Roxanne’s Pet Services

02/11/2025

WEATHER WARNING 02/11/25
Thunder has been heard throughout the Adelaide area. Please secure your pets.
If you happen to lose, sight or find a fur kid please send us a message and we will be with you as soon as we can.

31/10/2025

Many dogs don't like hugs from kids. But how can you tell?

When it comes to communicating with your dog, we can start by being a good listener but this isn’t done with our ears - it is with our eyes.

Learning to understand dog body language is the key to helping to ensure your dog is happy. The trick is to observe several parts of the body to detect changes that will tell you about how your dog is feeling.

The main areas to check are the tail, ears and eyes. You should also watch out for tell-tale behaviours such as yawning, lip licking and shaking-off (similar shake to when wet). Flat ears, ‘whale eye’ (showing the white of the eye) and a tucked-in tail are signs of an uncomfortable or frightened dog. The message is ‘I want some space.’

By looking for these signs you can quickly learn to read what your dog is saying to you.

Visit our Lead by Example page to learn more about dog body language. It will make life better for both you and your dog!
www.rspcasa.org.au/lead-by-example

Image source: Google Images

19/10/2025

🎃 As Halloween nears, we have a spOoOoky tale for you... 👻

This tale has been told hundreds of thousands of times over the years, and it never gets better, only worse!

The story of the purposefully scared pet! 🙀 The horror!

All jokes aside, stop intentionally scaring your pets.
It's not funny.
It's cruel.
It can ruin your pet's trust in you and increase the likelihood of aggressive behavior.

Halloween is best enjoyed when EVERYONE is having a good time. So if your pets dislike costumes, put your pets away for the Halloween party (or consider having a sitter take them for the night). If your pets dislike novel items like Halloween decorations, keep them out of sight. There are better times and ways to introduce them to potentially scary things, but Halloween parties and festivities are 👏 Not 👏 It.

17/10/2025

If you believe kibble cleans teeth, then you'd have to believe that a biccie also cleans yours....

Unless the kibble is especially for dental health, such as it contains addatives or a special shape, it's unlikely to clean your dogs teeth,

Most kibble is either consumed whole or crumbles so its not doing anything other than being "food".

Let's be smarter consumers.

Here's 5 ways to clean your dogs teeth:
https://www.balanced-canine.com/post/5-ways-to-clean-your-dogs-teeth

01/10/2025

Have used Augustine Approved products on all my boxers for many years

24/09/2025

🕯️ Hidden Dangers in Your Home: Air Fresheners 🐾

Did you know that 75% of homes use air fresheners, but many of these contain toxic chemicals like benzene that could be harming your pets?🙀☠️

A new study shows a link between benzene exposure and lymphoma in dogs. The worst part? These chemicals aren’t clearly labeled, they're often disguised under vague terms like “fragrance”.

These toxins don’t just stay in the air. They land on:
🛏️ Pet bedding
🎾 Toys
🥣 Food & water bowls
🐶 Even your pet’s fur

💡Instead of putting your pets at risk, try a natural, pet-safe air freshener using this simple simmer pot recipe shared from our book The Forever Dog LIFE.

🍲Simmer Pot Directions:
1. Bring a small pot of water to a soft boil (or gentle boi in an uncovered slow cooker) and add all ingredients.
2. Reduce heat to simmer for 2-3 hours, allowing the aromas to fill your home. Make sure the water doesn’t dry out, dd additional water if necessary.
3. To turn your leftover liquid into a natural room spray, strain the liquid and allow it to cool. Then store in a clean, glass spray bottle. Use within a few days.

You can find more simmer pot scent recipes along with recipes for our pet-safe room sprays and deodorizers in our book The Forever Dog LIFE.

🎁Already have your copy? With Amazon still offering a 57% off sale, now’s the perfect time to grab one for a friend or get a head start on holiday gifting. Limited time only...they don’t tell us how long these sales will last! ⏳

23/09/2025

DISTRACTED DOG WALKERS

The distracted dog walker is commonly seen chatting on their cell phone, wearing headphones or socializing with other people while oblivious to what their dog is doing, how their dog is feeling or what is going on in the environment.

