My-PetDoctor News Letter

Give Your Dog a Happy, Heartworm-Free Summer

Summer is a great time of year for you and your dog to enjoy the outdoors, whether it's strolling through the neighborhood or trekking through the woods together.
But summer is also when your pet is susceptible to heartworm disease.
Heartworms are spread from mosquitoes, which carry the worm larvae (known as microfilaria) from dog to dog. Once inside the dog's bloodstream, the larvae collect in the heart and blood vessels leading to the lungs. As they mature reaching lengths of 6" to 10" the worms release new larvae into the dog's bloodstream and impair circulation to vital organs.
Treatment for heartworm infected dogs can be costly for you and difficult for them. Preventing the disease is the more desirable route.
It starts with a simple blood test performed in our office. If the results show your dog is uninfected, we'll prescribe a simple, once-a-month regimen of preventive pills or chews to protect your dog during the heartworm season.
Now's the time to see us before the first mosquitoes appear and heartworm season begins.

Sweet for You, Poisonous for Your Pet

Keep foods containing chocolate away from your pets.
Being a chocolate lover can be hard on you waist line, but if dog or cat shares your taste for this sweet treat and most do, it could be lethal.
Chocolate contains a chemical called theobromine that can increase your pet's heart rate, cause vomiting and diarrhea, and trigger seizures and convulsions. Reactions to chocolate poisoning vary from animal to animal, but in severe cases it can lead to death.
So, if your dog or cat has been snacking from your box of chocolates, or has eaten chocolate chip cookies you left on the kitchen counter (even more dangerous since baking chocolate contains up to 10 times more theobromine than milk chocolate), call our office right away.

Fasts Facts

The hissing noise is a sound a cat makes to warn off other cats or humans when it is feeling threatened. A cat who feels threatened will also wag its tail repeated and start to growl.

Did You Know..

Pets age differently than humans. The first year of a cat's life is equivalent to 18 years in human terms. From then on, each year in a cat's life equates to approximately six years in human terms. So if you have an eight year old cat he would be a 60 year old person.

How To Break The Flea Cycle

Prevention keeps fleas at bay all year 'round
Seeing your dog or cat constantly scratching may be the first sign of flea infestation. Ridding them of these annoying and painful parasites involves more than just killing the fleas: you need to break the "flea cycle".
The flea cycle begins when adult fleas enter your home aboard your dog or cat. They dine on your pet's blood and lay up to 50 eggs a day, which fall off and accumulate wherever your pet sleeps or travels in your home. The eggs can lay dormant for months in places such as carpets before they hatch and start the cycle again.
The first step in breaking the cycle is to remove the fleas from your animal. We can recommend a number of products that are safe for your pet.
"There are several highly effective flea control products we can prescribe"
The second step is to get rid of the flea eggs in your pet's bedding and the carpets in your home. We recommend discarding the bedding and thoroughly vacuuming your carpets, then treating your home with commercial flea treatment to kill any remaining fleas and eggs.
The final step is to protect your pet from new infestations. There are several high effective and easy to administer topical and oral flea control products which we prescribe for this purpose. They'll help you keep fleas at bay all year 'round.
*All articles are for general information only. Please consult a veterinarian for specific health related information related to your pet. © 2001 The Practice Marketers Inc. 905-936-6884 VESU-01