When purchasing a puppy, most working/performance dog people know to make sure the pup's parents have passed health clearances that depend on the breed. But what if you have your eye on an adult dog to purchase? The dog appears like they can do the work and they have a nice pedigree. But are they a sound investment? Horse owners are used to do pre purchase exams on their prospective performance animals. Working dog owners should do the same. Here are some pre purchase examination recommendations. While these may cost you several hundred dollars up front, they may save you the same amount or more in headache and vet bills later on.
-Full physical exam: Your veterinarian will examine the dog head to tail to make sure something is not obviously wrong
-Radiographs (x-rays): Somewhat dependent on the breed, but all dogs should have their hips and elbows radiographed to make sure there are no issues. 50% of dogs with radiographic evidence of hip dysplasia show no obvious signs. This one is a biggie! What if the dog already had them done with a previous owner? It is not a bad idea to recheck to make sure there is not some other reason the dog might be unscrupulously being put up for sale
-Heartworm test: Heartworms are a major medical problem to fix and an expensive one. Dogs can also die from the treatment, so a simple test before will be very helpful. Many heartworm tests also test for tick borne diseases that can cause serious systemic disease, such as Lyme disease and Ehrlichia.
-Fecal test: Internal parasites such as roundworms can easily be spread into your home or kennel by a new introduction. They are also extremely difficult to remove from the environment once they establish themselves. It will also look for common causes of diarrhea, such as giardia and coccidia. Getting the prospective dog a fecal floation test as well as on monthly heartworm preventative (which also treats intestinal worms) is important not only for the dog, but your other dogs and even other people in the household since roundworms and hookworms can be transmitted to people.
These are some guidelines of things to ask your vet to investigate before agreeing to a sale. With certain breeds, other genetic testing or examination may need to be done. For example, German shepherds should be testing for degenerative myelopathy (a cheek swab test) and collie breeds should be given an opthalmic exam to look for diseases like progressive retinal atrophy (PRA). If a male dog is going to be purchased as a potential stud dog, make sure to also schedule a breeding soundness exam to ensure his semen is of good quality. While these tests involve more cost up front, they will save you money on a dud dog in the long run.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
"But it doesn't seem to bother him..."
As a vet, I hear this phrase all the time, whether from working/performance dog folks or from pet owners. It can be anything from dental pain to allergies to arthritis. Owners tend to think "well, they aren't really crying out in pain when they are doing their job and they're still eating, so it must not be that bad..." I want to caution people that just because they are not in agony, doesn't mean they are not in pain or that it's not causing a decrease in their quality of life or working performance. If you are walking with a limp, you are likely in pain. If you have a nerve exposed from a fractured tooth, you are likely in pain. If you have a subluxated hip from a malformed joint, you are likely in pain. You may be still able to function on some level, but it's not a great way to live.
We cannot ask a dog how much pain they are in, but we definitely know they suffer from pain. Pain also increases stress, which increases cortisol (a stress hormone) and can interfere with the immune system and decrease healing. Veterinary medicine has advanced significantly in its use of multi-modal pain management over the years and it doesn't need to be very expensive either. So if a dog has a bad tooth or is limping or is even itching excessively (which would drive many people crazy), get it checked out! If you don't feel your dog's pain is being addressed, be proactive with your vet and don't be afraid to ask if there's anything else that you can try. If you don't have a vet that is progressive with pain management, get a second opinion.
We cannot ask a dog how much pain they are in, but we definitely know they suffer from pain. Pain also increases stress, which increases cortisol (a stress hormone) and can interfere with the immune system and decrease healing. Veterinary medicine has advanced significantly in its use of multi-modal pain management over the years and it doesn't need to be very expensive either. So if a dog has a bad tooth or is limping or is even itching excessively (which would drive many people crazy), get it checked out! If you don't feel your dog's pain is being addressed, be proactive with your vet and don't be afraid to ask if there's anything else that you can try. If you don't have a vet that is progressive with pain management, get a second opinion.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
My Vaccine Philosophy
I originally wrote this for my clients who asked about my vaccine protocols and it evolved into something a bit longer. I am posting it hear for anyone who is interested. Though I removed most of the cat information (since this is primarily a dog blog), you can find the cat information here:
http://www.rightathomevetcare.com/vaccines.html
Introduction:
Vaccines have saved countless human and animal lives and prevented many serious and fatal diseases. But vaccines are not 100% benign either. Although rare, vaccines can sometimes cause sarcomas in cats and immune mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) in dogs along with the more common anaphylactic reactions. While largely unproven in veterinary medicine, some are quick to point their fingers at vaccines for a myriad of other diseases and conditions, including allergies, seizures, and behavior problems. Some breeders and owners are now very proud of the fact their dogs are not ever vaccinated. So do we throw the baby out with the bath water?
