Pill Prompt

If your dog is on medication, you know how important it is not to miss any doses.

The effects of missing a dose will vary depending on the medication, and while some effects may not be as obvious as others, it doesn't mean they don't exist. Missing flea and tick medication could not only result in a very visible infestation to the environment, but also leave your dog vulnerable to tick-borne diseases and skin issues caused by fleas. Missing certain daily medications, such as those for heart conditions and seizure treatment, can have life-threatening effects within hours of the missed dose.

The important thing is to establish a medication routine. It often helps to tie it in with an existing task like brushing your teeth (daily) or paying the rent or mortgage (monthly).

PS: Don't forget - you can get 15% off New Year's Wellness Exams through January 2015! Schedule your appointment today!

Sit, Stay, Well!

Since your dog can't tell you when she doesn't feel well, paying close attention to her appearance and behavior is an important way to monitor health.

• Coat - It should be shiny and without excessive shedding.
• Eyes - If you can clearly see your pup's third eyelid, that is an indication that her eye hurts or she is ill.
• Physical Activity - It should be consistent both in level and response.
• Eating, Drinking & Sleeping Habits - A change could indicate an underlying health issue.

Another way to keep your dog healthy is to schedule regular wellness exams. We are trained to see things you may miss, so these checkups can help us identify health problems before they become too significant. We know you want to provide the best care for your dog, so don't delay scheduling an appointment any longer!

New Year's Wellness Exams are 15% off through January 2015!

14 Years?!?

If your dog hasn't had a dental cleaning in 2-3 years, it's the equivalent of you not going to the dentist for 14 YEARS!

This means they are walking around with infection and inflammation in their mouth. But not only is the infection in their mouth, it can spread to affect their entire body. This can be painful for your pet and expensive for you.

October is Pet Smile Month, and because we believe dental care is so vital to your pet's overall health, we are offering a special incentive to bring in your furry friend: complimentary dental exams and 20% off dental cleanings through October.*

*Excludes: prescriptions, lab work, x-rays, extractions etc. Expires 10/31/2014

Pet Smile Month Kickoff!

Did you know that 80 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats show signs of oral disease by age three?

Left untreated, harmful bacteria from the oral cavity can spread throughout the bloodstream to infect the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys. It is that harmful bacteria which causes your pet's stinky breath!

October is Pet Smile Month and we are offering a special to keep your four-legged friend happy and healthy. Get a complimentary dental exam and 20% off dental cleanings through October (expires 10/31/2014, and excludes prescriptions, lab work, x-rays, extractions, etc.)

Make your appointment now!

Geriatric Gauge

As a pet parent, you know a lot about your dog's habits and routines. But will you know when your dog's kidneys begin to slow down? Since your dog can't tell you how she is feeling, regular wellness visits are essential in detecting the developments that come with aging.

In these exams, we can discuss proper senior nutrition, how to keep your senior dog active and do blood work to check for certain health problems and diseases. When caught early enough, many diseases can be properly treated, slowed down or, sometimes, even cured completely. Why not be proactive when it comes to your dog's health?

By maintaining a regular senior wellness exam schedule, issues can be diagnosed and managed or corrected before any serious damage occurs. Ensure your dog lives a health and active life for as long as possible!

Schedule an appointment today!

(PS: You have two more days to get $25 off the Senior Wellness Diagnostics Package!)

In Dog Years

You may have more in common with your pet than you realize. Like humans, dogs need to get health care more often as they grow older. We recommend that senior dogs visit us at least twice a year; more often if certain health issues are present. Just like people, dogs can develop arthritis, diabetes, cancer, hearing loss, liver and kidney disease, hypothyroidism and various other diseases. Wellness visits can help diagnose some of these diseases earlier or, in some cases, prevent them altogether.

Don't assume new behavior is just because of "old age." If you notice any change in your dog's behavior, be sure to contact us about the concerns you have. These behavioral changes can be signs of very treatable medical problems. Improve your dog 's quality of life and help make the "golden years" as comfortable as possible - maintain a proper wellness visit schedule!

Set up your appointment today! And, get $25 off the Senior Wellness Diagnostics Package during the month of September.

Inoculation Intervals

There has been a lot of debate recently about what a proper vaccination schedule for your dog should look like. Some vaccinations, like rabies, have their frequency dictated by state, provincial or local laws. Other vaccinations have recommended guidelines for when they should be given initially and how often boosters should occur. And for other vaccinations, titer tests have developed that help determine if your pup is still inoculated against the disease the vaccine was designed to protect him from.

The bottom line to all of this is that vaccination schedules are no longer cut and dried. We take into account your dog's age, lifestyle, current health status, environment, and many other factors when determining which vaccines are appropriate for your best friend and how often they should be administered. If a vaccination protocol has not yet been established for your pup, contact us today to schedule a review of his current health status and set up his vaccination program!

If your pet is due or overdue for a vaccination, schedule an appointment today! And get 15% off wellness exams through the end of August!

