Author: PetGd

Nothing brings on the holly jollies like sharing the celebrations with a new puppy. But it’s important to remember that puppies are as mischievous as they are adorable. Perhaps more than any other holiday, Christmas brings a host of potential puppy hazards, from toxic foods to dangerous decor. So when you have a new puppy, it’s important to keep safety in mind. Holiday Pet Safety Tips for Your Puppy’s First Christmas 1. Beware of the Bar Whether you’re hosting or taking your puppy to visit friends or family this holiday season, keep an eye on the cocktails. A curious puppy might be tempted to sample a few unattended drinks. “We’ve noticed that dogs especially seem to like creamy drinks like White Russians, but some pets will readily drink unattended glasses of beer, wine, and other alcoholic drinks if given the opportunity,” says Dr. Charlotte Flint, a senior consulting veterinarian with the Pet Poison Helpline, a 24-hour animal poison control service. And it’s not just the drinks you have to worry about. Dr. Flint says, “During the holidays, we also run into issues with dogs getting drunk after eating alcohol-soaked desserts, like rum balls.” If pets ingest enough alcohol, they can develop symptoms of drunkenness, Dr. Flint says, including: Incoordination Sleepiness Weakness Vomiting Large amounts can cause more dangerous symptoms, such as: Low blood sugar Low body temperature Changes in heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure Tremors Seizures Coma Death So, it’s important to be aware of what your puppy has access to during your holiday celebrations. 2. Keep an Eye on the Buffet Puppies will try to eat anything and everything. Unfortunately, the table scraps from the Christmas feast contain many potential puppy problems. Be especially careful of the following foods, warns Dr. Flint: Raisins and grapes: Traditional holiday treats like fruitcakes, Christmas puddings, and mince pies usually contain raisins, which are extremely toxic to dogs. “Raisin and grape toxicity is poorly understood, but can result in kidney failure in dogs,” Dr. Flint says. Yeast dough: To a puppy’s curious nose, rising dough smells great. Yeast, however, can wreak havoc on the stomach. “When ingested, the dough rapidly expands, gas is produced, and dangerous distension of the dog’s stomach can result,” warns Dr. Flint. Sugar-free candy: Avoid candy canes and other treats containing xylitol, a popular sugar substitute that’s toxic to dogs. If ingested, it can cause low blood sugar and lead to liver failure. Macadamia nuts: Macadamia nuts are popular during the holiday season, but they’re toxic to dogs and can cause symptoms ranging from hind-end weakness and tremors to vomiting, diarrhea, and pancreatitis. Fatty foods: While not truly toxic, consuming fatty foods can cause your puppy to experience vomiting, diarrhea, and pancreatitis. “We have had cases of dogs who eat pounds of butter left on the counter to soften before holiday baking begins,” says Dr. Flint. If your puppy ingests any of the above holiday foods, contact your veterinarian immediately. Prompt treatment is crucial. 3. Skip the Mistletoe Many pet parents have heard that poinsettias are poisonous to our four-legged friends. However, this is a myth, says Dr. Flint. Ingesting the sap of the poinsettia may cause drooling or GI upset, but not serious symptoms. A more concerning holiday plant that is toxic to dogs is mistletoe. “Large ingestions of mistletoe have the potential to cause cardiovascular and possibly neurologic signs,” says Dr. Flint. 4. Provide a Safe Space The holidays are the most hustling, bustling time of the year. While your puppy may enjoy partaking in the fun, he also needs space to decompress. “If you’re hosting a party, consider the number of guests and amount of noise,” says Dr. Charlotte Means, director of toxicology at the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center. “Many pets will benefit from having a safe, secure, and quiet place in the house away from the festivities.” A big pet holiday safety tip is to set up a separate room for your puppy with the essentials: food, water, favorite toys, and a soft bed. You can even play relaxing music or use a white noise machine to provide some background noise and dampen the holiday clamor. It’s also a good idea to crate train your pup before the holidays arrive. 