12/11/2025
It’s that time of year where there’s a lot going on, with school holidays just around the corner and annual leave over the festive season too.
But there’s also quite a few things to be aware of with regards to your pets at home too.
The rains have come, and so has the humidity. This results in skin and ear issues, particularly in dogs, rarely in cats though thankfully. With the increased humidity, any potentially irritable skin can flare up, resulting in excessive scratching in one or multiple areas on their body, causing fur loss and of course, the dreaded Hot Spot! With any sensitive skin, there is always a very high probability of concurrent ear issues too, like an ear infection. These ear infections can often be caused by humidity and water getting into the ears and not drying out. There are generally 3 organisms in the ear, called commensals, meaning they’re supposed to be there, but should the microenvironment inside the ear become unstable (due to humidity or water or generalised inflammation) then you will generally find that one of the 3 organisms will grow out of control and hence cause clinical signs. 2 of the 3 organisms are quite easy to treat and get under control again. These would be the small round bacteria called cocci, and the yeast cells called Malassezia. The 3rd bacteria are the rods, as they are shaped like a cigar, these bacteria are becoming more and more difficult to treat and get rid of because they are becoming increasingly resistant to the available antibiotics in the ear treatments. If there is a rod overgrowth, this can often result in a long and frustrating process of trying to get rid of them. It often results in having to send off a sample from the affected ear to the lab for them to culture the bacteria and then test various antibiotics against the bacteria to see which is going to be the most effective, and hopefully at least one will be effective against them.
There are a host of ear cleansers available too, this is the ideal way to keep things under control. Most will have a cleansing agent as well as slight disinfectant properties (but will have limitations), but most importantly, the ear cleanser of choice should have a drying (dehydrating) agent that is NOT alcohol based. Alcohol based cleaners will sting the ear canal, especially if there is already an infection and the ear canal is inflamed and probably ulcerated too. A non alcohol based cleanser will dry the ear canal out over the period of about 2 hours and make the environment inside the ear canal quite unfavourable for the growth of the bacteria and the yeast. Keeping the ears clean and dry is the best and easiest way to prevent ear infections. Also, should it be a particularly humid day, cleanse the ears. If the kids have been swimming in the pool with the dogs, cleanse the ears. Playing with the hose pipe, cleanse the ears. Cleanse cleanse cleanse.
Increased temperatures and increased humidity usually also results in a parasite explosion!! Ticks, fleas and worm numbers will be on the rise too, so speak to your vet about an effective and appropriate treatment and prevention for these annoying parasites.
It’s also storm and firework season. We made it through Diwali with some horrendous stories from our clients reporting extreme stress and anxiety with their pets, but also the wildlife, baby birds found dead, adult birds having flown into windows, frantically trying to get away from the explosions. We still have yet to make it through New Years Eve. Please don’t leave it until the last minute to get medication for your pets if they need something strong for anxiety and stress. Medication that is used for this sort of thing is quite high on the medication scheduling list, so CANNOT just be dispensed over the counter. Also if your pet has not been seen in the last 6 months, NO scheduled medication can legally be dispensed. There are over the counter medications that can be used, but to get the best effects, they need to be dosed well before the stressful event. The longer they are dosed the medication, the more effective it becomes. There may still be a relaxing effect if given on the day of the stressful event, but generally, the longer they receive the medication, the more effective it will be. So we as vets are not being difficult when we don’t dispense scheduled medication, BY LAW we are not allowed to if we haven’t seen your pet in the last 6 months.
With storms and fireworks stressing our pets out, it is also so important to make sure that firstly, your pet is microchipped and secondly that your contact details are correct and that in fact your pets microchip has been registered. The number of times we check microchip numbers (as routine) and the chip is working but has never been registered, meaning it is totally useless. It is not expensive to have your pet microchipped, it doesn’t require sedation or anaesthetic, it’s literally just an “injection” with a bigger needle and can be done during a routine consultation too. If you are unsure if your pet is microchipped or you’d like to have it checked, we can certainly help you with that. It is a quick and painless procedure to simply scan your pet and check the chip number and then also check that the contact details are all up to date and correct. It is such a joyous occasion when a stray dog or cat is brought in and we scan them, they have a chip and we can contact the owners and get their pet back safely to them.
As the festive season rapidly approaches too, there are a number of food items you need to be aware of too.
🍫Chocolate is toxic and affects the dogs hearts, and they can have seizures too, so best not to give them chocolate.
🍇Various fruit and nuts, like raisins in Fruit Mince Pies and fruit cake, and macadamia nuts, shouldn’t be fed to dogs either.
🥓Large amounts of fat eaten, so the crackling off the pork roast or the gammon, cheeses, duck, anything that is very fatty, if your dog isn’t used to large amounts of fat, this can trigger a very nasty condition called Pancreatitis, which in very severe cases, can even be fatal.
🐜Many people don’t realise that flying ants are also very fatty and both dogs and cats, if given the chance, will engorge themselves. This too can not only trigger pancreatitis but also vomiting and diarrhoea that can last for quite a few days. Flying ants will be around also at this time of year because of the rains and warmer weather.
💐Flowers given as gifts or decorations, as stunning as they can be, some can cause some serious problems. Poinsettias are well known Christmas plants, their striking red and green colours make them very popular at this time of year, they are mildly toxic (their milky sap) to dogs. Lilies, of any sort (Tiger lilies, St Joseph lilies are a very popular cut flowers) are considered to be HIGHLY toxic to cats, causing kidney damage and failure if not treated. ALL parts of the flower and plant are considered toxic, even the pollen, so cats walking past the vase with the lilies could be contaminated with pollen, and ingest it while grooming. Simple solution, just remove the pollen stalks from the lilies.
The end of a year and the festive season always brings joy and excitement but we also need to be conscious that our “celebrations” can be terrifying to our pets and our wildlife. So while partaking in the festivities, please spare a thought for those who cannot speak for themselves and lets all have a kind and caring Festive Season. 🎄🎁
