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In 2020, the American Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) published its data on poisonings in dogs. This could be the best information we have on household dangers to our canine friends.
From a dog-owner perspective, it contains two important lists: the top 5 reported poisonings and the top 20 fatalities. As you will see, these are quite different.
Continue reading “The Most Common & Serious Poisons Of Dogs”
It must seem strange for a vet to compare humans and dogs and find humans better. Well let me tell you, this is an exception to a general rule. Just read Why Dogs Are Better Than Humans and you will agree.
However, our inferiority tends to mask the fact that there are a few special areas in which we do better. And because we don’t recognise them, we tend to make bad assumptions and harm our dogs. So here they are…
Continue reading “3 Ways Humans Are Better Than Dogs”
If you have an itchy dog, it gets very frustrating very quickly. Nothing seems to help for long, and everyone tells you something different. Is it the food, is it grass, is it mites?
This is an opinion piece, not a regular clinic article. I have been seeing itchy dogs for nearly 30 years and have yet to see one who cannot be helped. Here I’m going to boil down all the conflicting advice into my simple step by step approach.
Continue reading “How To Stop Dogs Scratching In 8 Steps”
Some dogs you never forget. They are the ones you know you failed. Like Holly.
She came to me late one night for vestibular disease. And she certainly had all the classic signs:
It had been happening for two years, on and off, and she needed more of her medication. Except she really needed a whole lot more than that.
Continue reading “Help! My Dog’s Head Is Tilted To One Side”
In 2020, Adelaide has been awash with stories of dog baits being found in parks. Just this month we had:
Leaving aside the twisted motives of why anyone would do this, it’s important to understand the risks and what you can do if it happens.
Continue reading “Dog Baiting In Adelaide: What To Know”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering small dog breeds like Cavoodles.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter A Cavoodle”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering 20-29kg dog breeds like the Staffy, AmStaff and Staffy crosses.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter A Staffy”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering large dog breeds.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter Large Breed Dogs”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering medium-sized dog breeds like Kelpies.
Continue reading “The Best Age To Neuter A Kelpie Sized Dog”
How many people have seen all of the parklands of the square mile of Adelaide? How many dogs?
I have previously shared with you my favourite off-the-beaten-track dog walks around Adelaide, but this one is a celebration of the unique parklands that are the pride of Adelaide.
Continue reading “An Epic Adelaide Parklands Dog Walk”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in St Bernards.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter St Bernards”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Rottweilers.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter Rottweilers”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Pomeranians.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter A Pomeranian”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in all three Poodle breeds.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter A Poodle”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Miniature Schnauzers.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter Miniature Schnauzers”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in the Maltese.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter A Maltese”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Labradors.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter A Labrador”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Jack Russell Terriers.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter Jack Russell Terriers”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Irish Wolfhounds.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter Irish Wolfhounds” Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Great Danes.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter A Great Dane”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Golden Retrievers.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter Golden Retrievers”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in German Shepherds.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter German Shepherds”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Springer Spaniels.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter Springer Spaniels”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Dobermans.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter A Doberman”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Corgis.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter A Corgi”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Collies.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter A Collie”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Cocker Spaniels.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter A Cocker Spaniel”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Chihuahuas.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter A Chihuahua”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.
Continue reading “The Best Age To Neuter Cavalier King Charles Spaniels”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Bulldogs.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter A Bulldog”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Boston Terriers.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter A Boston Terrier”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Border Collies.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter A Border Collie”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Bernese Mountain Dogs.
Continue reading “The Best Age To Neuter A Bernese Mountain Dog”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Beagles.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter A Beagle”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Australian Shepherds.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter Australian Shepherds”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Australian Cattle Dogs, also called Heelers.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter Australian Cattle Dogs”
Whether you call it neuter, spay, castrate or desex, the right time to get it done in dogs is a subject of much debate. This is because it varies from breed to breed. Recently, a study was published on the best age for neutering in Boxers.
