We're warming up for Total Wellness, Inside & Out.

With the warm up to the silly summer season already well on the way, this month we are talking about total wellness for pets.

What's wellness?
Its all about helping our pets live to their full potential and enjoy a healthy life for as long as possible. A great place to start is in our first article 'A check up for a healthy life' where we explain how regular Top to Tail examinations and annual vaccinations for your pet enable us to detect problems early, inside and out!  

As the long lazy days of summer arrive, our thoughts turns to barbeques, picnics, long walks with the dog and cats outstretched in the warm afternoon sun, but summer for your pets can also mean all sorts of itchy, nasty, biting creepy crawlies. In this edition we offer some great information about how to protect your pets from those dangerous hitchhikers, paralysis ticks. We also learn how Patsy managed her itch problem with good nutrition and skincare. In the heat of summer, skincare, nutrition and parasite control is more important than ever to your pet's wellbeing and quality of life. And lets face it, recently with all the extreme and unpredictable weather events like dust storms, tsunamis, heat and hail, it's nice to know that there are some things we can control... with regular Top to Tail wellness checks, parasite treatments, good nutrition and vaccinations.  

We celebrated Vet Nurses Day!

All our very special nurses were treated with cake, flowers and a gourmet lunch last month in appreciation of the extraordinary role they play in caring for pets. Our vets formally offered a big thanks to their special support team of nurses for their compassion and commitment to the care and wellbeing of all our pets!
 
Our professional team of nurses are outstanding in their commitment to constantly improving their skills and knowledge of veterinary pet care. Throughout the year our nurses attend a number of specialist training courses to further advance their veterinary knowledge and care. Although they say their reward comes from the licks, purrs and cuddles they receive from the happy healthy pets they care for, we really wanted them to know how much they are appreciated by everyone involved in companion animal care.

When we see your pet for a vaccination there is much more going on than meets the eye. A more accurate description is a health check and it is one of the most important ways to care for your pet.

History from you helps us paint a picture of the health of your companion. Changes in appetite, thirst, behaviour or energy levels should be mentioned. 

Your pet will be given the once over from nose to toes. We will feel for strange lumps, listen to the heart and check for dental disease. A physical exam won't reveal everything so we may recommend further blood and urine tests.

We'll make sure your pet is covered for preventative diseases including worms, heartworm and fleas. We will also decide the most suitable vaccination regime for your pet. There are some diseases that require yearly boosters to maintain immunity so it is important that this check takes place to keep your pet healthy.  

Remember: if you are planning to board your pet over Christmas, arrange it now. Ensure vaccinations are up to date well in advance. You don't want your pet to be turned away the day you are set to leave on the plane. 

If you live on the east coast of Australia or plan on visiting with your pet, there is sure to be plenty of opportunity to explore the outdoors. This is also the perfect time for your pet to come into contact with the paralysis tick. 

If a paralysis tick manages to attach and goes undetected, it can be fatal. It is important to use tick prevention and use it regularly, so ask us for the best product now. You should also check your pet for ticks. Follow these tips:

• Check from head to tail
• Check daily - use your fingers to explore your pet's fur
• Use a comb for longer coats- go against the fur, followed by your hands
• Feel for any lumps and stop and inspect if you discover one
• The head, chest, the entire ear and in between the toes should all be scrutinised

If you find a tick, seek vet advice immediately - the entire tick must be removed.

Finally, be aware that the ticks can hitchhike their way home in your clothes or camping gear so always be on alert.

Easy to apply, with just a few drops to your dog's coat, Advantix acts as a barrier to repel the paralysis tick. In addition to killing fleas, it is proven to repel paralysis ticks and 100% of these ticks will then die. Go to www.advantix.com.au for more information and to www.fleamemorialday.com.au to celebrate your pet being flea free.

Patsy is an Airedale with an itch problem. She's 6 years old and has never before had any skin problems. Her owners Ron and Jenny look after her well and she's fed a good diet. Over the last few months they've noticed that she's been scratching. They thought it must have been fleas – but after using the flea control she was still itching.

So it was off to the vet to see what this puzzling itch was all about. Her skin was red and she had scratched so much that hair was falling out. She was obviously miserable. What seemed strange to her owners was that it seemed to come from nowhere. During the examination at the clinic, a series of tests were carried out to rule out various causes of itchiness.

After ruling out more common causes of itchy skin, food allergy was left as a possibility – so Patsy was put on what's called an elimination diet for 8 weeks. She was to eat one food only in that time and avoid all treats or other food sources. The food for the elimination trial is special in that it contains proteins that have been reduced in size to avoid detection by the immune system [protein reactions are the cause of food allergy].

Thankfully the food trial worked for Patsy. Within weeks she was much better – the redness and itchiness had gone. Patsy will stay on her new food and will most likely remain itch free forever.

Hill's Prescription Diet z/d Ultra Allergen-Free and z/d Low Allergen are specialised foods for the management of food allergy in dogs and cats. For more information on Ultra Allergen-Free dog food click here or Low Allergy cat food click here

Our 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, 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 and Fitness Centre. For more information click here

We're so proud of our recent PUPPY PRESCHOOL GRADUATES...Congratulations to all our puppies and parents:

At Nerang: Class commenced 09.9.09
Conan Stoneham, Kirra Dalgliesh, Hunter Butler, Narla Burrows, Sprocket Domigan, Charlie Wallis, Honey Gray

At Helensvale: Class commenced  14.9.09
Cruz Watson, Alfie Ward, Missy Tebbutt, Patch Bower, Toby Rooks, Molly Jarvis, Ruby Hawthorn, Zeke Baniltzak, Ruby Coulson

At Arundel: Class commenced 18.8.09
Rofl O'Connor, Bear Moody, Toree Milliner, Millie Lucas

Class commenced 15.9.09
Hazam Johnson, Ruby Johnson, Frankie Rowlatt, Harley Bennett and Ruby Ford.

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

We want as many pet owners to receive our email newsletter as possible. If we can get more people reading our tips and advice, we'll end up with healthier pets. In order to sign up more people, we're asking you to refer this to your family, friends and workmates - anyone who would enjoy it.

You may find yourself at the movies as we have free Village movie passes to give away www.villagecinemas.com.au

To refer a friend, click on the button below. Your friend will be sent an email inviting them to join and they can look at an example of the newsletter. If they choose not to join, they can simply ignore the email and will not be signed up.