Archive for the ‘New Pets’ Category

May Case of the Month

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

An 8 yr old male neutered lab named Marner owned by Ricky and Marlene presented for numerous large round patches of bloody erosions on his skin, constantly scratched at them, and was covered in huge dandruff flakes some an inch in diam. He was being fed generic dog food from a big box membership store. Diagnosis was Zinc Deficiency and a diet change to Science Diet cured him in 2 weeks.

In general, Wiseman Animal Hospital Doctors recommend the following rule of thumb for selecting a diet. If you have never heard of it, if you can only buy it in one store in town, or on line, if you only found out about it on the internet, if it is trendy, do not feed it. Buy something that you have heard of your whole life. Purina, Science Diet, Alpo, Kibbles and Bits, Iams and so forth.

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Pet Tips for the Holidays

Thursday, January 13th, 2011

The Holiday Season is here. While our celebrations bring us much happiness and joy, our pets may be exposed to health hazards not present the rest of the year. Holiday feasts are part of both Thanksgiving and Christmas tradition. While you are sitting in front of the turkey and potatoes, remember that dogs and cats should not eat people food. The following are some of the hazards that your holiday meal pose to your pets:

Bones, especially poultry bones, pose a threat to your pet. All bones splinter. These splinters may become lodged in or perforate the bowel, resulting in the need for expensive surgical intervention. Even if bones do not become lodged, they cause irritation to the digestive tract which may lead to vomiting and diarrhea.

Fatty foods, such as turkey skin or roast trimmings often cause problems just as severe. Snacks high in fat can cause the common GI upset resulting in vomiting in diarrhea. In some cases, a much more severe condition, inflammation of the pancreas, occurs. This inflammation, called Pancreatitis, can be life threatening. Symptoms include abdominal pain, vomiting diarrhea, depression and refusal of food and water. Often, pets obtain these unhealthy treats from the garbage or from unknowing guests. Remember to dispose of unwanted left overs in such a way that your pet can not get to them. Remind guests that your pets do not eat people food.

Chocolate in moderate to large quantities is poisonous to dogs. If your pet sneaks such a snack, call the veterinarian.

Poisonous plants , not usually available to your pets are around during the holidays. Poinsettias and Mistletoe are the most common. Keep these plants out of reach of your pets. Call the veterinarian if your pet chews on or consumes any holiday plants.

Cats and tinsel don’t mix. Cats that play with and consume tinsel or thread are asking for severe GI problems that most often require surgical correction. If your cat plays with tinsel, consider eliminating tinsel from your tree or restrict your cat’s access to the tree.

If you feel that your pet needs a special holiday treat, we suggest a tasty can of pet food or some pet treat.

Posted in Cats, Common to Cats and Dogs, Dogs, Miscellanous, New Pets | No Comments »

Spay / Neuter Facts

Thursday, January 13th, 2011

All pets not intended for breeding should be surgically spayed or neutered for many important reasons. In addition to improved health and behavior resulting from this surgery, you will be doing your part to reduce the unwanted pet population. Millions of unwanted animals are euthanized each year because good homes are limited and most pets simply cannot be adopted out:

The Benefits

Females (Spaying-Ovario Hysterectomy)

  • Prevents signs of estrus (heat)
  • Prevents blood stains on carpet from heat cycle
  • Decreases chance of cancerous breast tumor if performed at less than 2 years of age
  • Eliminates chance of cystic ovaries
  • Eliminates chance of uterine infections
  • Prevents breast development (if done early)
  • No unwanted pregnancies or offspring
Males (Neutering-Castration)

  • Prostatic infection incidence decreased dramatically
  • Testicular disease eliminated
  • Decreases desire to roam
  • Decreases odor of tom cat urine
  • Decreases aggression
  • Prevents spraying and marking
  • Eliminates undesirable sexual behavior

Other Facts

  • Have much more influence on the weight and attitude of your pet
  • Surgery is recommended when you pet is about 6 months of age, but it can able done at any age
  • It is much easier on you pet to be spayed before going through a heat cycle due to the smaller size of the reproductive tract
  • Surgery is preformed painlessly while you pet in under general anesthesia. Surgical risk is minimal. Most pets go home the same day. Post-surgical pain in minimal

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Solving Chewing & Digging Problems

Thursday, January 13th, 2011

Most dogs have a strong natural desire to chew and dig. These activities are part of the way that puppies explore and investigate their world. Unfortunately, this desire can be a major problem if your puppy chews your new shoes or digs up your flower garden. Many dog owners attempt to correct this “normal” behavior with punishment, but we feel that positive reinforcement of good behavior is more effective and will keep your puppy happier and healthier. Your puppy should have a place where it can explore and should have fun, safe chew toys. Remember, the old saying is true: A tired dog is a good dog. Plenty of play and exercise will very often eliminate destructive chewing and digging problems.

