The Vet Practice

By The Vet Practice on Tuesday, 30 December 2008

We receive many calls each week from pet owners wanting advice about specific health issues.

While we can certainly provide general pet health information over the phone we cannot diagnose a specifc problem without actually examining your pet.

If your pet is unwell, please make an appointment to see your vet and have her examined.

This is what a consultation is for.

During this time your vet has the opportunity to conduct a physical examination and gather important background information from you.

Some of the information you may need to provide may include:

• Vaccination history (if not on file)
• Worming and heartworm information
• Eating habits and diet
• Changes in behaviour
• Changes in eating / drinking habits or stool production
• Access to specific chemicals
• Environmental changes
• Medications you are giving

This background information combined wth the findings of a physical exam is necessary before any attempt at a diagnosis can be made.

Sometimes additional information is needed to diagnose a specific condition so  blood or tissue tests, X-Rays or Ultrasound may be recommended.

This is because different conditions can share similar symptoms.

Consultation fees will vary between clinics and are based on the time allocated. Standard consultation times may vary from 10 minutes to 30 minutes depending on the presenting problem and individual clinic policy.

 So please, if you are concerned that your pet is unwell - make that appointment to see your vet today!

By The Vet Practice on Thursday, 18 December 2008

Although we may not believe that Summer has actually arrived, (given the weather we're having) - this hasn't deterred this nasty little enemy from attacking dogs in the neighbourhood.

So who's the culprit here?

Yes, Grass seeds. They're nasty and they're everywhere at the moment. And they love to hitch a ride on your dog's coat.

They may sound harmless enough however once they've lodged themselves firmly in your dog's coat they have a habit of burrowing on through the skin between the toes, under the armpits or tail or even down the ear canals and behind the eyes.

The danger with these is that they are designed to go one way and that is forward. Plus they can disappear into the body tissue very quickly causing nasty infections.

Once this has happened they can only be removed by probing deep into the tissue and pulling them back out taking care not to leave any of the tiny barbs behind. This may sometimes require a general anaesthetic to perform..

Grasseeds can cause your dog severe pain and infection, even permanent damage, especially if lodged inside the ear canal or behind the eyes.

To avoid this problem, we urge all of you to give your dog a quick check each night for these nasty invaders.

Check the most common places they tend to hide such as:

• Under the tail
• Under or on ear flaps
• Around the eyes
• Between the toes and
• Under each armpit

Don't belive that this threat is limited to long haired breeds, even though they tend to stick more easily to long hair.

We're seeing these injuries even in smooth coated breeds.

Symptoms of grass seed injury?

These can include head shaking, scratching and biting at entry site or lameness.

If your dog is showing any of these signs we suggest a quick trip to the Vet.

 

By The Vet Practice on Friday, 12 December 2008

Sometimes we tend to ignore the signs of ill health and just hope they resolve themselves. And in some cases this actually happens.

The body fights off the infection or the virus that's making us sick and within a few days we're back to normal again.

And it's only natural that we apply these same rules to our pets.

However, in some situations delaying seeing your Vet could be putting your pet's life at risk. The problem is that it's not always easy to tell whether the symtoms mean you need to act NOW or later.

So if you're concerned that something is not quite right with your pet - Make an appointment to see your Vet before your pet becomes seriously ill.

Now we can't possibly list all the symptoms of a more serious illness however here are 7 that you can't afford to ignore.

1. Your male cat is straining to urinate
2. Your older female, undesexed dog is off her food, has difficulty walking or is showing other symptoms of pain and discomfort
3. Your dog has eaten Rat poison - or chocolate!
4. Your dog is having a seizure (fitting, trembling)
5. Your dog is bloating after eating food
6. Your cat has not eaten for 3 days
7. Persistent vomiting and / or diarrhoea (especially containing blood) and especially in young puppies

Remember also that there's always a greater chance of a succesful outcome if treatment is started sooner.

Also, waiting until the symptoms become more serious could see you rushing off to the vet at midnight which will attract higher fees!.

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By The Vet Practice on Sunday, 7 December 2008

When you bring your pet in for a Health check or Vaccination we update your pet's records to include their worming, flea control and heartworm records.

When you buy these products from us this information is already included in their file so it's easy to know whether they're up to date or not.

However,  you buy these products elsewhere, we ask you to provide this information for us. Most specifically we need to know what the products you're using actually do.

With so many products available on the market these days it's impossible for us to know about them all.

We often find that clients are using products but are unsure about their specifc actions. This can become very confusing for both of us.

The easiest thing to do to avoid this problem is bring the product package with you when you visit.

We find the one thing which confuses people the most is the fact that most worming products do not prevent heartworm.

All dogs and cats carry intestinal worms but they can be easily controlled by using an Allwormer product.

The 4 main intestinal worms of dogs and cats are:

• Roundworm
• Hookworm
• Whipworm and
• Tapeworm

Adult cats and dogs should be wormed against intestinal worms every 3 months.

Heartworm is not an intestinal worm and is usually addressed separately unless its is specifically listed in the product information.

Heartworm prevention can be given in the following ways:

• Monthly (either tablet or topical application) or
• As a yearly injection

To our knowledge a daily tablet is still available. (This was one of the earliest products made but has since been surpassed by more effective and convenient medications)

Some heartworm prevention products given monthly also protect against some or all intestinal worms. Once again, read the product information guide and check the information against the list above.

By The Vet Practice on Sunday, 30 November 2008

It's a fact that most people "shop around" for desexing prices. We know this because we receive many calls each week asking about the price of desexing a cat or dog.

Different clinics will charge different fees for the procedure and there is a tendency for some people to select this service just on price.

This is not ideal as there are many things involved in the procedure which can differ or even be left out in order to arrive at that particular price.

So, you need to be aware of these before you make comparisons.

There are questions you should ask when ringing around so that you can more directly compare fees with value.

Not all surgical procedures are performed in the same way using the same equipment or the same anaesthetic and pain management protocols.

Because it's difficult to explain all this information over the phone we've condensed all the important information you really should know into a special 23 page report.

It's available from our practice for a small fee of only $7.00.

And for those of you who choose to have your pet desexed at our clinic, we'll happily refund the purchase price of the book.

So find out what's really involved in the procedure before booking your pet in to be desexed.