At Oakland Veterinary Referral Services, our mission is to provide the best veterinary care possible to our growing community of pets, and it’s our continued honor to serve referring veterinarians and their clients. A component of our ongoing service is to brainstorm, write, and publish articles in our pet care blog that speak to the various challenges facing a pet owner today. Each week we post a new topic, and if a pet care blog is clicked on or shared by one of our readers, we gain meaningful insight into subject matter that hits home.

Our high-level care goes beyond the clinical, and we aim to show our dedication to pet owners through a full range of subjects. From the light-hearted to the serious, we hope you enjoy the top 10 blogs of 2017.

Oakland Veterinary Referral Services Top 10 Blogs of 2017

  1. Diy Natural Pet Pill Pockets That Help The Medicine Go Down – Nobody enjoys taking medication, and our pets are no different. Many pets are accomplished pill-avoiders (the dog who eats the entire hotdog you hid the pill in, yet somehow manages to spit the pill out, or the cat who magically disappears for hours right around medication time). It can be frustrating, to say the least, and may even be dangerous for a pet who relies on daily medication. Read More…
  2. Protect The Pads: Healing And Preventing Dry, Cracked Paws – Michiganders are no strangers to winter, and neither are their pets. While you’re busy lacing up your snow boots before you head outdoors, your pet waits, bare-pawed. Indeed, our pets rely on their bare paws to transport them everywhere they need to go, regardless of the weather. Read More…
  3. The Good Samaritan’s Guide: How To Help Feral Cats – 17th century philosopher Thomas Hobbes famously described life outside society as “nasty, brutish, and short”. The same can be said for the lives of feral cats (also called “community cats”). Feral cats generally eat from trash bins and must deal with temperature extremes, traffic, mistreatment from humans and other cats, infections, disease, flea infestations, and more. Read More…
  4. Treat Talk: Navigating The World Of Pet Treats – A pet’s love affair with treats is as old and deep as the sea itself. Well, maybe we’re being a bit dramatic, but all pet owners know how much their pets enjoy treats. From the humble Milk-Bone to the gourmet, handmade pet treats that are so prevalent these days, it can be tough to figure out what’s safe and healthy for our pets. Read More…
  5. Our Favorite (Virtually) Indestructible Dog Toys – Does your dog shred any toy you give them within days, hours, or even minutes? Are you getting tired of spending money on dog toys that you know are going to end up in the trash soon? Do you worry about your furniture, shoes, and other household items being destroyed by your overzealous best pal? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, you are the proud pet parent of an ‘extreme chewer’. Read More…
  6. Different Perspectives: Understanding The Differences In Animal Vision – We depend on our senses to help us navigate and understand the world around us, and our animal friends are no different. While our pets use their eyes in a similar fashion as we do, there are some fascinating differences in animal vision versus human vision. Read More…
  7. An Age-old Mystery: Why Do Cats Sleep So Much? – Where is your cat right now? If you’re reading this on your tablet or laptop, there’s a good chance he or she is attempting to schedule an unplanned snuggle – right on top of the screen. If Fluffy is absent, he or she is likely either dreaming or waking up from the 9th cat nap of the day. Cats are definitely lounge lovers, but there’s more to this indulgence than meets the eye. Cats sleep an average of 16-20 hours every day, but why? Read More…
  8. Solving Great Mysteries: Explaining The Small Dog Lifespan – The Egyptian pyramids, crop circles, Stonehenge…there are some mysteries in this world that continue to go unexplained. Perhaps one of the more compelling mysteries for animal lovers everywhere, though, is trying to figure out why some dogs live to be 20 while others are lucky to get to 8 years of age. Read More…
  9. Where Can You Take Your Dog? Almost Anywhere! – With more than 69 million pet dogs in our country alone, it just makes sense that our canine counterparts would be welcome at a variety of public establishments; some employers are even encouraging their employees to bring their pets to work! With evidence of reduced stress, increased productivity, and higher morale, integrating pets into all areas of life seems natural. Read More…
  10. Ear Polyps In Pets: What Pet Owners Need To Hear – Most times an ear infection is a pretty easy problem to solve. Sometimes, though, we will run into an infection that won’t clear or that keeps on coming back. In this instance, it is likely that there is something going on that is predisposing that ear to have problems. Read More…

As you look back at your own year in review, we hope that you are met with a similar sense of satisfaction. We are pleased to deliver specialty care and emergency services to pets in need, and earn the trust of new and returning clients. What could be better than that?

From all of us at Oakland Veterinary Referral Services, have a safe and happy new year!