#STUFFEMMETTEATS

Emmett is a 2 year old Great Pyrenees, and he is tall enough to get to anything unattended.  This can be a pet owner’s worse nightmare.  When you have a curious puppy or young dog, there are all kinds of household hazards you need to constantly be aware of, so we are going to use Emmett’s constant escapades to help our pet owner’s navigate through the tricky health concerns of all puppies and young dogs.

Episode #8 Onions and Garlic…..

Emmett has had multiple close encounters with Garlic, but luckily no Onions yet.  It is likely that your pets come in close proximity to both when you are whipping up a salad or your favorite Italian meal.

Many owners have seen warnings about onions and garlic, but are unaware of the types of symptoms and problems they can
potentially present; because their toxic effects are more subtle.

The encounter: Imagine you have just lovingly prepared spaghetti and meatballs for your family, with a large loaf of garlic bread to complete the ensemble.  Of course, minus the meatballs for one kid, and the sauce for the other because kids are so picky.  You go to happily gather your family to the dinner table, and you come back to find the whole entire loaf of garlic bread missing, and in reality eaten, by your not even guilty looking dog.  The good news, in almost all cases of #stuffemmetteats, is that he is very large, so it would take a lot of garlic to slow him down.

The scoop:

Dogs who eat onions and garlic can experience a very serious disease called immune mediated hemolytic anemia.  This is a disease in which the body begins to destroy its own red blood cells.  As the red blood cells are responsible for so many important jobs within the body, the effects of their loss can be quite severe.  Signs you may notice at home could include weakness, lack of appetite, pale gums, or changes to the color of your pet’s skin, gums, or urine.  Sometimes your pet may have a fever.  Cats are more sensitive than dogs, and garlic (being more odiferous) is more toxic than onion.  Even cooked onion and garlic can be a problem.

The plan:

If the incident is recognized and brought to the vet’s attention ahead of time, measures can be taken to decontaminate the dog’s stomach prior to the toxic effects taking hold.  Unfortunately, if caught when the effects are already occurring in the body, the hemolytic anemia can be very difficult to combat.  Your vet will first confirm a diagnosis of hemolytic anemia with a complete blood cell count, and a Coomb’s test to confirm that diagnosis, but there are many other blood tests that will be recommended, because as the red blood cells are not functioning as they should, other organs can start having dysfunction as well.  Once a diagnosis is confirmed, there are treatment protocols in place based on the level of severity of the disease your pet is experiencing.  Sometimes, this may include a blood transfusion, or several days of IV fluids and ICU care.  In almost all cases, the pet will need to be on several different immune suppression drugs, for an extended period of time.

Apps for Pet Owners

Many of us have smart phones today and use them frequently, but did you know there are some apps available that could help your care for and have fun with your pet? Here are a few of our favorites. 

1. APCC by ASPCA (Free)

Home page for APCC app (Image Source)

This app is great for pet owners! It lists common house hold items and plants and tells you if they are poisonous and weather you should call your veterinarian or poison control. The information is put together by the ASPCA poison control hotline. It can be a great resource for pet owners. If you ever have any concerns though you should always contact your veterinarian. 

Example of what information the app gives you (Image Source)

2. Map My Dog Walk (Free)

This is a great app to help track you and your pet's fitness! (Image Source)

This is app will help track the route you take on your daily walks. It can help you map trends, connect with friends and view alternative routes. It also will give you your pace every mile. 

3. Bring Fido (Free)

This app could help make travel with your pet a little easier! (Image Source)

Do you like traveling? Do you like traveling with your pet? This app can help you find places that your pet can vacation with you. I would always recommend following up with a call to the hotel or resort to ensure they don't have any restrictions, but this app can be a great starting point. 

