142 North East Road, Walkerville. Ph (08) 8344 2000
Over the past five years, I have watched lick mats become one of the standard tools for treating anxiety and boredom in dogs and cats. That’s especially true for the branded version LickiMat®.
They are a great help, and I’m not going to tell you not to use them. But I want you to be careful.
Continue reading “Are Lick Mats Actually Good For Dogs & Cats?”
If you have an itchy dog, then you know how hard it can be. What would you say then if you were told that one of the most effective treatments is sometimes not offered to you? Or that other times it should never have been used.
Prednisolone is a problematic drug, and I understand why vets avoid it, but sometimes it’s just what’s needed. Amber, who’s pictured above is a perfect example.
Continue reading “Should My Itchy Dog Get Prednisolone?”
Sometimes in quieter moments, the past weighs heavily on me. What makes being a vet great is also what makes it so tough. It’s also one of the main reasons why so many young vets walk away from the job. Being a vet means being responsible for a patient’s care in a way that perhaps only your GP will understand.
Continue reading “When Vets Make Mistakes”
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
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.
‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ Quick Care Guide
‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ Rapid Care
We’re so excited that one of our patients has a pacemaker that we can’t stop talking about it.
Jack came to us a few months ago with a history of falling over at home. From the moment of his first examination it was clear there was something very wrong with his cardiac rhythm. A good heart creates a rhythm you can dance to but this beat would empty the dance floor.
Continue reading “Jack gets a pacemaker”
This is Micki. He’s so happy and active that this is the best photo we could take. But he wasn’t always so perky. Last year he started having seizures and his very concerned owner brought him to us. There was nothing remarkable found on his physical exam, so we took blood for haematology and biochemistry, as we always do when dogs are having seizures.
Continue reading “How Micki’s seizures were fixed by a new diet”
‘At A Glance (Details Below)’ Emergency Care
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.
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.
One month ago Toby came to us for what he may have thought would be his routine annual check up. “Just an unwelcome poke and a jab and I’ll be back on the lounge where I should be.” He was wrong. His story is a common one and illustrates how owners who are diligent can turn ‘just a vaccination’ into a life-saving moment.
Continue reading “Case study: Toby’s deadly secret”