Should I add vitamins or supplements to my pet’s food?

If your pet eats a food from a reputable company and eats well and does not have a pre-existing condition, the answer to this question is no. Reputable pet food companies spend lots of time and money on research to determine everything needed for a balance diet. So, the food they make should contain all vitamins, minerals, and calories that is needed to maintain a healthy pet.

If your pet has an underlying condition or does not eat well, your veterinarian can determine if there are vitamins or supplements needed. Most supplements in the pet industry are made for profit and to be attractive to pet owners and are not made specifically for health needs. Many supplements you will find on the shelf may not even be tested to make sure they contain the ingredients on the label or tested for efficacy.

For these reasons, it is always recommended to talk to your veterinarian to see if your pet could benefit from vitamins or supplements and which ones are quality. Chewy, 1800Petmeds, Amazon, etc. are in the market of solely making money. They will sell you what is most profitable. Your veterinarian’s livelihood and reputation depend on telling and selling you things that will help your pet. If your veterinarian takes the time to go over and explain things with you, you should strongly consider buying your pet’s OTC medications from them. Your vet has a vested interest in your pet, take a vested interest in your vet.

We do you not carry ProHeart?

ProHeart is a very effective and fairly safe heartworm prevention. There are two ProHeart product, ProHeart6 and ProHeart12. ProHeart6 prevents heartworms for 6 months and ProHeart12 prevents them for 12 months. However, the heartworm prevention is not where these products fall short. To understand this, we must first discuss other heartworm preventions.

Most other heartworm preventions on the market also deworm the pet. So, when you give a monthly heartworm prevention, you are also deworming the pet for intestinal parasites. Why that is important is because intestinal parasites are the #1 cause of vomiting and diarrhea we see in pets. Also, some of these intestinal worms can cause other issues and some even suck blood through the intestinal wall and can cause anemia and death.

So, the question is, does ProHeart not cover intestinal parasites? ProHeart does, in fact, prevent some intestinal parasites, However, the most either product is labeled to prevent or treat intestinal worms is 3 months. So, there will be 9 months out of the year that your pet will not be protected from some of the most common parasites we see that have the potential to cause severe issues. Also, ProHeart does not do very well against whipworms.

The next question is why do so many other veterinarians recommend ProHeart? There are 2 main reasons I see veterinarians recommending ProHeart. The first is, the veterinarians think heartworms are more dangerous than intestinal parasites and the treatment is much more expensive, and a client is less likely to forget to give a dose if they only give a dose every 6 or 12 months. So, these veterinarians believe a pet will be covered for more months out of the year for a more dangerous parasite by giving one of the ProHeart products. The next reason I see veterinarian recommending ProHeart is because it is one of the best money makers in a veterinarian’s pharmacy. This product can be marked up well and still be a bit cheaper than other heartworm preventions based on a yearly price. Also, the veterinarian gets all the mark-up up front. So, if you only buy 1 month of a monthly heartworm prevention in 12 months, the veterinarian only gets 1 month of mark-up. However, if you buy ProHeart6 the veterinarian gets 6 months of mark-up and even more if you buy ProHeart12. Also, ProHeart is one of the few products that a client can’t get from an online pharmacy, as the product must be given by a licensed veterinarian (this is also why some vets prefer Cytopoint over Apoquel and Zenrelia). As veterinarians compete with online pharmacies, this is one way to keep profit in house.

At Clarksville Animal Clinic, we like to give out clients more credit than that and recommend the best care. The heartworm prevention we recommend the most Sentinel Spectrum. This is a monthly tablet you give to prevent heartworms and treat roundworms, whipworms, hookworms. Sentinel Spectrum also has an ingredient that prevents flea eggs from hatching. So, if a flea gets on your pet, takes a blood meal, then releases thousands of eggs in your home, those eggs will not hatch to cause an infestation. We also feel like ProHeart, because it is given so infrequently, is at risk or being having missed doses, especially the 6-month product since most clients are not regularly taking their pet to the veterinarian every 6 months. Everyone is busy and having to make an extra trip with your pet to the veterinary office can get forgotten or pushed back very easily. However, if you have the prevention at home and make a reminder on the same day each month, all you have to do is get the product and give it to the pet. Our goal is to keep your pet as healthy as long as we can, and we feel ProHeart is not the best option.

Why do we not recommend OTC flea and tick prevention?

There are several reasons we do not recommend OTC external parasiticides (flea and tick preventions). The first is because they typically are not as effective as prescription medications. Secondly, they can be much more dangerous to pets. Thirdly, they come with guarantee of what you are getting or of effectiveness.

For years the best preventative we had for fleas and ticks were insecticide dips/baths. These were effective but did not last long and some were even toxic to pets. Next, came flea and tick collars that contained insecticides. Once again, these were effective but did not last long and were toxic if one pet chewed or ate another pet’s collar. These collars had a strong insecticide smell and could even be toxic to people if a person rubbed to collar. Next came topical spot-ons that last longer and are effective. Once again, some of these can be toxic, especially when using a dog product on a cat. After years of popularity, many of these seemed to lose their effectiveness.

Recently, there has been one class of medications and one developed that provide the best prevention available. These are safer, more effective, and last. The class of medications is called isoxazolines. Isoxazolines are safer that most other products and come as topicals and orals. There are products that are labeled to use every 1, 2, or 3 months, based on the individual product. These products are also highly effective. The one downside to these products is that, if your pet has seizures, your pet is more likely to have seizures if taking Isoxazolines. Isoxazolines include Bravecto (the one we recommend), Simparica, Credilio, and Nexgard. We believe Bravecto is the safest and most effective. For dogs we use the 1-month and 3-month product that is like a small treat. For cats we use the spot-on that lasts for 2 months.

The collar is called Seresto. It is highly effective against fleas and ticks and lasts up to 8 months. Also, if one pet chews or eats another pet’s Seresto collar, the way the medication is released, it is not toxic to the pet that ingests the collar. Having said that, the collar could act as a foreign body in the intestinal tract and cause a blockage so the ingesting pet should be monitored very closely. Also, the active ingredient will not rub off onto person that rubs the collar. Seresto is an over-the-counter product but, if it sounds like a useful product to you, you should buy Seresto collars from a reputable source as there are many knockoffs that are labeled as Seresto with identical packaging. These knockoffs are not effective and can have been toxic to some pets (Amazon is not a reputable source and Chewy is questionable).

So, in conclusion, the prescriptions drugs we recommend are typically safer and more effective and are more likely to keep your pet from getting secondary diseases that are caused by external parasites. And, when you get a product from us you know exactly what you are getting, and all our products come with a guarantee.

Is my pet a healthy weight?

This is an extremely important question because a very high percentage of pets we see are overweight. This is significant since overweight pets can have a much-decreased life span and quality of life. Overweight pets are more prone to several chronic conditions, like diabetes, severe osteoarthritis, etc. There are a couple of scoring systems, but these are the 2 best I have found. Use these to see if your pet is overweight and if so, we help to get your pet on a weight loss program. Being underweight is not nearly as common and if your pet is on a balanced diet and is underweight, it probably needs to be seen by a veterinarian.

Can you explain how health certificates work?

This is a little tough because there are different types of health certificates and different locations require different testing, medications, requirements. I will try to simplify this and give sources. My best recommendation is to contact your veterinarian as soon as you know you will be travelling with a pet and start your own research at the same time. The more prepared you are, the easier the process will be for everyone.

State to state health certificates are basically certificates stating your pet has been examined by an accredited veterinarian that has not found any infectious diseases and confirms your pet is current on its Rabies vaccination. These are typically good for traveling for 30 days. However, if you are flying with a pet, most airlines require them to be performed within 10 days of travel. All airlines have different requirements, so check with yours to know exactly what you need and when you will need it.

Hawaii is very different. They require Rabies testing, which must go to a special lab and can take 4-6 weeks for results. They also require a combination of rabies vaccinations and microchip that must be performed in particular order. There are also different options if you want to be able to get your pet as soon as it arrives in Hawaii or it may be quarantined for a period of time.

International health certificates vary greatly, depending on the destination. Many intermediate destinations also have requirements that will have to be met for travel through that country other than just a layover. Many of these countries will require treatment for parasites within a certain period. This can include treatment for fleas and ticks and/or intestinal parasites.

Many international health certificates must be emailed to USDA veterinarian and approved then mailed back to the client. This can take a few days so do not forget to add this into the time frame for leaving.

All state to state and international travel requires a health certificate. Without one, you could get turned back or your pet could be quarantined for months. The most important aspect is to educate yourself and help make the process smoother.
Resources:

State to state
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/pet-travel/state-to-state
International
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/pet-travel/us-to-another-country-exportHawaii

Animal Quarantine Information Page (Updated)

Puerto Rico
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.aphis.usda.gov/media/document/1546/file&ved=2ahUKEwjCjOnEv8-IAxVF_skDHXDeG0MQFnoECBMQAQ&usg=AOvVaw12wEf3mSH6UvOLpIcyjMWx

What can I do for my pet to help with car rides?

There are mainly two reasons pets do not do well with car rides. The first is nausea or motion sickness. This occurs when what your pet’s eyes see does not agree with what your pet’s inner ear senses. The other reason is anxiety from being in a moving vehicle and not really understanding or liking what is happening. Sometimes both happen together. Before relying on a treatment for a long ride, I always recommend trying the treatment for short rides around the neighborhood. This will allow you to get an idea of how well it is going to work.

Typically, the first medication I recommend for either of these reasons would be Diphenhydramine. Diphenhydramine is over the counter and is pretty much in every store, so it is easy to get, most people even have it on hand. Diphenhydramine is also cheap and relatively safe. The biggest side effect is drowsiness which can help with anxiety and nausea. Antihistamines can also help with nausea by making the inner less sensitive to the changes it senses. This should be given 45 minutes before a car ride and can be given every 4-6 hours as needed. Before giving your pet any medication, it is important to make sure it is safe your pet and that there are no potential adverse drug interactions with any medication your pet currently takes.