4. Pet Diary (Free)

Keep all your pet's information in one easy location! (Image Source)

This is a great place to store information about your pet. It could include vaccinations, allergies, food you are currently feeding and any medications they are on at any given time. It would be great for traveling as well as routine visits to the veterinarian. This way you won't have to try to remember the names of prescriptions or the brand of dog food! You could even set a remind every few months to make sure the information is up to date and accurate. 

5. Dog Boogie (Free)

This app may help you capture the perfect photo of your pet (Image Source)

Ever tried to get the perfect picture of your pet but they look away at the last second? This app could help you snap that shot! It has sounds that are built in to draw your pets attention to the camera. This app is free but they do upload the photos to their website as well. There are numerous other options including pose a pet, but some of them do require purchasing the app. 

So those are some great apps for pet owners, which do you use for your pets? Let us know! 

#STUFFEMMETTEATS

Emmett is a 2 year old Great Pyrenees, and he is tall enough to get to anything unattended.  This can be a pet owner’s worst nightmare.  When you have a curious puppy or young dog, there are all kinds of household hazards you need to constantly be aware of, so we are going to use Emmett’s constant escapades to help our pet owner’s navigate through the tricky health concerns of all puppies and young dogs.

Episode #1  Grapes, and Raisins…..and this means your favorite yogurt covered raisins, and raisin nut bran, too.

Emmett, and his accomplice Haley, have had multiple close encounters with grapes and raisins.  It is likely that these foods are pretty common components of your kitchen as well, especially with children afoot.

Many owners are now aware that grapes and raisins are some of the key toxic foods they are taught to avoid feeding their pets.  But often times, the pet gets into the food in more sneaky ways, and it can be easy to forget in the aftermath of your pet’s naughty food stealing adventures, that the food they just snagged is truly toxic.

The encounter:

Scenario 1: Imagine you just baked a whole batch of oatmeal raisin cookies.  They are sitting on your counter cooling, as you have guests over that will soon enjoy your baking endeavors.  Your puppy sneaks into the kitchen, and even though they are still very small, they somehow manage to knock over the cookie sheet, and happily ingest all 12 cookies.  This is disastrous, you really were looking forward to those cookies, and now your naughty puppy will definitely have a belly ache.  It’s easy, in the scurry of the events, to forget that there are a large number of raisins in those cookies that can lead to catastrophic consequences to your puppy’s health.

Scenario 2: Your toddler is wandering around, happily munching on yogurt covered raisins in one of those great kids’ snack cups with the little lid that helps prevent spills.  Perfect, because she is eating the raisins, but is unlikely to drop any on the ground; proceed with finishing dinner.  Until that cute little toddler dumps a whole handful of yogurt raisins down on the ground for your dog, who is only too happy to help clean up this mess before you can even realize this disaster has occurred.

The scoop:

Dogs who eat grapes and raisins typically vomited within a few hours of ingestion.  Many dogs will show a lack of appetite or energy, initially.  However, our main concern with grape/raisin ingestion is acute kidney failure.  The kidney damage continues until the dogs are no longer producing urine, and this condition is fatal. 

The plan:

Testing of the grapes/raisins for toxins, heavy metals, and bacterial contamination has not really yielded an exact medical cause for the renal failure some dogs experience with this ingestion.  However, prompt treatment can successfully prevent or minimize the damage these foods can do to your pet’s system.  Pet’s seen promptly at a veterinary office for either type of ingestion, are first decontaminated, removing as much of the food from their stomach as possible by vomiting, or activated charcoal binding agent.  They are then placed on IV (Intravenous fluids) to keep their kidneys flushing out these toxins.  Your veterinarian will be continually be monitoring your pet’s kidney values until the danger has passed.

Join us next time for #STUFFEMMETTEATS-CHEETOS.

Preparing for a trip to the Vet Office

We would love to see every pet happy when they arrive and leave! (Image Source)

While some pets may love a trip to the veterinary office, it is no secret that most of our patients are less than excited when it comes time for an examination.

