A Pet's Guide to Weight Loss
Obesity is an accumulation of excessive energy stored by adipose (fatty) tissue sufficient enough to contribute to disease. It is the most common form of malnutrition in our companion animals and it is growing in frequency due to an increasingly sedentary lifestyle coupled with highly-palatable, energy-dense food sources.
Obesity can significantly increase the risk of various diseases and can negatively impact both the quality of life as well as the life span of our pets.
Conditions associated with obesity include:
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3 Important Facts About Heartworm
April is National Heartworm Awareness Month! Are your pets protected? Here’s what you need to know.
Heartworms are transmitted by mosquitos.
Heartworms are long, spaghetti-like parasites that live in the heart or pulmonary arteries. These worms cause disease by clogging the heart and major blood vessels, resulting in reduced blood supply to other organs, such as the liver, kidney and lungs.
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First Aid for Pets: Preparing a Kit
Are you prepared for a pet emergency? Just like humans, animals can experience several kinds of medical crises, like allergic reactions, bites, wounds, heat stroke and poisoning. The most important thing you can do in these types of situations is seek immediate veterinary care.
First aid measures should never replace professional medical attention; however, keeping emergency supplies in your home or car may help your pet in a critical situation before you can get to a vet.
When preparing a first aid kit for your pet, consider including these items:
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7 Things You Should Ask at a Vet Appointment
Taking your dog or cat to their vet appointment can be a bit overwhelming, especially if you don’t know what to expect. Here are some helpful questions we suggest you ask at your next appointment:
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Top 5 Spring Hazards
Spring has sprung, and with the change of season comes new activities, and new chances for your pet to get into some things that could potentially make them ill. To help protect your pet, we've listed the Top 5 Spring Time Hazards you should be aware of.
#1 Easter
Chocolate: It probably comes as no surprise to you that chocolate is a big no-no. A potentially lethal dose of chocolate for a 16lb. animal is only 2oz. of baker’s chocolate.
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How Hot is Too Hot? Heat Stress in Pets
Summer’s almost here! It’s time to sweat (or hide in the air conditioning). But your dog can’t sweat, and your cat only sweats between his toes. So how do you tell if your pet is starting to get overheated? It’s not quite the same with them as it is for us, but there are signs that, once you know them, will seem obvious.
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Can Your Pet Make You Sick?
We know that pets are more than just companion animals—they are family. We let them sleep in our beds, share our meals from time to time, and lick our faces clean. But love isn’t the only thing going on between people and pets. Humans can contract many illnesses—called zoonotic diseases—from animals, even our furry family members. Thankfully, simple precautions like education, good hygiene, and appropriate veterinary care can greatly reduce your risk.
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Diagnosing and Treating Your Pet Alone: The Dangers of the Internet
The internet is an amazing resource, one that has completely transformed our lives. It answers an infinite amount of questions for us, as the press of a button, anywhere we are at anytime.
The problem is, maybe we have too many answers, and from some unreliable sources to boot. If you were to Google “sick pet symptoms”, you would have 1.36 million results at your fingertips in 0.67 seconds. So where do you even begin?
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