April 30th, 2009
Congratulations to Freedom Bark Park! They are Dog Fancy’s Best Dog Park in America 2009!
Located locally in Lowell, IN.
Volunteers donated more than 2700 hours to build the park and it was built entirely through donations, no taxes and no money taken from the parks and recreations fund. It was opened in October 2008 and now is America’s Best Dog Park.
Congratulations and to learn more about the bark be sure to visit their website at http://www.freedombarkpark.org/
April 2nd, 2009
Spring is here and along with it comes tick season. Ticks are activated by cool moist weather and they harbor many diseases that can threaten the health of your pets. Now is the time to use tick prevention medications. The topically applied medications are excellent repellents in addition to killing the ticks should they attach. Always check your dog or cat for ticks after it comes in from being outside, even if they are in your own back yard. Always check yourself for ticks as well. Ticks can drop from trees and shrubs onto your pet. If you find a tick attatched, remove it being careful to remove the head as well. Tweezers work well. Cleanse the area with soap and water and apply an antiseptic ointment such as neosporin. Observe the area daily for 4-5 days. If you notice any increased redness or swelling, consult your veterinarian. Once the weather warms and gets dryer, ticks generally are not much of a problem but then we move into flea season. In the autumn months there can be a resurgence of ticks when the weather again turns cool and damp (September/October). Year round protection from fleas and ticks is the best and also have your pet tested for heartworms and tick borne diseases annually to insure they are not infested with serious, life threatening organisms.
February 28th, 2009
This entry is submitted by one of my receptionists, Betsy Kubisz. Thanks Betsy!
Spring is almost here, so it’s time to start getting outside with your dog…..and there’s a great way to do that – at a dog park!
Not only will your friendly pooch get some good socializing in, but YOU will too! You can meet other people who love dogs, so it’s a good outing for you and your pet.
Dog parks require that your dog be current on vaccinations. Our veterinarians here, at Oak Hill Animal Clinic, recommend that your dog also be given the Leptospirosis & Bordetella vaccines, to be fully protected. Plus, they should be on a flea/tick prevention program, so they don’t bring home parasites from the park. Each park also has rules to follow and most have membership fees, so contact them or look them up on the internet for more information.
There are four dog parks in NorthWest Indiana to choose from…
If you’ve ever seen dogs frolic at one of these types of parks, you’ll know how satisfying it is to see them enjoying themselves so completely! It’s well worth the trip! One caveat is that you need to watch the surroundings. You are entering the dog park at your own risk and although your dog may be wonderful with other dogs there may be dogs at the park that are not.
For most the dog park is fun, so spring is coming so it is time to have some outdoor fun!
February 9th, 2009
Valentines Day is coming and chocolates are a sweet gift to give to your sweetie, but be sure your lovable sweet dog does not eat any.
Chocolate is toxic to dogs. It contains a substance known as Theobromine found in cocoa beans. Theobromine is a stimulant compund similar to caffeine and can cause serious toxic effects such as vomitting, heart irregularities, seizures and death. Different types of chocolate have different amounts of theobromine which makes some types of chocolate more toxic than other types. Luckily milk chocolate, the most common chocolate that is given on Valentines Day, is one of the least toxic. However, if you have a small dog <10 lbs, as little as 2 ounces can be a problem.
Check out this interactive chart from National Geographic which calculates how much chocolate is toxic to your dog depending on its weight…. Chocolate Toxicity Chart for Dogs
If your dog consumes chocolate please seek immediate veterinary assistance. If you are near Crown Point, IN gives us a call we will be glad to provide you with assistance.
Happy Valentines Day from all of us here at Oak Hill Animal Clinic!
January 23rd, 2009
As a member of the Chicago Veterinary Medical Association I have been made aware of 2 websites to get information that Petsmart has issued a recall on one of their products, Grreat Choice Dog Biscuits, due to the Salmonella contaminated peanut butter. This outbreak has been nation wide so quite possibly could affect residents and their pets in the Crown Point and Northwest Indiana region as well. Please check the following web sites American Veterinary Medical Association http://www.avma.org/aa/petsmart_recall_090121.asp and the FDA website: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/salmonellatyph.html Click on “food ” and then look for “recent news”. As I am sure you have heard there has been Salmonella poisoning associated with contaminated peanut butter throughout the country in both human and pet foods. This has resulted in several human deaths and hundreds of people becoming ill and several companies issuing pet food recalls. If you have any treats, food, etc with peanut butter–contact the supplier and ask for information or contact the FDA. Also do not feed your pets human foods as well. If in doubt, throw it away safely.
Another toxic substance that we want to make you aware of is Xylitol poisoning. We had a little 6 month old puppy come into Oak Hill Animal Clinic today that had ingested some Xylitol. I know, how in the world did the dog ingest something like that?……well it is a sweetener in sugar-free products such as chewing gum. This little pup ate only two small pieces of gum, which is an emergency situation.
