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.)

The Magic of a Blood Test

Blood tests can give us a wealth of information about the health of your pet. They provide an insight into the health of many organs, help detect disease and can also confirm if your pet is safe to undergo anaesthesia.

From a blood test, we can work out if your pet is dehydrated, has underlying kidney disease or liver changes, and assess your pet's red and white blood cells. All of this helps improve the level of care we can provide to your pet.

So, what actually happens when we take blood from your pet?