Pet Physical Rehabilitation in Asheville

If you or someone you know has ever had to rehab a sports injury, rebuild strength in an atrophied muscle, recover from surgery, or exercise to increase range of motion lost to arthritis, then you know what physical rehabilitation involves. Physical rehabilitation can work wonders for patients struggling to regain control of their bodies and improved flexibility and mobility. But you might not have thought about it as an equally effective recovery tool for pets! In fact, it can play a critical role in your pet’s overall quality of life as she recovers from veterinary surgery, injury or chronic disease.

These days there are many different rehabilitation techniques available to pets. For instance, our veterinarian may prescribe certain exercises aimed at rebuilding muscle strength or encouraging joint flexibility. Pets that cannot comfortably put full weight on their feet can use a special underwater treadmill in which a tank of water adds buoyancy and relieves some of the burden. Arthritic, injured and post-operative animals are especially good candidates for this therapy.

Other techniques apply a particular kind of energy to precise areas in need of healing. Ultrasound, for example, uses high-frequency sound waves to loosen scar tissue and speed healing in soft tissues, while electrotherapy, the use of electrical current to stimulate nerves, can aid in the treatment of neurological disorders and pain. Our vets also use heat, cold and massage therapy to stimulate circulation and relax muscles.

Rehab Your Pet at Charlotte Street Animal Hospital!

At Charlotte Street Animal Hospital, we have Asheville’s only Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner, Beth Rhyne, DVM, CCRP, on staff! We offer a variety of Asheville pet physical rehabilitation options in addition to our emergency vet and veterinary surgery services. These therapies can make a significant different for animals suffering from a wide range of joint, bone, tissue or nerve problems. Patients on the mend from broken bones, rebuilt ligaments, amputations or longstanding medical problems can enjoy a new life with less pain and more freedom of movement. Either way, the result is a happier, healthier member of your family -- and ours!

Has your pet ever undergone a physical rehabilitation program? Share his or her recovery story with our readers!

 

A Veterinarian Explains Spaying and Neutering

Here at Charlotte Street Animal Hospital in Asheville, we recommend pet owners spay or neuter their pets for a number of reasons. These common, low-risk surgical procedures are a great kindness in many ways. Because your pet can no longer reproduce, you are helping control the animal population and reducing the number of unwanted dogs and cats. Your pet will also stop going into heat and neutering often serves to eliminate an intact male’s tendency to mark territory through urination. Spaying and neutering also help prevent certain cancers and other diseases common to both dogs and cats.

Procedures for Asheville Pets

Neutering is a fairly straightforward veterinary surgery. The vet makes a small incision near the scrotum, extracts the testicles through the incision, and then closes the incision with sutures. The sutures may be dissolving, in which case no return veterinary visit is necessary, or nylon sutures that require removal at around the 10-day mark. Some swelling or bruising in the area is normal, but most dogs experience little pain and are ready to run and play. You may want to restrict a very active dog’s activity level for a few days, however, to prevent a re-injury at the incision site.

Spaying is a somewhat more involved veterinary surgery than neutering, but still a common, low-risk surgery. The veterinarian makes an incision into the female animal’s abdomen and removes the uterus and ovaries, using sutures or surgical staples to close the incision. Your dog can usually come home the day following the procedure. We will prescribe pain medication for the recovery period. Watch out for redness, swelling, bleeding or other possible trouble signs, and by all means keep your dog from licking at the incision site.

If your pet is at least 8 weeks old, bring him or her to our animal clinic as soon as possible for spaying or neutering. Your pet will be happier and healthier — not to mention litter-free!

What other benefits have you noticed after spaying or neutering your pet?

 

Companion Animal Food and Supplies Drive

Since it's holiday time and the season of giving, Charlotte Street Animal Hospital is sponsoring a cold weather food and supply drive that benefits many different local animal charities. Our collection drive started on 11/15/11 and will extend to 4/15/12. We are so pleased to help these local organizations to provide food and supplies for animals in need here in the Asheville area!

Our Animal Hospital Gives To Local Animals In Need!

The animal food and supply drive benefits the Animal Compassion Network, the Asheville Humane Society, Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, Catman2 Cat Rescue, Meals on Wheels for Pets, and the Phoenix Landing Parrot Rescue. We have chosen rescue groups that provide help to all different types of animals, from dogs and cats to parrots and ferrets. Our animal hospital has compiled a food and supply wish list from each of the groups, which you can find on our homepage.