As a holistic veterinarian that also looks at things with a scientific perspective, my conclusion is to look at the individual. I use vaccines judiciously. I also believe that not every pet is going to require the same vaccines and a cookie cutter approach for all animals is not the right way to go. As a veterinarian and a guardian of public health, I do not make the rules, but I must follow them. So what vaccines are required by law? Typically only rabies, so we will discuss rabies first. In the state of Missouri, dogs and cats must be vaccinated every 3 years and ferrets must be vaccinated every year. In addition, though vaccines carry certain risks, no life of an animal is worth that of a human if a child bitten by a rabid animal (domestic or wild) that could have been prevented. The following is a video of a child in southeast Asia who contracted rabies. It is not an easy video to watch.
Child with Rabies
However, this is reality for the 55,000 people worldwide who contract rabies and die from this nearly always fatal disease. In North America, we usually think of wild animals such as skunks, bats, foxes, and raccoons having rabies, but in most other countries, dogs are the most likely animal to spread rabies to humans.1 The reason so few people in the United States contract rabies is the successful vaccination of our pets.
Before getting into what I recommend in my practice, let's discuss some terminology.
Antigen: a foreign substance that the immune system recognizes as a potential threat to the body. This can include anything from bacteria, viruses, and fungi to pollens and things in the environment that cause allergies.
Antibody: a protein produced by the immune system used to identify foreign antigen. Antibodies help the body's immune system identify antigens faster and help prevent disease before it takes hold in the body.
Vaccine: a biological agent composed up of antigen introduced in the body to stimulate the immune system into producing antibody. Vaccines are usually for viruses and bacteria. Note that vaccines or natural immunity from previous exposure to the infectious agent do NOT prevent infection (so called "sterilizing immunity"), but prevent disease in the body by allowing the immune system to recognize infectious agents faster and make it less likely that the patient becomes sick.
Modified/Attenuated Live Vaccines (MLV): These vaccines have been cultured in a way to prevent them from becoming virulent while still causing a more robust immune system response and better antibody production. Canine distemper and feline rhinotracheitis virus (herpes virus) are examples of commone modified live vaccines.
Killed Vaccines: These vaccines have the infectious agent in them killed so they cannot resort back to virulence. This is important in viruses such as rabies. Killed vaccines do not stimulate as robust of an immune system response as a modified live vaccine and contain adjuvant.
Recombinant Vaccines: These vaccines use a newer technology to mix or "recombine" the DNA of the desired organism into a less harmful organism. Examples of this are the newer feline leukemia and feline rabies vaccines. Recombinant vaccines do not contain adjuvant.
Adjuvant: an additional component of vaccines that is used to "irritate" the immune system into a stronger response. These are typically used in killed vaccines such as rabies vaccine because killed vaccine is not recognized as strongly by the immune system as modified/attenuated live vaccine. The use of adjuvant is controversial due to the ability to cause vaccine associated sarcomas in some cats.
Thimerosol: An organomercury preservative added to certain vaccines. Its use is controversial in both human and veterinary vaccines.
Dosing Tank: The vials the vaccines come in. When vaccine is manufactured, they come in either multidose tanks or single dose tanks.
Antibody Titer: An estimate of the amount of antibody to a particular disease causing agent such as a virus or bacteria that the body has made. Usually done by a blood test sent to a laboratory. Can be used to judge if a patient has an appropriate level of antibodies to fight off a disease. However, levels of antibody that are protective are controversial and an animal with a low level still might not come down with the disease (antibodies are not the only mechanism of defense in the immune system). Conversely, some animals with a high level of antibody may still come down with the diease. Titers are generally used as guidelines on whether or not to revaccinate.
Maternal Antibody: Depending on the species, some animals pass on a certain amount of antibody to their offspring via the placenta and through nursing (dogs and cats) and have maternal antibodies present if the mother was previously vaccinated. Other species, such as horses, have very little maternal antibody at birth and foals rely solely on taking in their mother's colostrum by nursing around the time of birth. In dogs and cats, the time the maternal antibody decreases is highly variable. They may wane at 5 weeks or at 20 weeks. We vaccinate puppies and kittens in a series to make sure they can form their own antibody when the maternal antibodies have declined to protect from potentially fatal disease like parvo and distemper virus.
Herd Immunity: This is the idea that a certain percentage of a population (be it dog, cat, cattle, humans, etc) must be immune to an infectious contagious disease either through natural immunity through exposure to the infectious agent or vaccination in order to "spare" the individuals who have not been exposed. Outbreaks tend to happen when fewer animals are vaccinated. The exact percentage that needs to be immunized to offer some protective herd immunity differs by disease, but is typically at least 75% of the population.
Core & Non-Core Vaccines: Recommendations from the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA)2 and the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP)3 on which vaccines (beyond rabies by law) that our pets should or should not get based on their lifestyle. Core vaccines are designated such because of the highly contagious and possibly fatal nature of the diseases, while non-core vaccines will depend on geographic area and what the animal is exposed to. Other non-core vaccines are designated this way because their vaccines
My Philosophy:
In my practice, I want to use the best technology for my patients and make sure they are protected while minimizing the risk of vaccine reactions as much as possible. While I feel they are better products, they are typically more expensive than the older versions both for me and for the client, but I feel it is worthwhile to keep our pets protected while minimizing risks.
