Bark, Bake & Beyond

Today’s topic is both super gross and really cool at the same time! Creepy crawly critters that live in our pet’s ears………………Ear Mites! Let’s talk about what they look like, what age of animal we typically find them in, and how we treat them. When a pet owner brings in a new pet to see me, I always do a complete physical examination. Part of this examination is a thorough check of the pet’s ears. Are they perfectly clean? Is there any debris? If there is debris, what color is it? Are the pet’s ears super itchy? Is one ear more affected than the other, or are they equally affected? If I see a YOUNG dog or cat with black debris in the ears, that is my first clue that it may be ear mites. Older pets get ear mites MUCH less frequently than young pets. Yeast infections also produce a dark debris, and are very itchy, and can be present in very young animals as well. Taking a sample, or swab, of the debris is the first thing we need to do to figure out just what is causing the problem. To c...

It’s once again Friday and time for another cool case. Today we talk about cancer again. Cancer is never great, but what if it is benign? Sometimes a seemingly terrible diagnosis turns out to be not as bad as we originally think. Today we meet Copper. He was another great dog. His owners were clients of mine for many years, so I was able to see Copper on many occasions. He was a very handsome Golden Retriever; one of the darker colored ones. On this particular visit, his owners mentioned that he seemed to be swollen in his abdominal region. This change had occurred over the last couple months prior to his examination that day. Before starting his physical examination, I started with a lot of questions for the owners. Was he still eating? How was his activity level? Was he still defecating? Had they noticed any vomiting? If they looked in his mouth, were his gums ever pale? Had he lost a significant amount of weight? The owners reported that he continued to eat very well, no vomiti...

It’s time for a full post on a project I recently completed! My son just turned 11, and for his birthday he requested a Red Velvet Mountain Cake. We moved West to the mountains last year, and he had just finished his first season on the ski team in our new town. I thought it was a great idea for a cake, but really needed some time to figure out the logistics. Mountains are big, so this cake needed to be big! I knew it would require many many layers of cake. Then I also had to think about whether I wanted to cover it in fondant or leave it as a frosted cake. So many decisions. I stood for a while staring at the mountain, as I can see it out the back window at my house. I can name the ski runs from here that we spent all winter skiing down. With a pen and paper I started drawing what I thought the cake might look like. It was a tough one; I wanted to get enough height, but knew I’d be limited by the size of the cake bases that were available. With the expected weight of the cake, I...

Have you recently noticed that your dog or cat is drinking A LOT of water and urinating ALL THE TIME? Has your pet also lost a lot of weight in the last month or two? If the answer to these questions is “Yes,” then your pet might have Diabetes. Today let’s discuss this disease, what usually causes it, the symptoms to watch for, and what can be done to help your dog or cat. Diabetes is a disease that originates in the Pancreas. Your pancreas is a digestive organ that lives in the top right corner of your abdomen, near the outflow tract of the stomach, and at the top of the small intestine. Its job is to not only produce our digestive enzymes, but also to make Insulin. When we eat food, our body recognizes the spike of sugar, or glucose, in the body. In response to this, the pancreas secretes insulin, so that this glucose can be used in our cells for various functions. As you may know, in humans there are a couple types of Diabetes. Type I is a hereditary or congenital form that affec...

You’ve decided to make a cake project that has numerous levels, or tiers, but are unsure how to do it. Today’s post will cover just that! Cake gets heavy real fast - my most recent project as I write this post was well over 20lbs. So, when thinking about a multilevel cake, we need to make sure the cake doesn’t “crumble” under the pressure…..ha ha. Let’s use my son’s 11th birthday cake as our example today. I’ll post the full project soon, but with this post we’ll tackle the stacking portion of the project. He requested a Red Velvet “Mountain Cake” for his birthday. Within the last year, we had moved to the mountains, and he had just finished a season on the ski team at the mountain. Once I baked all my cake layers it was time to think about stacking them. I like thicker cake layers as opposed to thin. Some cake artists like to torte their cakes into many thin layers, but you’ll see thicker layers in my pictures. I do two layers per tier as a general rule, and my layers are about 1....

A bulging and painful eye is never a good sight. Some breeds (pugs specifically) have eyes that naturally seem to bulge a bit more, but if your dog all of a sudden seems to have a painful eye that looks larger than the other one, it’s time to schedule a visit with your Veterinarian. Today we are going to talk about Glaucoma. Yes, dogs get Glaucoma just like humans do. What is it? What symptoms should you watch for? Are certain breeds more prone to the condition? What can be done to help your dog or cat? Let’s dive in! First we should discuss the anatomy of the eye and fluid production in the eye. The eye or “globe” has two distinct sections separated by the lens. The front part of the eye behind the cornea is the anterior chamber. The back part of the eye, including the retina, and optic nerve is the posterior chamber. The fluid and pressure within the eye is under very tight regulation by the body. The body produces fluid, aqueous humor, in the eye to maintain its shape and pro...

It’s Friday and I have another cool case for you! We all know that dog’s eat grass, right? The old tale is that dog’s eat grass when they are not feeling good, and the grass allows them to vomit to feel better. Well, that’s not always true. Many dogs eat grass just because they like it. Both of my dogs have been like this. Every walk has to include grabbing some grass as we walk by! Today let’s meet Harvey (name changed for privacy). Harvey and his owner were regular clients of mine. He was a middle aged German Shorthair Pointer, and a very nice dog. At this particular visit, Harvey’s dad was very worried about him because he hadn’t eaten in a week. This was not like him! He lived to eat! As always, I started with a complete physical exam. He was bright and alert, but not his usual energetic self. His gums were nice and pink, but they were dry, telling me he was getting dehydrated from not eating, and really not drinking much for those seven days.  No murmur was heard when I...