Consider withholding their meal prior to a visit, this will make treats more rewarding! (Image Source)

First we will look at routine visits. This would be for puppy vaccines, and annual exams. One trick that may make the visit (and car ride if your pet gets car sick) a little easier is to withhold food the morning of the visit. This can help make treats we give in clinic much more rewarding and give your pet something to look forward to at the office. They can be rewarded for getting on the scale, for standing during the exam and accepting petting from staff members. If your pet is on a specific diet or has a sensitive stomach, you could bring that with you and use that instead of treats. If your pet is just too nervous for treats, there may be something else that motivates them, like a favorite toy or a special place they liked to be touched. Make sure you let the staff know what your pet likes best! 

If it is your first visit to the veterinary office, be sure to bring past records! (Image Source)

If it is your first visit to the veterinary clinic, make sure you have any previous records or vaccinations your pet may have received so that can be put on file. Bringing these to the appointment or before the appointment will help streamline the process and make sure your pet isn't waiting around and increasing his or her anxiety level. Pets are also very aware of our stress level so if we act stressed they will start to pick up on this and respond. If you can remain calm and not show any tension this may help your pet as well. 

If you leave the carrier out all the time, cats are less likely to be afraid of it. (Image Source)

Whenever possible with cats, it is best to have the carrier out all the time. It is best if the carrier doesn't just come out for veterinary visits. Cats are smart, and when they see the carrier, many times they will run, but if it is out all of the time, they have no reason to fear it. 

Consider a happy visit, where your pet comes in just to get treats and attention then leaves! (Image Source)

If you pet truly hates trips to the veterinary office, consider stopping by for happy visits. Again withholding food can help make it a more rewarding time. They can stop by for the staff and doctors to give them treats and pet them and then they leave. Repeating this frequently can help decrease their anxiety over time and make future visits less stressful. You can also work with your veterinarian to see if pheromones or mild sedatives may be necessary to help extremely anxious pets, so they do not harm themselves or others. 

Bringing your pet to the vet when they are sick isn't always fun but it can help them feel better more quickly (Image Source)

Sometimes our pets get sick, and preparing for a visit like this is a little different than preparing for a routine vaccination visit. When your pet is sick, make sure you have any pertinent history that can help pin point the symptoms and hopefully help us to determine appropriate diagnostic tests. It is also helpful if we know what medications or supplements your pet is on and if anything has changed recently. Make sure whoever brings your pet in has the ability to make financial decisions OR can reach someone that can make decisions regarding treatment. Without approval for testing it can be difficult for us to help your pet. 

Be sure to write your questions down ahead of time so we make sure they get answered! (Image Source)

Another helpful tip for ANY veterinary visit is to write down questions ahead of time so you make sure you leave with all the answers. You can always call back later, but if you have the questions written down or stored on your phone it can help get you answers during your visit. 

Your pet may not feel like this after every visit, but we can make small steps over time to make each visit more pleasant. (Image Source)

 While your pet may never LOVE coming to the veterinary office, there are definitely ways we can make it less stressful and hopefully more enjoyable with each visit.  

4th of July Safety and Your Pet!!

(Image Source)

Well it is that time of year again! Time to celebrate our nation, which for many of us can be very exciting but for our four legged companions can be a little bit stressful. Today we will look at a few things you can do to help ensure a safe and fun holiday for everyone in your family.

 

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First off, this time of year means fireworks! These are not always confined to just the Fourth. Make sure you are prepared on the days leading up to the holiday as well as the days after. It is NEVER a good idea to take your pets to the firework displays. If they were to get scared they could run away, or get injured. It is best to leave them in a secure place in the home. This could be a kennel, a bathroom or a small room that they feel safe and cannot harm themselves or get out. It is also a good idea to make sure that all doors and windows are secure and that your pet’s identification is up to date.

