That Pet Blog That Pet Place Pet Blog

“Gosh your breath stinks!”

Do you cringe when your dog comes up for kisses? Do you turn away in disgust when their hot breath flows your way? Did you get a new puppy? Wait, why would you be concerned about your puppy? Read on!

How is my dogs dental health managed and why should I care about it?

Canine dental health is best managed with prevention! Starting your young dog off on the right foot is the key to easy management of their dental needs throughout their lives and can save you a lot of money and headache in the future.

Dental disease can and will affect many aspects of your dogs overall health. Besides the obvious odor and discomfort that can come with yucky teeth, dental disease can cause a host of other problems. Your dogs mouth is the conduit to the rest of their body, namely the kidneys. Kidneys filter out the toxins and dogs with decaying teeth have a lot! This dental issue can put strain on their kidneys over time and many dogs with advanced dental issues will also develop increase liver values.

What is the best way to start brushing my dogs teeth?

Now that you know what can happen, where should you start? Start by selecting a dog specific toothpaste (human toothpaste is toxic) and pick up either a doggie specific toothbrush or use a soft child’s toothbrush. Once you have your supplies, just let your dogs taste it. A little bit on your finger to make sure they like the taste. Once you’ve established the taste is acceptable, try rubbing it on their teeth!

Some dogs are finicky about letting you touch their mouths so do not be discouraged if this is a slow process. Be patient and one day you’ll have a ready to be brushed hound! Once they’re comfortable with the paste, start using your tooth brush!

How often should I be brushing my dogs teeth?

Every day!

It seems crazy, but you brush your teeth every day (hopefully multiple times a day), doesn’t it seem fitting you should do the same for your dog? In reality, according to the AVMA, brushing a few times a week can be effective but ideally you should brush every day for best practice.

I don’t want to brush my dogs teeth, what are my options?

We know daily doggie toothbrushing isn’t for everyone. While brushing is the gold standard, there are many products available to decrease your dogs chances of dental issues and to provide them with some entertainment too. See our brief list below!

• Dental chews
• Oral gels
• Water additives

How do you know what products are the best? There is a council specifically for animal dental health! The VOHC (Veterinary Oral Health Council) has a list of approved products that are provenly effective.

Regardless of what you decide if best for you an your pet, remember to take your dog to the vet once a year for their routine check up and to assess their dental health!

 

Hi everyone,

This is a follow-up post about Barret’s tumor removal surgery. You can read more about my struggle with the anxiety of finding a lump and learning that it may or may not be cancer in my previous post.

I dropped Barret off at the vet last Wednesday for his pet surgery. He was happy as a lark as they lead him to the back. I was a nervous wreck. They said they’d call when he woke up. It turned out the surgery that was supposed to be a simple cyst removal turned into a very long and arduous procedure. They ended up keeping him overnight. The minute he was ready to be picked up I was there.

I wasn’t prepared to see him all wrapped up in colorful vetrap, but there he was trotting towards me with his usual energy. He was bouncing away trying to give me kisses as the vet explained he needed to stay calm and inactive for the wound in his armpit to heal. He wished me luck and had me make follow up appointments.

After surgery care for my dog was pretty simple, but there were a few items that my doggie first aid kit was lacking and there are a few extra items that I bought or already had that proved to be invaluable during this process and I would like to share those with you so you might be more prepared than I was. Read More »

It’s a good practice to get in the habit of performing monthly quick checkups on your pets in the comfort of your own home. You never know when a lump or other malady might show itself. Getting a “baseline reading” of your pet’s body will help you to detect early on when they might be having issues and let you know when it is time to make an appointment with your veterinarian. This article focuses on determining your pet’s baseline vital signs so that you can determine when something is amiss.

Temperature: Body temperature is measured rectally in pets (yikes). I keep a spare digital thermometer for my dogs and use a healthy coat of Vaseline if I need to take their temperature. It can come in handy when you are trying to diagnose your sick pet. A dog’s temperature is usually between 100-102.5 degrees Fahrenheit. Any pet with a temperature under 99 or over 104 should see a vet immediately.