We take donations both here at the emergency vet clinic and over the phone at (828) 232-0440 during our regular office hours. Then we compile all of the food and supplies and present each organization with these donations once a month!

We really pride ourselves on providing experienced and compassionate emergency vet care, routine vet care, and services like cat boarding to our pet parents -- but we always want to keep needy animals in mind too! With the cold weather upon us, the number of animals coming in to rescue groups may continue to rise, and we want to do all we can to help these animals and the organizations that work so hard to feed and shelter them.

Please keep an eye out for our animal food and supply drive flyers -- we will be advertising with local businesses in an effort to reach as many people as possible.
Questions about the cold weather animal food and supply drive? We'd be happy to answer below! 

The Importance of Pet Dentistry

Proper pet dental care helps to prevent bacteria from multiplying on your animal's tooth surface. Over time, this bacteria can produce plaque and irritate the gums. As more time passes, the gums become sore, red, and swollen. The inflamed gums start to pull away from the teeth, creating pockets. These pockets are particularly dangerous because food gets trapped in them, which causes more bacteria to grow. Eventually, this causes tooth loss. But, what's even more serious, the bacteria can travel through your animal's bloodstream where it can hit major organs and cause them to become infected.

There are some things that you can do at home to keep your animal's mouth healthy and there are things that must be done by a veterinarian. For example, regular brushing of your pet's teeth at home will help to remove plaque and prevent build-up. Regular teeth brushing will also help to reduce or eliminate your animal's bad breath. What's more, by examining your animal's gums for redness, bleeding or swelling, you'll notice potential problems with your pet's oral care before they become more serious. This will also allow you to notify our emergency vet should you find any particularly concerning problems, such as pus oozing from your animal's gums.

Charlotte Street Animal Hospital & Pet Dental Care

Most of our Asheville animal clinic pet owners are aware of the importance of proper oral hygiene for their pets, as well as the need to have regular pet dental check-ups from our Asheville veterinarians. Our animal hospital is committed to providing comprehensive pet dental care.

Proper pet dentistry includes professional cleaning from our veterinarian. Our ultrasonic pet dental cleaning tools not only polish your animal's teeth, but they also prevent plaque build-up. For diagnostic purposes, our veterinarians use a modern and advanced digital dental X-ray machine to determine if any root canals or tooth extractions are needed. Our advanced technology also enables us to measure your pet's dental bone to determine if there is any dental bone loss.

What creative ways have you discovered to make your pet tolerate at-home teeth cleaning?

Puppies might seem cute in all they do, even when they misbehave. But ignoring or encouraging such behavior can only lead to problems down the road. Here at Charlotte Street Animal Hospital, we want to help you teach your puppy appropriate behavior. Dogs that do not receive socialization and positive training can grow up to be unruly and obnoxious and even have a greater risk of eventually being euthanized. To nip those issues in the bud, our Asheville veterinarians offer puppy training in the form of our Puppy Preschool, where learning can be fun for both puppies and their owners.

Puppy Training Vital During Early Socialization Period

Our first class kicks off from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, and is led by our veterinarian, Dr. Jaclyn Amber, and one of our vet techs, Crystal Coffie, who doubles as our client education coordinator. Puppies are in their prime for learning, with a unique socialization period that typically falls between the ages of 3 and 16 weeks. This socialization period is when puppies start to develop social behaviors such as pack behavior and appropriate play. You and your family play a huge part in your puppy’s behavior as your dog begins to grow, by orchestrating what it learns and how it acts.

Our Puppy Preschool provides a secure environment where puppies can interact safely with humans and other puppies. We take you and your pup through basic training lessaons that include crate training, potty training, walking on-leash, sitting, and manners. And that’s just for starters. We also teach you how to set appropriate expectations, address unwanted behavior, and how to identify potentially troublesome behaviors in their early stages. The goal of our veterinarian Dr. Amber and vet tech Crystal Coffie is to help you understand canine behavior, psychology, and learning style.

For more information, visit our Puppy Preschool web page. You can also call us at 828-232-0440 with any questions or to enroll.

What one behavior do you wish your dog had never learned?