When you bring your dog in first thing in the morning a vet will do a full clinical examination to ensure that she is fit and healthy for an anaesthetic, make sure she is not coming on heat and check that she has an empty stomach.

Parvo is a relatively new disease that first appeared in 1978. As the name suggests, it is caused by a virus which invades the intestinal wall and causes severe vomiting and diarrhoea.

A ruptured cranial cruciate ligament (“ACL” in humans) is the most common stifle (knee - see box!) injury in dogs.

“ Tetanus ” is a nasty illness caused by a toxin produced by the bacteria Clostridium tetani found in dead tissue. Humans and horses are more susceptible to it than cats and dogs but here in Whangarei we are seeing the incidence increasing in our dog population.   Tetanus...

Approximately 41% of dogs and 32% of cats are overweight or obese in Australasia. Obesity occurs when pets consume more calories than they use up

Handsome Dude is an eight year old German shepherd - Rottie cross, belonging to our vet nurse Monica.

We may love them, but many of our pets don’t. If you have a pet that turns into a quivering wreck at this time of year, we have some advice from the Veterinary Behaviour guru at Massey University