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  • A pet sitter can give your pet the care they need if you have a busy schedule or are traveling. Pet sitters take care of your pet in your home or theirs, and can do much more. Be sure to interview any potential sitters and use trusted friends, your vet, or online resources when looking for sitters.

  • Phenobarbital is given by mouth or as an injection to treat seizures or to sedate your pet. Common side effects include sleepiness, increased thirst, urination, and/or appetite. Do not use this medication in pets with liver, lung, or kidney disease or those that are allergic to barbiturates. If a negative reaction occurs, call your veterinary office.

  • The common rabbit pinworm, Passalurus ambiguus, is an intestinal parasite. It does not posea serious health threat to rabbits, but it can cause uncomfortable itching and skin inflammation or redness around the anus. Rabbits become infected with pinworms by eating feces that contain pinworm eggs. Pinworms are challenging to treat because rabbits are coprophagic, so can potentially reinfect themselves during treatment.

  • Polysulfated glycosaminoglycan is an injectable disease-modifying osteoarthritis drug (DMOAD) used to treat non-infectious and traumatic arthritis in dogs. It is also used off-label in cats and small mammals.

  • Potassium citrate is used in dogs and cats to increase urine pH and prevent the formation of calcium oxalate bladder stones, uric acid bladder stones, and kidney stones. It may also be used in patients with kidney disease to treat low potassium levels and to prevent the blood and urine from becoming too acidic.

  • The most common conditions affecting pet prairie dogs are obesity, dental problems, cardiac disease and intestinal parasites. Regular scheduled veterinary examinations will be of great benefit to help discover problems or diseases before they cause a critical illness.

  • Prairie dogs require a diet high in fiber. As they are hind-gut fermenters, they need alfalfa up to one year of age and timothy hay after one year of age, as well as a high-quality prairie dog pellet. Treats should be kept to a minimum as prairie dogs are prone to obesity.

  • In the wild, prairie dogs burrow in the ground and make tunnels. Indoor caging must be long enough and deep enough whereby the pet has a chance to dig and make a borrow. Boxes and tubes large enough to crawl through make excellent additions to the cage.

  • Prairie dogs (most often black-tailed prairie dogs) are becoming popular as pets. Like all rodents, they have teeth that continually grow throughout life. They are active, playful and sturdy rodents and can make wonderful, affectionate pets if purchased young, socialized properly and given lots of attention.

  • Praziquantel is given on and off label and by mouth or injection to treat various internal parasites in cats, dogs, small mammals, birds, reptiles, and large animals. Do not use in pets that are allergic to it, in puppies less than 3 weeks old, or kittens less than 6 weeks old.