Thursday, January 8, 2015
Easy Nail Trims
This is why counter conditioning as a pup onto nail trims/dremel is a good thing. Wouldn't you like your dogs' nail trim to be this easy?
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Sunday, December 21, 2014
Anything you can do....
Bonnie copies Bo's every move. She tries to act like she doesn't like him....but I know the truth.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
That article floating around Facebook....
As always, I was scrolling through my facebook feed and saw an article posted about animals. I saw the cute photo and clicked to read. To my dismay, this was an article posted in a pet health magazine and it was being reposted and reposted by veterinary clinics all over the place for their clients to read. I thought, OH MY GOSH! Why are you spreading this kind of information and making people think this is really what all vet offices are like!
The Animal Hospital of Rowlett and Heath are NOT. A link to the article is at the end, but please read our comments below!
The article begins with a sentence that says: "It is always a little upsetting when the veterinarian, or veterinary technician takes your pet "to the back" for a blood draw or nail trim. What are they doing back there? And why can't you go with?"
First off...saying "in the back" is banned from our clinic...it isn't "in the back". That IS scary. It is the treatment area. They do go on to describe this well in the article. "{the treatment room} it is usually a catch-all location with several tables equipped for anything from nail trims to minor surgeries. The walls are usually lined with kennels for recovering surgical or hospitalized patients. This room is the heart of the hospital. Any time a pet needs to have blood drawn, a nail trim, or even a major cactus removal, they are often hustled into this room"
At Animal Hospital of Rowlett, we give our clients the option of having blood drawn in the room, vaccines given in the room, etc. If the client wants to see...great! We can do these items right there with you in the exam room. If you prefer not to see or don't want your pet to associate you with the pokes, we can certainly take them to the treatment area.
We want you to see what we are doing if you are interested. If we ever DO take your pet to the treatment area, it is because you have said it was okay and the doctor will typically stay in the room to talk with you about exam findings, recommendations, examine your other pet, etc.
The article then goes to say "The treatment room has several things that make it superior to the intake room for these minor procedures, first and foremost is that you are not there. As much as most people believe that their pets are far better with their 'parents' this is actually far from the truth, and pets, once away from owners are usually far easier to handle."
This may be true for SOME pets...there are some dogs that are protective over mommy or the kids and literally won't let us touch them with you around, and we take them to the treatment area so they can have a better experience. Often times just coming out of the room, the hackles go down, the ears come up, the tail starts to wag, and the pet is thinking "oh, this is fun! where are we going!" vs "Get away from my Momma"!
The part of the article that REALLY irked me was the next paragraph. I am completely floored that any clinic thinks this is an appropriate way to handle cats or that clients ever think that "their pet won't be handled with the same loving kid gloves that you use". Ummm...at AHR, yes, they will.
The article says "Second, though veterinary professionals are in the business because they love animals, they also have a job to do, and the longer any procedure takes to accomplish the more stressful it is for the pet, the owners, and the staff. So, in the back, though your pet will be handled with respect and care, it may not be handled with the same loving kid gloves that you yourself use. If the situation calls for it, cats will be scruffed, dogs will be muzzled. Even if your pet is a saint, and actually is one of the minority of pets that works better with the owner than without, the back offers better lighting, generally superior tables, additional staff, and all of the equipment necessary to get your pet the care it needs."
We will NEVER scruff a cat. That is old school and inappropriate. If your vet office still scruffs cats, go somewhere else. When we get cats that have been scruffed elsewhere, we have a harder time handling them because associate the vet office with that type of handling. At AHR, we use a dimly lit room. We use big fluffy blanket. We wrap them in a "kitty burrito". We use Feliway spray and diffusers to calm them. We let them stay in their carrier if they want. We give them bowls and comfy things to curl into so that they don't have to be "out in the open" and feel safe. We have a cat only treatment area so they don't see dogs. We have a cat only lobby and cat only exam rooms. We have art on the walls specifically chosen for kitties so they don't get scared. We play soft music.
We treat our canine friends with the same respect and love...yes, the same respect and love we would treat your dog with if you were standing right there. We spend lots of time training employees from other facilities OUR way. We use squeeze cheese and peanut butter during vaccines and lab draws. We sing songs and pat them as distraction techniques. We offer friendly visits and behavior modification visits where we slowly teach dogs that nail trims aren't scary. We don't hold them down and "get it done" with four technicians sitting on top of them with a muzzle on. We may use a muzzle on occasion for the safety of the staff and the patient, but we will never treat them harshly or hold them down. We try to go slowly and do as much as we can before we get to that point. We have soft muzzles and hamster balls and calming masks and all sorts of methods of restraining a dogs mouth comfortably and in a non-scary way. Even the way we approach them to put those devices on is different from some locations. We don't go at them from the front, we come from the back and slip it over where they do not feel threatened.
