Today I received a message from one of our followers asking me to do a blog as a reminder about safely storing medication. She wrote that “one of my clients this week had to take their puppy to the vets because she got hold of a packet of lbuprofen. She spent the night at the […]
Chemical burns come in all sorts of guises – from our dogs sticking their noses into substances in the garage or garden shed, finding “dumped” chemicals in the undergrowth on our walks, on their paws if they walk through a spilt liquid on the floor or road or may be even with something as seemingly innocent as walking […]
I often get asked if there are any pain killers we can give to dogs if they injure themselves – for example if they suffer a sprain or strain. Many people get confused about what we can and cannot give to dogs – and rightly so. There are many drugs that are perfectly fine for humans to […]
Poisoning is scary and it’s serious. There are five entry routes by which a poison can enter your dog’s system: * Ingested (swallowed) It might be that the poison is physically eaten by the dog or perhaps it was on his coat and he has licked himself to clean it off and swallowed it in […]
Causes of Excessive Dog Drooling As the owner of a very “drooly” dog, I can tell you for sure that ALL dogs drool (its just that some do it a hell of a lot more than others and some take it to a whole new level!) Usually with the prospect of food, the flood gates open […]
There’s not much of a worse insult than the term “dog breath”, but your dog really shouldn’t have bad breath just because he’s a dog. Bad breath may be a sign of many different problems from tooth decay, gum disease, an upset stomach or perhaps its just that he has consumed something far from palatable to humans […]
Diarrhoea After Eating: Usually, when your dog gets an upset stomach or a “runny bum” it’s down to them eating something undesirable that they’ve managed to find on a walk, picking up a bug of some sort or it may be that they’ve eaten something new that doesn’t quite agree with them. Often, when we try to change our […]
Vaginal Discharge & Pyometra: Vaginal discharge is not actually a condition in itself, but rather the indication that something is wrong with either the reproductive tract or the urinary tract. There are many possible causes for this problem: Uterine Problems: * Uterine infection called pyometra – in bitches who have not been spayed. (this is […]
Facial Paralysis: Oh My Goodness! My dog has a droopy face on one side, whatever can have happened? Scary right? Sometimes, you may notice that your dog’s face is droopy on one side – perhaps he can’t blink properly or maybe one of his lips is saggy. There may be excess drooling from that side and […]
The most recent information suggests that there might well be a link between Harvest Mites and SCI (Seasonal Canine Illness). With that in mind, I thought we’d take a look at what they are and what to do about them. Harvest Mites (known as chiggers or berry bugs) appear, as the name suggests, around harvest […]
Conjunctivitis can be caused by several different things including:- * allergies, * irritation (dust or smoke), * foreign bodies like grass seeds, * hairs or eyelashes facing the wrong way and poking inwards, * infections * poor tear production. Symptoms * most common symptom is redness of the eye, * may also be discharge weeping from the eye […]
When we refer to a Stroke in dogs, this is not actually the same as what we understand as a stroke in humans – it’s just a kind of shorthand that vets sometimes use to help us understand. In actual fact, it is Vestibular Syndrome, which is caused by damage to the inner ear or […]
Currently in the UK we are experiencing a high influx of jellyfish (and therefore jellyfish stings ) to our coastline. Although the majority are not dangerous, some are, so here’s our guide to jellyfish treatment – for both ourselves as well as our dogs. Before we go any further, the advice below in no way […]
Before reading this article, please: DO NOT ATTEMP THIS PROCEDURE WITHOUT PROPER SUPERVISION FROM A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL AS DOING SO COULD CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY. All dogs have anal glands. They are scent glands under the skin on each side of the dog’s anal area (at about the 4 and 8 o’clock positions). The openings to these […]
I confess that until recently, Id only ever heard rumours about Water Intoxication but of late, and especially due to the hot weather, this is something that has come to my attention a couple of times (once in a really good, straight forward blog by JoAnna Lou of TheBark.com) so I thought it worth chatting about, […]
There are many different causes for nasal discharge or sneezing in our furry friends and it seems that longer-nosed dogs are more likely to suffer than their shorter-nosed counterparts. The more common ones would be foreign bodies, allergic reactions, kennel cough viruses, fungal infections and, sadly, nasal tumours. Occasionally, severe dental infections can cause a nasal discharge […]
In my local area I have recently been made aware of at least 3 instances where dogs have ingested rat poison – sadly, one of those dogs didn’t make it. Since then, another of my friends has found rat poison dumped in the garden after their neighbours took exception to the dogs barking. So, firstly, would you […]
Vomiting, shaking, anxiety and drooling can be as a result of car travel or nervousness, and this is very common indeed in puppies – with my boy Axl having just sired a litter, Im in constant contact with our new puppy owners and this is something that all of them, my puppy Chi included, have suffered […]
Ive been asked several times recently about Colloidal Silver; what it is, how it works, what you can use it for etc. It is gaining quite a bit of a reputation and, due to the enormous list of uses, illnesses, bacteria etc that it is reputed to help, this topic deserves a section all to […]
In a nutshell, heatstroke occurs when a dog is subjected atmospherically to high temperatures so that might be where a dog cannot get out of the heat, for example if they are left in a car in warm weather – or perhaps if you have a “sun-worshiper” who just loves to be out baking his brain in […]