Animal Medical Hospital’s Blog

Picture this – you arrive home after a long day of work only to discover that your pet is nowhere to be found, and the back door is wide open. Or perhaps a friend or worker has been in your home and left the door or gate ajar, allowing your little explorer to slip away unnoticed. Whatever the circumstances, having a pet go missing is one of the worst experiences a pet owner can have.

Hopefully your pet is wearing their collar and ID tags, but even those can become lost or damaged during your pet’s wandering. Pet microchipping can add a level of security to this scary scenario. Join the team at Animal Medical & 24 Hour Urgent Care as we walk you through the ins and outs of pet microchipping.

Charlotte has a reputation for mild weather, but we’re actually the ice storm capital of America. Indeed, our winters can be extreme, but our summers also compete with record-breaking temperatures. Additionally, tornadoes, hurricanes, and even drought are all possible contenders when it comes to natural disasters in our area. Although preparing for an emergency isn’t fun, taking steps to protect your pet is absolutely critical to their safety.

All pets need to be groomed from time to time, and although your pet may not enjoy the process, they probably love the aftermath. At Animal Medical Hospital & 24 Hour Urgent Care, we believe in the power of pet grooming to support the health and longevity of our animal companions. That’s why we’re proud to offer top-quality pet grooming services right here at our facility.

Keep reading to learn more about why this element of pet care is so important.

If you happened to blink, it might seem like this past year just flew by. Besides taking care of yourself, your career, your family, and your home, spending time with your sweet pets is one of your top priorities. As you head into 2019, follow the example of the Charlotte pet-parents in-the-know and get up to speed by reading Animal Medical Hospital & 24-Hour Urgent Care’s’ top 10 pet care blogs of the year.

Whether you’re headed to Gingerbread Lane at the Ballantyne Hotel, the Nutcracker at the Charlotte Ballet, or Christmas Town USA, there’s no shortage of seasonal delights. Some very well-behaved dogs may thoroughly enjoy going with their owners to holiday events, but for safety’s sake, many pets remain at home. Either way, animals are increasingly exposed to holiday-related dangers this time of year. To protect your pet this season, we’d like to offer some reliable tips for holiday pet safety.

‘Tis the Season

Most of us like to decorate to get into the season and share in the spirit of the holidays. Unfortunately, many of the items that we like present serious risks to our pets.

With Halloween over, many of us turn our thoughts to the upcoming holiday season. Who will host? What will we serve? Is it too early to start playing holiday music?

Although we can’t help with everything on your to-do list, the team at Animal Medical Hospital & 24 Hour Urgent Care is happy to provide some tips to keep your pet out of trouble this time of year. You can rest assured that our recommendations for holiday pet safety are designed with your pet’s health and wellness (and your sanity) in mind!

Remember that time that you got so excited you piddled on the floor? No? While urinating out of sheer joy is not something humans normally do, many dogs pee when excited on a regular basis. While it may seem like a strange behavior, there is a method to the madness and, as usual, Animal Medical Hospital & 24 Hour Urgent Care has the answers.

Why Dogs Pee When Excited

Dribbling urine when the excitement ramps up is a surprisingly common dog behavior, but there are actually a few different reasons behind why it may be happening. Understanding the cause behind the problem is the best way to try and prevent yourself from mopping your floor everyday.

Dogs pee when excited because:

Whether your dog seems to lick every surface in sight or they simply provide a wet kiss on the hand when you walk in the door, dogs and licking just seem to go together. While some find this canine trait cute, others think it’s annoying or downright disgusting. Either way, it can be a hard habit for most pets to break and a confusing one for their owners. So why, exactly, do some dogs lick everything?

Was it Something I Ate?

Some dogs are attracted to the salt, lotion, or other products that we use on our skin. Those slobbery kisses to the face may be a sign of love (mother dogs lick their puppies quite often during the first few weeks of life) or it could be that you failed to wipe all the tomato soup off your mouth after lunch.

Being deficient in one or more key nutrients can also bring on a bout of licking, so be sure to feed your dog a high-quality commercial pet food. A nutritional analysis can be helpful in determining whether your pet is getting what they need for optimal health.

While we all love our furry critters and want to do what is right for them, it is too easy to read an article on the Internet and cause more harm than good. Dr. Google is full of do-it-yourself answers, many of which are not really all that effective. Worse yet, there are some that may even cause harm.

Animal Medical Hospital & 24 Hour Urgent Care wants you to know about home remedies for pets and how to approach them with a more discerning eye.

It happens to even the most dedicated and vigilant pet owners… After several years of completely ignoring the bookshelf philodendron, the family pet decides to give those leaves a try. Or, they get a wild hair to excavate the contents of your guests’ handbag, only to lick up a stray pill.  The truth is that while a pet’s home should be free of harmful objects or ingredients, certain threats to pet safety may likely remain within paw’s touch without seasonal reminders.

Pet Safety

Owners of older pets can usually recall the greats lengths they went to ensuring that younger versions of Fluffy or Fido couldn’t find any trouble in their new home. Certainly, most items in the house begin to fade to the background as pets age, but all pets – young and old – can be exposed to illness or injury when you least expect it. Continue…