Some of you may know this about me, but I love fall and I hate ticks. Unfortunately, fall brings a whole new vigor to ticks. I can balance these two things out because I love being in nature without sweating and bugs that much. However, I am very vigilant about preventing ticks on my dogs an…

I think the most common question I’m getting lately is about itching dogs, which typically takes the form of licking. I understand because I am starting to get sneezy in the morning. Of course in the time of COVID that induces a little bit of panic. However, the same thing is happening to me…

It may be fleeting, but we have had a few mornings where I threw on my sweatshirt and pulled out my fleece slippers. Wood is getting stacked, my horses are getting fuzzy and I joyfully do.

Cats in general come into the vet less than dogs. I think there are several factors behind this. First, very few cats respond well to “do you want to go for a ride?” They do not want to go for a ride, they don’t want to get in the carrier, they don’t want to leave that delicious sunspot that…

Work from home and partial schooling from home is here semi-permanently for many people, which gives families extra time at home together. While spending so much time together, you may be realizing how much a pet is missing, or how much a fun break would help everyone. We are seeing lots of …

When I recommend acupuncture to people, they often look at me, a little funny. We love to buy organic foods, we aim for all-natural pet products. In fact, clients often put off starting medications for non-life-threatening issues. Holistic medicine is the perfect way to bridge this gap. Whil…

Today I am going to start with a story. One of my dogs had been acting a little off lately, so I brought him to work to look at. (I will come back to this story in an article soon for different reasons.) This dog can’t stay at home alone, so he often comes to work with me. He hung out happil…

Many people have had more time out with their dogs this Spring. This is great because quality time counts no matter why. However, it brings two things up. First, we notice a little bad manners more. Second, now that we are returning to work/school/play our dogs have gone from lots of attenti…

If there is one thing I hate its change. As you can imagine, I’ve been having to adjust on the fly a lot lately. As you can also imagine, I’m not loving it. However, I have the benefit of being able to conceptualize change. Our pets don’t have this luxury. This makes some things easier and s…

I know that COVID-19 is everywhere you turn, and everything you read. If we address pet care seriously on the front end we might reduce the time and impact in the long run. We are currently doing curbside service so that people aren’t coming into our building. However, depending on how thing…

I often wait on this article, but have had many muddy, sunny dog walks by now. The days are longer, the sun is brighter and the rain is happening. Sure, we might get more snow, but I think it’s time to talk spring!

I have been lucky enough to be seeing a lot of little adorable smoosh-faced puppies lately, which led me to think about some cosmetic surgery. Not for me, I’m a lost cause! For the dogs. Did you know that vets do “cosmetic” surgery on pets? These don’t involve tummy tucks or enhancing any bo…

Your dog vomits all night, your cat is hobbling on three legs — we know your call will be to the vet. But what about when that pesky annual exam is due and they are healthy? Clients bring their pets in when they are sick, hurt or need vaccines. While almost all veterinarians send out reminde…

So, we can’t escape the month of hearts without talking about heart disease. We all want and hope for healthy hearts in our pets. They give their hearts to us fully and quickly, and it is our job to take care of them. The problem with heart disease in our animals is that it often goes undete…

Somehow I let Valentine’s Day pass without talking about heartworms! This was a big lapse on my part that I will try to make up for now. Those of you who are less veterinary-inclined probably don’t automatically associate the two as I do, but you still have to come on this journey with me! H…

I walk my dog outside most days, but when it is very cold she cannot tolerate it well. What other types of things can I do for exercise?

Although the weather doesn’t agree, spring is in the air. I heard bird calls again when I was out last week! As days get (slightly) longer and (slightly) warmer, we start to think of spring. While we often spread vaccines out over the year, spring means pet vaccines to most people. It also m…

Anyone who has owned pets knows that they can convey a lot with their eyes. I can tell if my dog is worried, excited or happy by looking at her eyes. More often we can tell if they are just so, so hungry for our steak or other things. Eyes are very important to our pets, but often unless the…

We are right on the brink of kitten season! I love kittens for about a thousand reasons. They’re adorable, feisty, zoom around the house, climb things and make me laugh. Do you know who doesn’t laugh at these shenanigans? Existing older cats. They often view these kittens as troublesome room…

My vet hasn’t mentioned that my dog needs to lose weight, but I think she does. How do I know?

No surprise, we’re going to deep dive into resolutions this week. Truth be told, I loved 2019. I’m not trying to jet off and leave it in the past as with some other years here and there. Second truth? I don’t love resolutions. I feel like it puts a lot of pressure on us for a while, then the…

I am throwing out articles about euthanasia, and now pain in December? What kind of holiday spirit is this? The truth is that talking about pain warms my heart for one reason — I can do a lot to help it. Pain is sorely (see what I did there?) underdiagnosed in our pets because they aren’t wh…

I have great news for all inquiring minds: my tree is up, and so far two dogs, a cat, AND a human baby haven’t conspired to knock it over, eat it or pull the lights down. Let’s not underestimate how happy I am not to have had to cage my tree.

So, I am going to introduce a topic that isn’t very uplifting, but for some reason always comes up around the holidays — end of life. We often have very specific and concrete memories and traditions around the holidays. In contrast to the very slow changes we see daily, sometimes these tradi…

So, right as you were about to start walking seriously to offset the gravy and upcoming cookies, we got a bunch of snow. I know how disappointed you are! Dr. Anna is here to rescue you though, I have lots of winter walking tips to keep you out and about in the dark, cold, deep snow.

