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Karla’s Top Ten Holiday Pet Tips
With Christmas upon us , it’s easy to forget about our pets with family & friends frequently visiting. Check out the following tips to help keep your animals safe this holiday.
1. Keep ornaments out pets reach. Swallowing any ornament, which may look like toys to pets, can result in life threatening emergencies. Even ornaments made from dried food can lead to ailments. Remember, shards from broken glass ornaments can injure paws, mouths and other parts of the body.
2. Many holiday plants can lead to health problems in dogs and cats. Keep holly, mistletoe, poinsettias and lilies out of your pets reach.
3. Snow globes often contain antifreeze, which is poisonous to pets.
4. Do not let guests feed your pets human food. There are many holiday foods including fatty meats, gravies, poultry skin, bones, chocolate & alcohol, that can cause them to be ill with diarrhea and vomiting… to highly serious pancreatitis and other toxic reactions. Also, candy wrappers, aluminum foil pieces and ribbons can choke our pets.
5. When pets are stressed by holiday activity or during travel, they may require more water. Dogs typically pant more when they feel stressed.
6;. Cats, in particular, can be tempted to eat tinsel, which can block their intestines. Hang tinsel high, and securely to keep it out of reach of pets.
7. The extra cords and plugs of holiday lights and other fixtures can look like chew toys to pets. Tape down or cover cords to help avoid shocks, burns or other serious injuries. Unplug lights when you are not home.
8. Children’s toys have small parts that dogs can swallow and cause choking, gastric distress or intestinal blockage.
9. Fasteners for decorations, glue, rubber bands, staples, string, tacks, tape, an cause mild pain, serious complications, or even death if swallowed.
10. Christmas tree water may contain fertilizers which, if ingested, may cause stomach upset. Stagnant tree water may contain fertilizers which, if ingested, may cause a pet to have abdominal discomfort, vomiting and diarrhea.
Happy Holiday from Karla’s Pet Rendezvous!
Ways to Include Pets in Weddings-Tips from Karla
So, its your special day and you’d like everyone special in your life to be there-including your pet!
Here are five different ways to include your pet in your wedding:
1. Wedding party member-your pet could either be a ring bearer or flower dog. Of course, this works well if your pet is well behaved, not afraid of new people, and easy to train.
It may be a good idea to use faux rings on the ring bearer’s pillow in case they fall off Fido’s head the wrong way. Practice is important, and you will need to run through the ceremony with your pet a few times so he/she gets used to the role. Take him to the location to become familiar.
You can also make your pet a groomsmen or bridesmaid, be creative!
Tip: Make sure everyone attending the wedding knows a pet will be there. (allergies & fear of pets) Check with your cleric if it’s a religious ceremony to see if your pets attendance is appropriate.
2. Walk down the aisle-
Have a family member walk down the aisle and hold them during the ceremony. This is especially a good choice for pets that are not easily trained, or have fears of people in any way. If your pet can’t be held for long periods of time, and is crate trained you could place them in a carrier to watch for the remainder just be sure your pet is going to be comfortable in not going to bark at all! Keep a familiar toy & valuable treat nearby. Have a plan B, someone who can be in charge if your pet is sick, or uncooperative.
Tip: Have your pet carrier in a basket or on a pillow decorated for a special touch.
3. Write your pet into the vows
If your pet isn’t able to be at the ceremony, have him/her mentioned when writing your vows.
While talking about everything soon to be shared, include the pet. You could tell a funny story about your pet & partner first meeting, & hoe they learned to love each other.
4. Include them in wedding photos
Remember in the photos taken prior to the wedding as well as the family photos on the big day!
If your pet is not allowed at the reception, put nicely framed pictures of them dressed up on the tables.
Tip: Be sure your pet is well groomed, (by Karla of course) and appointments are made as close to the date as possible. Put on clothing just before pictures.
5. At the reception
At the reception, anything goes! Again, use your imagination! Outdoor parties can be the most pet friendly, with plenty of room to roam. Your pet loving guests will enjoy taking turns providing care, or you could hire someone to be responsible for this.
Consider bring your pet after food has been served if your dog will have problems being around food he cannot eat.(or bring his “special meal” as well)
Be creative about everything! Decide how involved you want your pet to be, the pet could be in the frosting on the cake, (photo) on the dance floor, but I can’t stress enough that there needs to be a designated wedding pet handler, that is not too involved in the wedding otherwise!
Tip: Ask about places where pets are welcome when planning your wedding & reception location.
…and don’t forget the clothes! There are lots of choices for pets in the wedding party.
These tips are brought thoughtfully to you by Karla Schwarz, of Karla’s Pet Rendezvous.
Rover and the Fleas
By Karla Addington-Smith
Chomp, chomp! Lick, lick! It is 3 A.M., Rover is under your bed and you are wide awake. Your furry best friend is in agony. His scratching, licking and chewing are driving the family crazy! You cannot stand it any longer! You grab the shampoo and head to the depths of the basement for a pre-dawn flea bath. Tomorrow brings another sleepless night
filled with the sounds of Rover and the fleas.
So, “who you gonna call” to prevent or eliminate the flea problem? The Flea Buster - AKA, your professional groomer! A visit to your groomer is the best place to start when fleas are suspected.