If Diphenhydramine does not work, then it is very important to determine the underlying condition. There is a medication (Cerenia) labeled specifically for motion sickness and it is very effective. There are several anxiety medications, but Trazodone is the most common one we use because it works well without having to build up in the body.

Acepromazine has been used for a long time and many veterinarians still use it. However, I do not prefer it as all animals respond very differently to it and it can cause profound sedation and drops in blood pressure. There are much safer medications than Acepromazine.
Other things that are not likely to work by themselves but can make the above treatments more successful are pheromones, essential oils, window shades, and carriers. Calming pheromones (Adaptil for dogs and Feliway for cats) have been shown to help calm animals in anxiety causing environments. Lavendar has also been shown to reduce anxiety in pets during car rides. Window shades can help decrease the inner ear effect by decreasing the bright and alternating bright and low lights (can give a strobe effect). Carriers can also help give the pet a familiar, safe place and the feeling of secure containment while on a car ride. Carriers are most helpful when the pet is trained in the home, before a ride, that the carrier is a safe and secure area where nothing bad happens.

One thing that can help with car ride issues is to do more of them. I know that sounds counterproductive but most pets that have nausea, will grow out of it, much like people, if they get used to it with more and more car rides. The repeat rides help the eyes and ears learn to communicate better. I recommend keeping these short at first then lengthening them over time. When you get home be sure to reward the pet, so the ride is not a negative experience. I would not reward the pet during the ride just in case the nausea hits after giving the reward. For pets with anxiety, I do recommend giving a small number of treats during these rides and, if possible, having someone sit with the pet and continuously petting and praising the pet so they view the entire experience as a positive. Once the pet becomes more comfortable, the treats, petting, and praising can slowly be decreased. Having said this, some pets never get completely comfortable with car rides and may always need medication.

This next question is a two-for-one: ‘Why don’t you allow payment plans?’ and ‘Why do you recommend pet insurance so strongly?

This next question is two for one. One question we often get is “Since we do not allow payment plans?” The second part to that is why we recommend pet insurance so much.

Care Credit is a credit card that is used at some veterinary clinics and other medical offices. The way Care Credit works is to charge the clinic for the interest that the client would normally pay on a regular credit card. They charge the clinic up front any time a charge is made on the card. The longer the terms (30,60,90, 1yr) the higher the rate. Then, if the client does not pay the bill off in the specified amount of time, Care Credit charges the client interest for carrying the balance, in essence, getting paid interest twice on many charges (and the interest is based on the initial charge, not just what balance is currently left).

The question that follows is why you don’t carry Care Credit and just charge the client for the extra charges. That way the client can have payments over a period and the clinic does not have to pay the interest charges. The reason this can’t be done is that Care Credit does not allow it and makes the clinic sign a contract saying they will not do it. If Care Credit finds a clinic charging in this way, they will no longer work with that clinic.

So, clinics that accept Care Credit add a fee to cover the Care Credit cost, but they add it to all regular prices and charge all clients across the board for it, just so they do not lose money on the clients that do use Care Credit. So, at clinics that use Care Credit, everyone is paying for the service that only a portion are using.

At Clarksville Animal Clinic, we would rather charge fair prices for everything and not penalize some for the benefit of others.
Care Credit has long been used for more expensive procedures and testing that clients don’t have the money on hand to cover. However, there is a better option. Pet insurance can help cover these expenses. Many plans will cover 90% of emergency and/or illness expenses. Most of the policies are not that expensive, especially if they are used 1-2 times in the pet’s life, and most pets are going to have diarrhea, a cough, skin issues, at some point. There are many pet insurance companies, and they all differ on what they cover. Some have breed and age limits, some cover routine expenses (vaccines, etc.) and some do not. It is important to research and determine which policy covers your specific needs and pets. Some companies even have pre-approval for costs so a clinic can submit an estimate, and if approved, the client never has to pay the clinic.

So, by not using Care Credit and promoting pet insurance, we can keep prices lower and provide better care for more pets.

Can pets take the same medications as people?

Then answer to this is yes and no. There are a few medications that dogs and cats can take that are made for humans. However, the dose is often not the same because pets are typically much smaller that people and pets metabolize medication differently. For example, dogs and cats are very sensitive to a class of medications called non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs). Giving a dog or cat any of these medications, even 1 dose, can cause stomach ulcers, liver/kidney damage and even death.

Some human medications are made differently. One antibiotic for humans and pets contains Clavulanic Acid and Amoxicillin but the human product contains different amounts of each ingredient than the pet product due to differences in metabolism and bacterial differences between species. Some human medications contain xylitol as a sweetener for taste. Xylitol is highly toxic to pets. Some human antihistamines can be used in pets but typically, to be effective, the dose must be higher.

Also, there are many medications that may be safe but there is no testing to determine toxicity or correct dosages since the pet market in not as profitable as the human market, so we don’t really know about the safety of those products.

These are the biggest issues but there are others. So, the best answer to this question is possibly, but you should check with your veterinarian first to confirm safety and dosages.

How can someone become a veterinarian?

The next question is one I have been asked several times but does not directly pertain to pets. I want to address how to become a veterinarian.
The first step is to get good grades in high school and get into a good college with a good pre-veterinary program. One thing you will want to look at is the number of students in the pre-veterinary program that have applied to veterinary school and how many have been accepted. Just because no one from the school has been accepted into veterinary school doesn’t mean you will not, but a school that is good at preparing students will likely be better at preparing you. Two things good grades in high school will help with are getting into the college you want and student debt. The average student debt coming out of veterinary school is about $180,000; so, the more scholarships you get to help with debt, the less you will have to pay back when you get out of school.

While in college, you will be required to complete certain courses to be eligible to apply to veterinary school. These requirements are similar but vary between veterinary schools. When you are getting close to applying for veterinary school, you will have to take a standardized exam, likely the GRE. It is important to do well in your classes and on this standardized test because veterinary schools will use these 2 criteria to compare you to other students, and getting into veterinary school is very competitive. Many schools also have a weighted scoring system in which the grades from science related courses have more emphasis.

Two other things veterinary schools look at are experience and extracurricular activities. Veterinary schools want to see that you have intertest in the career and are trying to build a knowledge base before getting into their program. Veterinary experience also shows the schools that you have some idea of what you are getting into. If you must (and many people do) volunteer at a veterinary clinic as a kennel assistant, etc. to get your foot in the door. For application you will need letters of recommendation, your experience will hopefully allow you to make veterinary contacts that can write those for you. Also, veterinary schools want to see that you are a well-rounded individual and can successfully handle interpersonal relationships. I think the best approach is to be a member of several organizations but participate heavily in 2-3. That way you can list several on an application and can use the situations you were most heavily involved with to answer situational questions you are likely to be asked during your application interview.

Most people are in college for 4 years before being accepted into veterinary school. However, some (especially if not accepted during your first application) may be in school for 5-6 years before being accepted. Some motivated people can get their minimum classes completed and get accepted in 3 years. If you are not accepted on your first application, I recommend finishing school and starting a masters program and applying again. I have known several people that have done this and been accepted. I think when the admissions board sees you are devoted to higher education in a veterinary field, they are very likely to accept you into veterinary school, if your grades are good.
One thing I would recommend during this step is to talk with a few people applying and accepted into veterinary school and even talk to someone that is on faculty at a veterinary school and see if there are any new things veterinary schools are looking for in a student’s application, experience, etc.

When deciding where you want to go to veterinary school, you should see if there is a school that offers more expertise is a field you want to pursue (large animal vs small animal or exotics, or certain areas of research, etc.) but most schools are more than adequate for general practice. Also, it is wise to check to see what percentage of a school’s graduates pass the national board exam. The national board exam (National Veterinary Licensing Exam, NAVLE) must be passed to become licensed in any state. Also, each state has different requirements to become licensed, so you will want to research a particular state before taking a job.

Once you get accepted into veterinary school, you can still get scholarships to help pay for the education, do not forget to investigate this. Veterinary school is 4 years, that is typically 3 years of classes with a few hands-on courses during this time and 1 year of clinical experience. Some schools do not have a clinic at the school, and you will be required to do your clinical year at another university.

After graduating and passing the NAVLE, all you have to do is get a job. Most veterinary schools have boards or binders of veterinary clinics with available openings and state veterinary medical associations as well as the American Veterinary Medical Association have job listings.

[The mean starting compensation in 2023 was $124,295 for graduates of U.S. and Caribbean veterinary colleges entering full-time employment.
The mean starting incomes in 2023 for the following areas was:
$125,416 for private practice
$87,417 for public practice
$46,186 for residencies
$53,266 for internships
Looking at compensation by species focus, companion animal exclusive or predominant had the highest incomes at an average of approximately $133,000.”
“The most common method of paying new veterinary graduates is a combination of base salary plus a production bonus, also known as ProSal. Of those veterinarians paid only a guaranteed salary, they reported an average salary of $104,148. Those paid through a ProSal method had an average base salary of $112,383 and an average anticipated bonus of $21,000.
Many veterinary graduates are also receiving additional forms of compensation, according to Dr. Doherty.
“It was pretty common, with over 60% of new graduates indicating that when they entered employment, they were provided with a signing bonus. Others were provided with moving allowances, and student loan repayments,” he said, adding that housing allowances were less common, but that, overall, many of those entering employment were provided with some additional form of compensation.”
These additional benefits averaged $19,777 for signing bonuses (64% of respondents), $5,688 for moving allowances (37%), $15,628 for student loan repayments (16%), and $11,464 for housing allowances (3%).
“These are things to keep in mind for some new veterinarians. These are amounts that could move the needle for them as to where they want to go into work,” Dr. Doherty said.]
[] copied from avma.org.

