Tag Archives: vet

Cleaning dog ears- how to and when ?

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  • Have a look at this ear cleaning video if you would like any tips on how to clean your own dogs ears.  Dogs ears should normally look clean when you look inside, so if there is a dark waxy discharge,  you can use an ear cleaner to loosen the wax and clean out the ear. We would recommend coming to the surgery to pick up an ear cleaner, and the nurse or vet can recommend the best one to use.

 

  • If the ear looks very red, has an abnormal smell, or is sore, then you should make an appointment with your vet, to have it checked before using any ear cleaners. Please note that ear mites are usually seen in young puppies ( usually picked up via close contact with their mums), and so it is not appropriate in adult dogs to use mite treatments in their ears without being checked first by your vet.

 

  • Ear problems in adult dogs may be caused by grass seeds, which usually causes acute onset irritation. If present they will need to be removed by a vet, as they are usually lodged deep down at the eardrum level.

 

 

  •  The commonest cause of recurrent ear problems in adult dogs is allergies. It is important to get your dog checked by a vet if ear problems persist or recur frequently.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inside a dogs ear.

How and when to clean your dog’s ears

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Inside a dogs ear.

Inside a dogs ear a detailed picture.

Have a look at this ear cleaning video if you would like any tips on how to clean your own dogs ears.  Dogs ears should normally look clean when you look inside, so if there is a dark waxy discharge,  you can use an ear cleaner to loosen the wax and clean out the ear. We would recommend coming to the surgery to pick up an ear cleaner, and the nurse or vet can recommend the best one to use.
If the ear looks very red, has an abnormal smell, or is sore, then you should make an appointment with your vet, to have it checked before using any ear cleaners.
See www.youngvets.co.uk for contact details of your local surgery

When you first bring your puppy home, its a good idea as part of daily handling to look inside their ears and look out for any bad odours, discharge and understand what is normal for your dog. This will help any veterinary visits be as stress free as possible in the future for you and your puppy.

 

 

Choosing your puppy

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New research published in the Veterinary Record has proved the importance of seeing your pups’ parents when choosing a puppy.
Owners who had seen neither parent are 4 times as likely to need to take their dog to see an animal behaviourist. Owners who had seen just one parent (usually the mother) are 2.5 times as likely to have behavioural problems with their dog than owners who had seen both owners.

Seeing the mother allows you to assess the mother’s temperament, its condition and the puppies rearing environment. Ideally your puppy should not be separated from its mother until 8 weeks of age, which also reduces the chances of future behaviour problems. We recommend an eight week health check up with your vet, when the first vaccination can be administered.  See www.youngvets.co.uk for  contact details of your nearest surgery in Ealing, Brentford, Chiswick or Hounslow.

Breeding a litter of puppies

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Many people will decide to let their bitch  have a single litter of pups. Most bitches will have a healthy litter of pups without needing any medical intervention. The following is some pointers about the processes involved, and an indication of what is normal.

The mother should be up to date with vaccinations before she is mated.  Bitches ovulate around 12 days after the onset of the season, and will normally stand to be mated once the blood spotting has stopped. Two matings 2 days apart at this time are ideal. Once pregnant a monthly treatment with a  spot on wormer (Stronghold) will reduce transmission of any  worms to the puppies.

The normal gestation period is 63 days (9 weeks), but the time from mating to giving birth can be 63 days +/- 1 week.  Providing a warm bed in a quiet and draft free region of the house is a good idea. The mothers rectal temperature will normally drop  1-2 degrees C within 24 hours of giving birth.  Once second stage labour has started, and the mother starts strong contractions, a puppy should be produced with 30 minutes.  Veterinary attention should be sought if strong contractions have been seen for more than 30 minutes, or if weak straining has been seen for more than 4 hours, or if fetal fluids were seen more than 3 hours without a puppy being produced.  Puppies can be produced at intervals ranging from 5 minute to 2 hours. The mother should break the umbilical cord instinctively and lick the puppy clean which stimulates the puppy to breath. If the mother is not doing this then the face should be cleaned of  fetal membranes with a towel , and then  the towel is   used to rub the puppy gently but briskly for 30 seconds, to dry them off and stimulate breathing.

The temperature in the puppy area should be kept warm – around 30 C at birth. Infra-red lamps can be ideal to provide this heat.

Puppies normally feed every 2-3 hours for the first few days after birth. The first milk produced in the first 24 hours is called colostrum, and boosts the immune system. Thus is is very important that all puppies suckle this early milk. They should gain 5-10% of their body weight each day and should weigh double their birth weight by day 10-12.

They should be lifting their heads by 3 days and crawling by 7 days but are usually unable to stand until the end of the third week. They will spend 80% of their time sleeping.  Body temperature is lower (35-37C) in new born  puppies than an adult dog. The normal breathing is 10 to 20 breaths per minute at birth, increasing to 15-40 breaths per minute by 7 days old. (the smaller the breed the higher the rate).

The puppies eyes are closed at birth and normally open at 2 weeks, and the ears are also closed at birth and open at 14-16 days. There is normally no discharge from the eyes or nose.

Worming can be started from 3-4 weeks of age, and repeated every 2 weeks with panacur. Solid foods can be started from 3 -4 weeks of age by mixing a good quality complete puppy food with some powdered formula bitch milk ( lactol),  four times daily.

See www.youngvets.co.uk for contact details for your nearest vet surgery in west london.

 

Pet passports.

Pet Passport scheme changes

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As from 1st January 2012, the requirements for the pet passport scheme changes, for both dogs and cats. Pets will still need to be microchipped and have a rabies vaccination, but will no longer require a blood test for rabies. Pets will need to wait 3 weeks after the rabies vaccination before entering the UK. On return to the UK, pets need to be treated for tapeworm by a veterinary surgeon, 24-120 hours (1-5 days) before embarking for the UK (by ferry or air).

Grant Cochrane

Pets travelling to the UK from unlisted countries outside the EU will need to be microchipped, vaccinated against rabies, pass a rabies blood test and then wait 3 months in the country of origin. See www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/pets/travel/pets/ for further information about the pet passport scheme and countries included.

pug in pink glasses.

A Pug ready for his holiday in the sunshine!

 

Our vets regularly issue passports for pets from all over West London. We issue the passports through our Hounslow and Ealing surgeries. We wish you and your pet happy travels and if you need any more advice please contact our friendly team.