5. Puppy-Proof Your Tree With flashy lights and dangling ornaments, Christmas trees are extremely interesting to puppies. Dr. Means highlights some of the hazards Christmas trees pose to puppies: Ornaments: Antique ornaments may contain lead, and glass ornaments can cause lacerations, including in the digestive tract if ingested. Opt for plastic ornaments and place them higher on the tree, out of your puppy’s reach, says Dr. Means, because they could still cause an obstruction if swallowed. Wires and electric cords: “It’s important to prevent your puppy from accessing electric cords and extension cords, which can cause electrocution if chewed while plugged in,” says Dr. Means. Chew-proof cord protectors are available and easy to use to keep your puppy safe. Tree water: “Be mindful that your puppy isn’t drinking the water around your Christmas tree,” says Dr. Means. “If it includes a solution of sugar or fertilizers, it can lead to vomiting and diarrhea.” Even plain water, she notes, can serve as a breeding ground for bacteria and lead to similar symptoms. Tree needles: If consumed, tree needles could irritate the mouth and stomach; in large amounts, they could even lead to an intestinal obstruction. Sweep needles daily, suggests Dr. Means. 6. Pass on the Potpourri Who on earth would try to eat potpourri? Your puppy, that’s who. A wintry blend may smell nice, but it can also be dangerous. “While ingestion of dried potpourri generally causes only mild stomach upset, there is the potential for an obstruction in the stomach if the mixture contains large wood chips or pinecones,” warns Dr. Means. Additionally, some potpourri contains toxic plants, she says, and some of the essential oils included in potpourri can be toxic to dogs. 7. Educate Your Guests If you’re entertaining during the holidays, provide your guests with a quick Puppy 101 lesson. “If your puppy will be interacting with guests, make sure that people know how to properly interact with your pets, including asking your guests not to feed your pets any human food or beverages,” says Dr. Means. Additionally, ask houseguests to properly secure their luggage. Suitcases include all kinds of puppy temptations, from designer shoes to prescription medicines. “Houseguests are often not aware of a pet’s curiosity, and it may not occur to them that they need to keep their medications out of reach of pets, as it is not something they routinely do at their own home,” says Dr. Flint. “Dogs will chew up weekly pill organizers or other medication containers, and will eat pills.”     

Image via iStock.com/GeorgePeters By Victoria Schade Dog breed descriptions are almost like dating profiles; pet parents want to match up with the best companion for their lifestyle. That is why many pet parents rely on breed profiles to help them decide on important factors like a dog’s workout requirements or their personality before committing to a forever relationship. Learning as much as possible about different dog breeds is a great way to help prevent bad matchups, like a high-drive working dog living in a small apartment in the city or a dog with demanding grooming requirements winding up with someone who can’t afford the upkeep. While breed descriptions can help give insights about what a potential partnership might be like, it’s important to remember that dogs are individuals with personalities that are also shaped by their experiences. Just because a dog breed is known for being aloof or energetic, it doesn’t mean that every dog within that breed will conform to those traits. Behavioral Traits Are More Difficult to Predict There are certain aspects of a dog’s makeup that are easier to predict from a genetic standpoint, like the way the dog looks. A dog’s coat type is determined by a limited number of genes, as is a dog’s size (although factors, like diet, can influence a dog’s final size). On the other hand, canine behavioral traits are influenced by many genes as well as environmental factors, like early puppyhood experiences, socialization and training. Dr. E. Kathryn Meyer, veterinary behaviorist at the Veterinary Behavior Clinic in Gaithersburg, Maryland, explains that breed temperament descriptions are part of the guidelines that have been set by the American Kennel Club (AKC) that describe the idealized specimen of that breed. She states, “It is much easier to breed for the physical attributes that make a Beagle a Beagle, than it is to breed for the behavioral attributes that make a Beagle a Beagle.” And, keep in mind that most breeders are selecting for a dog’s appearance to conform to the breed standard rather than focusing on temperament. Selective breeding certainly impacts behavior, but it’s not a predictor of it. So instead of a genetic guarantee of dog personalities by breed, there are endless variables that can influence whether a Labrador loves water, or if a Frenchie is the class clown. Nature, Nurture and What Shapes a Dog’s Personality If you’ve ever met a litter of puppies, you’ve probably noticed that even at 8 weeks old, they’re already exhibiting behavioral variety. There’s typically a bold puppy, a shy puppy and a few in-between pups. From that starting point, the unique experiences each pup will have in their new homes make it possible for the siblings to end up with a