Since we do not allow payment plans, Why don’t we accept Care Credit?

Care Credit is a credit card that is used at some veterinary clinics and other medical offices. The way Care Credit works is to charge the clinic for the interest that the client would normally pay on a regular credit card. They charge the clinic up front any time a charge is made on the card. The longer the terms (30,60,90, 1yr) the higher the rate. Then, if the client does not pay the bill off in the specified amount of time, Care Credit charges the client interest for carrying the balance, in essence, getting paid interest twice on many charges (and the interest is based on the initial charge, not just what balance is currently left).

Why we recommend pet insurance so much.

At Clarksville Animal Clinic, we would rather charge fair prices for everything and not penalize some for the benefit of others.
Care Credit has long been used for more expensive procedures and testing that clients don’t have the money on hand to cover. However, there is a better option. Pet insurance can help cover these expenses. Many plans will cover 90% of emergency and/or illness expenses. Most of the policies are not that expensive, especially if they are used 1-2 times in the pet’s life, and most pets are going to have diarrhea, a cough, skin issues, at some point. There are many pet insurance companies, and they all differ on what they cover. Some have breed and age limits, some cover routine expenses (vaccines, etc.) and some do not. It is important to research and determine which policy covers your specific needs and pets. Some companies even have pre-approval for costs so a clinic can submit an estimate, and if approved, the client never has to pay the clinic.

So, by not using Care Credit and promoting pet insurance, we can keep prices lower and provide better care for more pets.

Can I feed my pet a homemade diet?

The easy answer to this question is probably. However, 90% of homemade diets (that number may be falling with increased knowledge) are not balanced and your pet would be better off with store-bought food. So, it does take a little work to get the right diet. We also must remember that life stage, activity level, health conditions, and many other factors can change diet needs.

For optimal nutrition, we always want to make sure that pets have a balanced diet so we can know that our pet’s nutritional needs are being met. Since pets have much different nutritional needs than people (especially cats that are true carnivores and can develop severe illnesses without proper nutrients) they will not thrive by eating what we eat. There are several recipes that can be found in nutrition books, etc. that have been time tested. There are also many websites that claim to have balanced diets. Before going all-in you want to make sure these are reputable sources. The easiest place I have found to figure out exactly what to use, is the site www.balanceIt.com. This site allows you to enter what ingredients you want to use, and it will tell you how much of each to use and what supplements, if any you will need to add. The good part about this is that they also sell high quality supplements if you need any. This can really help if your pet needs to be on a limited ingredient diet.

However, if your pet has an underlying condition or illness, they need special consideration. Some conditions may be worsened by certain ingredients, or need things added because the condition may make your pet deficient in key nutrients, and some nutrients should be added to help prolong your pet’s life. Balanceit.com does have many different conditions that it can take into account, but you need to add that condition, if known.

There are also veterinary nutritionists that can help if needed.

 

Why does my dog eat grass?

Pica is the technical term for a disorder characterized by eating non-food items. While grass can be considered food, it isn’t a typical food for dogs. Many people believe dogs are carnivores (only eating meat), but they are actually omnivores (eating both meat and plants). If your dog is being fed a balanced diet and is not malnourished, eating grass would be considered a form of pica. However, if the diet is lacking in nutrients or calories, the dog could be trying to address a dietary deficiency. The following assumes your dog is already on a balanced diet.

Eating grass is quite common in dogs (it has even been observed in wild dogs) and is generally considered normal by veterinarians. A small-scale study of 49 dogs with access to grass found that 79% had eaten plants at some point. Another survey also confirmed that grass is the most commonly eaten plant among dogs.

Some believe that dogs may eat grass when they’re not feeling well to induce vomiting and feel better, though this theory is debatable. Studies show that less than 10% of dogs seem unwell before eating grass, and less than 25% vomit afterward, making this explanation less likely.

Other potential reasons include boredom or behavioral issues. Some dogs simply enjoy the taste or texture of grass. Medical conditions that cause increased hunger could also lead to grass eating.

If boredom is suspected, increasing playtime, social interaction, or providing toys may help. If the grass eating persists or if your dog shows signs of illness (e.g., weight loss, vomiting, diarrhea), consider exploring other possible causes. Behavioral issues might require additional play, attention, and sometimes medication. In some cases, adding fiber to the diet can help stop grass eating.

Grass eating typically only becomes harmful if the grass is treated with chemicals, the dog consumes enough to cause a blockage, or if toxic plants are ingested.

How Often Should I Check My Dog and Cat’s Teeth?

What do I need to look for that’s healthy or a possible issue? What are chew-safe toys and treats? I see so many.

The answer to this can vary depending on how much you are willing or able to do with your pet. Studies have shown that brushing your pet’s teeth every day to every other day can help prevent tartar and associated dental disease. If you can’t brush that often, the studies show there is not much difference than if you do not brush the teeth at all. Most people can’t brush that regularly, so monitoring is your next best option.
I would recommend giving your pet a good lookover at least once a week. This would include teeth, ears, eyes, skin, etc. Of course, as a dog or cat reaches middle to old age, or if they have any health issues, I recommend doing the lookover more frequently, from twice weekly and sometimes daily, depending on the condition.
As far as the mouth and teeth are concerned, there are a few things to look for. To recognize these, it is important to start when the pet is young and there are no issues so you can see what is normal and then be able to recognize abnormal when it occurs. The first things to look for are dental tartar (yellow to brown material on the teeth near the gumline) and gingivitis (redness at the gumline). Gum recession is also a common finding and can indicate dental disease. Next is chips and fractures of the teeth. These make it very important to know what normal looks like since these can be subtle and hard to spot. Sometimes fractures are suspected because the pet is painful when eating or on exam or may be dropping food at times. Many times, not wanting to eat can mean there is something going on with the mouth and a good oral exam should be performed.
Areas of inflammation and irritation should be checked for as well. Often these are painful and appear as red, sometimes raised areas. Masses can also be noted in the mouth. Masses can occur around the teeth from chronic inflammation or trauma, under the tongue, on the tongue, and anywhere in the mouth.
Some issues are hard to see but can produce other changes that we may notice. Drainage from a tooth or other area can indicate a tooth root abscess or trauma from a foreign body, etc. Following that, foreign bodies can get stuck in the mouth and cause trauma. Often, this can also produce a foul smell. Another cause of bad breath could be kidney disease. Lots of saliva can indicate nausea, stomach ulcers, salivary gland issues, foreign bodies, or pain (oral and nonoral pain).
This is not every issue that can arise in a pet’s mouth, but this covers the common majority.
There are many safe chew toys, and as you said, there are many toys to choose from—way too many to list here. However, I can give you a few that seem to be safe and some that we see causing issues. Pig ears can be very irritating when chewed and cause trauma to a pet’s mouth. I also see many cases of food allergies I suspect are from pig ears. Bones and antlers can also cause trauma. Either of these can splinter and not only cause issues in the mouth, but once swallowed can cause trauma and punctures to the esophagus and intestinal tract. Anything with much string should be avoided, as string can be swallowed and cause a bad intestinal blockage. Any stuffed animal with a squeaker should be avoided. Many, many squeakers have had to be surgically removed from a dog’s intestines because they love to tear up the toy and swallow the squeaker, which becomes lodged in the intestines. Of course, rocks and small hard objects should be avoided. Toys that can’t be broken, chewed up, or mauled are the best but also the rarest. For dogs, I do like Kongs since they seem fairly indestructible. However, I have seen a few dogs chew pieces off and swallow them, but they can’t typically chew a piece big enough to cause a blockage. However, if your dog chews them into pieces, I recommend staying away from them too. For cats, I recommend small leather mice with very short tails and no eyes if you can find them. If you can’t find them, you can remove the eyes so they can’t be swallowed. Small, plastic balls also work well for cats. However, I would stay away from balls that have bells and stay away from anything that has feathers. So, the best advice I can give is to stay away from things that can be chewed up, things that have sharp edges or can splinter, or things that can be swallowed whole. One last recommendation if you have dogs and cats is to make sure the cat toys are dog-safe.

How often should I bathe my pet?

Typically, dogs do not need frequent baths. A bath every week or two is usually sufficient to keep them clean. If your dog tends to get dirty outside, goes for swims, has a strong smell, or has a condition that would lead to an abnormal skin environment, you may want to bathe your pet more frequently. You can typically bathe your dog weekly without causing any issues. However, take some precautions.

Do not use shampoo made for people, as a dog’s skin environment is different. Human shampoos can strip a dog’s skin of needed oils and cause irritation, especially if used too frequently. Also, be cautious with shampoos that have strong smells, as these can contain irritating ingredients. Sometimes, dogs may even try to mask the scent by rolling in something unpleasant. Since pets are natural predators, they try to mask smells that might make them detectable to prey. Shampoos specifically made for dogs, especially those with mild scents, are best. Aloe and oatmeal shampoos are often recommended. If necessary, baths 2-3 times weekly can be okay, but avoid long durations.

It’s also essential to clean your dog’s ears after a bath. Dogs’ ear canals don’t air out well, and water in the ear canal can create a perfect environment for bacterial and yeast infections. Using a good-quality ear cleaner with a non-irritating, drying agent after each bath — and weekly in general — can help prevent ear infections.

Certain medical conditions may require more frequent baths with medicated shampoos, which should be discussed with your veterinarian.

As for cats, they usually groom themselves and don’t typically need baths. However, if you feel your cat requires a bath, be prepared, as many cats strongly dislike it and may resist. If a bath is necessary, the same rules for bathing dogs apply.

How should you maintain good ear health for your Pet?

