As the cooler winter months approach have you noticed your pets, especially our seniors, looking for warm cosy places to spend their time? Our newsletter this month features some great tips on helping keep your pets healthy and comfortable this winter. We discuss some health issues that can affect our senior pets, discover how you can help your pets avoid those winter coughs and colds and offer some great ideas on how to be prepared if the unexpected happens.

What a team...
Bad hair days are not heard of at our Nerang and Helensvale clinics as we share our exciting news of the arrival of two new groomers. Jennifer and Tiana bring years of grooming experience to our team of pet care professionals.

Over the last few months our fabulous pet care team has been busy dedicating their time to extending their knowledge and skills in caring for your pets. Our nurses have recently attended a number of specialist training courses in first aid for poisons and toxicity, pet nutrition and the treatment of urinary problems. Dr Matt is looking forward to attending the annual Australian Veterinary Association Conference next month and returning with loads of information to share with the team. 

We also send our congratulations to Stacey, our clinic manager at Helensvale, on her engagement to Andrew. So keep an eye on future newsletters for wedding details and photos. Rumours have it that Stacey's beautiful pet labrador, Bridie is going to be one of the bridesmaids!

Lisa Clarke has done a fantastic job of styling the pets of our practices for the last 4 years. Her family are now located on the north coast and she has reduced her grooming days over the last few months and now works from Maleny. We thank her for the great job she has done over the years.

Lisa was trained many years ago by Jennifer, one of the Gold Coast's most well known groomers and salon owners with over 20 years experience.

Nerang:
We are delighted to announce that Jennifer will now groom from our Nerang practice. Jennifer‘s particular passion is being able to groom dogs that tend to bite without the use of sedatives. She believes that most dogs can be retrained to enjoy their hair cut. Jennifer's daughter Lace works with her and gently bathes and hair dries the pets and is a true animal lover like her mum.

Helensvale:
We are also very lucky to have Tiana join our grooming team. Tiana was trained by and worked with Jennifer and has 7 years experience. Tiana competently handles all sorts of styles from Schnauzers to Poodles to Bichon Frise.

So zoom in for a groom and get your pet a great style from our experienced groomers. Please phone for bookings.

The wintery months are creeping in and while you may be thinking about how you will avoid annoying colds and the flu this winter have you considered your pet?

Keeping up to date with yearly vaccination boosters for your pet is an important way to help keep your pet healthy.

Cat Flu, caused by the Feline Herpes Virus, produces flu like symptoms including sneezing, a runny nose and watery eyes. Vaccination will help your cat's immune system cope with the virus, reducing the clinical signs and risk of being spread to other cats.

If your dog has a dry cough and appears to be retching, it may have Canine Cough. Your dog can become infected wherever dogs congregate such as at the park and at boarding kennels. Some dogs develop a nasty pneumonia and take months to recover. Vaccination may not prevent infection but it does help your dog recuperate from the disease faster as it increases your dog's immunity to the disease.

If you think your pet is overdue for a vaccination call us for an appointment.

Julie made a distressed call to her clinic - her twelve-year-old golden retriever Jack was behaving strangely. He was leaning towards one side and had lost his balance. Julie thought Jack may have had a stroke.

After an examination, it turned out Jack was suffering from Canine Vestibular Disease - also known as 'old dog vestibular syndrome'.

Vestibular syndrome means there is a problem with the connections between the inner and middle ear and the brain. When the vestibular nerve, which travels from the inner ear to the brain, malfunctions, it disrupts the animal's sense of balance and orientation. Dogs develop ataxia and walk with difficulty, appearing to have a 'drunk' type of motion because they have lost their sense of balance.

It is important to find out where the abnormality is located.  Commonly and luckily in Jack's case, the disturbance is outside the brain and is the least serious. Occasionally there is a problem inside the brain such as a tumour. A severe inner ear infection can also result in the same symptoms.

Jack is expected to make a full recovery but will require special care at home, possibly for some time until his symptoms resolve.

No one likes to think about their pet getting sick or being injured in an accident but being prepared can save you thousands of dollars as well as the unnecessary emotional distress. Thankfully, health insurance is now available for our very important pets.

For most pet owners, the dog or cat is treated as another member of the family. Insurance is a very affordable way to care for your pet and protect yourself from unexpected costs.

In Australia, 63 percent of households have at least one pet - one of the highest levels of pet ownership in the world - however only one percent of pets are covered by insurance.

There are increasingly more and more insurance companies offering different policies for your pet. Some offer cover for accidents and injury but there may also be an option for routine veterinary care benefits.

Medibank Private now offers pet insurance with monthly premiums from $12.50 for cats and $14.05 for dogs. To find out more call 132 331, drop into a Medibank store or visit www.medibank.com.au/petinsurance today.

Our puppy pre-school 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, parents can enjoy being involved in developing their new puppy's social skills to ensure they become polite and well behaved canine citizens.

Classes are held once a week for 4 weeks 6.30-7.30pm.
To join our next class, please call the location that suits your family and ask our friendly staff for more details or click here

Our 4 week program also includes a Puppy water safety class at our indoor swimming facility, AquaDog Health & Fitness Centre. For more information click here

Congratulations to all our recent graduates of our Puppy Preschool classes:

At Nerang: Class commenced 14.4.09

Zuna Anderson, Heidi Spence, Gabriel McLeish, Marley Davidson, Alex Lawler, Lollipop Torrens, Millie Harders, Bomber Tangas

At Helensvale: Class commenced  6.04.09

Kia Ginty, Tex Peterson, Gracie Garde, Harry Healy, Jake Ledger, Dexter Ledger

At Arundel: Class commenced 31.3.09 

Charlie Rowlatt, Hudson Grant, Chanel Wilschek.

Class commenced 5.5.09 

Wheeler Nisbet, Bear Hart, Bailey Learmonth, Jeanie Henderson.

Thank you to all the enthusiastic puppy preschoolers and their dedicated families for sharing the experience with lots of learning, love and laughter.

We hope you will enjoy the memories of your time together at puppy preschool by printing your class photo to display in the frame provided. To print your class photo or to email to friends and family go to our website www.thevets.com.au then go to E-cards to find your framed class photo.