It's a Dog's Life: Man's Best Friend, right?

THE IMPORTANCE OF PHYSICAL EXAMS:

"I know there's a treat in this for me somewhere!"

         Dogs (and cats) have all of the same bodily features of a human, both inside and out.  The anatomic blue print is simply arranged differently.  Physiology is similar with notable differences in sense of smell, hearing, posture, locomotion and digestion. 

          Since animals cannot always signal us about real or potential problems, the veterinarian must perform a thorough physical exam and obtain important historical information from you to be able to detect problems.  Periodic physical exams and history reporting, done every 6 to 12 months are the biggest favors that you can do for your dog to promote a long and healthy life.

          Such exams are generally started just after birth and continue periodically through the puppy vaccination series, through the wellness exams of young and mid-life and on into the geriatric exams of the later years.  These exams are done in the context of the age and breed of the dog.

VACCINATING YOUR DOG:

Puppies:

           The science of vaccinology has revealed that puppies should be vaccinated against Distemper, Hepatitis and Parvo (as a minimum) every 3 – 4 weeks, starting at 6-8 weeks of age until at least 15 – 16 weeks of age. Immunization against kennel cough (Bordetella) is started early on and continued alternating the intranasal and the injectable vaccines every 6 months.  Immunization against Leptospirosis is generally added at the end of the series, except for dogs with little chance of exposure. We do recommend the Leptospirosis vaccine for all dogs that are taken on camping trips and or travels and those dogs which like to “root around” and who might otherwise encounter the urine of wildlife and/or standing water.  The Rabies vaccination is given at 16 weeks of age.

One Year Later (approx. 16 months of age):

            All of the above mentioned shots are repeated at this time in your young dog’s life.

Progressive Vaccine Protocols for Older Dogs:

           Re Rabies: For indoor dogs with little exposure to wildlife, the rabies immunizations are then spaced out to a three-year interval (so every third annual exam would also be the time for a rabies immunization).  For dogs with a higher risk of exposure to raccoons, foxes, skunks or bats, we do an interim two-year interval with the rabies immunization, then every third yearly exam after that.  This difference in approach reflects the fact that FDA approval of vaccines is based on herd (not individual pets) statistics and thus allows for a 20% failure rate.  The interim two-year interval on rabies immunization for dogs with a greater chance of an exposure helps offset (at least in Dr. Hale’s opinion) the 20% failure rate for 3-year rabies immunization interval allowed by the FDA.

          Re Distemper, Hepatitis and Parvo:  a booster immunization is given one year after the last puppy vaccinations, then at every third yearly physical exam.

          Leptospirosis immunization is continued every year concurrently with the annual physical exam.

          Kennel cough immunization is to be given every 6 months alternating the intranasal and injectable forms.

The GOOD LIFE!"

What About Lyme Disease?

          If your dog will be traveling north of the Virginia/North Carolina border, then immunization against Lyme Disease (Borreliosis) is advised and the two shot series should be started at least one month prior to traveling.  Yearly boosters are advised if your dog is traveling north regularly.

What to Observe for After Immunizations are Administered:

          Many dogs will experience some lethargy after having received vaccinations.  This reflects the response of the immune system to the challenge just as if we were being immunized or fighting off a virus.  This phase generally lasts from 12 – 36 hours post immunization.   The second time frame of interest is the period roughly from 2 – 6 hours post immunization.  This is the period when generally mild although infrequent allergic reactions occur.  These are characterized by facial swelling accompanied by a sudden onset of itchiness.  (Stronger allergic reactions are far less common, thankfully, than aforementioned garden-variety type allergic reaction and occur within a few minutes of immunization.)  Vomiting may occasionally accompany the milder reactions.  If swelling and itching occur, give one mg per pound of diphenhydramine (benadryl) orally.  Add ¼ cimetidine 200 mg  tab per 10 lbs if mild vomiting occurs.  Stronger or unresponsive reactions should be evaluated by the vet ASAP.

PARASITES AND ZOONOSES:

"Okay, now what mischief can I get into?"

