142 North East Road, Walkerville. Ph (08) 8344 2000
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”
I’ve previously discussed ways to kill fleas on pets and stop them coming back. Part of the solution may also be environmental flea control.
Continue reading “How To Kill Fleas In The House” ‘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 four veterinary hospitals open 24 hours a day, seven days a week in Adelaide*. We created this clickable map by comparing travel times to each one from various locations. 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?”
UPDATE 2018
In early March 2017, the new K5 strain of calicivirus is planned to be released at 600 sites across Australia and 45 in South Australia. Here’s what pet rabbit owners need to know.
Continue reading “K5 Rabbit Calicivirus”
‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ What To Do
‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ Emergency Care
Anaesthesia free dentistry for dogs and cats is now available in most major cities in Australia, including Adelaide.
I’ll be frank. Vets are horrified by this. I want you to know enough about dental hygienic procedures so that you can see what it is that scares us.
Continue reading “Anaesthetic Free Dentistry”
We have a problem. It’s a good problem. Young vets graduate and work without ever seeing a case of heartworm in dogs. If they do, it’s a rare dog from a very disadvantaged background.
Compare this with the 1980s and 1990s. It’s hard to find a dog owner from that time who didn’t know a dog that died from heartworm in Adelaide.
Continue reading “How Common Is Heartworm in Adelaide?”
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!
Most people can tell if a dog or cat is sick. It’s not too hard with ferrets either. All of these are predator species and have no reason to hide their illnesses.
Then there are the prey species, like rabbits, guinea pigs and birds. They deliberately hide signs of illness. They even pretend to eat! Most of the time what looks like ‘sudden death’ or a ‘heart attack’ is really the end of a long, slow illness we couldn’t see.
The good news is that you can tell. Here’s what to look for:
Continue reading “How To Tell If Your Chicken Is Healthy”
UPDATE Feb 2022- Myxomatosis is back once again in Adelaide. Please read on and let us know in the comments below if your rabbit becomes infected.
Myxomatosis is a serious and common disease of pet rabbits in Adelaide. We’ve put together this information for rabbit owners about preventing and treating myxomatosis.
What if common treatments recommended by your vet are causing deaths in dogs and cats?
‘Does Bravecto Kill Dogs?’ is a popular Facebook group with over 25,000 members dedicated to fighting the use of the popular 3-monthly flea control.
Continue reading “Does Bravecto Kill Dogs?”
Is natural flea prevention an alternative for pets? Are there safe, non-toxic home remedies you can use to prevent or kill fleas?
I’ve listed some below and given my views on the safety and efficacy of each.
Continue reading “Natural Flea Remedies”On Friday the 1st of February, 2019 after nearly 20 years of making do in rental accommodation, we moved into our new and carefully designed permanent home. It’s all been due to your support. Read on to find out where we are and what the building looks like.
Continue reading “We’ve Moved! The New Walkerville Vet Building”
If we took a negative attitude to natural remedies we’d never advance our knowledge. That doesn’t mean they all work though. Just because a product is available doesn’t mean it’s either effective or safe.
I’m sorry that I won’t be able to answer these questions. There are just too many brands, choices and options for me to ever do that.
What I do hope to do is show you how to get the right information to find the answers. How do you avoid bad advice and outright scams to do the best you can for your pets? You have to go to the evidence…
Continue reading “How To Assess Evidence And Know What Works”
Every Springtime my little Loki starts to show the signs of his allergies. From then until after Christmas I have to work hard to keep him comfortable.
He’s not alone; every day we see dogs like Loki. We call this condition atopic dermatitis or atopy.
Allergies look so different in dogs that most of the time their owners aren’t aware what the problem is.
If you want to see the information your vet uses, you need to get access to scholarly journals. This post explains how to:
Did you see the animals in this year’s Guinness World Records? That’s two of them above.
The world’s longest living pet cat was a Maine Coon called Ludo, who is a phenomenal 118.3cm long.
The world’s tallest living female dog was a 96.4cm Great Dane.
Why do these cute facts make all vets shudder?
