Author: insight

For all of our clients who may be interested, there is a First Aid app available with lots of great information.  It has been rated 4 and 1/2 stars by users and has over 130 essential first aid articles.

The free app was created to ensure you are better prepared to recognize an emergency situation and then act quickly with effective first aid during the critical minutes before you get to us.

You can search for First Aid for Pets Australia in your app store if you are interested , or you can call in the clinic and pick up a leaflet with the barcode which will allow to download it directly.

No one knows when an emergency will happen, however by having the First Aid for Pets Australia app on your phone, you can be better prepared and have quick and easy access to a comprehensive list of emergency situations wherever you are.

We hope you and your pets stay safe and healthy over the coming winter months.

With winter now approaching it is important to consider how the cold weather can affect your dog.  Dogs exposed to the cold can experience a range of problems including chills, respiratory problems and particularly arthritis.  As a general rule, the smaller and older your dog is, the more help they will need to keep comfortable and warm because their body cannot generate heat as quickly as larger or younger dogs.

The photo below shows one of the gorgeous coats we have for sale. Please call in and see us and check out the great range of coats and blankets we have.

For this reason, it is important to provide them with blankets at night time and a place where they can snuggle in to keep as warm as possible. We sell “Snoozy” blankets  which are great dog blankets and very easy to wash and dry.  It is also very important to consider providing them with a dog bed that is not in direct contact with the ground such as the hessian dog beds (see below) or the snooza type beds.  These beds are great for both winter and summer as in the warmer months, air can circulate beneath them, thereby keeping your pet cooler whilst in the winter months, the dog is not in direct contact with the cold, and often wet, ground.

To measure your dog for a coat, you can either bring him/her in and our friendly staff can help you to choose the correct size, or you can measure your dog from the base of the neck to the base of the tail to get the measurement you will need.  See the photo below for instructions.

Exercise is also important because it will get your dog’s blood circulating more rapidly which in turn stops them getting too cold.  This can also mean increasing their food intake during winter, as they use more energy keeping warm.

When dogs get cold, they will often bark to let their owner know about it, so it will help both the dog and you to get a good night’s sleep if they are comfortable and warm.

If your notice your dog suffering any discomfort such as difficulty with movement, such as standing from a sitting or lying down position it is important to bring him/her in for a check-up with our vet.  There are extremely good medications and supplements available now which  help give relief from arthritis.

 

Easter is a great time to gather with family and friends and eat good food, including, of course, chocolate! While we naturally want to include our pets in all the festivities, it is important to know that chocolate is in fact toxic to dogs.  In the lead up to Easter the chances of animals presenting with Chocolate (Theobromine) and caffeine toxicity are slightly more increased as Easter egg hunts take place in households around Australia.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our clients and patients a very merry Xmas and a wonderful new year. Our Xmas calender is finally here for those of you who would like to purchase one. We tried to get most  of the photos you posted on Facebook into the calendar so please come in and have a look.   The cost is $5.00 with all profits going to the R.S.P.C.A.

Many thanks for continuing to choose us to look after your precious pets and we look forward to seeing you all in 2016.

For those of you who regularly read our blogs, you would have already read that “Reckless”, a 20 year old mare belonging to our nurse Nic, is pregnant.  She is due on approximately 28 October this year.  She is currently about 170 days into her pregnancy. In the photo above she is at around 165 days.

The last 3 months of a mare’s pregnancy is when most of the growth occurs, and is a time when the feed intake needs to significantly increase.

We are happy to report that all is going really well so far for “Reckless” and we are all very excited about the prospect of a new addition (especially Nic!).

We will post more photos as the pregnancy progresses.

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The Hendra virus is deadly to horses and life threatening to humans.  Administering the Hendra vaccine helps protect your horse, family, friends and colleagues.

We have recently sent out a letter to our equine clients to advise them of our policy with regard to horses and the Hendra virus vaccination. Unfortunately there seems to have been a lot of misunderstanding with many clients mistakenly believing we will not attend to horses who have not been vaccinated.

To makes things clear, we WILL attend horses that have not been vaccinated.  However, because of the obvious issues, there will be an extra fee involved as PPE must be worn by both vet and handler of the horse at the time of consult.  This fee will vary considering the symptoms the horse is presenting with. It is important to know that a horse can have  contracted the Hendra virus and not show any symptoms for 2 weeks. Therefore it is a very real possibility that a vet could attend to a horse who is symptom free and yet still contract the Hendra virus if he/she is not wearing appropriate PPE. While the risk may seem low, the consequence is dire and potentially life threatening.

