Exams:

Annual or biannual physical examinations are the foundation to building a solid preventative health care program. Wellness exams are done to try to detect problems as early as possible so that steps can be started immediately to stop, or slow the progression of problems. Routine examinations may look to the untrained eye as being somewhat cursory, but to a skilled veterinarian they can reveal an immense amount of valuable information. A complete physical exam evaluates: overall appearance and health, body condition and weight, skin and haircoat condition, eyes, ears, dental condition, oral health, heart and lungs, abdomen and lymph nodes. The complete physical exam coupled with an accurate and detailed history can help the doctor make recommendations and develop a wellness program for each individual pet.
Remember that pets age more rapidly than humans and therefore going longer than 1 year between examinations would be the equivalent of a person only seeing their doctor once every 7-9 yrs. Due to this difference at least annual examinations are recommended for young healthy pets and for senior or geriatric pets biannual exams are recommended.