Continue reading “Is Breeding Bigger Better?”Here’s a rare public comment on a dog breeder forum about what I think is one of South Australia’s dirty little secrets.
Follow the links for information on:
Here are the top 17. There’s no such thing as a silly question!
Continue reading “The Kitten Questions You Ask Us”
Reactions to food are a major concern to many pet owners. Here’s what we know about food allergies, which foods cause most of the problems, and what you can do about it.
Continue reading “Food Allergies In Dogs And Cats”
I’d hate to have to choose my vet. My pets mean a lot to me and if I wasn’t a vet I wouldn’t know where to put my trust.
Hard as it is, pet owners need to do it. Choosing in advance means you will be prepared if you need a vet in a hurry. The more research you do, the more likely that the vet you find will match your pets’ and your needs.
Continue reading “Choosing A Good Vet”
Last week I discussed a better way to compare dog and human ages, and the lifespans of common dog breeds.
How can your dog do better than the average lifespan? Of course, avoiding risks & good veterinary care have a lot to do with it. But there’s also a lot you can do to improve their chances.
Continue reading “How To Help Your Dog Live Longer”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?”
“If a dog eats grass it means they are going to die”. Amazingly I still hear this from time to time. Usually it’s not quite that dramatic.
Dogs and cats eat grass for a variety of reasons, some good, some bad.
Continue reading “Why Do Dogs & Cats Eat Grass?”
TLDR: the main reason why dogs lick their paws is when allergic skin disease causes itchy dermatitis between the toes. Other less common causes include
We’ve all been in this dilemma, vets included. It’s late at night, or you’re having a busy week and something just isn’t quite right with your pet.
You’ve probably noticed how much we like blood tests. Every year when your dog or cat has their annual checkup or when your pet needs an anaesthetic we ask you if you want blood testing.
Is this just over-servicing or are there good reasons to check?
Continue reading “What Are Pet Blood Tests For?” Update 2018:
To those who love rabbits it’s been a tough few years.
On the 24th of February, 2016 we were notified that the new strain of Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus called RHDV2 had reached South Australia and was causing deaths around Adelaide.
We posted an alert on our Facebook page, and only then did the true horror of what was happening become clear.
Continue reading “Update On The Rabbit Calicivirus Outbreak”
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.
‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ Quick Care Guide
Anyone who has had a dog knows that they vomit a lot more than people. Vomiting can be normal in some cases, and extremely serious in others. What are the causes of vomiting in dogs and how do you tell when it’s serious?
For the causes of vomiting in cats, click here.
After the popularity of last week’s Genetic Diseases of Dogs, it’s only fair the cats get their own page. Information on breed disorders came from the Sydney University LIDA Cats database (no longer publicly available).
Continue reading “What Diseases Does My Cat’s Breed Get?”
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.
Those who know us know how much we enjoy chatting about your pets. What you may not know is how useful it can be.
Here are two examples from one week last month. Just two of many.
Continue reading “Why chatting is a vet’s job too”
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?”
‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ Rapid Care Guide
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.
Do you sell fresh bones for dogs? Let us know and we’ll add you to the list!
I’ve started to worry about the supply of raw bones for dogs in Adelaide. So we’ve created a list of where to buy dog bones (below). Why worry? I’ll tell you a story.
First, though, have you read our guide to bone safety and how to choose and feed bones to dogs?
Continue reading “Where to get dog bones”
I want to tell you about the most under-used diagnostic test in veterinary medicine and why you should ask for it more often. I’ll start with just two examples that highlight the extremes: the worst and best of cases.
Continue reading “Second Opinions for Pets”
Not every medical advance goes from humans to animals; heres the story of one that went the other way.
The Nobel Prize in Medicine is awarded for advances in human health. This year’s winners waited a long time for recognition; if dogs could vote, it would never have taken so long. The drug that saved generations of their lives went on to fight a major cause of human suffering.
Back in the 70s a group of researchers were looking for new treatments for parasitic diseases of animals. They isolated a bacterium from near a Japanese golf course which had a powerful effect on worms without harming the host animal.
Continue reading “A heartworm prevention that saves human lives”
