Product Spotlight: Trifexis

There are a lot of products and medications available for your pets. How do you know what each one is for and if it is the right choice for your pet? The best way is to ask your veterinarian! We are also going to take a look at certain products and what the do and what possible side effects they may have. The more information you have, the better decisions you can make for your pet!

Today we are going to look at Trifexis!

Trifexis is a great option for dogs to help prevent common parasites (Image Source)

Trifexis is a tablet for dogs that helps prevent fleas and heartworms. It is recommended that this medication be given on the same day each month. Many dogs will find the taste appealing. Although it is beef flavored, it actually contains hydrolyzed soy as well as pork protein. This may help many dogs with specific food allergies. However, if your pet has known food allergies it is best to work with your veterinarian for a specific plan for you pet. Trifexis seems to be best tolerated when giving with a meal.

Trifexis has many jobs! (Image Source)

There are many benefits to Trifexis. One is that it has proven to work quickly against fleas. Many times within several hours of administration, you will start to see a large population of live fleas die off. Due to this fast action, adult fleas will be killed before they are able to lay eggs, which in turn helps decrease the population in your pet's environment. It is also very effective against preventing heartworm infestations. It is recommended that all pets be heartworm tested negative prior to starting heartworm preventatives and the American Heartworm Society recommends once yearly testing for all pets. You can find out more about the American Heartworm Society here. Another benefit of Trifexis is that it helps treat and control hookworms, roundworms and whipworms. These are some of the most common intestinal parasites we see in our pets.

These little tablets pack a big punch against common parasites! (Image Source)

As with many medications, there are some side effects to be aware of prior to giving this to your pet. The most common side effects including vomiting and diarrhea. If given with a full meal, it tends to decrease the likelihood of this happening.  Some pets may also exhibit lethargy (sleepiness) or itching on the skin. Anytime you are administering a new product to your pet, it is a good idea to monitor them for several hours afterwards. If you have any concerns please contact your veterinarian. For full review of safety and possible side effects you can visit the Trifexis website here.

Trifexis can come in many sizes, so you have the right fit for your dog! (Image Source)

Overall Trifexis is a great option for many pets. It can help prevent and treat some of the most pesky and serious parasites we see in practice. If you have any further questions be sure to contact your veterinarian. No matter what product you use make sure your pet is on year round flea and heartworm preventatives!

Disease Focus: Heartworm disease

It’s that time of year again.  The sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, and it means that mosquitos are going to start breeding and emerging as well.  Mid to late March is the time where veterinarians urge pet owners to get back into the routine of monthly heartworm prevention prior to the onset of mosquito season.  (We really recommend year round prevention).  I am surprised by how many clients are unaware of the true risk of heartworm disease, or the importance of monthly heartworm prevention given consistently.

What is Heartworm Disease?

Heartworm disease is a worm, an actual worm, that your pet can get from a mosquito bite.  When an infected mosquito bites your pet, it can inject baby heartworms, called microfilariae, into your pet’s blood stream with that bite.  These microfilariae go through several stages of maturation, and end up in the vessels of the heart and lungs as adult heartworms.  Heartworms don’t just stay put once they get there, and can cause a lot of damage migrating around your pet’s lungs.  As the amount of worms living in there gets larger and larger, they cause problems with blood flow.  Heartworm disease can cause lung damage and can ultimately lead to heart failure as well.

How does heartworm prevention work?

Regardless of what monthly heartworm prevention your pet is on, the heartworm prevention is meant to kill the microfilariae that your pet may have picked up by mosquito bites over the past month.  The medication does not stay in your pet’s system for a month, and can ONLY kill the “baby” stage of the worm, which is why the “monthly” timing is so crucial.

If you have missed a dose of heartworm prevention, but then resume it after that missed dose, your pet can STILL get heartworm disease, because that worm will mature past a stage the medication can kill, and keep maturing.  This is why your veterinarian will recommend yearly heartworm testing, even if your pet takes preventatives.

If you pet gets a heartworm, it can take six months before the test will show a positive result, because the heartworm testing can only detect adult heartworms.  So sometimes you can have a negative heartworm test one year, start prevention, and have a positive result the next year.

My pet stays inside, can he still get heartworms?