Heart Rate: It is best to get a good reading on heart rate when your pet is calm and relaxed, perhaps after a massage or good belly rub. Find the heartbeat on the left hand side of the ribcage, near where the elbow fits into the chest. Count the number of heartbeats for 15 seconds then multiply this number by 4. This is your pet’s resting heart rate. Dog’s heartbeats will accelerate and decelerate with each breath. This is normal! Your pet’s normal heart rate will depend upon the size of your animal. Larger dogs have slower heart rates than lap dogs.

Respiratory Rate: While your pet is relaxed and calm, maybe even sleeping, it is a good time to determine your pet’s respiratory rate and normal breathing pattern. Avoid measuring this when your dog is panting.  Count the number of times your pet inhales for 1 minute. This is the respiratory rate. Also note if it requires your pet any extra effort to inhale or exhale. This function should be smooth and effortless. If your pet is having difficulties, contact a vet immediately.

Mucous membranes: Your pet’s mucous membranes (read: gums and eyelids) are important in diagnosing problems with oxygenation and blood flow. Normal gum color is pink, but some dogs have pigmented gums (Barret’s are black), and this makes determining if the color is normal difficult. You can  open the eye and gently lift the eyelid to get a good look at the coloring. Any membrane that is pale, white, blue or yellow should be investigated by a veterinarian. While you’re examining the mucous membranes, do a quick test for capillary refill time. This is also a good diagnostic tool to determine if blood and oxygen are flowing normally. Briefly apply pressure to the gums and release. The area should turn pale (where you applied pressure) but will rapidly return to the normal color. This refill time should be no longer than 3 seconds but should also not take less than 1 second.

Hydration: A properly hydrated pet should pass the ‘scruff test’ with flying colors. Gently grab your dog’s scruff (the loose skin on the back of the neck). Release it. The skin should immediately spring back into normal position. If there is a delay, your pet may be dehydrated.

Get into the habit of performing these tests on your pet every few months to keep tabs on their vital signs. I almost forgot the most important part: write down the results and keep them somewhere safe, where you will have access to them in an emergency situation. I use the Pet First Aid app to keep track of my pet’s information (I reviewed this app last year).

Barret had spent the evening on my lap, as usual, but I noticed after a bit that he was chewing on one of his paws. I got up to examine it and was shocked to find a red, raw, inflamed toe. Just one toe, and it had to be twice the size of the rest of his toes. It looked painful!

I examined his paw for the source of the discomfort, a cut or scratch, maybe a burr or stone, even a bug bite, but could not find anything. He didn’t seem like he was in pain and was perfectly content to lick on his Lickety Stick while I soaked his foot in warm soapy water and bandaged it up. In every other way he seemed completely normal. I made the decision to keep an eye on it and treat it at home.

The next night, he was relaxing on his back while I gave a well-deserved belly rub when I noticed a large lump had formed in his armpit (on the same leg as the swollen toe). Why is it that we find these things after regular vet hours? I hopped on the internet and did some searching. There wasn’t much to go on but I had myself convinced it was a lymph node swollen because of the infection in his toe. The next morning I made an appointment with my regular vet and was fully convinced that I’d leave with a course of antibiotics and instructions to keep the toe clean.

I’m very glad I consulted with my vet, because on further examination my assumption was wrong. The toe was infected, though it was a more severe infection that I had originally thought. It required 2 full courses of antibiotics before it cleared up. The lump on his armpit is another matter entirely. The doc’s conclusion was that it is a cyst with a clearly defined blood supply, but should cause him no problems and doesn’t need to be removed unless it starts to get in his way. Phew!

The moral of the story is that you should always consult your veterinarian rather than making guesses at home. Your kids’ health is at stake! If I hadn’t sought care for Barret’s foot, the infection could have spread and required IV antibiotics or more drastic measures.

Dogs often have lumps and growths all over their bodies and as pet parent’s it is our duty to examine and find these anomalies early, before they get out of hand.  Many lumps and bumps, like Bear’s cyst, are benign and nothing to worry about, but a similar lump might actually be cancerous and require treatment. The earlier you find and treat a problem, the easier it is to manage.

