Preparing your Home for your new Puppy
While excitement and anticipation may perhaps be in the top of the list when bringing home a brand new… [more]
Holiday Foods May Land your Pet in the ER
The Christmas holiday is one of great joy, family reunions and a lot of celebration. But, for some… [more]
Remember your Pet with a Memorial Wind Chime
It can be heartbreaking when we loose one of our pets. After all, they have been a part of our family… [more]
Ticks and your Pets
Ticks are eight legged parasites related to spiders and scorpions. Ticks feed on the blood of their host,… [more]
Tips on Caring for your Pet’s Teeth
All of us know about the benefits of routine dental care for ourselves. Daily brushing and flossing and… [more]
Heartworm Disease Continues to Plague our Pets
Every year, veterinarians brace for a disease that has plagued our pets for decades. Yet this disease… [more]
Flea Control
Fleas are pesky parasites and have adapted very well to living in our houses. In fact, houses are at… [more]
Seizures in Pets
Seizures are a neurological anomaly that may occur in some pets. They are caused by a wide variety of… [more]
Diabetes Mellitus in Pets
Two forms of diabetes can be found in dogs. The first, Diabetes Mellitus, is the most common and will… [more]
Featured Dog Posts
Rabies Update- Still World Wide Threat
Rabies! Instantly we picture a wild animal or even a domestic dog, foam slathering from its mouth as it prepares to attack. This killer virus raises its head every year always waiting for an opportunity to strike. Modern medicine has come close to eradicating this disease, but it’s not gone yet! In North America, we are extremely lucky. Vaccinations have practically eliminated the threat of … [Read More...]
Your Pet Can Face Special Dangers During Winter
Winter is here and we are thinking of family gatherings, holiday parties, and perhaps even snow and ice. Wintertime can be beautiful, festive and a great time for winter sports, but keeping our pets safe could involve a little homework and preparation. Whether or not snow actually falls in your area, many people will gather for traditional holiday parties. With all of the delicious smells and … [Read More...]
Featured Cat Articles
Kidney Disease in Cats
The kidneys normally filter the blood, cleansing it of waste products, toxins, and other substances. They maintain the correct balance of water and electrolytes, help regulate blood pressure, and keep the blood pH at the right level. Unfortunately, failure of the kidneys is one of the most common diseases of cats. In this condition, the functional tissue of the kidneys is damaged, leaving them … [Read More...]
Feline Asthma
Feline asthma is a relatively common ailment, affecting about 1% of cats. The disease closely resembles the same condition in humans. What Causes Asthma Asthma is triggered in susceptible cats by exposure to allergens or irritants. Common culprits include pollens, cigarette or fireplace smoke, various sprays, perfumes, deodorizers, carpet cleaners, and dust from cat litter. In response to … [Read More...]
Welcome
Welcome
Spring veterinarian, Dr. Debra Garrison would like to welcome you to the Treaschwig Veterinary Clinic. Our staff and I are are committed to providing the medical and surgical care to help your pet live a longer and healthier life.
Our clinic is dedicated to providing wellness and preventative care to keep your pet from succumbing to illnesses and parasites.
- Puppy and kitten wellness can get your pet off to a healthy start.
- Senior wellness can help your dog or cat live a longer, more productive life with early laboratory detection of geriatric diseases that can affect the heart, kidney and liver.
- Home dental care is emphasized and dental services are available for periodontal disease.
- We also have a strong relationship with North Houston Veterinary Specialists if your pet should need more advanced diagnostics, care or surgery.
Feel free to browse or website. We have a lot of informational videos as well as some entertaining videos from YouTube.
Our pet health library has over 1000 articles on pet care written by veterinarians to answer almost any question you may have.
If you can not find what you are seeking, our staff or myself will be happy to answer any questions.
You can also access all our information on your mobile phone! Our new Android app is ready for download.
What’s New
Potty Patch for Puppies that Gotta Go
The most important component of potty training is consistency. Puppies train faster if they have a designated potty area as well as a scheduled time in which to go potty. If you have a back yard and are home all day, then potty training to go outdoors is a breeze. But for a lot of puppy parents, that may not be the case.
Potty patch is a potty area that can be used indoors or on a patio and your puppy can be trained to to use this area as the designated potty area.
Composed of 3 layers-the top area is artificial grass,the middle layer is a grate to keep the grass dry and the bottom layer is a tray to collect the “liquids”, the potty patch is a great solution for people in apartments, parents that work all day, or for days when it is raining or snowing outside.
The potty patch is may be the solution you are searching for to avoid accidents in your house.
Check out the Potty Patch website for more information.
Lost and Never Found – How Microchips and Pet ID Tags Can Reunite Pets with their Families
Late Saturday night, one of my clients stopped by pleading for help. A boxer had been hit by a truck behind his house and was thrown across the road. The dog had a collar, but did not have any tags, so there was no way for anyone to contact the owners. Another couple had also stopped and was sitting with the dog while my client came to see if I would help. My husband and I quickly dressed and followed him to the dog, but by the time we arrived, he had already died. We took the dog to the clinic where I scanned him for a microchip to see if I could locate the owner. Unfortunately, he did not have a microchip. Somewhere nearby there is a family that will be spending Christmas day wondering where their dog might be and if he will ever come home again.
