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Pet Health
Maintaining appropriate dog health is very important to the long term quality of your pet's life. Good dog health depends upon a healthy diet, regular medical care, and plenty of exercise and love. Make sure to provide a balanced combination of these qualities, and your healthy dog should give you many years of love and companionship.
You should immediately call your veterinarian if you observe any of the following signs in your pet:
Any sign of blood in vomit, urine or stool
A persistent cough
Excessive drooling
If normally pink gums appear pale
Repeated pawing or rubbing of ears
Shaking, weakness or appears to be tired
Sudden or steady weight loss
Not drinking water
Dogs not eating within last 48 hours
The vaccinations your dog receives may vary with the area of the country and the philosophy of your veterinarian. Usually the following vaccinations and health checks are given beginning at 6 weeks of age and continuing until 4 months.
Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Rarainfluenze - at 6, 9 , 12 weeks of age
Parvovirus - at 6, 9, 15 weeks of age
Rabies - at 3 months of age then annually
Intestinal worm checks - at 6 and 15 weeks, then twice yearly
Neutering or Hysterectomy - at 5-6 months of age
Heartworm preventative - begun between 8-15 weeks of age and continues for life
Annual booster vaccinations given along with an intestinal worm check twice yearly and annual heartworm blood tests
Canine Distemper: Canine distemper is a disease that attacks the nervous system of a dog. It usually causes death and can affect dogs of all ages. Since puppies are the most common victims of this dreadful disease, the vaccination program every three weeks is designed to help prevent distemper. Distemper is a virus that can develop pneumonia as secondary bacterial infection takes over the body. The distemper virus attacks the brain within a few weeks and death or euthanasia is generally the outcome. Vaccinations are very effective in preventing this disease.
Canine Hepatitis: Canine Hepatitis is a viral disease which affects the liver. Fortunately, Hepatitis is rarely seen to day due to the effectiveness of vaccinations. Most all distemper vaccines are combined with hepatitis vaccine to control most diseases.
Leptospirosis: Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that usually affects the kidneys and other organs of the body. If the kidneys are affected the puppy usually dies. Leptospirosis like hepatitis is not seen often. The bacteria is most often carried in the urine of rats. The disease was seen more often in farm dogs that could be exposed to rat urine. Distemper vaccine does not always have leptospirosis vaccine included.
Parvovirus: Parvovirus is an intestinal virus in dogs. The virus can remain in the area for months and can be transmitted on your shoes or other articles. Your dog does not have to be around a sick puppy to get parvo virus. The symptoms include depression, bloody diarrhea and vomiting. The treatment is aggressive supportive care with I.V. fluids and medicines for vomiting. Without proper veterinary care this disease is most often fatal. Vaccinations are generally very effective in preventing the disease. dogs over one year of age rarely will contract the disease, but vaccinations are recommended as an insurance that the disease will not strike your dog.
Rabies: Rabies is a scary disease that is spread mainly through the wild animal population in an area. The signs are foaming at the mouth and behavior uncommon to the animal. However, Rabies can be difficult to diagnose and any abnormal behavior in a dog should be viewed with suspicion. Vaccination for Rabies is a state law in Georgia.
Parasites: Intestinal worm checks are tests done on a dog's bowel movement to see if there are any worm eggs present in the dogs' body. In South Georgia we see hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, coccidia, tapeworms, and Giardia. Only two of the six worms common to Georgia can be seen without the aid of a microscope. Hookworms can be spread through a dog's feces or can penetrate the dog's skin, or travel through the milk to nursing puppies. They attach to a dog's intestines to feed on the blood. Hookworms can cause major blood loss which is sometimes fatal to puppies. The baby stage of hookworms are called sandworms. These baby worms can penetrate the skin of people and migrate under the skin causing a human health hazard.
Roundworms can be spread for mother to puppies or through soil that has eggs in it. They can cause bloated bellies and diarrhea and vomiting. Roundworms can be transmitted to people also and can cause some serious health problems relating to loss of sight. Whipworms can cause diarrhea, weight loss and dehydration. They are very hard to detect and also to eliminate. Whipworms do not lays eggs very often so they can be overlooked during the worm checks performed by a veterinarian.
Heartworm Prevention: Prevention of heartworm disease is very simple. Heartworm preventative for dogs is usually started between 2-3 months of age and the preventative is given once each month for life. (a daily heartworm preventative is also available) Since heartworms are spread by mosquitoes which are prevalent here in South Georgia all year long, the preventative must be given all year long unlike some other areas of the United States where the pills can be given only 6-9 months of each year. Heartworms are the most life threatening parasite dogs can have. The microfilia (baby heartworms) are deposited in the dog's body by a mosquito bite. These baby worms grow and move to the heart where the damage to your pet's health is done. Symptoms of heartworms do not show up sometimes for years. but early tests performed by your veterinarian will diagnose the disease before much damage is done. Your dog should be on the medication every month for life with once yearly testing to make sure the preventative is doing it's job.
Birth Control: We recommend surgery at 5-6 months of age to prevent your dog from being able to reproduce. For male dogs the procedure is called neutering or castration and for female dogs it is called ovariohysterectomy. Neutering your pet has lots of advantages. Male dogs will not roam away from home which cuts down dramatically on the chances of being hit by a car or being in a fight with other dogs. The surgery involves complete removal of both testicles while under a general anesthesia. An ovariohysterectomy means the surgical removal of both ovaries and the uterus. This surgery is the same procedure performed in people called a hysterectomy. In people the ovaries are generally not removed. Female dogs have a 200% less chance of developing breast cancer if the ovariohysterectomy is done before the first heat cycle. Breast cancer is a very common form of cancer in animals.
