http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvzaUlDUAhU

Please view this interesting video!

Did you know that hookworms and roundworms threaten you and your dog?

IN PETS:

Hookworms graze from place-to-place in dogs' intestines, leaving bloody holes in their wake. They can cause blood loss, anemia, debilitation and even death.

Roundworms infect over 90% of puppies under 3 months. They can cause diarrhea, vomiting, weight loss, malnutrition, weakness, swollen abdomens and lack of appetite.

How do pets get them?                                                                                                          Dogs can get hookworms from their mother, by ingesting contaminated material (dirt, feces, larvae on an outside water bowl), and infected environments when hookworm larvae penetrate the paw.

Roundworms are spread from an infected mother's placenta or milk, or through ingestion of infective eggs in the environment.

How do you treat and control them?                                                                                    

Ask us for a montly heartworm preventive that treats and controls hookworms and roundworms, too.  (Heartgard also acts as a monthly dewormer against these!)

IN PEOPLE:

Because of their play and hygiene habits, children are especially vulnerable to infection.

In fact, almost 73% of U.S. pediatricians reported a case of parasitic infection in children.

According to a 2008 study conducted by the CDC, overall roundworm prevalence in humans is 13.9% in the United States.

The effects of hookworms and roundworms on people are different from those on dogs, but they can cause severe discomfort and serious illness.

How do people get them?                                                                                               When people come in contact with contaminated soil, infective hookworm larvae can pass through a person's skin causing a painful, itchy rash. Roundworms can be spread by accidental ingestion of roundworm eggs.

How do you prevent them?                                                                                             Wash your hands frequently, keep your yard free of feces and prevent children from playing in unprotected sand boxes. 

For more CDC information about safe and healthy pet ownership,                                         please visit www.cdc.gov/healthypets

You can also visit the Animal Planet website to view videos of hookworms and roundworms from the Monsters Inside Me television series.

Hookworms: http://animal.discovery.com/videos/mosters-inside-me-flesh-eating-hookworm.html 

Roundworms: http://animal.discovery.com/videos/monsters-inside-me-toxocara-parasite.html

Everyone looks forward to spring with its fresh air, colorful flowers, and sense of renewal. But there are many hazards associated with this season. We should always be on guard when it comes to our pets and potential dangers.

Everyone looks forward to spring with its fresh air, colorful flowers, and sense of renewal.  But there are many hazards associated with this season.  We should always be on guard when it comes to our pets and potential dangers.     Many areas of the country have a problem with snails; people often put snail bait in their garden and flower beds.  The most common snail bait contains metaldehyde that is very toxic to pets.  Dogs will readily ingest it and will start to show symptoms in a few minutes to a few hours.  Tremors and twitches can progress to seizures.  One company manufactures Sluggo Slug and Snail Bait containing iron phosphate that is much safer for pets. The Easter holiday can bring its own set of problems.  Easter lilies in an arrangement of cut flowers or outside in the garden are very dangerous for cats.  Ingesting even a small amount can cause kidney failure in cats.  Early signs may be lethargy, drinking excessive amounts of water, and then not drinking enough, and a poor appetite. Signs of worsening kidney disease are vomiting, diarrhea, and eventually anemia.    Other Easter dangers include the plastic fake grass placed in baskets.  Pets ingesting this can obstruct or the plastic grass can actually cut the intestine and cause peritonitis.  Cats are especially prone to eating these linear foreign bodies.  Symptoms are vomiting, lethargy, and not wanting to eat.  Other items in those Easter baskets, such as chocolate, plastic eggs or toys, can also cause illness if ingested.    Warm weather that comes with spring also brings parasites, especially fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes.  Fleas can carry tapeworms, cause allergies and skin problems, and in some areas of the country carry plague.  Ticks can carry several diseases that can be transmitted to pets and people:  Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and Ehrlichia.   Mosquitoes transmit heartworms to dogs and cats.   All dogs and cats should be on a monthly heartworm preventative and monthly flea and tick control. Some areas of the country have a problem with foxtails, a seedpod from a weed.  These seedpods have very sharp barbs that can penetrate skin or the foxtail can migrate up nostrils, into ears, eyes, or any orifice.  Once inside the body they can still migrate, even into the chest, abdomen, or brain.  Signs include sneezing, draining tracts in the skin, shaking the head and ears, or squinting of an eye. Spring brings many people into their yards and gardens.   New landscaping materials can also be dangerous.  There is a popular new product, cocoa bean mulch, which is a byproduct of chocolate production.   It is attractive and has a great odor, unfortunately dogs also think it tastes great!  It contains theobromine, and its ingestion causes methylxanthine toxicosis.  Symptoms are vomiting, tremors, and increased heart rate, even seizures and death can occur. When landscaping your yard, take into consideration if the plants can be toxic to pets.  There are numerous plants that are poisonous, with a variety of toxins and symptoms. Many just cause mild symptoms such as drooling or an episode of vomiting, but some plants are very dangerous, for example oleander and sago palms, and can easily cause death if ingested.  The ASPCA  Animal Poison Control Center  web site is a good source of information for all types of poisons and toxins.

