Taking care of a dog is typically pretty straight forward. You have to make sure that they eat every day, that they have a safe place to sleep at night, and that they get the love and attention they deserve as a furry member of your family. But dealing with a sick dog may become tricky -- not to mention stressful.

If you’re like most pet owners, showing appreciation for the furry companions who enrich our lives and make us happier and healthier is a daily event. That being said, life gets pretty hectic with work, family, and other obligations.

By Dr. Kathy Boehme

Appropriate socialization in the first few months of life is critical for healthy social development of puppies. Proper exposure to new places and people can reduce the incidence of fear based behavior problems later in the dog’s life.

If your dog or cat had an accident, would you know how to stabilize them before transporting them to the vet or to an emergency veterinary care center? The goal of National Pet First Aid Awareness Month in April is to ensure pet owners are aware of basic actions to take in the case of a pet-related emergency. Here are some tips to remember if your pet has an emergency:

By Nicole Abrego

Springtime is here! As we head to clear skies and warmer weather in gorgeous Encinitas, it’s important to keep in mind some of the hazards that our pets can encounter as they venture into the outdoors.

Here are some of the top Spring environmental hazards for your pets to avoid.

Foxtails:

Have you ever held a dog toy in front of a puppy and let him “mouth” it? As you’ve probably noticed, puppies will put their mouth on most anything, and it’s completely normal since they use their teeth to explore the world around them and play with one another.

In fact, if you’ve watched puppies in a litter with their littermates, you’ll see that they climb all over one another and nip each other in an ongoing bout of exploration. When they’re a few weeks old, this can seem harmless, maybe even cute -- until one of those sharp teeth nips your hand a little too hard!

Pain is a clinically significant symptom that can adversely affect an animal’s quality of life—and the first step in treating it is recognizing and acknowledging it.

Our pets share the same anatomical and biochemical pain pathways that we do; therefore, we can expect their level of discomfort with certain conditions to be similar to ours. Unfortunately, they cannot tell us with words how they feel or where they hurt, but they can give us clues about their level of discomfort.

By Nicole Abrego

As we head into warmer weather in the coming months, a vacation getaway sounds like a great way to relax and enjoy the sun! But...what about your pet? As much as we would like to take Fido or Fluffy on a family vacation it may not be ideal to subject them to a long car or plane ride.