          Please see the Preventative Health Care section above for a discussion of this topic.

SPAYING AND NEUTERING:

          It has become more common to do these procedures at an early age (a couple months, or so.)  This is basically a policy decision made by groups whose main focus is lessening pet overpopulation.  The premise is that the general public is to be mistrusted about spaying/neutering their pets and so these procedures are to be done while these agencies still maintain control over the animal.  Whether or not this policy will actually affect pet overpopulation remains to be seen.  This policy is promoted as if there is no downside to this practice.

          Holistically speaking, this practice is contrary.  Sexual maturity does not occur for the better part of a year in most dogs.  Many months of “intact” life are possible prior to when these procedures may reasonably be done.  In female dogs, there may be some medical benefit (post spay urinary incontinence issue) to waiting one heat cycle before spaying.  Twenty years ago, before the practice of very early spay/neutering of ferrets was begun at the ferret farms, we rarely saw adrenal tumors in these animals.  Now it is practically an expectation for ferrets to have this problem by 3-4 years of age. 

          A reasonable compromise to all these considerations is to continue the time-honored practice of performing these procedures at 6 – 8 months of age.  In females, the chance of breast cancer and pyometra is greatly reduced and in males the chance of prostatic issues and certain behavioral issues are greatly reduced.  There is not much rationale to keeping non-breeding animals intact for more than a year, from a medical point of view. 

FEEDING YOUR DOG:

          Again, canned high quality diets are best for dogs, short of a balanced crock-pot cooked diet of fresh foods.  There are breed considerations here as well.  Dogs generally tolerate dry foods much better than cats.  The following link: www.timberwolforganics.com provides a source for some interesting, high quality and practical diets for your dog.  Small dogs should be fed frequently, to be sure.  Larger dogs with predisposition to “bloat” (GDVS) may benefit from more frequent, yet smaller meals.  Many larger dogs strongly prefer just one meal per day, however. 

"Guilty as charged."

Fat dogs and Arthritis:

          This is a problem.  There is dramatic research (Purina study) that shows the direct correlation between obesity and arthritis regardless of hip conformation.  Fat dogs equal arthritic dogs after about six years of age, especially.  Fat dogs also live shorter life spans than they might have. The money spent on arthritic older dogs is substantial.  Your pocket book and your dog will benefit from keeping your dog trim throughout life.

HOME MANAGEMENT OF YOUR DOG'S WELL BEING:

Nails:

          Start playing with your puppy’s feet on a regular basis and initiate proper nail trims early.  Reward your dog for good behavior.  Walking some of the time on cool paved surfaces helps keep “quick length” normal.  Avoid wrestling matches…no one wins.  Have a professional show you how to trim nails properly.

Lynn adjusts the anesthesia on her canine patient while performing a dental prophy.

                                   Teeth:

          Start getting your dog used to your having your fingers or other brushing wiping objects in his/her mouth from an early age, if possible.  Dr Hale believes that a brief (no more than one minute, total) wipe of the teeth with dental gel, every night after the last meal, done consistently, is the best way to help keep your dog’s teeth and gums healthy.  Regular check-ups and dental scaling where appropriate are the rest of the story.

           Recently, Pfizer has developed an FDA-approved vaccination for Porphyromonas, one of the main bacteria identified in the progression of periodontal disease in dogs (and possibly bad breath).  The research suggests that this vaccine should prove useful as an adjunct to the strategies listed above.  This vaccination requires a series of two shots to start off and will likely be yearly thereafter unless shown to work for longer intervals.  Dogs receiving this immunization seem to benefit from 24 – 72 hours of oral NSAID pain medicine.

Ears:

          Start your puppy off young with gentle ear rinses, especially spaniels and retrievers.  Pick your rinses carefully.  Harsh rinses are to be avoided.  Consistency with ear rinses, as with wiping the teeth, is your best approach to reducing ear issues.  “Allergic ears” often require more attention.  Yeast infections are extremely common in the ears of Florida’s dogs, so regular attention on your part can reduce this problem in your dog.