Posts Tagged ‘preventative care’
Laser Therapy For Your Pet
Did you know that Michigan Road Animal Hospital offers laser therapy for 
our patients? Laser therapy has been growing in popularity and is widely known for it’s healing and theraputic effects in people, and now we are excited to be able to provide this therapy for our patients as well.
Laser therapy in pets can be used for a variety of reasons including: abdominal issues, abscesses & infections, anal issues, fractures, post-surgical healing, oral disease, osteoarthritis, muscle & tissue injuries, bites & wounds and much more.
Please call our office today at 317-291-3932 to see how your pet may be able to benefit from laser therapy treatment, what the options are, or just to learn more about the incredible new therapy!
Beware Buying Online Meds for Pets
From the pet lovers at HealthyPet.com!
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning to pet owners about buying drugs online on Dec. 14, 
2007. It is safest, experts say, to work with veterinarians to obtain drugs for your pets. In Canada, the Veterinary Drugs Directorate monitors and regulates animal drugs. The FDA warning was prompted by increased concern about the quality of drugs that can be obtained online, especially from foreign companies that may sell products that are not regulated by the government.
Advertisements like: “Discount pet drugs — no prescription required” may appeal to pet owners surfing the Web, but FDA experts say it can be risky to buy drugs online from sites that tout this message and others like it.
Because drugs influence a pet’s health, medical experts urge consumers to work closely with veterinarians to obtain prescriptions and purchase medicine.
When drugs are purchased through veterinarians, doses are measured carefully for each pet, and pet owners can rest assured that the product has been stored properly to maintain purity. Government investigations have found that some companies advertising drugs online sell expired drugs. Please click here to continue reading the rest of the article at HealthyPet.com!
Vectra 3D Keeps Bugs Off Your Pet!
Michigan Road Animal Hospital & MRAH 96th Street are now carrying Vectra 3D! This amazing product kills & repels mosquitos, fleas, ticks, mites, lice & other bugs too! It is a topical for dogs and you apply it once per month. Please call us to learn more!
A VectraPet® is a healthy pet.
Parasites are a fact of life wherever you and your pet go. Especially if you spend time outdoors or come in contact with other animals. Outdoors or indoors, we want you and your dog to enjoy a healthy, happy life. That’s why we offer a family of Vectra® vectoricides so you can choose the product that fits your lifestyle. Your veterinarian can advise you about which option is best for your dog or puppy. When used monthly, Vectra can help protect your dog’s health, and keep your household free from harmful parasites (vectors).
Vectra 3D®
Fast-acting protection against fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, lice, mites and sand flies.
Continuing Education with Dr. Duncan
Our family of hospitals–Michigan Road Animal Hospital, MRAH at 96th St. and Zionsville Animal Hospital–belong to a select group of veterinary hospitals called The Veterinary Management Group.
VMG partners with larger animal hospitals around the country assisting them in improved management, medical, and organizational skills. Dr Duncan just returned yesterday from a 5 day VMG meeting in Tucson, Arizona. Topics at this meeting were: Improving Human Resources For Your Staff, Pet Health Insurance, Therapy Laser, Pet Wellness Programs, Digital Dental X-Rays and Strategic Pharmaceutical and Supply Chain Systems. VMG affords us advantages that allow our hospitals to pass along to you improved veterinary health care and related services at a more affordable cost.
Please feel free to contact us on our new Partners in Wellness and pet health insurance to see, if together, we can provide even better health care for your pets this year and the years to come.
Benefits of Spaying & Neutering
By ROBIN HENRY at HealthyPet.com
What Is It?
Spaying and neutering are surgical procedures used to remove the reproductive organs of dogs and cats. Spaying is the removal of the uterus and ovaries of a female dog or cat. Neutering is the removal of a male dog’s or cat’s testicles. These procedures are also sometimes referred to as “sterilizing” or “fixing” pets.
How Does It Work?
Both of these procedures are performed by a veterinarian while the pet is under anesthesia, medically asleep. Spaying is generally a more involved procedure than neutering because the reproductive organs are being removed from the internal body cavity.
Although all surgical procedures carry some risks, spaying and neutering are the most common surgical procedures performed in dogs and cats, and most pets handle the surgery very well. Be sure to follow your veterinarian’s instructions regarding withholding food and water before surgery. Your pet will need to stay at the hospital anywhere from a few hours to a few days, depending on age, size, sex and condition. Also be careful to follow all recommendations for home care or aftercare, such as pain medications and post surgery appointments.
Pets can be spayed or neutered when they are as young as 8 weeks of age, and many animal shelters follow this policy before releasing pets for adoption. Otherwise, the procedure is typically recommended for dogs and cats before they reach sexual maturity (at about 5 months old).
