Anything For Animals

posted by admin on Jun 29

So, what is the best Flea Product to use?

As with any flea control products or flea treatments, it depends on how you use them as to whether they appear to work, so comparing individual products is very hard. Don’t forget that fleas do not live on the pet itself, so the following product in the example below could have 2 very different results in the eyes of the untrained ‘flea’ owner:

House 1: You can use flea spray A on a pet in a house with no infestation or flea eggs present, and that will be it - no more fleas on that pet.

House 2: You can use the same flea spray A on a pet in a house with an infestation and/or flea eggs present, and soon enough that pet will ‘have’ fleas again.

But aren’t some products stronger than others?
There are flea treatments for pets that are ’stronger’ than others in terms of the chemicals present, and those from your vets normally contain stronger insecticides than those you might find in a pet store and even stronger than those in a supermarket.

However the reason the ones from the vets normally ‘work better’ is due to the information that the vet gives you.

A good vet, when confronted by a flea problem in a client, will not only recommend a treatment for the pet, but will usually not let you leave there without a product for the house too, therefore killing the flea cycle completely - clearing out your house and clearing your pet at the same time - they may well even sell you a wormer that you think is more money but it will actually benefit your pet long term.

Compare this to when you go into a supermarket for your pet supplies. There is no one trained there to help you choose the best flea control program, so you will usually pick up the one your friend recommended - even though they may have just been House 1 in the example above (and you may be house 2).

Or if not, you may select the cheapest one thinking they are all the same, just different brands (like bread or washing powders) and get home with just one step of the recommended flea control program - to just kill the fleas on your pet - the ones you can see!

Either way, it’s probably not going to work.

Why Won’t It Work?? 
I’d like to go back to friends recommendations above, as they are often based on no real evidence either, just what that friend saw. For example, what if that friend from House 1 found several fleas in their house the following month, they could take one of the 2 paths here:

Path A: Buy the same product they brought last time, but as the fleas are in the house now not just on the pet, this will appear not work. The friend will be confused and probably think that they didn’t use enough, so may respray the pet.

Path B: Buy a different product, as their usual one wasn’t available, but this will also not appear to work - as the owner hasn’t realised the fleas are in the home not just on the pet. They will therefore assume that this product doesn’t work but the last one did.

There are no actual facts involved in either of these recommendations, just a lack of knowledge about the flea cycle, and sadly it will not only be them who is wasting money experimenting in this way, they will be helping you to make the same mistakes.

So, the best products are…….
In conclusion, I can only say that the only products you should use for your pet to rid your home of fleas - and which should be all be applied at the same time - are the following:

• Any brand of insecticide household flea spraythat kills all flea eggs, flea larvae, flea pupae and adult fleas and lasts for at least a year.
• Any brand of insecticide cat or dog products, including flea shampoo, tablets, powder, drops or spray (only use the dog products on dogs NEVER CATS).
• Any brand of tapeworm and roundworm killers that contains enough to treat every pet you own - check the weights and 2 in 1’s are easier to administer.

If you can find a product brand that does all 3 stages above, it would be best to use all their products for the 3 stages above. You can rest assured then, that they are professionals and dedicate a lot of their funds to researching flea treatments, and that their products have been tested together, and so should give the best flea control.

Don’t cut corners here, as you may well waste all the money you spend if one stage is not used properly - see ‘How to get rid of fleas in your home’ for more details.

.

posted by admin on Jun 25

What is distemper in puppies?

Distemper in puppies is totally avoidable with vaccination, however many dog owners do not see this as something to concern themselves with.

Basically, when a puppy is weaned and definitely by 9 months of age, their maternal immunity ceases to be effective and they are susceptible to any viruses or diseases that come their way - unless they have been vaccinated obviously.

Needless to say that at this time they have an increased chance of getting distemper, and it is likely as they will be socialising with other dogs in their first year and will be very excited about the whole thing - they will probably eat all sorts of things they are not supposed to as well - possibly ingesting parasites, and other infectious agents.

Puppies will show the same distemper symptoms as dogs show, and will possibly be setting themselves up for some disabilities in their old age. They can also get one well known ‘classic sign’ while still young - and they are known as ‘distemper rings’.

Basically a distemper attack in a young puppy (under 6 months of age) can affect the growth of enamel (the hard protective outer-casing) on all it’s teeth . What this results in is a permanent sign of the infection visible as damage to the enamel, or missing enamel (exposing the sensitive dentine layer) on it’s permanent adult teeth.