Great question, as ear issues are one of the main reasons we see pets.
For the normal pet, good ear health is fairly simple. As we discussed in the answer on dental health, the ears should be examined regularly, as a part of the routine exam. How frequently to examine the ears is based on previous issues, health concerns, etc. but weekly is usually sufficient.
Things to look for in the ears are excessive debris, abnormal debris, foreign bodies, discharge, redness, swelling, foul smell, hair loss, scabbing, pain, shaking the head and scratching at or rubbing the ears. If any of these are noted, it is an indication that your pet needs to be checked for an underlying condition by your veterinarian. Some slightly yellow to brownish debris is normal and should not be of concern.
In pets, we view the ear canals as a continuation of the skin. So, any condition that affects the skin (allergies, mites, endocrine disorders, autoimmune conditions, tumors, etc.) can affect the ears. Also, pets have 2 parts to their ear canal, a vertical and a horizontal section. Where these two sections come together forms an elbow, which can decrease air flow and make it hard for the canals to dry out and can make it hard for the ear cilia (small hair-like structures) to remove normal dirt and debris. If water and/or dirt and debris collect in the ear, this can create a perfect environment for infection. To help avoid this situation, I also recommend cleaning the ears with a good quality ear cleaner once a week. If your pet’s ears seem to build up with dirt and debris more often, you can try cleaning them twice weekly. As we discussed in the bathing frequency question, the ears should be cleaned after every bath or anytime the pet gets water around the head/ears. However, if the ears are red, swollen, or painful, there is likely infection in the ears and merely cleaning the ears is not likely to be enough.
Once an infection is set up in the ears, they will need to be checked to see what is causing the infection so they can be properly treated. Infections can be bacterial or yeast. There are multiple types of bacteria, one of which is highly resistant to most antibiotics. That is why diagnosing which organism is present is very important. Chronic ear infections can be very irritating and painful for the pet and owner, so treating these correctly is always a key to keeping ear infections to a minimum.
A good quality ear cleaner should have a non-irritating drying agent in it along with an ingredient to break up the waxy material in the ear. The best one I have found for routine ear cleaning in Epi-Otic Advanced. Do not use Alcohol and Hydrogen Peroxide as these can cause irritation and make the issues worse. Also, it can help to warm the cleaning solution slightly before placing in the ears, as placing cold material in the ears can be painful and even cause nausea, just make sure the solution is not hot.

We have two standard dachshunds that turn 11 years old soon. What is your advice for keeping them healthy and happy now that they are older? They are both a little overweight but on prescription food for mobility.

Mrs. Schmidt, thanks for this question, we see more older pets these days with the help of better research, more nutritious and targeted diets, and much-improved pet health care.The first thing I would recommend is to start being a bit more vigilant with your monitoring as pets get older, if you haven’t already. Being with a pet for long periods of time puts you in a unique circumstance as far as being able to pick up on minor or slight changes in behavior and habits. Some things to monitor are respirations (there are even apps made just for this), drinking and appetite, urinations and defecations, signs of pain, discomfort, or aggression. If you notice any of these it is wise to report this to your veterinarian and likely time for an exam to try and pinpoint the issue, which could be minor, but likely can be helped.

You mention that your babies are a little overweight. I would get them to an ideal weight as soon as you can. Even a little extra weight on a small dog can greatly increase the pressure on the joints and ligaments and can make them prone to developing several chronic conditions. Dachshunds, specifically, due to their length, are at much more increased risk of back disease with any increased body weight above normal. As pets get older, they tend to lose muscle mass and gain fat. This happens because older pets are likely to be less active and lay around more and their hormones, especially spayed and neutered animals, start waning. That is why it is very important to keep pets of all ages exercising regularly. Older pets may not have the endurance of younger pets, so it is important to break up the exercise into shorter but more frequent exercise.

Another area to address is teeth. It is very important to monitor older pets for dental disease. Two proactive things you can do to make sure pets have fewer dental issues when older are to brush their teeth and have yearly preventative dental care performed. Studies show that brushing the teeth daily or every other day can greatly decrease dental issues. If you can’t or your pet won’t allow this, there are additives you can add to the food or water and treats and prescription foods specifically to help prevent dental disease. No matter what preventative measures you take, dogs are likely to need ultrasonic dental cleanings under general anesthesia on a yearly basis. Some of these adjunct treatments can increase the time in between needed dental cleanings.

Of course, I must mention veterinary care. At Clarksville Animal Clinic, we recommend twice yearly examinations with a veterinarian and at minimum, yearly blood work and urinalysis, in addition to the annual needs of younger patients. Many people are fine with blood work on senior pets, but having a baseline on young pets can help the veterinarian see trends as the pet gets older and possibly pick up on things earlier. Although a pet parent’s monitoring is the best tool to find many conditions, there are certain subtle things that veterinarians are trained to find.

Small dogs, especially dachshunds, love to jump up and down on and off things. Unfortunately, this can be very harmful to a dachshund’s back. I do recommend ramps for furniture, etc. that pets like to be on. This can greatly reduce stress on the pet’s back. However, ramps and steps can be hard to train older pets to use since they enjoy jumping. For that reason, I recommend starting them on ramps as a puppy. Starting ramps at an early age will stop a lifetime of stress on a pet’s back. This may not seem that important and is likely too late for 11-year-old dachshunds, but if you have ever had or seen a dachshund that had to undergo back surgery or have repeated bouts of disc disease, it is something you will not overlook.

As far as diet, there are many that may be appropriate for a senior pet. There are ones, like you mention, that focus on mobility, there are others that focus on weight maintenance, canine cognitive dysfunction (occurs in about 25% of geriatric pets), etc. Any specific diet should be discussed with your veterinarian to address any needed issues. Two supplements I would recommend are omega-3 fatty acids and probiotics. Omega-3s in people have long been known to help with cardiovascular function and have recently been shown to stop muscle loss. In pets, Omega-3s are known to help keep building blocks in the skin normal to prevent allergies and act as natural anti-inflammatories to help with joint pain and lubrication. Probiotics help keep the intestinal tract in good order. Purina Fortiflora is the best probiotic, proven time after time in studies.

Mrs. Schmidt, I hope this gives you a starting point. If you have any further questions, please let me know. -Dr. Sykes

My female lab just turned a year old in December but she hasn’t come into her first heat cycle yet, should I be concerned?

Mrs. Swango, Thank you for your question. This is not uncommon. This can happen for a few reasons and typically is of no concern, if your pet is acting healthy and normal otherwise.

1. It could be that your pet had a very “quiet” heat cycle as her first. This means that she had very little bleeding, if any, and only slight vulva swelling, and it went by unnoticed. This happens much more than people realize.

2. Your pet is just maturing at a slower rate than average. This also happens commonly. Back when we used to recommend spaying pets at a young age, before their first heat cycle, most pets never got old enough to have a heat cycle and individual variance was not noticed. The first heat cycle typically occurs when females reach about 2/3 of their adult size, which can be from six to eighteen months of age, with some notable differences. Sighthounds like greyhounds, borzoi, and Afghan hounds may not have their first heat cycle until they are well over two years old. Also, individual dogs can have a big variance in between heat cycles. On average, a dog will have an estrous cycle every 6-7 months. However, estrous cycles every 12 months can occur normally.I would expect your Labrador to come into heat at any time. If the pet acts healthy, a medical work-up isn’t typically pursued until they reach 24 months without a heat cycle. If you are planning on breeding the female, I would wait for the 2-year mark and if she has not had a heat cycle by then, I would do an in-depth work-up. They must be 2 years old to get OFA certification on hips and elbows, so you could do that testing at the same time. If you are planning on spaying your pet, that could be done at any time and would give you an answer as far as looking at the ovaries and reproductive tract when it was removed. The reproductive tract could even be sent to a pathologist to check for a disease state if you wanted to go that far. -Dr. Sykes

I have a Rottweiler mix who’s 6 years old now. What can I do to help offset/prevent the discomfort of joint pain as she ages? She a little overweight, but nothing major and we’re working on it. Just concerned about if/when hip dysplasia happens.

Great Question! We do see a fair amount of hip dysplasia, but not near the amount that we saw in the past. One reason for this is better genetics due to surveillance and more selective breeding. So, the first step in minimizing hip dysplasia in your pet is to make sure the parents have good hips and have been OFA certified. While this does not mean a puppy will not have hip dysplasia 100%, it greatly decreases the chances. However, if you already have the pet, that does not pertain to you.

There is a distinction that should be made here. Hip dysplasia is a congenital disorder in which the hip joint does not form correctly, to simplify. Usually, these pets have issues at a young age which can progress to severe, debilitating pain or become manageable for the pet. Due to joint abnormalities, the condition worsens and causes secondary degenerative joint disease, which typically brings an increase in pain.

Another condition, Primary DJD (also called osteoarthritis), can occur in normal joints and typically occurs in middle-aged to older dogs and is caused by progressive loss of articular cartilage, osteophyte formation, and periarticular fibrosis.

Since your pet is middle-aged and you ask about preventative care, I will discuss Primary DJD or Osteoarthritis. One of the most important things you can do is to keep your pet at an optimal weight. This decreases the extra forces and wear/tear on the joints themselves and keeps the joints as healthy as possible. If your pet is already showing signs of DJD and is overweight, weight loss is a must. Weight loss alone can relieve pain and stress on the joints, which has been shown in multiple studies.

Another thing I like to do on any dog that may be at an increased risk of OA is to start them on green-lipped muscle extract or Omega 3 fatty acids. There are great studies on these in people and they are natural anti-inflammatory medications that help with joints, skin, muscle, and cardiovascular system. Studies show that there is likely no benefit of starting other joint supplements (chondroitin, glucosamine) early, but it doesn’t hurt either.

