Category: Lifestyle
My pet is battling to pass a stool

Bowel movements - a serious situation
Ever notice your dog or cat in a hunched-up position either in the garden or in their sandbox and just not being able to “come right” with passing whatever it is they want to pass? In cats and female dogs, the posture of the animal when passing stool and passing urine is the same. It ...
View Article Can I, or my dogs or cats contract bird flu from my pet birds?

Avian Influenza South Africa 2017
The information provided here is not an official statement but is meant to provide some general information on bird flu because of the break out of bird flu in September 2017 in South Africa.
View Article I love the mean look a dog with cropped ears have

Ear cropping in dogs - Why vets do not do it anymore
Ear cropping in dogs was a procedure done by vets in the previous century whenever dog owners requested it. Cropping is the removal of part, or all, of the outer ear, or the pinnae (externally visible flap) of the ear of an animal. Cropping the ears also involved taping the ears up after the surg...
View Article My cat is damaging my furniture by scratching it

Should I declaw my cat?
Many people think that declawing a cat means that you cut the nails really, really short so that they do not have the capacity to grow again. Nothing could be further from the truth. When a cat is declawed, the greater part of the last digit of its toe is amputated. Cats’ nails are attached...
View Article My Boerboel with its long tail really looks strange. I much prefer a Boerboel with a short tail.

Tail Docking in dogs - Why we as vets do not routinely do it anymore
To start off with let’s define what we are talking about when we are talking about tail docking in dogs.
Tail docking from a veterinary perspective refers to a surgical procedure done to puppies between the ages of 3 to 5 days old, where a portion or partial length of the tail is amputa...
View Article My dog makes a strange snorting sound with funny gagging movements almost like something is stuck in his/her throat.
.jpg)
Reverse Sneezing in dogs
What is reverse sneeze?
Reverse sneezing is repetitive, forceful inspiratory (breathing in) efforts generally caused by irritation of the lining of the naso-pharynx or area at the back of the mouth and nose where these two openings join...
View Article Is Tick Fever and Tick Bite Fever the same disease in dogs?

Erlichiosis (Tick bite fever) in dogs
It is not. Tick fever or Babesios in dogs, is not the same disease as Tick bite fever or Erlichioses. Both diseases are transmitted to dogs by ticks, but they are caused by two totally different organisms or parasites and the clinical signs, progress and treatment are very different.
To furth...
View Article What do I feed my dog, how much and when?

Nutrition in dogs: guidelines to a well-fed pooch
Feeding your dog an appropriate well balanced diet for its life stage is vital to good health and wellbeing. Nutrient requirements differ depending on the breed and age of the dog and there are a few important factors to take into consideration.
Many people see dogs and cats as a similar kind...
View Article Can my kitten make me sick?
.jpg)
Cat Scratch Disease
There are many diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans. These diseases are called zoonotic diseases. Although the list below is by no means comprehensive, some of the more common diseases that we can get from our household pets are:
Ringworm, which is a fungal infection...
View Article My dog did not go out of the yard and is now limping lame on one of his hind legs
Anterior cruciate ligament rupture in dogs
Often time vets are confronted with this situation in veterinary clinics. As far as the owner knows their dog would not have been subject to any trauma, yet they can hardly take weight on one of their back legs. There are many possible causes but by far one of the most common reasons for this sit...
View Article
