View All Articles

Daily Exercise for Your Dog May Help Prevent Serious Diseases

When it comes to keeping your dog healthy, people often think of choosing the right food, regular visits to the vet, and making sure your dog gets enough play time. But play time or brief walks don’t always provide your dog with enough crucial aerobic exercise—and dogs that don’t get enough exercise are more likely to become overweight or obese.

Overweight pets are becoming more and more common. We’re all busy these days, and most of us barely have enough time to exercise ourselves, much less ensure that our animals get adequate activity. But it’s crucial for your pet’s health (just as it is for our own!) to make sure they’re up and moving briskly every day. Your dog probably wants to exercise every day, hard enough to make them pant. And making sure your dog keeps active can help prevent a host of serious conditions and diseases.

When dogs become overweight, they suffer from the same sorts of problems as overweight humans do. Overall, they have a shorter life expectancy, and overweight dogs are at risk for diabetes, bone diseases and joint pain, diseases of the heart and the lungs, and cancer. While, as is the case with humans, daily exercise is no guarantee against chronic illness, the evidence suggests that it helps. Staying at a healthy weight can also help your dog once he or she gets older. Aging dogs can have a difficult time getting up, jumping into cars, and playing. Obesity puts extra strain on their joints, which compounds these struggles.

Of course, not all dogs are the same. The exercise your dog needs will vary based on its breed, age, size, and general health. A border collie will need a lot more active time to remain healthy than a teacup terrier, for example. But, an average dog will need between half an hour to two hours of activity every day.

Walking is a great way to get your dog up and moving, but that’s not the only way you can exercise them. In fact, your dog can be a great motivator for keeping you and your family active! A nice family hike can be a great way to get you and your dog’s heart rates up, as can a few runs a week. Even playing a game of fetch is great for you and your pet. You’re up off the couch or away from your desk, moving; they’re running happily to and fro, getting in the heart-healthy exercise they need.

Of course, it’s good to be cautious. Like older humans, older dogs may not be up to every challenge. Before embarking on a weight loss program for your pet, consider a visit to your primary veterinarian. Just like you’d consult a doctor before trying to lose weight, it’s a good idea to talk to a professional about your dog’s unique needs. Your pet can’t tell you when he or she is tired, thirsty, or hurting, so it’s good to know everything before changing up a routine.

VRC is a specialty veterinary healthcare center in Malvern. We are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

What’s the Difference Between a Minor and Major Pet Injury

oncology_contentPet ownership means a lot of things. Joy, companionship, a lot of laughs… but it can also mean dealing with an injury when your pet gets hurt. As we all know, injuries can happen anywhere, any time. While there’s nothing especially dangerous about playing in the park, going for a run, or having a healthy after-dinner game of fetch in the front yard, even in these instances injuries can and will occur.

When a pet sustains an injury, pet owners often have a lot of the same questions as parents (and spouses!), such as: How bad is this, really? What should I do to treat this? Is this an injury requiring immediate professional medical care, or can it be dealt with at home? That’s why it’s good to have a little understanding of what the difference is between a major and a minor injury in your pet.

Basically, while pet owners can take care of minor injuries at home, a major injury is one that requires a visit to your vet or specialty veterinary healthcare center (if it’s after hours). Minor injuries are things like bruises, torn nails, insect bites or stings, burrs from grass or weeds that can get caught in paws or your pet’s fur, and minor abrasions. It’s always good to be careful when dealing with such things—dogs and cats may snap and bite when in pain—but in an emergency, a little styptic powder on a torn nail or saline solution (for cleaning a shallow cut) can be effective first aid, and have the added benefit of not upsetting your injured pet more by taking them to the vet. Of course, once they’re calmed down, if you have any concerns it’s a good idea to be safe rather than sorry, and follow up with a vet visit.

Major wounds would include lacerations, a bite wound, any puncture wounds, burns, scalds, serious abrasions, snake bites of any kind, and of course any broken bones. These are not the sorts of injuries that can be treated at home. If your pet sustains any sort of injury like the above, take them to your local veterinary specialist immediately, or to the after-hours clinic if they happen late at night. A deep cut can get infected and require stitches, and even a small burn can send a pet into shock. Snake bites can be ugly even if the snake wasn’t a poisonous one, and, of course, any broken bones require immediate professional care to treat.

Playtime is crucial for pets, but accidents can and will happen even if everyone’s being safe and smart. If you have any questions at all about treating a pet’s injury, it’s best to get them in the car and take them to someone who knows what they’re doing!

VRC is a specialty veterinary healthcare center in Malvern. We are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, so if your pet sustains an injury at any time of the day or night, give VRC’s emergency center a call at (610) 647-2950.

