CHILDREN & DOGS - KEEPING EVERYONE SAFE

When it comes to children and dogs, many people say that supervision is essential. But it is critical to understand that supervision alone may not always be the way to prevent a dog bite.

The key to helping prevent a dog bite is being able to recognise when a dog is feeling stressed or threatened. It's important to be able to pick up on the signs and intervene before it's too late.

Everyone needs to know what to look out for and this includes parents, grandparents, friends and the babysitter. No matter how "trustworthy" or safe you think a dog is, it always pays to take care and remember that kids can push dogs to new limits or even unintentionally hurt a dog.

HEARTWORM - MAKE SURE YOUR DOG IS PROTECTED...

Make sure you know the facts about heartworm:
A single bite from a mosquito can be enough to spread this potentially fatal disease. Make sure you don’t put your dog at risk by forgetting monthly treatment.

Don’t risk forgetting monthly heartworm treatments...
Even the best owners can occasionally forget or delay a walk, a meal or even a dose of heartworm medication. Unfortunately, when it comes to heartworm, forgetting may have fatal consequences.
Don’t put your dog at risk.

CAN MY DOG GET DEMENTIA?

Yes! Doggy dementia (also known as Canine Cognitive Dysfunction) has been recognised for some time and has many similarities to Alzheimer's disease in humans.

Some of the signs of the disease can be subtle so you may not even realise your elderly canine is suffering from the disease.

Watch out for:
- Disorientation and confusion
- Lack of or decreased levels of interaction with family members or other pets
- A disturbance in sleep patterns, pacing at night, unable to settle
- Forgetting toilet training
- Reduced activity levels
- Barking for no reason, staring at walls, getting stuck in corners

The Power of a Wee Sample

It's not only blood tests that give us an insight into the health of your pet. Testing your pet's urine is another essential part of good veterinary medicine.

Did you know that a small amount of urine can give us information about your pet's internal health, and rule out problems such as kidney disease and diabetes?

As part of a routine urine test, we usually test how concentrated your pets urine is. This gives us an idea of how well your pet's kidneys are working. We may also test for the presence of blood, look at pH, protein levels and glucose and even spin the urine down to form a sediment to look for bacteria and crystals. Sometimes it is necessary to send your pet's urine to an external laboratory for testing (such as for deciding what antibiotics are appropriate if a bacterial infection is present.)