Posts in Category: Pet Health & Wellness

Sometimes a dog sneeze is his way of showing his excitement. But sometimes he’s reacting to an allergen. Dog allergies are real and can cause intense discomfort.

At Clairmont Animal Hospital, one of our top priorities is to give you a pleasant experience any time you visit our facilities. We know there have recently been increased wait times for phone calls and appointments, and we want to give you an inside look into our new reality to help you understand what’s been happening. Covid-19 has changed all our lives, and it has also impacted the way we see patients.

You’re grooming your pet and you feel a lump. You run your hand through the fur until you locate the lump, part the hair, and gasp! It’s a tick! You know it’s a tick because the mouth is stuck in your pet’s skin. Ticks and other parasites can harm your pet and cause some unexpected health issues. At Clairmont Animal Hospital, we want to help you keep your household animals healthy by learning to identify parasites that may be thriving on your animals:

Here in the twenty-first century, we are all about having things at our fingertips. With just a click of a button, we can schedule a doctor’s visit, have our groceries delivered, or start our robot vacuum from miles away. The appeal of being able to order our pet wellness products and medications online for direct delivery is strong.

Clairmont Animal Hospital knows how convenient this is, but we also see some pitfalls and even dangers in the online pharmacy option. We want to be sure that our clients know how to keep their pets safe when using this option and avoid dangerous consequences like counterfeit drugs.

If you have never heard a reverse sneeze, you might be alarmingly triggered by its signature sounds. Generally speaking, a dog that suddenly begins to honk, wheeze, and snort might require emergency veterinary help. However, a reverse sneeze isn’t usually a cause for concern. Sure, it’s weird and uncharacteristic for many animals, but this mechanism is employed for specific reasons. What’s more, if you know what it is, you can help your dog regulate their breathing and interrupt this strange breathing.

At this time last year, most people had probably never heard of a “zoonotic disease,” which is one that can be passed from an animal to a human. After losing twelve months and counting to the global pandemic, however, we are all thinking differently about disease prevention and what we can do to keep our families safe.

The team at Clairmont Animal Hospital is here to help you keep your pets happy and healthy and to make it easier to avoid issues with zoonotic diseases that could potentially infect your family.

Whether they’re suffering from an illness or injury, cats instinctively hide symptoms. Hardwired to appear strong and stealthy at all times, cats know they may be easily targeted by predators if seen as weak. 

Of course, indoor-only cats may not experience a specific risk from predators, but they’ll still hide under the bed or in the darkest corners of the closet when they’re not at their best. When cat owners are carefully tuned into the signs that their cat is sick, they not only ensure immediate help but may also prevent long-term complications.

The pitter patter of tiny feet is often a much loved sound that reminds us of how much we cherish those we share our home with. Our pets’ paws are important, and as their caretakers it is important that we care for and pay attention to them. 

Whether most animal lovers realize it or not, there are several paw diseases in pets that can affect our friend’s comfort and function. At Clairmont Animal Hospital we are happy to be able to help you to look out for your pet, paws and otherwise.

If you suffer from seasonal allergies, you know all too well the misery that accompanies the arrival of spring (or summer, or fall, as the case may be). Allergies affect our furry friends as well and, although the symptoms look different they aren’t any less uncomfortable. Allergies in pets can also lead to negative health consequences if they aren’t treated promptly.

Clairmont Animal Hospital wants to make sure you would know how to tell if your pet has allergies, and what you can do to help them.

It is widely accepted among cat owners that an occasional hairball is just par for the course. However, while all cats groom their fur coats, frequent hairballs definitely (more than about once per month) veer from what is considered normal, and should generate a special inquiry.

What We’re Really Talking About

Cats learn to groom themselves from their mothers, but they aren’t really good at it until they reach adulthood. For this reason, kittens rarely hack up hairballs. 

The feline tongue is covered with minute spikes that make easy work of picking up loose/dead hair, dirt, and debris. Since they only face backwards (towards the throat), anything picked up on the tongue is swallowed.