Keeping you informed
Newsletter December 2022
Christmas Celebrations!
The Turramurra Veterinary Hospital team would love to wish all our clients and their pets a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, whatever you may celebrate! This year we celebrated our team’s Christmas party at Mama Mulan in Chatswood, which was a fun night for all.
Apart from Christmas Day and Boxing Day, our practice will open during the holiday period.
Christmas Cake Emergency!
Some dogs have been getting up to mischief, including Rocky and Bounty, who are owned by our Customer Care team member Freya. Between them, these naughty doggies ate an entire Christmas cake, raisins and all! This can be dangerous in dogs as grapes, sultanas and raisins are toxic to dogs. Read more about how these toxins may affect your dog in our article “Beware of grapes, sultanas and raisins!” Lucky for these two cuties, they got to the vet just in time.
Dog Training Workshops!
NEW! School Holiday Kids & K9s Training Workshop
When: Friday 20th January
Time: 9.30-11am
Cost: $79 per dog
Does your child adore spending time with their dog? Or have they shown an interest in working with animals in the future?
Suitable for children aged 10 years and over, we have a training workshop tailored specifically for kids! This fun workshop will focus on games children can play with their family dog, including simple tricks and tips for dog training! Being a parent herself, Pet Behaviour Consultant, Katie, loves sharing her canine behaviour knowledge with children.
Keen to Tech your Dog New Tricks
NEW! Tricks Workshop
When: Saturday 28th January
Time: 4-5pm
Cost: $79 per dog
Looking for a last-minute Christmas gift for a dog lover in your family?
Keen to teach your dog new tricks?
In this 1-hour workshop, our Pet Behaviour Consultant, Katie, will provide tips on teaching your dog some cool new tricks. Not only do tricks make cute crowd pleasers at any party, but they are also a way to enrich your dog’s mental and physical wellbeing!
Looking for some School Holiday Fun for your Kids?
Training Workshop Timetable
Note: all dogs attending workshops must be up to date with their vaccinations, flea and tick prevention, and worming treatments. Bookings are open to all young or adult sociable dogs.
Please call reception on 9988 0198 to make a booking.
Spots are filling fast and limited to 4-6 dogs per class!
Pet Behaviour Consultant Katie Bedrossian leading a puppy class
Pet Of The Month: Stompie Phimster
Stompie and his dedicated paw-rent Jim after a veterinary consultation.
Meet Stompie – the tenacious Terrier who is one of Dr Gretta’s favourites! He is a regular of ours at Turramurra Veterinary Hospital, and our staff can’t help but love his bubbly yet sweet nature and friendly personality. We are delighted to announce that Stompie has won our December Pet of the Month award!
At 17 years old, Stompie is one of our “Golden Oldies”. Jim and Bobby bring Stompie in regularly for senior health consultations every 6 months with Dr Gretta. This helps to ensure he is being kept as healthy as possible during his twilight years. For our team, each visit with Stompie is an absolute pleasure!
Travelling with your dog this summer? Tips for a stress-free trip!
Author: Katie Bedrossian – Pet Behaviour Consultant
As we are approaching the summer holiday period, many of us have plans away from the home. For some of us, our dogs will be staying with a trusted boarding kennel, pet sitter or house sitter. For others, they will be travelling along with us to our holiday destination.
While we consider our dogs to be part of our family and often expect them to accept the change that comes with holiday travel, we can’t explain to nervous dogs that the holiday will be a good thing.
However, we can help them feel at ease with the components of holiday travel well before the trip.
Here are 5 tips to help put your dog at ease while travelling:
- Get your dog comfortable with their crate or car harness.
- Ensure your dog is comfortable in the car (both when still and when moving).
- Breaks need to be taken at least every 2 hours.
- Pet friendly accommodation
- Make sure you have all the right supplies packed.
It is a legal requirement that your dog is contained within the car in a way that ensures you have full control and focus with driving. It is illegal to travel with a dog on your lap (even if restrained with a harness). Crates, car harnesses and dogs behind cargo barriers are the best ways to properly secure your dog.
