K9 Obedience Trials

The American Kennel Club offers obedience titles to any dog meeting the requirements - even your mutt can be awarded the coveted Canine Good Citizen title!







Agility

Probably the most popular K9 event, agility trials match your dog's speed and skill against a course. Handler skills are important and agility training is a great way to develop a strong working bond with your dog.






Performance Events

These engaging events give your dog a chance to excel in the area he or she was bred for! Whether it's herding, hunting, lure coursing, or field trials, these breed specific challenges will bring out the best in your dog.







DockDogs

For fun summer fun consider formal or informal DockDogs competition where points are awarded for long jumps and crowd appreciation rewards smooth style!







Winter Fun

Snow sports like mushing and skijoring keep the fun going year round for thick coated dogs and owners with high cold tolerance!





Others

There are competitions for more usual things like - yes, really - K9 dancing, treibball (essentially 1 dog soccer), and Frisbee catching (points for height and style!). If your dog can do it, there's probably a club dedicated to it and if not, don't let that stop you from having fun with your dog playing by your own rules!

A spay (or ovariohysterectomy, yep - it's a mouthful!) is the surgical removal of both ovaries and the uterus from a female. The ovaries are located near the kidneys so the abdomen does have to be opened making recovery a more lengthy process - a female dog or cat should be kept quiet for 2 weeks following a spay to allow her incision to heal. We also keep spay patients overnight to provide additional pain medication if needed, recovery time from anesthesia, and a quiet environment following surgery. Early spaying between 4-6 months of age prevents a female dog or cat from starting heat cycles. Not only does this prevent unwanted litters, it also reduces risk for a potentially life threatening uterine infection called a pyometra, and evidence suggests it may decrease risk for development of mammary cancer - plus you won't have to deal with a female bleeding during heat or attempting to seek a mate!

Carefully monitoring your pet when he or she is in the yard or on walks is a great way to prevent ingestion of potentially dangerous plants, but if your pet spends a lot of time out and about in the yard or you are going to keep houseplants it is best to do a little research and choose pet-friendly plant species. A complete list of toxic plants can be found at the ASPCA website: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants?&&page=3.

Happy (and safe) gardening!

Mosquitos

Mosquitos carry heartworm disease, a potentially fatal parasite that can infect both dogs and cats. It can result in lung abscesses, blood clots, and kidney or liver damage. All pets should be protected against this parasite!


Fleas

Fleas are common external parasites and can infest both in-town and country pets. Wildlife and feral cats are common sources of infection. Year round protection is recommended to prevent an infestation in your house!


Ticks

In addition to being downright disgusting, ticks can carry life-threatening diseases including Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Ehrlichia, and Anaplasmosis. Generally tick prevention is required from early May through July but the tick season may vary year to year.



Intestinal Parasites

What's worse than a parasite you see? The ones you don't! Intestinal parasites including roundworms, whipworms, hookworms, and tapeworms all have different routes of infection. Some can even be transmitted to people making it important to protect your pet...and yourself from these!

Sometimes blood work is also recommended at the yearly exam for animals that seem perfectly healthy. Geriatric patients are generally dogs over 6 years of age for larger breeds and 8 years of age for small breeds and cats. With these older patients we often recommend baseline blood work as up to 40% of geriatric patients may have abnormal blood work despite not showing any outward signs of disease. This allows us to make an earlier diagnosis and start treatment before the condition is as severe. Even if blood work is perfectly normal we have gained valuable information in knowing the pet's "normal values" so that if he or she does become sick we can monitor any changes or trends.

If you have any questions about blood work or other procedures we recommend, please ask as your pet's health is always our top priority!