Pet Care Resolutions for the New Year
Don’t overlook your pet’s needs when making your own New Year’s resolutions. As a responsible pet owner, you can make a few simple promises to yourself that will go a long way towards keeping your pet healthy and happy.

• Make sure your pet receives a complete check-up every year. The annual physical exam is often the most overlooked pet health need today. Many people only take their pet to a veterinarian when a health problem already exists or for routine vaccinations. Preventive vaccinations and early detection of diseases are the keys to successfully treating your pet. Your veterinarian can conduct a comprehensive exam that includes lab analysis, heart check and dental exam.

  

• Design a diet and pet exercise plan to meet your pet’s specific needs. Obesity leads to serious health problems such as heart disease. Exercise is important, but a pet will only exercise if there is an incentive to do so. Your veterinarian will consider what stage of life your pet is in, the amount of activity your pet enjoys, and the time of year before outlining a specific plan. The right kind of food and physical activity can add to the quality of your pet’s life.

• Make your home a safe environment. Unfortunately, making your home pet-safe often is a job that is overlooked. Pet-proofing your home can lower the risk of a serious pet accident occurring. A pet owner needs to be aware of several potential dangers.     Poisons in the home that can kill or seriously injure your pet include some kinds of house plants (dieffenbachia, philodendron, hyacinth, mistletoe, and poinsettia), antifreeze, and medications. Low electrical cords are extremely hazardous when chewed. Ceiling fans, over-heated Teflon cookware, and many cleaning sprays can also be dangerous to pet birds. Keep harmful objects out of your pet’s reach. A little prevention may be just enough to avoid a pet tragedy from happening in your home.

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Antifreeze Poisoning
Pet owners wouldn’t think of feeding a spoonful of poison to their beloved four-legged friends. Yet, these same people may unwittingly be poisoning their pets by leaving antifreeze out for their pets to get into. Whether it’s in a puddle on the garage floor or in an open container, antifreeze can attract and kill household pets.

Antifreeze poisoning in dogs and cats is common this time of year as people change the antifreeze in their cars’ radiators. Animals often are drawn to this sweet-tasting liquid out of curiosity. Even in South Florida, antifreeze poisoning occurs. In areas with subfreezing temperatures, outdoor pets may find that the only unfrozen water available is in the puddles where radiators were drained.

The toxic agent in commercial antifreeze is ethylene glycol, a colorless, odorless liquid that makes up 95 percent of antifreeze solution. After ingestion, the poison is rapidly absorbed from the digestive tract and within 20 to 30 minutes vomiting, depression, lack of coordination, and weakness often occur.

The prognosis for animals poisoned with ethylene glycol depends on how much was ingested, the size of the animal, and when treatment was started. Early diagnosis is imperative to treat the animal effectively. If not treat4ed immediately, the animal may experience severe kidney damage, could lapse into a coma, and may die, all within 24 hours of ingestion.

For the safety of your pets (and those of your neighbors), dispose of antifreeze properly. Drain antifreeze into a container that can be closed and take it to a nearby service station for disposal. Thoroughly clean surfaces where the antifreeze was spilled. When storing antifreeze, make sure there are no leaks and the lid is on tight. There are also antifreeze alternatives available that do not contain ethylene glycol. They are slightly higher in cost, but well worth the peace of mind in knowing that your pet will not be subjected to a possible horrible death.

Consult your veterinarian immediately if you notice your pet consuming highly toxic antifreeze or if your pet exhibits some of the early symptoms associated with the poisoning. As in all cases of poisoning, knowing what your pet ingested and getting help rapidly may mean the difference between life and death.

Click here for a comprehensive list of pet poisons.

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Holiday Hazards
Be careful how you deck your halls! The holiday season is generally a time of familytogetherness in which even our pets participate. One's thoughts generally are far from thoughts of injury; however, one must be aware of some important seasonal hazards in order to insure a happy holiday season.

RIBBONS & TINSEL

These are of special interest to playful cats and kittens who see these materials as toys (or prey) to be chased, pounced upon, chewed or swallowed. While chasing and pouncing pose no health threats, chewing and swallowing do, as these strings or "linear foreign bodies" can catch in the GI tract, leading to bunching of intestine as the body tries in vain to move the string or ribbon through. This is a life-threatening condition requiring surgery for correction. Supervise animals who play with string closely.

ELECTRIC LIGHT CORDS

These are also tempting to cats who like to play with string as well as to puppies who are teething and interested in chewing. If a pet bites through an electrical cord, it could result in a severe burn to the tongue, which causes the pet's lung to fill with fluid, causing respiratory distress. This is also an emergency requiring immediate veterinary attention.

