Halle is a 7 and a half year old Shar Pei X who was presented to our clinic for lethargy and inappetance for approximately four days. Her owner, Daniel, was getting increasingly worried about Halle, having noticed her belly was getting bigger by the day and she was drinking a lot more.

Sesha is a 10 year old Minature Fox Terrier who was brought to our clinic last month because her owner had become aware that she had very bad breath! Dr Amy 'flipped the lip' to expose the teeth and gums, which revealed the cause of the bad breath - dental disease. There was a significant accumulation of tartar on the premolar and molar teeth. Furthermore, one premolar was fractured and had become infected. Sesha's owner explained that she had been fed dry food in the past. However, recently Sesha had become unwilling to eat dry food and her diet now consisted of a home-cooked meal (rice, pasta, meat) combined with wet dog food.

Bart first came to our clinic in March 2011 as quite an unhappy 8 year old undesexed Labrador. He had been having skin issues for many months which were getting worse despite being on different medications. Bart was almost completely bald along his entire underside starting from his neck all the way to inbetween his hindlegs. His skin was very inflammed and he could not stop scratching himself. The skin condition also included his ear canals that were filled with a dark discharge. On top of everything else a large mass was palpated in his abdomen. This was a concern as he was a unilateral cryptorchid (he only had one descended testicle) and had an enlarged protstate.

Chester is a 5 year old male Spoodle who has been coming to the clinic since he was a puppy. Chester went through rigourous behavioural and physical testing to become an accredited Delta Society canine, earning his stripes back in early 2009. Chester and his owner Nikki volunteer their time regularly at hospitals. They visit sick people to hopefully put a smile on their faces and help speed up their recovery. Chester's mild, gentle manner wins fans whenever he goes, and he is known as the 'Sneezing dog' since he does this on command!

Mini, a 3 year old Shih Tzu X, arrived at our clinic having delivered two puppies on her own and was in the process of having a third one. The first two puppies unfortunately did not survive, making the delivery of the third puppy even more anxious for the owners. The third puppy was still enclosed in the foetal sac and was clearly visible at the vulva. This raised concern for dystocia, which means 'difficult birth'. Dystocia is commonly caused by uterine inertia (the uterus is fatigued and not contracting effectively anymore) and total malpresentation (foetus not facing the right way). In Mini's case, we suspected uterine inertia was the most probable cause. Having delivered two puppies, Mini must have been very exhausted at that stage.

An itchy pet is a common reason for owners to bring their pet to the Vet. The medical term for itchiness is called 'pruritis'. Bacterial infections and parasite infestations (such as fleas or mites) are a common cause of pruritis in pets. However, did you know that in a small number of cases, itchiness can be caused by a food allergy?

Holly is an 8 year-old Maltese X who visited us in February. Holly's owner Erin explained that Holly had always been an 'itchy' dog. However, the scratching and licking had been particularly intense recently.

Anyone with a pet who has seizures will be able to tell you how stressful it is when a seizure attack happens with their beloved pet. Dogs and cats can have seizures just like people do and they can happen for a variety of reasons. Meet Monty, a 5 year old Beagle cross who was adopted from the shelters nearly four years ago. His first episode of seizures happened two years ago in January 2009, after which he started having seizures about three weeks apart.

Blacky is a 3 year old female Fox Terrier who was presented to our clinic in the midst of giving birth. Her owners had arrived home when they realised Blacky was having trouble giving birth to her puppies. They brought her straight into the clinic for an assessment.

Itchy scratchy skin with sore infected ears. Sound familiar? Skin and ears problems are the most common complaints we see in both cats and dogs, especially during the hotter months of the year. Febey is a 2 year old Staffy whom we saw initially back in October 2008 for ear infections. The ear infections would clear up with the ear drops but she kept getting new infections regularly. Then Febey started having very itchy skin that would cause her to lick and chew at her skin to the point of 'self-destruction', resulting in very serious excoriations in various parts of her body.

"My dog is rubbing his bottom on the floor (scooting) again!" This is a quite common question that vets get all the time. Itching on and around the bottom can be caused by presence of gastrointestinal worms or problems associated with the anal glands. Both cats and dogs have anal glands at about the 5 o'clock and 7 o'clock positions of the anus. These glands are not visible from the outside but can be felt during a rectal examination.