I have enjoyed writing these blogs and hope that the information has been of interest

Susan Beesley

These cheeky squirrels have found a nice little snack left out for them and have found an ideal way to get the food out of them.

Lucky for them they don’t get their heads stuck!

Read the full article here

Dental disease is the most common of health problems to affect pets in the UK.  Not only is it a major cause of pain and suffering for our kpets but it often goes unnoticed by their owners because our pets can’t talk to us and tell us what is going on.

Cats and dogs have an incredible ability to seemingly ignore pain that would have their owners reaching for the pain killers and booking a trip to the dentist.  Whilst they may appear to be carrying on as normal their smiles can hide a multitude of problems.

Vet’s understanding of dentistry has increased significantly in recent years with new treatments and management techniques now available.  At Parkvets we perform a routine assessment of your pet’s teeth every time they come in for their health check and vaccination so that we can advise you early on of any problems .  When a problem is identified early there is a lot that can be done to resolve the problem and restore the teeth to normal good health.  Left unchecked problem teeth ultimately need to be removed.

Significantly a recent study in humans has suggested that people with good oral hygiene live longer – up to 10 years on average!  Although we do not have similar statistics in our patients it is fair to assume a similar pattern would be seen.

Here are the signs we check for when we examine your pet’s teeth:-

• “Doggy breath” is not normal and is an indication that bacteria is present
• White deposits on the teeth indicate the presence of plaque
• Plaque becomes tartar and covers the teeth causing decay
• Red rims around the tooth indicate gingivitis
• Non idential teeth either side of the jaw can suggest broken teeth or abnormal swellings
• Discoloured teeth suggest damage to the tooth’s blood vessels
• Swellings on the side of the jaw may suggest an abscess
• Drooling, reluctance to eat or anger directed at food might indicate discomfort

During March and in support of Oral Care Month our dental nursing team will be offering free dental consultations, show you how to successfully brush your pet’s teeth and take away a FREE bag of Hills food specially formulated to protect your pet’s teeth.

Why not register you pet on the Hills website and get all the latest news and a £5 voucher to use at your vet’s to buy Hills food.

He says “your pet is a natural feng shi expert and his or her very presence will help generate good feng shui.  Aside fromt he affection your pet give you they can help implement good feng shui principles.  Pets tend to sit in areas of the house which represent areas of your life which need working on.  They can also bring to your attention areas which need to be sorted out.  For example, by sitting on heaps of papers which need to be thrown out or tidied up”  (Now I know why my cat Lizzie sits on my desk in the office at home on my paperwork!)

CHI-ENERGY, LIFE FORCE

Pets are very sensitive to energies.  They have an instinctive understanding of chi and enhance the chi of your home.  They are even able to transmute negative energies into positive.  Pets move about the house encouraging the chi to circulate around the house and as they generate a lot of affection too they are a good souce of positive energy in your home.  We all know how our pets have a very direct influence on us and at the end of the day people have pets because they make them feel better (change their energy).  You think for example of a cat’s purring and how it makes you feel.

If you would like to know more about Positive Pet Energy you can read the full article here at Pet Gazette (Page 42)

If you would like to know more about Jan Cisek click here

Credit for this information to Pet Gazette and Jan Cisek

We would love to know what you think so please let us have your comments – you can join us on Facebook and let us know – here is the link   You will need a facebook account to see us but it only takes minutes to set up if you don’t have one already.

The physiological and psychological benefits of the bond formed between animals and humans can result in improved health and well being says Alison Reynolds, training and research manager at “Pets as Therapy”.

Animals have been used therapeutically for thousands of years.  Their use is gaining renewed acceptance in a variety of settings, from hospitals and nursing homes to schools and prisons, as well as in many healthcare fields such as nursing, occupational and mental health.  Florence Nightingale was the first person to acknowledge the theraputic potential of companion animals within the nursing fields when she observed that “a small pet is often an excellent companion for the sick, for long chronic cases especially”.

There are tangible benefits to older people in particular where they may have limited social networks resulting from the loss of a spouse and friends or following a relocation to a nursing home or residential care home.  The presence of pets can profoundly affect an individual’s ability to copy with such life changes.

Within families there is a wealth of evidence to support the positive role of pets with pet ownership playing a significant part in a child’s development – everything from better social skills to improved health.

