Training for Your Dog: What Does It Mean to You?

by on January 26, 2012 · 0 comments

Training for Your Dog: What Does It Mean to You?

Whether you’re training your pet dog to have manners so that he’ll make a good companion or training your canine athlete for some kind of sporting event (i.e. agility, treibball, surfing, etc.), one of the key components to training is to make it fun for both you and your dog.

Training doesn’t need to be painful or uncomfortable for your dog. Whether your dog is a puppy or an adult, he’ll learn just as quickly and more humanely without the fear of punishment. Making training fun, so that it’s almost like a game for your dog, coupled with some rewards when he performs in an acceptable fashion, can be just as effective as using devices that cause pain for your dog. In fact, probably moreso.

As you may (or may not) already know, we’re nearing the end of National Train Your Dog Month now. If you haven’t already already checked out the resources on this site, I recommend that you do so now. They have some great webinars available.

In honor of National Train Your Dog Month, Animal Cafe’s Kelly Gorman Dunbar speaks with Dr. Ian Dunbar about a variety of training subjects, among other things. It’s a delightful interview you won’t want to miss. For those of you who don’t know him, Dr. Dunbar is a veterinary behaviorist, author, founder of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and inventor of modern-day puppy classes, along with many other accomplishments in the world of dog training and behavior.

Photo Courtesy of Hotfield/Flickr.com

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Does Your Dog Need To Be Vaccinated Against Canine Influenza?

by on January 23, 2012 · 2 comments

Does Your Dog Need To Be Vaccinated Against Canine Influenza?

Does your dog need to be vaccinated against canine influenza? It depends. There may be circumstances in which your dog should be vaccinated. However, the canine influenza vaccine is not a vaccination that all dogs need to receive.

Recent Reports About Canine Influenza

VIN News Service recently published this article about canine influenza. Among the allegations published in the article is the insinuation that the risk posed by canine influenza has been greatly overstated and that the introduction of a vaccination against canine influenza may have played a part in that overstatement.

“A rash of news reports late last year about outbreaks of canine influenza left the impression that dogs in various parts of the United States were at imminent risk of catching the flu during the winter holidays.

A look at dog-flu diagnoses documented by major veterinary laboratories suggests that the reality was less dramatic and more nuanced. Some veterinarians believe aggressive marketing of dog-flu vaccines was behind the hype.”

While I find it more than a bit disturbing that the marketing of a pet product might deliberately mislead the public into believing that the product is more crucial than it may actually be, I’m not going to try to figure out whether that has happened here. I’ll let you reach own conclusions on that based on the VIN News article. What I would like to do is give you a better idea about whether your dog needs to be vaccinated against canine influenza or not.

Does Your Dog Need To Be Vaccinated Against Canine Influenza?

The answer to this will depend on whether your dog is at risk of contacting canine influenza. The vaccine against canine influenza is considered a non-core vaccine, a vaccine that is not needed by all dogs and which should administered based on an assessment of the risks versus the benefits of the vaccine.

There are several things to take into consideration when deciding whether vaccination against canine influenza is right for your dog.

  • Is canine influenza being diagnosed in your community? If not, it may not be necessary to vaccinate your dog. Of course, it’s impossible to tell when or if the disease will move into your area.
  • Do you board your dog or frequent places where your dog comes into contact with many other dogs? If so, vaccination against canine influenza may be worth considering. Some boarding kennels may even require vaccination against canine influenza for admittance.
  • How serious is the risk of canine influenza? For the majority of dogs infected with canine influenza, the infection will be mild and self-limiting with full recovery. However, the potential for complications does exist and it is impossible to determine whether your dog will be in the minority of infected dogs that suffers more serious symptoms with canine influenza.
  • Vaccination against canine influenza may not necessarily prevent infection. Here’s what Merck Animal Health has to say about their vaccine: “The vaccine has been shown to protect dogs against CIV infection by significantly decreasing clinical signs, reducing viral shedding, and reducing CIV-induced lung consolidation.”

The decision to give your dog the canine influenza vaccine should be an educated one, based on the information we have available to us currently. It should be a decision made by your and your veterinarian based on your dog’s risk, and should not be based on panic or fear. Hopefully, you now have the information necessary to make an informed choice.

