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| a great place for pets - www.thevets.com.au | |||
October 2007 edition
1. What's On 2. Haircare Help 3. Join our Sensational Seniors Club! 4. What's up Doc 5. What a team! 6. Puppy Preschool is the beginning of a beautiful friendship 7. Training: The Boomerang dog 8. Generous blood donor saves Atticus |
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1. What's On What's happening for pets at the vets? Haven't you heard your pets talking about it over the fence?? Yes its official!! The word is out! Spring is in Air! This month, down at the vets, we're really going to Spring into Spring, with some great Spring Cleaning offers for your Pets! We're going to clean up with Tick & Flea protection, freshen up with DIY hydrobaths, treat Gold Coast Indy fever with a great “Zoom in for a Groom” offer and Spring into the AquaDog pool for some fun & fitness. See articles below for special offers. We're also going to talk to Dr Kath about some of the hidden dangers of Spring as your pets spend more time outdoors in the warmer weather. It may seem a chore! But at this time of year, it's NOT just us looking forward to getting out there in the warmer weather! Unfortunately Fleas & Ticks also love the warmer weather! …….and they can really ruin some lazy summer days of play with our family. In the past few weeks our vet team has been inundated with pets suffering from Tick paralysis, some days seeing 2-3 cases a day! Now is the time to make sure your pets Tick & Flea Protection is up to scratch so the whole family can enjoy the summer fun. Get the Jump on Fleas with a FREE 6pk Capstar with every Packet of SENTINEL SPECTRUM purchased. It's the best Flea Protection Factor FPF100 With the focus on getting all cleaned up and ready for some serious summer fun…….. Buy a 6 month supply Advantix or Advantage and Entertain your pets for FREE………. Receive a Fun ball thrower for dogs (valued at $24.95) or a Cactivity centre for cats (valued at $19.95) PLUS THE CHANCE TO WIN A FAMILY TRIP TO AMERICA. Revolution Rewards. Earn a FREE 3-pack of Revolution for Cats when you have purchased 12 doses of the Complete Flea Protection for cats that does more! Back to top |
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2. Haircare Help It's spring time and pets are shedding their winter coats, sometimes leaving them looking lacklustre. How do we help them return to that beautiful shiny coat? There are 2 things to focus on: regular grooming and providing the best diet possible. Regular brushing is necessary to remove the loose winter coat while the correct diet will provide the nutrition needed for a shiny coat. Diet: The reason a premium food restores a dull coat is the supply of quality nutrients. Premium foods contain Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids in the correct proportion to best help the coat. These fatty acids support skin health to help prevent scratching and shedding associated with dry, flaky skin. Grooming: Brushing regularly will remove dead hair and help to lift the look of the coat. Once or twice a week is usually enough and your dog will love it. Two of the most popular brush types are the Zoom Groom and the Slicker brush. Zoom Grooms are made of soft rubbery bristles that catch the hair as you brush, while massaging your pet at the same time. Slicker brushes have 2 bristle lengths to help remove the dead hair and mats that make the coat dull and shabby. We suggest you have long haired pets clipped as we move closer to summer. It allows heat to escape more easily leaving pets feeling more comfortable. It also removes mats that pinch the skin and can trap foreign bodies such as grass seeds. So Zoom in for a Groom at the Vets As Indy Fever Hits the Gold Coast this month ……….our petcare & grooming team have just the treatment for your longhaired Best Friends. In the spirit of Indy……….. Zoom in for “The Works” Groom this month and receive your next DIY Hydrobath FREE. Remember when washing your pet, use pet only shampoos as the pH of human shampoos is not designed for pets. Hill's* Science Diet* premium brand pet food and Hill's* Prescription Diet* therapeutic brand pet food provide the most complete range of products specially formulated for producing a healthy coat in dogs and cats. For more information click here Back to top |
