Some Facts About Sedation and General Anaesthesia

Fear of sedation and/or general anaesthesia (GA) are very common, and understandably so, there are so many scary stories circulating out there! Thankfully, most of them myths. That being said, there will always be risks associated with ANY medical procedure, but it’s important this fear does not prevent you from providing your pet with necessary … Continue reading Some Facts About Sedation and General Anaesthesia

How to Pre-medicate Dogs Who’ve had a Vaccine Reaction Before Their Next Vaccine

What you’ll need: To know your pets body weight in KILOGRAMS Regular Strength Benadryl (pill form, 25mg tablets) or Children’s Benadryl (liquid form, 12.5mg/5ml), ***NO EXTRAS/”Plus” anything!*** i.e. ingredients on bottle should be Diphenhydramine HCl! If you already know your dogs Benadryl dose, please give the prescribed dose of Benadryl by mouth the night before … Continue reading How to Pre-medicate Dogs Who’ve had a Vaccine Reaction Before Their Next Vaccine

Vaccine Reactions

Vaccine reactions in dogs are not uncommon. Normal vaccine reactions can include joint or muscle soreness, reduced appetite, and sleepiness. These reactions are not serious and can even go unnoticed, but there are also allergic reactions to vaccines that can be fatal if not handled in a timely manner.

Hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy for wound care involves the use of moving water. Hydrotherapy increases circulation, speeds healing, and reduces pain and inflammation.

How to Prepare a Bland Diet for your Dog

Option 1: Rice and Hamburger  What you’ll need: White rice Lean Hamburger meat Boil 1-4 cups (depending on your pets size) of white rice in a pot or rice cooker, make sure the finished product is cooked and soft. 

Why Prebiotics and Probiotics?

The Intestines You’ve heard the old adage, you are what we eat, but more accurately, you are what you feed the trillions of microbes that live in your gut… And the same applies to our cats and dogs. Today, researchers are looking into how gut bacteria and other gut microbes are impacting our pet’s health. … Continue reading Why Prebiotics and Probiotics?

The Science Behind why ECVC Recommends Feeding your Cat a Canned (soft food) Diet

More carbohydrates = obesity Cats are true carnivores, this means they get their energy and nutritional requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of animal tissue. Interestingly, cats actually lack the metabolic pathway that humans and dogs use for processing carbohydrates. Dry cat kibble typically contains 30-40% carbohydrate content whereas, canned cat food is … Continue reading The Science Behind why ECVC Recommends Feeding your Cat a Canned (soft food) Diet

How to Best Administer Eye Medications

When possible recruit a friend.  An extra set of hands can be very useful for holding or keeping your pet distracted/calm while you perform the task. We think tag teaming eye drops is easiest, but don’t worry we’ll go over how to administer eye drops if you’re alone too #1 thing: Use treats or your pets … Continue reading How to Best Administer Eye Medications

ECVC’s Tips on How to Best Clean your Pet’s Ears

First of all, not all pets need to have their ears cleaned; please use these instructions only if you’ve been directed to clean your pet’s ears by your veterinarian. Patients that are predisposed to ear infections (those with hairy or heavy floppy ears, frequently bathed pets, those big swimmers and/or pets who have allergies, metabolic … Continue reading ECVC’s Tips on How to Best Clean your Pet’s Ears

How to Measure your Pet’s Sleeping Respiration Rate

Dr. Russell has requested a Sleeping Respiration Rate (SRR) for your pet. To get started you’ll need a timer to count to 30 seconds or 60 seconds; a pen and paper to document your results; this is often easiest with two people. Next, make sure your pet is completely asleep, but not actively dreaming. Also, … Continue reading How to Measure your Pet’s Sleeping Respiration Rate

Why Environmental Enrichment is Essential  

Thankfully, our pets are living longer than ever before! When pets live longer, they live longer as seniors, so let’s talk about how to slow down unhealthy aging and cognitive decline in our senior pets, and at the same time, keep young pets out of trouble simply by enriching their environments! At ECVC, we love … Continue reading Why Environmental Enrichment is Essential  

Homemade Pill Pockets

Recipe Makes 12-24 pill pockets, depending on size wanted. What you’ll need: 1 tablespoon milk or yogurt or applesauce or mashed banana 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter (MUST NOT CONTAIN XYLITOL) 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (buckwheat, garbanzo, potato or rice flour works too) Next: In a small bowl, combine all three ingredients Mix and knead … Continue reading Homemade Pill Pockets