Positions to Practice – I was asked on one of our canine courses recently about the best position to be in when you check inside your dog’s mouth. One of my main suggestions is that you should practice the various positions you intend to use to examine your dog to get him used to it and thus preventing him […]
Checking your dog’s mouth – For most first aid procedures we need to do, we need to be able to examine our dog thoroughly and there’s a good chance that he may be in pain, frightened or disorientated. For this reason, it’s a good idea to teach your dog to acceptance a muzzle, just in case you ever need to […]
Locating an Emergency Vet – NOW!!! It’s vital to have your usual vet’s telephone number in your ‘phone so it’s right at your finger tips if you need it. Check with your vet to make sure they have provision for accidents or emergencies that occur out of usual office hours. If your vet DOES NOT […]
Snakebites – The Common Adder, or Viper, is the only venomous snake in the British Isles. Most Adder encounters happen during their active season which is between March and October. They have a dark “zig-zag” stripe along the back and their background colour varies from grey or white in the male, right through to shades of brown or […]
Poisoning First Aid Treatment for Poisoning by Toads & Caterpillars Some species of toad secrete a toxic substance on their skin. This passes into the mouth of any dog that picks up the toad to play with it. Certain types of longhaired caterpillar can also produce similar irritants and even anaphylactic reactions in severe cases […]
Snagged Broken Nails – Because dogs like to tear around when they play, they do sometimes catch the odd claw on the ground or on loose surfaces – particularly their dew claws. This can be really very painful indeed and even though you may THINK you’re helping, if ever there was a time you are likely […]
Nails – (if you are on Facebook, check out the group Nail Maintenance for Dogs for some brilliant advice) Have you ever looked closely at a doggy toe nail? It’s got the shiny outer shell bit and running along the inside cavity of the nail is the blood supply called the kwik. The ideal length […]
If you have a breed with a lovely long, waggy tail, you may well have encountered the nightmare that is a split tail tip or “Happy Tail”. Usually, as a result of some seriously exuberent wagging, the tail may come into contact with a stationary object such as the door frame or wall and […]
Bleeding Ear Tips – This morning while on our walk I was wondering what I would put in today’s blog. Axl, my trustee Rhodesian Ridgeback side-kick, must have been reading my thoughts because no sooner had the thought crossed my mind, than he came up with the answer for me. Now that he’s an “agility […]
Hypoglycaemic Collapse – Insulin is produced naturally in the body to control and regulate the amount of sugar in the blood. Dogs who suffer with diabetes AND those dogs who are worked very hard such as gundogs, working huskies, agility and flyball competitors etc, use up their calorific reserves quickly and if not replenished, this can result in […]
Heatstroke Hyperthermic Collapse – Hyper is latin and means high, above or over. It is not to be confused with conditions who’s names start with Hypo (Hypo means exactly the opposite, ie low, below or under) Today’s tip is about Hyperthermic Collapse (collapse due to the dog having a very high temperature or being subjected atmospherically […]
A prolapse of the eyeball can occur in breeds such as the Pekinese and the Chihuahua with large protruding eyes. As a result of injury the eye may displace forward and the eyelids partly close behind it. An injury of this nature usually occurs after a fight with a larger dog but it can occur […]
Severe Injury to the eye – Again, with such a serious eye injury it is vitally important that we access professional veterinary help as soon as possible. Please be aware that the dog will be in severe discomfort so application of a muzzle may well be appropriate. If the object that has hit the dog […]
Does my dog have cateracts? Many dog owners of older dogs think their pet has developed cataracts because they notice that the lens of the eye has taken on a greyish bluish colour at its centre. Any such changes in the eye should ALWAYS be checked out by the Vet but, in fact, in the […]
Today’s K9 Quiz Q5 is the last in this section So how did you do? Hopefully, you all did really well but, if you didn’t, maybe this week of scenarios might galvanize you into finding out a bit more or preparing yourselves better JUST IN CASE. Next week we will be back to Tips of […]
This week is Quiz Week – I did this a few months ago and it went down very well so thought we’d have another go at it this week. Ill pop a question each day for you to think about and the following day will put up the appropriate answers. Today’s Rhodes 2 Safety Q1 […]
Pulse Rates – Whenever your dog is sick, we always suggest that you take his pulse to get an idea of how sick he really may be. There are 2 things about this that are worth mentioning: Firstly, do you know WHERE to find your dog’s pulse? The easiest place is directly over the heart, […]
BLOAT – Also known as Torsion or GDV – A condition most frequent in, but not restricted to, large and giant breeds. The stomach fills with gas and rather than expelling it as normal, the gut twists and flips over on itself cutting off the blood supply and results in the tissue dying, often with fatal […]
Kennel Cough is a highly infectious disease. It is caused by a mixture of bacteria/viruses all at the same time. It can be picked up from anywhere dogs congretate such as dog shows, training classes, grooming parlours and even vet surgeries and not merely in boarding/rescue kennels as the name would imply. The disease is transmitted […]
Treatment for wounds and bleeding – 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 […]