Prairie Ridge Veterinary Clinic

Historically, pets visited the veterinarian only when they were sick. More and more, however, the focus of veterinary medicine has shifted from treatment of diseases to prevention.

We now know that many diseases and problems are preventable or best treated early on in their course. With ever improving changes and advances in veterinary medicine, this is becoming easier and easier to accomplish. It doesn’t take any fancy tests or diagnostic equipment, however, to provide good wellness care for your pets. It all starts with the exam. Continue…

Obesity is a serious problem in this country, and our pets have not gone unaffected. In fact more than half the nation’s pets are obese or overweight. Pet Obesity is one of the top health problems we see, and there is nothing cute about it.

Why an Obese Pet is Not Healthy

While the media is littered with funny pictures and videos of overweight dogs and cats, having an obese pet is not a good thing. Pets who are overweight live much shorter lives and are prone to developing many diseases and complications including:

• Osteoarthritis
• High blood pressure
• Type 2 diabetes
• Kidney disease
• Respiratory problems
• Many types of cancer

How to Tell if Your Pet is Obese

With overweight pets being the norm, it can be difficult to tell if your pet needs to lose weight. While we are always happy to counsel you on a healthy weight for your pet, you should be able to easily determine at home if your pet is at the correct weight. Continue…

Although summer is coming to a close, we’re not out of the woods just yet when it comes to warm temperatures affecting our pets. Even the seemingly-cooler days of early fall can put your pet at risk for overexertion, dehydration, and heat stroke, if you’re not careful.

Keep your pet safe by keeping these tips in mind through the end of the season:

• Limit the amount of time you spend outside, especially during the hottest parts of the day
• Let your pet take breaks away from the heat by providing access to your air-conditioned house, a well-ventilated outdoor shelter, or clean water to play in (a kiddie pool, sprinkler, etc.)
• Provide easy access to plenty of fresh drinking water, day and night, indoors and out. A good rule of thumb is one bowl of water, plus one more, per-pet.
• Don’t forget to bring water (and a bowl) along when you go on walks or trips away from home
• Make sure your pet has access to a cool shady spot in the yard so that he or she can get out of the hot sun when needed
• Take your daily walks during the early morning hours or later in the evening
• Stay off of hot asphalt during your walks to prevent your pet’s paws from getting burned.
• Likewise, be mindful of hot truck beds and other surfaces that absorb heat, such as packed gravel and dirt.

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You’ve probably heard the expression “What you don’t know can hurt you.” And, in the case of free and  low-cost spay and neuter clinics, what you don’t know can hurt your pet.

Free and low-cost spay and neuter facilities rose out of the need for pet population control. Clinics like these are often funded by grants and municipal and state funding specific to pet overpopulation. While the mission itself is a noble one, the sheer numbers of animals seen by such clinics overwhelm, and the care received by each individual pet often is lacking.

Low-cost clinics are often primarily focused on basic services in spay and neuter surgeries or rabies vaccinations. They are meant to provide services to those who rescue strays in volume or low-income families that might not otherwise be able to spay/neuter or vaccinate their pets.

The temptation, however, for the public is the “free” or “low-cost” tag-lines. Unfortunately, low fees often translate into basic or substandard care for your pet.

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