Photo Courtesy of annethelibrarian/Flickr.com

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Cataracts in Dogs

by on January 23, 2012 · 0 comments

Cataracts are a common problem in dogs and occur in the lens of your dog’s eye. In the normal canine eye, the lens aids in focusing the eye and should normally be clear without any opacities. Essentially, a cataract occurs when an opaque area forms within the lens of the eye, making it impossible for light to penetrate the affected area.

Causes of Cataracts in Dogs

There are numerous causes of cataracts in dogs, including:

  • aging changes (cataracts are common in older dogs)
  • congenital defects (dogs may be born with cataracts)
  • genetic predisposition (some dogs are genetically disposed to developing cataracts)
  • trauma
  • dietary deficiencies
  • toxins
  • electrical shocks
  • diabetes mellitus

Consequences of Canine Cataracts

A cataract results in an area of the lens which your dog is unable to see through. If both eyes are affected and the cataracts cover both lenses completely, your dog may become completely blind.

In addition, a lens afflicted with a cataract may luxate and move from its normal position within your dog’s eye. By doing so, the lens may block the normal flow of fluid through the structures of the eye, causing glaucoma as a result of an increase in the intraocular fluid levels.

Alternatively, a lens with a cataract may also absorb fluid and swell abnormally, again resulting in glaucoma when the swelling blocks the outflow of fluid from the eye causing an increase in intraocular pressure.

Cataracts can also begin to dissolve when they become mature and this dissolution may result in inflammation within the eye, known as uveitis. Uveitis is painful for your dog and can also lead to the development of glaucoma.

Diagnosis of Cataracts in Dogs

Cataracts can be mistaken for a number of different eye diseases and an ophthalmic examination is necessary to determine whether cataracts are present.

Cataracts must be differentiated from nuclear sclerosis, a normal increase in the compactness of the fibers of the lens that occurs as a dog ages. Though the resulting changes in the sclerotic lens can physically resemble a cataract, the dog is able to see normally through the lens. Blindness and/or changes in vision do not occur with nuclear sclerosis.

A thorough ophthalmic examination by an experienced veterinarian can determine whether changes in the eye are a result of cataracts, nuclear sclerosis or other canine eye problems.

Cataract Surgery in Dogs

When treatment for a canine cataract is necessary, surgery is usually the only treatment option. Surgery for a cataract in a dog involves either:

  • physically cutting into the eye and removing the lens with the cataract
  • breaking up and removing the diseased lens using a procedure known as phacoemulsification

In phacoemulsification, sound waves are used to physically break apart the diseased lens. During phacoemulsification, the dog is under an anesthetic and medicated to induce paralysis to prevent the dog from blinking or otherwise moving the eye. Once broken into small pieces, the lens is then removed by suction through a small tube. Phacoemulsification is the most commonly employed method of cataract removal and is preferred, where possible, over cutting into the eye to remove the lens.

After the diseased lens is removed from a dog with a cataract, an implant is placed in the eye to replace the lens.

Before surgery for a cataract is performed, your veterinarian may recommend an electroretinogram to ascertain whether the retina is functional. An ultrasound of the eye may also be needed to rule out the possibility of retinal detachment. If the retina is not functional, the eye will be functionally blind even with the cataract removed and cataract surgery may not provide any benefit for your dog.

Cataracts are common in senior dogs but can occur for various reasons in dogs of any age. Cataracts may involve both eyes and may cover the entire lens, resulting in blindness for your dog. Surgical options exist which can restore the canine eyesight if the retina is functional and the eye is otherwise healthy.

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Breed Bans, BSL and Psychology

by on January 21, 2012 · 2 comments

Breed Bans, BSL and Psychology

Have you ever wondered why the people that support breed bans and other breed specific legislation (BSL) feel so strongly about the subject? Or why those of us that oppose them, myself included, are immovable in our opposition? Our friends at StubbyDog provided this interesting perspective on the psychology of breed bans and BSL.

If you have ever spoken to someone who strongly supports or opposes BSL, you probably already understand that quite often the feeling behind the stance is firmly entrenched and it can be very difficult, if not impossible, to change anyone’s mind on the subject. I include myself in this generalization as well. I firmly and strongly oppose breed bans and breed specific legislation of any type and it’s very unlikely that anyone is going to be able to say anything that will change my mind or present information that would make me rethink my position. I freely admit that and I also freely admit that I feel that way because I believe that I am right. However, at the same time, I realize that those who disagree with me feel exactly the same way.