What are the Benefits?
One of the best reasons to spay or neuter your pet is to avoid adding to the problem of pet overpopulation. Every day in the United States, thousands more puppies and kittens are born than are human babies. The result is that there are not enough homes for all these pets. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) estimates that between 6 and 8 million pets enter animal shelters each year. Of these pets, the HSUS believes that at least half — 3 to 4 million — are euthanized. Many of these animals are young and healthy.
Spaying and neutering also have immediate benefits for you and your pet:
- Your pet will be much less likely to get a number of serious health problems that can be life-threatening and expensive to treat, such as uterine, mammary (breast) or testicular cancer.
- Spayed and neutered pets are less likely to try to escape and roam. Roaming pets are far more likely to get into fights with other animals or to experience traumatic injuries, such as being hit by a car.
- Neutering male cats makes them less likely to mark their territory (your home) by spraying urine.
- Spaying female pets prevents them from coming into heat, that is, actively seeking a mate. Females in heat may vocalize more and may leave bloodstains on carpets or furniture. A female dog or cat in heat may also attract unwanted male canine or feline visitors to your property.
- Spayed or neutered pets are generally more even-tempered and less likely to show aggression with other animals or people.
Common Concerns
Will my pet gain weight?
You can help keep your pet from gaining unnecessary weight by not overfeeding or overindulging him with treats and by making sure she gets plenty of exercise. Regular walks (for dogs) or playtimes (for cats) can help keep your friend fit.
Please click here to continue to the full article!
Preventing Behavior Problems in Cats
Make Time for Play and Prevent Behavior Problems in Cats
It may be hard to imagine that cats lounging around the house feel stressed, but medical studies prove that they do and that it can lead to aggressive play.
“We put cats in abnormal situations when we keep them inside and confine them with multiple cats,” said Valarie Tynes, DVM, diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Behaviorists (ACVB). “Yet cat lovers know it’s hard to get just one.”
To keep cats happy, veterinary behavior specialists suggest that owners play for at least five minutes each day with cats individually or in a group. To determine whether you should separate cats for play, watch to see if they sleep side by side and groom each other, Tynes said. That behavior indicates good interaction and gives a green light to group play, she said.
“Playtime provides mental stimulation and exercise,” Tynes said. “If you don’t engage your cats you have all these potential problems with aggression as well as obesity. The goal is to get these animals up and off the sofa. They need [owner] involvement.”
Step one is to teach cats what is appropriate play.
Cats that attack moving feet or jump on owners without warning may not have learned the basics, Tynes explained. “Kittens learn if they hurt other kittens or cats [then] play ends,” she said. “Unfortunately people don’t understand how to set these rules.”
To establish positive playtime use toys — not hands or feet — to start games that involve chasing and pouncing. Kitty fishing lines, balls, and furry mice held a few feet away from the body are good tools to use.
Overall, play aggression normally occurs when cats misinterpret owner actions as games, say behavior experts. For example: One cat regularly jumped on two young boys as they raced down a hallway after bath time.
“The kids were screaming and chasing each other and the cat thought it was funny to land on the kids’ butts,” said Sharon Crowell-Davis, DVM, PhD, ACVB diplomate. “He thought there was a really good game going on.”
She suggested that the owners shut the door to the cat’s room during bath time so he couldn’t see the boys run down the hallway. The “attacks” stopped.
Owners can also try distracting a cat during instances of play aggression. By throwing something a toy across a cat’s line of vision, he/she will chase it instead of going after your feet.
Please click here to go to the full article at HealthyPet.com!
Seven Secrets to Keep Your Pet Trim
By ABC News
Humans aren’t the only ones waging a fight against fat. Man’s best four-legged friends are waging the obesity battle too.
According to the latest veterinary surveys, more than half our nation’s dogs and cats are overweight. That means 94 million pets are at risk today for developing crippling arthritis, debilitating diabetes, catastrophic kidney and heart disease, high blood pressure and many forms of cancer.
PHOTOS: Pets Working it Out at Doggy Fat Camp
How can you slim down your supersize pets, keep them fit and reduce their risk of developing many serious diseases?
Ernie Ward, veterinarian, author and the founder of the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, offers these seven tips to help your pet lose the paunch.
1. Calculate Calories – If you don’t know how many calories your pet needs each day, you don’t know how much to feed it. And don’t think you can trust the bag; feeding guides are formulated for adult, unspayed or unneutered active dogs and cats. That means if you have an older, spayed or neutered indoor lap potato you’ll probably be feeding 20 percent to 30 percent too much if you follow the food’s instructions. Instead, ask your veterinarian to calculate the proper number of calories your pet needs each day.
