Oakland Veterinary Referral Services Blog

Rehabilitation or physical therapy can benefit your dog in many ways, including speeding up the healing process and ensuring better mobility and long term health. After any injury or surgery, plan to devote a substantial amount of time to your dog’s healing. Recovery is critical in healing and in minimizing the effects of physical trauma.

When your pet is hospitalized due to a surgery or is recovering from an illness or injury, it is a stressful time for both you and your pet. You will have concerns about how your dog or cat will be cared for and what you can do during this critical time in their recovery.

The team at Oakland Veterinary Referral Services knows that hospitalization is stressful but is sometimes required to help your pet recover. By outlining what to expect during this time, we hope to ease some of your fears, as well as better support you and your pet.

Weight Loss is Confusing in the Pet World Too

In the world of diets and weight management, it’s hard to separate fact from fiction. One diet says to eat only healthy fats, while another says bacon is fine. One weight loss regime focuses on healthy protein, while another has you fasting on green smoothies. Confusing? Yes! We are seeing the same confusion around why pets gain weight and what they should eat.

It’s great to keep your pet at a healthy weight and avoid obesity, which causes many health problems. But, how does a pet owner gauge a healthy weight and the right approach to keeping fur friends on the right dietary track? The team at OVRS is here to separate fact from myths.

Your Dog’s Shedding — Normal or Excess?

This time of year, when the sun begins to shine a little longer each day and the heat index starts to rise, you may notice something… Your dog is leaving little hair tumbleweeds across the tiles. Shedding can be a major problem for some breeds, and many pet owners have the lint rollers in hand and vacuums going strong.

Shedding is a normal process of keeping your dog’s skin and coat healthy. There are times, though, when hair loss can signal a larger issue. The team at Oakland Veterinary Referral Services wants to tackle the question of shedding and explore the causes and conditions of excess shedding.

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas for Dog, Cat and Pet Lovers

Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate moms, and the many ways they make our lives wonderful. Mother’s Day is all about recognizing the spirit of nurturing, kindness, care, and wisdom of mothers. This same spirit is true for dog, cat, and other animal moms out there!

Those who care for animals are among the biggest-hearted people we know. On Mother’s Day, we choose to honor all of the dog moms, cat moms, rabbit moms, guinea pig moms, and so many others by suggesting a few simple, meaningful gifts. We hope you find something to add to your list!

What to Consider When Traveling with a Sick Pet

Traveling with any pet requires prep work before you hit the road. Traveling with a sick pet (one with a chronic illness or motion sickness) can make traveling more complicated.

You’ll want to make travel as smooth as possible to ensure your pet’s safety and comfort. In the case of infectious disease, you must also factor in the safety of others. Let’s explore the steps to take and other scenarios that may come up when traveling with a sick pet.

Senior pets (and those who have had an orthopedic injury) are prone to arthritis. If your pet suffers from chronic arthritis, you may believe that they should avoid exercise and take it easy as much as possible. While there are reasons to avoid jumping or other rambunctious activities, all pets – including those with arthritis – need some level of exercise.

To help you get your arthritic pet moving and feeling better, try our suggestions for low impact exercise. It will have them moving and feeling better!

Let Your Pets Join the Easter Fun!

The Peeps are out and Easter is on! If you aren’t devouring too many Cadbury Eggs, hats off to you. Those things are the epitome of Easter and all of its delicious treats. If you are a pet parent, you may be wondering how to include your dog or cat in the Easter excitement and festivities.

The Easter Bunny mentioned to the OVRS team that there are some pretty great Easter costumes and treats in store for your best fur friend. Let’s take a look at some of our favorites.

Be Ready for a Veterinary Emergency

Almost every pet will experience a veterinary emergency in their lifetime. These range from a sudden illness, to an injury, to more critical situations like poisoning or an animal attack. In these scenarios, the scene can be scary and confusing for you and your pet. You may wonder what to do, and how you can help until getting your pet to a hospital.

This OVRS Emergency Guide gives you the basics of what constitutes an emergency and what to expect, including the steps to take should you need to act quickly.

Dog Blood Donors

Most of us have given blood to help someone else. Did you know that your dog can be a blood donor to help other canines in need? Oakland Veterinary Referral Services has an in-house canine blood bank called Buddies for Life.

OVRS collects and stores blood products that are used to treat a variety of doggie problems including blood loss, immune mediated diseases, genetic disorders, and more. We successfully provide over 400 blood transfusions per year and save many canine lives in the process.

Our volunteers and dog blood donors are the true heroes who make this possible. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you and your fur friend could be one of these heroes?