variety of personality types despite their shared genes and early life. Suppose one puppy—a Boxer—goes to a home where the pet parents researched how to start off their new relationship on the right paw. They feed a high-quality dog food, enroll their new pup in training classes and take care to provide ample socialization opportunities. The other Boxer puppy winds up in a home that feeds low-quality food, keeps him crated most of the time, only takes him out to the yard for potty trips and spanks him if he has an accident in the house. Which of the two dogs do you think is more likely to represent the typical lively, affectionate and outgoing Boxer personality type? The Challenges of Breed Descriptions Breed descriptions are an excellent summary of the potential personality traits of a dog, but behavior isn’t hardwired. Dr. Meyer has seen patients that are nothing like how the AKC describes them, including a Golden Retriever that was extremely aggressive to unfamiliar people and a Shiba Inu that loved everyone despite a description of dog breed personalities that says they’re reserved with strangers. One of the challenges with breed descriptions is that they can give pet parents an unrealistic expectation of how a dog will act and make it seem that every dog from the same breed will act the exact same way. If you assume that breed personality descriptions are blueprints, then you fail to take the individual dog into account as well as the fact that personality can change over time. Breed stereotypes can also be self-fulfilling prophecies; pet parents who believe that a Husky will always pull on their dog leash might be less likely to try to modify the behavior with positive training. Breed behavior stereotyping can even trickle into how we view mixed-breed dogs; pet parents might be wary to adopt a Terrier mix due to Terriers being labeled as stubborn. But, there is a way to add dimension to a dog’s breed description. Dr. Meyer suggests that pet parents should meet a puppy’s parents and other offspring from the parents if they want a better behavioral snapshot. “I think you can make some general predictions based on breed, but don’t consider them to be guarantees,” says Dr. Meyer. Lumping dogs by their breed’s typical behavior fails to take the individual dog into account, and there’s no greater favor we can pay our dogs than loving them for exactly who they are—failed fetchers and all.

Reviewed for accuracy on April 22, 2019, by Dr. Katie Grzyb, DVM The past few years have seen a cultural shift in how people are caring for their animals, which has impacted not only the equipment used by veterinarians but also how much research is being done and the number of new treatments being developed. “Societal demands for quality veterinary care have resulted in the expansion and availability of veterinary services, including board-certified specialists in nearly every medical and surgical discipline that is available in human health care,” says Dr. Ryan Cavanaugh, DVM, assistant professor of small animal surgery at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and a veterinary surgical oncologist.  “And with the advent of specialty medicine, veterinary scientists have been driven to improve the technology utilized to help treat our companion animal patients more effectively,” says Dr. Cavanaugh. Some of the areas that veterinary science is delving into are 3-D printing, advancements in prosthetics and laser surgery, and the use of cannabidiol (CBD). 3-D Printing as a Tool for Veterinary Science The veterinary science industry is just starting to really explore the possible uses for 3-D printing, as it has become more accessible and affordable in the last decade. “Ten years ago, 3-D printers were expensive to purchase, and the software to run them was complex and costly,” says Dr. Rory Lubold, DVM, who actively uses 3-D printers in his practice at Paion Veterinary. “Prior to the entrance of 3-D printing into the veterinary science space, we were using books and 3-D renderings on computers—but this comes with the inherent limitations of not being able to visualize all aspects of an object,” says Dr. Lubold. Dr. Lubold says that there are a number of companies providing complete printing solutions today. They take CT images from hospitals, create a printed model and then send them back to the hospital, which makes getting 3-D models a very easy process for any hospital with access to a 3-D scanner (such as CT or MRI). Nowadays, 3-D models are being used extensively in orthopedics. “This helps surgeons to have a physical object to evaluate fractures and plan procedures, and there is at least one company (Orthopets) doing some really great work with 3-D printing to help with developing custom prosthetics,” says Dr. Lubold. Dr. Lubold says that 3-D printing is also commonly being