Another good starting point is to use this formula: Divide your pet’s weight by 2.2. Multiply this figure times 30. Add 70 and you’ve got a good idea of how many calories you should be feeding a typical inactive, indoor spayed or neutered pet. Of course, each pet’s metabolism is different, so be sure to consult your veterinarian before starting a diet.
This much is not healthy!
2. Measure Meals – A pet owner’s single greatest tool in the fight against excess weight is a measuring cup. Too many pet owners simply fill the bowl or guesstimate how much they’re feeding. The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention has done studies to show that giving as few as 10 extra kibbles of food per day can add up to a pound of weight gain per year for indoor cats and small dogs. After you calculate how many calories your pet needs, determine how much food you should provide for each meal – and measure it.
3. Tactical Treating - I am not anti-treats. I am anti-junk treats. If you’re going to give your pets extra goodies, make ‘em count. Too many pet treats are calorie grenades laden with sugar and fat blowing up our pet’s waistlines. Choose low-calorie, no-sugar goodies that provide a health benefit. I like single ingredient treats such as sweet potatoes or functional treats that provide a bonus, such as helping to keep teeth clean or promote mobility. Whatever treats you give, be sure to count those additional calories. Many pet owners feed the proper amount of food but sabotage their efforts by adding one or two snacks throughout the day. As few as 30 extra calories per day means your pet gains more than 3 pounds in a year. Better yet, dogs don’t do division. Break treats into small pieces and divvy them up whenever your pet earns it. Be cautious of guilt-treating – the practice of giving your pet a treat because you feel guilty leaving it home alone. Instead, use treats only as a reward for good behavior. Pets (and people) need to learn to earn extra goodies.
Please click here to continue to the full article at ABC News.com.
Pet Dental Health Month 2012 in Full Swing
Let us help you get your pet on the road to great oral care in 2012! Pet Dental Health Month is typically talked up & celebrated (if you will) in February every year. But at Michigan Road Animal Hospital we like to start the celebrating early by offering all sorts of specials in January & February. Let’s get your pet on the right track for oral health this month!
So, how often do you brush your pet’s teeth? I myself am guilty of not brushing my cat’s teeth…like ever…and I know the diseases and poor health it can cause a healthy pet. I should know since I work here! And if you are wondering: if the toothbrushing by your pet’s groomer every 4-6 weeks, or if that new stuff you see advertised on TV to “bomb away plaque” (wouldn’t we all just use that instead of seeing our dentists twice a year if it did?), or if some new “sedative-free” dental cleaning by the local pet salon really works? Well, they don’t. If your pet has tartar buildup on his or her teeth then your pets’ Veterinarian is the answer. They ARE your pet’s dentist. They know what your pet needs and can make the right recommendations based on a thorough oral examination.
Did you know that most pets have already developed periodontal disease by the age of three? That’s scary! Your pet has so many years to live…who wants to live with a painful mouth, or develop other horrible conditions like heart disease or kidney failure? I know I don’t want that to happen to my pet! Professional dental care with a Veterinarian and a regular at-home routine will help your pet enjoy a longer, healthier life. Plus it keeps your pet’s breath fresh for more “enjoyable” kisses. From now through this February we are pleased to offer the following: complimentary dental exams, discounted dental cleanings, and 15% off dental products.
So how do you know if your dog or cat has a dental problem? Some signs are bad breath, brown or yellow teeth, excessive drooling, bleeding from the mouth, or a change in eating and drinking habits. A dental exam is the best way to determine your pet’s need for a dental cleaning if you are not sure. And remember, right now those oral examinations are completely FREE! Call us today at 291-3932 or 228-0645 to get more details. You can also log on to www.petdental.com for great pet dental health information.
Enroll for Puppy Classes Now!
Catherine Steinke, of Sensible K9 is back teaching puppy classes-and it is music to our ears!
She is offering two different puppy classes…one for the new pup teaching them proper etiquette & the “basics”, and one for the more seasoned pup, teaching them the “skills” every pup should have. Both classes have different types of start dates & maximum number of students so don’t hesitate to let us know if you are interested in enrolling your pet! Click here for more information on these great classes for our clients & the Indianapolis community! http://www.sensiblek9.com
Want to get your pet enrolled? Give us a call today or contact Catherine directly at 317-727-0915 or Catherine@SensibleK9.com.
What’s Up Doc?
You’ve got questions….we’ve got answers!
Q: Why does my cat put her toys in her water bowl or food dish ?
A: Cats, as well as dogs consider your home their territory, including where we put their food dishes. The location of our pet’s food & water dishes doesn’t typically change from day-to-day. So, when your cat is finished playing with her treasured toys she is simply putting them in a safe location, where she’ll know they’ll be waiting when she’s ready to play with them once again.
