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We are commonly asked to perform an ovary sparing spey in dogs. Here we explain the difference with other procedures.
I hope after reading this you will see why we do not offer the service.
Continue reading “The Pros & Cons Of Ovary Sparing Spay”
What is the evidence for behaviour change in desexed female dogs? There’s a lot of discussion and debate, so let’s drill down into the data.
Continue reading “Are Neutered Female Dogs More Aggressive?”
‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ Emergency Care
‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ Emergency Care
Diarrhoea is when dogs pass poo (faeces) that is softer than usual, more frequent or more is passed than normal. Vets call it diarrhoea any time faeces are less solid than usual, not just when they are watery.
Here I’m going to help you find the cause for your dog’s runny poop. First let’s look at what the mess itself can tell us.
Continue reading “The Causes Of Diarrhoea In Dogs”
True or false: early social exposure in a puppy reduces aggression to other dogs later in life. Easy, right?
After all, that’s why vets (like us) push early finish vaccination programs and puppy preschool classes. Get that puppy out socialising in the ‘sensitive period’ before 16 weeks and they’ll get to enjoy the company of other dogs FOR LIFE.
Well not so fast. A recent Australian study has shown the exact opposite. I’m not even that surprised; I’ve been warning puppy owners about this for years.
Continue reading “Good And Bad Puppy Training”Thanks to my big mouth I was in trouble from the outset. As a litter of five 10kg puppies were brought in by the scruffs of their necks, all I had to do was shut up.
Continue reading “Why Banning Dog Breeds Doesn’t Work”
What you get told: “This product also treats worms”
What you should ask: “WHICH worms??” You might be surprised by the answer.
Warning: Contains Disgusting Worm Descriptions & Pictures!
Here’s some bad news for people with barking problems. Humans may have deliberately selected dogs for their ability to bark. It’s one of the big differences between wolves and dogs.
Continue reading “Stopping Dogs Barking”
Getting a new dog is an exciting time. Whether you’re bringing up a puppy or settling in a rescued dog there’s so much to look forward to…
Amid the fun are a couple of serious issues:
Sam and Jesse are these two charming Cavaliers. The decision their owners made is the same one many dog owners face. I went through it three years ago.
However, it isn’t always a good idea…
Continue reading “Should I Get A Second Dog?”UPDATE 2018
In July, 2018 the new laws for dogs and cats came into force. You can read the details by following the link.
Although it will not be universally popular, the move towards universal desexing and microchipping of dogs and cats should produce a clear net benefit to pets and the community.
Regarding the concerns I raised below back in 2016, most have been addressed satisfactorily:
However:
If you’re like most of us you struggle to work out how much food your dog needs. Even vets get caught out with their dogs getting too thin or fat.
Every single dog owner struggles with the same problem.
Continue reading “How Much Do I Feed My Puppy?”If you prefer a quick answer, visit our online dog age calculator. Just plug in a number and it does the rest!
We’ve all heard the saying: “multiply your dog’s age by seven to get the human age.” Like most simple rules, there’s a lot wrong with that:
Continue reading “How Old Is My Dog In Human Years?”
Is pet insurance worth it? Will I get value for money? I get asked this a lot but, with respect, I think this is the wrong question.
Once you read about insurance from a vet’s point of view I hope you’ll agree.
Continue reading “Do I Really Need Pet Insurance?”
Most of the time it’s just assumed that modern pets in families will know what to do, have good manners and to be perfect angels.
When it goes bad, it’s usually the children that suffer. Dogs are more likely to bite kids in the head or neck (63% of bites compared with only 13.3% of older people) and kids are more likely to need surgery and to stay in hospital (Ting et al, 2016). You’ve only got to look at the picture of my young son (above) to see why.
Usually the dog gets the blame, sometimes with tragic consequences, even though the causes are a lot more complicated. Usually it could have all been prevented with better understanding.
Continue reading “Kids and Dogs”
So your dog or cat has had an operation. Hopefully you found our guide to getting pets ready for surgery useful.
It’s just as important to think ahead and be prepared for their recovery. Simple mistakes can undo a lot of the good work.
Does your dog need an operation? Want to know what to do when your cat has surgery? How do you prepare rabbits or rodents for an anaesthetic?
When the time comes, here’s our guide to how to get your dog, cat, rabbit, ferret, rat or mouse ready for surgery. There’s also a guide to what to do for dogs and cats after surgery.
Most decisions to own a purebred dog are based entirely on positive aspects, like temperament, personality and lifestyle. These are important, but we should also focus on the negative, like what can go wrong.
Some people believe that genetic diseases are becoming more common in certain purebred dogs due to limited gene pools and close breeding. Regardless of whether this is true, genetic diseases are well-known and common and we should make ourselves aware of them. Read about diseases of cat breeds here.
