E-Vet Clinic - Dog Health Care

Halloween is an exciting time for kids and a really exciting time for dogs that love kids. Here is Meme my Border Collie that is very intense. She is so intense and intent on playing with children that we have to put her in a safe room away from all the kids that may not understand her excitement and fast movements as play.

Here are a couple of other tips for taking care of your dog to keep them healthy and safe during this Halloween night…

Have a safe Halloween. And remember your dog does not see Halloween the same way you do. Be sure to keep your dog healthy and safe.

There is a pet overpopulation problem in the United States and one of the solutions proposed by the AVMA and the Association of Spay/Neuter Veterinarians is Early Spay/Neuter. You will be hearing a lot about Early Spay/Neuter in the coming years, it is an idea and a technique to spay or neuter your pet as early as 6 to 8 weeks. Yes I did say weeks, not months.

About 15 years ago there was a study done at the University of Illinois (hard to imagine it has been that long) in which the results of spaying or neutering your pet at an early age was actually beneficial as it was much less stressful on the patient and the patient recovered much more rapidly with less complications. It sounds like a great thing, especially when you consider spaying or neutering at that age will avoid any chance at all of unwanted pregnancies. This would have a major impact on unwanted healthy dogs ending up in shelters with the risk of being euthanized (put to sleep). There are some estimates that 250,000 dogs and cats are euthanized every month in shelters that is 3 million every year! Many of these dogs and cats come from unwanted pregnancies, mistakes by owners that did not have their dog/cat in to the vet soon enough, not realizing that many are able to reproduce at 6 months of age. This method of spaying/neutering would put a dent in this number.

So you would think that I am all for it, because on the surface of it, it looks like a great proposal and the majority of the veterinary community is all for it. So why am I hesitant, why am I not fully on board with this program? Because I am dangerous, I ask questions!

The study done at the U of I (my alma mater, GO ILLINI!) compared spaying and neutering of dogs and cats of ages 6 to 7 weeks to 6 to 7 months. And there were better results for the surgery itself for the younger age group and there were no significant differences in skeletal dimensions, body weight, physical maturity and many other items. The only difference was that in the younger group they had smaller external genitals, which is of no significance health wise. (BTW, since that time it has been shown that there is a small increase in risk of urinary incontinence in spaying at the younger age) However it got me thinking, the external genitals are smaller because there was never any sex hormones to increase their size. So is there anything else that the sex hormones control besides reproduction? The answer is yes, it helps with the closure of growth plates among other things.

Unfortunately the study done by the U of I can not shed any light on this subject as the growth plates are not closed at 6 to 7 months of age either. Most dogs growth plates close between 9 months and 18 months of age. We would need a study of early spay/neuter vs spaying and neutering after the growth plates have closed to determine if there is any clinical difference.

My guess would be there is a difference, but would it matter that much if your dog was slightly smaller or if the growth plates did not close solidly or completely. It probably doesn’t except for one group and that happens to be the group that I am most concerned with - athletic dogs. Dogs that participate in a sporting activities such as flyball, agility, hunting, dock diving, lure coursing, racing, etc. Many long time sporting people especially hunters claim that the dog changes, its instincts are different, and the competitive nature decreases after spaying/neutering, but does it have an effect on the muscular skeletal system as well? My current feeling is if you have a sporting dog whose main purpose is to perform a sporting activity I would wait till the growth plates are closed before spaying or neutering your dog. With this waiting comes two problems one is owner responsibility. The other is the increased risk of mammary cancer in females. However with the mammary cancer there are many other risk factors that have now been worked through including nutrition and over vaccination that could also be playing a part.

The owner responsibilty is the major problem. It is the problem which is where the argument is going to come. The purpose of early spay/neuter is prevention of unwanted puppies and kittens and owner responsibility would say to early spay and neuter. If you are not spaying or neutering precautions need to be taken to be sure that your dog is not breeding. Unfortunately mistakes occur, which is where the argument is going to come from the proponents of early spay/neuter, just as in human sex education with abstinence there are no mistakes. There claim is that even with the most responsible dog owner a mistake can happen and lead to unwanted puppies, so there is no reason to wait.

