Festive Furbabies

With twinkling tinsel, dancing Santa’s and the endless loops of Jingle Bells and George Michael playing over the loud speakers it quite clear that it is the Festive Season once again. While we as a community don’t achieve the same level of tinsel euphoria as the Europeans do it is still something quite special and a wonderful time of year.

With the rand performing at its weakest and the cost of living soaring through the ceiling we are all feeling a bit off about this year’s Festive Season. In these times of difficulty it is a challenge for parents to find a gift that is both cheap and will provide the joy you wish to see in your loved-one’s eyes. There is little that has the same effect as a puppy or a kitten, especially since you may purchase one of these for less than a pair of shoes.

Please be careful. It is imperative that potential owners understand the level of commitment that is required to raise a puppy or a kitten. Yes it will bring giggles of joy and a wonderfully warm feeling to your home however once the initial flourish of enjoyment is over, that animal will still be there. She will still require your love and your effort. Not to mention parts of your pay check to keep her healthy.

There is an exponential growth in the number of families that are first time owners. This is partly due to relaxations in our cultural and social beliefs.  Always remember: You have your family and friends. You have work colleagues and acquaintances all day, every day. Your new puppy has only one family. She has no plan B, she has absolutely no one else. You have an immense moral responsibility towards her.

If you are planning on getting a puppy or kitten this Festive Season then we wish you all the best. Just remember to keep her homed, keep her healthy and keep her happy.

Check out this article of interest:

https://arkanimalcentre.wordpress.com/2012/12/11/cute-puppy-for-christmas/

Firecrackers and your Furry Family

Diwali is almost here. The culturally in-depth “Festival of Light” is an amazing sight in the city of Pietermartizburg with hundreds, if not thousands, of brilliantly bright fireworks shooting off into the nights sky. One of the many reasons we love the Garden City is for the incredibly diverse cultural and demographical spectrum that has us celebrating all kinds of wonderful festivals.

We here at Longmarket Vet Clinic want to help out with a little advice to all of our clients and readers on how you could make the festival more bearable for your pets. We came across this poster on facebook on the Lost-Found-Need-a-Home-Maritzburg which has some great pointers. They are physical controls that will help your furry family settle in for the night.

We always promote effective behavioral controls over medication. However, if you know that your pet is particularly excitable and may become stressed to a point where they injury themselves, then we suggest popping into the practice for some advice on the different kinds of calming medication available.

Here is a wonderful article on Diwali and what it represents:

http://hinduism.about.com/od/diwalifestivaloflights/a/diwali.htm

Faults with Flubber

It is tough.  We know it is tough. Here is the scenario: You have just finished off your steak dinner and with a tummy full of happiness you spot your fur-baby there, in the corner, with those big sappy eyes full of love and longing. “Ag, it’s just a piece of steak” as you paw a little bit off for them to nibble on. The next morning it is a pouch of soft food and perhaps just a little bit of your toast. Lunch time they get a few small snacks and again, a little extra nibble from your toastie. This goes on as habits do and the next thing you know is that your Labrador has turned into an overweight, flabby Labra-bore tank. Yes, yes: We know he looks happy but Owners need to understand the dangers of your pet being overweight. It affects them in much the same way it affects us.

During the month of October Hills is running an Obesity Awareness Campaign and, with the involvement of many veterinarian practices, they are offering free weight in’s. Hills will assist you with tracking and improving your pets body fat percentage with the tips and tools available on their website.

Check out this link for more information:

http://www.petslimmer.co.za/

Longmarket Vet Clinic is actively involved, as we always are J

Stressing About Heat Stroke

Somebody left the oven on! It is incredible how quickly our heaters were packed away and the fans have been pulled out from their hibernation. It has gone from an average temperature of 15 degrees to 25 in less than one month and being in the center of Pietermaritzburg in an area notoriously known as “The Basin” we are feeling it! This, for us, means time in the pool and lovely long sunny days. However, for your pet this may cause major problems. I have met many clients whom believe heat stress and heat stroke are conditions unique to us as humans however  it is, in fact, far more of a concern for our canine companions.

We came across this great little poster, designed by facility students at the Murdoch University in Perth, which covers the basics on the identification and treatment of heat stroke as well as a few tips on how to prevent it entirely.

For the full resolution click here: 

http://www.crookwellvet.com.au/Portals/crookwellvet/Heat%20stroke%20poster.jpg

Spay/ Neuter your Pets

We often have Owners ask us what our opinion is on spaying/ neutering their animal.  Yes, yes and yes again. Apart from the very obvious fact that your animal won’t be able to reproduce there are so many positive spin offs from having your pet fixed. We came across this fantastic little illustration on the web:

There is a fallacy out there that a female should have at least one litter and that that a male will explode with fat if their reproductive organs are removed which is, simply put, complete nonsense. Our SPCA is overflowing with beautiful candidates for you and your family with many of these having to be put down due to lack of interest. We shouldn’t be adding to the problem by allowing our pets to breed unnecessarily. Check out SPCA 's facebook page by clinking on the link.

Neuter your pets, it’s the right thing to do.

