142 North East Road, Walkerville. Ph (08) 8344 2000
I have never seen a drug either so hyped or so demonised as Apoquel®. If you have a dog that lives with itchy skin and allergies you’ve probably already heard of it. You might have heard of miraculous cures of long-suffering dogs. You might instead have heard of a drug too dangerous to trust.
Continue reading “Should My Itchy Dog Get Apoquel?”
Did you see on TodayTonight where a dog went to two different vets and was told it would cost either $2000 or less than $100? The story focused on corporate vets but I don’t think that’s the real story. lf you want to get the vet care you want you need to understand what’s going on.
Continue reading “What Cheaper Vet Care Looks Like”
‘At A Glance’ (details below)
now dive deeper…
Continue reading “Help! My Pet Has A Heart Murmur”
It seems like every dog owner has already heard the news. Chicken necks are causing paralysis in dogs. Now here’s the full story.
Continue reading “Is Raw Chicken Dangerous To Dogs?”
There’s a common, popular treat causing kidney failure in dogs. It’s right there in your local pet store. It drives vets crazy because there’s nothing we can do to stop it except warn you not to buy it.
Continue reading “The Problem With Jerky Treats & Tenders”
Emergency care (details below)
now dive deeper…
Continue reading “Help! My Dog Ate Onion”
In the last 5 years, having someone look after your dog in their own home has become a genuine alternative to using dog boarding kennels. Generally, the change has been a very positive one. However, with new industries always come new challenges.
The dog you see isn’t the only one harmed. In fact, he’s one of a whole string of similar stories I’ve seen and heard recently in Adelaide. Let’s call him ‘X’.
Continue reading “Adelaide Pet Sitters: What Can Go Wrong”The dog you see above was harmed by a bad experience at a pet sitter. You can read more about his story here. It’s a useful warning to all dog owners of the dangers of choosing the wrong pet sitter.
Continue reading “Adelaide Dog Sitters, Dog Minding & House Sitting”Here is a short list of dog kennels we are familiar with. Click here for cattery & cat boarding recommendations instead. If you know of another kennel that you recommend, please leave a comment below.
Continue reading “Adelaide Dog Boarding Kennels”Here is a list of dog training and obedience classes in Adelaide that use positive, reward based methods. You can read about different types of dog training here and why we recommend these classes.
Continue reading “Adelaide Positive Dog Training Classes”
Deafness in dogs and cats is important to understand. You need to know which puppies and kittens might be born deaf and recognise when it’s a sign of serious problems. You also need to know when it’s normal.
Continue reading “Help! My Dog or Cat Is Going Deaf” Are you worried your new puppy or kitten might be deaf? Read on to find out if your pet might be affected.
For more information please also read our guide to deafness & hearing tests in dogs and cats.
Continue reading “Congenital Deafness In Puppies And Kittens”
Every seen a mangy dog? Probably not, at least not the way I mean. You have to be my age or older, or travel to disadvantaged places, to be likely to say yes these days. What passes for ‘mange’ now is nothing compared to what it looked like up to a generation ago.
Continue reading “What Causes Mange In Dogs?”
‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ What To Do
‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ What To Do
Picture this: it’s 4 o’clock on a Saturday, we’re about to close for the weekend, and a caring local resident brings in a dog they’ve just found wandering the street. We get out the scanner, all set to read the microchip and reunite a dog with his family.
Aargh! We can’t find the owners.
Continue reading “The Problem With Microchips”
This isn’t just a catalog of limping dogs. By knowing the leg problems that dogs get you have a better chance of preventing some, identifying others and taking them all seriously.
I’ve gone back through our records, found the top 20 with pictures. The list below is sorted into ‘puppy’, ‘adult’ and ‘common’ problems. Visit this page to see which problems happen in the front or back legs and how to tell which leg is sore.
Continue reading “Help! My Dog Is Limping”
Hopefully you’ve read our guides to:
Now the fun really begins. Here’s what to do and what to expect during the first 6 weeks of a litter of puppies.
Continue reading “Caring For Newborn Puppies” ‘Emergency Care (Click here for more details)’ What To Do
You need to see a vet urgently if no puppy is born after:
Know what a BYB is? That’s what some people call a ‘backyard breeder’. They see ‘BYB’s as poorly educated breeders of unhealthy pups totally motivated by money. In other words, no better than puppy farms.
I have to tell you, there are certainly people like that here in Adelaide, and the new laws on dog breeding can’t come soon enough to help get rid of them. But there’s another side to this story. Some of the best-bred dogs in Adelaide come from backyard breeders. And it’s not just me saying it; sensible dog trainers say the same thing.
Continue reading “All About Dog Breeding” Have you already read our Guide to Breeding and Dogs Getting Pregnant? Now here’s what to do for dogs from conception to birth.
So let’s say your dog has possibly been mated, it’s not a disaster and you want her to have puppies. The first thing is to see if she really will.
Continue reading “Pregnancy Testing & Counting The Puppies”
It’s not what you think. Once I tell you you’ll wonder why you didn’t see the problem straight away, and I bet you’ll never take the risk again. In fact, even after my mother pointed it out, I nearly made the same mistake as you’ll see later.
Continue reading “Why Kids Should Never Walk Dogs Alone” Many dogs do well on raw diets, but there are also several pitfalls to avoid. This article aims to guide dog owners into the safest choices within this sphere.
Vets have a tendency to be against raw diets, but I will do my best to be logical and unbiased. Therefore I’ll start with some benefits we see in these dogs.
Continue reading “Are Raw Diets Good For Dogs & Cats?”
Every so often I’m reminded that I’m not doing such a great job. As part of a routine health check, I’ll be checking a dog’s teeth. “Wow,” I say, “Good job! You must give him a raw bone at least every week to get teeth this good.”
