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You’re playing with your dog, and the next minute one of their nails is sticking out sideways.
Sometimes they’ll yelp, or limp, but other times it just looks bent or dislocated. There may even be a little bleeding. What do you do?
Continue reading “Help! My Dog Has Broken A Nail”
When a cat injures their tail, it’s usually more serious than it looks. If you don’t make the right decisions there can be long term consequences more than just pain.
Here are the three common ways cats hurt their tails, and what to do about them. Please don’t read on if you’re squeamish.
Continue reading “The Three Common Injuries To Cat Tails”
Emergency Info (details to follow):
To separate dogs, try:
Do not try to pull the other dog off. That’s up to their owner to do. You will get badly injured. Click here for your closest Adelaide Emergency vet.
Do not blame yourself. Often there’s nothing you can do due to the size and determination of the aggressor. You’ll probably also fail to get the owner’s details in the heat of the moment.
Now dive deeper…
Continue reading “Dog Attacks: What To Do, How To Prevent Them”
It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so serious. Look for answers on why your cat bites or scratches you and you find people telling you it’s all about a competition for dominance.
As any genuine cat lover knows, our cats always dominate us. Most of us have enough humility to love them for it.
Stopping them biting and scratching is a whole other story with a wholly different explanation. One where aggression is just a symptom of a problem in the cat-human relationship.
Continue reading “Help! My Cat Attacks Me Without Warning”
Look at these numbers. It shows the percentage of vaccinated cats at our Adelaide clinic that also receive the FIV vaccine.
Continue reading “Trends In Australians Keeping Cats Indoors”
Essential facts ( details below):
Dogs with any of these symptoms need to be taken to a vet immediately:
Now dive deeper…
Continue reading “Help! My Dog Has A Swollen Stomach”
Quick facts (details below):
Now dive deeper…
Continue reading “Where To Take Wildlife In Adelaide”
Laser therapy for dogs is now something that I get asked about regularly. It offers treatment for problems that are very frustrating to both dogs and owners. These are conditions like:
But does it work? Is this relief for suffering dogs or just another false hope?
Continue reading “Does Laser Therapy For Dogs Really Work?”
Dante is an all-too-familiar story. I saw him recently for vaccination and immediately noticed the scar on his leg. What happened? He was running and broke his leg.
If this happens to your dog, here’s a quick first aid tip: carefully put the lower leg into a roughly normal position, wrap it in a t-shirt until it’s a thick roll and then sticky tape it. If you can’t do this, just keep your dog as quiet as possible. This will stop possible damage to soft tissues caused by excessive motion across the fracture site. Then go straight to a vet.
Leg fractures in Italian Greyhounds are common. If you’re looking to buy a puppy, or take out insurance you might well ask, “yes, but how common?” The answer may affect what you do next.
Continue reading “Broken Legs In Italian Greyhounds”
There’s just one common cause of a lump on a cat’s face. Have a look at the picture above. I hope you can see that the left cheek isn’t chubby, it’s swollen. This is an abscess and it needs veterinary attention.
Continue reading “Facial Swelling In Cats”
Dogs can get all kinds of lumps and bumps, some serious, some not. That’s why I’ve previously written a guide to dog skin lumps with pictures. Just click on the picture to visit.
However, there’s one very particular swelling that I haven’t talked about even though it’s important, common and easy to recognise.
It’s the tooth root abscess.
Continue reading “Help! My Dog Has A Lump On The Face”According to a recent survey of English cats, the average lifespan was 14 years old. Purebred cats were recorded as living to a lower average of 12.5 years.
These of course are only averages and include all causes of death from birth to old age. We regularly see cats with good care who do much better.
To help your cat live longer, it’s useful to look at the causes of death recorded.
Continue reading “How Long Do Cats Live?”
Nosebleeds in dogs are rare and worth taking seriously. Unlike humans, dogs almost never get an occasional harmless nosebleed. Causes include injuries, foreign bodies, infections, clotting problems and tumours.
At the end I’ll tell you how you and your vet can work out which one it is.
Continue reading “Causes Of Blood From The Nose”
Losing the use of the back legs is one of the most common and serious problems of rabbits. It can happen either suddenly or gradually.
It’s critical that your vet considers all the common causes. It’s not a long list, and can quickly be narrowed down as you’ll see.
Continue reading “Help! My Rabbit’s Back Legs Aren’t Working”
What’s more natural than throwing a stick for a dog? We love it, they love it too, and every park is a toyshop. That’s why so many dogs get injured.
Continue reading “The Danger Of Throwing Sticks For Your Dog”
I’ve been a vet for a quarter century now. Over that time I’ve seen just about everything go wrong that can.
Pet disasters tend to go along recurring themes. If you know what they are, you have an excellent chance to avoid them. Some might be upsetting, but I hope you can see the benefit in thinking about them now.
Continue reading “Causes Of Sudden Death In Australian Pets”
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.
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”‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ What to do
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”
‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ What to do
‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ Emergency Care
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”Follow the links for information on:
‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ Emergency Care
Pippin is a bunny who lives with her mate in an outdoor tunnel home they have excavated by themselves.
Pippin came to us last week with a history of an inability to use her hind legs, which seemed to happen overnight.
When we examined her, she was unable to walk, seemed paralysed on her hind legs, and as a consequence was heavily urine-soaked.
In Adelaide, Rabbits, Chickens, Ducks, Guinea Pigs, Native Mammals and any other small pets commonly live in outside hutches, pens or coops. And without their owners being aware of the risk, they are in great danger. If they are not adequately protected, one night can be all it takes to lose them. Please read on but this story may be upsetting for some.
Continue reading “Myth 5: My backyard is safe at night”