Head injuries in dogs can be caused in a number of ways from road traffic accidents, falls from a height say from a cliff top, collisions perhaps during normal play or flyball activities or even infections which cause the brain to swell up. As you’d imagine, any head injury should be treated very carefully […]
Cold Burns: There are 5 main categories of burn that we need to be aware of, not just the ones caused by flames or hot cups of tea and in fact, some burns are caused by the opposite of heat! The 5 include: Hot Cold Chemical Friction Electrical As we in the UK are currently […]
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 […]
Limp or Limber Tail: If your dog suddenly appears to have a hanging, droopy tail, all types of causes for the way he is holding his tail should be considered such as has he injured his back or his spine in any way? Could he have injured his tail with rough and tumble when playing? Did […]
After an accident where there has been significant trauma, say like a road traffic collision or fall from a height, or perhaps when our dog has a serious disease or infection, internal bleeding can develop. When we see blood from a wound, we know instinctively that we need to stop the bleeding as quickly as […]
Ears – Basic 1st Aid for …… Constant shaking/scratching * Examine the ear opening by lifting the ear flap and looking inside. * Provided it is near the very top of the ear canal, if you are able to see an obvious foreign body, you can remove this yourself gently with your fingers. If you must […]
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 […]
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 […]
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!!! […]
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, […]
Bee & Wasp Stings – In the summer and early autumn, stings from bees and wasps are an occupational hazard for a dog. Because they like to roam about investigating the undergrowth and hedgerows whenever they can, I suppose it’s inevitable that they’ll come across the odd sting or two. Maybe you might notice […]
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 […]
Arthritis We use the term a lot, but what exactly is arthritis? Well the first thing to say is that it is not a single disease – it is a term that covers over 100 medical conditions. If you have trouble moving around or feel pain and stiffness in your body, you could have arthritis and the […]
Hind Leg Lameness: To try to ascertain if there is hind leg lameness, the dog should be trotted slowly away from the observer. The dog favours the sore leg by taking less weight on it. The impression given is that the hindquarter on the GOOD side moves down more – the dog seems to fall […]
Lameness Lameness is usually caused by pain but non-painful lameness may also occur. Two examples of non-painful lamenesses are “mechanical lameness” where limb movement is restricted but pain-free, and neurological lameness which usually means paralaysis of a limb or part of a limb. Apart from non-painful lameness, anything which hurts the dog will cause it […]