Greencross Vets Subiaco WA

How are blood tests performed?

Blood tests can be carried out simply and swiftly during a regular consultation. Your veterinarian will clip a small amount of hair from your pet’s limb or neck and sterilise the area with an alcohol swab. A small amount of blood is collected using a syringe needle, then placed into special tubes and processed either on-site or in an external laboratory. Animals don’t seem to feel these needles (unlike us) and before they know it, it’s all over.

If you’re concerned about your pet’s health, particularly if they’re ageing, book a consultation at your Greencross Vets today.

How often should pets have a blood test?

The age and condition of your pet will usually be enough to determine their need for a blood test. It is recommended that blood tests be performed prior to anaesthetics, especially if a problem is suspected. A yearly screen is highly recommended as part of your pet’s health check up. For senior pets 7 years and older, twice yearly is recommended and is an important step to understanding your pet’s health and uncovering early signs of disease.

What do blood tests reveal?

Blood tests can provide insight into the function of your pet’s organs, hormones and their immune system, and can indicate the presence of disease. Some tests can be used to stimulate or suppress an organ to look into its function more specifically. Newer tests even have the ability to look at your pet’s genetics for specific disease or infections.

Common tests look at the function of the liver, kidneys and pancreas. Enzymes can also be tested, which indicate potential muscle damage and inflammation. Red and white blood cells are also tested which reveal hydration status, anaemia, inflammation or infection, and your pet’s immune system responses.

Why do pets need blood tests? 🩸🩸💉

Our pets aren’t able to tell us when they feel unwell. Regular vet checks, worming and a healthy diet are all important for our pets, but these things can’t always reveal how their internal organs are functioning. Blood tests are among the most diagnostic of all the health checks. They provide accurate and timely information about the health of your pet, and help us uncover early signs of disease or concerns.

Who else likes a lazy sunday with their pets!

How do I prevent my pet from getting heartworm?

Dogs

There are many heartworm preventatives available. If your dog has not had heartworm medication for more than six months, a blood test is necessary before you can commence preventative treatment, just to make sure they don’t already have heartworm. Prevention should begin at six to eight weeks of age. Medications come in either tablet form or as top-spot application, and many brands help protect your pet against intestinal worms and other parasites like fleas as well. The most convenient and effective heartworm prevention is a yearly injection administered by your veterinarian. This can be given from 12 weeks of age, then boosted at 6 months.

Cats

Tablets or top-spot applications are the best products available to prevent heartworm infection in cats. You can purchase high-quality heartworm products that also cover intestinal worms, with some also controlling fleas. We know your cat can be difficult to medicate, so regular visits to the vet where a professional can administer them for you is a good idea.

Remember that prevention is always the best medicine. Keep your pet happy and healthy all year round by sticking to a good preventative treatment plan. They’ll thank you for it.

How do I diagnose heartworm in my pet?

Have your pet tested at the vet. A simple blood test can reveal whether your pet is infected. Unfortunately, diagnosis is more difficult in cats, so prevention in all cases is always the best option. Keeping your pet up to date with regular heartworm medication, paired with regular vet check-ups is the best way to ensure their health is optimised.

Can heartworm be treated?

Yes. However, prevention is far better than treatment. Since diagnosing heartworm can be challenging, especially in cats, your pet’s illness may be quite advanced and challenging to treat. Allergic reactions to heartworm treatments have been identified, and some of the treatments can have serious side-effects, so staying on the safe side and keeping your pet up to date with their heartworm prevention is strongly recommended.

Share photos of your wonderful pets below, whether they be furry, fluffy, scaley, smooth or feathered, we love them all! ⬇️

What is heartworm?

Heartworm is a parasitic worm that can infect your pet through a mosquito bite. An infected mosquito injects a larval stage of the worm under your pet’s skin. These larvae mature in the pet’s organs for approximately six months, traveling through the body to the heart and blood vessels of the lungs. These adult worms breed to produce microfilaria (baby heartworm) in the bloodstream which are then drawn up by a mosquito when it feeds on the pet, continuing the cycle once again.