Though the StubbyDog post was published in March of 2011, it presents some fascinating insights into the way our minds work and is still relevant today. Here is part of what the post has to say:

“New research in psychology and sociology are helping us to understand how people form opinions in the first place, and how difficult it can be to replace opinion with fact.

Psychological researchers like the University of Michigan’s Brendan Nyhan suggest that people interpret new information with a filter that reinforces their preexisting views. Nyhan found in his study, When Corrections Fail, that when people are confronted with facts that do not support their deeply held beliefs, they may be more likely to stick to their guns – a phenomenon he calls “backfiring.”

This might be because we hate to admit when we’re wrong. Author and marketing specialist Seth Godin says in his book, All Marketers Are Liars Tell Stories, that once a person has “bought someone else’s story and believes that lie, persuading the consumer to switch [ideas] is the same as persuading him to admit he was wrong. And people hate to admit they’re wrong.” (pg. 151) Not only that, but our ability to change our minds and believe newly presented facts also has to do with how ideas become rooted and processed through different areas of our brain.”

The post goes on to say that, in order to help someone change their mind, raising their self-esteem, being blunt and direct with them in person, and showing them that there is a bigger and more dangerous problem can be helpful. I’m not sure I agree entirely with that synopsis. I think it may be a more complicated process. But I still think there may be a lesson to be learned here.

For instance, I followed the link in the article to the Best Friends Animal Society fiscal calculator and calculated the cost for the city of Denver, Colorado. The total amount was over $803,000. Now, that’s a lot of money, especially when the funds are being spent on something which has not been effective. (According to the StubbyDog post, despite the BSL, Denver has the highest rate of hospitalizations for dog bites in Colorado. Not a very convincing statistic for the efficacy of BSL.)

The StubbyDog post calls for legislation directed at holding irresponsible pet owners responsible for their dog’s actions and for helping people that want to be responsible pet owners. It suggests using some of these psychology lessons to convince lawmakers and politicians to consider legislation that is not specific to breed. Take a look at the post for more information. There’s much more there, including a video that is worth your time to watch.

What do you think? Can psychology make a difference? Can presenting a bigger picture of escalating costs for enforcing ineffective legislation be effective? Do you have other ideas? Please share.

Photo courtesy of Beverly & Pack/Flickr.com

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SOPA/PIPA Blackout: We Participated!

by on January 18, 2012 · 0 comments

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

If you came by the Pet Health Care Gazette earlier today, between 8AM and 8PM, you probably noticed the site was blacked out. Maybe you wondered why. No, it was not a technical malfunction. It was an intentional blackout protesting SOPA and PIPA.

The following is quoted from SOPA Blackout and will explain exactly what SOPA and PIPA is about.

“What is SOPA?

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA, H.R. 3261) is on the surface a bill that attempts to curb online piracy. Sadly, the proposed way it goes about doing this would devastate the online economy and the overall freedom of the web. It would particularly affect sites with heavy user generated content. Sites like Youtube, Reddit, Twitter, and others may cease to exist in their current form if this bill is passed.

What is PIPA?

The Protect IP Act (PIPA, S. 968) is SOPA’s twin in the Senate. Under current DMCA law, if a user uploads a copyrighted movie to sites like Youtube, the site isn’t held accountable so long as they provide a way to report user infringement. The user who uploaded the movie is held accountable for their actions, not the site. PIPA would change that – it would place the blame on the site itself, and would also provide a way for copyright holders to seize the site’s domain in extreme circumstances.”

This is scary legislation that, if passed, could potentially change the internet as we know it. SOPA/PIPA is an attempt to curb internet piracy. However, though I agree that piracy is an important issue and should not be allowed to continue, this type of legislation is ill-planned and promises to be not terribly effective in controlling piracy either. This is why I thought it important for Pet Health Care Gazette to take a stand and participate in today’s blackout.

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What Do You Do with Your Unused Medications?

by on January 17, 2012 · 2 comments

It happens to all of us. Whether the medication is an over-the-counter medication or a prescription that we simply don’t need any more, we all end up with medications that we need to get rid of from time to time. The medications may be for you, for your spouse, for you children, or for your pets. Either way, there’s a proper way to dispose of unused medications. And, unfortunately, if medicines are not disposed of properly, they can pose a threat for members of our community, for our pets and even for the wildlife in our area.

