Informational Videos
We encourage you to check out our video selection below to learn more about your pet’s health. Our team firmly believes that an educated pet owner is better equipped to provide excellent care for their pet, and we want to give all of our clients the tools they need to succeed. As always, if you have questions about your pet’s health or concerns about their needs, please contact our team.
The Risk of Heat Stroke In Dogs Q&A
What Is A Heat Stroke In Dogs?
A heat stroke occurs when a pet suffers severe hyperthermia, or their body temperature rises to a dangerous level. Normally your pet’s temperature is very close to 101.5 degrees. If your pet is suffering from hyperthermia the body temperature can be as low as 103 degrees but typically reaches 105 degrees.
What Are The Dangers of A Heat Stroke To My Dog?
A heat stroke, if left untreated, can affect every organ system in your pet. The organ systems can shut down and your dog could have extreme breathing difficulties. It can be a life-threatening situation very quickly.
What Causes A Heat Stroke?
A dog can experience a heat stroke when being outside too long on very hot days or being left in a car. If a pet has no shade or water during hot days, this can also lead to a heat stroke. Be careful on days that aren’t as hot but are humid, and when the weather first starts warming up and pets aren’t used to the heat, because this can also cause a heat stroke.
What Do I Do If I Suspect My Dog Has Suffered A Heat Stroke?
If you think your dog is suffering from heat stroke, get them out of the heat and into a cooler place immediately. Take their temperature rectally if you can. If it is over 103 degrees, they have probably suffered a heat stroke. Watch for vomiting and foaming at the mouth, diarrhea and difficulty breathing. Place your dog in a cool bath, making sure to put their paws and belly in the bath, and sprinkle cool water onto their ear flaps. Place a fan blowing on your pet while they are wet to help cool them. TAKE YOUR PET TO THE VETERINARIAN FOR EMERGENCY CARE. Pets that suffer heatstroke and go untreated are highly likely to have some sort of organ failure, even days after suffering the heat stroke.
Are There Certain Dog Breeds That Are More Likely To Have A Heat Stroke?
Any breed of dog can suffer from heat stroke, but you have to be very careful with any short snout dogs, called brachycephalics. For example, Boston Terriers, Boxers, Pugs, French Bull Dogs, Bull Dogs, and any other short snouted dogs are more susceptible to a heat stroke.
Leptospirosis Q&A
What Is Leptospirosis?
Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease, which means it can be passed from pets and other animals to people. It is caused by a bacteria and causes severe liver and kidney problems.
How Can Pets Get Leptospirosis?
Pets can get leptospirosis by drinking water that is contaminated by bacteria, usually stemming from the urine of an infected animal. Leptospirosis can be consumed but it can also be transmitted through the eyes and nose of animals and pets.
How Is Leptospirosis Prevented?
The best way to prevent leptospirosis is to have your pets vaccinated against the disease. This is an annual vaccine that must be boostered the first time it is given. Leptospirosis is very contagious, so it is important to protect your pets by getting them vaccinated for it.
How Is Leptospirosis Treated?
Leptospirosis is treated with antibiotics but in most cases pets that have it must be hospitalized to receive fluid treatment.
What You Need to Know About Pyometra In Female Dogs Q&A
What Is Pyometra?
Pyometra is an infection that occurs in the uterus of unspayed female dogs. It causes them to become very sick and it is life threatening.
When Does Pyometra Occur?
Pyometra typically occurs a couple of weeks to a couple of months after a female dog has her heat cycle.
What Are The Symptoms of Pyometra?
Signs of pyometra include lethargy (your dog wanting to lie around and not be active), loss of appetite, frequent drinking, and frequent urinating. Your dog will want to drink and urinate frequently because the body wants to get rid of the puss and infection that has accumulated in their uterus.
What Should I do if I Suspect My Dog Has Pyometra?
If your dog has pyometra it is an emergency situation, and they need to be seen by a veterinarian as soon as possible. Your veterinarian will likely run bloodwork and use x-ray and ultrasound on your dog to see if there is an infection and how bad it is. Once the pyometra is diagnosed the only treatment is emergency surgery to remove the ovaries and the uterus.
How Do You Prevent Pyometra?
The best way to prevent pyometra is to have your dog spayed.
Puppy Vaccination Q&A
Why should I vaccinate my puppy?
Vaccinations help prevent diseases that are found in nature, brought in by insects, or brought in by contact with other pets. Some of these diseases can be very serious and even fatal in some instances.
When should I start vaccinating my puppy?
We like to begin vaccinations at six to eight weeks old. We do a series of vaccines, typically three to four weeks apart, and we conclude around 16 weeks of age.
Why can’t you give them all of their vaccinations at once?
We do multiple puppy vaccines to make sure your puppy’s immunity has had an anamnestic response, which is the booster from seeing it the first time to a higher peak the second time. We want to make sure they get a peak plateau of immunity.
