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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Is Eating Grass Normal? . . Three times recently I have been directly asked or overheard a conversation about this issue and then, totally by chance, I read a really interesting little snippet which sums it up beautifully. This little chapter comes from Andrew Gardiner’s First Aid for Dogs book – An Owner’s Veterinary Guide […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Recognising different categories of wounds and bleeding . . Although its not at all important for the average dog owner to know the medical terminology for the various categories of wounds and bleeds, knowing how to differentiate between the the different types of wounds will help you decide how best to dress/treat a wound. For instance with […]
Cold Weather Warnings – I’ve been asked today to put a few tips together regarding the cold weather and dangers this presents so here’s a few thoughts on the subject: Grit/Salt on the roads When its icy and snowy the ground becomes very dangerous and to combat that our local councils tend to scatter grit/salt […]
Canine Acne you say?? Really?? Yes, dogs do get “zits”!!!!! – This condition causes abnormalities in the hair follicles especially around the chin and muzzle. Larger, short coated breeds are affected most often eg Great Dane, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Boxer, Doberman, Rottweiler etc. Acne is seen first in young adult animals. (BOTH my Ridgebacks suffered mildly […]
Demodectic Mange is caused by the Demodex Mite that ALL dogs have and lives in the hair follicles in the skin. These mites are transferred to them as puppies from their mother when suckling. Usually, because their numbers are small, they cause no problems but in some cases (possibly when associated with a hereditary or immune problem) […]
Nosebleeds When dogs have nosebleeds, they usually occur as a result of trauma while running/playing or can sometimes happen after violent sneezing or even if they have got something lodged up a nostril. Dogs can have nose bleeds just like we do. The best action is to try to keep the dog as quiet as possible […]
Moving a Canine spinal trauma patient . . A spinal injury can occur in all sorts of ways from a very unfortunate accident during normal play, to an awkward fall or perhaps a road traffic accident. Although he may have a loss of sensation, it is to be expected that most dogs who have experienced spinal […]
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 […]
Choking & the Heimlich procedure If your dog is choking, first try to see if you can sweep the mouth (without getting bitten!) and remove the object. If you can see the object, please try to put two fingers over the hump at the back of the tongue and “sweep” round and forward to get […]
Hip Dysplasia Symptoms vary depending on severity – usually in young dogs in which bones are still growing (up to about a year old) or in older dogs which have developed signs of arthritis in the hip joints. The older dogs have always had HD but the condition has remained “silent” until arthritis eventually begins […]