Continue reading “What Is The Best Age To Neuter A Boxer?”
Here I want to show you, using the latest best practice guidelines, when a tooth should be extracted (never pulled), and what your choices are.
Sometimes when a tooth needs removal, there is plenty of time to explain why. However, most of the time, you get a hurried phone call while your dog or cat is asleep. There really is nothing you can do but trust your vet.
Continue reading “When Should A Dog Or Cat’s Tooth Be Extracted?”
The tooth pictured here is fractured. Ignore the black gums, which are normal in dogs, and focus on the dental probe which is in the exposed (and dead) pulp cavity. This tooth is infected and needs removal.
It’s stressful knowing a dog or cat might lose teeth. The main worry is “how will they eat?” When it happens it is never as bad as feared.
Continue reading “Tooth Extractions In Dogs & Cats: Recovery & Cost”
When puppy teeth develop properly, each tooth finds the gap it needs and they all end up being perfectly spaced. But what you see here is what happens when there are extra teeth in the way. These are persistent deciduous teeth and if not treated correctly they often lead to major problems.
Continue reading “Management Of Retained Puppy Teeth”
The internet is full of useful lists of plants that are poisonous to dogs. However, it is a lot harder to find out what you can plant. That’s what I do here from an Australian point of view.
Continue reading “Safe & Toxic Plants For Australian Dogs”
How can I talk about one of the most hopeless diseases of dogs without sounding hopeless? Like this:
Continue reading “Degenerative Myelopathy In Dogs”Many cases of degenerative myelopathy are probably misdiagnosed
My ear is always on the dog park and recently I heard something intriguing. The owner of a blue French Bulldog told me she had several people come up to give her the same unsolicited advice:
Continue reading “The Link Between Coat Colour & Skin Problems In Dogs”Blue dogs have lots of skin problems
The owner of a limping Greyhound surprised me recently by asking about bone cancer. She had heard it was quite common in the breed.
At the time, I did not think that the data showed an increased risk, and said so. How wrong I was. But first, here is a quick refresher of the problem.
Continue reading “The Rate Of Bone Cancer In Greyhounds”
Emergency facts (details below):
When a dog suddenly falls over or cannot use their back legs, it is usually an emergency. You should travel to a vet.
On the way, take a video if you can. Here are some things to look for:
Cardiac arrest is an extremely uncommon cause, and therefore it is not recommended to try CPR. You will see that most causes either recover by themselves or require treatment that only a vet can give.
Now let’s dive deeper into each of these causes…
Continue reading “Causes Of Collapse In Dogs”If you plan a driving holiday in SA, it is good to know where you can let your dog out for a run. The good news is that most towns, even small ones, now have a fenced off-leash area.
Continue reading “27 Dog Parks In South Australian Towns”
There is a lot of confusion about when dogs need their nails trimmed. On any given day, I will see at least one dog needing clipping that is not getting it, and another I am asked to clip that should not be done.
Here I am going to help you know when dog nails are too long, and most importantly, when they are not. Because it matters.
Continue reading “When Do Dogs Need Their Nails Clipped?”
Australian vets have seen a steady rise in pets being insured. However, up to now, that has not been matched by any increase in choice. Now we have a third entrant.
But you say, what about all these other pet insurance companies?
Continue reading “A Review Of Knose Dog & Cat Insurance”
Not long ago I published a survey of top Australian dog trainers about their favourite harnesses.
One particular harness stood out from the rest: the Perfect Fit®. At the time, I had not heard of it, and it was hard to purchase due to the need for a custom fitting. Then, an existing Adelaide importer asked me if I could start to stock it.
Continue reading “Perfect Fit: The Custom Fitted Fleece Dog Harness”
The following information is taken from the fitting guides produced by Perfect Fit. Tiny harnesses have been removed for simplicity as we do not stock them here in Adelaide..
This information is a guide only and is intended to be used in-store during the fitting process. In almost every case, one or other of the pieces will need to be swapped out to customise the fit properly.
Continue reading “A Perfect Fit Harness Measuring Guide”