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3. Join our Sensational Seniors Club! If your pet is 7 years or over JOIN THE SENIORS CLUB NOW [click on the button below]. There's so much we can do for senior pets to help them live longer and happier - such as regular blood testing to make sure they're healthy on the inside. Ask us about a simple, easy Wellness Test for your senior pet. As a member, you'll receive your Sensational Seniors Newsletter quarterly with all the latest news, petcare information, product specials, discounts and benefits. Annual Birthday Gifts ...Let us help you give your mature age pet the extra love and care they need in their senior years!! Together we can help your pet enjoy a lifetime of good health. LET'S CELEBRATE SENIORS - LIVE LONGER, LIVE BETTER WIN WIN WIN Join Now – Register your Pets Name and Birthday!! Go in the draw to WIN a DVD PLAYER and ONE MONTH'S SUPPLY OF Sensational Seniors HILL'S Prescription Diet. Back to top |
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4. What's up Doc Our veterinary team share some of their interesting cases with you…….This month Dr Kath shares her experience with her own dog Halle and highlights the need for a good Spring Clean of our own back yards before venturing outdoors to enjoy the warmer weather……. Case Study: Foreign Body ingestion “Halle – Staffordshire Bullterrier Age: 5yrs Problem: Fortunately for Halle, it was Dr Kath's day off when her beloved dog started having acute bouts of vomiting. Although she appeared quite normal and bright in between these bouts, Dr Kath knew how quickly these symptoms could develop into a serious illness. Understanding some of the causes of these symptoms, Dr Kath immediately cancelled her shopping plans and stayed home to keep a careful eye on Halle. After 3 hours of regularly vomiting bile some blood appeared. A short time later, a foreign body appeared in Halle's vomit. On closer examination it was identified as a razor sharp angular piece of bone about the length of a paper clip. Diagnosis: As Halle ceased vomiting once the piece of bone had been expelled, it was determined this had been the cause of her stomach upset. What really concerned Dr Kath was that she never feeds Halle bones!! “Where could she have got it from?” she pondered. The only explanation was that it may have been thrown over the fence into Halle's outside play area with anyone noticing. With the recent warmer weather Halle had been venturing outside exploring and playing more in the yard. Afterall Halle was an inquisitive Staffy and Dr Kath had not thought to check and tidy up the area for some months. Treatment: No further treatment was required for Halle. Fortunately once the piece of bone was expelled, Halle's health returned and no further symptoms were experienced. Notes: “It could have been a lot worse”, reflects Dr Kath. If the razor sharp piece of bone had passed through the stomach into the small intestine the outcome may not have been as good. The bowel could easily have been perforated causing not only pain but a high possibility of bowel contents contaminating the stomach causing peritonitis, shock and even worse death. “Halle was a very lucky dog!” Dr Kath agrees, “although it ruined my shopping day and was a nasty experience for Halle, it really taught me to be more alert about what dangers might be lurking in her environment”. Back to top |
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5. What a team! Getting to know your pet's health care team... We're celebrating Vet Nurses Day – October 5th 2007. A big THANKS to our very special team of Vet Nurses for their compassion and commitment to the care and wellbeing of all our Pets! Our professional team of nurses are committed to constantly improving their skills and knowledge of veterinary pet care. Through out the year our nurses attend a number of specialist training courses to further advance their veterinary knowledge & care. Some of the further training courses completed in the last few months include: In House Diagnostic, Dental care, Advanced Nutrition (Tube feeding puppies & Bowel disease), Toxicities, Tick treatment. Their dedication to enriching your pet's life and supporting the special relationship between you & your pets is impressive. Their contributions to our veterinary team ensure we truly are a “great place for your pets”. Dr Sonya recently attended the World Small Animal Conference in Sydney. Congratulations! Wedding Bells are ringing!! As we have just seen Tracey, our dedicated nurse at Arundel, walk down the aisle and tie the knot with her partner, the excitement is mounting again. This time two members of our dedicated team have recently become engaged to be married: Jackie, nurse manager at Helensvale and Dr Katie, veterinary surgeon All our Best Wishes to the happy couples... Jackie & Roy made it official on July 27th planning to exchange vows in April 2009. August 15 was the special moment for Katie & Dave. An exact date for the wedding is yet to be decided. We wish them all the best for a happy future together. Back to top |