Indoor pets, and mostly indoor pets are still at risk.  We have all gotten mosquito bites while sleeping because a mosquito slipped inside.  Obviously the exposure to mosquitoes is reduced, but the potential is still there.  If you have chosen not to use heartworm prevention on your mostly indoor dog, a yearly heartworm test is even more crucial to try and catch any disease as early as possible.  Cats, indoor and outdoor, are also at risk, and are recommended to be on heartworm prevention.

What if my pet becomes infected with heartworms?

Pets that contract heartworms can be treated, but heartworms are really bad.  They can cause a lot of damage to your pet’s organs, and they are hard to kill.  Worse, is that the treatment is risky, and very costly, where the preventatives are not.  Your pet will need to go on a series of medications, and injections, and may require a few hospital stays in order to clear the disease.

                                    

Product Focus: Nexgard

There are a lot of products and medications available for your pets. How do you know what each one is for and if it is the right choice for your pet? The best way is to ask your veterinarian! We are also going to take a look at certain products and what the do and what possible side effects they may have. The more information you have, the better decisions you can make for your pet!

Nexgard is a monthly chewable that helps prevent fleas and ticks on your dog! (Image Source)

Today we are going to look at Nexgard!

As the weather is starting to warm up (we think!) it is time to starting thinking about flea prevention for your pet for the year. Nexgard is a wonderful new product that can help protect your pet from fleas and ticks.

Avoid fleas with this great (and delicious) monthly preventative (Image Source)

One of the most appealing aspects of this product, is that it takes the form of a delicious beef chew. Most pets think it is a treat and don't even notice they are getting medication. This makes remembering monthly flea prevention very easy. The company that manufactures this medication also makes Heartgard, so they two can be used together to have your dog fully covered for fleas, ticks AND heartworms. (Please note that it takes TWO separate products to cover all THREE of these preventatives. As of right now there is not a chewable product available that will prevent fleas, heartworms and ticks). Another great thing about Nexgard is you can give a bath anytime after (or before) administration. With topical medications, many times you need to coordinate the bathing schedule with the administration of the medication, however with Nexgard this is not an issue!

Most dogs love the taste, which makes giving it very easy! (Image Source)

While Nexgard is usually very well tolerated, as with any medication, there are a few side effects to watch out for. The most common includes vomiting or upset stomach. Nexgard does not have to be given with a meal, but sometimes giving the chewable after a meal will help prevent your pet from vomiting if they have a sensitive stomach. Several pets also seem to become a little sleepy after the medication is administered. This is usually temporary and they will be back to normal by the next day. Any time you are using a new product, it is always a good idea to observe your pet and let your veterinarian know right away if you have any concerns. For more information on the safety of Nexgard, you can visit the following website, here.

Who wouldn't want a delicious way to prevent fleas and ticks? (Image Source)

Nexgard (along with the Heartgard combination) has really made monthly flea prevention much easier. It is much more fun to give your pet something they enjoy eating and that will help protect them from pesky parasites. If you have any questions regarding this product, you can always talk to your veterinarian or visit the manufacturer's website here.

The Dangers of Waiting Too Long

Everyone does it.  You want to try things at home, try to solve the problem by yourself, maybe try to save a little cash; but sometimes the problem is just too big for home remedies, and a professional needs to be involved.  This is true in every aspect of our lives, from doing taxes, to fixing the plumbing, to your pets’ health.

Recently, I have seen a rash of these particular cases.  The potentially easily treatable cases that have now become medical nightmares.  These are some of the most feared cases to grace the veterinary appointment book.  We know you meant well, and that you were not trying to do any harm to your pet, but often some of these problems can get out of hand really quickly.

The skin case.  Regardless of the cause, skin cases can go from bad to worse over a small period of time.  Maybe you noticed a couple of spots of hair loss, or some mild itching originally.  First you invested in a lot of the over-the-counter products to see if you could manage the problem yourself.  Then those over-the-counter products helped just a little, just enough to give you the confidence that you had the problem well in hand, and then in the blink of an eye, a month has past, and your dog is covered in sores, or is bald.  Clients that may not have experienced this might laugh at this dramatic tale, but it really is something we, as veterinarians, will often face.  Unfortunately, by that point, the client is frustrated, and wants quick results, and the treatment and recovery time is so much more extensive.  Skin may seem like such a minor thing, but skin diseases can tailspin very quickly in our busy lives.