Chew toys are very important, especially for puppies. The emergence of new adult teeth is a powerful stimulus to chew. When selecting chew toys, begin with a variety and switch often. When you see your puppy playing with its chew toys, reward it with a few kibbles of puppy food or affection (POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT). A few notes on chew toys: Chew toys should be tough. Your puppy should not be able to remove chunks of the toy and swallow them. What works for one pup may not work for another. Do not let your pup chew on old shoes or socks. It is hard for a puppy to differentiate between his shoe and your shoes.

Supervision of your puppy is important. From time to time, household items may be more appealing than chew toys. Supervise or confine your puppy to a safe area such as a crate or kennel until you can trust it to leave your things alone. Even still, mistakes will occur. Keep valuable or important things beyond the reach of your puppy. You may be able to teach avoidance of certain items by making it taste bad. Cayenne pepper mixed with water, commercial anti-chew sprays and booby traps may work. When mistakes occur, punishment is not worthwhile unless you catch the puppy in the act of chewing. Punishment should consist of a loud “NO” or a squirt with a squirt gun. Never strike your dog. Remember, positive reinforcement is better than negative.

Dogs dig for many reasons, the most common being that it is just plain fun. Digging commonly occurs when your dog is left alone with insufficient stimulation. Provide your pet with fun and safe chew toys and exercise before you leave it alone. Sometimes, a second dog will provide the necessary stimulation to prevent inappropriate behavior.

Much thought should be given to this option since you could end up with two diggers instead of just one.

Punishment is only effective if your puppy is digging in your presence. Digging may continue in your absence unless you can identify and correct the cause. In some cases, providing a digging area works well. In conjunction with the digging area, you may find it necessary to booby trap other areas that your dog likes to dig. Chicken wire and large rocks work well. Remember to reward your dog for digging in the digging area with a little food or affection.

If you have any questions feel free to speak to your veterinarian.

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Crate training

Thursday, January 13th, 2011

We all need a special place to call our own. Your dog is no different. Part of raising a healthy dog is providing it with its own sanctuary, and crates are the perfect solution. Both puppies and adult dogs can be easily trained to enjoy the comfort of a crate.

Crate training is neither cruel nor unfair provided that you provide sufficient exercise and opportunity for elimination. Crate training is a safe and compassionate alternative to unsupervised wandering throughout the home.

There are many benefits to crate training your dog:

  • Security for your dog
  • Safety for your dog
  • Help with training proper chewing and elimination behavior
  • Prevention of costly damage due to inappropriate chewing, elimination and investigation
  • Happier relationship with your dog with less discipline for the dog and less frustration for you

The first step of successfully crate training your dog is purchasing the appropriate crate. The most important factor to consider is size. Your dog should have enough room to stand and turn around when it is full grown. There are two basic types of crates, plastic airline kennels and collapsible crates with tray floors. Some dogs may adapt better to a small room within your home or to a playpen. Remember that the crate should not be overly large with respect to the size of your dog. Think of the crate as your pet’s “den”.

Next, you must decide where you will put the crate. Remember that dogs are social animals. You want your pet to enjoy the crate so it is best to place the create in a room where you and your family spend a lot of time. Avoid dark, isolated areas that will make the crate a poor place to be. Remember that the crate should be a positive enjoyable place. Never use it as punishment, however, do use it to prevent problems such as inappropriate chewing and elimination.

Introduce your pet to the crate gently. Place the crate in a location where you and your pet spend time. Leave the door open and place a few treats and toys inside the crate to motivate your pet to enter voluntarily. Once your pet will enter freely, it is time to close the door. Leave your dog in the crate for increasing lengths of time and do not reward your pet for crying or whining by letting it out of the crate. Rather, wait until it quiets down, then let it out. Make sure that your dog has had plenty of exercise and opportunity to eliminate prior to placing it into the crate. As soon as your dog is allowed out of the crate, take it outside to play and run and to eliminate in an appropriate place. Remember to take the opportunity to praise your pet for this “good” behavior.

Finally, the crate is the safest way for your pet to travel. Begin with short trips and gradually increase travel time. Try to make all trips a positive experience and they will enhance your dog’s feelings about its crate.

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Puppy Health

Thursday, January 13th, 2011

Puppies need a series of vaccinations every three to four weeks to protect them during their critical first four months of age, when they are most susceptible to disease. The diseases that your puppy should be vaccinated against are:

Canine Distemper Virus: Distemper is a severe viral disease that effects many of your dogs organ systems. This disease can cause severe permanent brain damage and many other clinical problems including vomiting, diarrhea and severe secondary infections. Distemper is caused by an airborne virus. Dogs six weeks to six months old are most susceptible. Treatment for advanced stages of the disease is usually not effective.