Your groomer can eliminate the fleas on your pet and recommend the products to be used at home to make your pet’s environment more comfortable and flea- free. Remember, preventative maintenance is the key. Premise control is pertinent to eliminating fleas on your pet. If the surrounding environment is not treated, the fleas will simply hop back on your pet.
Understanding a few important facts about fleas and controlling them is foremost. Fleas are indiscriminate. Regardless of your pet’s flea history, your pet and its environment are potential hosts to these unwelcome guests.
Your pet need not be around any other pets to become a host to fleas. Actually, fleas can live all year round on local wildlife. So, if your pet goes outside, even if he stays on the sidewalk, it is possible he could pick up a flea.
When conditions are right…
The adult flea can lay hundreds, even thousands, of eggs over a period of a few weeks. These eggs can be laid in your house or they may drop off of your pet as he moves around his environment. In a few days the eggs hatch into larvae.
Larvae are worm-like creatures that feed on protein based debris, such as flea “dirt”, skin dander and food crumbs. Depending on conditions and food availability it may take a few weeks or a few months for the larvae to fully develop and spin a tiny cocoon. This is the stage in which they can lie dormant for over a year, waiting for the right conditions from which an adult flea will emerge.
What makes a flea happy?
Environmental conditions need to be right for fleas to come out of their cocoon stage. This applies to inside or outside. Temperatures above 70 degrees, and a relative humidity of 70% or more, are optimum conditions for the flea to emerge from the cocoon. This is why many pet owners return from a vacation to find their home infested with fleas. Unfortunately closing up the house, after turning the air conditioning down or off, gives the dormant cocoon the perfect environment to set up housekeeping.
An ounce of prevention…
It is best to talk to your groomer before fleas have infested your pet and home. Even if your pet is receiving the spot-on type flea prevention treatments, it is possible that fleas will still appear on your pet and in the environment. A regular schedule of bathing and dipping your pet with the appropriate pesticide-free products during the peak flea season is a way for your professional groomer to keep tabs on your pet’s coat and skin health and condition, including recognizing the presence of fleas or flea-bite dermatitis. Your groomer can then recommend products for treating the home environment to prevent a full blown infestation. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
Canine Flu
Issue Date: Veterinary Forum
September 2009
(Vol 26, No 9)
Reproduced with permission from www.vetlearn.com
Finding influenza
Paul Basilio
Coughing dogs are old hat in veterinary practice,
but a novel pathogen raises a red flag over an
otherwise innocuous sign.
Coughing dogs are nothing new.
You would be hard-pressed to find a veterinarian in
general practice who hasn´t come across the
stereotypical, recently-boarded, 3-year-old Labrador
retriever with an acute onset honking cough that
gradually resolves over time.
"I used to tell my students that you´re not a veterinarian until you´ve
anesthetized a dog because
someone claimed there was something stuck in its throat, but it turned out
to be kennel cough," jokes
Elizabeth Rozanski, DVM, DACVIM, DACVECC, assistant professor in the
department of clinical
services at the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. "Kennel
cough dogs tend to have a
horrid cough, but they´re healthy and otherwise alert."
That´s not always the case in dogs infected with canine influenza virus
(CIV), a new disease that often
mimics the less serious infections that typically cause kennel cough. As a
result, many veterinarians
are now viewing dogs that show signs of respiratory disease with an extra
measure of caution.
"Dogs with influenza are going to behave like humans with influenza,"
Rozanski adds. "They´re going
to feel a lot sicker than a dog with kennel cough or a person with a cold,
and they´re going to feel that
way for longer." Such patients can require significantly more supportive
care in order to help them
recover. Some can develop pneumonia. And some of these dogs, albeit a
small percentage, can even
die.
If CIV is present in a facility, such as a kennel or shelter, management
can be tricky, says Lesley
King, MVB, DACVIM, DACVECC, director of the intensive care unit at the
Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary
Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania. "It´s very contagious and it
is a new virus, so most of the
dogs will have never seen it before and will be susceptible," she
explains. "If the virus gets into a
kennel or a shelter, almost 80% of the dogs are going to show signs. It´s
the same as if the flu got into
a day care center for children."
Understanding the risk
Experts agree that CIV is an important
emerging disease and that its elusive nature
can make the disease difficult to diagnose, treat
and track.
"I don´t think veterinarians know the extent of
the disease yet," Rozanski says.
Although there have been outbreaks of CIV in
30 states and the District of Columbia, it is still
very much thought of as a regional disease,
meaning that it´s only considered a problem
where there are active outbreaks. "For the
practitioner, I think the best bet would be to
know what is going on in his or her area,"
Rozanski adds. "It´s important to know your
community. If the practice down the road has an outbreak, that´s important
to know. Make friends with
the boarding kennels and see what´s happening in those areas. It will help
to understand what´s going
on with your patients, which is one of the things veterinarians often
struggle with. If you don´t know
what someone else has seen, then you have the potential to miss something
that´s coming into your
area," she notes.
One of the problems confronting practitioners is that fewer newly adopted
puppies are local. In the
past, many puppies and kittens were adopted from area shelters. However,
due to the recent increase
in interstate adoption, dogs are showing up in examination rooms with more
unfamiliar diseases.
"Here in New England," Rozanski says, "it is rare for us to see stray
puppies. They have done such a
good job with the spay and neuter programs that most of our dogs are
shipped in from the south or
from Puerto Rico. It´s uncommon to see a mixed-breed puppy in this area
because most people get
their dogs from the pet store or from a breeder."
