Non-Emergencies:  Five Things That Appear Scary but Are Not Emergencies

Periodontal Disease:  Top Seven Warning Signs

Serious Illness:  Ten Symptoms to Watch For

Wellness Screen:  What is it?

  Remember:  A little extra weight is a big problem.  Snacks, overfeeding, unlimited access to food, and lack of exercise are the big reasons nearly 35% of pets are overweight.  With proper nutrition and exercise, your pet can lead a happier, healthier, longer life.  Phillips Veterinary Clinic features a complete line of Hill's Science Diet & prescription foods and Butler low-calorie lean treats for a healthy pet.

Some things look worse than they are and can often be treated at home, or at least can wait, if you can't see Drs. Fleming or Buchli right away.  Some symptoms are normal for dogs.

1.  Reverse sneeze.  This sounds like a prolonged, repetitive snort.  It's a strange thing to hear, but it's normal for a dog.  Do nothing.

2.  Occasional vomiting.  It's not unusual for a dog to vomit occasionally because of stomach upsets, eating too quickly, or eating too much.  Feed two meals a day in small portions rather than one large meal.

3.  Torn toenail.  Nails can get caught and torn on all kinds of things.  Torn nails bleed a lot, but are easy to treat at home.  Cut the nail evenly, apply pressure, and stop the bleeding with flour or cornstarch.

4.  Knee cap popped out of place.  This occurs mostly in small and miniature dog breeds.  It looks much worse than it really is.  Sometimes your dog gets it into place by himself.  If he doesn't or if it happens often, your dog needs to see Drs. Fleming or Buchli.

5.  Tapeworms and round worms.  Round worms may be seen in your dog's stool.  They look like cooked spaghetti noodles.  Tapeworms look like dry rice and may hang on your dog's fur under his anus.

There may come a time when your dog is seriously ill.  Often, the warning signs will come on quickly.  Other times, there will be a slow build up to the problem over a few days.  That's where knowing what's normal for your dog and what's not will help you by alerting you to changes before they become an emergency.  If your dog displays any of the following symptoms, you must seek help from a veterinarian.

1.  Persistent or bloody vomiting or dry heaves.  Dry heaves can be a symptom of bloat, which occurs very quickly and is an extremely serious condition.

2.  Sudden change of appetite or thirst.  These sudden changes could indicate a problem such as diabetes.

3.  Rapid weight loss.  This can be a sign of heart failure, diabetes, liver problems, or intestinal problems.

4.  Any kind of bleeding, especially in the urine or stool.  This could indicate a serious illness or trauma.

5.  Significant change in urination habits.  This could signal kidney failure, an infection, or some kind of poisoning.

6.  Confusion, staggering, or collapse.  Any of these symptoms may indicate heart problems, brain problems, high blood pressure, hormonal disorders, or that a poisonous substance has been consumed.

7.  Difficult breathing.  This may be caused by a foreign body obstructing the airway or heart & lung problems.

8.  Weakness, lameness, lack of coordination.  These could be the result of trauma, infection, or heart failure.

9.  Sudden persistent whining or crying.  This indicates your dog is in pain.

10.  Persistent diarrhea.  This could indicate a severe infection, poisoning, bowel injury, cancer, or an intestinal disease.

More than 10% of pets brought to veterinary clinics for checkups have some type of underlying disease or abnormality.  Many of these pets appear normal upon physical examination, and their abnormalities would go undetected without a wellness screen.  (A blood test is designed to detect these silent problems.)

The process of disease development can be slow and insidious.  When an organ system starts to fail, that organ will compensate to bring function back to normal.  Over time, this compensating mechanism will fail and the pet will become ill.  Once the pet is in organ failure, treatment options are limited and the prognosis is poor.

Our staff can perform a simple in-house blood test that will check your pet's liver, kidneys, pancreas, electrolytes, minerals, and blood sugar.

The test can also alert us to infection, inflammatory disease, and anemia.  Early detection of disease is key.  Once a problem has been identified, we can make appropriate treatment recommendations at a point when treatment will make the most difference.  Often a simple diet change is all that's needed to avoid major health problems.

Our wellness screen is a simple blood test.  We usually have results within 20 to 30 minutes.  If you have questions, please talk with a staff member at Phillips Veterinary Clinic.