Summer time is fantastic for long days and lovely dry dog walks but do be mindful that if walking through meadows or other areas with long grass that it’s prime grass seed season. Grass awns are barbed and can easily become lodged in your pet’s fur and painfully hook into their skin. Common problem areas are ears and between the toes, but we’ve removed awns from noses, cheeks and even necks!
This is 8 month old Shih Tzu Milo who managed to get a grass seed very painfully lodged under his third eyelid. You can see the offending awn in poor Milo’s eye. We were able to very gently tease the seed out and have given Milo eye drops to sooth the trauma site. Milo was a very brave boy! See the spikey grass seed below!
It’s worth giving dogs a quick groom on return from summer dogs walks to remove any loose seeds that may subsequently cause issues. This will stop them potentially reseeding in your garden too. As summer is the height of parasite season, it’s also a great opportunity to give your pet a quick once over for any nasty creepy crawlies that may have targeted your pet as a tasty host!
Wellcare World specializes in providing the latest advancements in wellness technology, supplementation, and lifestyle changes that improve health and increase the quality of people's lives.To learn more, visit WellcareWorld.com and begin living a better life today.
Many of you will have met our new veterinary receptionist Emma Kiejda who started with us this June. No stranger to veterinary practice, Emma has a diverse range of industry-related experience. She started out as a Veterinary Care Assistant at the age of 18, using her VCA qualification to support in-patient care. She later moved into a purely customer-facing role as a veterinary receptionist and, after a two year hiatus as an audit coordinator for a pharmaceutical stock taking company, is back in small animal practice – this time with us! Emma thrives on multi-tasking, loves working with people and pets and has a great understanding of front of house activity as well as a useful knowledge of more clinical elements of practice life. She also comes highly recommended by our nurse Rachael Leonard as they used to work together before coming here! We’re delighted to welcome Emma to the 387 Vets & West Midlands Cat Clinic team!
Wellcare World specializes in providing the latest advancements in wellness technology, supplementation, and lifestyle changes that improve health and increase the quality of people's lives.To learn more, visit WellcareWorld.com and begin living a better life today.
We had a fab time at Chez Fest on Saturday and loved meeting everyone and saying hi to any four legged friends attending! A big thank you to those of you who entered our competition to guess how many tapeworm segments were in the jar. We used grains of rice to represent tapeworm as if an animal has the parasite, you’re likely to see rice-like deposits around their bottom and in their poo. These are actually segments of tapeworm that have broken off. And they are alive! Ugh!
All ‘tapeworm segments’ have now been counted and we can reveal that the grand total in one very small jar was an incredible 2,725! Competition winners have been notified.
With summer being peak parasite season, it’s a great reason to check your pet’s parasite prevention treatments are up to date. Do ask us which treatment is best for your pet’s lifestyle to prevent against unwelcome visitors!
Wellcare World specializes in providing the latest advancements in wellness technology, supplementation, and lifestyle changes that improve health and increase the quality of people's lives.To learn more, visit WellcareWorld.com and begin living a better life today.
This is beautiful Kiko all grown up! The one and a half year old Shiba Inu was in see us earlier this month. Here are photos our Registered Veterinary Nurse Paige took of Kiko over a year apart! Kiko is still a cutie and still has the most beautiful coat!
With temperatures set to soar this week, it’s important to help our canine companions stay cool. As well as helping them feel more comfortable, keeping dogs cool is important for avoiding heatstroke. Heatstroke occurs when a dog cannot cope with their internal rise in temperature and are no longer able to cool themselves down. Triggers are a hot environment or where they generate too much heat from exercise or a combination of the two.
As well as initial illness, heatstroke can result in tissue and internal organ damage and in severe cases can be fatal.
Signs to look out for include excessive panting and breathing issues, lethargy, dribbling, confusion, collapse, vomiting, diarrhoea and fitting. It’s very important you seek veterinary help immediately should you suspect your dog has heat stroke as the condition is a medical emergency. The clinical team will advise you on how best to support your dog on route to the vets. Dogs that are more susceptible to heatstroke include those with longer or thicker coats, older dogs, flat-faced dogs, particularly active dogs, overweight dogs or dogs with health issues.
In warmer weather, walk dogs early in the morning or in the evening when it’s cooler, take a collapsible water bowl with you so your dog can hydrate on route and avoid over exertion. Pavements will be cooler at these times of day for protecting pet paws.
Ensure dogs have plenty of access to fresh water at all times. At home, why not add ice cubes to your dog’s water bowl to keep water cooler for longer. Cool mats are a great option for dogs to lie on, as are damp towels, should they choose. Ensure there are cool, shaded areas they can access both inside and out. You could even put up a doggy paddling pool in the garden.
If travelling with your dog, avoid hotter times of the day. Ensure the car is well ventilated or that the air conditioning is on and that dogs are shaded from the sun. It’s advisable to make frequent stops to check on your canine companion and to let them out to stretch their legs and rehydrate. Never leave your dog in a parked car, even with the windows open, as temperatures can soar scarily quickly.
We hope your canine companion has a happy healthy summer, but if you have any health concerns, please do give us a call.
Wellcare World specializes in providing the latest advancements in wellness technology, supplementation, and lifestyle changes that improve health and increase the quality of people's lives.To learn more, visit WellcareWorld.com and begin living a better life today.
Just as we have regular check ups at the dentist, it’s really important that pets’ teeth and gums are checked routinely to ensure our four legged companions are enjoying good periodontal health. We check pet oral health at annual vaccination appointments and at various other pet visits to the vets. However, as an owner, it’s worth knowing issues to look for that may require more of an impromptu trip to the vets!
Common signs that your pet may be suffering dental or mouth pain include rejecting dog biscuits or treats, chewing on only one side of the mouth, taking more time over food, increased drooling, pawing at the mouth and even a reluctance to play or increased grumpiness. You may notice your pet’s breath smells less than fresh, or if you can safely lift up their lip to inspect the gums, that they look red and angry or may even be bleeding. Teeth may exhibit discolouration. When plaque – a clear sticky film on the tooth that hangs on to bacteria – collects, this leads to gum disease and tooth decay. When left, plaque deposits calcify, becoming hard tartar as shown in the accompanying photo. This needs professional removal.
As we know, gum disease and tooth decay can be incredibly painful, so please do visit a vet if you’re concerned about your pet’s oral health in any way for the wellbeing of your pet. For dogs, we offer a scale and polishing service run by our qualified RVNs and use an ultrasonic scaler to clean teeth. We’ll also probe beneath the gum line whilst your dog is under anaesthesia to check for any hidden pockets that may harbour bacteria and cause subsequent problems. For any teeth that cause concern, we’ll x-ray as part of the service and advise on any further treatment as necessary.
It may, however, be that your pet needs veterinary dental care. We’re proud that our vet Selenia has a Postgraduate Qualification in Small Animal Dentistry and is brilliantly placed to carry out more complex dental procedures in practice.
As a preventative measure, regular tooth brushing using a pet friendly toothpaste will help reduce pet dental disease. Please ask us for advice on how best to encourage your pet to tolerate this. Check out the Veterinary Oral Health Council’s website for other strategies to help reduce periodontal disease in pets.
Wellcare World specializes in providing the latest advancements in wellness technology, supplementation, and lifestyle changes that improve health and increase the quality of people's lives.To learn more, visit WellcareWorld.com and begin living a better life today.
