Important News for Your Pet





Dental Health
Have you looked in your pet’s mouth lately? Do your pet’s kisses smell fresh? Did you know that without proper oral care eighty percent of all dogs and cats by the age of three will have the early signs of oral disease? Oral disease not only causes foul breath and pain for your pet, but a number of other health problems that can include tooth loss, red and bleeding gums, mouth infections, and even lead to heart and kidney problems.

Let us help you get your pet on the road to great oral care in 2013! Professional dental care with a veterinarian and a regular at-home routine will help your pet enjoy a longer, healthier life. Plus it keeps your pet’s breath fresh for more “enjoyable” kisses.
 
So how do you know if your dog or cat has a dental problem? Some signs are bad breath, brown or yellow teeth, excessive drooling, bleeding from the mouth, or a change in eating and drinking habits. A dental exam is the best way to determine your pet’s need for a dental cleaning if you are not sure. We are pleased to offer complimentary dental exams with our technicians.  Call us today to get more details.

Spring Hazards to Your Pet
Everyone loves lush green lawns and Spring is the right time to apply lawn treatments .... fertilizers for healthy lawns and products to kill weeds and control crab grass. Unfortunately, the same products that produce healthy lawns can sometimes cause health problems for pets. Contact with herbicides can cause vomiting, excess salivation, problems with the central nervous system, and even sudden death.

By taking a few precautions, we can protect our pets and still have lush green lawns. Before applying lawn treatments or before treatment by a professional lawn service, remove any pet water and food dishes from the yard. Always keep your pets inside while chemicals are being applied and keep them off the treated grass for at least 24 hours after an application. If your dog manages to come in contact with a freshly treated lawn in spite of your best efforts, wash it's paws with soap and water immediately. If you live in a neighborhood with adjoining yards, make sure your dog doesn't wander onto a neighbor´s newly treated lawn.

Spring is also the time to apply pesticides to gardens and trees. Chemical pesticides are applied as tree sprays, garden dusts, foggers, and in a variety of fruit and vegetable sprays. Keep pets away from the area under and around freshly sprayed trees for at least 24 hours. Keep them out of gardens and flower beds after applying pesticide sprays or dusts.

Never scatter slug and snail killer pellets in gardens or flower beds if you have pets of if neighborhood pets have access to your yard. Dogs find the small blue poisonous slug pellets tasty. Use a commercial bait trap or pellet holder that´s out of reach to pets instead.

Ingestion of mouse abd rat poison is another danger.  These poisons come in cardboard containers filled with poisonous pellets.  Since dogs can obviously chew through the cardboard to get to the tempting bait, their owners should carefully place them in spots that the pet cannot reach.  These boxes are commonly placed behind shelves in garages and sheds.

When things are moved for Spring clean-up, the dog is right there to grab the forgotten poisonous traps. Most people realize how dangerous pest control poisons are to pets, but there may be things they DON´T know that could save their dogs' lives. Rodent poisons may not cause vomiting or other typical symptoms of poisoning. They contain a compound that causes a life-threatening bleeding disorder.

Securely tighten lids on bottles of herbicides and pesticides after use. Place bags or boxes, both new and used, inside cans or plastic storage containers. Properly dispose of empty containers where there´s no chance a pet can get to them.

Before you throw open your windows and doors to those warm spring breezes, make sure all your screens are in place and that they are in good shape and well secured.  Cats, in particular, are prone to escaping the house through either an unscreened window or by pushing through a damaged or unsecured screen.


 It's time for Ticks!  Is your pet protected?
Spring is coming and so are the ticks.  No one likes ticks, they are a menace to both ourselves and our pets.  A few common tick-borne diseases are Rocky Mountain Spotted fever, Lyme disease, and Ehrlicha. 

Lyme disease is most likely the best know tick borne disease.  Lyme disease can have delayed symptoms which do not occur for weeks or months after infection occurs.  The most common sign of Lyme disease is atthritis.

Prevention of these diseases are easier than treatment.  Prevention is always the best medicine.  All of these tick borne diseases require a tick to be attached for at least 48 hours to transmit the disease.  Dogs that go hunting or hiking in wooded areas are most at risk but even dogs that live in the city can encounter ticks in the back yard or in a park.

Many preventive measures are available.  Topical products such as Frontline Plus and Advantix kill ticks before the 48 hour mark is reach.  There is also a vaccine for Lyme disease if your pet is at an increased risk of exposure.  Please see a staff member for help in  choosing a product for your pet.


Dont's give fleas a fighting chance!
Fleas are always an issue but this year promises to be even worse due to winters being shorter and warmer.  Many believe that fleas die in the winter.  This is not true.  They search out a warm host, your pet.

Fleas are not only a pesky problem but are able to transmit many harmful diseases to our pet.  Skin problems, itchiness, and tapeworm infestation are the most common.

Prevention of flea infestation is the key to preventing disease transmission.  Many products are availabe for prevention such as Frontline Plus, Vectra, Advantage Multi, Comfortis, and many others.  Our staff will help you choose what's best for your pet.

    A few fun facts about our furry friends!
    A cat has 230 bones in it's body, a human only has 206.

    Obesity is the number one health problem affecting dogs.

    A dog can smell 44 times better than a human and can hear about 10 times better.

    A cat's heart beats at 110-140 beats per minute, about twice as fast as a human.