How do you dispose of medications properly? The Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant has an entire page dedicated to safely disposing of unwanted medicine. Among the suggestions offered are these:

  • Never flush unused medications down a sink or toilet.
  • Take advantage of take-back programs in your community.
  • If no take-back program is available, place the medication in a sealable container mixed with cat litter or coffee grounds and dispose of them in the trash.

Please see the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant link for more information.

For veterinarians, the AVMA provides more information about the proper disposal of unwanted medication also.

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Blog the Change: Better Care for Cats

by on January 15, 2012 · 4 comments

Blog the Change for Animals

I’ve talked about this before but I thought that Blog the Change would be a good time to bring it up again. Though the number of cats kept as pets is greater than the number of dogs, far fewer cats receive regular routine veterinary than their canine counterparts. Cat owners need to recognize that their cats need regular care, just like dogs.

Regular veterinary care goes far beyond the routine vaccinations, though those are important also. Regular veterinary care includes a thorough examination of your cat by his veterinarian, who can often spot subtle signs of illness or disease in your cat of which you may be unaware. Routine blood, urine and fecal testing is often part of this examination as well.

Why should your cat visit the veterinarian? By having regular veterinary checks for your feline companion, problems can be found early on and can often be resolved before they become serious.

How often should your cat visit the veterinarian? That will depend on your individual cat and his current health status. At a minimum, healthy cats should visit the veterinarian at least once yearly. Many veterinarians currently recommend twice yearly visits, particularly for mature or senior cats. If your cat has a health issue, your veterinarian may recommend more frequent visits.

Do you have difficulty getting your cat to the veterinarian? This is often one of the major hurdles involved in seeking veterinary care for a cat. For some cat owners, a visit to the veterinarian can turn into a nightmare. However, it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way. See Cats and Carriers: No Need To Be Foes and Take Your Cat to the Veterinarian with Ease for tips and suggestions.

If you are not familiar with the Catalyst Council, I suggest you visit their website and check them out. They are an organization that is doing great things to help promote the cause of proper care for cats. Because, as their motto says, “It’s all about the cat.”

When was the last time your cat visited the veterinarian? Are you planning a visit soon? Do you have tips or suggestions for making the visit easier? Please feel free to share.

And don’t forget to check out some of the other blogs participating in Be the Change for Animals.

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How to Choose and Care for a Bird

by on January 14, 2012 · 0 comments

I don’t often write about birds here. It’s not because I don’t like them. I do. It’s also not because I think they don’t make good pets. They do. It’s simply because I don’t feel qualified to offer much valuable information on keeping a bird. There are other people who are far more knowledgable than I on birds and bird husbandry.

Fortunately, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has taken the time to put together this video which describes how to go about choosing the perfect bird for yourself and/or your family and explains how to care for your new bird. If you are thinking of purchasing or adopting a bird, I strongly recommend that you watch this video first. It features avian veterinarian Dr. Peter Sakas of the Niles Animal Hospital and Bird Medical Center.

As with any pet, before adopting a bird you should be knowledgable about what to expect and how to care for the bird. You should also be certain that you are able to meet the responsibility, both physically and financially, of caring for your new pet. Adopting a bird is a commitment. With some species of birds, especially the larger species, it is a long-time commitment.

Birds can make great pets but they require a dedicated owner who is willing to go the extra steps to keep them engaged and healthy.

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Is Breeding Really a Bad Thing?

by on January 11, 2012 · 0 comments

Is Breeding Really a Bad Thing?

Is breeding really a bad thing? Some of you will likely disagree with me and I truly do understand the reasons why. However, I do not believe that breeding your pet is a bad thing if (and here’s the catch!)…if the breeding is carefully planned and the two animals are carefully chosen to complement one another. In my opinion, a good breeding starts with two top-quality individuals that are chosen to produce puppies (or kittens) with traits that improve on what their parents offer.

What Should a Good Breeder Accomplish?

Breeding should not be done merely to produce puppies or kittens to sell. Your pet should never, ever be bred just so that your kids can experience the “miracle of life”. In a perfect world, there would be no such thing as an accidental breeding. In other words, breeding has one primary purpose, to maintain a breed. Good breeders breed animals that improve their respective breed. Breeding is not about quantity, it’s about quality.