Can I take my puppy outside before the vaccination series is complete?
We want to make sure that we do not allow any exposure to other people’s pets without knowing their medical history and try to avoid areas where other pets go. It’s good to have social interaction, but we recommend bringing them into a confined area where we don’t have the ability to potentially contract anything. We try to minimize the risks as fully as possible.
Are there any side effects to the vaccines?
The expected side effects of vaccines are soreness in the injection site and lethargy the day of or the day after. Any swelling, vomiting, diarrhea, etc., should be made aware to your vet.
Kitten Vaccination Q&A
When should I start vaccinating my kitten?
We typically like to start vaccinating kittens at six to eight weeks old. We do vaccines every three to four weeks until they reach 16 weeks of age.
Why can’t you give them all of their vaccinations at once?
We’re looking for the window when they stop depending on their mother’s immunity and start building up their own. Kittens need to have multiple exposures to most of these vaccines during that period of time to get a peak anamnestic, or immunity, response.
What vaccines are given to kittens?
We recommend all kittens receive a feline distemper vaccine and feline leukemia vaccine. The feline leukemia vaccine is one that we recommend for the first vaccine protocol for kittens. And then, if they’re going to be indoors and outdoors past that first year or have exposure to indoor and outdoor cats, we like to continue that vaccination.
We like to make sure that kittens receive their first dose of the feline leukemia vaccine so that they don’t have as much exposure risk and they have some baseline immunity to it. We also test them to make sure they don’t have feline leukemia prior to administration.
Are there any side effects to the vaccines?
Typically the only after-effects of these vaccines are sleepiness the day of or the day after. And we like to make sure that we don’t have any swelling, vomiting, or diarrhea after the fact.
Do I need to bring anything to my kitten’s vaccination appointment?
We ask that you bring a fresh stool sample. Parasite evaluation is best done with a fresh fecal sample. You can bring the sample in a Ziploc bag (it’s OK if there is some litter on it). That way, we don’t have to go in and collect a stool sample ourselves.
Microchipping Q&A
Why should I microchip my pet?
Microchipping your pet at a young age ensures they’re not getting out, running away, or being taken.
What is a microchip?
A microchip is approximately the diameter of a grain of rice and is inserted between your pet’s shoulder blades. As soon as the microchip is inserted, we start the identification process. We ensure they’re registered with your information, and your pet is protected in a national database for the rest of its life.
Cat Crib Q&A
What is a Cat Crib?
Cat cribs are our treatment area exclusively for cats. The enclosures have a glass front, allowing our patients to see through without feeling as though they’re in the zoo, so to speak, with the caging. It’s also very cat-specific, meaning we see any pets other than our feline patients here. If you look, we also have certain things that are appropriate for felines to calm the area down.
What are the benefits of a cat-exclusive area?
Cats, when they travel, typically tend to be quite stressed, which is, unfortunately, a reason why we don’t get to see them as often because they’re difficult to get to come in. We use a plug-in diffuser and a pheromone spray that provides the opportunity for the cats to feel a calming sense in the area that they’re in. So again, it provides a fear-free opportunity for our patients while they’re here.
How often should I bring my cat to the vet?
We want to make sure we’re seeing your feline family member at least annually and preferably every six months. We typically do certain wellness vaccines, etc., annually; as they get older, sometimes it’s stretched out up to three years in the time span. We don’t want to wait that long to have a chance to look at your cat family member.
Otitus Externa (Ear Infection) Q&A
Why Does My Dog Get Ear Infections?
It is very common for dogs to get ear infections, also known as “Otitus Externa”. Dogs have horizontal ear canals that tend to hold and trap water inside. This makes their ear canals more susceptible to ear infections. These ear infections can also be secondary to allergies.
What Types of Ear Infections Can My Dog Get?
Dogs can get both bacteria and yeast infections in their ears. This is why it is important to take your dog to their veterinarian for treatment of any ear problems or discomfort so that they can make sure your dog is getting the most effective treatment for their ear problems.
How Do I Treat My Dog’s Ear Infection?
Taking your dog to the veterinarian is the first step. Once there, the veterinarian can perform an ear cytology. This is a test where the veterinarian or technician will swab a sample from your dog’s ear canal and examine the findings under a microscope to see what type of infection your dog has. These samples can also be sent off to a special lab for further examination. Once the veterinarian knows what type of infection your dog has, they can prescribe the proper treatment, as well as thoroughly clean the ears. Your veterinarian can also recommend steps you can do at home to prevent future ear infections.
What Are Some Signs That My Dog Might Have An Ear Infection?
If your dog’s ears are red and look irritated, and/or they have a discharge coming from them, it is a good idea to have them checked for an ear infection. Also, if your dog is shaking their head or scratching at their ears, these are both signs of a possible ear infection.