Index of suspicion
CIV may be hard to diagnose, but veterinarians can keep their radar
elevated by staying abreast of
any outbreak news and keeping an eye out for puppies brought in from out
of state, as well as for
those that have spent time in a kennel or in an area where CIV is
prevalent.
"If I see the mythical 3-year-old Labrador that was left at a kennel for a
week and had a
straightforward cough, then I would most likely have zero interest in
doing other tests on that dog,"
Rozanski says. "By and large, those dogs are going to get better no matter
what I do. The dogs I do
have an interest in treating are the dogs that differ even 1% from the
[kennel cough] model."
Although some cases of CIV can be discerned from other causes of
respiratory disease by the sound
of the dog´s cough - for example, some cases of influenza can cause a
soft, moist cough as opposed
to the loud, honking cough of Bordetella bronchiseptica - finding
influenza poses a unique challenge.
"In an individual dog, diagnosis can be tricky because there are two main
ways to diagnose the
disease," King says. "The first is to send a swab - typically from the
nose or throat of the dog - for
PCR analysis or virus isolation. If you test the dog between 2 and 6 days
after exposure, then you´re
likely to be able to find the virus there."
The problem, King explains, is that although most dogs have some clinical
signs (fever, nasal
discharge, cough) as early as 2 days after exposure, many owners will not
bring the dog to see its
veterinarian until it becomes more severely ill, or after several days
when it becomes apparent that the
illness will not go away on its own. "When you get out past a week after
exposure, the virus is no
longer replicating or shedding," King says. "You´re going to get a
negative result on your PCR test, but
your clinical signs at that point may still be quite dramatic. It´s the
same as with flu in humans; people
are at their most infectious before showing any symptoms."
In a shelter environment, diagnosis is theoretically easier because if the
shelter personnel are aware
that CIV is a threat, PCR tests can be conducted 2 or 3 days after
admission and the disease is more
likely to be found. Funding for PCR tests, on the other hand, can be
difficult for shelters to obtain, so
the dogs often remain untested and CIV is allowed to spread.
Antibody testing is another method of CIV diagnosis, although it can take
8 to 10 days for the titers to
start to rise, which causes another timing problem.
"If a client brought their dog in and it had been coughing for 2 weeks,
you wouldn´t do a PCR or virus
isolation because it would be too late," King explains, "but you may do
an antibody test. The problem
is that often the animals present during that intermediate `grey zone´ in
days 7 to 10, after the PCR
results become negative and before the antibody test becomes positive."
King adds that ideally, follow-up antibody testing should be conducted to
track down a CIV diagnosis.
Flagged for isolation
Experts agree that in a perfect world, all coughing dogs would be isolated
from other dogs for a
quarantine period. This is often not feasible because of space limitations
or a client´s lack of
awareness about the dog´s infectious state. Certain measures, however, can
be taken to minimize the
risk of an outbreak.
For example, obtaining a thorough history can be key, King says. "If a dog
was just adopted from a
shelter or purchased from a pet store and comes into the clinic a few days
later with a cough, that is a
huge red flag. If it´s a dog that sits at home on its owner´s lap and
never goes anywhere, then I would
be much less worried. A little bit of background is an important thing to
help you say, `Okay, this one
needs to be treated as an infectious suspect.´"
Another useful containment measure is to keep dogs suspected of having
respiratory disease
separate from the rest of the practice´s patients. Dogs can be brought
through a back door or kept in
the owner´s car until an examination room becomes open, King says. "Don´t
let potentially infectious
dogs sit in the waiting room with other dogs."
Additionally, staff should wear gowns, gloves and booties while in an
examination room with a
potentially infectious dog. Viruses and bacteria can be transferred to
other patients via stethoscopes
and other equipment, so a dedicated isolation room should have equipment
that stays in that room.
"The same protocols should be followed for possible influenza cases as
would be followed for possible
parvovirus cases, for example. When you leave the room you should take off
the gown, gloves and
booties and leave them in there. Ideally, the dogs should not be
hospitalized in the practice, which is
fine as long as all they have is kennel cough. The problem is that a small
subset will develop
pneumonia and will require hospitalization," says King.
CIV vaccine
In May, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) granted a
conditional license to
Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health for its CIV type A, subtype H3N8,
vaccine. The vaccine can
reduce the incidence and severity of lung lesions, as well as the duration
of coughing and viral
shedding, the agency said in its release.
"The experimental research suggests that it should be quite effective at
decreasing the severity of
signs," says King. "It may not completely prevent disease, but it
certainly seems as though it will make
CIV a much less severe disease and decrease the risk of shedding. I think
it definitely has utility."
Most experts agree that this vaccine is considered noncore, which means it
should be used in dog
populations where veterinarians are currently using kennel cough vaccines,
says Christopher
Pappas Jr., DVM, director of companion animal technical services for
Intervet/Schering-Plough. "You
find the same risk factor in those groups of dogs - the ones that go to
doggy day care, that are
boarded often or are involved in dog shows."
Rozanski agrees: "I think the best advice for veterinarians is to look at
the risk for each dog and look
for the regional risk, then update your vaccination guidelines."