Watch for a future article where I’ll go over a step by step home physical so that we can track the changes in our pets bodies and know when to schedule an appointment with the vet. In the meantime, please share your stories of lumps or bumps that turned out to be nothing or turned out to be problematic. We can learn from each other’s experiences.

-Heather

Have you heard of Canine Influenza? Like the flu that can cause us misery any time of year, this virus is a highly contagious, airborne illness that can affect the respiratory system of your dog if he is exposed.  Recently, a number of cases have been reported and confirmed in Lancaster County, triggering the temporary closure of several local kennels and boarding facilities.  This virus is easily spread with a cough or a sneeze from an affected pet, and it can be transferred or contaminate any surface, potentially infecting any other dog that walks through the area. While the virus can make your pet quite ill, the bright side is that it is rarely fatal. Here are some other quick facts about Canine Influenza you should know. Read More »

Despite being partially blind, Matthew the rabbit is easily one of the liveliest pets in my house. His outgoing personality, penchant for mischief, and insistent foot stomps for attention are both endearing and frustrating. So, when boisterous Matthew huddled in the back of his cage one night and refused to eat or play, we knew something was wrong. When his head suddenly listed to one side and his muscles tensed minutes later, we were terrified that we were losing our little mischief-maker.

Fortunately, Matthew survived. Quick online research confirmed what we already thought; Matthew had suffered a stroke, though minor enough that he regained most of his muscle control. We scheduled a veterinarian appointment and monitored him carefully in the meantime. While he could nibble some of his pellets and try to chew with his right, the left side of his face seemed locked and stiff, and he could not move his lips enough to grasp hay or fully close his right eye.

We figured this was a result of the stroke only, but our veterinarian found a root cause that surprised us. After determining that Matthew’s lips still had circulation and feeling, he used a scope to view Matthew’s back teeth, which are tightly positioned back by the cheeks and almost impossible to examine otherwise.  After this check, our vet informed us that Matthew’s jaw was slightly misaligned, causing one of his back left teeth to wear improperly. This created a sharp, uncomfortable point that discouraged him from using that side correctly for a while. The area underneath this tooth became infected, and the infection’s swelling had likely triggered the stroke. While the movement of his left facial muscles would slowly return, the pain from the tooth and infection was discouraging him from using them. Matthew required a few weeks of antibiotics to overcome the infection, along with some rabbit-safe painkiller and anti-inflammatory to encourage proper use of the pointed tooth.

While the vet explained that sedating Matthew and physically filing the back tooth was an option, he did not recommend this after such a high health risk as a stroke. He explained that the location and of the tooth and current discomfort made filing without anesthesia impossible, and our safest bet for Matthew was to see if we could get him to use that side again himself. He also recommended purchasing rabbit-safe cardboard tubes to chew. Unlike normal wooden chews, these would be softer and help prevent making the sensitive area sore. If Matthew still could not wear his tooth enough to be comfortable, sedation and filing was still an option, but it would indicate that he would likely need it every couple of months. Placing a sensitive animal such as a rabbit under anesthesia so frequently is in itself risky, and he suggested we wait on that option unless it seemed necessary.

We left the vet’s office both fearful and optimistic, armed with information, medicine, and a powdered probiotic food to maintain Matthew’s digestive system after his time spent with inadequate eating. As his poor muscle control made using a water bottle difficult, we also boosted his fluid intake with feeding syringes. Providing dishes of water was a poor idea for Matthew; with his poor vision and compromised health, he merely kept his distance from the unfamiliar shape.

After a few days, slow improvements began to show. Matthew’s energy was returning, and he no longer sulked in the back of his cage. He began eating his pellets more regularly and could use his water bottle again, and we stopped the supplemented feed soon after he began his first clumsy bites of hay. He could fully blink his left eye, and movement returned to the left side of his face.

