Puppies Available

We are excited to report that a litter of puppies was born on June 29, 2024.  They were sired by our Mickey (GCH South Mountain Dance the Tango) and born to our Fancy (South Mountain Fancy That).   We have two puppies still available:  a black female (Betsy) and a white male (Georg).  They will be available after Labor Day/early September.    Be sure to check out our South Mountain Standard Poodles page at our website (www.palmeranimalhospital.net)

For more information contact Susan at:  southmountainstandards@hughes.net  or 240-446-1167.

Our hours for this holiday season are:

Saturday, December 23rd    8AM-12N (regular hours)

Monday, December 25th      CLOSED

Tuesday, December 26th     7:30AM-8PM  (regular hours)

Saturday, December 30th    8AM-12N  (regular hours)

Monday, January 1st     CLOSED

Tuesday, January 2nd  7:30AM-8PM (regular hours)

If you have an emergency with your pet that cannot wait, please contact one of the below emergency clinics and they will be able to help you:

Crossroads Animal Referral and Emergency (CARE) —1080 W. Patrick St, Frederick     301-662-2273

Mountain View Animal Emergency —- 13810 Crayton Blvd, Hagerstown    301-733-7339

VetUrgency -434 Prospect Blvd, Frederick    301-288-8387

Partner Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Center–7330 Guilford Drive, Frederick    301-200-8185

There have been reports about an outbreak of Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease in the news recently, and we have been getting many questions from our clients.  Cases have been reported all over the United States, and recently in Maryland.  Many of these cases are being classified as Atypical CIRD because they do not appear to be the usual type that we see.  The infectious agent causing these Atypical CIRD cases is still not know but is under investigation–it may be a new unknown pathogen, a new version of a current disease or a combination of all the above.  Atypical CIRD can affect both vaccinated and unvaccinated dogs and many of these cases are negative on routine respiratory disease testing.  Signs of Atypical CIRD range from progressive coughing, ocular and/or nasal discharge and can rapidly progress.  Cases appear to fall within three clinical syndromes:

–Chronic mild tracheobronchitis with a prolonged duration of 6-8 weeks that is poorly or non-responsive to antibiotics

–Chonic pneumonia that is poorly or non-responsive to antibiotics

–Acute pneumonia that rapidly becomes severe and often leads to poor outcomes in as little as 1-2 days

So what can you do to protect your dog?

—Avoid contact with at-risk dogs in places such as dog parks, day care, boarding, dog shows and groomers unless limited to a stable group of healthy dogs

—Keep you pet up-to-date on vaccinations, especially for Distemper, Kennel Cough and Canine Influenze.

— Dogs showing respiratory signs need to be promptly isolated.

—if your dog shows signs of not eating, trouble breathing, continual coughing and/or extreme lethargy, they should be seen right away as Atypical CIRD can progress very rapidly.

NOTE:  Veterinary Clinics will be working to reduce exposure of these cases to other patients, and they will likely be recommending more diagnostics than usual in these cases as PCR testing needs to be submitted within the first 4 days of the disease.   Also note that antibiotics may have no or minimal effect on these cases, and they may take weeks to months to resolve.

If you have questions about your dog, feel free to call our office, but remember that we have limited information and answers to all of the questions that you have.  We will be evaluating our diagnostic, treatment and isolation protocols, so please keep this in mind.

We are excited to report that a litter of puppies was born on Sept 12th, 2023.   It was sired by our Mickey (GCH South Mountain Dance the Tango) and the dam is Claire (CH South Mountain Valley Girl).  These beautiful pure-white puppies will be available in November.

For more information, check out our South Mountain Standards page.

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We will be closed on Monday, September 4th, 2023 in observance of the Labor Day Holiday.   We will re-open for regular business hours on Tuesday, September 5th at 7:30AM.    If you have an emergency which cannot wait, please contact one of the following local animal emergency services:

Crossroads Animal Referral and Emergency (CARE) —1080 W. Patrick St, Frederick     301-662-2273

Mountain View Animal Emergency  —- 13810 Crayton Blvd, Hagerstown    301-733-7339

VETURGENCY —- 434 Prospect Blvd., Frederick 301-288-8387 (VETS)  (Open 6PM-12AM Daily)

Examples of emergencies that should not wait:

• Trauma cases— hit by car, fight wounds, falls, broken legs, hemorrhage/bleeding
• Eye trauma/painful eyes/squinting
• Persistent Vomiting or Diarrhea, especially if your pet appears weak or distressed
• Difficulty Breathing, Severe/persistent coughing
• Male cats or dogs straining but unable to urinate
• Toxin ingestion —rat poison, antifreeze, grapes/raisins, human medications, Xylitol
• Seizures, sudden behavior changes, inability to walk

The product we have been waiting for is finally here:   NexGard Plus, a once-a-month Flea/Tick and Heartworm medication for your dog.    This medication combines NexGard, a flea and tick product that has done a great job for over 10 years, with Moxidectin, a proven monthly heartworm preventative.   It is also labelled for the prevention of two intestinal parasites, Roundworm and Hookworms.   If your dog is already on Heartgard and NexGard, you can now give just 1 tablet once-a-month and do the same great job at protecting your pet from parasites.

There are no contraindications for NexGard Plus on the label, but dogs must be heartworm negative to start on the product, and as with NexGard, we do not recommend using this product in dogs that have seizures.   The cost of using NexGard Plus is similar to using the two products separately, and a $35 rebate is available on the purchase of 6-packs—NOTE that this should save you money even compared to online pharmacies.

If you are interested in NexGard Plus, please let us know and be sure to ask about it at your next visit.

We will be closed on Monday, September 4th, 2023 in observance of the Labor Day Holiday.   We will re-open for regular business hours on Tuesday, September 5th at 8:00AM.    If you have an emergency which cannot wait, please contact one of the following local animal emergency services:

Crossroads Animal Referral and Emergency (CARE) —1080 W. Patrick St, Frederick     301-662-2273

Mountain View Animal Emergency  —- 13810 Crayton Blvd, Hagerstown    301-733-7339

VETURGENCY —- 434 Prospect Blvd., Frederick 301-288-8387 (VETS) : (Open 6PM-12AM Daily)

Examples of emergencies that should not wait:

• Trauma cases— hit by car, fight wounds, falls, broken legs, hemorrhage/bleeding
• Eye trauma/painful eyes/squinting
• Persistent Vomiting or Diarrhea, especially if your pet appears weak or distressed
• Difficulty Breathing, Severe/persistent coughing
• Male cats or dogs straining but unable to urinate
• Toxin ingestion —rat poison, antifreeze, grapes/raisins, human medications, Xylitol
• Seizures, sudden behavior changes, inability to walk