As spring turns to summer, pets often face increased ear and skin issues. Otitis externa, the most common ear problem, causes symptoms like head shaking and ear scratching due to allergies or foreign bodies like grass seeds. Our vets diagnose and treat this condition with tailored plans involving medications and cleaning solutions. Spring and summer also bring skin irritations, leading to itching, lumps, or sores from allergies, infections, or insect bites. Thorough evaluations and sometimes further testing guide our treatment, aiming to ease discomfort and restore your pet's comfort.

Spring is about to be upon us, and summer is just around the corner. With this beautiful weather comes an increase in ear and skin problems.The most common ear problem we encounter in pets is otitis externa, which is inflammation and/or infection of the outer ear. This can present with head shaking, scratching at ears, smell from the ears, visible discharge at the canal opening or holding the ears abnormally.

Rabbits are cute, cuddly and very unique, especially when it comes to their health. Digestive health and diet are critical in keeping you r rabbit as healthy as possible. And something that impacts this greatly is dental health.Rabbits have 4 incisor teeth at the front of their mouth, 2 peg teeth behind and 22 molar teeth set back from these with pads of gum in between. The teeth are continuously growing throughout their life and therefore must be worn down through good chewing of proper foods.

Dental disease in pets is an extremely important part of their health and one that is often neglected. Did you know that 70-80% of pets over the age of 3 have some form of dental disease. Plaque adheres to the tooth surface and if not removed, very quickly forms tartar (a hard, rock-like brown coloured material that is strongly adhered to the tooth surface). Where this tartar or calculus meets the gum, bacteria congregate and gingivitis develops.

When an emergency situation arises we can feel helpless when it comes to being able to help our pets. And certainly in these situations the most critical thing is to get them to a vet as soon as possible. But you, as a pet owner, can also prepare yourself to be able to respond quickly and helpfully, especially during the summer months when we tend to see emergencies such as bee sting reactions and snake bites.

Last Friday night, the bright and bubbly, six month old English Mastiff "Marnie" was doing what pups do best ..... getting into mischief. While some meat was being shared around amongst the human family members, Marnie thought she would help herself and accidentally swallowed a bone into the bargain.Thanks to her clear thinking parents who realised she was unwell, she was promptly taken to see us at Drovers vets.

This guide outlines essential dos and don'ts for keeping your pets safe and happy during the festive season. Learn what foods to avoid—like onions, chocolate, and cooked bones—that can be harmful to your furry friends. Discover safe practices to ensure your pets don't scavenge for dangerous table scraps or play with small objects that could pose choking hazards. On the positive side, find out how to shower your pets with love, include them in family moments, and ensure they're secure and comfortable while you're away.

A lovely little Shih Tzu named “Toby” came to us at Drovers two weeks ago with an ear infection that had been bothering him for a while, and previous treatment at another clinic had not helped.Both ears were infected, one ear much worse than the other and quite sore. The left ear had a very creamy thick discharge. We performed a cytology examination in hospital by taking a swab from the ear and looking at cells etc. under the microscope. We found a very nasty collection of bacteria, and with the owner’s permission sent a swab away to an external pathology laboratory for culture of the bacteria

Due to increasing knowledge and tools of modern veterinary medicine, our pets are living longer and hence we are seeing more cases of osteoarthritis. Pain from osteoarthritis is well documented in human beings and dogs. Cats do not show pain as cats are masters at hiding illnesses and/or pain. Cats do not limp or cry like some dogs do when they are in pain.

We sometimes get asked by owners whether they can catch a certain disease from their pet …or sometimes they ask if their pet could catch say a flu from them.These are very good questions and thankfully in domestic pets there are only a few disease conditions that can be transferred between our pet dogs/cats and humans. It’s good to know that dogs and cats cannot catch the human cold or flu. Dogs can suffer upper respiratory infections i.e. Canine Cough and cats can catch Cat Flu but the causative agents are species specific.

It’s that time of year when the weather is beginning to warm up, snakes are waking from hibernation and we have already seen our first snake bite cases of the warmer season here at Drovers. It is very important to obtain veterinary attention if your pet has been bitten by a snake. The following information has been compiled to assist pet owners who have any concerns about snake bite.

So, you've decided you're ready to get a dog. "Now what breed should I get?", is a question often asked. There are many factors to consider when adopting or purchasing a dog and choosing the breed of dog. These things should always be considered before you acquire your new pet. If not considered, the implications could be huge. Some of these might be..

Have you ever suffered sciatic pain? One minute you're moving around freely and the next you are gripped by a pain so debilitating and excruciating, you can't move. If you're fortunate, after a few days or weeks of rest, the pain dissipates. A similar nerve pain can affect dogs. There are a number of causes for back or neck pain in dogs that are due to nerve impingement. It could be a breed-related disease e.g. in Dobermans and Dachshunds, or be related to degenerative changes in the spine over time.

It is always a very exciting time for the family involved when it comes to breeding their female dogs and then having wonderful cute little puppies, if everything goes well. However, we have seen plenty of pregnant dogs have problems giving birth due to a wide variation of reasons. They would eventually need a caesarean section. These almost always present as emergencies as puppies can be distressed if they are not delivered as soon as possible.

We love seeing your puppies here at Drovers Vet! It is great to be part of their first weeks with you settling in to the family. The first course of vaccines as a pup is critical for your dog.This primary vaccine course will set up your pup's immunity to serious diseases such as Parvovirus and Distemper, which are life threatening when they occur. Vaccines also provide protection against Kennel Cough, a debilitating respiration infection. Recommended vaccination schedules may vary between vet clinics.

One our core values is excellence and we pride ourselves in being able to offer a very high standard of care in our hospital. There is no better demonstration of our commitment to this than with these specific anaesthetics. First up, all our surgery patients for the day receive a full clinical exam by one of our vets. Pre-anaesthetic blood tests are always recommended as they enable us to diagnose early disease. We run these test on-site and can have the results within half an hour.

Here at Drovers Veterinary Hospital we will always welcome you when you come to visit us with your fur-babies of all sizes. However we do undertake maintaining your pet's safety and the safety of all of our clients very seriously. We would like to remind all our clients to please remember to keep your dog on a secure lead and your cat or small pet in the safety of a pet carrier whilst here with us.

Spring and summer are a wonderful time of the year. But whilst they stir up visions of sun baked beaches and time outdoors, they are also the time where our venomous snakes are out and about. December and January see our highest numbers of snake bite incidents amongst patients visiting our hospital and not only can these cases be very costly to treat, they are often fatal.