Heartworm Disease, The Silent Killer

Many clients ask me if it is really necessary to put a dog or cat on heartworm preventative.  I answer that heartworm preventative is as important as vaccines in this part of the world.  Heartworm disease is spread when an infected mosquito bites your dog or cat.  It doesn't take fifty mosquitoes, it just takes one.  Once they are infected with the heartworm larva it takes close to 2 years before your dog or cat will start showing clinical signs.  That's the 'silent killer' part.  It looks like your pet is normal and has nothing wrong but inside the pulmonary vessels around the heart, the heart worms are reproducing and wreaking havoc.  They look like a piece of spaghetti with a sucker on the end and they will kill your dog without treatment.  Let me say that again, without treatment for heartworm disease your pet will DIE!  It's really that simple.  If your pet develops heartworm disease and is not treated, it will die.  With treatment, they can survive but the costs is approximately $1000-$1600 and the drug is in short supply right now.  Why would you want either of those options when you can prevent the disease very easily.  Prevention comes in multiple forms.  There are monthly topicals that prevent heartworm disease and they also prevent flea infestations like Advantage Multi and Revolution.  There are monthly chewable tablets like Interceptor and Heartgard.  We are getting ready to bring a product in called ProHeart 6 that is an injectable that lasts for 6 months.  ProHeart 6 takes the hassle of having to remember when to give it every month as well as the hassle of trying to get your pet to take a pill or keep still while you apply a topical.  I'm going to use it on my dogs and think it will be a great option for those that hate giving pills or have trouble remembering when to give them.  With ProHeart 6 we will call you every 6 months to schedule an appointment for the injection.  The dog will receive a fecal test, physical exam, deworming if needed and a Preventic collar for flea and tick prevention every 6 months all complimentary with the use of ProHeart 6.  Regardless of product you choose, I can't stress the importance of heartworm prevention enough, it is a matter of life or death.

What's up with Urinary Stones?

I had a female pug come in to the office last week because she had started urinating some blood.  Many of you have seen the pictures that we posted of the enormous bladder stone that was removed.  But how does that happen?!?!?  Urinary crystals and stones are not uncommon in our dogs and cats.  There are multiple causes from bacterial infections that produce the necessary components for stones to form to differences in pH of the urine.  There are also breed predispostions as well.  If you notice that your pet is urinating more often, straining to urinate, only urinating small amounts at a time but multiple times at once.  Those are all signs that can be associated with bladder stones.  There are other diseases that cause the same signs so diagnostic tests will need to be performed.  I usually start with a urinalysis, abdominal radiographs and some bloodwork to check internal organ function, such as kidney values and glucose.  Although the size of the stone that I removed from the pug last week is rare, smaller stones and urinary tract problems are not.  Last weeks' case was definitely a "wow" case, but shows the importance of routine visits to your veterinarian for a physical exam and to answer any questions about abnormalities that you might have noticed.  Something that may be small to you could turn into a giant bladder stone.  Fortunately for this pug, the stone was removed and the dog is doing very well.

Do dogs need dental care?

One of the biggest recommendations that veterinarians make these days are for routine dental cleanings.  But why?  We've had dogs for years and we never had their teeth cleaned, why start now?  The easiest answer is.......Your pets overall health and their oral health go hand in hand, just like humans.  When is the last time that you saw an olympic athelete with rotten teeth?  When is the last time that you saw a beautiful smile in a person in terrible health?  Brushing a dog or cats teeth, chew toys and certain types of food can all help to decrease the amount of plaque and tartar build-up that they have, but they do not replace professional cleanings.  Just because you brush your teeth everyday (hopefully) that doesn't keep you from going to the dentist.  But it does decrease the amount of work that your dentist have to perform on your mouth.  We take dental x-rays before dental cleanings on pets just like your dentist.  That gives us a picture of what's going on below the gum line, which is the most important place.  Some teeth may look normal above the gum line but x-rays may show that the tooth is starting to decay.  Unfortunately, our pets can't tell us when their mouth hurts, but if you have ever had a tooth ache, you know how painful they can be.  Dental disease can also lead to heart and kidney disease.  The bottom line is, proper dental care can add years of quality life to your pet.  Starting early is the key.  if we start early and clean their teeth as a preventative, then they still have teeth to clean when they are older.