Microchips and pet ID tags have been helping pets reunite with their families for years. Many happy endings have occurred when we were able to call a number on the tag or scan the pet and find a microchip number that would eventually lead us to their worried owners. Many other pets have wound up in shelters or injured and euthanized without the owners ever finding them. Many other pets are stolen and never returned. If your pet should ever escape, be stolen or simply lost having both a microchip and a pet ID tag will help you reunite with your pet.
The microchip is a small capsule that is inserted just under the skin between the shoulder blades with a large needle. Anesthesia is not needed and it is just a quick stick that many pets do not even notice when it is done. The microchip releases a tracking number when it is scanned by a handheld device. The chip can not be scanned by satellites and does not contain any other information other than a special number and the maker of the chip.
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When the pet is micro-chipped, the owner then registers the number with either the chip manufacturer or with the American Kennel Club Companion Animal Recovery (AKCCAR.org). The AKCCAR.org will register any chip and is one of the largest recovery organizations for lost pets. There is a one time registration fee that we include in the cost of the microchip and there is not an annual renewal fee. Many veterinarians and animal shelters have scanners and when animals arrive at their facilities they are scanned for a microchip and if one is found, the AKCCAR is called at 800-252-7894 to see if the number is registered so the owners can be located. Every clinic has their stories of reunited pets and families. This year we have reunited several dogs and cats with the microchips and many more with ID tags.
Why should I also have a pet ID tag if my pet has a micro-chip?
In the case of the poor Boxer that was injured, if he had pet ID tags on, the good Samaritans that were comforting him as he laid dying could have contacted the dog’s parents without having to wait for the clinic to open and scan for the chip.
My pet has a Rabies tag, why do I need a personal pet ID tag?
The Rabies tag has an id number and the clinic phone number. The finder of the pet must wait until the clinic is open to be able to match the ID number with owner. In cases of an injured pet, critical hours to get life saving treatment will be wasted until the owner can be found.
Why should I have my pet micro-chipped if he has a pet ID tag?
Pet tags can get lost, snagged or removed, especially if your dog had been stolen. A micro-chip is added insurance that your pet will find their way home.
The best way to ensure your pet will get back to you is to have them tagged and micro-chipped.
We have micochips and pet ID tags in stock. We also have a new engraver that can personalize your pet ID tags
Feline Chin Acne
Feline chin acne is similar to the acne that occurs in humans. A form of follicular keratinization in that there is an overproduction of keratin, a protein found in the outer layer of the skin. When this excess keratin get trapped in the hair follicle, comedomes or “blackheads” form. If bacteria infects the comedomes, then pustules or “pimples” are formed.
The exact cause of this skin disorder is not know but may be related to a seborrheic disease such as seborrhea oleosa, or an increase in excess sebum production, the natural moisturizer of the skin. Other causes may be poor grooming habits and in a number of cats, this condition has been linked to the use of colored plastic food dishes.
Early disease shows a black dirty chin and when the blackheads are squeezed, the excess sebum trapped in the hair follicle can be seen. As the disease progresses, infections develop which results in larger, bloody sores and a painful chin.
To treat the disease, the owner must help the cat clean his chin. I recommend a pyoben based gel or shampoo, or an antiseborrheic shampoo to cleanse the affected area. In severe cases, I have often manually expressed the lesions while the cat is under anesthesia in order to get the chin cleaned well. Oral antibiotics will help if the chin is infected.
Daily to weekly cleaning will be needed to keep the condition under control, depending on the severity of the acne.
We also recommend switching the food bowls from plastic to either ceramic, glass or stainless steel.
Save on Pet ID Tags
Happy Halloween!
We hope you and your pet will have an outstanding holiday and since Halloween is one of the holidays that risks your dog escaping and getting lost, we will have our Pet Tags on sale for Halloween.
Swing by the clinic and we can engrave your tag while you wait and we have coloring books and candy for your trick or treater.
If you want to try out our new on-line store, enter the code Spooky in the coupon code to get 10% off the pet ID Tag and we will slip it in an envelope and mail it to you with out a shipping charge.
We also have some pet costumes in stock and we welcome your pet pictures of them in Halloween costumes to post on our facebook page.
We will be closing at 6 pm on Wed. so our staff can take their children Trick or Treating.
“Animal Practice” TV Show Cancelled by NBC
As a veterinarian and an animal lover, I was looking forward to watching the new comedy on NBC “Animal Practice” , but after watching just a few episodes, the only redeeming factor on the show was Crystal, the Capuchin monkey. Many veterinarians cringed and the inept portrayal of the medicine aspect of the veterinary hospital leaving us wondering who the veterinary technical adviser, if any, was on the show. With the shows like CSI, ER, House and other medical shows, great attempts were made to keep the medicine somewhat believable, but the veterinary scenarios presented on “Animal Practice” left many of us veterinarians scratching our heads and asking “Where did they come up with that?” I hope that if any network does try to get another animal show going, that they make at least an attempt to portray the veterinarians, the medical scenarios, treatments, surgeries and the practice of veterinary medicine in a more accurate light. I had high hopes for such a program as well as many of my animal lover friends. I guess I will have to go back to Benji and Lassie reruns to get a worthy animal lover show.
Debra Garrison, DVM
Monkey Business on “Animal Practice”
What is your favorite animal show?
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