Poisonous Plants Both indoor and outdoor plants can be toxic. This is a list of the more common plants that cause problems:  1. Lilies.  Most lilies, not just Easter lilies, are toxic to cats.  Any species of the Lilium  family should not be used  if cats are present. 2. Sago palms.  All parts of this palm are poisonous, but the seeds are the most toxic.  Ingestion of Cycas revoluta causes liver failure. 3.    Oleander.  All parts of Nerium oleander are toxic.  Ingestion causes heart arrythmias, hypothermia, and even death. 4.    Tulip and Narcissus bulbs.  Ingestion can cause gastrointestinal symptoms, drooling, depression, loss of appetite, seizures, and heart abnormalities. 5.    Amaryllis.  This is a common spring flower that can cause vomiting, diarrhea, depression, tremors, and poor appetite if ingested. 6.    Azaleas and Rhododendron.    Ingestion can cause vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, depression, coma, and death. 7.    Castor Bean.  The highly toxic ricin, potentially used in bioterrorism, comes from the castor bean.   Ingestion causes vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, tremors, seizures, coma , and death. 8.    Cyclamen.   The highest concentration of the poison is in the root of the plant.  Symptoms are intense vomiting; death has been reported.  9. Pothos. This popular household plant can also cause oral irritation and gastrointestinal symptoms. 10. Yew.  Ingestion of Taxus species causes tremors, incoordination, vomiting, diarrhea, heart failure, and difficulty breathing. -English Ivy.   Hedera helix, if ingested, can cause drooling, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Now that Pet Dental Month has come to a close, it is important to remember that keeping your pet's teeth healthy is important! 

What’s one of the first things you do every morning? Brush your teeth, of course. Most of us can’t imagine missing a day of dental care. Yet the same diligence does not hold true for many pets in the United States.

You can protect your pet from dental disease, not to mention, bad breath, by effectively brushing his teeth for only 1 or 2 minutes at least two or three times a week; daily brushing is best, if possible. All you need is a little patience and the right accessories to get the job done smoothly. Besides using the right accessories, it’s important to start brushing your pet’s teeth early. The sooner you start a home dental routine, the easier it will be for your pet to adjust to the process. And although it is best to begin brushing your pet’s teeth when he is a puppy or kitten, it is never too late to start.

The two key components in your dental arsenal are your pet’s toothbrush and toothpaste. Dr Brook Niemiec of Southern California Dental Specialties advises clients to always use toothpastes and toothbrushes made especially for pets. “Toothbrushes designed specifically for pets are smaller and softer and have somewhat a different shape, making them a better fit for your dog of cat,” he says. Dental care is an important and simple way to prevent disease in your cat or dog. This small commitment can make a big difference to your pet’s well-being. Besides, by brushing your pet’s teeth daily, he will have a healthier and sweeter smile. With regard to toothpastes, those made for people contain ingredients that are not appropriate for pets. “Pet toothpastes are specially formulated not only to taste great but also to be safe for pets to swallow,” Niemiec notes. In general it is most helpful for pet owners to ask their veterinarian’s advice on the best dental products for their pet. Your veterinarian can help work together to take a bite out of this problem.