If your dog gets car sick, this will contribute to your dog’s anxiety during a trip. If this is the case for your dog, prior to travel, organise a veterinary consultation to discuss medication options to ease nausea and vomiting.
Does your dog pull on their lead? Jump up to greet people? Not come when they’re called while at the dog park? Never fear, as next month, we are launching our new Canine Training Workshops and are currently taking bookings for our first classes! Spots are filling fast, so be sure to give reception a call on 9988-0198 to book your pooch in!
Click on the link to read more about travelling with your dog.
Beware of grapes, sultanas and raisins this Christmas!
Author: Dr Gretta Howard – Senior Veterinarian
During the summer holidays and in particular at Christmas time it’s common for families to enjoy fresh grapes, salads with sultanas or a traditional Christmas pudding. It is important to resist the temptation to feed any of these food items to your pet, as they can be highly toxic to dogs and cats, even in tiny quantities.
It’s only been in the last 20 years that veterinarians have realised that grapes, sultanas and raisins are dangerous to pets. Cats are pretty fussy creatures and generally won’t eat them, so we don’t usually see this toxicity in cats so much. Dogs on the other hand, will happily eat these, or worse still, if given the opportunity, dogs may gobble down chocolate-coated sultanas – 2 toxins in one gulp!
In some dogs, eating just one small serving can result in acute kidney failure, whereas many dogs can tolerate eating a larger amount without harm. The trouble is that it’s impossible to predict which dogs will develop potentially fatal toxic effects from grapes, sultanas and raisins, so until further research emerges in the field of veterinary toxicology, we need to treat all cases of ingestion in a similar manner.
What toxic effects can grapes, sultanas and raisins have on my dog?
Clinical signs of grape, sultana or raisin toxicity include:
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- Poor appetite
- Lethargy
- Abdominal pain
- Inability to product urine
- Death
Click on the link to read more about the danger of grapes and sultanas to pets.
Staff Profile: Ash – Customer Care and Hospital Administrator
1) You’ve had many amazing experiences with both study and work, including a move to England! What have been the highlights that help you in your current role?
There have been many experiences in my life that have helped in my current role. A few standouts were with emergency work in northern England, where I helped with lots of large animal caesareans. Assisting with stressful late-night emergencies such as these made me able to handle situations with a clear head as well as compassion for both the patient and client.
While over there, I also set up my own dog walking business, which allowed me to develop close relationships with clients and their dogs, and a greater understanding of canine behaviour. I was also a medical scribe for tuberculosis testing on a few of the main Scottish dairy farms, which distribute to the whole of the UK.
In terms of study, I have completed a Bachelor degree in Acting and Television Production. I’m a trained photographer and produce some of the media for our practice, a lot of which you will see on our website, in our newsletters, and on social media.
2) What aspects of working at Turramurra Veterinary Hospital do you particularly enjoy?
Turramurra Veterinary Hospital is very highly regarded from other colleagues in the industry. When I saw that they were looking to hire I thought it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up on. We share a lot of similar values, such as being very family-oriented, with a large cohort of friendly and professional staff who are always happy to help.
It’s hard to pinpoint one role I enjoy the most as my role is quite diverse with many positives. If I had to choose, I would say taking photos and being part of media relations is my greatest joy, as I get to be among the action during surgical procedures and behaviour consultations which I don’t usually get to see on a day-to-day basis. Of course, I also love to put a smile on clients’ faces and greeting their adorable pets in reception!
3) You have recently adopted an adorable puppy, Kudu, tell us more about him and any other pets you have.
Kudu is a tornado! He is a Rhodesian Ridgeback cross named after an amazing African Antelope – the Kudu! Which is fitting because our other Rhodesian is called Moose. Moose is tender-hearted and obedient, truly the best boy! They both like long hikes and any form of dog treats and food. I’d love to foster rescue dogs in the future!
We hope you have enjoyed our final e-news for 2022. We would love to hear from you! We are always keen to receive feedback from our clients, so feel free to send a message to our Practice Manager, Kelly Lawrence by emailing via manager@turramurravet.com.au as we always strive to improve our service.
Thank you! Best wishes, from your local, family-owned and independent Turramurra Veterinary Hospital team.