Although cases of CIV are not as widespread as cases of influenza in
humans, continued vigilance is
necessary to keep the risk of outbreaks in check. Not enough is understood
about the mutation rate of
the virus in dog populations to predict its behavior in the future.
"Influenza behaves differently in each species," Pappas says. "In humans,
vaccines are updated
annually to predict which strain is going to hit the following year. In
horses, the vaccines are updated
about every 5 to 7 years. Canine influenza is a new disease, so instead of
adding strains to the
vaccine, we are monitoring the vaccine in the community to make sure it
cross-protects with the new
strains that develop, and we will update as necessary. Based on the
science, history and research
judgment [of CIV], I would think that the CIV vaccine will probably not
need to be updated yearly. It´s
important to monitor."
The future
The field of shelter medicine has undergone a phenomenal growth in the
past few years, which will be
beneficial for monitoring and protecting dogs from diseases like CIV.
"Shelters do phenomenal things now," Rozanski says. "They do a lot of
good studies that help the
world. As small animal practitioners, we tend not to think too much about `
herd´ health, but the
emerging shelter medicine field is a great opportunity to look at that.
Most of the vaccines are not
terribly expensive, but on a multiple-animal basis that adds up. I think
the questions we don´t tend to
ask in veterinary medicine are about cost. How many animals do we have to
vaccinate to prevent one
dog from getting sick, and is that cost effective? In human medicine they
do those studies on a regular
basis, but we tend not to. It would be very helpful to know these sorts of
things."
Dr. King is a member of the Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health speaker
bureau and receives
honoraria from the company for presentations. Dr. Rozanski is currently
conducting research
sponsored by Intervet/Schering-Plough that is unrelated to the influenza
vaccine.
Winter Pet care from Karla's Pet Rendezvous
It's a good idea to remember that winter can be hard on pets, just as it can be hard on humans. Sometimes owners forget dogs are just as accustomed to being warm as we are. So here comes the cold and lets protect our pets from being uncomfortable.
First of all it's best not to leave pets outdoors for extended periods of time, chances are, unless you have a husky, or it's like, your dog is cold when you are cold. There a few things you can do to keep your animal warm & safe.
Keep your pets inside as much as you can when temperatures drop, if they absolutely have to be outside for long periods of time, provide shelter from the winds and plenty of thick bedding.(Hay works well as an insulator) Perhaps a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel so as not to burn the skin.
Clearly the animals with less hair could use a winter coat, and shorter outings.
Water bowls outdoors freeze very quickly and need to be refreshed often.
Be very gentle with arthritic pets in the winter. The cold can leave their joints extremely stiff and tender. Make sure they have a thick warm bed for chilly nights. Also be careful of ice outdoors, they could easily slip and get hurt. Speaking of ice, we also need to remember about salt, used to melt ice outdoors can be damaging to foot pads. If you are walking your pet in an area that is heavily salted, remember to wash feet with a warm washcloth. There are many good ice melters out there that are safe for pets to use in your own yard if necessary.
If you live near a pond or lake, be careful about letting your pet off leash, for obvious reasons.
If you light a fire or space heater to keep your home warm, remember pets will snuggle up to the warmth, and could knock a heater over, or get burned.
When you are outside with your pets during the winter, you can watch for signs of discomfort with the cold. If they whine, shiver, stop moving or start to look for places to burrow, they are saying they want a warm place.
Dogs can get frostbite just as humans, this tends to start at the
extremities, for example the tail can get cold enough for ice crystals to
form in the tissue & damage it, and the tissue may not show the damage for
several days. If you suspect your pet has frostbite, warm the environment
right away, soak the extremities in warm water for a few minute to melt the
ice crystals and restore circulation..and call you veterinarian.
Winter is a beautiful time of year here in the Valley, but it certainly
doesn't have to be dangerous if you are aware of your pets needs in the
winter. Take extra care and enjoy the snow!
Karla Schwarz
Articles we wrote:
Pet Column: Your pet and springtime.
The birds are chirping, the bulbs are coming out of the ground, and we all have a bit of “spring fever” with the recent weather patterns.
As a pet care service professional what comes first to my mind?
Many things: Ticks...heart worm preventative, and spring pet cleanings and haircuts,to name a few.
Right now is the time everyone should be thinking about how they will manage their pets during tick season. These little ghastly creatures are at their worst in the spring. There are several options owners may choose to deal with them. Many with short haired breeds will “watch for them” on a daily basis, and use an all natural spray on preventative to deter the ticks. Some people will use a food additive, that will cause the pets to emit a scent that makes pets less appealing to ticks and fleas, and yet again other owners will use “spot products” that are administered on the pets skin and works their way though the coat and into the pets system, causing the bugs to become impotent and/or die. There are too many products on the market these days to mention a brand. I would suggest owners speak with their veterinarian as to which may be best for their pet if using a “spot product”. I say this because there are many different uses. Some will also control heart worm, and deter mosquito's that bring the heart-worms to our pet's, and always, always your pet has to have a blood test before administering any heart-worm medication,unless he/she has been on heart-worm medications the year around! This is the time that many of us go in for annual vaccines, fecal, and heart-worm checks. If you are with your veterinarian, this would be a good time to discuss you options where flea, tick, & heart-worm prevention are concerned.