Infectious Canine Hepatitis: Hepatitis in dogs is caused by Canine Adenovirus (CAV). Infectious hepatitis causes severe liver damage, vomiting, diarrhea and death. Treatment requires intensive nursing care which includes hospitalization and IV fluids. The virus is spread from dog to dog via coughs and sneezing.

Parainfluenza Virus: The parainfluenza virus is part of a very complex and contagious disease called Infectious Tracheobronchitis or “Kennel Cough”. This disease is usually not serious, but can lead to a chronic and persistent cough.

Canine Parvovirus: Canine Parvovirus causes a very severe gastroenteritis that is highly contagious and can cause severe vomiting and bloody diarrhea. Parvo is most often seen in dogs between six weeks and six months old. The disease is difficult and expensive to treat and usually fatal without treatment.

Coronavirus: Coronavirus also causes a severe viral gastroenteritis with clinical signs similar to those of Parvovirus. It often occurs in conjunction with Parvovirus and complicates treatment and outcome.

Rabies Virus: Rabies virus also infects humans and is fatal to humans. Rabies virus is 100% fatal to dogs as there is no treatment. Tucson has a relatively high incidence of rabies virus in its wildlife, especially bats. You are required by law to have your dog vaccinated for rabies by a licensed veterinarian. A puppy should have its first rabies vaccine at four months of age. Your puppie’s first rabies shot is good for one year, and all following are good for three years.

Bordetella bronchiseptica: Bordetella is the most common bacterial cause of a complicated disease called infectious tracheobronchitis or “Kennel Cough”. While this disease is not usually serious, it can lead to a chronic and severe cough. Bordetella is spread from dog to dog by coughing and sneezing. The vaccination is unusual in that it is intranasal rather than injectable. It provides good and rapid protection.

Your puppy should begin its series of vaccines at 6 – 9 weeks of age. The following is the vaccination schedule that your puppy should be on:

  • 6 – 9 weeks old: first DA2PP & Corona virus
  • 9 – 12 weeks old: second DA2PP, Corona virus and Bordetella
  • 12 – 15 weeks old: third DA2PP & Corona virus
  • 16 – 18 weeks old: adult DA2PP, adult Corona virus, Rabies virus

The final group of vaccinations, at 16 – 18 weeks of age, give long term immunity that lasts for a full year. After completion of this series of puppy vaccinations, your adult dog will need distemper, hepatitis, parainfluenza, parvo and corona virus (DA2PP and corona) once every year and rabies virus once every three years.

Internal Parasites
There are several types of worms that infect and live within dogs bodies. These worms threaten the health of your puppy and several of them can be spread to you and your family. Puppies can be born with worms or pick them up by eating infected soil and grass or by eating infected animals (rodents and others). Worm eggs can live in soil for years. There are several types of worms. The most common worms are roundworms, tapeworms, whipworms and hookworms, plus the protozoans (giardia and coccidia). Fecal exams of fresh feces are used to determine whether your puppy has worms. The sample is examined microscopically to determine the exact type of worm(s) present. Appropriate medication will be prescribed to clear these parasites from your puppie’s body. Remember that it is very important to clear these parasites from your puppy to ensure sound growth and good health.

Dietary Management
Proper nutrition is essential for the proper growth, health and performance of your puppy. Your puppy is going through its most rapid growth period from weaning to one year old. Puppies play hard and nap often. These early developmental stages represent the most important time in your puppies life. During this time, proper nutrition is the most important investment you can make for the future good health of your new dog.

Certain foods should be avoided as they will lead to an unbalanced diet and future health problems. Foods to avoid feeding your dog include chocolate, onions, milk, table scraps and most other human food. A diet of exclusively one food, such as an all meat diet, will also lead to health problems because it does not provide the balance of nutrients necessary for your pet.

It is important to establish good eating habits early with your puppy. Feed two to three times per day, giving your puppy as much as it will eat in 15 – 20 minutes. After this time has passed, remove the excess food. This will stimulate appetite. An additional bonus to this feeding regime is that most of your puppy’s eliminations will occur shortly after eating. Take your pet outside after meals and most eliminations will occur outside. Do not forget to praise your puppy when eliminations occur outside. Avoid changing brands and types of dog food frequently. This will lead to GI upset and possibly vomiting and diarrhea. Dry dog food is preferable to soft and canned diets, even for small breeds of dogs. Eating dry dog food will help improve the oral and dental health of your pet. Avoid snacks and treats. If you do feed treats, do not feed people food. Snacks and treats should total less than 10% of your puppy’s total diet.