CHOCOLATE

Many people do not realize that chocolate can be a poison. Unsweetened baking chocolate carries a much higher dose of the toxin "theobromine" than does milk chocolate, but even normal milk chocolate can be dangerous; a small dog sharing candy can wind up in big trouble. Clinical signs of chocolate poisoning include hyperexcitability, nervousness, vomiting, and diarrhea and death.

POINSETTIA

Consuming this festive-looking plant can be irritating to the mouth and stomach of the dog or cat that chews on or eats it. Contrary to popular belief, poinsettia is not especially toxic.

MISTLETOE

The fact that there are several types of mistletoe makes it difficult to predict the clinical signs of poisoning. Some mistletoes produce only stomach upset while others may lead to liver failure or seizuring. Consider mistletoe to be a hazardous substance and keep it inaccessible to pets and children.

COOKING

Keep pets out of the kitchen during the hustle and bustle of the season. The last thing you want is for someone you love to get underfoot and burned from spillage.

DIETARY INDISCRETION

We all like to include our pets in Holiday meals along with the rest of the family, but try to keep in mind that sudden rich diet changes are likely to upset a pet's stomach. Vomiting and diarrhea are not uncommon. If leftovers are of an especially fatty nature, the pancreas become inflamed and overloaded. This condition is serious and may require hospitalization

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Heartworm Disease
If you're just moving down to this area, or are just now getting your first dog or cat, you need to know about heartworm disease and prevention. In South Florida all dogs and cats should be on heartworm preventative all year long, even in the winter. Heartworms, a potentially deadly problem, are spread by the pesky mosquito, and you know we have plenty of those! You have a choice of either a daily medication, or a monthly. There're even products that combine monthly heartworm prevention with monthly flea prevention. Ask us to test your pet today and then start on prevention right away. It's the least you can do for a friend.

Read the complete article on Heartworm Disease.

Click here for information about heartworm disease in cats.

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Give Your Furry Valentine Love, Not Chocolate
Give chocolate to loved ones on Valentine’s Day and you could end up poisoning them. That is, I if the loved ones include any pets. Even small amount of theobromine, an ingredient in chocolate, can cause vomiting and restlessness in pets. Larger doses can be fatal.

The Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association reported that a springer spaniel died from accidental theobromine poisoning after eating a 2-pound bag of chocolate chips. Unaware of theobromine hazards, the dog’s owner did not seek veterinary care until it was too late. The pet became agitated, lost its bladder control and developed seizures. Less than 18 hours after eating the chocolate, the animal died.

While most pet owners expect a dog to develop an upset stomach after eating a large amount of chocolate, few realize its toxic potential. When pets are finally taken to veterinarians, they are often in more advanced states than if they had eaten something obviously toxic, like rat poison.

The lethal dose of theobromine depends on the size of the dog and the type of chocolate. Ounce for ounce, baking chocolate has six to nine times as much of the substance as milk chocolate. Estimates of the smallest amounts that can be fatal are:

• 4 to 10 ounces of milk chocolate or ½ to 1 ounce of baking chocolate for small-sized dogs, like Chihuahuas and toy poodles.
• 1 to 1 ½ pounds of milk chocolate or 4 to 8 ounces of baking chocolate for medium-sized dogs, such as cockers and dachshunds.
• 2 to 4 ½ pounds of milk chocolate or 4 to 8 ounces of baking chocolate for large dogs, including collies and labs.

While a very small amount of chocolate may not harm some dogs, it’s safest to avoid giving it to them at all. If an accident occurs, consult your veterinarian immediately. Treatment may require inducing vomiting, stabilizing the animal’s heartbeat and respiration, controlling seizures and slowing the absorption of theobromine. If the animal already is comatose, its stomach may need to be pumped.

If you’re sharing Valentine’s Day with your pet, keeping the chocolate out of harm’s way is the loving thing to do.

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Those Pesky Fleas
Guess what? If you've lived here for any length of time you know that we have those pesky buggers all year round! But fleas enjoy milder weather just as we do, so they get worse during the fall and spring. How so you stop them? We recommend using one of the monthly flea control products for your pet. PROGRAM is a safe oral medication that sterilizes the flea and breaks the flea life cycle - no more babies, no more adults.

ADVANTAGE and FRONTLINE are applied to the skin on the back of the pet and work by killing and repelling the flea. Some people find that giving their pet the PROGRAM all year long and then adding either ADVANTAGE or FRONTLINE during the worst flea seasons, takes care of their problems. (PROGRAM now also comes in a single tablet combined with a monthly heartworm preventative; it's called SENTINEL). Also, don't forget to treat the house (use a product with an insect growth regulator - IGR - to kill the immature stages for long periods of time), the yard (pay close attention to spraying the shady areas of your yard; fleas don't like direct sunlight), and even the car. Still confused? Call us, that's what we're here for!