Please know that Animal Hospital of Rowlett and Heath are committed to the low stress handling of your pets. We follow Dr. Sophia Yin's low stress handling techniques. Our entire staff is in the process of working towards individual certifications and we want our clinic to be the Gold standard for handling pets with care. Please join us in the low stress revolution . Don't allow your pet to be placed in a stressful, scary situation "in the back" at another office who promotes this type of scruffing and aggressive handling. Don't you want a vet who uses "the same loving kid gloves that you use"????
http://www.examiner.com/article/why-do-the-veterinarians-take-your-pet-to-the-back
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
The Animal Hospital of Rowlett and Heath are NOT. A link to the article is at the end, but please read our comments below! The article begins with a sentence that says: "It is always a little upsetting when the veterinarian, or veterinary technician takes your pet "to the back" for a blood draw or nail trim. What are they doing back there? And why can't you go with?"
First off...saying "in the back" is banned from our clinic...it isn't "in the back". That IS scary. It is the treatment area. They do go on to describe this well in the article. "{the treatment room} it is usually a catch-all location with several tables equipped for anything from nail trims to minor surgeries. The walls are usually lined with kennels for recovering surgical or hospitalized patients. This room is the heart of the hospital. Any time a pet needs to have blood drawn, a nail trim, or even a major cactus removal, they are often hustled into this room"
At Animal Hospital of Rowlett, we give our clients the option of having blood drawn in the room, vaccines given in the room, etc. If the client wants to see...great! We can do these items right there with you in the exam room. If you prefer not to see or don't want your pet to associate you with the pokes, we can certainly take them to the treatment area.
We want you to see what we are doing if you are interested. If we ever DO take your pet to the treatment area, it is because you have said it was okay and the doctor will typically stay in the room to talk with you about exam findings, recommendations, examine your other pet, etc.
The article then goes to say "The treatment room has several things that make it superior to the intake room for these minor procedures, first and foremost is that you are not there. As much as most people believe that their pets are far better with their 'parents' this is actually far from the truth, and pets, once away from owners are usually far easier to handle."
This may be true for SOME pets...there are some dogs that are protective over mommy or the kids and literally won't let us touch them with you around, and we take them to the treatment area so they can have a better experience. Often times just coming out of the room, the hackles go down, the ears come up, the tail starts to wag, and the pet is thinking "oh, this is fun! where are we going!" vs "Get away from my Momma"!
The part of the article that REALLY irked me was the next paragraph. I am completely floored that any clinic thinks this is an appropriate way to handle cats or that clients ever think that "their pet won't be handled with the same loving kid gloves that you use". Ummm...at AHR, yes, they will.
The article says "Second, though veterinary professionals are in the business because they love animals, they also have a job to do, and the longer any procedure takes to accomplish the more stressful it is for the pet, the owners, and the staff. So, in the back, though your pet will be handled with respect and care, it may not be handled with the same loving kid gloves that you yourself use. If the situation calls for it, cats will be scruffed, dogs will be muzzled. Even if your pet is a saint, and actually is one of the minority of pets that works better with the owner than without, the back offers better lighting, generally superior tables, additional staff, and all of the equipment necessary to get your pet the care it needs."
We will NEVER scruff a cat. That is old school and inappropriate. If your vet office still scruffs cats, go somewhere else. When we get cats that have been scruffed elsewhere, we have a harder time handling them because associate the vet office with that type of handling. At AHR, we use a dimly lit room. We use big fluffy blanket. We wrap them in a "kitty burrito". We use Feliway spray and diffusers to calm them. We let them stay in their carrier if they want. We give them bowls and comfy things to curl into so that they don't have to be "out in the open" and feel safe. We have a cat only treatment area so they don't see dogs. We have a cat only lobby and cat only exam rooms. We have art on the walls specifically chosen for kitties so they don't get scared. We play soft music.
We treat our canine friends with the same respect and love...yes, the same respect and love we would treat your dog with if you were standing right there. We spend lots of time training employees from other facilities OUR way. We use squeeze cheese and peanut butter during vaccines and lab draws. We sing songs and pat them as distraction techniques. We offer friendly visits and behavior modification visits where we slowly teach dogs that nail trims aren't scary. We don't hold them down and "get it done" with four technicians sitting on top of them with a muzzle on. We may use a muzzle on occasion for the safety of the staff and the patient, but we will never treat them harshly or hold them down. We try to go slowly and do as much as we can before we get to that point. We have soft muzzles and hamster balls and calming masks and all sorts of methods of restraining a dogs mouth comfortably and in a non-scary way. Even the way we approach them to put those devices on is different from some locations. We don't go at them from the front, we come from the back and slip it over where they do not feel threatened.