Xylitol can cause a rapid decrease in blood glucose (sugar) in the dog and result in weakness, collapse and even seizures and death. These symptoms can happen in as little as 30 minutes after ingestion. Inducing vomitting right after ingestion can help prevent this problem, but xylitol is very rapidly absorbed, so medical treatment should be given very quickly especially if the dog starts exhibiting any of the symptoms. Even if you get your dog to regurgitate the gum/candy, still seek immediate attention to have it check for liver function and blood glucose (sugar) levels. Xylitol is extremely rapidly absorbed so don’t take any chances. Another consequence of ingesting xylitol is liver toxicity causing liver damage. This also can happen rapidly and needs immediate attention. The puppy we saw today had eaten 2 pieces of gum 45 minutes before the owner got him to regurgitate it. Even at this, its liver enzymes were already above normal and starting to climb and it was exhibiting diarrhea. The treatment was initiated by immediately placing the puppy on intravenous fluids with dextrose (sugar) added to help prevent the rapid drop in blood sugar. After 24 hours of being on fluids to help flush out the system to support the liver and monitoring the return of normal liver function most dogs receiving promp, appropriate medical treatment, like the pup we had at our clinic, recover without any problems.
Prevention for xylitol poisoning is the most important, so keep all gum and candy containing this substance out of your dogs reach. Xylitol is very sweet and dogs love it, so it is very easy for them to ingest this substance and remember JUST A SMALL AMOUNT CAN BE FATAL TO A LARGE DOG! So just remember that gum is not for dogs and just a few pieces can be extremely harmful, even deadly, to your dogs health. So, please keep your pets safe. Dr. Walsh
January 13th, 2009
Here at Oak Hill Animal Clinic, we offer unique veterinary services for Crown Point, IN.
Did you know that there is a new protocol provided by the American Veterinary Medical Association, for vaccinating your dog or cat? They are recommending vaccinating every 3 years for the core vaccines. The reason…we have been over vaccinating our pets. It has been discovered that the core vaccines last much longer than one year and that giving vaccinations that are not needed can overstimulate the immune system and may lead to diseases such as allergies, auto-immune diseases and even cancer. In many dogs the core vaccines will last for 7 – 9 years, it is unknown which dogs will be protected for that long, which is why we offer titer testing.
A titer test is a simple blood test that determines the level of antibodies present in your dog. Antibodies are what protect your dog from the diseases that your dog is vaccinated against. If there is a level of antibodies then your dog is protected if not then your dog needs to be revaccinated. We offer titer testing for a reasonable cost, less than a full compliment of vaccine booster, because your dog deserves the best wellness care that can be provided.
Also unique to our Crown Point office is Dr. Daniel Beatty, a certified Animal Chiropractor. Dr Beatty is a veterinarian with 12 years experience in chiropractic care and is one of only 600 certified animal chiropractors in the world. He specializes in canine sport medicine however he does treat many pets for injuries and chronic conditions such as hip dysplasia, chronic disc disease and arthritis. The goal is to make the animal feel more comfortable and improve the health of the nervous system by improving the movement and flexibility of the joints and spine.
We also offer state of the art radiology with the use of our digital xray unit. The quality of standard xray units does not compare with the amazing capabilities and quality of digital xrays. The clarity and convenience of digital radiographs are what makes providing this service a must for any high quality veterinary practice. If a consult is needed we can easily place the images on a disc and mail it off, we can give you a copy of the images, or for the most convenience we can place them on a secure website for the consulting veterinarian to view them.
I am sure you can see we offer some very unique services not only here in Crown Point but for any veterinary practice. Schedule an appointment today and Experience the Difference!
December 26th, 2008
We all woke up to terrible ice covering everything! Just a reminder to use pet and child safe ice melt products and even when you use those it is still important to rinse and dry the paws of your pets after they have walked through these areas. If they lick the “salt” from their paws it potentially could irritate their mouth. Additionally the “salts” can irritate the paws as well.
Most of the staff was unable to make it to work this morning. We called our scheduled appontments and moved them to this afternoon or another day. What normally takes me 30 minutes to travel to work took 1 hour and 20 minutes. I did make it ok only to arrive at Oak Hill “Skating Rink”. Our parking lot was / is solid ice. They have yet to salt it but I am told the crew is on their way. I was able to use our sidewalk salt to cover the walks and some of the parking area. When I left to go to the feed store for more salt I had to make 2 attempts to leave. The first one found me sliding down hill toward the snow bank at the edge of the parking lot. Good thing the bank is there otherwise I would have slid into some trees.
Do be careful out there.
December 25th, 2008
Came in to do treatments this morning and fill the bird feeders and feed the fish in the aquariums. It is such a beautiful day, even though it is cold again. The snow and the bright sunshine combine to make it a truly beautiful sight. The birds are really eating a lot of seed in this cold winter but we enjoy watching their antics. Every window has a bird feeder in view and staff and clients (and even a lot of the patients) enjoy watching the birds. We had an 8 point buck and a doe come up to the clinic last Friday and help themselves to the seed as well. What a pleasure to come to “work” and enjoy the beauty of God’s creatures especially at this time of year. I wish you a happy holiday season and healthy prosperous new year!
December 23rd, 2008
The Doctors and staff wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season. Please watch that you don’t spoil your pets with too much holiday snacks/food. This can cause serious digestive upsets and sometimes lead to serious illness requiring hospitaliztion. Just use good common sense.
Happy Holidays!!
Dr. Walsh