However, I say, if you have a dog that is not going to be particpating at high levels of competition, then early spay/neuter may be just fine until proven otherwise. If you are going to be competing at high levels you can wait until the growth plates have closed but the risk and the responsibility is on you to be sure no mistakes occur. The research is not there yet to prove if there truly is no deleterious effects in the long term on your competitive sporting dogs health by spaying and neutering early. For more information on early spay neuter check out - Project Spay/Neuter

Xylitol the sugar substitute found in many chewing gums can be very hazardous to your dogs health. I know this news is about a year old but it seems that many people still do not know about it.

In humans xylitol has very litle affect; however in dogs the initial response causes a significant increase in insulin levels which drops blood sugar dramatically since no real glucose has been produced from ingestion of the Xylitol. This can be treated however the long term toxic effects in dogs is that it causes liver failure and bleeding disorders.

So if your dog ingests any sugar free product that contains Xylitol be sure to get him to your vet and call the National Animal Poison Control Center at 888-426-4435. There is a fee for the life saving information so have your credit card available. A 20 lbs dog only needs to eat 3 to 4 pieces of gum to cause a problem.

Here is a Press release from the AVMA last year on the danger - Sugar Substitute May Be Dangerous to Dogs Health

OK I know this is a dog site but this is a very well done video about a congenital disorder that affects cats called cerebellar hypoplasia. So here is a quick clip…

Ok I have to give kudos to a fellow blogger and dog rescuer. Check out the rescue stories from Shephard’s Haven Sanctuary - rescue4furbabies.com

This one about a second rescue of two dogs is just too funny. The Further Rescue of Pepper and Rex
This story reminds me of my own little border collie, Meme, when she was a pup and destroyed anything and everything she could get her mouth on. It did make me upset at the time but when I look at the edges of my wooden coffee table now I find it very humorous. We have meant to buy a new one after she was out of the habit of chewing and now that she is 20 months old we really should get a new one. However it now has a story and character, just because it has chewed edges and corners and looks like we should live in a trailer doesn’t matter does it?

Ok I have to give kudos to a fellow blogger and dog rescuer. Check out the rescue stories from Shephard’s Haven Sanctuary - rescue4furbabies.com

This one about a second rescue of two dogs is just too funny. The Further Rescue of Pepper and Rex
This story reminds me of my own little border collie, Meme, when she was a pup and destroyed anything and everything she could get her mouth on. It did make me upset at the time but when I look at the edges of my wooden coffee table now I find it very humorous. We have meant to buy a new one after she was out of the habit of chewing and now that she is 20 months old we really should get a new one. However it now has a story and character, just because it has chewed edges and corners and looks like we should live in a trailer doesn’t matter does it?

Grooming is a very important aspect of dog health especially for those dogs of the so called non-shedding variety, like Poodles, Shi-tzus, Maltese, Bichons, etc. It is extremely important for these breeds to be groomed on a regular basis to prevent matting and possible skin infections. Other breeds also need some grooming to keep their coat healthy, regular brushing and an occasional bath will keep a dogs fur and skin healthy. However, grooming itself needs an experienced hand to make the dog feel comfortable. If you are a do-it-yourselfer, I have six tips for you to make your life and your dogs life much happier and healthier.

There you have it the six tips for dog grooming to make your dog happier and healthier.

You know when you go and rent a car they ask you whether or not you want to purchase insurance through them? Well one company in the pet health insurance industry is going to offer a program for boarding facilities which is going to be profitable to the boarding facility so I know we are going to start seeing it.

A company called Vsurance offers pet health insurance and they are offering the only program in the United States to provide coverage to boarding facilities for the boarding clients. A
premium of $2 a day will cover illness or injury while your pet stays at the boarding facility. For an additional premium of a flat $5 for up to a week and $15 for up to a month will cover up to $250 for accidental death. So basically if you pay about $20, your pet will be covered for illness, injury or accidental death with up to $1500 for injury/illness and $250 for accidental death for a one week stay. Reasonable??