Please know that Animal Hospital of Rowlett and Heath are committed to the low stress handling of your pets. We follow Dr. Sophia Yin's low stress handling techniques. Our entire staff is in the process of working towards individual certifications and we want our clinic to be the Gold standard for handling pets with care. Please join us in the low stress revolution . Don't allow your pet to be placed in a stressful, scary situation "in the back" at another office who promotes this type of scruffing and aggressive handling. Don't you want a vet who uses "the same loving kid gloves that you use"????
http://www.examiner.com/article/why-do-the-veterinarians-take-your-pet-to-the-back
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Rheumatoid Arthritis in Your Pet? We Have a Solution
Arthritis like this rarely affects pets, but when it does, it can be hard to find help.....
Skipper's Mom didn't need to look any further than Animal Hospital of Rowlett's Dr Carter. Dr Carter's kind and gentle hands combined with her acupuncture experience and special training was just what Skipper needed to make him feel better.
We all delight in seeing him run after a successful acupuncture treatment even if it appears as though he little wrists and ankles are made of rubber.
More on Animal Hospital of Rowlett and Animal Hospital of Heath's Veterinary Medical Acupuncture servicesat Animal Hospital of Rowlett Veterinary Clinic
We all delight in seeing him run after a successful acupuncture treatment even if it appears as though he little wrists and ankles are made of rubber.
More on Animal Hospital of Rowlett and Animal Hospital of Heath's Veterinary Medical Acupuncture servicesat Animal Hospital of Rowlett Veterinary Clinic
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Cats and Diabetes - Three Things YOU Can Do to Make a Difference for Your Diabetic Cat
If your cat is a diabetic, there are a few very important aspects of his/her care that could make a big difference in how their disease progresses.
One - most diabetics need to be on a CANNED food. Diabetes incidence in cats parallels the success of dry cat foods in the pet food market. Dry foods are easy to use, don't smell and even make the cats' stool less smelly. BUT to make a dry food, you have to add a carbohydrate. If you are going to make a cookie, you add a carb. Diabetics need very low carbs to successfully manage their disease and many (but not all) canned foods provide this.
Two - If fed a canned food low in carbs, and given a long acting insulin like glargine (Lantus) many cats can, and will, go into remission. While the cost of this insulin is higher than others, if remission is achieved and the patient doesn't need insulin injections at all, the initial cost becomes irrelevant.
We can also offer cost saving tips to our patients at local pharmacies that can help affordability.
Three - at home monitoring with pet glucometers is easy and valuable to clients and their veterinarians. While we rarely recommend adjusting your cats insulin dose daily like people often do, this can add to other information such as patient weight, drinking and urinating frequency to allow for tighter regulation for many cats thus increasing chance for remission.
It's amazing to us, the number of second opinions (after googling their pets condition) that don't have these three basics covered. The first published use of glargine in cats dates to 2004!! There is no way every condition in dogs and cats can be "cutting edge" in every practice everywhere, especially given that some newly proposed changes turn out to be inaccurate or misguided. But this is now accepted dogma for feline diabetes - seeking a second opinion or having a serious discussion with your veterinarian is warranted if these basics haven't been explored for your cat.
Kim Downes, DVM
Animal Hospital of Rowlett Veterinary Clinic and Animal Hospital of Heath
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
One - most diabetics need to be on a CANNED food. Diabetes incidence in cats parallels the success of dry cat foods in the pet food market. Dry foods are easy to use, don't smell and even make the cats' stool less smelly. BUT to make a dry food, you have to add a carbohydrate. If you are going to make a cookie, you add a carb. Diabetics need very low carbs to successfully manage their disease and many (but not all) canned foods provide this.
Two - If fed a canned food low in carbs, and given a long acting insulin like glargine (Lantus) many cats can, and will, go into remission. While the cost of this insulin is higher than others, if remission is achieved and the patient doesn't need insulin injections at all, the initial cost becomes irrelevant.
We can also offer cost saving tips to our patients at local pharmacies that can help affordability.
Three - at home monitoring with pet glucometers is easy and valuable to clients and their veterinarians. While we rarely recommend adjusting your cats insulin dose daily like people often do, this can add to other information such as patient weight, drinking and urinating frequency to allow for tighter regulation for many cats thus increasing chance for remission.
It's amazing to us, the number of second opinions (after googling their pets condition) that don't have these three basics covered. The first published use of glargine in cats dates to 2004!! There is no way every condition in dogs and cats can be "cutting edge" in every practice everywhere, especially given that some newly proposed changes turn out to be inaccurate or misguided. But this is now accepted dogma for feline diabetes - seeking a second opinion or having a serious discussion with your veterinarian is warranted if these basics haven't been explored for your cat.
