My veterinarian requires blood work to be redone before each surgery. What are my risks if I refuse it?
Just as we do in human hospitals, requiring pre-surgical bloodwork is an attempt to find subclinical problems before they cause problems during surgery. In pets, a pre-anesthetic blood screen usually looks at blood glucose, and a few tests to evaluate liver and kidney...
I have a mixed breed dog (a mutt!). How long should I expect her to live?
My dog has cherry eye. Do you recommend we operate to remove it.
Cherry eye is prolapse of the third eyelid. Dogs have an extra eyelid compared to humans – it helps protect their eye and keep it moist. The third eyelid also makes 60-70% of the tears in the eye. People don’t like the look of cherry eye – and they worry that their...
What’s the most common preventable health problem you see in pets in your clinic?
Lyme and pancreatitis. Because my clinics are located in a rural setting, ticks (and lyme) are a problem for us. Some of my clients live in what I un-affectionately call, tick central. Even though they use monthly tick prevention, it has become less effective....
What’s the most common training mistake people make with a new puppy?
This one’s easy: Not starting training right away. It’s as easy as saying good sit when the puppy sits anyway. Say, good potty when potty comes out in the right place. Say good puppy when the puppy chews on a toy. Catch the pup doing things right from the very...
I’m looking at all of the pet food choices and know that homemade is best. But are there any bag foods you recommend? And what ingredients should be WARNING signs of a pet food to avoid?
You have no idea the difficulty of the question you are asking! 🙂 I have a heck of a time suggesting any dry kibble. Here’s the truth: Dry food makes dry pets. 75-90% of the moisture is removed from the food to make it dry. But, if you have to go dry, here are some...
My cat has only its back claws, but still loves to go outside. Is this okay?
Hmm. Before I learned about the pros and cons of declawing, I had my cat declawed. My goal was that he would be — from that day forward — 100% indoors. One day, as my husband slammed the French door shut to keep Tyler buddy inside, Tyler shot through the door but 1”...
Should I have my cat declawed? What are the pros and cons?
Another controversy alert!! I have a colleague, Bret Glass, who is the king of helping people and their “fully armored” (i.e. fully clawed) cats co-exist. Bret is working on 100 suggestions to help kitties keep their claws. From banana peels to his wonderful...
What is the best age to get a puppy or kitten “neutered”?
Oh – I can just feel the controversy in the air rising! Can you? Okay, let’s just get right into it! We’ll tackle dogs first. From the perspective of how small the incision is to how quickly they bounce back from surgery, 3-4 months of age is a great time for this...
RUT-ROH… My Dog Seems to Have an Ear Infection. What should I do?
This is a question I get a lot. Sometimes, people want a holistic treatment they can do themselves. Other times, they just can’t get in to see me for a couple days, and want to give little Fido some relief. First, make sure the ear is not bleeding. If it is, your...