One important thing to do, if your pet starts displaying signs of OA, is to rule out other causes of discomfort and pain because treating back or knee disease as hip OA is not going to be successful and will allow the other condition to progress. This can only be done by getting good-quality hip radiographs of your dog, which requires anesthesia. Some signs of OA are limping, being slower to get up, having a stiff gait which seems to be worse after lying down for a while; typically becoming better and less painful once they are up and walking around (warmed out of the stiffness), there is pain on touching the area over the hips, or your pet is slower going up or down steps, etc.

Light exercise to keep muscle mass and tone is also important. Since muscles are the supporting structures of the hips, when there is laxity or pain in the hips, the muscles must help. Swimming is the best as it keeps muscle tone without the force on the joints. However, walking, or light running can be used. Just remember, more frequent, shorter episodes of exercise are likely more beneficial and tolerated than fewer, longer episodes.

If a pet starts to show signs and is diagnosed with OA, there are some things that can help. Joint supplements should be added (if your pet tolerates them). Warming beds can help too. Just make sure the bed can’t get too hot. Sometimes, if a pet has OA and has trouble getting up, they may lay on a bed too long and develop skin injury. Your vet will likely recommend some anti-inflammatory medication +/- other pain medications. Your vet will likely recommend blood work before placing on medications since these pets are older and the meds will likely be long term, we need to know if there are any underlying conditions that we might make worse with the medications. Adequan is an injectable medication that helps improve the joint cartilage and fluid and seems to significantly help lots of dogs with OA. There are other things that are newer on the market like monoclonal antibody injections that target inflammatory mediators associated with OA and therapy lasers can be used as well. Doing all of these can add up to a great cost but your veterinarian will be able to find the most effective combination for your budget. Just remember, OA is a chronic progressive disease with no treatment. So our goal is to slow down the progression and keep pets as comfortable as possible for as long as possible.

 

My indoor cat has gotten fleas somehow. (We do have strays wandering outside) best advice for treating/preventing?

Mrs. Albright, this is a great question (but sorry your cat got fleas) as fleas are one of the most common skin problems we see. It is possible that the outside cats brought fleas around the house, and they snuck in through an opening or on your clothes. Fleas can cause horrible skin issues in cats, dogs, people, and lots of other animals. Dogs and cats can have an allergy to flea saliva. This can set off a horrible reaction in a poor pet! In cats specifically, because cats are very good at grooming, it can be hard to find fleas. However, one bite from one flea is enough to set off an allergic reaction and can develop into severe skin scabbing and infection. That is why we highly recommend strict flea protection.

Another important thing to remember is that cats can’t have many of the products that prevent/treat fleas in dogs and some of those medications can cause severe neurologic issues and even death in cats. Also, many of the older flea and tick preventions aren’t as effective as they once were.

Also, experts say that the flea you see on a pet is 1% of the fleas in the environment. So, if your cat has fleas, you should treat the entire house for an indoor cat. The reason for this is that when a flea takes a blood meal from your pet, it then lays hundreds of eggs that get into the carpet, on beds, etc. Fleas also spread tapeworms. If your cat ingests a flea while grooming, it is very likely the cat will then get tapeworms.

To prevent all of this as much as possible, we recommend a few products for fleas in cats. The first is a product called Bravecto Plus. Bravecto Plus kills fleas, ticks, roundworms, hookworms, and prevents heartworms in cats (which can also be deadly). Bravecto Plus is applied every other month and is a topical applied to the skin.

The next product we carry is Barrier. Barrier is also topical but is applied monthly. Barrier kills fleas, ear mites, hookworms, and roundworms, and prevents heartworms.

The last flea prevention we carry is the Seresto collar. This collar prevents fleas and ticks and is much safer than other OTC flea and tick collars and does not have a foul smell or release harmful chemicals. Seresto collars last for 8 months, much longer than other collars, and are the most economical flea prevention.

If fleas get into your house, you must treat them with another product. The product we carry is called Knockout. The hardest part of treating a house is killing larvae because the larvae can stay dormant in their egg for a long time. Vibration can stimulate the larvae to hatch, so we recommend vacuuming vigorously to stimulate the hatching and then spraying with the Knockout, strictly adhering to label instructions. Most exterminators will also treat for fleas. -Dr. Sykes

A weird TMI question when do you have to worry if dog keeps licking their own behind too much?

Mrs. Stuart, thanks for the question! In general, dogs lick lots of areas for minor itches and irritations. Most licking is not worrisome. However, things to look for that could indicate a bigger issue would be redness or swelling of the skin in the area, hair loss, oozing/draining skin, or the inability to stop the licking by getting the dog’s attention to something else. If any of these are seen, it may be time to have your veterinarian take a closer look.

One of the most common reasons we see dogs licking their rectal area is anal gland compaction, irritation, or infection. These can occur from the anal sacs not being expressed frequent enough or becoming inflamed from irritants/allergies. Sometimes these turn into abscesses and rupture through the skin.

Of course, we can also see infections or inflammation of the skin around the rectum. We see lots of licking in this area caused by food allergies, but environmental allergies or other causes of trauma can also cause it. Usually with allergies, the allergy causes the licking then the licking causes the infection by breaking down the skin barrier and allowing micro-organisms to enter.

We can also see masses in this area. Masses can cause inflammation or can just be an annoyance and draw attention then the licking starts. Usually these are not hard to spot but sometimes a mass in the skin (intradermal) or under the skin (subcutaneous) may not be as noticeable.

Parasites can also cause licking around the rectum. Some intestinal parasites can come out around the rectum and cause irritation while external parasites like fleas and ticks can accumulate in the area and cause irritation.

There is a condition called perianal fistula in which a dog has an overactive immune response and gets ulcerating sinuses or tracts in the perianal region. These are typically painful but can start as minor irritation. These are a bit more serious and require in-depth treatment.

Lastly, some dogs have repetitive behavioral conditions in which they lick certain areas. The rectum is not an overly common site for this, but it can happen. This is typically a diagnosis of exclusion, in which everything else must be ruled out.

For whatever reason a dog licks its rectal area, if it becomes infected, the licking is not likely to stop until the cause of the itching and the infection and correctly treated.

How long do puppy teeth take to come in? What if they don’t fall out but instead get accidentally swallowed while chewing/playing?

Great question!

In general, from birth to 2 weeks old puppies are toothless. From 3-4 weeks of age the baby incisors and canines come in. From 5-8 weeks the baby premolars come in. From 3-5 months the baby teeth start falling out and are replaced starting with incisors and then the canines. From 4-7 months the adult premolars and molars erupt can come in.

Typically swallowing a puppy tooth has no consequence and this is what happens to most puppy teeth. You may notice a little bleeding or soreness from the gum, but this should resolve without issue. – Dr. Sykes

Is it ok to give dogs CBD gummies?

Chey, great to hear from you, hope you are doing well!

CBD is definitely a hot topic these days. There are a couple of things we have to say.

First, let’s talk about safety. We must realize most CBD made for dogs is not under any regulation and/or testing because it is a supplement. So, what is on the label (ingredient or amount) may not be what is in the bottle. Many formulations also contain contaminants because of the lack of regulation. So, the CBD may be safe, but the contaminants are harmful. This lack of regulation also means there is a large amount of variation in labeling. Some produces label how many mLs in a bottle, others may use the concentration, still others may use other measurements. In itself, this is not dangerous, but if an owner is not aware of this, forgets to make the conversion, or can’t make the conversion, this could lead to overdosing.

Another important aspect of safety is drug interactions. CBD can decrease the rate of elimination of other medications in the body. This can allow those medications to build up in the body in harmful amounts. CBD has also been shown to increase liver enzymes. If given with other medications (as most anti-inflammatories do) that also increase liver enzymes, this could cause severe liver damage.

Another important aspect is state law. Since each state has a different law on CBD, hemp, and cannabis, it is important to your state’s exact law.

On to efficacy. There are very few studies on CBD in dogs. Because of this, we do not know effective doses or even if effective doses exist, and if they do, are they safe. One thing we would not want to do is to help a little with anxiety or pain but cause organ damage. People and dogs have different receptor amounts and types in the brain for CBD so exact extrapolations can’t be made from one to the other.

It also depends on what you want to use the CBD for. One force-plate analysis study in dogs showed there was no increase pressure on the force-plate when painful dogs were given CBD. This indicates that there was no pain relief from the CBD (typically, if a dog has less pain they will apply more pressure to the force-plate when walking across it; picture a scale in the floor that a patient walks across). Another study on CBD in epileptic dogs showed no decrease in seizures. These studies don’t necessarily mean CBD does not work, but it does not work at given doses. There are more studies coming out soon that should help shed some light on the issue.

There are some inferences that CBD may help with anxiety, but once again, more studies are needed to determine doses, etc.

In conclusion, CBD is likely safe if your product does not have any contaminants (you must trust the source) and your pet does not have underlying issues, and your pet is not getting any other medications. CBD seems to be absorbed better if given with food but can take up to two weeks to be fully effective. However, for now, the usefulness of CBD in pets appears minimal.

If you decide to try CBD in your pet, signs that would indicate an overdose or toxicity are vomiting, diarrhea, restlessness, increased or decreased heart rate, pale gums, and rapid breathing. If you see any of those contact poison control or your veterinarian immediately.

Hopefully, as CBD is used more in people, that will provide more funding and studies in pets and so we will know more about potential usage and doses. With that, we will also hopefully get more reputable manufacturers, stricter manufacturing guidelines and testing, and safer, more effective products, if possible.

Why is Heartworm Prevention Important?

There are several different heartworm preventatives, and we will look at some of the benefits of each type. But first, let’s discuss heartworms themselves.