Kim Downes, DVM
Animal Hospital of Rowlett Veterinary Clinic and Animal Hospital of Heath
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday, November 17, 2014
The Hidden Dangers of Low-Cost Spay and Neuter Clinics
Thanks to breeders, veterinarians, animal shelters and others, most new puppy/kitten owners now understand the benefits of spaying or neutering their pet.
Knowing how and where these procedures can best be performed, however, is not as widely understood.
This post is to encourage you to make an informed, thoughtful choice when you decide where to take your pet for spaying/neutering. It could save your pet a lot of pain and reduce the risk of post-surgery complications.
Three points I’d like to share with you:
- A number of new, low-cost spay/neuter clinics and mobile units have opened up in this area. Some focus on efficiency and cost savings over the compassionate care of your pet.
- Several years ago, the Association of Shelter Veterinarians (ASV) published guidelines to help low-cost clinics understand the optimal protocols for safely performing spay/neuters while also providing humane, quality, individualized care for each pet. The 13-page document addresses surgery settings, anesthetics, pain management and other concerns (Go to sheltervet.org/abput/shelter-standards for guidelines).
- However, although these guidelines are in place, there is no one monitoring or enforcing them so patient care can vary dramatically from clinic to clinic. It’s up to you to inform yourself about the inherent risks of low-cost spay/neuter procedures.
www.ahrdvm.com/caninesneuter.htm
What can you do to ensure that your pet receives the care you want?
Find out exactly how your pet will be treated before, during, and after surgery. Ask tough questions. Learn the facts. Then decide what’s best for your pet. All surgeries have risks - but your research can minimize them and ensure that your pets get the care they deserve.
P.S. If you’re stuck on how to start your spay/neuter inquiry, here are some questions you can ask the person doing the surgery on your pet:
- What pre surgery precautions do you take to ensure that my pet does not have any hidden health issues that could complicate the surgery?
- What pain medications will you provide before, during, and after surgery?
- What types of pain medications will my pet receive?
- What monitoring systems do you use during surgery? After surgery?
- What steps do you take to ensure that my pet is as stress-free and comfortable as possible?
- Where will my pet wait and recover?
- Who will be monitoring and delivering anesthesia?
- What anesthetic parameters will be monitored?
- How many days will it take my animal to fully recover?
- How many of these surgeries have you done, what is your complication rate?
- May I have a copy of my pet’s veterinary record?
Animal Hospital of Rowlett Veterinary Clinic
Animal Hospital of Heath
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Here are Some Healthy, Simple Recipes to Stuff In Your Dog’s Kong Toy
For hours of enjoyment (both you and your dog), there's nothing better than a classic Kong Toy. Following are some great, yet simple recipes you can make at home to stuff into your dog’s favorite Kong toy or hollow marrow bone.
If you decide to make up your own recipe, just remember to choose ingredients low in sugar and salt. They'll thank you for it later.
Peanut Butter Bliss — Combine 1 ripe banana, 3 Tbsp Peanut Butter and 1 slice of cheese in a bowl. Mix well and stuff.
Potato Mash Up — Take leftover Mashed Potatoes (without salt added) and add crushed dog biscuits. Mix well and fill up their Kong.
Eggstra Please — Scramble an egg without butter and mix in leftover mashed potatoes, yogurt, and cheese. Mix well and fill.
Fiber Up – Take 4 Tbsp Peanut Butter and mix in bran cereal. Mix cereal into peanut butter and stuff.
PB and O’s — In a bowl combine 4 Tbsp Peanut Butter and mix in plain cherrios. Once cherrios are coated with peanut butter, stuff.
Banana Yogurt Freeze – Combine 1/2 cup plain yogurt with 1 ripe banana and mix well. Stuff in Kong and freeze until frozen. Serve frozen.
Apple Pie – In a bowl combine 3 slices of chopped apple, 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 1/2 ripe banana. Stuff in Kong and top with 1 Tbsp Peanut Butter.Freeze until frozen. Serve Frozen.
Pumpkin Pie - In a bowl combine 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 1/4 cup pure pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling), and 1/4 cup rice. Mix well and spoon into Kong. Freeze until frozen and Serve.
Peanut Butter Apple Supreme - Combine 1/4 cup applesauce, 1/4 cup plain cooked oatmeal, 1/4 cup plain yogurt, 1 mashed ripe banana, 1 Tbsp Peanut Butter. Stir well and fill Kong to top. Freeze until Frozen and Serve.
Apple Duo – Combine 1 chopped apple with 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce. Mix together well and place in Kong. Freeze until frozen then Serve.
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