The urinating outside the box cat.  At first it doesn’t bother you.  Sometimes your cat pees outside the box, you use the cleaner, and you move on with your life.  But time and again, this problem becomes progressively worse, and you are really starting to resent the air that your cat is breathing.  You finally bring the cat to the veterinary office, dripping with scorn, with a sarcastic ultimatum of fix him or else.  Of course, we all love our pets, so we never get to that point, but you know where this is heading.  We promise, cats are never urinating outside the box out of spite.  Even if the veterinarian does not find a medical cause for this cat behavior, there are many other reasons for this concern, and we want you and your cat to live amicably together.  Its important in these cases not to let the frustration build to a terrifying level before you seek veterinary care for these cats.

The Fleas.  We know, everyone knows about fleas, everyone knows what to do about them, and Veterinarians only sell those expensive products to make extra cash.  Well, we promise you, the reason we sell those “expensive products” is because we trust they’ll work.  We don’t want fleas on your pet or in your home any more than you do.  You are wasting your money on those flea shampoos and flea dips, and house bombs, and over the counter topicals.  You will spend way less on veterinary products, and experience way less frustration, in the end.

Patient Spotlight: Meet Fusilli

We are so lucky to have some amazing clients and patients. I'd like to take some time over the next few months to acknowledge some of them.

Next in line is Fusilli!

This is the face of a very happy dog!

Fusilli is a very special dog, and his owner really summed him up great when she described him as 'sweet, loyal, obedient, goofy and so darn cute!'  It has really been a joy to get to know him as a patient and to watch him change and grow in his new home.

His story did not start out quite as happy as it is now. Prior to his current home he had been adopted and re-homed four different times! He is currently in his fifth home! That is a lot of change and stress for one little pup! He was adopted but his current owner from Vermillion County Animal Shelter in Tilton, IL. She had originally gone to look at another dog that had interested her from their Facebook page. Upon meeting that dog, it just didn't seem like the right fit for her household. She was about to leave, but decided to look at the other dogs and see if anyone else might be the next addition to her home. There was Fusilli sitting quietly and calmly and just watching the people go by. She inquired about him at the front desk where she was assured that he was anything but calm and quiet. She asked to have her other three dogs meet him. The initial meeting went ok, so she started the adoption paper work. However the front desk staff made sure she read through all the previous adoption and relinquishment paperwork. After getting through all of that, she realized that Fusilli had just not been a good fit in those homes, but he might just be the right one for them.

It may have taken some time, but here is Fusilli with his housemates!

She saw right away that he was extremely smart and a born performer. He will do just about anything for a treat, but is also motivated by toys. New toys are one of his favorite things, especially if they make funny noises. Having three other dogs, Fusilli's owner knew that she was going to need to get him started in training classes to make sure everyone was on the same page in the household. He started training about the first week she got him, and he hasn't stopped since! Once he had the basics down, he moved on to agility, which he enjoyed, but his true passion is Barn Hunt! As a terrier he excels at finding little critters anywhere. In fact, he doesn't really enjoy going on walks unless there is something to chase! While her other dogs are content to stay at home and play or go on walks, Fusilli needs jobs or projects. These can include food puzzle toys, hiding toys and having him find them or digging small critters out of the yard or park. If you would like to see a video of Fusilli performing agility you can click here.

He also really enjoys going to the dog park with his housemate, Bow Tie. They are so fast they can run circles around the bigger dogs, which makes everyone stop and take notice of them.

Fusilli may have had to go through several homes, but all of those challenges have landed him in the perfect spot! While his owner admits there were definitely trying times when adding a fourth dog into her home, it has been so worth it. She has gone to great lengths to make sure everyone in the home has all their physical and mental needs taken care of. She has also spent time with a local veterinary behaviorist, Dr. Sally Foote, to work through a few of the more challenging aspects of owning multiple dogs with different personalities. Fusilli has really begun to flourish as he has been able to show his true personality and we are looking forward to seeing where his training and natural skills take him next!

Did You See This: Dog Eats 43 Socks!

view of x-ray showing 'foreign material' in stomach, then the socks that were removed from the stomach (Image Source)

Sometimes dogs can eat the craziest things! There was an article circulating online awhile ago that showed a dog that had eaten 43 socks! In this case it was not so much a crazy thing he ate but the crazy number of things he ate!! Fortunately according to the many internet articles the dog did fine after surgery and made a full recovery. You can find one version of the story here. 