The first question to answer is: What is a heartworm? Heartworms are worms that can grow from 5-12 inches in length. As larvae, a mosquito ingests them when it takes a blood meal from an infected dog. After partially maturing, they are injected into another dog or cat by the mosquito. From there, they migrate through the tissue of the animal and get into the heart and lungs, where they mature and live for the rest of their lives, which can be 4-6 years without treatment. As you might imagine, living with something that big in your heart and lungs can cause a severe mechanical obstruction, but it can also create a significant inflammatory response from the body. This inflammatory reaction is what makes the disease so deadly to cats. The heartworms can also release material that can be damaging to the kidneys and can lead to kidney failure.

For these reasons alone, we recommend heartworm prevention. However, most heartworm preventatives do more than just prevent heartworms. Some heartworm preventatives also prevent flea infestations, some kill intestinal worms, and others kill fleas and ticks.

The one we recommend at Clarksville Animal Clinic is Sentinel Spectrum. Sentinel Spectrum has a great heartworm prevention and intestinal parasite treatment ingredient. It also has an ingredient to keep flea eggs from hatching. So, if your pet brings a flea into the house, the flea can take a blood meal and lay eggs, but the eggs will never hatch. Those eggs are what typically creates a bad infestation, as the live fleas you see are only 1% of the fleas in the environment.

People wonder why we do not carry ProHeart at Clarksville Animal Clinic. ProHeart is an injectable heartworm prevention that is administered every 6 or 12 months. With ProHeart 6 and 12 there is almost no intestinal parasite protection. With Sentinel Spectrum you deworm your pet monthly. With ProHeart, you get 2-3 months of intestinal worm prevention but the last 4 months for ProHeart 6 and the last 9 months for ProHeart 12 there is no protection against intestinal parasites. Some intestinal worms can be zoonotic (spread to people) and get into the skin and different organs of people. ProHeart offers no flea protection.

Another heartworm prevention we do not recommend is one with Ivermectin. There have been studies that show heartworm resistance is highest with preventatives with Ivermectin. While we do not see a large amount of resistance in our area, clinics closer to the Mississippi River see up to 50% failure in some preventatives. That is also the reason we strongly recommend year-round heartworm prevention and a yearly heartworm test. So, heart failure and kidney failure are two horrible ways to die, that typically come with nausea, trouble breathing, and incredibly sad, sick deaths. That is why we recommend heartworm prevention so strongly. There is treatment for heartworm infections in dogs (not in cats). However, the treatment is lengthy, expensive, and can come with considerable risk. So, the best option is to never allow your pet to get heartworms.

What Pet Food Do You Recommend?

This is a good, but tough question. There is no one right answer for all circumstances. A few things that are definitive though, is that puppies and kittens should be on puppy or kitten food, respectively. Puppies/kittens are growing and need more protein, calories, vitamins, and minerals than older, more sedentary dogs/cats. However, this is not even as simple as that because large-breed puppies and small-breed puppies need to grow at different rates and there is different food for each of these circumstances.

There are also several medical conditions that are better served with prescription foods. For example, food allergies, kidney disease, pancreatic disease, liver disease, and many others in which those pets do better with certain diet restrictions and/or additives.

Senior dogs/cats are less active than middle-aged dogs/cats and typically have a slower metabolism. Because of this, senior pets typically need a less calorically dense, more filling food.

Very active pets, for instance, working, agility, or hunting dogs will need more calorically dense food to fill their caloric needs. Pets that are pregnant or nursing will also need more calorically dense food as they are growing fetuses or nursing young.

Outside of all the individual needs, we can narrow the choices. There are some companies that have done most of the research on pet foods and continue to pour money into this research. Other companies are using this research to pocket the money they make. I have seen the
research facility for Purina and have seen the amount of money and time they spend on developing diets. I feed Purina to my own dogs. Other companies that I know use part of their income to further our knowledge in pet health and have extensive research facilities are
Hills/Science Diet, Royal Canin, and Eukanuba/Iams.

There are so many new food companies coming to market and I am sure there are some that spend their money on quality ingredients and care about the health of our pets, I just can’t vouch for any of them.

The other thing to keep in mind is that dogs are like humans in that, as adults, they do not require optimum fuel to maintain a steady state. I relate this to us eating at McDonald’s or having ice cream and cake. This is fine occasionally (treats) but not long-term and is magnified
when there is an underlying condition, an illness, etc. In those instances, a high-quality diet can make a difference. Feeding a very low-quality diet with very low-quality protein can be harmful, so I would recommend staying away from the cheapest foods you can find. What we see much more frequently than feeding a low-quality diet is feeding too much. Obesity is much more common and creates more issues than feeding lower-quality food. An overweight pet is more prone to several chronic illnesses and more likely to have a shorter, lower quality life
than a pet that is maintained at a correct weight.

In summary, I would recommend a diet from a reputable company, and I prefer a company that puts money back into our pets.

Why do puppies/kittens need multiple vaccinations?

The simple answer to this question is to boost the immunity of puppies and kittens so that it will be at a protective level if the pet is ever exposed to the actual disease.

There are some diseases that only require one vaccine as a puppy and then yearly (or less frequent) vaccines to keep immunity at protective levels. However, immunology studies have shown that just one vaccination usually does not stimulate the immune system to a high enough, lasting level to give protection to certain diseases and the vaccine can be neutralized if antibodies from the mother are present.

To simplify, a puppy/kitten typically has some immunity to certain diseases that they acquire from their mother through nursing in the first 24 hours after being born (maternal immunity). If a puppy/kitten does not get to nurse well or the mother does not have good immunity to pass, the puppy/kitten will not start off with good immunity. However, if the baby does get immunity from the mother, the immunity can neutralize a vaccine. After a puppy is born, maternal antibody levels drop by half approximately every 10 days. However, we can’t tell exactly when the antibodies will be low enough to let the vaccine work and we do not want to leave the puppy with a gap in immunity. So, we start vaccinations when the maternal immunity should be waning (around 6-7 weeks) and continue the vaccinations until the point when nearly all puppies studied have lost their maternal antibodies (16 weeks). Also, each additional vaccine after the loss of maternal antibodies only increases the immunity to disease.

This is a graph showing immune response to vaccine in puppies and shows the difference between puppies with and without maternal antibodies.

In summary, a series of vaccinations is needed to avoid vaccine neutralization by maternal antibodies, to not leave a gap between maternal and vaccine-induced antibodies, and to mount an adequate immunity to certain diseases.

At Clarksville Animal Clinic our recommended vaccine schedule is:
For puppies, we suggest removing dewclaws and docking tails at 3-5 days old if it is a breed standard. Deworming should occur at 2, 4, and 6 weeks, and we recommend deworming the mother too. At 6-8 weeks, puppies should have an examination, receive the DA2PP vaccination, undergo an intestinal parasite screen, and start heartworm and intestinal worm prevention. At 9-11 weeks, another examination is needed along with the DA2PP and Bordetella vaccinations, and starting flea and tick prevention. At 12-14 weeks, puppies should have an examination, receive the DA2LPP and Bordetella vaccinations, and get the Lyme disease vaccination if needed. At 15-18 weeks, another examination is required along with the DA2LPP, Lyme disease (if needed), and rabies vaccinations. Year-round, heartworm and intestinal parasite prevention as well as flea and tick prevention are essential. Spaying or neutering is recommended at 12-18 months, depending on the breed and size of the dog. For adult dogs, yearly examinations, DA2LPP, rabies vaccinations, blood parasite screens, and dental cleanings are necessary. Geriatric dogs need yearly DA2LPP and rabies vaccinations, blood parasite screens, dental cleanings as needed, and a geriatric bloodwork panel. Twice yearly, high-risk dogs should get the Bordetella vaccination and an intestinal parasite screen, while geriatric dogs should have twice-yearly examinations, Bordetella vaccinations, and intestinal parasite screens.

For kittens, at 2 and 4 weeks, deworming is recommended (including the mother). At 6 weeks, kittens should be dewormed again, have an exam, and receive the FVRCP vaccination. By 9 weeks, they should have an examination, FeLV/FIV testing, intestinal parasite screening, another FVRCP vaccination, FeLV vaccination, and start flea and tick control and heartworm prevention if they are big enough. At 12 weeks, kittens should have another examination, FVRCP vaccination, FeLV vaccination, and a rabies vaccination.

Monthly, it’s important to continue heartworm and intestinal parasite prevention as well as flea and tick prevention. Between 8-9 months, spaying or neutering is recommended, and declawing can be considered if desired. For adult cats, yearly examinations are essential along with FVRCP, FeLV, and rabies vaccinations. Twice yearly, an intestinal parasite screen is recommended. Monthly, flea and tick prevention and heartworm prevention should be continued. For geriatric cats, yearly geriatric bloodwork panels, FVRCP, FeLV, and rabies vaccinations are necessary. Twice yearly examinations and intestinal parasite screens are also recommended. Monthly, flea and tick prevention and heartworm prevention should be maintained.

Why does my dog sometimes eat his/her own feces, is it harmful, and what can I do about it?

This condition is called coprophagia and can occur for several reasons. Also, pets may be eating their own feces and/or the feces of other pets. Two categories of coprophagia causes would be medical and behavioral. Most of the time we do not know why a dog or cat does this and there is little to no immediate health concern. However, there are times when something needs to be done so we need to be aware of those.

First, we can look at how this behavior might start. It is very normal for mothers of dogs and cats to eat the puppy’s or kitten’s feces to help stimulate defecation and urination in young animals. The baby can then pick up on this habit. Also, puppies and kittens are not born with bacteria in their gastrointestinal tract. So, this could be advantageous at helping the pet to develop better healthy bacterial colonization and better digestion. Not being able to do this could lead to less-than-desirable digestion. So, this part can be normal and needed. However, this should not continue for long.