I prefer to use single dose tanks. The reason for this is that I want to be sure that even if the vaccine is properly mixed that the patient received the correct amount of antigen in the vaccine: not too much and not too little. These are typically more expensive than multidose tanks.
I also prefer to use 3 year thimerosol free killed rabies vaccine as this is currently the best technology on the market for dogs. In cats, the best technology for rabies and feline leukemia uses recombinant canary pox vaccines. At this time, this particular vaccine is only approved for once a year but they do not contain adjuvant, which is a big plus for cats.
I recommend spreading vaccines out with a minimum of two weeks in between this is for several reasons. First, if a dog or cat has a reaction to a vaccine, I want to know which type. I also want to make sure the body is not overwhelmed with antigens all at once and has sufficient time to develop antibodies. I also give vaccines in specific locations. The older way was to give all vaccines between the shoulders at the pet's scruff. Now the recommended way is to give them in specific locations, such as rabies=right rear and feline leukemia=left rear, so you know which vaccine did what if there is a problem.
For other vaccines, I tend to follow the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) and American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) recommendations for "core" and "non-core" vaccines. While every dog and cat is different, I have essentially two approaches: a more "standard" approach and a more holistic approach. They are as follows for dogs and cats.
Core Dog Vaccine Protocol (Most Pet Dogs):
8 weeks:
DA2PP (distemper/adenovirus type 2/parvovirus/parainfluenza) MLV
12 weeks:
DA2PP MLV
14 weeks:
Rabies (thimerosol free) as by law (must be done by 3 months per the city of Columbia)
16 weeks:
DA2PP MLV
20 weeks:
Distemper/parvo titer if desired
Twelve Months Later:
Rabies (thimerosol free, start of 3 year rabies)
Distemper/parvo titer (if low, re-vaccinate 2-4 weeks after rabies)
Four Years (and every three years after):
Rabies (thimerosol free, 3 year)
Distemper/parvo titer if desired (if low, re-vaccinate 2-4 weeks after rabies)
Non-Core Dog Vaccine Protocol:
As explained earlier, non-core vaccines will depend on the dog's lifestyle and exposure. A field trial or coonhunting dog might benefit from leptospirosis while a conformation dog that is at dog shows every weekend may benefit from bordetella, particularly if the dog is required to have this vaccination for shows, classes, grooming, and so on. Some vaccines, such as corona or giardia, have low efficacy or the disease they are trying to protect from is fairly self limiting. For these reasons, they are not generally recommended at this time.
http://www.rightathomevetcare.com/vaccines.html
Introduction:
Vaccines have saved countless human and animal lives and prevented many serious and fatal diseases. But vaccines are not 100% benign either. Although rare, vaccines can sometimes cause sarcomas in cats and immune mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) in dogs along with the more common anaphylactic reactions. While largely unproven in veterinary medicine, some are quick to point their fingers at vaccines for a myriad of other diseases and conditions, including allergies, seizures, and behavior problems. Some breeders and owners are now very proud of the fact their dogs are not ever vaccinated. So do we throw the baby out with the bath water?
As a holistic veterinarian that also looks at things with a scientific perspective, my conclusion is to look at the individual. I use vaccines judiciously. I also believe that not every pet is going to require the same vaccines and a cookie cutter approach for all animals is not the right way to go. As a veterinarian and a guardian of public health, I do not make the rules, but I must follow them. So what vaccines are required by law? Typically only rabies, so we will discuss rabies first. In the state of Missouri, dogs and cats must be vaccinated every 3 years and ferrets must be vaccinated every year. In addition, though vaccines carry certain risks, no life of an animal is worth that of a human if a child bitten by a rabid animal (domestic or wild) that could have been prevented. The following is a video of a child in southeast Asia who contracted rabies. It is not an easy video to watch.
Child with Rabies
However, this is reality for the 55,000 people worldwide who contract rabies and die from this nearly always fatal disease. In North America, we usually think of wild animals such as skunks, bats, foxes, and raccoons having rabies, but in most other countries, dogs are the most likely animal to spread rabies to humans.1 The reason so few people in the United States contract rabies is the successful vaccination of our pets.
Before getting into what I recommend in my practice, let's discuss some terminology.
Antigen: a foreign substance that the immune system recognizes as a potential threat to the body. This can include anything from bacteria, viruses, and fungi to pollens and things in the environment that cause allergies.
Antibody: a protein produced by the immune system used to identify foreign antigen. Antibodies help the body's immune system identify antigens faster and help prevent disease before it takes hold in the body.
Vaccine: a biological agent composed up of antigen introduced in the body to stimulate the immune system into producing antibody. Vaccines are usually for viruses and bacteria. Note that vaccines or natural immunity from previous exposure to the infectious agent do NOT prevent infection (so called "sterilizing immunity"), but prevent disease in the body by allowing the immune system to recognize infectious agents faster and make it less likely that the patient becomes sick.
