Answer:
You are correct regarding past years and ticks. Caledon has not been a hot bed for tick activity. That dubious award goes to the southeastern part of the Province in the Windsor, Port Pelee area. Lately though we have seen resurgence in these pesky disease carrying critters and our dos and cats are at risk.

Ticks live in the underbrush in the woods, in the long grass of the fields and sometimes in the ravines in town. Unlike fleas, ticks do not move very fast. When an animal or human brushes up against a branch or bush where a tick is siting, the tick falls onto the passerby. With humans, we usually get ticks on our lower legs whereas dogs and cats get them on their face, head, shoulders and stomach.

Once ticks fall onto a ‘host’ be it animal or human, they start to inject local anesthetic into the skin where they are going to feed. This allows them to literally bury their head in the skin without causing discomfort to their host. Sometimes they fall off before they bury their head and if they fall off in the house, they can live up to two weeks indoors. As ticks feed, they produce eggs and once they are fully engorged with eggs they pull their head out of the skin and fall off ready to lay eggs. The dangerous part to the host is while feeding, ticks can pass infection. Lyme disease, babesia, anaplasmosis, erlichia, are some diseases that can be passed from ticks to dogs or cats. These diseases can be debilitating and life threatening. If caught early these diseases can be treated but the best form of treatment is prevention.

The best way to prevent your pet from having ticks feed on them is to go through your pet’s fur at the end of each walk to remove any ticks that have hitched a ride. There are numerous preventive products available through your veterinarian to kill any ticks that you miss. These products are safe and effective and since the early spring and the late summer are the times ticks love most, you need to start now to be vigilant against these little biters.

Prevention and vigilance against these pesky parasites is the best way to keep your pets healthy.

Answer: Unfortunately, many dogs suffer from atopy or seasonal allergy. Sam’s immune system is over reacting to an airborne allergen in the environment that is at high levels during the spring, a common offender is pollen from trees, grass and weeds. In humans, inhaled allergens cause respiratory problems such as hay fever or asthma. Dogs will occasionally show respiratory signs but are much more likely to develop itchy skin. Affected dogs will chew, lick and scratch their skin excessively sometimes causing wounds or secondary infection.

Seasonal allergies tend to respond very well to corticosteroids like prednisone, but sometimes dogs experience side effects and these medications are not ideal for long-term use. Luckily there are other treatment alternatives; many work better if they can be started prior to the pet becoming itchy.

A relatively new way of thinking of allergies is to focus on the skin as a barrier against absorption of environmental allergens and loss of moisture through the skin. Animals that suffer from skin allergies have a weak skin barrier. Several new products have been shown to strengthen the skin by supplying the building blocks the body needs to maintain healthy cell membranes. These are available through your veterinarian as shampoos, sprays and spot-on products. Supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids helps to decrease inflammation and also strengthens the skin barrier. These products can be started prior to allergy season and continued throughout the season.

Corticosteroids stop the itch of allergies by suppressing the over reactive immune system. Cyclosporine is a medication that has a similar effect but does not have the same side effects as steroids. This is a good alternative for dogs that cannot tolerate prednisone or have o be one prednisone for a long period of time. Approximately 70% of dogs will respond to cyclosporine, it should be started 1-2 months prior to the beginning of allergy season. Cyclosporine can have its own side effects that should be discussed with your veterinarian before beginning.

Hypo-sensitization known by many people as “allergy shots” are another option for Sam. In 70-80% of dogs a diagnoses of what allergens are causing the problem and can be provided. Small amounts of different allergens are injected into the skin, a positive test occurs when the skin in this area becomes inflamed telling us the pet is allergic to this particular substance. A serum containing the allergen is then prepared and injected in a series of shots. By exposing the animal to increasing amounts of the allergen the immune system over time over time will be “reprogrammed” to be less sensitive. This test is usually preformed by a veterinary dermatologist. To obtain accurate results, this test is performed outside of the pet’s allergy season and all medications that could affect the immune response are discontinued.

So as you can see there are alternatives to corticosteroid therapy that you can begin prior to allergy season. A combination of treatments is often used to achieve the best results. The goal for allergy treatment is not to eliminate scratching, licking and biting completely, but to achieve a tolerable level of itch where Sam is comfortable. So good luck I hope you are able to look forward to and enjoy spring with Sam in the future.

An outline of the tree, containing the dominant breeds, is given back to you as part of a genetic analysis information Package. If the DNA results show that there is a “mixed breed” component to your pet, the potential breeds are further broken down. Each potential breed this “mixed breed” gene could be is then listed in order of most likely to least likely. Characteristics, size and personality traits of the breeds that have come up in the analysis are also included in the information package. If your do is a mixed breed dog, this enables you to determine which breed your pet is most like. A Statement of Authentication is given to you as well, and this also summarizes the genetic makeup of your pet.

For further information on the Wisdom Panel Insights test, please follow this link http://www.wisdompanel.com/

If you are interested in testing your pet, please phone the North Hill Animal Hospital at (905)857-5057 to make an appointment.