 

Great advice! (Image Source)

If you think your pet will be too nervous there are some things you can do at home to help minimize the noise. You can turn on classical music or music with a heavy bass to help drown out the noise. Try different scenarios to see which your pet likes! There are also supplements that may help settle a slightly nervous dog or in extreme cases medications. It is a good idea to work with your veterinarian to determine which option will fit your pet the best. Many times you need to do a trial run prior to the actual fireworks to ensure that your pet responds to the medication appropriately. Please DO NOT wait until the day before to call your veterinarian. This will limit your options and as every pet responds to every medication differently, what works for one dog may not work for your pet. Thunder shirts are also a great option for some pets. Remember it may take a combination of many of these things to keep your pet calm.

 

Find what helps relax your pet and use it! (Image Source)

Aside from the fireworks, we also need to consider parades and cookouts. With parades comes candy. Make sure all candy is safely stored away so your pet cannot have access to it. With family in and out and cookouts happening make sure your pet is not getting any extra treats they are not used to. This could lead to serious gastro-intestinal upset. Nobody wants to spend the holidays in the emergency room.

 

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These are just a few tips to help keep your pet safe throughout the holiday weekend. If you have further questions, be sure to contact your veterinarian.

We hope you all have a safe and happy Fourth of July!

Doodle Days #54

The night before surgery I practiced with my e-collar. I didn't like it very much. 

Greetings everyone! It has been awhile! I know I didn't post last week, but I had kind of a busy week.

This mass popped up over a weekend. It hurt me a little to walk but it really hurt if someone touched it!

A couple of weeks ago my person found something on my toe. I had been limping a little bit, but then something started growing out of my pad! We had it tested and my person decided that we needed to remove it.

We made some pawprints of when I had all my toes!

I had surgery last week to remove part of my digit. It was a little scary at first but honestly now I feel great! I have my energy back! I am running around and it doesn't hurt when I walk or run!

I didn't need my pinky toe anyway! Once my hair grows back, no one will ever know!

We should know for sure what it is in the next few weeks. For now everyone is having a heck of a time trying to keep my quiet. I just want to run and play!

I got lots of TLC which I LOVE!

This is from the day after surgery! I recovered great!!!

Refresher on Summer Safety for your Pet!

Summer is a great for out door fun with our pets! (Image Source)

Well summer is on its way (we hope!). With the warmer temperatures come a new set of hazards for out pets. Here are a few things to keep in mind as we head into the warmer climates.

Make sure your pet always has fresh cool water available to them! (Image Source)

Make sure when you are outside your pet has access to shade and fresh water AT ALL TIMES!!! Pets can quickly become overheated, but are unable to sweat efficiently like people. (Imagine wearing your winter coat outside in 100 degree weather and not being able to sweat!) If your pet spends the majority of their day outdoors, consider having a cool spot, like the garage or a shed that they can have access to and get out of the blistering sun.

Whenever possible exercise at sunrise or sunset, not in the heat of the day (Image Source)

 It is important to remember that when exercising our pets it should be done in the early morning or late evening when the temperature is cooler. If evening is your preferred time be sure your dog is up to taking heartworm medication regularly as the mosquitoes are out in full force at that time. Their pads can also be very sensitive to the heat of the asphalt. Using side walks that are more cool or grass can help ensure that the pads stay safe!

Some good advice on how to help keep your pet safe during storms and fireworks! (Image Source)

Summer also brings storms and fireworks. If your pet is afraid of them (or even if they aren't) make sure they have safe place they can go, so they will not hurt themselves. This may be a bathroom, closet or kennel. Anywhere that if they panic and you are not home, they will not cause harm to themselves or others. If your pet is truly anxious make sure you call your veterinarian to discuss some options to help relax your pet. It is also a good idea to make sure all identification (collars, microchips, etc) are up to date and accurate. That way in case your dog slips out of a door or gets away from you, the chances of them being returned safely are much better.

This is one way to provide shade for your pet! It doesn't matter the method as long as they have access to a cool spot to rest! (Image Source)

For more tips for summer safety please visit the following website here.