Modified/Attenuated Live Vaccines (MLV): These vaccines have been cultured in a way to prevent them from becoming virulent while still causing a more robust immune system response and better antibody production. Canine distemper and feline rhinotracheitis virus (herpes virus) are examples of commone modified live vaccines.
Killed Vaccines: These vaccines have the infectious agent in them killed so they cannot resort back to virulence. This is important in viruses such as rabies. Killed vaccines do not stimulate as robust of an immune system response as a modified live vaccine and contain adjuvant.
Recombinant Vaccines: These vaccines use a newer technology to mix or "recombine" the DNA of the desired organism into a less harmful organism. Examples of this are the newer feline leukemia and feline rabies vaccines. Recombinant vaccines do not contain adjuvant.
Adjuvant: an additional component of vaccines that is used to "irritate" the immune system into a stronger response. These are typically used in killed vaccines such as rabies vaccine because killed vaccine is not recognized as strongly by the immune system as modified/attenuated live vaccine. The use of adjuvant is controversial due to the ability to cause vaccine associated sarcomas in some cats.
Thimerosol: An organomercury preservative added to certain vaccines. Its use is controversial in both human and veterinary vaccines.
Dosing Tank: The vials the vaccines come in. When vaccine is manufactured, they come in either multidose tanks or single dose tanks.
Antibody Titer: An estimate of the amount of antibody to a particular disease causing agent such as a virus or bacteria that the body has made. Usually done by a blood test sent to a laboratory. Can be used to judge if a patient has an appropriate level of antibodies to fight off a disease. However, levels of antibody that are protective are controversial and an animal with a low level still might not come down with the disease (antibodies are not the only mechanism of defense in the immune system). Conversely, some animals with a high level of antibody may still come down with the diease. Titers are generally used as guidelines on whether or not to revaccinate.
Maternal Antibody: Depending on the species, some animals pass on a certain amount of antibody to their offspring via the placenta and through nursing (dogs and cats) and have maternal antibodies present if the mother was previously vaccinated. Other species, such as horses, have very little maternal antibody at birth and foals rely solely on taking in their mother's colostrum by nursing around the time of birth. In dogs and cats, the time the maternal antibody decreases is highly variable. They may wane at 5 weeks or at 20 weeks. We vaccinate puppies and kittens in a series to make sure they can form their own antibody when the maternal antibodies have declined to protect from potentially fatal disease like parvo and distemper virus.
Herd Immunity: This is the idea that a certain percentage of a population (be it dog, cat, cattle, humans, etc) must be immune to an infectious contagious disease either through natural immunity through exposure to the infectious agent or vaccination in order to "spare" the individuals who have not been exposed. Outbreaks tend to happen when fewer animals are vaccinated. The exact percentage that needs to be immunized to offer some protective herd immunity differs by disease, but is typically at least 75% of the population.
Core & Non-Core Vaccines: Recommendations from the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA)2 and the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP)3 on which vaccines (beyond rabies by law) that our pets should or should not get based on their lifestyle. Core vaccines are designated such because of the highly contagious and possibly fatal nature of the diseases, while non-core vaccines will depend on geographic area and what the animal is exposed to. Other non-core vaccines are designated this way because their vaccines
My Philosophy:
In my practice, I want to use the best technology for my patients and make sure they are protected while minimizing the risk of vaccine reactions as much as possible. While I feel they are better products, they are typically more expensive than the older versions both for me and for the client, but I feel it is worthwhile to keep our pets protected while minimizing risks.
I prefer to use single dose tanks. The reason for this is that I want to be sure that even if the vaccine is properly mixed that the patient received the correct amount of antigen in the vaccine: not too much and not too little. These are typically more expensive than multidose tanks.
I also prefer to use 3 year thimerosol free killed rabies vaccine as this is currently the best technology on the market for dogs. In cats, the best technology for rabies and feline leukemia uses recombinant canary pox vaccines. At this time, this particular vaccine is only approved for once a year but they do not contain adjuvant, which is a big plus for cats.
I recommend spreading vaccines out with a minimum of two weeks in between this is for several reasons. First, if a dog or cat has a reaction to a vaccine, I want to know which type. I also want to make sure the body is not overwhelmed with antigens all at once and has sufficient time to develop antibodies. I also give vaccines in specific locations. The older way was to give all vaccines between the shoulders at the pet's scruff. Now the recommended way is to give them in specific locations, such as rabies=right rear and feline leukemia=left rear, so you know which vaccine did what if there is a problem.
For other vaccines, I tend to follow the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) and American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) recommendations for "core" and "non-core" vaccines. While every dog and cat is different, I have essentially two approaches: a more "standard" approach and a more holistic approach. They are as follows for dogs and cats.
