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Tips for Making Veterinary Visits Less Stressful Understanding that vet visits can be anxiety-inducing for both pets and owners, we have compiled a list of helpful tips to alleviate the stress associated with these visits. Familiarise your pet with handling Dogs tend to be sensitive around their ears and feet. Regularly accustoming your pet to … Read more

Coughing Dogs Understanding the Common Causes and Diagnostic Challenges We frequently see dogs with persistent coughing problems. Identifying the root cause can be quite a challenge, especially when initial treatments like time, anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, and cough suppressants fail to achieve results. What causes coughing in dogs? The most common cause behind canine coughing is Canine … Read more

Brachycephalic Obstruction Airway Syndrome (BOAS) in flat faced dogs Dogs with short faces are technically referred to as Brachycephalic (Greek roots; short head) and include Pugs, Boston Terriers, Pekingese, Bulldogs, Shih Tzu. Dogs bred to have these short faces are compromised in many important ways. The most severely affected breed is generally the English Bulldog. … Read more

Epilepsy and Seizures What is a seizure? A seizure, also called a convulsion or fit, refers to a temporary and involuntary disturbance of normal brain function that is usually accompanied by uncontrollable muscle activity. Epilepsy is a term used to describe repeated episodes of seizures. With epilepsy, the seizures can be single or may occur … Read more

Distichiasis, Trichiasis and/or Ectopic Cilia Surgery (Bilateral trans-palpebral conjunctival resection and/or focal nitrous cryotherapy) Distichiasis is a condition that affects dogs and cats in which an additional row of eyelashes, known as distichiae, grow from the meibomian gland ducts on the inner surface of the eyelids. These extra eyelashes may grow inwards towards the eye and meet the cornea, causing irritation, redness, … Read more

Ear infections in dogs What causes ear infections in dogs? Dogs have very long ear canals which is why the earpieces we use to look down them are much longer than human ones. At the base of the ear canal (“outer ear”) lies the ear drum. It is not fully understood why some dogs are more prone … Read more

Cruciate Disease What are the cruciate ligaments? There are 2 cruciate ligaments in each knee, and we often hear about them through footballers injuring them (“Torn their ACL”). The knee joint in animals is called the stifle and is anatomically like humans but angled quite differently (it is constantly bent vs ours straight as we … Read more

Euthanasia – how will we know when it is time? Written by Dr Anne Rainbow BSc.BVMS The decision to euthanase a pet is hard. I write this recently having euthanased my own elderly cat, so I know this very well. My own experience of a slowly declining, mildly unwell cat made me think a lot … Read more

10 Health Tips For Arthritis in Dogs & Cats Dogs and cats can become arthritic, particularly as they age, in the same way as people can. There are different forms of arthritis but the most common one in animals, like in humans, is Osteoarthritis or “wear and tear” arthritis. The only way to 100% know … Read more

Luxating Patella What is a Luxating Patella? Patella is the medical term for kneecap, the bone that forms the front of the knee (known as the “stifle” joint in animals).  The patella should stay within the grooves of the thigh bone (“condylar groove”).  In some animals the patella sometimes slips outside of the groove, and … Read more