We love treating pets with IBD. They respond so well to natural medicines and rarely require long-term therapy with immunosuppressive drugs like prednisone. One of our most challenging IBD cases involved Rosie, an 8-year-old female miniature schnauzer. When we first...

As winter approaches, we need to be aware that like us, our pets have special health needs. Even though they don’t get the same colds, flu, and coronavirus infections we get, they can still become sick with infectious diseases (especially kennel cough when boarding,...

We are often asked whether or not it is a good idea to get pet insurance. Here is the story we like to tell parents about pet insurance: If your pet was to get diagnosed with cancer and you wanted to do everything you could to treat your pet, it could cost over...

“My pet can’t get heartworms Dr. Shawn because I feed him/her carrots.” This is one of the many statements we’ve heard from clients who refuse to use heartworm preventative medication. Dr. Shawn has written books and articles about natural therapies. Based upon his...

I am often asked if it is okay to give the monthly heartworm preventative every 45 to 60 days. When I ask the pet parent why she/he would want to do that, her/his answer is she/he read on the internet that it is safer to give a heartworm preventative every 45 to 60...

Now that summer is here, the risk of parasite transmission increases for dogs and cats. This is especially true for heartworm infection, as these worms are transmitted through the bite of a mosquito. Part of our annual visit with dogs includes a heartworm test (this...

Many of our patients throughout the year come in with itchy skin, irritated eyes, inflamed ears, and other side effects of discomfort. Especially this time of year, we see an influx of patients suffering from a variety of allergies. Here at Paws & Claws we know...

We have recently received an influx in pet parent's requesting a modified spay, aka ovary sparing spay, but are curious whether this type of sterilization is truly more "beneficial" for their pet. Read the following as Dr. Shawn weighs out your options! Keep in mind,...

We are often contacted by pet parents who want to know when a pet should be seen if a new bump is discovered. Typically tumors are not emergencies and can wait until the next day. However, all lumps and bumps should be examined and usually aspirated or removed and...

We see many pets with bladder and kidney diseases. All of them require testing to some degree. Here is a brief explanation of some of the tests we may need to do to help us properly diagnose and treat your pet. Blood testing is done to check for any of the following:...