Anicare Veterinary GroupVeterinarian Palmerstown | Anicare Veterinary Group

A very good reason to spay…

natasha — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:43:56 +0000

This past week at Palmerstown Veterinary Hospital, we have had two cases of female dogs having a condition know as pyometra. This basically involves the acculmulation of pus in the womb. This condition will make your animal feel very ill and is potentially life threatening. The best way to prevent the occurence of this is to neuter your pet.

At six months of age all pets that are not intended for breeding should be neutered. Your pet will be admitted into Palmerstown Veterinary Hospital in the morning and will go home again that evening. We use modern anaesthetics and pain relief medication to ensure the minimal risk and discomfort for your pet.

Apart from preventing pyometra, spaying your female pet has many other benefits:

Prevents unwanted pregnancies- thousands of unwanted puppies and kittens are put to sleep in Ireland every year due to overpopulation.
Practically eliminates mammary cancer if done before the first heat; if done after the first heat neutering still substantially reduces the incidence of mammary cancer.
Prevents false pregnancy or phantom pregnancy which can cause behavioural problems.
Prevents your dog or cat coming into heat. Each heat lasts approximately three weeks. During the first week of her heat, your dog or cat will bleed and this can be quite unpleasant especially if indoors. Great care is needed to ensure that she is separated from male dogs/cats during this time.

The benefits of neutering your male pet include:

preventing testicular tumours, reducing prostate problems, anal tumours and some hernias.
Reduces or eliminates territory marking, e.g. urinating on your good sofa or kitchen cupboards!!
Reduces or eliminates tendency to roam.
Results in better temperament and reduces inter-dog aggression.

At Palmerstown Veterinary Hospital we advise fewer calories than entire pets. We recommend that you reduce your dog’s calorie intake by one third once your pet has been neutered. One of our qualified Veterinary Nurses will be happy to go through a new feeding plan with you.

Poisons and your pet

natasha — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 09:19:34 +0000

Recently in Palmerstown Veterinary Hospital we have seen several cases in which pets have eaten things they shouldn’t have.
One case was a terrier, Molly, who had eaten some rat poisoning that her owner had lain outside under a shed in the back garden. The terrier, being naturally inquisitive and having a great sense of smell, had got at it even though her owner had thought it was safely hidden. Rat poisons such as “Storm” and “Endorat” are highly toxic to all pets. Dogs will commonly eat it, as it has a sweet taste. This poison will take a few days to take effect but usually within 2-3 days of eating it, the dog will show signs of weakness or collapse. The poison interferes with blood clotting and causes internal bleeding. It will be fatal without treatment and affected dogs frequently need blood transfusions to cure them. If seen early enough we can prevent the poison from being absorbed.

Thankfully for Molly, her owners noticed her eating the poison and immediately brought her in to us. We were able to give her medication to make her vomit and remove the poison from her system and give the antidote for the poisoning.

Other poisons your pets may have access to include slug pellets, chocolate, sweeteners, grapes, lilies (cats) and human medicines (such as paracetamol, aspirin, nurofen, difene), household plants (lilies, azaleas, poinsiettas etc.) and many more.

Remember never to give your pet any medication that is not meant for them. Many medications safe for us are extremely toxic to our pets.

Keep all medications well away from inquisitive pets and if you suspect your pet has eaten something they shouldn’t have bring them in as soon as possible.

If in doubt just give your local Anicare branch a call – even out of hours – don’t wait if you are worried!

Tails from Palmerstown

natasha — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 09:11:10 +0000

Last week here at Palmerstown Veterinary Hospital a client of ours brought a gorgeous little dog into us that she had found walking along the N4, close to our veterinary hospital. Thankfully, the dog was bright and uninjured and she was very lucky that she hadn’t been be hit by a car as it’s a very busy road!

When an animal is brought into us here in Palmerstown, the first thing we do is check if they are microchipped. A microchip is about the size of a small grain of rice. It is injected under the skin at the base of the neck in a sterile manner. It bears a unique 15 digit code which, together with the owner’s details, is recorded on a database. If an animal is scanned (by a special hand held scanner) the unique code recorded by the scanner can be entered in to the database from which owners details can be obtained and contact established.

I am very happy to say that this was the case with our stray. Once I scanned her, the code that recorded on the scanner was entered in to the database and the owner’s details revealed that they were actually clients of ours! When I called them they were so relieved but couldn’t understand how she had gotten out from the house. As it turned out, a delivery man had been at the door and ‘Emma’ had made her escape! Her owner, who was in work, did not even realise she was missing. So it was very lucky that she had been microchipped.

This tale has a happy ending but not every animal is as lucky! Every year thousands of well-cared for pets end up being re-homed or put to sleep simply because their owners cannot be readily located. A microchip is a simple and easy thing you can do for your pet, all of our Anicare branches provide this service. Your pet will thank you for it!