Our goal at the Minnesota Valley Pet Hospital is to exceed your expectations!  We strive to provide you and your pet with the highest quality veterinary care in a warm, caring, and safe environment.

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1. Household Poisons
   The following are some examples of commonly seen household poisons: antifreeze, mouse/rat baits, household plants/Easter L lillies, onions, chocolate, grapes/raisins, pesticides and other garden chemicals.
   
   
2. Microchipping Your Pet
   Collars and tags are always a good idea, but they can easily be lost or removed. Permanent tamper-proof identification in the form of a microchip can easily be implanted under the skin. This is done in the exam room and causes no more discomfort than a typical vaccination. Lost animals that are found to have a microchip can easily be identified and quickly returned to their family.
   
   
3. Trimming Toenails at Home
   If you plan on nail trimming at home, we have two suggestions. First, ask your pet's health care provider to demonstrate and explain the proper way to trim the nails. Second and more importantly, always have clot powder (available in pet stores or from veterinarians) or a styptic pencil (found in the drug store shaving section) handy in case a nail is cut too short and bleeds. The powder or pencil is pressed into the cut end and cauterizes the blood vessels to stop the bleeding.
   
   
4. How toxic is chocolate?
   Chocolate contains both caffeine and theobromine, both of which are toxic to dogs in large enough quantities. Mild toxicity is exhibited as agitation, vomiting and diarrhea. More serious cases will progress on to involve tremors, cardiac arrythmias and seizures. The toxicity depends on the amount of cocoa in the product. Semi-sweet and dark chocolate are 2-3 times as toxic as milk chocolate. Baking chocolate is 8 times as toxic. Cocoa powder is 16 times as toxic. In short, mild toxicity starts at 2-4 oz of milk chocolate or 1-2 oz of dark/semi-sweet chocolate per 5 lbs of body weight. An ounce brick of baking chocolate would be toxic to a 45 lb dog.
   
   
5. Getting Your Pet to Take Their Pills
   Giving medication to your pet can be a frustrating chore. For dogs, many medications can easily be hidden in a ball of canned food, peanut butter, a square of cheese, a marshmallow, or a small piece of hot dog. If all else fails tip their head back and push the pill as far back on the tongue as possible. Once it is at the gag point they have no choice but to swallow it. Cats can demand a little more finesse. Infrequently can medication be hidden in food; cats are not as easy to trick as dogs are. Often a pill rolled in butter will easily slide to the back of the tongue and down the throat. As often as possible we try to offer medication in liquid form. Some medications can be compounded into a transdermal gel that is readily absorbed through the skin. Greenies brand also makes a product called Pill Pockets, a hollowed out beef or chicken flavored pocket to hide pills or capsules in. Dogs and cats generally like these and don't notice the medication hidden inside.