Core Dog Vaccine Protocol (Most Pet Dogs):
8 weeks:
DA2PP (distemper/adenovirus type 2/parvovirus/parainfluenza) MLV
12 weeks:
DA2PP MLV
14 weeks:
Rabies (thimerosol free) as by law (must be done by 3 months per the city of Columbia)
16 weeks:
DA2PP MLV
20 weeks:
Distemper/parvo titer if desired
Twelve Months Later:
Rabies (thimerosol free, start of 3 year rabies)
Distemper/parvo titer (if low, re-vaccinate 2-4 weeks after rabies)
Four Years (and every three years after):
Rabies (thimerosol free, 3 year)
Distemper/parvo titer if desired (if low, re-vaccinate 2-4 weeks after rabies)
Non-Core Dog Vaccine Protocol:
As explained earlier, non-core vaccines will depend on the dog's lifestyle and exposure. A field trial or coonhunting dog might benefit from leptospirosis while a conformation dog that is at dog shows every weekend may benefit from bordetella, particularly if the dog is required to have this vaccination for shows, classes, grooming, and so on. Some vaccines, such as corona or giardia, have low efficacy or the disease they are trying to protect from is fairly self limiting. For these reasons, they are not generally recommended at this time.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Dental Care for the Working and Performance Dog
Anything from retrieving game to biting a decoy, our working and performance dogs use their mouths a lot! We have a lot invested in their chompers, so it makes sense to keep them in as good as shape as possible. A very small amount of prevention is worth a considerable amount of money later on. I recommend brushing a dog's teeth every day (or every other day at the least), particularly for working and performance breeds since their teeth are so critical to their function. I like using a veterinary specific tooth paste. These come in a variety of flavors from beef and poultry to the rather pleasant vanilla mint (which my dogs happen to really like) and are safe to be swallowed in small amounts, unlike human tooth pastes. I also prefer using an inexpensive electric toothbrush such as a Crest Spinbrush instead of a manual brush. It seems dogs are often more tolerant of the electric toothbrushes than the manual brushes once they get used to the vibrations because they can be moved slowly back and forth across the teeth instead of lots of small motions. Finger brushes don't tend to work as effectively, but they can be used to introduce dogs to the sensation. It's always best to start poking around a dog's mouth when they are pups so they get used to it. Using a finger brush or plain finger, put a small amount of the dog toothpaste on the end of your finger and let your pup lick it off to get used to the taste. Gradually let the dog get used to the feeling of touching their lips, gums, and teeth and always keep it positive with treats.
.
So what do you do when good teeth go bad? Veterinarians use very similar tools as in human dentistry to work on teeth, so dental care for animals has really advanced considerably. Particularly if a dog uses their mouth for their job, I aggressively recommend they see the vet and a specialist if possible. A board certified member of the American College of Veterinary Dentistry has done extensive post graduate training on animal dentistry and particularly with high performing police or bite sport dogs, these are who I recommend to see. A listing of the members of the ACVD is found here:
http://www.avdc-dms.org/dms/list/diplomates.cfm?CFID=11914566&CFTOKEN=43585871
Let's also consider some nutritional links. There is a long standing myth that kibble helps clean or scrub the teeth better than canned food. This is absolutely not true. Studies have shown approximately 85% of dogs over the age of 3 years old have periodontal disease and most dogs eat dry kibble. It would be like brushing your teeth with toast. Not very helpful! It can pick up slowly and insidiously, but many dogs are likely in a good bit of pain and discomfort from unhealthy mouths on a lifetime of kibble. So please brush those teeth!
You may say, "but my dog is on a raw diet and their teeth look great! Why do I need to brush?" This is an excellent question. Though many dogs have very nice clean teeth on a predominantly raw diet, they also are at risk for fractures from the bones in the diet if it is not ground. Larger weight bearing bones or "recreational" bones (or antlers and hooves!) are common culprits. Some dogs also like to chew on sticks, rocks, their kennels, and crates, which can also fracture teeth. Fractures to the canines and the fourth (largest) premolar are not at all uncommon. Brushing your dog's teeth regularly allows you to check for inflamed gums (gingivitis) and any masses in the mouth (which often can be malignant tumors) as well as fractured teeth. Fractured teeth are a problem because not only can they be extremely painful with the pulp cavity and nerves exposed, but infections can move up into the area and cause abscesses. These are painful and may even erode the bone of the jaws, making them more likely to fracture.
A fractured tooth needs to be evaluated as soon as possible as there are ways to save the tooth, including a root canal (which keeps the tooth's place, even if it is no longer viable) or a crown amputation/vital pulpotomy (which reduces the height of the crown, or visible part of the tooth, so it can't break off further, and saves the pulp of the tooth). A vital pulpotomy is a dental emergency and must be performed within 3 days to save the tooth. In most pet dogs, the fractured or diseased tooth is often best left extracted so it will not cause further discomfort. But in dogs that use their mouths, particularly bite work dogs, extracting large teeth like a canine or fourth premolar with big roots is much more risky since the tooth (both crown and root) must be pulled out. On a large tooth, this means the root will no longer have as much support to the bones in the jaw, making a fractured jaw more likely. A vital pulpotomy or root canal is a better choice for working dogs. Because a fractured tooth must be addressed right away, if you are brushing and inspecting your dog's teeth each day, you can head off major problems before it starts interfering with the dog's work and health.
