what it means. You're not expected to diagnose, only to notice and to ask.

Set yourself a gentle monthly reminder to run through this, put it on your prevention calendar next to the worming and the booster, and it becomes second nature. Ten minutes of looking, once a month, is one of the highest-value things you'll ever do for a pet who can't tell you when something's wrong.