As of today, Matthew seems to be recovered and shows no difficulty grasping, chewing, or biting. While there is no way to correct his conformation, the medications assisted him enough to begin wearing the tooth more properly. I’ve seen many different health conditions in rabbits, but I never expected such an unusual cause as a poor jaw alignment jaw to potentially cause something as serious as a stroke. The vet suggested keeping a close watch for any changes in behavior, as infections as he had can be difficult to truly eliminate in rabbits and might eventually reoccur. For now, Matthew is himself again: stomping for attention, digging at the floor, and watching the activity around him with an alert curiosity.

 

 

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, I thought I’d research a topic that many people don’t know a lot about; breast cancer in pets. Most people are aware that pets can get many different types of cancer, as it is the leading cause of death in older pets. 

Among pets, dogs appear to have the greatest prevalence of breast cancer; it is estimated that 1 in 4 unspayed female dogs will develop a form of breast cancer. Other animals, such as cats, rats and other small mammals can also suffer from breast cancer, known as mammary cancer. About half of dogs who are diagnosed with breast cancer have a malignant form of cancer, but if caught early enough both types of cancer can be treated through removal of the tumor and chemotherapy. Breast cancer can be prevented in most pets simply by having them spayed (and that helps with pet overpopulation too!). Read More »

Recently, my 14 year old female cockatiel, Charlie was pacing at the bottom of her cage (her usual method of begging to be let out) when she got her leg caught in the grating of the cage. Panicked, I raced forward to help her, but unfortunately my bird’s panic took over and she injured her leg trying to free herself. I knew immediately she had broken it because she could not use it at all and there was blood on her perch, indicating that the bone had gone through the skin. I rushed her to the emergency vet and 4 hours and $360 later, she was ready to go home, dressed in a splint and bird sized e-collar. She’s recovering well, which is great news, however the cost of this endeavor got me to thinking: would pet insurance be worth the investment? Read More »

Two recent studies have highlighted the role that stress and boredom plays in pet behavior and health.  Although carried out on research colonies of cats and rabbits, both contain important lessons for pet owners.  Steps as simple as establishing a routine substantially reduced the pain associated with serious illnesses.

Novelty vs. Routine

Experience has taught me that stress plays a major role in the health of all captive creatures, be they insects or elephants.  While novelty and new experiences may be positives, established routines also have their uses.  Read More »

A couple of months ago I switched my dogs’ & cats’ diets to a homemade one. Every Saturday I spend an hour or two in the kitchen cooking brown rice, vegetables, chicken, and various giblets. I measure vitamin supplements with care.  Every week is the same: I cook, measure, mix, puree (for the cats), and generally stink up my house. I was beginning to wonder if it was all worth it. Sure, making homemade food is less expensive than buying a quality dog food that passed my rigorous inspection of the ingredients and nutritional content, but was it really worth all the effort?

In short, yes, I would say it is totally worth the effort. First of all, I know exactly what is in the food that I feed my animals. I know that the mean they are eating is a quality cut and that they are getting every bit of nutrition that they need. In the last few weeks I’ve noticed a lot of changes that justifies (to me) all the effort I put in to making my pets’ meals. The first changes I noticed were a reduced number of bowel movements, which were a smaller and a lot less offensive smelling. The dogs smelled better and needed bathed less frequently. Among other improvements I noticed Gatsby’s fur becoming less greasy and straw-like and much softer with less shedding. Who can complain about less shedding?

One change that I had hoped to see (but have not) was a reduction or end Gatsby’s repeat ear infections and itchy paws.  I read that removing corn, soy, preservatives and other allergens while adding Omega 3 and 6 supplements to his diet might alleviate his frequent ear infections and other allergy symptoms. It hasn’t happened yet, in fact, Gatsby just had another ear infection last week. So, it’s off to the Vet’s office again to discuss our next move.

The cats didn’t take to their new food as well as I had hoped. They still prefer dry cat food. I switched them to a higher quality brand of cat food and continually try to supplement their food with fresh meat, fish and greens. Their fur is much softer, though they still shed enough hair to create a new animal every week or so!

Golden Retriever eating treat image referenced from wikipedia and originally posted by Denhulde