Epidemic Obstacle

While vaccinations should never be considered a guarantee that your dog will not contract a disease, they provide the best available protection for your canine companion against serious illnesses. Vaccines are available for a variety of diseases, but the most commonly used vaccines protect against the following:

Distemper

A viral disease that causes systemic infection in canines. Survivable, but with costly treatment and long-term, adverse health effects.

Canine Parvovirus

An extremely infectious disease with a high mortality rate if untreated. Transmitted by both direct and indirect contact with infected feces.

Canine Hepatitis

A virus that attacks the liver and kidneys and can cause chronic health issues.

Rabies

A deadly disease that attacks the brain and spinal cord. It is fatal if contracted.

If your pet is due or overdue for a vaccination, schedule an appointment today! And, through the end of August, get 15% off a wellness exam.

The Pet Jet Set

Hitting the road for a few days away can be a lot of fun. And those sweet puppy-dog eyes begging to come along can be hard to resist. Before you give in to that plaintive expression, though, ask yourself these questions to decide if your dog is ready for the trip.

How are you planning to travel?

A dog who travels well in a car may not travel well in a plane. Also, some breeds can only travel on airplanes as cargo, a method that can be especially risky for pets.

How does your dog react to change?

A shy or skittish dog may find the change in routine much less appealing than you do.

How healthy is your dog?

If your dog is older or suffers from a chronic condition, the stresses of traveling may negatively affect her health.

If you think your dog is up for a travel adventure, contact us today to set up a travel prep appointment for your jet-setting dog! We're offering 15% off travel prep/wellness exams through the month of July!

Protect Your Pets' Health

Good health is cheap... until you don't have it.

Then afternoons playing fetch and the sessions of catch the catnip mouse can be replaced by much more expensive activities such as repeated trips to see us.

While preventive care is not possible for every veterinary issue (we haven't been able to predict a broken leg yet!), many conditions are not only more treatable when caught early, that treatment is also often much less expensive.

The best way to make sure that any issues your pet may develop are caught early is to stick to a regular well visit schedule, because - when you think about it - peace of mind is priceless.

Contact us today to schedule a well visit during June 2014 and save 15%!

Be in the Know

We hear it all too often, "I didn't know there was a problem!" Our pets are experts at many things, and hiding illness happens to be one of them.

That's why well visits are so critical to your pet's well being. By regularly checking your pet's vital stats, we can identify and treat issues before they become problems. How often your pet needs to make a visit to our office depends on your pet and his unique needs, such as age, breed and existing health conditions, to name a few. At minimum, we'd like to see your pet at least once a year - remember, that's like you seeing your doctor once every five to seven years!

Make sure you're in the know on your pet's health. Contact us TODAY to schedule a well visit during June 2014, and get 15% off!

Cancer and Your Canine

Even if we're lucky enough to not experience it firsthand, very few of us are unaware of the devastating effects cancer can have. But many of us don't know that this disease can affect our entire family, even those who walk on four feet and not two. In fact, according to the Morris Animal Foundation, dogs older than 2 are most likely to die from cancer.

Your dog can develop cancers as varied as those that affect people, and for the same reasons. While no sure-fire cancer preventative exists, we as pet parents can help protect our four-legged family members from getting the disease. Certain breeds - Golden retrievers and Bernese Mountain dogs, for example - are more likely to develop certain cancers, so know your pet's risk. Make sure she gets plenty of exercise and eats healthfully, and limit her exposure to known cancer-causing agents, like tobacco smoke.

And finally, make sure your pup has regular wellness visits with us so we can ensure any issues are caught early and treated with a fully healthy outcome in mind.

Together, let's take your pet into old age!

Scratch That!

Fleas and ticks have an unfortunate long-term relationship with our pets. While these pests will never go away, we can keep them from rebounding on our four-legged family members.

A variety of products such as topicals, chews and shampoos are available to help protect your pet from these pesky pests. When using such products, however, be sure to always follow the instructions, and never mix products and species. For example, never treat your cat with dog-specific flea treatments. Cats are much more vulnerable to insecticides, and using canine products on your cat could seriously harm or even kill your pet.

In addition to chemical preventatives, you can also somewhat control your environment. Fleas thrive in shady, humid areas, so the more sunlight you can give your yard, the less likely you are to play host to these pests. Ticks prefer areas of tall grass, brush or leaf-litter, so try to keep these areas to a minimum in your landscaping.

Call us today to buy your pet's protection!

Pesky Parasites

The itching, scratching and general ick-factor that ticks and fleas cause are minor compared to the diseases they can inflict upon your family.

Ticks can infect your pets and you with a variety of illnesses ranging from Rocky Mountain spotted fever to Lyme disease. Even if they don't carry disease-causing bacterium, the sores they leave behind can become infected by plain old infection-causing bacteria.

Fleas carry disease-causing agents as well, from rickettsiae diseases (which can cause typhus, for example) to tapeworm infections. Your pet can also develop an allergic reaction to the flea bites, which can have serious consequences such as scabbing and even skin infections.

