Rocklin Ranch Veterinary Hospital’s Blog

Heartworm is one of those diseases you don’t ever want your dog or cat to get. When a pet has heartworms, long, noodle-like worms quite literally live in their heart. Treating the disease can be a grueling process for your dog—and you. The best way to treat heartworms is to prevent your dog or cat from getting them in the first place. April is Heartworm Awareness Month, which gives us the perfect opportunity to share some of the things we want you to know about this disease. 

If you are like most dog owners, it takes patience, time, and repetition when you begin to train a puppy or even an adult dog. The challenges of cleaning up accidents, the constant struggle to redirect your pet from spraying the couch, and the ongoing time and skills to teach basic commands are the things that you deal with. Without a doubt, house training your dog is not for the faint of heart!

But once you and your pet have established the basics of house training, the positive effects can last a lifetime. This is why your team at Rocklin Ranch Veterinary Hospital wants to give you the tools and techniques for house training your dog. Let’s begin!

You take super good care of your pets, anticipate their every need, and yet, you have a nagging sensation that you could be doing something better. Perhaps it’s because they give so much to you and your family, it seems like you’ll always come up short in repayment. Don’t worry. There are always little things that pet owners can do that have a big impact on their pet’s well-being. If you want to improve your pet’s health in the new year, we’ve got you covered. 

If constant head twitching and ear scratching has the fur flying in your house, ear mites could be to blame. These teeny weeny creepy crawlies feast on ear wax (ew!) and are highly contagious between dogs, cats, rabbits, and ferrets. Your pet can pick up this pest outdoors, at the kennel or groomer, or from another pet in the house. Read on for the nitty gritty on ear mites, plus treatment tips from our team at Rocklin Ranch Veterinary Hospital. 

As humans, dental hygiene is pretty important. Daily brushing, flossing, mouthwash, and periodic dentist visits are on most of our to-do lists. When it comes to our canine companions, though, dental care seems to fall down the list of importance. Contrary to popular belief, bad doggy breath is not the norm! Dog dental care is essential, and Rocklin Ranch Veterinary Hospital wants to be sure your pup has primo care. 

Why Dog Dental Care?

When an adult dog and a puppy are introduced, the results can be devastatingly cute. 

Much like human children, puppies are often unencumbered by normal social cues and norms. This endearing quality can cause problems, however, especially among dogs who do not have a lot of patience for puppy behavior .

When allowing adult dog and puppy interactions to occur, Rocklin Ranch Veterinary Hospital wants you to know what is normal, what’s not, and when it’s time for you to intervene.

The Normal Order of Things

Puppies are playful, and they can be a whole lot of fun to watch. Normal puppy body language may include play gestures such as:

Most, if not all, pets enjoy their food and relish meal times. This doesn’t mean that they savor every bite, however. Instead, a common reaction to a bowl of food is to simply inhale it without appearing to chew even a morsel of it. This is true for pets of all ages, but if your puppy eats too fast, he could actually face serious health consequences. 

Summer is the time for relaxing in your yard, hosting BBQs, and marveling over fireworks. Unfortunately, it’s also a time of year when pets tend to go missing after they escape from their homes or yards. It only takes a split second for your pet to scoot out a gate left open by the gardener, or to dig under (or jump!) a fence when scared by fireworks.

For these reasons and more, we’re going to explore the world of pet microchips, and give you some tips to make them even more effective if your pet already has one.

Lost Pets

Surveys show that one in three pets will go missing in their lifetimes, and The Humane Society of the United States estimates that only 2-5% of lost cats and 30% of missing dogs are ever reunited with their owners. But these numbers increase if the pet has a microchip because microchipping works.

Your quarters may be cramped, but your heart is overflowing with love to spare, so why not adopt a puppy? While your desire to add a furry companion to your environment may be strong, there are some important aspects of raising a puppy in an apartment that you need to consider before taking the plunge.

At Rocklin Ranch Veterinary Hospital, we completely understand the joy and companionship that pets bring to our lives. We want you and your puppy to live happily ever after, so here are some tips that can help. 

Every pet needs plenty of TLC, quality veterinary care, and a healthy diet. But finding a food that checks all the boxes—nutritious, delicious, and within budget—can be overwhelming. There are more options now than ever before, with new brands, specialty diets, and textures, and even refrigerated foods for both cats and dogs.