As we approach the hottest time of the year, spare a thought for our pets.

Dogs and cats of any breed that have long or thick coats should be clipped off for summer. Most people only think to clip their pet if it has severe knots or matting of the coat, however any pet with a long or thick coat will be most appreciative if you have it clipped.

Hookworm in dogs is a very common problem in Inala and surrounding suburbs. It is most commonly detected in puppies but can affect dogs of any age.

Symptoms include listlessness, poor appetite and pale gums. Bloody or black droppings, vomiting, diarrhoea and a temperature can also occur. These symptoms are similar to canine parvovirus and the two diseases can easily be confused.

Hookworm is mostly picked up from the ground by ingestion and skin penetration but can also be spread by infected bitches to puppies during pregnancy and lactation.

I have had a number of enquiries recently regarding the contracting of ‘kennel cough' at dog parks, or off-leash areas.

The veterinary community generally regard off-leash areas at least theoretically as prime potential places to contract ‘kennel cough' or ‘canine cough', as there are often a number of dogs playing and running and wrestling together and also drinking from the same water dishes that sometimes sit under taps at these parks.

Vets and Vet nurses are often asked to re-dispense medications that have been previously supplied by the vet surgery or even been previously dispensed by a different vet surgery.

As clients sometimes become quite upset by refusal to supply some medications, eg antibiotics, I thought it an opportune time to explain again the rules of dispensing that vets have to abide by.

Vet surgeries frequently get members of the public coming in for advice as to which shampoo would be best to cure their dog of a chronic itch. While shampoos can often be useful as an extra treatment for skin ailments in addition to other medications, they are very rarely curative by themselves.

Drontal has been the benchmark intestinal allwormer for dogs for many years now, but has only been available as a tablet, and quite a bad tasting tablet at that.

The good news of recent times is that a tasty chewable version is now available, giving top quality intestinal worm protection that is easier to administer. As many of you well know, I am a big fan of Drontal as it gives a 99% kill of the intestinal worms it comes in contact with, compared to some of it's competitors that can have have kill rates as low as 50%.