Vaccinations given before three months of age are often called "temporary". Vaccinations given after three months of age will last for one year. The only exception is the 3 year Rabies vaccination given by some veterinarian. The first year of a puppy's growth is equal to 15 years growth for a person. This means that every 3 weeks of the puppy's first year is equal to one full year to a child. Since growth changes occur so fast, it is imperative that wellness examinations be performed each time the vaccinations are given.
Puppies receive protection from disease from the antibodies in their mother's milk during the first three days of nursing. The length of time the protection lasts is different for each puppy. Therefore vaccinations are given to "boost" that protection until the puppy can produce his or her own antibodies.
Fleas
To control fleas you must understand them. We prefer not to use chemicals such as those found in feed stores, which have the possibility of causing harmful reactions to the pet or the environment. A few statements will be made about fleas and flea control, which will hopefully help you understand how to control these parasites.
Fleas are blood-sucking parasites, which spend 95% of their adult life on your pet. As many as 2000 eggs can be laid by the adult female flea within a few weeks. Eggs are laid on the pet, and then they fall off into the carpet, grass, or similar areas that are frequented by your pet. Fleas generally do not live for more than a few months, and cannot live long without a blood meal. The adult flea comprises only 5% of the entire flea life cycle. Since the adult is the only one we see, imagine how many immature stages are in our house or yards that comprise the other 95%. Eighty five per cent of the immature stages are eggs and larvae. The other 10% is composed of the pupae, which is much like a cocoon and is resistant to insecticides.
The must common mistake people will do is to concentrate on what they see, which is natural of course, but controlling only 5% of the total flea population will never get us anywhere. The solution to flea control is to concentrate on the eggs and larval stages before they develop the cocoon or pupae. The eggs and larvae need the correct amount of humidity, sunlight, and food source to survive. These facts help us to decide where these flea stages may hide. For instance, outside flea eggs and larvae can be found in the shaded, cooler areas. Examples are under tree limbs, bushes, dog pens, under decks, etc. These immature stages generally cannot complete their development out in the sunny areas of your yard, so there is not point in using flea products in the middle of the sunny yard.
In the house, flea larvae and pupae will be deep in your carpet or just under the edge of furniture, not more than a few inches out of the light. Concentrating on flea control in carpeted areas is the most productive for indoor control. Also it is very important to use flea products on rugs or door mats (indoor and outdoor) where flea eggs may be deposited as the pets sits or stands on the rug.
If you see or feel fleas on you, they are usually the pre-emerging fleas which are the ones coming out of the pupae. Immature fleas can stay in the pupae stage for months until all the right conditions enable them to break out of their cocoon. Young fleas can be hopping and sucking blood within minutes after hatching out of the pupae stage. Remember that fleas live most of their life on our pets, they prefer pets over us, and so if we find fleas on us, we can believe that we really have problems with immature fleas, eggs, larvae, and pupae. Just killing the adult flea will not solve the problem.
It is also important to remember that not seeing fleas on your pet does not rule them out. We know that cats can groom as many as 75% of the fleas off their body in one day. Sometimes you can see flea dirt, which looks like small curled black specks. This flea dirt is actually flea waste material and is composed primarily of dried blood. When pets are washed they can actually have so much "flea dirt" on them that it may seem as if the pet is bleeding due to the dissolving dried blood.
Products that control fleas are many and varied. Most contact kill products contain pyrethrins or permethrin chemicals. These chemicals are commonly found in pet flea shampoos, mousse products, some dips, and many flea sprays. The best way to control fleas is to use an IGR or insect growth regulator. These products not only kill the adult flea but also prevent the development of eggs into larvae and finally into pupae. Veterinarians are very knowledgeable about fleas and they should be consulted with questions concerning the effectiveness and safety of all flea products.
Ticks
Ticks can be found almost anywhere, but primarily in grass, woods, or bushy areas. You generally do not see the tick when they crawl onto you or your pet but soon the tick has imbedded its mouthparts into your skin and becomes firmly attached until it is removed.
Ticks commonly affect dogs, cats, and humans. Since dogs frequent the areas tick live, they are the most affected. Ticks attach themselves to the skin in pursuit of a blood meal. Late spring, summer, and early fall are the times of the year were most tick infestations appear. Some ticks can live up to two years, survive temperatures below freezing and lay up to 5,000 eggs.
Ticks are important not only to dogs and cats but to humans as well, for ticks can transmit diseases that can be harmful or even fatal to pets and humans. The most common tick transmitted diseases are Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Canine Ehrlichiosis, Ehrlichiosis in Humans, and Human Granulocytic Ehrlichosis. By far the most common condition seen is Tick Paralysis. Some dogs are especially sensitive to a toxin (poison) found in the saliva of the tick. This toxin paralyzes the nervous system to the point that the dog can no longer walk. Most cases are treatable and recovery is usually uneventful. However, in some cases the dogs become over heated due to their inability to get out of the sun, or can be injured if near the road. Deaths have been seen as an indirect cause from Tick Paralysis.
Since humans can also get diseases from ticks it is best not to remove the tick with you bare fingers. The use of tweezers or special inexpensive tick removal devices is the best way to remove ticks. Removing ticks incompletely may allow portions of the mouthparts or head of the tick to remain attached to the skin. Infections and scar tissue that may never go away can be the result of ineffective tick removal.
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