Dasuquin questions for arthritis

We have had a lot of clients ask good questions about the use of Glucosamine and Chondroitin products for their dog and cat's joint health.

I regularly reference this study performed by John Hopkins in Baltimore. They found that the cheap glucosamine pills in the store are rarely the 1,000 mg they claim. And a complicating problem is that the more money you paid did not get more reliable chance at getting the right dose of Glucosamine.

That is why we carry Nutramax' brand product. They are reliable, and reasonably priced. If you are interested, we can get the human product.

Just a note that fleas have been making a return this late summer. It seems all the cool weather really helps them out.

We can sell the Frontline Plus individually or by the 3 or 6 pack for your convenience.

Parvo on the rise

At the clinic the past 3 weeks, we have seen several puppies with Parvovirus.

As you may know, Parvovirus is a virus that attacks the intestinal system. It causes severe vomiting and diarrhea. Then what happens is these dogs will get severely dehydrated, and secondary infections and it can be fatal (meaning they may die).

Fortunately, cats are not susceptible to this parvovirus. (they have a different one, but that's another story - it is one of the viruses we vaccinate for - Panleukopenia)

If you have put off getting the 'Distemper' vaccine, which is actually a 4- way vaccine: Distemper, Adenovirus, Parainfluenza, Parvovirus, then please schedule that preventative vaccine right away.

We would rather help you prevent this terrible and potentially deadly disease rather than try to treat it.

July 4 and ticks

Hello everyone,

Sorry I forgot to Blog last week. My daughter Rachel's birthday is July 3, and our youngest, Therese, her birthday is July 4, same as my wife, Kelly, so we were birthday central last week.

It is fun to take some time to be with family and enjoy their enthusiasm and zest for life.

We can sometimes forget that... but isn't that partly why we have pets? Because we enjoy them and their enthusiasm for the little things - that essential 5 minute nap, or if you're a cat, the 12 hr nap. :-)

One of our representatives brought the web site dogsandticks.com to my attention.

It is very helpful. If you have questions about how to deal with ticks and whether your dog (cats don't usually let ticks get a bite- they groom them off too quickly) is at risk for any tick related disease, this is a good place to start.

Also, if your dog has not had his or her heartworm test this year, our new test also checks for Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted fever - two of the most common tick diseases we see here. And there is no additional charge for this extra detection. We will let you know at the end of the year what the 'disease rate' is that you have.

Have a great weekend.

July 4 celebrations

Our nations birthday is a very cool event.

My family and I put out our flag (even in the rain) and read the Declaration of Independence, and then the Pledge.

We also read an article similar to this:
http://www.isil.org/resources/usdocs/what-happened-to-signatories.html
about what happened to the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence.

We owe so much to these men, and our current men and women in the military who continue to allow us these incredible freedoms.

Thank God that we are allowed to live in this country at this time in history.

I hope your pet's did not have too much shaking with the fireworks. As we mentioned in our newsletter, we have a new, non prescription medication that can be very helpful for fireworks and other loud noise phobias (storms).

Call us to let us know if you need this medicine at 699-6443