The first category we will look at is medical. There are certain medical conditions that can lead to a pet eating one’s own feces. First, if a pet has a condition in which they are not getting the nutrition they need, they may start to consume their own feces. Examples of this would be a pet not getting a good, balanced diet, a pet not being offered enough food or a pet whose body does not get all the requirements from the food they eat. One thing that can prevent pets from absorbing the nutrients is intestinal parasites. These do not happen as often as they did in the past since we know more about balanced diets for pets and these diets are so readily available and parasite control and testing is also common. Also, not many pets are solely fed table scraps these days. Other malabsorption conditions like IBD, pancreatic enzyme deficiency, etc. can occur but are not common.

There are a few conditions that can lead to coprophagia by causing polyphagia, a condition that makes the body think it is hungry or uses more calories than normal. Examples of these would include hyperthyroidism, hyperadrenocorticism, diabetes mellitus, and again intestinal parasitism. Another medical condition is cognitive dysfunction. This is where pets don’t really know how much they are eating, when they are eating, etc. Their mental function is not working, like dementia in people. One last medical condition is called pica, the desire to eat abnormal objects. With pica, feces is typically the most benign of things a pet could eat.

There are also some behavioral issues that can cause coprophagia. For instance, when learning the behavior from the mother, a puppy can develop a compulsive behavior to repeat the process. Also, some pets simply enjoy the taste once they participate in coprophagia. Anxiety, stress, and boredom can all lead to a pet eating their own feces.

To help stop or prevent the issue there are several things that can be tried. First, is to make sure there is not a medical condition causing this. To do this, your veterinarian should be consulted and a fecal test, body condition score assessment, and blood work may be recommended to rule out many conditions. Secondly, make sure the pet is fed a high-quality and well-balanced diet. Next, slowing down a pet’s eating can make sure the pet digests the food slower and that they get all the nutrition from the food. You can accomplish this with special bowls made to help pets eat slower and even spreading out meals. For anxious or stressed pets, punishment should be avoided as it can increase causative behavior. For some of these pets, medications for anxiety may be needed. Also, it can help to make sure the pet is on a leash, monitored closely, and feces is cleaned up quickly when going outside. Sometimes these help, but sometimes the pet is so adamant that these can prove challenging to impossible. Also, placing a basket muzzle on the pet can help keep them from getting feces, however, if they try to eat the feces, a huge mess can be made! Feeding at set times so you know when a pet is going to defecate can also help planning to try and stop this cycle. Increasing fiber in a pet’s diet can make them feel fuller so they do not crave food. Increasing a pet’s activity, play, and interactions can help stop coprophagia due to anxiety and boredom. Certain things like probiotics, spinach, fresh pineapple, and a product called ForBid can make the feces taste repulsive. You must remember, however, that these products must be fed to each pet that is having his/her feces eaten. There are other additives that can work but these are typically the most effective.

As we stated, a pet eating their own feces or the feces of another pet is not typically harmful, there are some instances when it can be, and a quicker resolution is needed. The first would be if the feces being eaten comes from a pet that is on medication. We know that medications for thyroid disease and anti-inflammatory medications can pass at high enough levels in the feces to cause issues to the pet eating it. The smaller the pet, the more dangerous this is. Also, if the feces being eaten is coming from a pet with an infectious disease, like intestinal parasites or bacterial infection, the pet eating the feces can acquire the disease.

So, if your pet is eating his/her own feces, work with your veterinarian to make sure there is not an underlying condition and to quickly stop this likely benign, but no doubt disgusting condition.

When is the best time to spay/neuter a pet?

This is a very debated topic, and it is best approached by looking at males and females separately and breaking that further into cats and dogs. For our discussion, neutering will mean to remove the sex organs of a male pet and spaying will mean removing the sex organs of a female pet.

Female dogs can be more likely to develop some tumors but less likely to develop others depending on what age they are spayed. If dogs are spayed before their second heat cycle (roughly around 12-15 months) they have a much-decreased incidence of mammary tumors, about 50% of these tumors are cancerous. Spayed pets are also much less likely to develop ovarian and uterine tumors, but age has not been related to those. Spayed pets also have a decreased risk of pyometra (critical infection of the uterus), endometrial polyps, and vaginal prolapse. All of these, other than the mammary tumors occur rarely. However, some studies have shown that delayed spaying to around 18-24 months, in some breeds, decreased the occurrence of more problematic and aggressive tumors. However, large studies (larger=more accurate) are hard to perform. There have also been some studies that have shown a decrease in chronic conditions like diabetes, obesity, and musculoskeletal disease in dogs that were spayed after full maturity. Dogs spayed at less than a year of age also had much higher incidence of urinary incontinence (leaking urine). Once again, most of these studies are smaller and not all studies agree. Some veterinarians think mammary tumors are minor and are easily treatable if owners are diligent with monitoring. Those vets would rather deal with the mammary tumors, if they develop, than the other, more serious conditions.

For male dogs, neutering removes the source of testosterone. Testosterone aids in growth plate closure. So, neutering a dog at a young age can delay growth plate closure and make dogs more prone to orthopedic issues, especially large breed dogs. Early neutered dogs can also be more prone to many of the same chronic conditions as the early spayed dogs (diabetes, joint issues, other cancers, etc.). Neutered dogs are also more likely to get prostatic cancer but have very low risk of testicular tumors, prostatic infection, and hyperplasia.

Spaying cats at any age has not really shown any differences in disease or condition occurrence. However, it is typically easier to spay a cat over 6 months of age due to the tiny size and delicate nature of the small tissue. Although it has not been proven, there has been some relationship between cats neutered at a young age and urinary tract issues, some which are life threatening. For this reason and the fact that there is very little to no consequence of waiting, we typically recommend allowing male cats to get a little older before neutering.

Spayed and neutered pets do live longer so spaying and neutering is always recommended but the age can be controversial. For cats we recommend spaying after 6 months of age and neutering around 1 year. For dogs, we generally recommend waiting until 16-18 months to spay and neuter, but recommend you check out the UC Davis study for your individual pet to make sure there are not more specific details for your pet’s breed. Responsible owners. Other considerations to consider would be legal or contractual obligations that must be followed in some area (apartments, etc.), behavioral issues like marking or intact males around intact females, or other situational or environmental factors. The key to individual pet health care is trying to minimize the more harmful diseases as much as possible and being diligent caretakers of our pets. Below is the link to the UC Davis study and their recommendations for certain breeds.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00388/full

Since you do not have a veterinarian on-call after hours, where do you refer after hour emergencies?

There are two places we typically refer after hour emergencies. The first is Little Angels Veterinary Service. We work closely with Little Angels and trust them to provide the highest level of care for your pet. They are a local, privately owned urgent care clinic. They are located at 1730 Memorial Drive and their phone # is 931-551-2935. Their hours are 11AM-11PM seven days a week.

The second place we refer emergencies, and the only urgent care clinic open past 11PM, is Clarksville Veterinary Emergency and Specialty. They are open 24hours but typically do not admit emergencies until after 6PM. They are located at 685 Kenedy Lane (off exit 4) and their phone # is 931-551-2121. Since they are an overnight clinic, they are a bit more expensive than Little Angels. Since they are the only clinic open overnight in Montgomery County, they can get backed up and, for more minor things, there can be quite a wait.

We have business cards and material about both clinics at our office.

Is anesthesia safe for my pet?

This is a tough question because there are certainly complications that can arise from being under anesthesia, which tends to lower a pet’s heart and respiratory rates and blood pressure. However, millions of pets are anesthetized yearly with no complications. To try and minimize the risk of a catastrophic complication, we take several precautions before, during, and after the procedure.

Before the procedure we require blood work for all pets undergoing anesthesia. This helps us make sure the pet’s liver and kidneys can process the medications adequately. If we find any abnormalities, we can postpone the procedure and address the issue or make changes to the protocol to make it safer for the individual. We also test all pets for heartworm disease if they have not been current on prevention. As one can imagine, having worms living in the heart and lungs of a patient that is having their heart and respiratory rate affected, are more likely to have heart and respiratory issues.

During the procedure we have a person designated to monitor the patient’s vitals and have the patient hooked up to a top-of-the-line monitoring machine. This helps us to see trends in heart and respiratory rates and helps us to see if the blood pressure is getting too low or too high. Also, for all our procedures, we place an IV catheter. This helps us give lifesaving medications by the fastest route without having to try and adjust a leg, etc. to gain access to a vein.

After the procedure, we sit with patients and monitor them until they are alert enough to be extubated. We also monitor the patients’ temperature until it reaches a normal level and, if needed, we place a warming blanket over them to help patients warm faster.

So, anesthesia always carries a certain risk, but your pet (assuming there are no underlying conditions) is more likely to be harmed in an accident on the way to the clinic than it is to have a serious anesthetic complication. You can be assured we try to prevent all complications and, in the case of a complication, try to be as prepared as possible to address anything that may arise.

Why do you charge a deposit when I make an appointment?

Our current hospital policy is to require a deposit for appointments, surgeries, and boarding. If a client cancels any time more than 24 hours before their appointment, they will get their deposit back. If a client cancels with less than 24 hours before the appointment, the deposit is taken to pay for the cancellation/no-show fee. If the client attends the appointment, the deposit goes towards the final bill.

We understand taking deposits for appointments can be annoying for clients. It is not something we intended to do or want to do, and it is not something we take lightly. We were forced into requiring them.

At Clarksville Animal Clinic, we are a small, young, privately-owned, single veterinarian clinic. We try very hard to keep our prices fair. One of the goals at Clarksville Animal Clinic is to take the time to explain, in detail, anything that a client has questions about. We never want a client to leave feeling they didn’t get the attention they deserved. Also, we want to build relationships with our clients and their pets. To do this, we schedule more time for our appointments than most clinics. To add, we do not see walk-ins so our scheduled appointments can have our full attention and we aren’t trying to squeeze people in during another pet’s appointment time or in between appointments. Since we have don’t want clients to feel rushed, we also hire more staff to try and be efficient, educating, and more thorough. This means our overhead is more than most clinics with a similar workload.

