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Beat the heat: Helping your pets stay cool this summer

Summer is on the way, which (hopefully) means warm, sunny weather. But, what does it mean for our pets? The summer heat can cause drastic health issues. Keep an eye out for excessive panting, difficulty breathing, weakness and drooling. Like humans, dogs, cats and rabbits do not sweat as a primary source of cooling down, so they need a little bit of extra help from us!...

Is your pet overweight?

In New Zealand, 28% of dogs and 24% of cats are overweight or obese! It is up to us as their owners to manage their diets to keep them at a healthy weight.Obesity greatly increases the risk of health complications in cats and dogs. Some conditions that can result from being overweight include: diabetes,arthritis,kidney disease, high blood pressure,difficulty exercising and grooming.The first step is to identify that your pet is overweight. We have quality, premium n...

Paws off! Santa’s do not eat list

While it's fun to spend extra time with our pets and treat them at Christmas, we need to be careful with what we give them as many foods are toxic to cats and dogs.Check out this list of common Christmas goodies that can be harmful to pets:Chocolate, especially darker chocolate, is toxic to cats and dogs, so keep it out of reach of your pets;Mince pies, Christmas pudding and fruit cake have lots of raisins and sultanas, which are also toxic to cats and dogs;Milk or cream. While th...

Cow-tastic curves: The benefits of body condition scoring

Body condition scoring (BCS) is one of the most useful tools to help dairy farmers make management decisions throughout the season. Although it is a subjective measurement, it is still a good estimate of a cow’s energy reserves, which enable farmers to optimise their production systems.This means that if BCS targets are met, farmers will have more efficient reproduction and milk production. Additionally, farmers will also see improved cow health and animal welfare....

Facial eczema essentials for the summer

Summer season is upon us and it won’t be long before peak humidity and warm temperatures hit us at the start of the year. While it may be beach weather for us, it is also facial eczema (FE) weather for our dairy cows, as these are perfect conditions for the fungus to reproduce on our pastures.The fungus itself is not a big deal in small quantities. But, some warm nights and a couple of light showers during late summer to early autumn are enough to cause a sudden boom in spore counts. Expo...

Raising our youngstock

The month of festivities and bargains is here! As everyone starts planning ahead for various holidays or trips with their families, some of our youngstock are just about to head out for their respective trips away from the main farm and onto big, lush pastures.As we send them off on their little adventure, we picture them coming back all grown and fat (and secretly wish for a holiday just like that ourselves). However, just like us, they can fall ill while away and due diligence to prepare ...

Teat scoring

Maintaining a Bulk Milk Somatic Cell Count (BMSCC) under 150,000 cells/ml is a sign of a healthy productive herd. To keep BMSCC down, there needs to be low levels of mastitis in the herd. Mastitis is the end result of complex interactions between the cow, bacteria, the environment, milking machine and the farmer. The aim of mastitis control is to limit the number of bacteria on the cow’s teats and to reduce the risk of bacteria entering the udder through the teat canal.Checking (or ‘sco...

Scanning into the future

As the seasons start to change, many of us are glad to be able to put calving behind us and to start planning ahead for the season to come. We are now deep into mating, with heat detection, CIDR’s, AB’s and bulls and our charts and little pocket books filled to the brim with dates and numbers. While we’re in the midst of making plans for the coming season, let’s not forget the benefits of early age pregnancy scanning, which include:Knowing the efficacy of your reproductive performan...

Bovine Digital Dermatitis

Bovine Digital Dermatitis (BDD) - also known as hairy heel warts, digital warts or strawberry foot rot - is a contagious disease causing painful inflammation of the skin above the heel bulbs, leading to lameness. Rear feet are affected in 90% of cases and new cows tend to get infected 2-8 weeks after entering the herd, resulting in an often higher prevalence among heifers. After infection, cattle do develop some immunity to the disease.While BDD cases within NZ dairy herds are low and often...

Bolster your biosecurity

With the heightened awareness of Foot and Mouth Disease earlier in the year, as well as the country still being in Mycoplasma bovis eradication mode, evaluating your farm’s biosecurity plan is a great way to protect yourselves and your community from exotic and pre-existing diseases. Diseases such as Bovine Digital Dermatitis are highly contagious and there is always a threat of disease introduction to your farm, which can result in compromised animal welfare, productivity and profitabili...

Meet the team & their pets

Here at Veterinary Clinic Morrinsville, taking care of your pets is our top priority. This love of animals extends beyond the clinic and many of us have several furry friends to care for at home, too.So, let's meet some of our team and their pets:Annelise may have only been with us for 6 months, but she is already a staple of the VCM team! You may have spotted her in scrubs, or in her front-of-house uniform as she “floats” between being a vet nurse and our friendly receptionist.She is a...

Nutrition in rabbits

You may or may not know, but rabbits have a very specific diet that is crucial to their health and survival, and no, it does not consist of lettuce and carrots! Rabbits are herbivores and have evolved to develop a digestive system that digests fibre and extracts other nutrients. This is amazing, but it does mean they must be fed a very specific diet. 80% of this diet should be hay and long, fibrous grass, which they should have access to at all times.The other 20% i...