Pets can definitely get into trouble when left unattdended. It is hard to tell who did it, as they both look pretty guilty here! (Image Source)

This story could have had a very different ending if the family that owned the dog had ignored his symptoms. Sometimes we are fortunate enough to KNOW our pet got into something, but sometimes we do not even notice anything is missing. I can't even count the number of times I have lost a sock during the laundry process! In this case, the dog started vomiting and was taken to the veterinarian. They recommended x-rays and while they did not know what specifically was in the stomach, they knew something that was not supposed to be in there was there, and a lot of it! Surgery was recommended and thankfully was successful. When all was said and done 43 (and 1/2) socks were removed from the stomach. 

Those turned into some very expensive socks! (Image Source)

In this case, it was very good that the socks had not traveled further down the gastro-intestinal tract. The stomach is in most cases easier to operate on and much more quick to heal when compared to the intestinal tract. 

All that mischief would make any one tired! (Image Source)

Another thing this story points out is that even the most trustworthy of dogs can get into trouble when left unattended. While it is unclear when exactly this particular dog ate the socks, many pets find their way into all sorts of sticky situations when they are roaming the house. Whenever possible it is a good idea to keep your pets confined to a small space or kennel when you are not at home. This decreases the risk of things they could get into that could lead to problems. 

Sometimes the best option is to keep your pet confined to make sure they are safe while you are away! (Image Source)

Having said that, I definitely had a beagle growing up that was a Houdini, and could get out of any small space we confined her too and the list of things she ate in her life time was long (and strange). If your pet does get into something it shouldn't, the best thing to do is to call your veterinarian to know if immediate action should be taken. While socks are not toxic, they could lead to an obstruction which can lead to other problems. There are also many household items that could be hazardous to our pet. So whenever possible keep them confined when unsupervised and if an accident does happen call your veterinarian right away! 

Product Focus: Heartgard

There are a lot of products and medications available for your pets. How do you know what each one is for and if it is the right choice for your pet? The best way is to ask your veterinarian! We are also going to take a look at certain products and what the do and what possible side effects they may have. The more information you have, the better decisions you can make for your pet!

(Image Source)

First up is Heartgard! This is a heartworm preventative that is cleverly disguised as a treat. It is given monthly. The good news is that because it is beef flavored most pets love it! It is very easy to get them to take this medication. One thing to remember is that although it is delicious it is still a medication and therefore has a job to do.

(Image Source)

Heartworm disease is on the rise throughout the country. The American Heartworm Society (website) recommends year round prevention. It is much safer (and cheaper) to prevent heartworm disease, then it is to treat it! Heartworms are transmitted by mosquitoes and travel through the blood supply and the adults end up living in the heart and lungs. This is a very serious disease but fortunately, there are products like Heartgard that can help prevent it from happening.

Roundworms are found in the stool. Typically we look for the eggs under the microscope. (Image Source)

Heartgard also helps prevent roundworms and hookworms. These are intestinal parasite that many dog will pick up from the environment. Typically pets will ingest the eggs from the environment and they will travel through the digestive track where they will live. Hookworms and roundworms can be found on routine fecal screenings and do not require a blood test like heartworms do.

Good news for cat owners! They make heartworm preventatives for them too! (Image Source)

As with any medication, there are a few potential side effects to be aware of when using Heartgard. The active ingredient that prevents heartworm is called ivermectin. This is an anti-parasitic drug that has been known to cause (rarely) sedation, depression and neurological signs, meaning your pet may appear as though it is drunk or extremely sleepy. The doses used in Heartgard are VERY low, which makes these side effects unlikely, but they can happen. There are certain breeds that also have to be careful with this medication. The reason for this issue is linked to a gene called the MDR-1 gene which is multi-drug resistant gene. This leads to the pet being unable to metabolize certain drugs, which causes them to build up in their system, making it very likely to see the neurological side effects. Collies are the primary breed that may have an issue with Heartgard, but several of the other herding dogs may be affected as well. You can find a full description of the possible side effects here.

Using monthly heartworm prevention is a very important part of keeping our pets happy and healthy! (Image Source)

Overall, Heartgard is a great product because it is effective and most pets LOVE eating it. That makes it much easier to keep up on it every month. If Heartgard doesn't sound like the right fit for your pet, don't worry there are other options available, the most important thing is that we make sure you pet is receiving year round heartworm prevention. If you would like more information on Heartgard you can visit their website here.