Mosquitoes are hard to keep out of both the yard and house, so even your indoor-only pets are at risk.

How common is heartworm?

The prevalence of heartworm in Australia remains poorly understood. What we know is wherever there are mosquitoes, there is potential for heartworm. There are ongoing studies to help experts find out more about heartworm infection in pets, which will assist in the treatment and prevention of the disease. With the information currently available, it has been concluded that prevention is the best form of heartworm control.

What are the signs of heartworm?

Dogs

Initially, it’s tough to tell that anything is wrong with your pet at all. Heartworm is a slow onset disease, so months or even years may pass before the signs become obvious. When symptoms do appear, your canine companion could have a large heartworm burden. Worms interfere with the movement of the heart valves, creating turbulence in the blood flow, and causing the blood vessels that lead to the lungs to become “blocked” with worms. This puts the heart under immense strain, where it can become enlarged and exhausted.

Early signs could be shortness of breath, loss of stamina, or a nagging, dry cough. As the disease progresses, breathing becomes more difficult, and in severe cases the abdomen may swell with fluid. Your dog could become lethargic and lose weight and their appetite. These symptoms are often subtle and hard to detect, so prevention is the best option. Treatment for heartworm disease is not without potential risk, may be difficult, and if left untreated, it is nearly always fatal.

Cats

Usually, there are few clinical signs of heartworm in cats. Your cat could develop slight lethargy or a cough, but sudden death is more common if your cat’s heartworm has gone undetected and untreated. It only takes one to two adult heartworms infecting your furry feline for the disease to potentially become fatal.

When you accidentally turn on the front camera 📸

Did you know we offer puppy classes?

Greencross Vets Puppy School is a safe, fun and interactive course conducted by qualified trainers at selected Greencross Vets clinics or Petbarn and City Farmers stores. The course helps your puppy gain confidence along with puppies of similar age, learn basic training techniques, and help you understand your pup’s behaviours.

For more information: https://www.greencrossvets.com.au/services/puppy-training-dog-training/

The post easter diet feelings!

Saturday snoozes with Ralph!

Protect your rabbit with vaccination

We strongly recommend vaccinating all pet rabbits. In Australia, viruses are released to control the wild rabbit population. There are two viruses that are released to control wild rabbits, Calicivirus (also known as Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus or RHDV) and Myxomytosis.

Pet rabbits can be vaccinated for some strains of calicivirus. New strains of the virus being released and whilst the vaccination cannot provide 100% protection, it certainly reduces the risk of your beloved bunny falling victim to this awful disease.Ongoing vaccination boosters are required, please keep up to date and if you’re unsure of your pet’s vaccination status, give your local Greencross Vets clinic a call.

If your pet has a weight problem, (including being underweight), seek help from your local Greencross Vets team. We offer weight loss and management programs tailored specifically to your pet’s needs. Together, we can help them reach and maintain their optimal body weight.

What is Healthy Pets Plus?

Simple. It’s a proactive, preventative wellness program designed to keep your pet healthier and happier for longer. We believe proactive care not only improves your pet’s quality of life, it adds years to it. The Healthy Pets Plus program makes doing the right thing for your pet simple and affordable. Join today and receive:

Unlimited, free veterinary consultations and advice at Greencross Vets
Free vaccinations + microchipping
Unlimited, free access to WebVet
Free or discount emergency consultations at selected emergency partner hospitals (6pm – 8am Weekdays plus Weekends & Public Holidays).
Exclusive discounts on in-clinic food, products and services
Annual health screenings, wellness tests and more!

https://www.greencrossvets.com.au/healthy-pets-plus/

Easter is just around the corner! Whilst it is a wonderful time for sharing, we need to be careful not to share these toxic foods with your fur-family!🐰 Pets are not able to digest or metabolise many human foods and as a result this can cause illness. If you suspect your pet has consumed one of these foods, it's important to seek immediate treatment. We have emergency hospitals that will be operating over the long weekend. Animal Emergency Centre Midland

Please make sure if your pet is taking ongoing medication, that you have enough for the Easter break!