Lastly we can discuss routine cleaning of the teeth. This must happen under general anesthesia for several reasons (and this is why an "anesthesia free dental" is a very poor substitute for a full cleaning). First, the process involves a good bit of poking and prodding that many dogs just don't tolerate. A hand scaler can lacerate the gums and the dog can subsequently bite the person trying to do the "cleaning." The ultrasonic scaler uses a lot of water and a high pitched noise, which most all dogs would find very annoying and would not likely hold still for. To have a complete cleaning, we inspect and clean above and below the gum line, which we are not able to do with an awake dog. We can only access the easily visible parts during a hand scaling and not above the gum line, so the result is cosmetic at best. The ultrasonic or hand scaler also leaves microscopic scratches in the enamel of the tooth that must be polished off when completed, otherwise the calculus simply builds back up even faster. This is a similar process with how your teeth are polished after your dentist is done with their cleaning. For these reasons, the ACVD has a position statement why "anesthesia free dentals" are nothing more than "tooth grooming."
http://www.avdc.org/dentalscaling.html
In other words, if your dog's teeth need attention, consult your veterinarian or a board certified veterinary dentist on how to best keep their teeth looking and feeling their best.
.
So what do you do when good teeth go bad? Veterinarians use very similar tools as in human dentistry to work on teeth, so dental care for animals has really advanced considerably. Particularly if a dog uses their mouth for their job, I aggressively recommend they see the vet and a specialist if possible. A board certified member of the American College of Veterinary Dentistry has done extensive post graduate training on animal dentistry and particularly with high performing police or bite sport dogs, these are who I recommend to see. A listing of the members of the ACVD is found here:
http://www.avdc-dms.org/dms/list/diplomates.cfm?CFID=11914566&CFTOKEN=43585871
Let's also consider some nutritional links. There is a long standing myth that kibble helps clean or scrub the teeth better than canned food. This is absolutely not true. Studies have shown approximately 85% of dogs over the age of 3 years old have periodontal disease and most dogs eat dry kibble. It would be like brushing your teeth with toast. Not very helpful! It can pick up slowly and insidiously, but many dogs are likely in a good bit of pain and discomfort from unhealthy mouths on a lifetime of kibble. So please brush those teeth!
You may say, "but my dog is on a raw diet and their teeth look great! Why do I need to brush?" This is an excellent question. Though many dogs have very nice clean teeth on a predominantly raw diet, they also are at risk for fractures from the bones in the diet if it is not ground. Larger weight bearing bones or "recreational" bones (or antlers and hooves!) are common culprits. Some dogs also like to chew on sticks, rocks, their kennels, and crates, which can also fracture teeth. Fractures to the canines and the fourth (largest) premolar are not at all uncommon. Brushing your dog's teeth regularly allows you to check for inflamed gums (gingivitis) and any masses in the mouth (which often can be malignant tumors) as well as fractured teeth. Fractured teeth are a problem because not only can they be extremely painful with the pulp cavity and nerves exposed, but infections can move up into the area and cause abscesses. These are painful and may even erode the bone of the jaws, making them more likely to fracture.
A fractured tooth needs to be evaluated as soon as possible as there are ways to save the tooth, including a root canal (which keeps the tooth's place, even if it is no longer viable) or a crown amputation/vital pulpotomy (which reduces the height of the crown, or visible part of the tooth, so it can't break off further, and saves the pulp of the tooth). A vital pulpotomy is a dental emergency and must be performed within 3 days to save the tooth. In most pet dogs, the fractured or diseased tooth is often best left extracted so it will not cause further discomfort. But in dogs that use their mouths, particularly bite work dogs, extracting large teeth like a canine or fourth premolar with big roots is much more risky since the tooth (both crown and root) must be pulled out. On a large tooth, this means the root will no longer have as much support to the bones in the jaw, making a fractured jaw more likely. A vital pulpotomy or root canal is a better choice for working dogs. Because a fractured tooth must be addressed right away, if you are brushing and inspecting your dog's teeth each day, you can head off major problems before it starts interfering with the dog's work and health.
Lastly we can discuss routine cleaning of the teeth. This must happen under general anesthesia for several reasons (and this is why an "anesthesia free dental" is a very poor substitute for a full cleaning). First, the process involves a good bit of poking and prodding that many dogs just don't tolerate. A hand scaler can lacerate the gums and the dog can subsequently bite the person trying to do the "cleaning." The ultrasonic scaler uses a lot of water and a high pitched noise, which most all dogs would find very annoying and would not likely hold still for. To have a complete cleaning, we inspect and clean above and below the gum line, which we are not able to do with an awake dog. We can only access the easily visible parts during a hand scaling and not above the gum line, so the result is cosmetic at best. The ultrasonic or hand scaler also leaves microscopic scratches in the enamel of the tooth that must be polished off when completed, otherwise the calculus simply builds back up even faster. This is a similar process with how your teeth are polished after your dentist is done with their cleaning. For these reasons, the ACVD has a position statement why "anesthesia free dentals" are nothing more than "tooth grooming."
