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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
Eclampsia (often known as milk fever) is a serious disease caused by calcium deficiency which may occur in late pregnancy or, more usually, after the puppies are born, when the milk production is at its peak. It is more common amongst smaller bitches who are nursing large litters or bitches who are feeding big, healthy, […]
There are lots of places a dog could get a burn from, and several different types of burn too, from hot burns (caused by coming into contact with anything hot including flames, boiling water and even the sun), cold burns (usually ice or frozen metal), chemical burns (from anything that can get either onto the […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Rhodes 2 Safety Quiz Q4: Your dog squeezes himself through a tiny gap between a fence and the side of a garage while “investigating”. He catches his foreleg on a sharp edge sticking out from the fence and puts a degloved injury in his leg (a degloved injury is one in which the flesh […]
Rhodes 2 Safety Quiz Question 3 (Q3) It’s a warm summer’s evening in August. You’ve had the back door open and the dogs have been able to trot in and out as they like. You look at your dog about 9pm and notice that he looks a little odd. His eyes have begun to puff […]
Today’s Question is:- It’s February. Your dog gets into difficulty in the water. He manages to pull himself onto the bank but then seems unresponsive. What do you do? Im looking for at least 5 actions you would take in this situation. * For small breed dogs, hold him upside down just above the […]
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 […]
Meningitis In Dogs Today’s blog comes out of a situation experienced by a good friend of mine and her dog over the past six months. I say six months because this is how long it has taken for a fair few very experienced veterinary professionals to finally get to the bottom of this problem and […]
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 […]