Antifreeze is different from De-Icer which is different from screenwash. There are many DIY recipes for making Screenwash, but the following is the one my elderly uncle uses and recommends (I would suggest doing a bit of research and seeing which version suits you best): 1) 1 Tablespoon of dishwashing liquid (Fairy by preference which […]
Purging & Toxic Plants – so to start with, exactly WHAT IS purging? Well, according to the boffins who write the dictionaries, purging is:- a. To free from impurities; purify. b. To remove (impurities and other elements) by evacuation (of the bowels) or to vomit. . I have looked at purging in another guise in the […]
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 […]
Swallowing things they shouldn’t – and things “hanging out” the other end! Dogs do tend to wolf down anything and everything – and not all the things they try to consume are good for them! Sometimes they manage to swallow the most inappropriate of things ranging from socks and pants, through to needles and thread […]
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 […]
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 […]
At this time of the year especially, we often see something in our lakes, ponds and rivers called Blue-Green Algae (though sometimes, rather confusingly, it can appear red, black or even a murky brown colour!) I know lots of you will have heard of it, but what exactly is it and what dangers does it […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
STRAINS & SPRAINS – As with humans, a strain or sprain (for example as the result of a twisted ankle after a trip or fall, or shoulder muscle strain due to landing badly when jumping and playing) needs rest. The little memory technique for treating a strain or sprain is RICE R= REST Crate rest […]