April is a Good Month to Start Thinking about Prevention of Lyme Disease in Dogs

Pug2Lyme disease is a notorious tick-borne disease that all pet owners worry about—especially in Pennsylvania, where Lyme disease is fairly common. If your dog is an indoor-outdoor dog, or if you like to take your dog on long walks or hikes in wooded areas, it’s a good idea to learn all you can about protecting your dog from Lyme disease—and there’s no better time than April, which is Prevention of Lyme Disease in Dogs month!

Considered one of the more serious ailments in pets, Lyme disease is a is a clinical manifestation as a result of infection with Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria (it’s never transmitted dog-to-dog, or dog-to-person). Ticks get on pets, and the bite transmits Lyme bacteria to the host. Ticks must be attached to your pet for 24 hours for transmission, which is why combing your pets post-walk is a good idea if you live in an area where Lyme disease is prevalent.

Even if you find a tick on your dog and suspect it’s been attached for over two days, only a few dogs will contract Lyme disease as a result. Even so, the best way to ensure your pet is at low risk of developing Lyme disease is to be vigilant about prevention. Administering something that protects against fleas and ticks means that ticks will die before they are able to attach. It’s also a good idea to keep your dog on a leash when going for hikes, as this decreases your dog’s risk of exposure to ticks by keeping them away from tall, thick grass and wooded areas. There are also certain vaccinations that can help to prevent Lyme disease in your dog, so be sure to check with your Greater Philadelphia area veterinarian to see if a vaccination would be right for your dog.

There are a few types of ticks that carry bacteria. Most common is the deer tick, sometimes called the black-legged tick. Other culprits are the brown and American dog ticks, and the rocky mountain wood tick.

If you suspect your dog may have been exposed to ticks, it may be several months after infection before you see evidence. Look for a fever between 103-105 degrees, lethargy, a loss of appetite, swelling in the joints and lymph nodes, and lameness—especially your dog shifting from leg to leg.

If you suspect your dog has been exposed to Borrelia burgdorferi, contact your veterinarian. Lyme disease can be fatal in dogs. Your vet will use a blood test to see if your dog tests positive for Borrelia burgdorferi—though a positive result does not necessarily mean that your dog has actually contracted it. Healthy dogs fight off infections naturally. Still, it’s always best to be careful!

VRC is a veterinary hospital in Malvern, PA. If you’re worried about Lyme disease, or if your dog is exhibiting symptoms, contact your primary veterinarian to see if a visit to a specialist at VRC veterinary hospital is warranted.

Ways Your Family Can Give Back to the Animal Community

Americans love animals. Most American households have at least one pet. 49.5% of U.S. households have one or more dogs, and another 30% have cats. And, of course, there are plenty of families out there with more unusual pets—fish, ferrets, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, birds, and other exotics. But most animal lovers don’t just think about cuddles, belly rubs, walks, playtime, selecting nutritious food, and scheduling regular veterinary visits for their pets. They also think about the welfare of animals outside of their own homes!

News & Events-2If you love animals and want to make a difference in the lives of dogs and cats, it’s easier than you think. Most animal shelters are constantly in need of additional funds, so a donation to a local animal rescue group around the holidays, or whenever you can spare it, can go a great way toward helping animals.

A donation of time is also invaluable. If your pet-loving children need community service hours, why not suggest a local shelter or animal charity? A few hours cleaning litter boxes, taking dogs for walks, or playing with attention-needing animals is always a very rewarding experience. And, if your children are younger, you could always suggest sponsoring a classroom pet and offer to help out with food and supplies, as public schools are always on a tight budget these days. For animal lovers like you, teaching the next generation about the importance of proper animal care is a fantastic idea!

If you’re looking to teach values or volunteer a bit closer to home, there might be opportunities in your own neighborhood. Elderly people may not be able to walk their own dogs as often as they’d like to, or bend down to brush their cats, so volunteering in that capacity helps animals in need, as well as aiding your community.

Perhaps the biggest commitment you can make to helping animals in need is adopting a new animal from a shelter or rescue. Most shelters are overcrowded with animals, and especially older animals. While puppies and kittens always seem to find a good home, dogs and cats a few years past their most adorable age often languish in shelters. It’s a shame, because there are many advantages to adopting an older animal! Older cats typically don’t require litter box training, and older dogs often know how to walk on a lead or wait to go outside to use the bathroom.

They’re also a bit less spirited, which can be nice for families who don’t want to risk scratched curtains, couches, and hands—or torn-up pillows and frequent wake-ups to take a puppy outside in the night. Older animals are often on their second chance, and can be so excited to find a new “forever home” that they go through a second puppy or kittenhood, so even if you want a rambunctious new companion, an older animal may provide you with just that!

We are a specialty veterinary healthcare center in Malvern that loves animals as much as you do. We are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, so give VRC a call at (610) 647-2950.