So, the puppy will have weaker teeth as a youngster, so a higher risk of oral disease, tooth decay and broken teeth (which can affect overall nutrition and coat quality as well as internal organ damage). Do not buy a puppy with these signs on it’s teeth.

Distemper in puppies is therefore a ruined life. This disease is not fatal, but it is disabling, and there is no need for any dog to have to suffer for the sake of a single vaccination.

.

posted by admin on Jun 21

Can my kitten get distemper?

Kittens (and cats) do not get distemper - only dogs and mammals related to dogs such as foxes and racoons can become infected with distemper and spread it to other dogs or dog-related mammals.

So there’s no need to worry about how often does a kitten get a distemper shot or symptoms of distemper in kittens, as there is no such shot - kittens don’t get distemper, and distemper in cats is unheard of!

So, go worry about something else….

posted by admin on Jun 19

What are the distemper vaccine side effects?

Unfortunately, as with every vaccine in the modern world, there can be side effects. There is no way of knowing whether an individual animal with react to a given vaccine, so if the chances of coming into contact with a life-threatening disease or serious virus are high, a vet will always recommend the vaccine.  On the other hand you could well say that the side effects of the vaccine was to extend the life of your pet.

Although distemper will not normally cause the death of your pet, if they become infected - they can be left with some serious and permanent disabilities when older.

If it’s a toss up between your dog getting either distemper or the vaccine side effects, you would be wise to choose the vaccine. Not only should the vaccine keep your dog safe, it should also protect the local dog population of where you live. The more dogs that contract distemper, the more likely it is to mutate and become more aggressive.

Don’t forget though that although individual vaccines work on only on individual animals, if a high enough percentage of animals are NOT vaccinated (as little as 15% in some diseases) then the disease could evolve to become resistant to some available vaccines.

Some people are saying that ’so-and-so disease is not so common anymore’ so you don’t need to vaccinate for it, but of course the fact is that you don’t see these diseases anymore BECAUSE people vaccinate their pets. It just obviously didn’t occur to these people to think it through.

Take the example of Polio: Do you worry about Polio anymore? No, we were all immunised as youngsters, but if we stopped vaccinating kids these days - you can be sure that it will come back!

If you don’t vaccinate your pet for fear of side effects, then not only is your pet vulnerable to that disease which you didn’t vaccinate it for, but it is also helping the disease to get a foothold in the population due to mutations and become drug resistant making hundreds or thousands of animals vulnerable in the future.

Think of the current problem we have with tuberculosis in humans - so many people did not get or couldn’t afford treatment for it or abused the medicines for it in the past 20/30 years, that there are now strains of the virus that cannnot be treated at all; the same is happening with penecillins.

Always follow the vaccination guidelines given by your vet or veterinary body of your country, and always follow the instructions correctly for any medications or treatments for your pets given to you by your veterinarians - if it doubt ask again.

There are people who swear by ‘natural treatments’ for some diseases, or ‘preventative herbs’, etc, but is it worth the risk? You wouldn’t apply a bandage to an uninjured leg, or use head lice treatment on your feet, so why would you treat a highly contagious and fatal viral infection in your dog with herbs or human medicine? Why would you give your pet one tablet instead of the 2 your vet advised? Why would you give your pet a tablet on an empty stomach when it specified to give with food - as without the digestive juices produced during eating, the tablet will not release its active ingredients and will no doubt pass out of your pet without having done what you had paid for it to do!!!!!

No wonder that it seems like your vet charges you a fortune for treatment - it’s because medicines they prescribe for your pet don’t work if you don’t administer it properly. And if it doesn’t work, you have to go back and they have to prescribe you more of something else or something stronger. Which will cost you even more money!

.

posted by admin on Jun 16

There is no cure for distemper.

Vaccination is the only way to prevent your dog getting this virus, but once it has contracted the disease there are treatments available.

Vaccination occurs with a live vaccine - but in a very mild non contagious form - allowing the virus to multiply in that animal only and to stimulate a mild response, making that animal resistant to the real virus if it should ever attack.

Puppies can be safely vaccinated from around 9 weeks of age, with the primary vaccination programme completed at your vets by around 12 weeks. It can of course be given to any dog at any point in time if it’s vaccination history is unknown or any annual boosters were missed.