http://www.avdc.org/dentalscaling.html
In other words, if your dog's teeth need attention, consult your veterinarian or a board certified veterinary dentist on how to best keep their teeth looking and feeling their best.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Paw and Pad Care
There's an infamous saying in horses: no hoof, no horse. In working and performance dogs, it is very similar. I was at attendance at the U-FLI Tournament of Champions this past weekend as the show vet and was reminded of this principle. Flyball and other hard driving sports and activities (lure coursing, sled dog racing, agility, hunting, hiking) can really do a number on your dog's paw pads. First, let's discuss the anatomy of the paw. Each toe has a corresponding pad as well as a pad on the "palm" of the foot called the metacarpal (front feet) or metatarsal (back feet) pad. The carpal or "stop pad" is located on the front legs at the level of the carpus (wrist) and the dew claws. Both the metacarpal/tarsal pads and the stop pads are particularly prone to abrasions.
The most common cause is either intense stop and go activity over a hard surface (ex: flyball, chasing tennis balls on concrete) or overuse (ex: hunting, hiking, or dog sledding over rough or icy terrain, especially without conditioning). Unfortunately treating sore feet like paw abrasions are not an overnight fix as they are somewhat similar to a blister on the bottom of your feet. Prevention and gradual conditioning will be the best way to avoid pad abrasions. There are products such as Tuf-Foot and Musher's Secret that have been out for a long time to try to either toughen up or protect the foot that be worth trying. Flyball competitors often wrap with vet wrap and tape around the carpus to protect the stop pads and declaws. Please note that unlike horses, dogs have considerable more soft tissue in the lower leg than horses, so do not wrap the vet wrap too snugly and remove shortly after the race. Specially made dog skid boots might be a better alternative.
So what do you do after a long hike or hunting trip and your dog comes up lame? Inspect the feet very carefully, looking for burrs, thorns, cactus needles, ice balls, dried mud, and so on. Keeping a pair of hemostats to pull out the offending object may be very helpful, particularly when trying to grab it without poking yourself. Clean the area thoroughly with soapy water and rinse. If my dogs have a pad abrasion, I like to have them stand in a 2 quart plastic pitcher or small bucket with a warm water soak to remove excess debris and dirt, then stand again in dilute chlorhexidine solution (Hibiclens, which can be found at Walgreens or Walmart). The sore pad can be LIGHTLY bandaged if desired, but the best solution is to crate the dog so they will rest. The issue with some bandages is doing it too tight, which causes swelling and discomfort and even necrosis of the tissue if untreated long enough. If you decide to bandage the feet, make sure to leave at least two toes visible so you can check for swelling and either too warm or too cold in the toes. Some dogs will also shred and eat the bandaging material, which is never desirable. Ask your veterinarian for pain medication for a few days if the dog is especially tender or has difficulty walking. An infant sock can be helpful to taking the dog out to relieve themselves. There are now quite a few brands of booties available to try as well at various retailers.
For pad lacerations, these can be very, very challenging to treat because almost any movement can break them open again. They make take multiple times of suturing and bandaging before successfully healing. Patience and rest is the most important thing with both pad abrasions and lacerations.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
How We Interpret Bloodwork
If you've ever gotten bloodwork back on one of your dogs either as part of a wellness screening tool or if your dog was ill and wondered what in the world all those values meant, this is a neat little cheat sheet that explains what they mean.
http://veterinarybusiness.dvm360.com/vetec/data/articlestandard//vetec/392011/740627/article.pdf
http://veterinarybusiness.dvm360.com/vetec/data/articlestandard//vetec/392011/740627/article.pdf
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Canine Performance Nutrition: An Overview
This is a paper I wrote for a nutrition elective rotation I took in March 2011. I am posting it as I believe many might find it interesting. I'll be posting more on nutrition in the future. Enjoy!
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While the majority of dogs in developed nations enjoy fairly sedentary lives, more and more owners are including their canine companions in a variety of activities and sports. Dogs now commonly join their owners to compete in the newer sports of agility, flyball, and dock diving. Performance events such as herding, protection, hunting, and sledding remain popular and blur the lines between work and play for dogs and their handlers. In addition, dogs provide a valuable service to military, law enforcement, and the community through patrol work, scent detection, and search and rescue efforts. While nutrition is not a substitute for the correct genetics, training, and conditioning of performance dogs, many owners are very interested in the nutritional needs of their canine athlete. To reach peak performance through optimal nutrition, owners and veterinarians should calculate the caloric needs, consider a diet that complements the performance expected based on the components of the food, and develop a feeding plan that optimizes peak performance.