Now all this might sound good to you because the vet bills will be covered if your dog becomes sick at the boarding facility, but heres what you see when you read between the lines. The boarding facility receives 50% of the premium as the administrator fee, so of course they are going to want to promote it. However with the insurance company only receiving $1 a day how is this plan going to pay for itself. 2 ways, one there are very few illnesses and injuries that actually occur while boarding and fewer yet that actually need $1500 worth of veterinary treatment. However there are exceptions and there will be claims so how does the insurance company justify this cost. I’ll let the CEO of Vsurance tell you in his own words from a press release to stock holders…

“This is a low risk and high demand program, which provides us an opportunity to service a growing desire among numerous pet owners. Further, this low risk program enables Vsurance to amass a database of pets and their owners, looking for comprehensive pet health insurance programs such as our get HIP Health Insurance for Pets program,” stated Russell Smith, CEO of Vsurance, Inc. “The strategy is essentially the same as in the sale of rental car insurance or
car insurance, which is offered to customers. This strategy has shown to be very effective in attracting new pet health insurance customers in the U.K. As the only provider of this service in the United States today, we expect to see considerable success.”

Basically it is a way to get new customers! I really liked pet insurance a few years ago. It was easy for customers to get andthe benefits were fantastic. Now it has taken the road of human
health insurance, it is expensive for the risk and many claims are starting to be scrutinized very closely for any problems and declined. Personally if you follow some of the advice I give you will have no need of pet insurance. If you are considering purchasing pet insurance, I would recommend a savings account with $2000 total in it for any emergencies that would require a trip to the vet. My suggestion is to use the monthly premiums of $25 to $30 to place
into the savings account until it reaches $2500.

The Border Collie is the smartest breed! I know I am biased, but there is some proof, scientists actually studied it. To find the smartest breeds, scientists tested each breed based on learning a series of new commands. Breeds were then ranked according to how many repetitions it took for them to understand and obey the first command.

For a list of the top ten smartest breeds and the list of the ten dumbest breeds out of the 80 tested check out one of my favorite blogs The Life of My Dog and their post here —> 10 Smartest Dog Breeds and…um…10 Least Smart Dog Breeds

The top three most common health problems in dogs are with the digestive system, the musculoskeletal system, and the immune system.

By far the most common question of dog owners about the health of their dog is from vomitting or diarrhea - problems with the digestive system. Most cases are caused from eating something different than what they are used to such as changing food too rapidly or the dog getting into the garbage or eating something dead found in the yard. Also most cases resolve in 24 hours. Occassionally it is from the food that the dog is actually eating to prevent this a good quality dog food with meat being the first ingredient or feeding a raw diet will prevent the majority of digestive disorders.

The second most common dog health problem is with the immune system, specifically skin infections and ear infections or more exactly allergies. Allergies are extremely common in dogs and the majority of them could also be tempered or even “cured” by reducing or eliminating the amount of vaccinations and feeding an appropriate diet - a good quality dog food with meat being the first ingredient or feeding a raw diet (sound familiar).

The third most common dog health problem is with the musculo skeletal system, either injuries or arthritis. Now injuries are many times not preventable, even the healthiest dog can injure itself; however with that said we talked about how the three of the most common injuries in a performance dog are Cranial Cruciate Rupture (blown knee), Supraspinatus/Infraspinatus Strains (shoulder muscle strain), and the Psoas group muscle strain
here —->.One of the most common muscle injuries in a dog and prevention could easily be the appropriate exercises and stretching. Arthritis has many different causes from injury to genetics to again proper diet and exercise. (common theme here)

I am going to cover how I prevent these most common dog health problems by telling you if it were my dog what would I do. And that is the title of my new ebook coming soon - “If it was your dog…what would you do?” It is the story of my own two dogs and how I raise them. Stay tuned.