Treatments:

There is no specific therapy for CDV so treatment remains symptomatic - basically your vet can only treat what you see in each animal on an individual basis.

They may recommend broad spectrum antibiotics - for the bacterial infections which should help limit infections in affected animals.

They may offer:

Intravenous fluid therapy - to compensate for the water and electrolyte losses in a sick or physically disable animal.

Anti-emetics (anti-sickness) and anti-diarrhoeal drugs - to control the feelings created by uncontrolled movement and feeding issues.

Anti-convulsants - to treat any nervous signs (including seizures and twitching)

Treatment close to the time of infection may be short lived and could be the only treatment you need. However treatment for old age or advanced distemper will be ongoing from identification or diagnosis until your pet dies, as all distemper symptoms and disabilities will be permanent.

.

posted by admin on Jun 13

What are the distemper symptoms seen in dogs?

The distemper virus has an incubation period of about 7-21 days before you will even see any distemper symptoms in your pet. Sometimes you don’t even really notice them.

Any distemper symptoms you will see should fall into one of the 3 categories listed below, but there can be a progression though all three stages of the disease, so your pet will show the different distemper symptoms shown in each example:

Mild Distemper:

This is rarely diagnosed, as there is a rapid recovery before you notice there was anything wrong in the first place. It is sometimes seen, by a particularly observant owner, as a period of depression (change in behavior), anorexia (refusal to eat or eating very little) and mild and short lived pyrexia (a raised temperature).

Acute Distemper:

Within 7 days of exposure to the distemper virus, the dog will become depressed, anorexic and pyrexic as above, but for longer and this will usually be much more noticeable than mild distemper. Within 48 hours of the pyrexia, the temperature will return to normal, but may rise again in susceptible dogs such as those with known illnesses including immunosuppression or those with a secondary bacterial infection.

Other noticeable distemper symptoms for the acute form can include:

Tonsillitis or pharyngitis (infections of the area at the back of the mouth) usually with a dry cough

Conjunctivitis (infection of the eye)

Rhinitis (irritated nasal passages), usually with a discharge

Pneumonia (inflammation of the lung tissue)

Vomiting, diarrhoea, dehydration and general loss of body condition

Hyperkeratosis (hardening and thickening) of the nose and foot pads, and increased pain in these areas

Mortality can be high, but is recoverable if the distemper symptoms above are spotted early and treated promptly.

If acute disease develops in a dog that is less than 6 months old, it may permanently damage the enamel on their adult teeth as a result, leaving noticeable damage which is sometimes referred to as ‘distemper rings’.

Nervous Disease Distemper:

Approximately 50% of all dogs with acute distemper go on to develop nervous signs. The type and severity of which vary with each individual animal, as will the symptoms.

In some instances, nervous disease distemper will occur without showing any of the acute symptoms above and some time after the original infection and can have many forms.

Onset of nervous disease distemper symptoms is not fatal, but is not a good sign for the animal in general. It is likely that it will now be affected by it’s symptoms for the rest of it’s life due to the viral effect on the brain and nervous system. Nervous disease distemper symptoms can include:

• Head tilt
• Blindness
• Seizures
• Circling and pacing behavior
• Ataxia - unbalanced walking or gait
• Dysmetria - unequal movements of the limbs
• Hypermetria - a high stepping gait
• Nystagmus - random flicking of the eyeballs
• Chorea (rapid muscle movements) or twitching associated with any group of muscles
• General weakness of the body
• Paresis (muscle weakness)
• Occasional paralysis (loss of function) of the hind-limbs
• Faecal and/or urinal incontinence (loss of control)

There are also cases where the signs of nervous disease are not noticed until years after the initial distemper infection and symptoms. This is only identified in more elderly animals when coordination is lost and behaviour changes are noticed. This is often tagged as ‘Old Dog Encephalitis’ (ODE) and is actually a diagnosable degenerative brain disorder.

.

posted by admin on Jun 10

Feline distemper symptoms…..

Distemper in cats does not exist - basically cats do not get distemper. So there is no need to worry about the distemper symptoms in cats, or the treatment of distemper in cats.

Cats and kittens do not get distemper - only dogs and mammals related to dogs such as foxes and raccoons can become infected with distemper and spread it to other dogs or dog-related mammals.

Your cat is safe from this one…..

posted by admin on Jun 7

Identifying Dogs With Rabies. 