This may not sound like a problem, but it is something that many of us have a problem with, even more so if we have a reactive, sensitive dog.

I always compare walking a dog to driving a car. It’s not so much about our driving skills, but having to constantly be aware of the driving skills of others – trying to predict what they will do, which rules of the road they will ignore and how distracted they are. This is especially true in the country I live in, where driving can be a really stressful experience.

I understand that we often need to multi task – there simply doesn’t seem to be enough time in our day to accomplish everything we need to, but walking our dogs should not be one of these times.

Some may say – “but my dog is really friendly, well socialized, gets on well with everyone, is well trained, knows this environment well etc. and I hear that. But another dog might not be – maybe they need space, are reactive, sensitive, selectively social, have health issues, might be terrified of another dog racing straight towards them chasing a ball thrown from a ball launcher etc.

If distracted dog walkers have no regard for other dogs or other people, they should at least have regard for their own dogs.

Walking your dog should be a time of bonding, of connecting, of seeing the environment through the eyes of your dog, of reinforcing and rewarding wanted behaviours, of keeping them safe and protected.

Our dogs need us to be focused, to pay attention, to be aware and attentive. Our dogs depend on us to advocate for them.

20/09/2025

27/08/2025

There is nothing normal about a koala 🐨 sitting on the ground. Koalas live in trees 🌳 and don't feel safe on the ground.

This poor girl was seen on the ground two days prior but not reported 😢. Please recognise the red flags 🚩 so koalas aren't left to suffer unnecessarily.

SKER is only a phone call away 🤳. Please call us for advice anytime on ☎️ 0435 056 252.

27/08/2025

According to the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) 2024 Guidelines, dogs do not need core vaccines every year.

Once a puppy has had its full course and the 12-month booster, revaccination is recommended no more often than every 3 years, and often even less, depending on antibody (titer) results.

✅ 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐯𝐬. 𝐍𝐨𝐧-𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬
Core Vaccines (essential for all dogs worldwide):
Canine Distemper Virus (CDV)
Canine Adenovirus (CAV-1/2)
Canine Parvovirus (CPV-2 variants)
Rabies (where legally required)

➡️ These protect against life-threatening diseases and provide long duration of immunity (DOI), often 7+ years, and in many cases, lifelong.

⭐ 𝐍𝐨𝐧-𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 (𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐟 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝):
Leptospirosis
Bordetella (kennel cough)
Canine Influenza
Lyme disease
Others, depending on geography, travel, or lifestyle

➡️ These are given only if your dog’s environment, lifestyle, or local disease prevalence puts them at risk.

🔬 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐖𝐒𝐀𝐕𝐀 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬

⭐ Use titer testing to check if your dog is still immune before giving a booster.

⭐ Avoid automatic annual revaccination for core vaccines.

⭐ Tailor non-core vaccines to your dog’s individual risk factors.

⚖️ The bottom line: If your vet still insists on yearly core shots without considering guidelines or titers, it’s worth asking questions. Modern veterinary science supports longer intervals and individualised care.

SYDNEY DOG OWNERS: Sires On Ice Richmond Vet charges $110 for a title test with a general health check.

26/08/2025

It's wild that we call real food people food....it's simply food....the food dogs used to eat before we started feeding them ultra-processed brown pellets.

The majority of whole foods are safe to chuck in your dog's bowl such as:

✅ Meat (no maranaides)
✅ Veggies without onions/leeks
✅ Ground nuts except Macadamia
✅ Ground seeds such as pumpkin, sunflower & flaxseed
✅ Small amounts of oils such as olive, flaxseed, emu, hempseed, wheat germ
✅ Bones such as chicken wings, chicken necks, chicken frames - if your dog is greedy and gulpy, go BIG such as Roo/Lamb/Beef necks and spines.

📌 Minimise highly processed "human" foods such as rice and pasta - when you're already feeding an ultra-processed diet, you don't need to add more ultra-processed food to it. These foods add little benefit to your dog's diet other than being a cheap filler and binder.