We are all aware of the assistance specially trained animals provide to individuals with specific impairments.  The two most well known organisations being Guide Dogs for the Blind and Hearing Dogs for Deaf People although there are many other smaller organisations in existence such as Support Dogs UK which train dogs to assist people with a variety of medical and physical disabilities.

There is no doubt about it – dogs are a very important part of our lives in the rehabilitation and well being of human beings.  Pets as Therapy exists to bring comfort and companionship to people in hospitals, hospices, residentail/nursing homes, day care centres, special needs schools and many others.  There are currently 4,200 PAT dogs and 106 PAT cats visiting in the UK and over 130,000 patients every single week benefit from the service  according to Maureen Hennis Chief Executive of Pets as Therapy

Why not watch Roy Barraclough (From Coronation Street) on YouTube and see just what Pets as Therapy do

This led me to look into looking into pets in cyberspace more and was astounded to find that there are in fact there are 204,100 monthly active users on Catbook and 969,334 monthly active users on Dogbook.

It seems that the internet is a very popular way of earning your cat or dog the fame they think they deserve.

Your pet’s picture will appear alongside your as the owner with a brief description of you and of course your lovely pet.  There is a whole new world waiting for you out there it seems …..

Who knows …… maybe your cat or dog could be the key to unlocking the door to the person of your dreams!

Just think about the powers of social networking sites – in April 2009 Facebook was used to reunite a missing cat with his owners when he was found at a humane society in Minnesota, USA.  The Humane Society staff member scanned the cat’s microchip only to find the contact details were out of date.  The next step was for the humane society to put the cat up for “adoption”.  Just before they did this they did a search on Facebook and amazingly found the owner’s profile.  The result was that Bob the cat was reunited with his owner. 

Assuming you have a Facebook account here are the links to Catbook and Dogbook.  You will need to log in to your own Facebook account after clicking on these links – you will then go straight to either Catbook or Dogbook.

Just like many animals, cats experience dreams.  A dream is an important mental function.  Dreams help the brain sort the information that was taken in during the day.  As it is sorted, this information is played back in the form of vivid images.  These could be anything that the cat expereinced during th day from waiting to be let out or being chased by a dog.

These vivid images are dreams and this happens during a special stage of sleep.  The images are so vivid that cats can respond to them as if they were awake. 

 This is why sleeping cats sometimes whip their tails, bat at the air with their paws or make sounds.  The cat is probably reliving the experiences it had before it went to sleep.

Nice to know these things …… I am sure my cats just dream of their next meal!

What do you think your cat dreams of?  Leave us a comment and let us know.

Greyhounds are one of the oldest and versatile breeds of dog.  They can be traced back to the Pharaohs who had some and there are references to them in the bible.  Celebraties who have had greyhounds include Prince Albert and Queen Victoria as well as Frank Sinatra to name but a few.

The greyhound is thought to have originated in southern Arabia where the birth of a greyhounds was more prestigious that the birth of a baby girl!  That’s quite a reputation to live up to.  However a baby boy was more important than the birth of a greyhound.

Greyhounds were built for speed with a very deep chest, flexible spine and very powerful hind quarters, long legs and along tail.  They have narrow heads and the whole body is streamlined to cut down on wind resistance.

 Greyhounds are the fastest breed of dog in existence and according to the Guinness Book of Records in 1994 a greyhound reached 41.83 miles per hour!

 However when greyhounds retire from racing they turn into lazy couch potatoes who love to loll around and get fussed.

They make great companions and perfect pals for elderly couples or elderly people who live on their own as they do not require a huge amount of exercise once they have retired.  They also get on brilliantly with children and many retired racing greyhounds find homes with young families.

The Retired Greyhound Trust work tirelessly to raise funds to help care for greyhounds while they wait for homes.

 If you want to offer a retired greyound a home please contact the Retired Greyhound Trust on 0844 826 8424 or log on to their website www.retiredgreyhounds.co.uk

 Alternatively you may want to sponsor a greyhound for as little as £5 a month.

Working with our team of nurses you will be given guidance on exercise and diet along with regular weight checks.  The winner will reaceive a hamper of goodies just in time for Christmas 2010.

Read the article in full here

Call Rebecca Mather on 020 8300 8111 to sign up and receive a free toy for your pet.

As we go into 2010 we would live to wish everyone a very Happy New Year 2010.

Parkvets are always here for you 24/7  365.