For these reasons, any missed appointment means much more to our income than it would at other clinics. Also, taking deposits adds to the workload of our receptionists since deposits can’t be made online when clients book an appointment. So, our receptionists must look through each appointment, days in advance, to see who has paid a deposit and who has not. If there is an appointment without a deposit, the receptionist must call the client and get a deposit. Many times, when that call is made, the client cancels the appointment or doesn’t answer the call. If a client does not answer the call, we can’t be sure if we are calling at a bad time or if they don’t want to leave a deposit (many times with new clients they don’t answer the call and we never hear from them again). So, there is a significant amount of wasted time for our receptionists. Maybe these new clients would have come in and we are pushing potential clients away with the deposit policy. Maybe these clients would not have shown anyway. We can’t be sure.

At one time our policy was to only require deposits from people who had missed an appointment. So, if a client missed an appointment they would be required to pay a deposit from that point forward for any appointment. However, most of the people who would not show up for an appointment were new clients. What pushed us to our new policy, a couple of days the weather was nice outside, and people just did not show up for their appointments. We had 5 noshows 2 Fridays in a row, and typically averaged a no-show per day otherwise. These no-shows were by established and new clients.

By requiring deposits for appointments, it allows us to keep our prices lower and provide better service to all clients. While we are not making as much money during that scheduled appointment time as if the client has shown up, we hopefully are not losing money.

To provide the high-quality care we aim for, the amount of time to build personal relationships with clients and pets, and the prices we deem fair, right now the best plan we have come up with is to require a deposit for appointments.

My pet eats really fast and sometimes this causes him/her to vomit, have hiccups, etc. Is there anything I can do to slow down his/her eating?

There are a few things that can be done to try and slow down a pet’s eating speed. As mentioned, when eating quickly, a pet may vomit, develop hiccups (typically not a big concern), and sometimes take is so much air while eating they can bloat (gastric dilatation) and possibly develop a stomach twist (gastric volvulus, an extreme emergency).

One of the easiest things may be to switch to a more filling food, typically one with more fiber. Another thing that may help, especially if you have some extra baking supplies around, is to use a cupcake pan and place food in alternating cupcake holes. Another, possibly more expensive option, is to buy a special slow feeding food bowl. These are made to have separations between to food and make it so that the pet can’t just gulp the food. For a pet that isn’t severely food driven, these work most of the time. A little more extreme are dog food puzzles. With these you place food in the puzzle and the pet must work to get the food released. These can work with some of the more food driven pets, but some pets can figure them out to the point of being useless. However, there are many on the market so swapping up and an occasional change may be needed.

The last two options can be the most effective but are typically the most labor and time intensive and the most expensive. The most expensive would be an automatic feed that can be set for specific amounts at specific times. Another less expensive route would be to play the automatic feeder yourself. With this, you take the daily amount and feed ½ -1 handful at a time, slowly. With this, you can be more precise, but it does take more personal time and effort, but it can be the most regulatory and effective route.

One thing that some people use, but I do not recommend, is the use of large rocks in the food bowls. This can work if you use really large rocks but can create a habit of dogs licking, chewing, creating rocks in the yard. Also, if the rocks used are not large enough, a dog may ingest one and then the rock can create a blockage in the intestinal tract and lead to a much situation.

How much food is too much for a pet and are serving sizes real?

Great question! My definition of too much is the amount that a pet consumes to make them overweight. Of course, this varies for each individual because no two pets are the same. The healthy amount of food will vary based on the pet’s age, activity level, spayed/neutered status, individual metabolism, size, etc. For instance, intact pets typically have increased metabolism due to the sexual hormones in their body. Smaller breeds can have higher metabolism but don’t have as much body mass and therefor likely will not require as many calories to maintain a healthy weight. Younger pets typically have a higher metabolism as compared to senior pets. Of course, more active pets expend more calories than sedentary pets. Lastly, some pets simply have a higher metabolism than others.

Taking all of that into account, each pet is an individual and the best way to gauge if a pet is eating the correct amount is by checking their body condition score (BCS). To answer the question about serving sizes, yes, they are real, but may not always be perfect. I assume the question is about serving sizes on a bag/can of food. These are based on the average pet’s caloric needs. So, all the things that affect metabolism and calories used per day can change whether you should feed your pet more or less than the suggested serving size. For instance, if your pet is more active than an average pet, you may have to feed a little more than the suggested amount to maintain a healthy body weight. So, I recommend using the serving size suggestion as a starting place and recommend checking your pet’s BCS every 2-4 weeks to make sure the serving amount does not need to be adjusted.

Does raising the food for dogs help decrease their chances of bloat?

Bloat occurs when a large amount of gas gets trapped in a pet’s stomach (dilatation). This can happen for several reasons but, most of the time, we do not know exactly why it occurred. This can cause discomfort and if enough gas becomes trapped, the stomach can twist (volvulus) and create a deathly emergency. This condition is called Gastric (stomach) Dilatation (bloating) and Volvulus (twisting), or GDV for short. When the stomach twists, it can entrap other organs, vessels, etc. and cut off blood supply. When this happens, the patient can develop shock very quickly and needs to be addressed as soon as possible. This is a true life and death emergency.

Several studies have been done and there is no sure way to prevent GDV. Surgery (preventative gastropexy) to keep the stomach from twisting when it fills with gas, which is the most effective preventative, is about 94% effective. Some things that increase the chances of GDV are being stressed (specifically car rides and kenneling), increased pet age, drinking large amounts of water at one time, eating fast or only eating one meal per day, using an elevated food bowl, eating moistened dry dog food, feeding only one food type, hard exercising within 2 hours of eating, and eating a dry food with fat or oil as one of the top four ingredients. The three most common dog breeds that develop bloat are Great Danes, Saint Bernards, and Weimaraners, in that order.

A few things that have repeatedly shown to decrease the chance of bloat are adding scraps, canned food, or supplements in with dry food (specifically fish or egg); eating food with larger kibbles; eating a dry food with a calcium rich meat as one of top 4 ingredients; and eating two or more meals per day. One oddity that was found was that running with another dog after eating and running the fence (what was categorized as mild exercise) showed a decrease in bloat episodes, whereas what was considered as hard exercise, showed an increase in bloat.

So, to answer your question, feeding from a raised bowl does not help prevent bloat, but makes it more likely to occur.

If you see signs of bloat, such as constant retching while producing very little if any vomit; a distended, painful abdomen that develops acutely; or distress with moderate to severe anxiety, call your veterinarian immediately.

At what age can pets be microchipped?

Pets can be microchipped at any age. However, the needle used for microchipping is bigger than and average needle used for vaccinations and can be more painful. Therefore, in the past we recommended microchipping pets at the same time as their spay or neuter (so they would be under anesthesia when the microchip was implanted). Now, since we currently recommend waiting on dog spays and neuters until they are older (based on several scientific studies) we recommend to microchip dogs at their last puppy vaccine appointment (usually 15-17 weeks old). This way puppies are a little bigger and handle the larger needle a little better. Waiting until a puppy gets to be 18 months old to microchip means they will be without a microchip at one of the most likely times for them to run away (around 1 year old).

Since no studies support waiting to spay/neuter cats, we still do these procedures at a younger age (9 months is typically recommended). So, we can wait until that point to microchip and still limit the amount of time they have to escape.

When is a pet considered a senior and what changes should be made when they reach that age?

Different sized dogs are considered seniors at different ages.

Dogs 2-20# 7yr
Dogs 21-50# 6yr
Dogs >50# 5yr

Cats are considered seniors at 7yrs old.

Since there are many changes going on in a senior pet’s body, there are a few changes that need to be made by owners. First, we recommend increased examinations by the owner (these were described in an earlier AYV segment). You may go from monthly or every other week to weekly, especially if your pet has any health conditions. Things to look for in your pet that need to be investigated by your veterinarian are:

-panting
-pain/aggression
-a change in appetite, body weight, thirst, activity, urinations, grooming, vision
-lumps or bumps that pop up
-abdominal distension

Next, instead of yearly examinations, we recommend starting twice yearly examinations by a veterinarian to pick up on illnesses/problems before they become severe. To go along with that, we recommend at least yearly blood work. If your pet has any health conditions, your veterinarian may recommend blood work be repeated more frequently. In cats, these visits should include a blood pressure check as untreated high blood pressure can cause kidney disease and acute vision loss. Since dental disease is extremely common in older pets, this should be addressed if present. Dental disease and tooth loss can lead to a rapidly declining quality of life.

At these ages, pets typically slow down and may not have the stamina they had at younger ages. For this, we highly recommend exercise be continued, but doing exercise more frequently for shorter periods can often be more beneficial. Since pets may not be getting as much exercise and their metabolism is often slowing down, many times a reduction in calories needs to be made to prevent weight gain. Most food companies make Senior diets that are less calorically dense, so pets can eat the same amount and get as full but not get as many calories.

Other than those few things, the care for senior pets is practically the same as when they were younger.

Why does my pet need to stay all day for surgical procedures?

With our schedule, we reserve the mornings for surgeries and the afternoons for appointments. This is so we can monitor the patients recovering from anesthesia and the surgical procedure well after the procedure is finished. Since pet owners may not be home during the day and most are not equipped to handle an emergency from an anesthetic or surgical complication, we keep pets in our hospital until they are fully awake and deemed safe to go home. This does not mean the pet will not be groggy because some sedatives and anesthetics can hang around in a patient’s body and have an effect for 24-48 hours.

By keeping patients until they are fully awake, we are trying to minimize possible complications occurring outside the clinic.