So, you asked your kids or partner what they want for Christmas and they said: “a puppy”. That’s awkward.
You want them to be happy but you know you shouldn’t give pets for Christmas. Maybe you even want a pet yourself. What do you do?
The answer to this moral choice is: “it’s complicated”. I’m not going to say it’s always a bad idea (later I’ll discuss how you can give pets ethically). First, though, there are some important issues with the giving of pets.
Continue reading “Can A Pet Be For Christmas AND For Life?”
For feeding bones to CATS click here.
Whether you feed your dog bones is without a doubt the most controversial and highly debated topic in dog ownership.
Passions are high. In our guide to where to buy bones last week I mentioned how most vets in the UK (and many in the USA) strongly oppose you giving your dog a bone to chew. At all.
The internet is full of horror stories about bones splintering or getting stuck and many of these stories are true.
What do the diseases we protect your dog from actually look like?
Click here to see vaccination protocols for dogs or continue reading to learn about these important illnesses.
Continue reading “Explained: Parvo, Distemper, Hepatitis & Kennel Cough”
I’ve spent the last month introducing my new kitten Grendel to our dogs. Let me tell you, it’s not easy.
Most of us love having dogs and cats in our lives. This means we often expect these two different species to get along. It doesn’t happen automatically and if it’s not handled well it can end very badly. Here are some key points to remember.
Continue reading “How To Introduce A Cat To Dogs”‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ Essential Facts
Recently we saw a 9 week old puppy who came from the breeder 7 days earlier. The day before we saw her she had started coughing, and by that night it had become very bad. Being a Boxer puppy, she wasn’t letting it get her down but you could see she wasn’t her normal self.
She has kennel cough. She hasn’t been around other dogs so where did she get it from?
Continue reading “Help! My Dog Has Kennel Cough”
Have you ever had this zoo experience? It takes a careful and patient observer. You’re enjoying watching an animal moving around their exhibit (after all, many animals are asleep or aren’t even visible) when suddenly you realise “hang on, this animal is doing exactly the same thing over and over again”?
This is stereotypic behaviour and it’s the bane of every zoo. Here’s the polar bear at Seaworld on the Gold Coast in 2007 who would do this for hours on end.
Continue reading “Why do dogs chase their tail?”
‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ Essential Facts
When we were kids we used to ask these questions. Then we stopped. Finally, here are the answers!
Continue reading “Wet Noses Howling and Digging”
Runt. What a powerful word. It instantly brings to mind images of poor, sickly puppies destined to never be as healthy as their brothers and sisters.
What if the whole idea of the runt of the litter is a myth? Well that’s what I think, anyway. My 20 years tell me you can take home the smaller puppies without having poorer health, as long as you follow a few basic rules…
Continue reading “Myth 29: The runt of the litter”Update 2019: South Australian laws on dog and cat breeding now make it harder for people like Gary Taylor to continue. However, we still have a problem with pet shops selling sick puppies!
See also an update below from 2016 from after the trial.
Continue reading “The puppy and dog breeding scandal continues” Whether to desex or neuter your male dog is one of the most important decisions you as a pet owner will make. It’s not a simple decision; there are pros and cons plus a good amount of misinformation which utterly defy a simple answer.
Continue reading “The Truth About Neutering: Desexing Male Dogs”
Just to to prove it happens to us all, here is Loki’s recent health emergency and some advice on how to identify and avoid pet poisons.
Four days ago Andrew’s 9 week Jack Russell Terrier was doing his usual morning routine of running around the garden seeing what could be destroyed or eaten. He was of course under supervision but all the same was darting in and out of sight among the bushes. All seemed fine but only ten minutes later he suddenly looked extremely unwell, vomited and passed diarrhoea. It was obvious something was terribly wrong so he was immediately rushed to the surgery.
A lot of people make this mistake and it’s easy to see why. Puppy preschool is all about socialising dogs and if there’s a dog at home, surely this is enough. However, if anything, having a dog at home makes pups less social. I’ll explain why this is so.
Continue reading “Myth 4: My second dog doesn’t need puppy preschool classes”Update 2017: new dog & cat laws in South Australia are just around the corner. Also read about our help in successfully prosecuting a puppy farmer.
While there are many good breeders we encourage new puppy owners to be aware of where their puppy has come from. Until we have effective legislation, this is the only way we can help to reduce unethical breeding. With that in mind we have formulated a list of questions new puppy owners should ask before purchasing a pup.
And of course, PLEASE call us for our health advice before choosing a breed? It is also worth finding out about the common breed-related health conditions and what breeders should be testing for.
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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here.