There are 2 recognised forms of rabies - although both are from the same virus - they just react in the animal in different ways and so show different symptoms. They are known as either:

Furious rabies
Dumb rabies

In ‘furious rabies’ as it’s name suggests, the dog will become progressively more and more excitable, to the extreme in some cases. These episodes usually last only a short time, but may last several hours.

During these episodes, the dog may become aggressive and may snap and bite, sometimes this is just at imaginary objects. They may also develop a depraved appetite and as a result will chew and eat anything. In some cases the dog runs away, and will walk or run many miles before returning home, and may seem very calm during these treks.

Initial clinical (identifiable) signs include pyrexia (raised temperature) and a change in temperament, for example a placid dog becoming grumpy or to start growling. Some dogs may go the other way, and become more placid and seek affection, or they may hide away in corners or under beds. The site of the infection - the bite wound - may become pruritic (intensely itchy or irritated).

As the disease progresses and begins to attack the nervous system and brain, signs of paresis (muscle weakness) occurs, mainly of the legs and tail, although the dog may still have some control over it’s movement. It may also start to have difficulty swallowing, and possible asymmetry and distortion of the face. In dogs or cats there is NO evidence of hydrophobia (fear of water) that is a well publicised feature of human rabies.

Eventually the animal will die during a violent seizure.

Dumb rabies is far more common of the two, but with little or no signs as with furious rabies.

In dumb rabies there will be progressive paralysis of the limbs and distortion of the face with drooping jaw and eyelids. There can also be squinting of the eyes, drooling of saliva and difficulty in swallowing, due to the damage to the nerves.

The animals will eventually become comatose and die.

Although there are 2 categories of symptoms recognised by vets, the distinction in real life is not always so clear. In all cases though, death usually occurs within 7-10 days following the onset of clinical (identifiable) signs.

Is there a treatment for rabies?
There is no current treatment recommended or practised for dogs with rabies and as a result, it is always fatal.

The only way to protect your dog from death is to have it vaccinated prior to infection with the current program of rabies vaccine (speak to your vet for exact details).

This is not because there is not enough known about the virus, but because it is such a direct and often fatal effects on humans. Basically, due to this high risk to humans - The Department for Environment & Rural Affairs (DEFRA)  in the UK, advise that any animal found to have the virus is isolated immediately and that they are informed. When the animal dies (usually within a week or two), it is sent to them for testing to confirm the virus was responsible.

A rabies outbreak is just too much of a risk, so this disease is taken very seriously.

.

posted by admin on Jun 3

Can steam cleaning stop the distemper virus?

Any precautionary measures taken can help to reduce the likelihood of dogs contracting distemper - as with any other disease or infection - and steam cleaming can be a part of the prevention process.

Distemper is passed on when the virus is shed in the urine, faeces, vomit, drool from an infected animal, as well as in the discharge from the nose and eyes. As a result, it is assumed that inhalation is the most likely route of infection so reducing this form of transmission is essential in distemper control.

However, steam cleaning alone cannot ’stop’ the distemper virus - as only the vaccination and a really healthy immune system response can prevent your dog becoming infected with distemper if it actually comes into contact with the virus.

There are however, many of ways to limit the chances of your dogs coming into contact with the virus, including but not exclusive of the following - which of course will help to prevent a huge number of other illness as well:

Concerning the dogs themselves:

• Get you dog vaccinated at the earliest opportunity and keeping up-to-date with boosters.
• Limit the contact of puppies with dogs or other puppies from different sources prior to vaccination.
• Do not purchase or sell your puppy from mixed litter groups from different sources.
• Do not keep puppies from different litters and locations together in kennels or pet shops.
• Do not mix unvaccinated dogs from different locations in kennels or large enclosures.

Concerning their environments:

• Steam clean any large outdoor or indoor areas used by different dogs.
• Use lime/bleach/anti-bacterial/anti-viral pet-safe products around kennels and yards and clean regularly.
• Never put another animal into an uncleaned kennel or run previously used by another dog.
• Quarantine new/unknown animals from existing animals until it’s health or vaccination record is complete to your satisfaction.
• Make sure all animals are wormed and treated for parasites as this can affect their ability to fight off the virus.
• Isolate any sick animals from the healthy individuals to reduce contamination.
• Secure your yard or garden from stray dogs, foxes, racoons, etc to limit their contact with your pets.

.