When administering preventative medications it's best to consider having your pet's “spring cleaning” done beforehand. Think about whether you want to bathe, or have your pet bathed or clipped before, and take the chance of “washing your product off” Some companies say this is not possible, if you wait 3 days before or after, to bathe, you decide what is best for you.
Many of your pets had their most recent bath & haircut last fall, and now are thinking of “spring cleaning for your pet”. If this is the case, think according to breed what your best options are. For all breeds, bathing is a good idea for cleansing, be sure to use an all natural product that will put moisture back into the skin & coat, and there are also sprays available that will help to pull moisture from the air through the hair and into the skin, Good old H20 is the very best moisturizer for dry winter skin & coat. If your pet has hair that continues to grow, and...the last hair cut was in the fall.... it is likely your pets hair will be matted. Matted hair does not “magically get removed” by groomers, it can be a painful process for your pet. It will be so much easier from your pet's perspective to have the matting clipped away, and allow the hair to grow back in time, and your pet has not been hurt by the de-matting process (we don't do it). We try to teach pet owners to use the brush, between haircuts & bathing, to keep matting from ever occurring in the first place...prevention right? We have mentioned tick & heart-worm prevention, now this is mat prevention! Also, if your pet has a short spring haircut, before black-fly season, you need to protect them. Some people wait until the season is over, others use natural sprays for protection. Never leave your pet outside with out protection from black flies, & mosquito's when the season's are upon us...so it seems there are many thing to think about this time of year to keep your pet happy, healthy & safe. Happy to help if we can!
Karla Schwarz of Karla's Pet Rendezvous
603-447-3435
Karla’s Top Ten Holiday Pet Tips
With Christmas upon us , it’s easy to forget about our pets with family & friends frequently visiting. Check out the following tips to help keep your animals safe this holiday.
1. Keep ornaments out pets reach. Swallowing any ornament, which may look like toys to pets, can result in life threatening emergencies. Even ornaments made from dried food can lead to ailments. Remember, shards from broken glass ornaments can injure paws, mouths and other parts of the body.
2. Many holiday plants can lead to health problems in dogs and cats. Keep holly, mistletoe, poinsettias and lilies out of your pets reach.
3. Snow globes often contain antifreeze, which is poisonous to pets.
4. Do not let guests feed your pets human food. There are many holiday foods including fatty meats, gravies, poultry skin, bones, chocolate & alcohol, that can cause them to be ill with diarrhea and vomiting… to highly serious pancreatitis and other toxic reactions. Also, candy wrappers, aluminum foil pieces and ribbons can choke our pets.
5. When pets are stressed by holiday activity or during travel, they may require more water. Dogs typically pant more when they feel stressed.
6;. Cats, in particular, can be tempted to eat tinsel, which can block their intestines. Hang tinsel high, and securely to keep it out of reach of pets.
7. The extra cords and plugs of holiday lights and other fixtures can look like chew toys to pets. Tape down or cover cords to help avoid shocks, burns or other serious injuries. Unplug lights when you are not home.
8. Children’s toys have small parts that dogs can swallow and cause choking, gastric distress or intestinal blockage.
9. Fasteners for decorations, glue, rubber bands, staples, string, tacks, tape, an cause mild pain, serious complications, or even death if swallowed.
10. Christmas tree water may contain fertilizers which, if ingested, may cause stomach upset. Stagnant tree water may contain fertilizers which, if ingested, may cause a pet to have abdominal discomfort, vomiting and diarrhea.
Happy Holiday from Karla’s Pet Rendezvous!
Ways to Include Pets in Weddings-Tips from Karla
So, its your special day and you’d like everyone special in your life to be there-including your pet!
Here are five different ways to include your pet in your wedding:
1. Wedding party member-your pet could either be a ring bearer or flower dog. Of course, this works well if your pet is well behaved, not afraid of new people, and easy to train.
It may be a good idea to use faux rings on the ring bearer’s pillow in case they fall off Fido’s head the wrong way. Practice is important, and you will need to run through the ceremony with your pet a few times so he/she gets used to the role. Take him to the location to become familiar.
You can also make your pet a groomsmen or bridesmaid, be creative!
Tip: Make sure everyone attending the wedding knows a pet will be there. (allergies & fear of pets) Check with your cleric if it’s a religious ceremony to see if your pets attendance is appropriate.
2. Walk down the aisle-
Have a family member walk down the aisle and hold them during the ceremony. This is especially a good choice for pets that are not easily trained, or have fears of people in any way. If your pet can’t be held for long periods of time, and is crate trained you could place them in a carrier to watch for the remainder just be sure your pet is going to be comfortable in not going to bark at all! Keep a familiar toy & valuable treat nearby. Have a plan B, someone who can be in charge if your pet is sick, or uncooperative.
Tip: Have your pet carrier in a basket or on a pillow decorated for a special touch.
3. Write your pet into the vows
If your pet isn’t able to be at the ceremony, have him/her mentioned when writing your vows.
While talking about everything soon to be shared, include the pet. You could tell a funny story about your pet & partner first meeting, & hoe they learned to love each other.
4. Include them in wedding photos
Remember in the photos taken prior to the wedding as well as the family photos on the big day!
If your pet is not allowed at the reception, put nicely framed pictures of them dressed up on the tables.
Tip: Be sure your pet is well groomed, (by Karla of course) and appointments are made as close to the date as possible. Put on clothing just before pictures.