Finding a Good Breeder

There are good breeders out there, breeders who work hard to produce top quality puppies or kittens. But how do we find these breeders and tell them apart from the puppy mills and “backyard breeders” that produce not-so-top-quality puppies or kittens? We do that by educating ourselves! We educate ourselves before we go out and impulsively buy a new puppy or kitten. Here’s what Dr. V over at Pawcurious has to say in her post, Bostons, Breeders and the surreptitious obtaining of important phone numbers:

“Putting puppy mills and backyard breeders out of business won’t happen until we do a better job of convincing people that it’s worth the effort and research to find a good breeder and pick the right dog. They are out there, but it takes more effort than some of the other options. It’s work. Getting a dog should be work, because having a dog is work. That is not an unreasonable prerequisite.”

And she’s right. It’s heartbreaking to see a young dog (or cat) that is already experiencing health issues resulting from a genetic disease inherited from his mother and/or father. It’s even more heartbreaking for the fact that it shouldn’t be happening. And it wouldn’t be happening if the majority of pet owners took the time to do their homework first and then made educated choices.

Advice About Breeding and Breeders

In this Animal Cafe interview, experienced breeder Jacque Redford talks about breeding and best breeding practices.

The previous podcast is the second part of an interview with Jacque. To hear more about how she screens her breeding animals and the process she goes through in planning a breeding, have a listen to the first part of the interview.

These podcasts cover a few of the considerations that a responsible and ethical breeder takes into account when planning and implementing a breeding program. What other things do you think are important? What do you look for in a breeder? If you’re a breeder, what genetic screening are you doing? How do you go about researching and planning a potential breeding? How do you care for your breeding animals?

Photo Courtesy of basykes/Flickr.com

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The Pet Blogger Challenge 2012

by on January 10, 2012 · 14 comments

Pet Blogger Challenge

The Pet Health Care Gazette is pleased to participate in the Pet Blogger Challenge for the second year in a row. Started in 2011 by fellow bloggers Edie Jarolim and Amy Burkert, the Pet Blogger Challenge gives pet bloggers the opportunity to share their goals and achievements by answering a series of questions. So, without further ado, here are my answers for this second Pet Blogger Challenge.

Pet Blogger Challenge Questions:

1. Provide a link to your post from last year’s Pet Blogger Challenge so we can refresh our memories. This is last year’s post: Pet Blogger Challenge: What’s Up with the Pet Health Care Gazette

2. What do you consider the most important goals you set out in last year’s post? Quoted from last year’s post: “My hope is that I will be able to continue adding valuable content to the blog and will attract new readers and make new friends.” This continues to be my most important goal for Pet Health Care Gazette.

3. Have you made progress toward those goals, or have your goals changed over the past year? My goals have not changed appreciably and I do feel I’ve made decent progress over the past year. The number of pageviews at Pet Health Care Gazette have increased from roughly 5000 per month at the beginning of 2011 to over 22,000 per month now (per Google Analytics). I continue to add content to the blog and have actually significantly changed my blogging schedule by posting at least 5 times weekly and many weeks I publish a post every day.

4. Has your opinion of blogging on a schedule or as the spirit moves you changed? Which are you doing now? Do you still worry about lost traffic, momentum, etc? As I have mentioned, I am currently blogging more often, almost daily. I don’t necessarily keep to a set schedule and when I feel burned out and need a day or two off, I may decide not to post. I still don’t really follow an editorial schedule. I tend to post about whatever happens to be on my mind when I sit down to write, although I do have a list of subjects that I feel should be covered that I refer to when I feel stuck for a subject.

5. Are you generating income from your blog? Has this changed since last year? I am generating income from my blog and the amount has increased from last year. I have earned income via an ad network, through sponsorship opportunities and through paid guest posts. The blog does not directly generate enough money to live on. However, it has been instrumental in gaining other writing assignments and a couple of partnership opportunities that have been very valuable. One of the opportunities I was presented with in 2011 that I am particularly pleased with was an invitation to contribute to the Daily Vet blog on PetMD.com and I now write a weekly cat column for the Daily Vet. Another opportunity of which I am particularly proud was the chance to partner with the Greenies brand to bring holiday health care tips to pet owners.

6. Have your likes and dislikes about blogging changed since last year? Not really.

7. Overall, are you pleased with the progress you made in 2011? Yes, very pleased though I’m not ready to rest on my accomplishments at this point.

8. How do you see your blog changing/growing in 2012? I hope to continue adding content that is informational and useful on a regular basis. I also hope to see my pageviews and other statistics continue to grow.

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