Hit by Car

Receiving an afterhours call is rarely good news. My last call out was terrible news of an elderly man that had driven over his own dog when he was pulling in from work. This cute medium sized cross breed through blind excitement got too close to the car and was dragged in under the wheel. It is one of the most unfortunate situations I deal with because neither the owner nor the dog actually did anything wrong. It was just bad timing. More often than not the Hit by Car cases we see are older dogs that are often partially blind, deaf or arthritic which obviously increases the risk of them being run over. So what can you do?

Proactive Measures:

·         Train your dogs from an early age that it is not rewarding for them to bolt up the driveway at you head on. Do not reinforce this behaviour.

·         Even through your vigilant training, most dogs will still make the mistake from time to time. Who can blame them really? They are just happy you are home. Drive in slowly.

·         Do not assume your furry friend will avoid the wheels. In that excited state, especially in groups, your buddy is not thinking about the dangers.

·         If your animal is old please understand that they cannot move as quickly as they did before and may not respond with the same alertness as you are used to. We all will age, so give the old guy a chance to move out of the way at his own pace.

Reactive Measures:

·         Let’s imagine the worst has happened. First things first it is important for you to understand that even the most gentle and calm creature can turn violent when they are in pain.

·         Assess him/ her for any open wounds. Those wounds should be bandaged up to assist in slowing down the blood loss.

·         Head straight to your Vet. I can’t explain to you how frustrating it is when we come across an animal, often hours or even days later, which could have had a better prognosis if only the Owner had reacted soon enough. Internal bleeding, broken bones and hernias are not always noticeable.

One last bit of advice: Not all veterinarian practices offer an afterhours emergency contact service so please make sure you have the details of the practices that do.

Dominating Dog Fights

So I get this phone call last night from my Dad to tell me my Mom has been bitten by one of our dogs. Naturally, I got worried and scared that it might be something serious but all that heart felt and sincere concern I went ice cold when I heard why. My parents have this beautiful big old boy Alsatian that is getting on in life now. His decline is youthful exuberance has sparked a resurgence in the cheekiness of their Jack Russell cross. So, as nature intended, the two dogs had a fight for King of the Castle. My mother, without considering the situation, prods her hand in between them to separate the fight. Now while I still feel genuine concern for bite wounds I also feel like saying “Well, I told you so!”. Never, ever, try break up a fight with your hands. In the heat of the moment your quiet little munchkin is not thinking about what it bites – it just bites everything. While neutering your animals does have a large effect of their natural instinct to dominate this may not solve it entirely. We also understand that simply standing back and watching the gruesome show is not an option so what can you do? I found this article on line that has some very good pointers: 

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=1009

Boney Bits are Bad

Trying to convince my husband that the bone from his recently demolished Eisbein should not be fed to Bakkies (our Jack Russell) is a painful process. They both look at me with traitorous disbelief and watch as I throw it away into the bin. We have a firm stance on feeding bones to dogs here at Longmarket Vet Clinic because we have seen what terrible harm comes of it. We receive remarkable comments from Owners like: “It’s just chicken bones that you must worry about” and the classic mantra :”I’ve been feeding him bones for years” which makes us realise that the general awareness amongst pet owners requires attention. Yes, it is not to say that your emergency afterhours vet visit to us is a guarantee but we cannot stress enough that when a bone does get lodged how massively painful the process is, both for your four legged family and for your wallet. I say “when” because the Owners that continue to feed bones to their dogs will be requiring our services in the definite future. It’s just a matter of time. My favourite replacement for the “good old fashioned” dog bone is a chew toy we got from Rogz. It has a small cavity on the inside where you may pop in a few treats. As Bakkies frantically chews away on the plastic toy he progressively nibbles out bits of the treat which, if you choose wisely, have a world of health benefits and it delivers the same kind of stimulation that a dog bone would.

Here is a short article I came across www.thedogfiles.com/2010/04/22/fda-dont-give-your-dog-bones-of-any-size-2

Chocolate, Coffee and Chewing Gum

We often forget just how curious animals are and that a lot of the poisons on the market are quite palatable for dogs and cats. Sure most of us understand products like Ratex andFinale but what about some of the more unusual ones like Cycad seeds, antifreeze and my favourite misconception: Chocolate. Yes, that delightful treat that you and I cherish so much is in fact toxic to your four legged family members. I was scrolling through a few articles on Facebook and came across this very handy chart. Obviously the telephone numbers won’t work in RSA but the lessons from the illustrations are something that I believe every pet owner should understand. Perhaps print it out and keep it in the pantry to remind you and your family:

Please remember that we do not own the I.P on any of these illustrations. If you are interested then please get a hold of the designer.

A Warmer Winter: Dog Jackets

I was heading to work today thinking: “Wow, Winter is finally here”. She seems to have a taken a few weeks longer than normal but Mother Nature is back on track. We were blessed here in Pietermaritzburg last week with sunshine for the Royal Show Concert followed by the most beautiful Comrades weather. Well, for us as the spectators at least. However over the past few days, with the winds blowing a gust which forced Arts in the Park to pack up earlier, I got to thinking about my two little dogs sitting outside in the cold while I am at work. Although most of us as owners ceremoniously dress our pets in their little dog jackets it is still very important for us all to realise that physical shelter from the elements is just as, if not more, important than cute pet clothing. However, that being said, here are two of my favourites from this week:

Fallon's dog (Mouse) in Hong Kong sporting her prawn jacket.

Picture of Marco’s dog (Chili) cuddled up in her winter warmer.