There are many rumours circulating in relation to possible negative effects of the Hendra vaccination. Zoetis (the manufacturer of the Hendra vaccine) have an information sheet with some facts about the Hendra vaccination, some of which are listed below.  See the full factsheet at this website:   https://health4horses.com.au/Documents/H4H_Factsheet_V5_WEB2.pdf

“When people get a vaccine from their doctor, it is expected that they will have a sore arm after the injection.  Some horses may also respond with a mild injection site reaction after vaccination, and this is no reason for concern.

With over 300 000 doses of Equivac HeV administered, reactions have only been reported for 0.28% of vaccinated horses, with the vast majority of these being injection site reactions, which resolve with little or no treatment.

The Hendra vaccine has not caused a single horse death.  While there have been rumours of this, they relate to horse that died of snake-bite, grain ingestion, twisted gut and other unrelated health issues.

On the other hand 12 horses have died of the Hendra virus over the past two years because they were not vaccinated and six horse owners in 2014 alone have had to be given an experimental monoclonal antibody treatment as a result of high exposure to Hendra virus from these infected horse.”

The Hendra virus vaccine was registered with the APVMA on 5 August, 2015.  For registration details please copy and paste this address in your web browser:   http://apvma.gov.au/node/12876

If you would like to book your horse in for a Hendra vaccination please give us a call.

Compared to us, dogs and cats age at a very different rate.  After their 7th birthday, cats and dogs enter their senior years, which is equivalent in human terms of entering their 50’s.  Large and giant breeds however enter their senior years after only 5 years of age. (Large and giant breeds are considered to be dogs over 25kg’s.)

Therefore it is important to realize that the nutritional and physical needs of your pet changes.  They are also much more likely to develop an age-related disorder so regular health checks should become a priority. There are many products available to help your pet as they age including diet foods and joint formulas.

Please visit the link below to check out your pet’s age in human years:

http://www.hillspet.com.au/en-au/seniors/pet-years-in-human-years.html

Diseases that become more common as dogs age are:

• dental disease
• heart disease
• diabetes
• dementia
• cancer
• skin disease
• obesity
• osteoarthritis
• kidney disease

Some signs to look out for:

• hearing loss, poor vision, reduced sense of smell
• digestion issues
• loss of muscle mass
• lower exercise tolerance
• poor coat
• difficulty eating/chewing
• weight gain/weight loss
• increased drinking and/or urinating
• decreased agility and playfulness
• behavioural changes, e.g. loss of previous toilet training, confusion and disorientation

Diseases that become more common as cats age are:

• kidney disease
• diabetes
• urinary disease
• dental disease
• heart disease
• cancer
• urinary disease
• behavioural and neurological diseases

Signs to look out for:

• poor grooming
• digestion issues
• weight gain/loss
• decreased appetite
• increased thirst
• increased urination
• decreased agility
• reduced activity and exercise
• behavioural changes including irritability, confusion, less human interaction

 

The great news is that the earlier these age-related diseases are detected, the better the chances of managing them successfully.

With winter here, temperatures are dropping and this often causes mice and rats to head indoors in search of food.  If you are unlucky it will be your house they decide to call home.  Most of us tackle this problem by setting traps and putting out rat baits as no-one wants to share their home with these rodents.  Unfortunately if the appropriate precautions are not taken your pet could be the one who ends up taking the bait, resulting in their possible death.

 

It is extremely important to take care when placing the baits by securing them well, checking them regularly and putting them in a place where they are not accessible to your pet.

If you suspect your pet may have eaten rat bait it is imperative you contact your vet as soon as possible, even though there may be no immediate signs of them being ill. The poison can take two to three days (sometimes even longer) to start producing noticeable symptoms, and unfortunately by this time it can be too late.

The most common symptoms include pale gums and eyes, weakness and lethargy and losing their appetite. These symptoms occur because the baits cause slow but massive internal bleeding. If your pet has reached this stage of poisoning, treatment often requires blood or canine plasma transfusion and intensive care. However, the prognosis if you bring your pet in at the early stages of them ingesting a bait is excellent.

It is important if you suspect your pet has ingested a bait to let the vet know the particular type and brand of bait.  As careful as we always try to be, no-one is infallible and pets have a way of getting into places that you never suspect they could, so please don’t feel embarrassed or ashamed.  Telling the vet the type of toxin your pet has ingested will enable him/her to give the best treatment possible.