Ears – Whats Normal and How to Clean Them A healthy canine ear should not require any special treatment or care other than a regular check just to make sure all is well and that there is no irritation, wax, discharge, foul/sour smell, or excessive build up of hair (which can affect certain breeds eg Poodles). […]
Feet: With dogs, problems affecting the feet and nails are pretty common and can range from something as simple as a torn nail or be a symptom of a more general skin disease. Common causes of foot problems are:- 1. Parsitic Problems: Harvest Mite, Demodectic Mange, Hookworms 2. Allergic or Irritant Dermatitis: Dogs who suffer […]
Before you treat any type of bleed/wound, you should always go through the SEEP checklist, to ensure you take all the right steps in the correct order. Treating a bleed relies heavily on things like the application of pressure, and the positioning of the animal’s injured limb as bleeding will slow down it if has […]
Mastitis = inflammation in the mammary gland. Mastitis is usually caused by an infection which has entered via the teat, through a skin wound caused by a puppy, or via the bloodstream. The teat and breast tissue will be warm and may be swollen and tender. If the mastitis is more severe, there may be […]
Puppy Vaccinations: When you get your beautiful new puppy he has some immunity already, passed on through the milk from his mother. However, it is vitally important to protect him before he goes out into the big wide world. The normal sequence of events is:- @ 8 weeks, he will receive his first vaccination @ […]
Sometimes, helping the vet with diagnosing skin problems can be quite a challenge. Because there are lots of possible causes of skin infection, from trauma, to topical allergies, to food allergies, to bites, to autoimmune problems etc etc, it is a good idea to go through some questions yourself before your vet appointment so that if your vet […]
Head shaking and ear mites can affect any dog or cat. You may notice that your dog is shaking his head or perhaps scratching a lot more than usual. This could indicate several things including:- ear mites, foreign body in the ear, an allergy, an infection. Ear mites: Ear mites are common in puppies and […]
Loss of an intact tooth: On very rare occasions, say as the result of rough play, an accident, fight or even just getting caught up in something, complete loss of an intact tooth can occur – although it is fairly unusual in dogs. Should you find yourself in this position and you are able to retrieve […]
Inner Ear Infections: To a dog, his sense of hearing is the second most important of his 5 senses (second only to his sense of smell). Your dog’s ears are incredibly delicate and very important to him. Deafness, although something he can live with, will really affect the way he lives his life so if […]
There are many things that can trigger allergic reactions and hives in our animals – everything from food or medication that doesn’t agree with them, bee stings, wasp stings, nettle rash, vaccinations, flying ants, biting “critters” in the grass or undergrowth and even licking toads! This is what happens when you decide to suck a wasp!!! […]
Today’s tip tackles the steps to take if your dog has been involved in a drowning/water based emergency. Begin by using your DR.ABC assessment method:- D = Danger (Is it safe?) R = Response (Is he responding to you?) A = Airway (Open his Airway, pull his tongue forward & clear his mouth of […]
Coat contamination with whatever chemical or substance should always be taken very seriously. Any product on the coat can easily work its way onto the skin and then absorb through the layers of the dermis and into the blood stream. If this happens, there is the potential for your dog to be poisoned. This is […]
Constipation and straining can have many different causes but some of the more usual reasons for it are:- * Change of diet or normal toileting routine * Obesity or general lack of exercise * Spinal, joint or mobility problems making a squatting position painful * Impacted dry faeces * Impacted bony material * High percentage […]
Upset Tummy: You know what dogs are like, very often it’s a case of “if its not nailed down, they’ll have a go at eating it!” and invariably, some of the things they eat are not always very agreeable to their digestion. Vomiting and diarrhoea are often the outcome but, confusingly, these symptoms can be […]
When people think about canine first aid, they tend to think about things like how to do CPR and artificial respiration – the “big ones”, if you will. In actual fact, probably the most serious and potentially life threatening situation you need to be able to spot and treat is shock. In a nutshell, […]
Parvovirus is a word that strikes fear into the heart of every dog owner, but many people don’t actually know how to recognise the signs, how it is spread or what to do if you think your dog may have contracted it. So, here’s a brief overview to help make sense of what is […]
Foreign Bodies – Eye: If a dog has runny/watery eyes, is pawing at the eye or rubbing his head on the ground, it might be that there is something in the eye – be that dust, debris, a grass seed or some other type of foreign body. I have even seen a tick attached to the […]
(Continued from yesterday’s blog re grass seeds and foreign bodies) today we look at Foreign Bodies – Ears During dry weather, it is always a good idea to check a dog’s body, between his toes and also in his ears for plant seeds after each walk. Visible seeds can be removed with tweezers though its important […]
As spring takes hold and moves towards the summer, the plants start to grow again and belting through long grasses and shrubbery can pose an occupational hazard for a dog where foreign bodies (FBs) are concerned. FB’s such as grass seeds can often be found having entered the ears, nose, eyes, vulva or skin and especially the […]
Ticks come in lots of different colours and sizes; from grey, pink, red, brown and black, and right through from the size of a pin-head to a big fat juicy rice-crispy. They are carried on things like sheep and deer and drop off into the grass and undergrowth so that when an animal passes through, […]