 Valentine's Day is almost here...let's not forget to keep an eye on all the chocolate that we will be enjoying.  Your pet may think that it is just as palette pleasing as we do, but the after effects are much worse for them!! Read on for some very important information!

Chocolate Toxicity

Chocolate may be America’s favorite flavor. We like chocolate candy, ice cream, chocolate drinks, chocolate cakes, just about anything with chocolate. We may want to share our favorite treat with an eager pet but it is best to think twice and reach for the dog biscuits instead.

Everyone who has ever eaten candy knows there are many types of chocolate. Let’s go back to how chocolate is made. Cacao trees are farmed as any other crop, though they grow in tropical regions. The fruit of the cacao tree (called a cacao pod) is sweet and attracts monkeys or other wildlife who eat the fruit but not the bitter seeds. The seeds are discarded in the natural setting, thus allowing new trees to grow.

The seeds cannot be released from the fruit unless some type of animal actually breaks the fruit open. Ironically, it is the bitter seeds, packed with theobromine and caffeine, which are used to make chocolate. The pods grow directly off the trunk of the cacao tree and must be harvested by hand so as not to damage the tree. The pods are split, and the seeds are scooped out and left to ferment under banana leaves for about a week. This turns the cacao seeds a rich brown and creates the chocolate flavor we crave. The seeds are then dried out for another week, packed in sacks, and shipped to chocolate manufacturers.

• Chocolate liquor is the liquid that results from grinding the hulled cacao beans.
• Cocoa butter is the fat that is extracted from the chocolate liquor.
• Cocoa powder is the solid that remains after the cocoa butter is removed from the chocolate liquor. The powder can be treated with alkali in a process called “Dutching” or it can be left alone. Note the low-fat nature of cocoa powder, hence its use in low-fat baking.
• Unsweetened chocolate is chocolate liquor that is 50% to 60% cocoa butter
• Semisweet chocolate is chocolate that is 35% chocolate liquor (the rest being sugar, vanilla, or lecithin).
• Milk chocolate is chocolate that is at least 10% chocolate liquor, the rest being milk solids, vanilla or lecithin.

Why Is Chocolate Bad?

Sometimes we eat chocolate plain. Sometimes we eat it baked into cakes, mixed into ice cream, etc. The first problem with these sweets is the fat. A sudden high fat meal (such as demolishing a bag of chocolate bars left accessible at Halloween time) can create a lethal metabolic disease in pets called pancreatitis. Vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain are just the beginning of this disaster. Remember, in the case of pancreatitis, it is the fat that causes the problem more than the chocolate itself.

The fat and sugar in the chocolate can create an unpleasant but temporary upset stomach. This is what happens in most chocolate ingestion cases.

Chocolate is, however, directly toxic because of the theobromine. The more chocolate liquor there is in a product, the more theobromine is present. This makes baking chocolate the worst for pets, followed by semisweet and dark chocolate, followed by milk chocolate, followed by chocolate flavored cakes or cookies. Theobromine causes:

• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Hyperactivity
• Tremors
• Seizures
• Racing heart rhythm progressing to abnormal rhythms
• Death in severe cases

Toxic doses of theobromine are 9 mg per pound of dog for mild signs, up to 18 mg per pound of dog for severe signs. Milk chocolate contains 44 mg / ounce of theobromine while semisweet chocolate contains 150 mg per ounce, and baking chocolate contains 390 mg per ounce.

It takes nearly 4 days for the effects of chocolate to work its way out of a dog’s system. If the chocolate was only just eaten, it is possible to induce vomiting; otherwise, hospitalization and support are needed until the chocolate has worked its way out of the system.