5. At the reception
At the reception, anything goes! Again, use your imagination! Outdoor parties can be the most pet friendly, with plenty of room to roam. Your pet loving guests will enjoy taking turns providing care, or you could hire someone to be responsible for this.
Consider bring your pet after food has been served if your dog will have problems being around food he cannot eat.(or bring his “special meal” as well)
Be creative about everything! Decide how involved you want your pet to be, the pet could be in the frosting on the cake, (photo) on the dance floor, but I can’t stress enough that there needs to be a designated wedding pet handler, that is not too involved in the wedding otherwise!
Tip: Ask about places where pets are welcome when planning your wedding & reception location.
…and don’t forget the clothes! There are lots of choices for pets in the wedding party.
These tips are brought thoughtfully to you by Karla Schwarz, of Karla’s Pet Rendezvous.
Rover and the Fleas
By Karla Addington-Smith
Chomp, chomp! Lick, lick! It is 3 A.M., Rover is under your bed and you are wide awake. Your furry best friend is in agony. His scratching, licking and chewing are driving the family crazy! You cannot stand it any longer! You grab the shampoo and head to the depths of the basement for a pre-dawn flea bath. Tomorrow brings another sleepless night
filled with the sounds of Rover and the fleas.
So, “who you gonna call” to prevent or eliminate the flea problem? The Flea Buster - AKA, your professional groomer! A visit to your groomer is the best place to start when fleas are suspected.
Your groomer can eliminate the fleas on your pet and recommend the products to be used at home to make your pet’s environment more comfortable and flea- free. Remember, preventative maintenance is the key. Premise control is pertinent to eliminating fleas on your pet. If the surrounding environment is not treated, the fleas will simply hop back on your pet.
Understanding a few important facts about fleas and controlling them is foremost. Fleas are indiscriminate. Regardless of your pet’s flea history, your pet and its environment are potential hosts to these unwelcome guests.
Your pet need not be around any other pets to become a host to fleas. Actually, fleas can live all year round on local wildlife. So, if your pet goes outside, even if he stays on the sidewalk, it is possible he could pick up a flea.
When conditions are right…
The adult flea can lay hundreds, even thousands, of eggs over a period of a few weeks. These eggs can be laid in your house or they may drop off of your pet as he moves around his environment. In a few days the eggs hatch into larvae.
Larvae are worm-like creatures that feed on protein based debris, such as flea “dirt”, skin dander and food crumbs. Depending on conditions and food availability it may take a few weeks or a few months for the larvae to fully develop and spin a tiny cocoon. This is the stage in which they can lie dormant for over a year, waiting for the right conditions from which an adult flea will emerge.
What makes a flea happy?
Environmental conditions need to be right for fleas to come out of their cocoon stage. This applies to inside or outside. Temperatures above 70 degrees, and a relative humidity of 70% or more, are optimum conditions for the flea to emerge from the cocoon. This is why many pet owners return from a vacation to find their home infested with fleas. Unfortunately closing up the house, after turning the air conditioning down or off, gives the dormant cocoon the perfect environment to set up housekeeping.
An ounce of prevention…
It is best to talk to your groomer before fleas have infested your pet and home. Even if your pet is receiving the spot-on type flea prevention treatments, it is possible that fleas will still appear on your pet and in the environment. A regular schedule of bathing and dipping your pet with the appropriate pesticide-free products during the peak flea season is a way for your professional groomer to keep tabs on your pet’s coat and skin health and condition, including recognizing the presence of fleas or flea-bite dermatitis. Your groomer can then recommend products for treating the home environment to prevent a full blown infestation. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
Canine Flu
Issue Date: Veterinary Forum
September 2009
(Vol 26, No 9)
Reproduced with permission from www.vetlearn.com
Finding influenza
Paul Basilio
Coughing dogs are old hat in veterinary practice,
but a novel pathogen raises a red flag over an
otherwise innocuous sign.
Coughing dogs are nothing new.
You would be hard-pressed to find a veterinarian in
general practice who hasn´t come across the
stereotypical, recently-boarded, 3-year-old Labrador
retriever with an acute onset honking cough that
gradually resolves over time.
"I used to tell my students that you´re not a veterinarian until you´ve
anesthetized a dog because
someone claimed there was something stuck in its throat, but it turned out
to be kennel cough," jokes
Elizabeth Rozanski, DVM, DACVIM, DACVECC, assistant professor in the
department of clinical
services at the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. "Kennel
cough dogs tend to have a
horrid cough, but they´re healthy and otherwise alert."
That´s not always the case in dogs infected with canine influenza virus
(CIV), a new disease that often
mimics the less serious infections that typically cause kennel cough. As a
result, many veterinarians
are now viewing dogs that show signs of respiratory disease with an extra
measure of caution.
"Dogs with influenza are going to behave like humans with influenza,"
Rozanski adds. "They´re going
to feel a lot sicker than a dog with kennel cough or a person with a cold,
and they´re going to feel that
way for longer." Such patients can require significantly more supportive
care in order to help them
recover. Some can develop pneumonia. And some of these dogs, albeit a
small percentage, can even
die.
