New Product - Revolutionary? Bravecto

Our pets are the winners this year with the anticipated release in April of a new flea and tick control tablet for dogs.  Late last year, there was the release of the monthly flea and tick tablet Nexguard.

So, if we thought a monthly flea and tick tablet was novel, having that level of control in a single tablet that needs to be given each 3 months, has taken it out to a whole new level.

I went to the launch of Bravecto  in Bomaderry, and learnt the latest in the management of paralysis tick poisoning, as well as the ins and outs of Bravecto.

The short version is
- It is a pork liver flavoured tablet with various sizes from 2 kg to 56 kg.
- It needs to be given each 3 months for control of fleas, and 4 months for paralysis ticks. (but two months for the brown dog tick).
- It can be given with the three monthly intestinal worming, with vaccinations, with heartworm preventatives and other common routine medications.
- It is a whole brand new class of drug.

The excitement over this product reminds me of when Frontline first came onto the market!

What I can't tell you is the cost, as no one was sharing that info tonight, but we have been told that it will be similar or slightly better than what you are paying now.

I am Dr Liz, the mad vet from Russell Vale Animal Clinic.  We stock and recommend a range of quality veterinary flea and tick products, so if you have any questions on what is the right thing for your pet, come in and ask.

Animail Tails - Kidney Health for 4 and 2 legged peoples!

The first edition of Animail Tails is out - and, yes, I am cheating a wee bit at the moment by using this newsletter as an excuse for a blog post!

To read the entire newsletter, go here!

Did you know that 1 in 3 people are affected by Kidney Disease without knowing?

Our pets are no different.... many are affected, and our current testing regimes are limited.... significant changes will be evident only when there is moderate damage.  What we do know though, is through "trending" we can pick  up changes before a pet's

Make sure you visit your GP regularly and get that regular check up.  If there are any significant changes, you can at least know when that started to occur.  There is nothing worse finding than abnormality, and then wondering how long you had been like that.

Please .... always.... Drink lots of water, reduce salt intake in your food, eat lots of veges, and get regular check ups!

Your pet relies on you .... you are their world, so you need to take care of you. 

For our pets, the best we can do is to feed a good quality diet, access to fresh water, and regular check ups including blood (urea/creatinine) and urine (protein, urine specific gravity), and watch for trends.
We are looking for increasing urea/creatinine and urine protein, and slow reduction in specific gravity.

If we see that, it will alert us to the possibility of unhappy kidneys. Once that little 'bleep" (warning bell not the other bleep you are thinking off) happens, then we know that we need to really look more deeply into how serious it is.

As you all know, we are for happy and happy animals (of all varieties)... always.

As I mentioned earlier, World Kidney Day is this month.  We would love to be inundated with animal pee for testing, so please feel free to drop your pet's pee off to us any day of the week for testing this march (2015). Make sure you label it with your pet's name, so we know whose pee we are actually testing.

Please, I hate to say this, but please, no human pee! I don't do people pee! :) 

And yes, we would seriously love to have lots of little jars of pet urine for testing.  I am not called the mad vet for nothing.

I am Dr Liz, the mad vet from Russell Vale Animal Clinic. Thank you for your pee ...sorry... thank you for your attention!

Astonishing Secrets - I have just lost my pet!

Welcome to another Astonishing Secrets - this is for one of the most gut wrenching moments for a pet owner - for when they realise that their pet is missing.

"I am lost"  " And now you're found!"

So, you have lost a Pet? 

Our hearts go out to you, as we know the feeling.  It's awful. Words don't describe the feeling.   So let us help you.

1. Get your pet's photo
2. Get your pet's microchip number - if you can't get your hands on it in their paperwork, then just call your regular vet.  Most vets are keeping a record of your pet's microchip number on their computerised database.
3. Put a sign on your front lawn that you have lost your pet - many people walk the block around where the pet was lost hoping to find the owner.  You never know, you could be lucky and reunite very easily.

A Tip:  Put a Sign on your front lawn!

Ok, now take deep breaths, a cup of tea, and call your friends.  Someone needs to make the phone calls, and someone needs to walk around the area.

Now you will need to call all vets within a 30 minute drive of where your pet has gone missing - please remember that people will often take it to the closest vet they know, which is not necessarily the closest vet to where the pet has gone missing.

And, we strongly advise ringing your local council and ensuring your pet's contact details are up to date.
 
There are several local Lost and Found facebook pages dedicated to reuniting pets with their owners.
The ones in our area include - 

Teddy = the face of our Lost and Found Facebook page.

Lost and Found Pets (our own FB page dedicated to pets reunited with their family )

Lost Pets NSW

Illawarra Lost and Found

Lost and Found Pets Illawarra

Each area have their own "lost and found" guru!

4. Download our PocketVet app.  It has a lost and found feature.  Don't forget to select Russell Vale Animal Clinic if you are a client of ours, or if you are not, why not check if your local vet is on there. Add your pet's details.  Then you can send it to all other PocketVet app users in our area (or even in your area (PocketVet is an Australia wide app). 

5. Call the RSPCA at Unanderra, (or in your local area)  and make sure you visit them daily.  Visiting them and checking out the runs daily is essential.  Often descriptions are wrong or different, so what you may be calling a labrador cross staffy, they may see as a staffy cross lab.

6. You can email the Illawarra Mercury (or your local newspaper), and even try the radio stations.  Whether they help or not depends... sometimes they help, sometimes they don't.

When your pet does come home, take advantage of our Free ChipChecker service.

We call it a "Scan and Check", which we have been doing for over 10 years. It is the same as the Lost Dog's Home ChipChecker service, which is now national in 2014.

Your pet's microchip number is scanned, and the information on all of the databases is checked.  You will need to update any out of date information, but at least you know that the information is current.

We recommend ALL pets have their microchip scanned and checked ONCE a year!
This is a FREE service at Russell Vale Animal.

Any reason why your pet went missing?

It is sad, but no surprise that the number of lost pets increases on nights of fireworks or thunderstorms.  It is equally sad that many lost pets are habitual escape artists, with owners frustrated by why and how their pet's escape.

If you want us to help you find a solution, then let us know.  There are no quick fixes, and takes effort, but I have never had a failure when the owner was willing to work with us to find a solution.

 I have alot of failures when owners have expected a single, quick fix.

I am Dr Liz, the mad vet from Russell Vale Animal Clinic.  Every pet deserves their own personal vet, so please make sure your pet has theirs.

Any questions about our Scan and Check service, please call us on 0242845988.  This is a free service for all pet owners.