News

Have you heard of Xylitol? In our age of low sugar and no sugar, new alternatives to sugar have popped up all over the place! As one of them, Xylitol is dangerous to dogs, I thought it was time to highlight it.

Pancreatitis - what it is and what causes it.  A little known fact that EVERY pet parent needs to know! Christmas is a time when we eat lots of foods and rich foods.  Eating leftovers is the symbol of Boxing Day!  Which are generally all-good for us humans but not so good for our pets. As it is the Christmas season, I wanted to bring to your attention the dangers of certain types of foods to our pets. This is not about the usual chocolate and grapes but something far more serious that can be fatal. Met Mia – the...

How can that be – grass of all things! It seems odd but alas no, so many dogs these days react to grasses! Grass and grass seeds can cause immediate reactions on dogs. At the same time that grass is seeding there are many pollens around and these can also cause your dog to be an itchy dog!  The spores from the pollens are absorbed into the dog’s skin and a reaction can present. Often feet are the first to be affected –  becoming red, inflamed and itchy. Then the constant gnawing at the feet just makes matters worse –...

Hot Spots Or Cool Spots Dogs love cool spots like these guys from Soi Dogs - but they definitely don't like hot spots! Don’t be fooled into thinking that hot spots only happen in the hot summer months. These intensely itchy patches can appear on your dog at any time of the year - winter or summer! The medical name is  Pyoderma but they are commonly referred to as Hot Spots or Heat Rashes - regardless of the name, they will cause you to have an irritated and itchy dog! These troublesome sores can appear in a matter of hours and...

The Prepared Pet! Being in NZ, living on fault-lines, near volcanoes or flood plains really means we should be thinking of the 'What if" scenario.  Are you prepared?  Not just for yourself but for you pet too? What if we had another devastating earthquake - we've all seen the effects of Christchurch 5 years ago and the devastation that unfolded, with the hundreds of displaced pets. Be prepared for your pet! Water: Living in Wellington (and right on top of the fault line) we all know that we should have a supply of water that lasts 100 days! That's a lot of...