Pet Rabbits – Are They Really So Exotic? (A two-part series) In the US, we think of “exotic” pets as any animal other than a dog or cat. Rabbits, birds, ferrets, reptiles, amphibians, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, hedgehogs, mice, rats, etc. are lumped together as exotics. The rabbit is the… read more →
It’s that time of year when we focus on healthy teeth and gums for the pets of all our family of clients. To highlight our annual winter dental procedure discount, I’ll discuss the many steps involved in a thorough dental prophy procedure. Dental prophylaxis (cleaning and polishing) involves first examining… read more →
Bella and Luca’s Tips For Pets To Have a Safe and Fun Halloween 1. Never allow dogs or cats to eat candy!! Especially if it contains chocolate or xylitol (a common sugar substitute found in sugar-free candies and gum); After Halloween trick-or-treat is over, go outside and police your yard… read more →
When we hear about forest fires in the western US, hurricanes inundating our coasts, earthquakes leveling cities around the world, I realize how lucky we are to live in western Pennsylvania. But even here, we occasionally have to deal with fires, floods, tornados, derailed train tank cars, and many other… read more →
Cute Cat of the Week PET DIETS: WHAT DOES SCIENCE TELL US? Last week I discussed the many facets of feeding the increasingly popular grain-free pet foods. Two other trends that also deserve scrutiny are feeding pets an all meat diet and feeding raw diets. In the wild, wolves and… read more →
Focus On Maintaining Healthy Body Weight. The current trend of feeding pets grain-free diets is inspired by the meals eaten by wild relatives of our fidos and felixes and is driven by intense marketing and television advertising campaigns. But are these diets really better for our pets? Veterinarians and pet… read more →
The Internet can be a confusing and even dangerous place for owners of pets with major diseases. The sheer amount of virtual information available immediately at one’s fingertips is astonishing; bordering on overwhelming! As an example, a quick search of the phrase “canine cancer” in a popular search engine returns… read more →
Sight is a very important sense to your pet dog, cat, or rabbit. I want to provide a broad overview of what is normal appearance and anatomy, then discuss the most common ocular diseases, and to finally make you aware of some ocular emergencies. Like humans, our pet’s eyes have… read more →
The past two weeks have dealt with approaching dogs and recognizing when they are fearful. We also need to learn to read cat’s expressions, posture, and as much as possible, their minds to be able to safely approach indoor cats you don’t know. We recommend using caution approaching feral cats,… read more →
In Last week’s newsletter we discussed how to greet a dog, but only if he doesn’t appear anxious or fearful. Here are some commonly seen signs that a dog may be fearful to alert you to change your approach for your safety. Some of them are unexpected and surprising!! To… read more →