At-home dental care

Maintaining good dental care at home, in between visits to the vets, is really important for keeping your pet's teeth clean. It should be part of your daily routine.Here are some at-home dental care options you can try to help keep your pet's smile gleaming year-round:Teeth brushingYou should regularly clean your pet's teeth with a pet-friendly toothbrush and paste to prevent plaque and tartar buildup. You could start off by smearing a dot of toothpaste on your finger and using it to clean, befo...

Getting to the guts of your pet's gastro issues

Gastroenteritis is when your pet's stomach/intestines become inflamed and it is common in cats and dogs. Anything that alters their microbiome significantly can lead to the condition, including:Changes in intestinal floraA food allergy or sensitivityGastrointestinal (GI) ulcersGI cancersForeign bodiesIntestinal obstructionGenetic disease or predispositionIngestion of spoiled or raw foods, or of non-food itemsViruses (parvovirus, distemper, etc.)Intestinal parasites.Signs to look out forSometimes...

Chicken care 101

Recent regulatory changes banning battery cages for layer hens in NZ mean supermarkets are now only accepting cage-free eggs. This is a great win for our feathered friends, who now have the room they need to be happy and productive, but it has left our egg shelves a little bare! In a bid to ensure we have eggs to go with our bacon, there has been a dramatic rise in Kiwis taking matters into their own hands and buying chooks.TradeMe reported a whopping 190% increase in searches for...

Chocolate - the sweet but deadly treat

Chocolate is delicious - to both humans and dogs. Unfortunately, dogs are much slower to metabolise theobromine, one of the chemical components in chocolate, making even a small amount potentially toxic for them.While at the time it might seem funny that Fido the golden lab has had a good nosh on the block of chocolate left on the table, within a few hours, we might not be laughing so much. ...

A healthy guide to feeding pets

When feeding your beloved pet, whether it be a new puppy or kitten, or an older cat or dog, there is such a thing as ‘loving them too much’. Overindulging your pet can lead to health problems if they become overweight, so knowing how much, how often, and what to feed them is important.Pet food bags have feeding guides on the back which help you with the ‘how much’. This healthy amount of food can be tailored to suit your pet and could be split up into many feeds throughout the day, depen...

Winter Tips for Pets

The seasons have changed, and the togs have been replaced with jackets and hats. Not only do we feel the change, but so too do our pets. During this time please consider what you can do to keep your pets happy and healthy.Here are some key things to keep in mind for our pets this winter.Older Pets: Senior pets are likely to struggle more, particularly if they have joint issues such as arthritis. Keep them warm and comfortable in a snug bed with extra padding. Check-in with a veterinarian if you ...

Poison of the Season – Rat Bait

Every autumn and early winter we see a number of cases of rat bait poisoning in dogs, either via direct ingestion of the rat bait or less often by ingestion of rats/mice that have died from eating the bait. It is clear that dogs find these baits very tasty. Cats on the other hand are fussy about what they eat and prefer their prey to be alive and therefore are less likely to be poisoned. ...

Ukraine's Paws and Peeps Fundraiser with NZ Vets

Times are tough at the moment, but can be and are even tougher for others.With the current situation in Ukraine, we did our bit with a fundraiser from NZ to support animal welfare and those that provide it in Ukraine.What is more important in this situation: animals or people? It’s a tough call, but we know we can do a little something to ease the suffering so far away.We are stoked to share that our business along with our generous staff, clients and the NZ community, we raised $3,000 in...

VCM proud to support Meat the Need

Vet Clinic Morrinsville are proud to be a sponsor of the Meat the Need charity, a kiwi based operation aiming at connecting the dots and getting New Zealand meat into our food banks.Whilst there has been a need for a charity like this, to date, there has been a missing link between the willing farmer with livestock and the community organisations with the demands for a regular, reliable supply.Here at Vet Clinic Morrinsville, we are Here for Good, which means we are here for the long term and fo...

What does the traffic light system mean for Vet Clinic Morrinsville?

We are currently operating at Traffic Light Orange and committed to keeping all animals and communities healthy. We’re following the Ministry of Health’s recommendations and requirements. We respect your personal circumstances, so let us know if you have any specific needs. You are welcome in our shop, and we ask you to follow the usual requirements of wearing face masks, contact tracing, maintaining a distance of 1m from other people and limiting the numbers in store at any given ...

What Does Level 4 Mean for Vet Clinics?

As you will be aware, the Covid-19 Alert Level has been raised to 4. Veterinary services are classified as an essential service, as previous, we will be partially restricted in how we operate. It is a legal requirement for both employee and customer to wear a face mask at business or service. Please take time to read the information below.Small AnimalsAs an essential service, we will continue to offer animal health services, however, we will operate as a closed clinic with no entr...

2021 Scanning Results

The final average (mean) empty rate for this season was 17%. The median was 14%. Many farmers have had an increase in their final empty rates this year and only a small number improving on last year. Repro performance is multifactorial and there is a lot that can be looked at with a good thorough investigation of MINDA data, as long as aged pregnancy testing has been done. Please chat to your vet if you would like to look at this in greater depth. A couple of potential contributing factors that ...

She's a bit loose

Johne’s Disease is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis, which causes thickening of the intestines, preventing them from uptaking nutrients. This results in the classic presentation of a chronically scouring poorly conditioned cow. However, these cows are just the tip of the iceberg - for every clinical case, there will be 10 - 20 subclinical cows, who can still spread the disease. The disease as a long latent period and usually 5-8 year old animals are affec...