If CIV is present in a facility, such as a kennel or shelter, management
can be tricky, says Lesley
King, MVB, DACVIM, DACVECC, director of the intensive care unit at the
Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary
Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania. "It´s very contagious and it
is a new virus, so most of the
dogs will have never seen it before and will be susceptible," she
explains. "If the virus gets into a
kennel or a shelter, almost 80% of the dogs are going to show signs. It´s
the same as if the flu got into
a day care center for children."
Understanding the risk
Experts agree that CIV is an important
emerging disease and that its elusive nature
can make the disease difficult to diagnose, treat
and track.
"I don´t think veterinarians know the extent of
the disease yet," Rozanski says.
Although there have been outbreaks of CIV in
30 states and the District of Columbia, it is still
very much thought of as a regional disease,
meaning that it´s only considered a problem
where there are active outbreaks. "For the
practitioner, I think the best bet would be to
know what is going on in his or her area,"
Rozanski adds. "It´s important to know your
community. If the practice down the road has an outbreak, that´s important
to know. Make friends with
the boarding kennels and see what´s happening in those areas. It will help
to understand what´s going
on with your patients, which is one of the things veterinarians often
struggle with. If you don´t know
what someone else has seen, then you have the potential to miss something
that´s coming into your
area," she notes.
One of the problems confronting practitioners is that fewer newly adopted
puppies are local. In the
past, many puppies and kittens were adopted from area shelters. However,
due to the recent increase
in interstate adoption, dogs are showing up in examination rooms with more
unfamiliar diseases.
"Here in New England," Rozanski says, "it is rare for us to see stray
puppies. They have done such a
good job with the spay and neuter programs that most of our dogs are
shipped in from the south or
from Puerto Rico. It´s uncommon to see a mixed-breed puppy in this area
because most people get
their dogs from the pet store or from a breeder."
Index of suspicion
CIV may be hard to diagnose, but veterinarians can keep their radar
elevated by staying abreast of
any outbreak news and keeping an eye out for puppies brought in from out
of state, as well as for
those that have spent time in a kennel or in an area where CIV is
prevalent.
"If I see the mythical 3-year-old Labrador that was left at a kennel for a
week and had a
straightforward cough, then I would most likely have zero interest in
doing other tests on that dog,"
Rozanski says. "By and large, those dogs are going to get better no matter
what I do. The dogs I do
have an interest in treating are the dogs that differ even 1% from the
[kennel cough] model."
Although some cases of CIV can be discerned from other causes of
respiratory disease by the sound
of the dog´s cough - for example, some cases of influenza can cause a
soft, moist cough as opposed
to the loud, honking cough of Bordetella bronchiseptica - finding
influenza poses a unique challenge.
"In an individual dog, diagnosis can be tricky because there are two main
ways to diagnose the
disease," King says. "The first is to send a swab - typically from the
nose or throat of the dog - for
PCR analysis or virus isolation. If you test the dog between 2 and 6 days
after exposure, then you´re
likely to be able to find the virus there."
The problem, King explains, is that although most dogs have some clinical
signs (fever, nasal
discharge, cough) as early as 2 days after exposure, many owners will not
bring the dog to see its
veterinarian until it becomes more severely ill, or after several days
when it becomes apparent that the
illness will not go away on its own. "When you get out past a week after
exposure, the virus is no
longer replicating or shedding," King says. "You´re going to get a
negative result on your PCR test, but
your clinical signs at that point may still be quite dramatic. It´s the
same as with flu in humans; people
are at their most infectious before showing any symptoms."
In a shelter environment, diagnosis is theoretically easier because if the
shelter personnel are aware
that CIV is a threat, PCR tests can be conducted 2 or 3 days after
admission and the disease is more
likely to be found. Funding for PCR tests, on the other hand, can be
difficult for shelters to obtain, so
the dogs often remain untested and CIV is allowed to spread.
Antibody testing is another method of CIV diagnosis, although it can take
8 to 10 days for the titers to
start to rise, which causes another timing problem.
"If a client brought their dog in and it had been coughing for 2 weeks,
you wouldn´t do a PCR or virus
isolation because it would be too late," King explains, "but you may do
an antibody test. The problem
is that often the animals present during that intermediate `grey zone´ in
days 7 to 10, after the PCR
results become negative and before the antibody test becomes positive."
King adds that ideally, follow-up antibody testing should be conducted to
track down a CIV diagnosis.
Flagged for isolation
Experts agree that in a perfect world, all coughing dogs would be isolated
from other dogs for a
quarantine period. This is often not feasible because of space limitations
or a client´s lack of
awareness about the dog´s infectious state. Certain measures, however, can
be taken to minimize the
risk of an outbreak.
For example, obtaining a thorough history can be key, King says. "If a dog
was just adopted from a
shelter or purchased from a pet store and comes into the clinic a few days
later with a cough, that is a
huge red flag. If it´s a dog that sits at home on its owner´s lap and
never goes anywhere, then I would
be much less worried. A little bit of background is an important thing to
help you say, `Okay, this one
needs to be treated as an infectious suspect.´"
Another useful containment measure is to keep dogs suspected of having
respiratory disease
separate from the rest of the practice´s patients. Dogs can be brought
through a back door or kept in
the owner´s car until an examination room becomes open, King says. "Don´t
let potentially infectious
dogs sit in the waiting room with other dogs."
Additionally, staff should wear gowns, gloves and booties while in an
examination room with a
potentially infectious dog. Viruses and bacteria can be transferred to
other patients via stethoscopes
and other equipment, so a dedicated isolation room should have equipment
that stays in that room.