used by veterinarians to help them visualize normal and abnormal anatomy as a part of soft-tissue surgical planning and vascular surgery. They will also use the 3-D renderings for the evaluation of cancerous masses for removal. Advanced Veterinary Care With Prosthetics For many decades, the use of prosthetics in vet science was limited to the setting of an exoprosthesis, where an external “splint-like” device is fashioned over a portion of an animal’s limb. These splints have been used to either stabilize that region or provide length to serve as an extension of the limb after partial amputation of an extremity, explains Dr. Cavanaugh. “Over the past five to 10 years, the veterinary scientific community has initiated quality research endeavors that have resulted in significant progress with regard to harnessing prosthetic technology,” says Dr. Cavanaugh. He uses prosthetic engineering to develop implantable biomaterials to reconstruct bone defects after they have been removed to treat a tumor. The field of medical prostheses has benefited extensively from 3-D printing, according to Dr. Cavanaugh. “Complicated prosthetics are able to be designed, printed and then manufactured into an implantable medical device that can be used to reconstruct sections of bone that were lost secondary to accidental trauma or even from purposeful removal when treating a tumor involving bone.”  “And although veterinarians have only recently embraced this technology, there have already been incredible reports of practitioners reconstructing patients’ skulls and facial bones after surgery to remove tumors and saving limbs that would have otherwise needed to be amputated,” says Dr. Cavanaugh. Using Lasers in Surgery and Healing Laser surgery is rapidly evolving in the veterinary profession, and its use is increasing every year—with the biggest boom occurring over the past decade. However, since the equipment is quite expensive and requires specialized training to use, surgical lasers are still found more commonly in Veterinary Surgical Referral Centers, like university teaching hospitals or specialty surgery centers, says Dr. Benjamin Colburn, DVM, from Palm Springs, Florida.  While the surgical laser has many applications, Dr. Colburn says it’s most often used to reduce pain and provide a quicker healing time in elongated soft palate surgeries and to remove sarcoids (locally invasive tumors) from horses. Laser therapy uses a very different type of laser than the one employed for surgeries. In simple words, the light emitted by this laser heals and changes tissue, rather than cutting into it, according to Dr. Colburn.  The technology itself isn’t new—Dr. Colburn explains that therapeutic lasers first appeared in medical literature back in 1968. But the use of laser therapy has exploded recently, and there are more companies than ever making therapeutic lasers.  “Lasers have allowed another noninvasive option for pain relief in animals,” says Dr. Colburn. “In certain cases, where pets have comorbidities (like liver and kidney problems) and can’t take pain medication because of the contraindications of some of those drugs, laser therapy is a valid option to consider for those patients.” Integrating Cannabinoids in Veterinary Care Cannabinoids have steadily become more common in human medicine, but until recently, there were only few studies about their benefits in veterinary medicine; however that, too, is rapidly changing. “The use of cannabinoids has evolved greatly over the past decade, although it has been used for hundreds of years for medicinal purposes,” says Dr. Joe Wakshlag, DVM, an associate professor at Cornell University who recently conducted a clinical trial on the use of cannabinoids on dogs with osteoarthritis. “The discovery that cannabidiol, or CBD, can stand on its own as a treatment option without THC, which is the psychoactive component, has gone a long way to make treatment more accepted in veterinary medicine,” says Dr. Wakshlag. Today, the use of cannabinoids has completely changed the way clinicians can treat osteoarthritis and multi-joint pain in pets, according to Dr. Wakshlag. “I had an owner literally crying in my office two days after starting the oil because her dog came up the stairs and slept in her room for the first time in two years,” Dr. Wakshlag says.  In fact, Dr. Wakshlag believes CBD oil is as good or better than many of the traditional prescription pet medications currently in use for pain management. “Right now, we are doing three clinical trials in oncology, seizures and post-operative pain management; we believe it will be an effective tool for addressing these areas of veterinary medicine, and our preliminary oncology studies show great promise.”  By: Diana Bocco Featured Image: iStock.com/kozorog

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