An obedience command should be given each time before food or treats are given to your dog. This helps to promote your leadership position by continuously reminding the puppy that you control an important resource: food. Puppies are much more likely to develop bad habits and take you for granted if food and attention are given all the time without something return. Like polite children, pups that are taught to say please (ie.: “sit”, “stay” or “shake”) before they get what they want are pleasant to be around.

Puppy Training Tips

It is never too early to start training your puppy. It is easier to train a dog by rewarding good behavior (positive reinforcement) than it is to try to change bad behavior (negative reinforcement). Try to constantly find good behavior to reward. Set your puppy up to succeed. Do not ask for more than your puppy can give. Training takes time and repetition. Be consistent with both rewards and punishment.

House Training: House training your puppy can be reduced to two simple parts. First, teach the puppy where to eliminate. Second, use close supervision and confinement to reduce the opportunity to eliminate inside the house. Praise your puppy when elimination occurs in the proper place and reduce the opportunity to eliminate inside. This must be continued until outdoor elimination has become habit for your puppy. To accomplish this, someone must accompany the puppy every time it goes outside. Guide your puppy to the same area each time and enthusiastically praise elimination. Accomplishing the second part usually requires more forethought and ingenuity. Until the puppy has completed three to four consecutive weeks without eliminating in the house, it must be under 100% supervision or confinement (to an airline kennel or safe room). Crate (airline kennel) confinement works well because the puppy considers the crate to be his own room and puppies generally do not defecate where they sleep. It is important to take the puppy out of the crate and outside as soon as you wake up in the morning. The puppy has been resisting going to the bathroom all night and will appreciate the trip outside. Be sure to reward the pup for defecation outside. Crate confinement should be limited to night time when the puppy sleeps and to confinement periods of less than four hours during the day. Remember that positive reinforcement training works much better that negative reinforcement training. If a puppy is scolded or otherwise punished for defecating or urinating in the house, it will just try to sneak away and defecate somewhere else in the house. Mild scolding should be reserved for cases where you witness the puppy in the act of eliminating in the house. Rubbing a puppies nose in its urine or excrement does nothing positive toward training your new pet to eliminate outdoors. A much better method is to keep your puppy on a leash near you when inside the house. Pay attention to the pup and take it outside to eliminate when you recognize its desires. Again remember to give lavish praise when this occurs. After a few repetitions, the new puppy will learn that if it goes to you and repeats these gestures, it will be rewarded by being let outside to void.

Chewing: Prevention of chewing is accomplished with the same general methods used to house train your puppy. Promote the desired behavior rather than punishing undesirable behavior. It is much easier to teach a puppy to chew a few toys than to teach it not to chew the many objects around the house. Give your puppy only three or four toys to chew to that he will be able to recognize them as his. Old shoes and socks should not be used as toys unless you want your good shoes and socks to end up as chew toys. Encourage proper chewing by frequently playing with these toys with your puppy. You might try scenting these toys with a small smear of dog food. During your puppies first year, try to keep everything that should not be chewed out of reach. If it cannot be put out of reach, make it taste bad. A small amount of cayenne pepper mixed with water or vegetable oil is a very effective deterrent.

Jumping: Jumping up on people is the most common problem of unruliness exhibited by puppies. It can be a very easy problem to correct if all family members are consistent in the way they handle it. First, teach the pup to greet people by sitting. A helpful exercise is to hold a dog cookie at dog nose level and call the puppy. When the pup gets to the cookie, slowly raise the cookie over the head and ask the pup to sit. Praise and reward the correct behavior with the cookie. Back up several feet and repeat the process. This teaches the puppy to come when called, sit when asked and best of all, to sit when it comes up to a person. The best correction for the jumper is a firm “NO”. This will bring the pup down to earth. Wait several seconds and quietly praise the pup for having its paws on the ground. Never pet or praise the puppy if all four feet are not on the ground.

Punishment: We believe that no puppy should be struck with the hand or any thing held in the hand. The most important lesson that any puppy should learn is that the hand is its friend. Your puppy will have hands reaching for it thousands of times during its life. We do not want to instill any anxiety associated with hand movement that might result in defensive or fear biting. The best way to show the puppy that a behavior is not acceptable is to give a loud, startling verbal reprimand every time the behavior occurs. The reprimand should only be given when you witness the undesirable behavior and should stop as soon as the behavior stops. It is also helpful to follow up the reprimand with encouragement and praise of the desired opposite behavior. An example would be offering the puppy one of his chew toys after being scolded for chewing a shoe. When the puppy takes the toy, give lots of praise.

The most important ingredient for puppy training is patience. Puppy training takes time and there will be failures and accidents. Remember that reward for desired behavior is much more effective than punishment for undesirable behavior.

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