Most nutritional studies of canine athletes have traditionally focused on the sports of dog racing and dog sledding. The two average participants in these activities are greyhounds and husky-type dogs respectively. Greyhound racing is a highly anaerobic sport that short in duration which is reflected in the type IIa fast twitch muscle fibers that dominate a greyhound’s lean muscle mass (Hill 1998), while some dog sled races such as the Iditarod are over one thousand of miles in length covered over the course of up to two weeks. Most other canine activities fall somewhere in between these two extremes, with sports like agility and flyball being more similar to sprint racing and hunting field trials and ranch livestock work of several days duration being more similar to sledding (Toll et al. 2010). Understanding the nature of the activity that the canine athlete is participating in is crucial for making nutritional recommendations to the owner.
In deciding a nutrition plan for a canine athlete, it is helpful to understand some of the differences in how food is utilized by the body depending on the type of exercise. Parallels between the nutritional needs of human and canine sprinters versus marathon runners are commonly made in comparative studies of exercise physiology, though the dog in general is better suited to oxidative metabolism of fats and dogs metabolize free fatty acids at twice the rate as humans (Hill 1998). However, most sources suggest that as in humans, sprinters such as greyhounds do best with higher levels of carbohydrates to mobilize glucose during short durations of exertion; in contrast, endurance runners such as sled dogs or hunting dogs may exhaust their stores of glycogen and may have improved performance on high protein, high fat, and low carbohydrate foods (Hill 1998). Different studies have also shown hematological effects such as “training-induced anemia” (Hill 1998) and decrease in total protein in serum (Hinchcliff 2000) before and after strenuous prolonged exercise in sled dogs that may be exacerbated if the protein levels are not moderately high, though one smaller non-cross over study showed a vegetarian- based food did not significantly alter either blood values or performance of short distance sprint racing huskies (Brown 2009).
In addition to the basic components of the food, meeting but not exceeding the energy requirements of canine athletes can be challenging both in the trial season and in the off season. As most greyhounds run only a short distance at a high intensity level every few days, most sources suggest that their caloric requirements are likely similar to other moderately active dogs with a life stage factor of 1.6. On the other extreme, long distance sled dogs may require a life stage factor of over 10 not only due to physical exertion, but because of extremely cold environmental conditions (Hand et al. 2010). A highly calorically dense diet is required to meet the needs of the long distance sled dog. Owners and kennel workers should be aware that feeding to these levels in the off season is not advised and that they may return the dog to a lower plane of nutrition after the training and trial season is over or risk gaining an undesirable amount of weight. Dogs that compete in other short but explosive sports such as flyball and agility are likely closer to greyhounds in their need for caloric intake and will likely not need a large increase in their rations during competition season. Herding, police, and hunting dogs would likely be in between the extremes of caloric requirements.
Some special considerations of certain canine athletes (racing dogs, sled dogs, and hunting dogs) may include oxidative stress both from the physical exertion itself and the addition of extra animal or plant based fat sources for energy (Pasquini et al. 2010, Hinchcliff et al. 2000). Supplementation of 400 IU of vitamin E beyond what is in typical commercially available diets have been suggested by some authors to account for the loss of antioxidants from the stress of heavy exercise and oxidation of high levels of dietary fats for sled dogs (Reinhart et al.). In addition, dogs that rely heavily on their olfactory sense, such as detection or search and rescue dogs, may benefit from fatty acids in their diets. Not only are certain PUFAs anti-inflammatory, but scent detection relies on the olfactory epithelium, of which fatty acids are integrated as components of the cell membrane (Toll 2010). As a general rule, many “weekend warrior” types of canine athletes that accompany their owners to the hiking trails or to an agility trial may not need special dietary supplements as long as their nutritional requirements are being met by feeding a high quality commercially prepared diet. Other canine athletes such as hunting dogs or sled dogs may be fairly sedentary during all but the competition seasons when they are asked to perform strenuous and prolonged exercise at high levels. Diet changes both at the onset and peak times of training should be gradual if possible. It should be communicated to owners that while nutrition is vital, training, conditioning, and genetics will be of greater value for performance than supplements or special diets.
Works Cited
Brown WY, Vanselow BA, Redman AJ, et al. An experimental meat-free diet maintained haematological characteristics in sprint-racing sled dogs. Br J Nutr 2009; 102:1318-23.
Hinchcliff KW, Reinhart GA, DiSilvestro R, et al. Oxidant stress in sled dogs subjected to repetitive endurance exercise. Am J Vet Res 2000; 61:512-17.
Hill RC. The nutritional requirements of exercising dogs. J Nutr 1998; 128:2686S–2690S.
Pasquini A, Luchetti E, Cardini G. Evaluation of oxidative stress in hunting dogs during exercise. Res Vet Sci 2010; 89:120-23.
Reinhart G, Hinchcliff K, Reynolds A, et al. Supplementing vitamin E to sled dogs. Iditarod website. Available at: http://www.iditarod.com/learn/vet-11.html. Accessed March 24, 2011.
Toll PW, Gillette RL, Hand MS. Feeding working and sporting dogs. In: Hand MS, Hatcher CD, Remillard RL, Roudebush P, Novotny BJ, eds. Small animal clinical nutrition. 5th ed. Topeka: Mark Morris Inst, 2010; 321-352.
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