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Some pets greet the world with a wagging tail. Others tremble in the car, hide during storms, or howl the moment you leave the house. If your pet struggles with anxiety, you are not alone. It is one of the topics we discuss most at Prairie Animal Hospital, and as a Fear Free Certified and…

“My dog never goes in the woods. Does he really need the Lyme vaccine?” “My cat never goes outside. Why does she need a rabies shot?” These are fair questions, and we hear them often at Prairie Animal Hospital. The truth is that not every pet needs every vaccine. We tailor recommendations to your pet’s…

Bringing your dog home after surgery can feel a little overwhelming, especially watching them move slower than usual or seem a bit out of it from anesthesia. The good news is that most dogs recover really well from surgery, and there’s a lot you can do at home, along with some great tools we have…

This is one of the most common questions we get at Prairie Animal Hospital, and the honest answer is “it depends on the dog.” I know that’s not the satisfying number you were hoping for, so let me walk you through how we actually decide, and you’ll be able to look at your own dog…

When Should My Cat Get Her Teeth Cleaned? If you read our post on dog dental cleanings and thought “great, now do cats,” this one’s for you. The short answer is similar: most cats benefit from their first professional cleaning somewhere between two and four years of age, and after that we go by what…

If your once-bouncy pup has traded fetch for naps, or takes the stairs a little more carefully these days, you’re probably wondering what’s going on. A dog slowing down can mean a lot of different things, and while some of it is just a normal part of getting older, sometimes it’s your dog’s way of…

If you have typed “vet near me” into your phone lately, you are not alone. It is one of the most common searches pet owners in Peoria and Dunlap make, usually at one of two moments: right after bringing home a new puppy or kitten, or right after noticing something is not quite right with…

Your dog was fine yesterday. This morning he is favoring a front leg, moving stiffly, and not especially interested in breakfast. By tomorrow the limp has moved to a different leg entirely. That shifting, wandering lameness is one of the classic signs of Lyme disease, and it is one of the reasons we see so…

If you’ve caught yourself looking at your older dog and thinking “when did his back end get so bony,” you’re not imagining things, and you’re definitely not alone. This is one of the most common concerns we hear about senior dogs, and the honest answer is that it can come from a few different directions.…

Every week I get asked the same handful of questions — in the exam room, in the parking lot, and increasingly because somebody saw something online that worried them. Here are the five coming up most often right now, and what I actually tell people. Is raw food safe for my dog or cat? This…