"The same protocols should be followed for possible influenza cases as
would be followed for possible
parvovirus cases, for example. When you leave the room you should take off
the gown, gloves and
booties and leave them in there. Ideally, the dogs should not be
hospitalized in the practice, which is
fine as long as all they have is kennel cough. The problem is that a small
subset will develop
pneumonia and will require hospitalization," says King.
CIV vaccine
In May, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) granted a
conditional license to
Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health for its CIV type A, subtype H3N8,
vaccine. The vaccine can
reduce the incidence and severity of lung lesions, as well as the duration
of coughing and viral
shedding, the agency said in its release.
"The experimental research suggests that it should be quite effective at
decreasing the severity of
signs," says King. "It may not completely prevent disease, but it
certainly seems as though it will make
CIV a much less severe disease and decrease the risk of shedding. I think
it definitely has utility."
Most experts agree that this vaccine is considered noncore, which means it
should be used in dog
populations where veterinarians are currently using kennel cough vaccines,
says Christopher
Pappas Jr., DVM, director of companion animal technical services for
Intervet/Schering-Plough. "You
find the same risk factor in those groups of dogs - the ones that go to
doggy day care, that are
boarded often or are involved in dog shows."
Rozanski agrees: "I think the best advice for veterinarians is to look at
the risk for each dog and look
for the regional risk, then update your vaccination guidelines."
Although cases of CIV are not as widespread as cases of influenza in
humans, continued vigilance is
necessary to keep the risk of outbreaks in check. Not enough is understood
about the mutation rate of
the virus in dog populations to predict its behavior in the future.
"Influenza behaves differently in each species," Pappas says. "In humans,
vaccines are updated
annually to predict which strain is going to hit the following year. In
horses, the vaccines are updated
about every 5 to 7 years. Canine influenza is a new disease, so instead of
adding strains to the
vaccine, we are monitoring the vaccine in the community to make sure it
cross-protects with the new
strains that develop, and we will update as necessary. Based on the
science, history and research
judgment [of CIV], I would think that the CIV vaccine will probably not
need to be updated yearly. It´s
important to monitor."
The future
The field of shelter medicine has undergone a phenomenal growth in the
past few years, which will be
beneficial for monitoring and protecting dogs from diseases like CIV.
"Shelters do phenomenal things now," Rozanski says. "They do a lot of
good studies that help the
world. As small animal practitioners, we tend not to think too much about `
herd´ health, but the
emerging shelter medicine field is a great opportunity to look at that.
Most of the vaccines are not
terribly expensive, but on a multiple-animal basis that adds up. I think
the questions we don´t tend to
ask in veterinary medicine are about cost. How many animals do we have to
vaccinate to prevent one
dog from getting sick, and is that cost effective? In human medicine they
do those studies on a regular
basis, but we tend not to. It would be very helpful to know these sorts of
things."
Dr. King is a member of the Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health speaker
bureau and receives
honoraria from the company for presentations. Dr. Rozanski is currently
conducting research
sponsored by Intervet/Schering-Plough that is unrelated to the influenza
vaccine.
Winter Pet care from Karla's Pet Rendezvous
It's a good idea to remember that winter can be hard on pets, just as it can be hard on humans. Sometimes owners forget dogs are just as accustomed to being warm as we are. So here comes the cold and lets protect our pets from being uncomfortable.
First of all it's best not to leave pets outdoors for extended periods of time, chances are, unless you have a husky, or it's like, your dog is cold when you are cold. There a few things you can do to keep your animal warm & safe.
Keep your pets inside as much as you can when temperatures drop, if they absolutely have to be outside for long periods of time, provide shelter from the winds and plenty of thick bedding.(Hay works well as an insulator) Perhaps a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel so as not to burn the skin.
Clearly the animals with less hair could use a winter coat, and shorter outings.
Water bowls outdoors freeze very quickly and need to be refreshed often.
Be very gentle with arthritic pets in the winter. The cold can leave their joints extremely stiff and tender. Make sure they have a thick warm bed for chilly nights. Also be careful of ice outdoors, they could easily slip and get hurt. Speaking of ice, we also need to remember about salt, used to melt ice outdoors can be damaging to foot pads. If you are walking your pet in an area that is heavily salted, remember to wash feet with a warm washcloth. There are many good ice melters out there that are safe for pets to use in your own yard if necessary.
If you live near a pond or lake, be careful about letting your pet off leash, for obvious reasons.
If you light a fire or space heater to keep your home warm, remember pets will snuggle up to the warmth, and could knock a heater over, or get burned.
When you are outside with your pets during the winter, you can watch for signs of discomfort with the cold. If they whine, shiver, stop moving or start to look for places to burrow, they are saying they want a warm place.
Dogs can get frostbite just as humans, this tends to start at the
extremities, for example the tail can get cold enough for ice crystals to
form in the tissue & damage it, and the tissue may not show the damage for
several days. If you suspect your pet has frostbite, warm the environment
right away, soak the extremities in warm water for a few minute to melt the
ice crystals and restore circulation..and call you veterinarian.
Winter is a beautiful time of year here in the Valley, but it certainly
doesn't have to be dangerous if you are aware of your pets needs in the
winter. Take extra care and enjoy the snow!
Karla Schwarz