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6. Puppy Preschool is the beginning of a beautiful friendship It's where we learn to "Live, Love, Listen, Laugh and Learn". Puppy Preschool is a fun way for puppies and families to learn all the skills required for a rewarding life together. Under the expert guidance of our qualified nurses, families can enjoy being involved in developing their new puppy's social skills to ensure they become polite and well behaved canine citizens. Our 4 week program includes a puppy water safety class in our heated swimming facility at AquaDog Health & Fitness Centre. For more information click here. At Nerang: Peppi Mullan, Harley Ibell, Peter Henning, Bella Simmons, Roger Martin, SharnieMartin, Tama Graham, Roxy Squires Palliser At Helensvale: Dozer Jeffries, Pepper Reis, Jesse Telfer, Shadow Toia, Bo Armstrong, Milo Mahe At Arundel: Tess Russell Thank you to all the puppy student and dedicated parent for sharing the experience of listening and learning along with much laughter and love. Back to top |
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7. Training: The Boomerang dog We are constantly talking about the benefits of off leash exercise for dogs but for this to be successful, you need to be confident your dog will come when called, to return like a “boomerang”. For many of us, this may seem like a fantasy but it is possible. Here's how: • Start with your dog on a very long lead – somewhere between 30-50 m. Strong, cheap cord can be bought from hardware stores for this purpose. Don't pull on this lead unless you really need to. The object is to get your dog to come of his or her own will. • Position yourself in your dog's peripheral vision. Make sure you're not directly behind or you won't be seen. • Begin to walk backwards, away from your dog and, here's the trick, make yourself exciting! This means being more exciting than what your dog is focussed on. Jump up and down, make high pitched noises, whistle [but don't say any commands yet]. If you look like a clown, then you're doing the right thing. • As soon as your dog begins to come, say “Come” and hold your arm straight up; this provides a verbal and visual signal. • When he arrives, then reward with pats or food treats. If it was a super effort for him to come [eg he had been chasing birds], then give lots of rewards and really make a big deal of it. As with all training, repeat often and in different environments. To see Jet and Erin perform “Come” click here [Approx. filesize 880KB] Back to top |
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8. Generous blood donor saves Atticus This winter, many Australians had rats and mice in their homes and laid poison as a result. While effective at keeping unwanted rodents out, rat poison is very dangerous to pets if eaten. Atticus, a 3 year old Border Collie was one of the unlucky ones to ingest rat poison this year. He ate pellets he found behind the kitchen cupboards and fell ill. He was coughing up blood when he arrived at the vet. Atticus was sent to an emergency hospital for overnight monitoring and treatment. Rat poison causes uncontrolled internal bleeding and Atticus was quite literally bleeding to death. Fortunately, vets were able to give him a blood transfusion from a donor dog and Atticus recovered slowly but surely. He was sent home on medication and as he left, he gave a huge “thankyou” bark to the donor dog who lives in the hospital. Tips on using rat poison safely: • Place poison in areas that pets cannot access, such as behind the dishwasher, fridge and oven. Put the pellets in containers to prevent spillage • Consider using a professional pest service to lay the poison. They will know how to lay it safely and for best effect. • Avoid encouraging rats and mice in the first place. Don't leave pet food outside at night if pets sleep inside and plug access holes that rodents may use to get into your home. For more information on blood donations and transfusions, contact us. Back to top |
The Vets Nerang Unit 5/90 Spencer Road Nerang 4211 ph 5596 2322 fx 5596 0549 Helensvale Unit 7/14 Sir John Overall Drive Helensvale 4212 ph 5529 8011 fx 5529 4133 www.thevets.com.au |
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