EPetHealth is a wonderful source of other information useful to pet parents.  The Breed Selector gives information regarding temperament, size, and medical condition on breeds of cats and dogs. The Video Library has numerous short segments relating to pet health and care and the Dosage Advisor can be set up to send reminders to give specific medications so you never forget to protect you loved ones.

North Hill Animal Hospital constantly strives to improve the lives of their patients and to help pet parents care for their four legged family members. EPetHealth is another way to show we care.

Answer: There are easy “tests” you can do at home to see if your pet is overweight. First, feel over your dog’s ribs, you should be able to easily feel your dog’s ribs with only a thin layer of fat covering them. If you have to press very hard to feel your dog’s ribs he is likely carrying too much weight. Look at your dog from above; you should see a tucked waist or “hour-glass figure”. The same is true for his side view. You shouldn’t see fat hanging or be able to grab a handful of fat at his belly. There are breed standards for normal adult body weights, but this doesn’t help if your dog is smaller or larger than the average in his breed category. This is why each pet should be individually assessed.

If you’ve decided that our pet truly is overweight don’t feel alone. Recent statistics show 50% of household cats and dogs are overweight and 35% are obese (weighing 30% more than ideal weight). This is a very concerning trend as obesity can lead to several health problems such as diabetes, arthritis, respiratory compromise and most importantly, will shorten your pet’s life span.

So identifying the problem is half the battle. What can you do to get your pet healthy again? Just like people too many calories in and not enough calories burned with exercise overtime will cause obesity. You should look at what you are feeding your dog, your veterinarian can help evaluate it’s quality. Many people make the mistake of thinking a cup of kibble can’t possibly be enough to satisfy their pet’s appetite, not taking into account how much smaller their pet is compared to a person, and how calorie dense their pet’s food is. Also pets are smart, they know begging behaviour will earn them a snack. There are not too many pets that will turn down a treat even if they are full! Your veterinarian can tell you how many calories your dog requires in a day to achieve weight loss; this must include extra treats. Make an effort to increase your dogs activity level, this could include walking around the neighbourhood or playing fetch, just make sure you do more than what you are doing now. After 2-3 weeks weigh your pet, hopefully you will see some weight loss. If not, don’t despair or give up! Ask your veterinarian to re-calculate calories required for the day as these numbers are based on the “average” dog and add an extra walk.

By achieving a lean body weight for your dog you will be giving yourself and your pet the gift of many extra, quality years together, which is priceless!

Stay tuned for exciting new information this month about how pet parents can view their pets’ medical records online from the comfort of your home.

Answer: Keeping pets fit in the winter is a tough task. We have the ability to keep up our fitness with hockey, skiing, snowboarding, all of which are physically demanding. Unless you have a Malamute or Husky who is trained to pull a sled, most dogs and cats become a little lazy in the winter months.

Fitness and the prevention of weight gain is important all year round, winter included. When outdoor activities are continued in the winter months precautions need to be taken. Large dogs can continue to go for walks and most dogs love to play in the snow. Smaller dogs and those like Dobermans, Boxers and Chinese Crested with thin fur often need a coat to help keep them warm. Depending on the temperature, all dogs, including the sledding dogs, could benefit from protective boots to help keep their feet warm and to protect them from salt and ice on the roads. Cats will not tolerate coats or boots so on cold days they should stay inside. There are some breeds of cats, the Devon Rex, Sphinx and Persian who should not go outside in the winter as they will get chilled quickly and in the case of the Persian will collect snow and ice balls in their fur which may damage their skin.

Dogs and cats that go out all year round will grow a dense insulating fur coat, which will be ample insulation to keep them toasty in the winter. Wind is their worst enemy. Wind will cut through all but the thickest of coats chilling pets to the bone. A shelter of some sort to protect them from the wind is important. Shelters can be in the form of a dog or cathouse or easy access into a garage.

Those pets that do not venture out of doors in the winter need some form of exercise in the house to keep them limber, fit and slim. Cats and small dogs love to play and making play time a daily habit strengthens the love you have for each other, prevents boredom and keeps pets active. Small balls, toys on a string, laser pointers can all encourage activity in the house. The fetch game can be played in a hallway, muscles can be strengthened going upstairs and hide and seek can be played anywhere. These games encourage movement, which keeps muscles toned.

Cats can sometimes be a challenge to keep active during the winter. Once way to encourage activity is to place food bowls with 2-3 kibbles in them in different places around the house. The kitties can “hunt” the kibble and be rewarded for moving around the house. Changing the location of the bowls every week keeps the interest up and prevents boredom.

No matter what activity you choose for your pets, it is important to keep them active during the winter so when the spring warmth greets us again, they will be able to enjoy outdoor play again.

It is difficult to tell when pets are in pain. If we look closely we can sometimes get hints there is discomfort. Cats and dogs that hide more are not as social as they normally are or who keep their heads down may be showing signs of pain. Pets who sleep more often are trying to hide from the pain. Changes in behaviour to being more grumpy or not wanting to play can also be signs of pain.

As I mentioned above, pets amaze me in how they can hide pain and discomfort. It is up to us to recognize the subtle symptoms and help them with their pain.