It’s the thought that scares me the most while running on trails through the bush… a snake bite! Not for myself (well, maybe a little), but for my loyal 4-footed running buddy, Chewy, who never leaves my side. This is a fear that most South African pet owners can thoroughly identify with. Snakes are elusive …
What doesn’t make us “tick”, are tick-borne diseases… they can be rewarding, straight-forward, text-book cases, but they can also throw you a curveball with a myriad of nasty complications. In this post, you are going to find out: how pets get infected, which ticks can cause disease, the parasites that cause the illness, the two …
Just the thought of them makes us itch! Endo- (“inside”) and ecto- (“outside”) parasites are very common, everyday causes of itching in dogs and cats. Ears, bottoms and everything in between can be affected by the pesky creepy crawlies. In this post, we will look at some of the most common endoparasites and ectoparasites we …
Scratching, chewing, biting, licking, head shaking, scooting… it can drive any pet and owner insane. This constant itchiness is often what helps us recognise allergies in pets. Allergies can also cause a myriad of other complications, including: inflamed ear canals secondary ear infections skin infections conjunctivitis coughing sneezing diarrhoea itchy skin around the anus and …
So what DO you do when you have no hands? You guessed it… “bottom-dragging”. Sounds familiar? Itchy bottoms are a common occurrence in the canine species (even for the well-groomed, fresh-out-the-parlour individuals). For those fortunate enough to never have witnessed this, it involves walking while “dragging” the rear, tail in the air (also known as …
Oh, how they love to sink those teeny tiny, razor sharp teeth into your soft fingers! Why do kittens’ and puppies’ teeth have to be so sharp?! Well, these sharp teeth make up for the fact that baby jaws aren’t as strong as adult jaws. The sharpness of the teeth helps with shearing and tearing …
Vaccinations – If you fell for the “festive buy”, trust me, you’re not alone. Or perhaps you’ve missed our last blog and are now a few puppies or kittens richer – if so, this blog is for you. What is vaccination? Vaccines are a fascinating invention that help our pets to fend off disease. A …
Sterilisation. It’s a topic well known to any pet owner. In females we call it “spaying”, or ovariohysterectomy. In males, it’s called neutering, castration or orchidectomy. In this post, we’re going to explain what happens when your pet is sterilised. Then we’ll answer some questions that pet owners often ask about these procedures when they’re …
Adventurous Beginnings In October 1970, Dr. Andre Reitz and his wife Isabelle opened the doors of Knysna Veterinary Clinic: Knysna’s first – and desperately needed – veterinary practice. They arrived from Riversdale, and all their equipment could fit into the boot of their car. There were two vets living in Knysna at the time. They …
It’s wintertime again, and our old friends are feeling it. Arthritis is a surprisingly common condition in our older pets. It is often not noticed or simply ignored and brushed off as, “He is just getting older.” Osteoarthritis is a chronic, degenerative disease of the joints, and it’s a horribly painful condition. It affects the …