Contact us TODAY to buy your pet's protection!

Can't "Flea" the Ticks!

These summer days may be great for lazing away outdoors, but they're also prime time for flea and tick infestations.

Fleas thrive in warm, humid environments (hello, summer!). The most common culprit is the cat flea, which (despite its name) can afflict both cats and dogs, as well as rabbits, ferrets, raccoons and other animals.

Tick infestations are also more common in summer, as we are more likely to explore the areas that ticks like most. Specific species of ticks are often restricted to particular geographic regions: the American dog tick, for example, is primarily found in the mid- to eastern- part of the U.S., while the Pacific Cost tick is found along the western coastal regions of the U.S. and Mexico. The Brown dog tick, however, can be found throughout the U.S., and when all species are considered together, no part of the U.S. (except Alaska) is considered tick-free.

Contact us TODAY to buy your pet's protection.

The Ick Factor: Shoo, Fly!

Don't let flies bother your furry family members this spring! Summertime is fly season, and while you may think the kind that hover around leftover food or garbage are annoying enough, another kind is even more annoying - and potentially harmful - for your pet. It's the Cuterebra fly, and its larvae can literally make a home in your pet.

If you pet becomes a host to a Cuterebra fly larva, you may notice a small lump on the head, neck or body. While these lumps can be mistaken for other infections of tumors, if you see a hole in the center of the lump, it is likely that a larva has made a home in your pet. Please do not probe the lump yourself.

Destroying the larvae can cause infection and potentially serious allergic reactions in your pet. Instead, contact our office immediately about diagnosis and the possibility of safely removing the larvae, as well as any post-treatment recommendations.

Schedule an appointment today and let's see this fly flee!

The Ick Factor: A Mite-y Problem!

For something so small, typically less than a millimeter in length, mites can wreak an awful lot of havoc on your pet. Different types of mites may target different areas (ears are a popular destination for the pests), but they can all cause intense itching.

Additional symptoms of mite infestation include hair loss, skin lesions, head shaking, and redness. Unfortunately, th
ese symptoms can be very similar to other conditions. The best way to make a diagnosis of mite infestation is by a skin scraping taken at our office. And keep in mind, if you live in a multi-pet household, that if one pet is diagnosed with mites, you will want to talk with us about whether all your pets should be treated.

Call today for an appointment, and together, we can avoid a mite-y bother!

PS: Don't forget, you can still get 15% off intestinal parasite screenings through the end of April. Make your appointment today!

The Ick Factor: Nit Picking!

Excessive scratching can mean your pet is hosting unwelcome company.

If your cat is up to scratch, she may be hosting some unpleasant hitch-hikers: lice and ringworm. While both pests cause your pet to itch and scratch, they also have more individual symptoms. Feline ringworm infection often causes circular patches of hair loss on the head or ears, while lice may cause your pet's coat to appear dry or generally unkempt. And while lice are happy to stick to your cat, ringworm will take whatever warm-blooded host it can get - including you.

The treatment for these conditions is fairly straightforward, but please contact our office any time you notice new or atypical behavior in your pet. While the cause may be something treatable and relatively benign (like lice), it can also be a symptom of other conditions - like a metabolic disorder - that may require more intensive treatment.

Call TODAY to send unwelcome company packing!

And don't forget - intestinal parasite screenings are 15% off through the end of April. Schedule your appointment today!

March is Cat Appreciation Month

Let's celebrate our feline friends this month!

Cats are one of the most popular pets in America. And why not? They're a great combination of loving, smart, curious and independent, all rolled up in one furry, purry package.

Unfortunately, that independent nature can work against them. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, the number of cats who've been skipping their regular wellness exam has been steadily increasing over the years.

One reason cited? Kitty seemed fine.

We can absolutely understand that perception. Cats are truly masters at masking symptoms of pain or illness, which is why regular wellness exams are so important. We have the tools and tests to tease out subtle disease symptoms so treatment can begin before the disease causes too much damage.

To show our appreciation for your fabulous feline, we're offering a 15% discount on feline wellness exams scheduled during March 2014! Schedule your appointment today!

Say Cheese!

Pet dental cleanings don't work quite the same as our own.

We understand that the mild discomfort that may happen during a visit to the dentist is for our own good, and we are able to avoid squirming or shifting due to that discomfort (usually). Your pet, though, doesn't.

Initial exams are typically done while your pet is awake (depending on temperament), but a full dental exam and cleaning are done while your pet is under anesthesia. We don't use anesthesia lightly, but doing so allows us to fully inspect and clean your pet's mouth without the risk of accidentally harming your pet if he jerks or moves.

Once your pet is under, we can conduct a more thorough exam and use tools - such as a scaler (the metal hook tool your dentist uses is a scaler, although ours are made specifically for our patients' mouths) to remove plaque that could lead to periodontal disease, without troubling your pet.

Contact us today to schedule your pet's dental visit!