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Educational Articles

Dogs + Preventive Care & Wellness

  • There are many ways we can change our dog's home environment to help them more easily move around and avoid injuries. This handout reviews some key points to improve your dog's comfort at home and on car trips.

  • Hospitals providing curbside care have restructured their practice to avoid the need for clients to enter the lobby and exam rooms. This measure was designed to promote physical (social) distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, it may be used in other situations. This handout discusses the benefits and best practices of curbside care.

  • Your veterinarian wants to keep your pet healthy and the fact is that people who are better informed take better care of their pets. Do not be overwhelmed by “medicalese”. Try your best to understand this foreign language and if you cannot quite decipher it, ask your veterinarian to speak more plainly.

  • Dental disease, also known as periodontal disease, is a condition in which the tissues supporting the teeth become inflamed. When a pet develops dental disease, significant quantities of bacteria reside within the mouth and the oral tissues. These bacteria can enter the bloodstream and travel to other areas such as the liver and kidneys, causing distant or systemic effects.

  • Dental pain may take on a variety of appearances, but often, a dog will not show any outward signs of pain. The only effective treatment for dental pain is to address the dog's underlying dental disease. The best way to prevent dental pain is to ensure that your dog receives regular dental care through a home dental care plan and regular veterinary dental care.

  • Dogs are not completely color blind, as they can see yellow and blue, as well as shades of gray. Their eye structure allows them to see better in dim light compared to people. Near-sightedness is common among dogs.

  • When a behavior is harmless, it is probably normal. When a behavior is destructive, disruptive, or places people or other pets at risk, it is not normal. Addressing the problems early, before they become ingrained, is the best hope for avoiding future problems.

  • Dogs love to run. Dogs love to jump. Dogs love to swim. If your dog likes to do all three, why not investigate the relatively-new canine sport of dock diving? It’s a competitive event where dogs are judged on how far or how high they leap from a stationary dock into a body of water.

  • Field trials focus on team-hunting and allow humans and their pet dogs to rekindle their hunting instincts in a fun, competitive format.

  • On your marks, get set, go! Dogs running, jumping, catching balls, making razor sharp turns, and racing to a finish line; that's the canine sport of flyball.