No doubt about it, it is dark. My dogs get extra stir crazy when they don’t get long walks in the woods or fields during the week, so when they get room to run they make the most of it. We are now firmly in the middle of hunting season though, so some precautions should be taken.

Since we talked about diabetes last week, what better to talk about now than Thanksgiving?! Yes, we have an entire week left, but we all know it takes a week to prepare for this holiday. I love Thanksgiving. I love baking, eating, walking, and football. Is there anything better than waking u…

So, we’re stuck in between Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving, it’s cold, and lots of people are starting to get grumpy about it being dark as soon as our day starts (it feels like.) This is the perfect time to let you know that although vets may be knowledgeable about something, they may not li…

Over the past few weeks, I feel like every time I turn around at work there is a urinalysis for me to look at. Urine issues are on the upswing right now. For reasons we don’t completely understand, urinary issues are more prevalent with drastic weather or light changes, both of which are hap…

As I’m trying to be a better adult, I have been cutting back on my candy consumption. This is never so painfully clear as during this wonderful holiday revolving around candy — Halloween. Thankfully, there are plenty of other activities (pets in costumes) to occupy my time. Like me, pets sho…

As the cooler days move in, blankets aren’t the only thing added to our house. Suddenly, almost all new kittens and most pets that weren’t on flea protection started showing us a flea or two (or many more.) While fall makes us load up on firewood, wood pellets or heating fuel; it makes the f…

Let’s imagine for a moment that you are a dog. Don’t feel weird about it, I try to take this perspective almost daily! And while that might not reassure you much, it is actually very helpful to think of training and behavior from a dog’s world. So, there is this same darn truck that drives u…

So today we are going to get personal and talk about your behavior. Just kidding, I mean your dogs’! Though one is often directly related to the other. Recently it was brought to my attention that dogs often get pushed aside when life gets rough, and many new moms don’t like their dogs as mu…

My eyes are itchy, my contacts feel like they are sitting on top of a layer of sand, and I keep sneezing. This may not seem relevant to a pet article, but I know as soon as I start feeling these changes that my appointments will fill up. However, they won’t fill up with sneezing, they will f…

So, it has been established that I love the fall. I love hiking through the foliage, I love being outside without being hot (this last weekend excluded!), I love almost everything about it. What I hate, however, are fleas and ticks. We have fewer ticks for a while, but they make a resurgence…

The first week in October marks National Walk Your Dog Week, but since autumn is here a little early, I’m going to talk about fall walking a little early. Anyone who knows me knows that fall is my favorite season. There are a lot of reasons why, but mostly it has to do with temperature. Of c…

Back to school means different things to different people. To many parents, it is a sigh of relief and return to normal schedule. For many teachers, it is a return to normal schedule, but not always with a sigh of relief. You may be surprised to learn that back to school also has an impact o…

Many people balk at the idea of “alternative medicine” for their pets, but what does alternative really mean? We are quick to choose foods or products that claim to be all-natural, so why do we only look to drugs as a solution to our pet’s problems? While medication can be a very useful tool…

Anesthesia and surgery can be a scary thing for pet owners. One of the most common fears that I hear about procedures is putting pets under anesthesia. I understand this concern because everyone and every pet reacts differently to the medications used for anesthetizing, but I’m going to go o…

Summer is here, which gives families extra time at home together and longer days to reflect on needed new family members. We are seeing lots of new pets lately, which I love so much, but leads me to my next topic of choosing a new pet. As we all know, baby animals are adorable. One of the re…

We are in full-on summer mode! The temperatures are hitting the 90s, my air conditioning runs all night, and my hair is twice as voluminous and half as attractive. Summer is my personal least-favorite season, though I admit it has a few advantages. The long daylight and cooler nights can be …

We go out on the boat a lot. My dog loves to swim but I am afraid she will jump off when we are moving. How can I keep her safe?

Everyone has heard the lines on spaying and neutering, and for the most part it is a common practice. Not many of us have made it this far without heeding Bob Barker’s advice. I’ll help explain some reasons why it is so important. We will start with the fact that Bob Barker said so every day…

Imagine as you are going about your evening the sky is suddenly filled with bright flashes and loud noises. The Earth seems to actually tremble, and you feel the walls of your house vibrating. You thought this was a safe place, but the world seems to be exploding around you. Your owners are …

My dog loves to swim in the summer, but starts to get a lot of skin and ear infections. Is there anything I can do to prevent this but keep letting him swim?

Summertime and the living’s easy, mostly. Summer brings longer hours of daylight to do activities outside and often more free time. But it also brings increased heat, increased bugs (I think the mosquitos almost carried me away playing with the dogs in the yard) and more considerations for o…

I talk a LOT about ticks, but did you know that internal parasites are also a very real thing? We don’t tend to see this as often. I mean that they aren’t as common, and that we don’t see them with our eyes either. Worms and internal parasites are very common in puppies, and not as common in…

There is one topic that is near and not dear to my heart — Lyme disease. Not only are more and more dogs affected, but more and more people are as well. Lyme disease causes joint issues, kidney failure, heart disease and neurologic disease in dogs. I’ll go over the main things to know about …

One of my favorite things in my job is the ability to alleviate pain in our pets. While our pets seem very far from their wild counterparts, they still hold on to a few adaptations. One of these is the ability to hide their pain. While most of our pets would be lost without an owner putting …