“No. I brush his teeth every day.”
Continue reading “Should I Brush My Dog’s Teeth?”
‘At A Glance (Much More Below)’ What To Do
A good start is to accept it for what it is: common and no cause for shame
‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ Emergency Care
It’s especially important to see a vet straight away for:
If we assume that the US, UK and Australia have similar dog cultures then we’re watching a slow train wreck.
Does it really matter? Aren’t vets just a little too obsessed by your dog’s weight?
Continue reading “What’s Wrong With Dogs Being Overweight?”
Have a look at this chart: are you as surprised as I was when I put this together?
It shows the results of the last five studies where vets have taken percentages of overweight dogs in the US, UK, and Australia.
How can you make sure your best mate doesn’t end up as another statistic in the dog obesity epidemic?
Answer: read on. It’s positive, 100% judgement-free and based on 25 years of successfully helping dog owners like yourself.
Continue reading “How You CAN Get Your Dog To Lose Weight”‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ What to do
This isn’t just for dogs and cats in Adelaide. If you live near any city in the developed world these days, you need to know these people exist (click here for specialists in other states and countries). One day you may be very grateful.
Continue reading “List of Adelaide Vet Specialists”
If you’re a dog owner, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll find a lump at some point. Dogs get lots of lumps and bumps, especially as they get older. How do you tell which ones are more serious?
Later I’ll show you a large gallery of pictures and descriptions of the most common lumps of dogs.
Continue reading “Help! My Dog Has A Lump”
UPDATE: We are glad to inform you that our standard Nobivac DHP vaccine has been proven to protect against strain CPV-2c. See more below.
Every dog owner’s worst nightmare is Parvovirus. This week the detection of a new strain in Australia was announced. Although there’s no reason to panic, here’s what vets and dog owners need to know.
Continue reading “The New Parvovirus Strain In Australian Dogs”
25 years ago, in my very first week as a vet, a lovely bouncy Cocker Spaniel puppy taught me a hard lesson. Innocently enough, I asked his owner “so, how’s everything going?”
Right in front of me, without another word, his owner burst into tears. Back then I really didn’t know what was going on. I sure do now.
Toilet training, house training or potty training. Call it what you will, but it’s the greatest challenge most puppy owners will face. As vets, we might consider ourselves masters of keeping puppies healthy, but we often look on helplessly at training problems.
Continue reading “Help! My Puppy Keeps Peeing In The House”
It’s very easy to feed a puppy correctly. Do it right and you’ll have a healthy, happy eater for life. Do it wrongly and you may end up with a fussy dog eating all the wrong foods. Or worse.
Please visit our pages on Five steps to feeding puppies and adult dogs or How much should I feed my puppy? if your answer isn’t found in these common questions.
Continue reading “Feeding Your New Puppy FAQs”
Before I show you the causes of the most serious problems we see in young puppies at my clinic, there’s one thing that you have to do: know where to go.
Plan your route before you need it. This map shows your closest 24-hour veterinary emergency hospital in Adelaide.
Continue reading “Common Hazards To Puppies”
Most people will say having a new puppy in the house is a bigger shock than a new baby. With a baby you have plenty of time to get the house safe as they grow and develop. A puppy is in full-on grab-and-destroy mode from the day they arrive. Here’s a checklist to keep them safe and you sane. All of these points are covered in detail in Common Puppy Dangers.
Continue reading “How to Puppy Proof Your House”
Here’s a checklist to help you get ready for the big day your puppy arrives. It might seem like a lot to do but that’s only because you’re actually thinking about things in advance.
Continue reading “What You Need For A New Puppy”
Welcome to the exciting path to getting a new dog. Please visit all three stages:
You thought you’d done the hard part: choosing your ideal breed, then finding the right breeder or shelter, and then you get that phone call. “Please come between 9 and 12 tomorrow to choose which puppy you want”.
Continue reading “How To Pick A Puppy Or Choose A Shelter Dog”
Welcome to the exciting path to getting a new dog. Please visit all three stages:
Have you done your research and already know which breed you want? If you have your heart set on a certain dog, it’s a great start. That way, you’re almost certain to love and treasure your puppy even when things are not so easy.
If you don’t know, well done for reading this first! So many people choose the wrong dog for their home and lifestyle and by the time we see them, it’s too late.
Continue reading “Choosing A Good Dog Breed”
‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ What to do
We all know that different dog breeds can have very different lifespans. Here are the best figures we have from three recent English studies. Please read this first to help you understand the figures.
Continue reading “How Long Do Dog Breeds Live?”
For many dogs, the highlight of their day is a game of fetch with the ball. Who can resist? You’d have to have a heart like a stone to say no. Or, like me, to know too much.
Stay with me while I show you five ways that tennis balls were made in the devil’s workshop. Afterwards, I’ll tell you how your dog can still have that fun without the risk.
Continue reading “Why Vets Hate Tennis Balls”
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
Before you have an emergency, it’s good to know which after hours vet is closest and how you will get there in a hurry. There are five veterinary hospitals open 24 hours a day, seven days a week in Adelaide*. Use this clickable map to calculate your travel time to each one from your location. Please use it to get directions to your nearest vet when your regular vet is closed.
Walkerville Vet is open 8am to 7:00pm weekdays and 9am to 1pm Saturdays. Vets start consulting at 9am.
Continue reading “Find An Adelaide Emergency Vet Open Late” 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”
This might come as a shock to all the dog owners feeding raw bones. Vets are starting to advise owners not to do it.
To find out why this is happening, we need to dive into the debate over bone safety.
Continue reading “Are Bones Safe For Dogs?”
‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ Emergency Care