No-nos for dogs

While chocolate is the danger treat this Easter, there are other foods and ingredients that you should be aware of. You might think that traditional hot cross buns should be ok, but they contain sultanas that can cause kidney problems and are harmful to pets. Lollies of all kinds are a real worry as well, they can contain xylitol which is an artificial sweetener that is very toxic to pets. Please don’t feed your pets any off-cuts or fatty leftovers, bones, garlic, onion or cooking dough – just to name a few. If you suspect your pet has eaten something they shouldn’t have, contact us for advice.

Instead of giving your pet ‘human foods’, why don’t you treat your furry friend with some delicious dog treats! Check out our article about home-made dog treats and put your culinary skills to the test!

https://www.greencrossvets.com.au/pet-library/articles-of-interest/tantalising-treats/

Care for your cats

You should also keep a close eye on your cat. They can be vulnerable to toxic foods and ingredients as well. Human medicines, lollies, onions and garlic as well as flowers such as lilies are all toxic. Just like dogs, cats are susceptible to adverse effects of alcohol. So please don’t leave any crème cocktails or rum infused fruit cake about. You can treat your cat with some delicious pet-friendly treats instead.

If you are concerned that your feline friend may have consumed chocolate, or any other ‘human-only’ foods, please give us a call. Remember, even if they aren’t showing any unusual symptoms, it’s best to be proactive if you think they have eaten something harmful. We are here to help, don’t hesitate to contact your nearest Greencross Vet for immediate treatment.

🍫🍫Chocolate toxicity🍫🍫

We can’t emphasise enough just how dangerous chocolate is for animals, particularly for dogs. It can be any type of chocolate, but cooking chocolate and dark chocolate are the worst. Chocolate contains caffeine and the chemical compound theobromine, both of which are toxic to pets. The most dangerous of all is cooking chocolate (often used at Easter time for baking), it contains the highest level of theobromine. A general rule of thumb is the more bitter the chocolate, the more dangerous it is.

The reason that chocolate can be so lethal for dogs, is that their systems can’t break these elements down like humans can. Once the chocolate is eaten, the chemical can remain in an animal’s bloodstream for hours and build up to cause organ damage if not treated quickly and properly. For example, it only takes one gram of dark or baking chocolate per kilogram of your dog’s weight for the chocolate to reach toxic levels. Cats can also be affected, but tend to be more selective in what they wish to eat – hence chocolate toxicity is less commonly seen in cats.

The symptoms of chocolate toxicity will occur within four to 24 hours. It could be an upset stomach, vomiting, diarrhoea, excessive urinating, hyperactivity and heart irregularities. In severe cases this can be followed by depression, coma and seizures and some pets can die. Please keep a close eye on your pets. If your dog shows any of these symptoms, or if you even you think they’ve eaten some chocolate, take them to your vet for immediate attention. With prompt intervention, even if a large amount of chocolate has been ingested, the prognosis for your dog is a generally favourable one. A quick response can make all the difference. If your local Greencross Vets is closed over the holidays or if it is afterhours, our partner Animal Emergency Centre is open 24/7, or contact your closest emergency vet.

Why is chocolate so bad for dogs?

Chocolate contains substances known as methylxanthines, specifically caffeine and theobromine which are toxic to dogs. Dogs take longer to break down theobromine and depending on your dog’s weight, even small amounts of chocolate can be dangerous. The darker and bitter the chocolate, the more dangerous it is to dogs. There are many types of chocolate and they all have different levels of theobromine in them.

We say! Just don’t take a chance – do not let your dog have chocolate.