Hazards of the Holidays – How To Keep Your Pets Safe

 It’s that time of year again. Admittedly, I love the holidays. I enjoy Christmas music more than most people I know. I love spending extra time with my family, the hustle and bustle of a crowded mall, giving presents, and I even love snow.

With all the extra distractions, parties and time away from home, the holidays can become a dangerous time of year for our pets. Here are some tips to keep your furry family members safe during the holiday season and all-year round.

Dangerous Foods

While table scraps of any type will most likely cause gastric upset, there are certain foods that are even more dangerous.

• Toxic foods: raisins, chocolate (baking cocoa is the most dangerous), garlic and onions.
• Rising bread: If consumed while still rising, the bread can continue to expand within the stomach.
•  Meat drippings: Be very careful about where you dispose of meat drippings as the scent and flavor will often entice dogs to eat things they normally wouldn’t. Example: pouring meat drippings off the side of your deck into a decorative rock bed could result in your prized pooch eating several pounds of rocks.

Decorations and Household Dangers

Space heaters: Be aware of where you place heaters. They not only present a burn danger to pets, but pets can also knock space heaters over resulting in house fires.

Christmas Lights: Pets will often chew on strands of lights. Observe your pets carefully. Place lights in a place where pets do not have access to them, and do not leave your pets alone with the lights plugged in.

Christmas Tree Ornaments and Hooks: Tree ornaments do not make good toys. They are often small and easily eaten. Ornament frequently fall from trees and break -often leading to cuts on the paws and mouth. The hanging hooks frequently end up in the stomach and causing injury to paws.

Tree Tinsel and Ribbons: These objects are often very attractive to cats. Consuming these fabrics can result in an intestinal obstruction. Keep ribbons, strings and tinsel away from cats.

Pine Needles: Consuming pine needles can result cause intestinal obstruction.

Candles: Burn hazard especially to cats!

 Great Gift Ideas For Your Pets

 Don’t forget about your pets during gift giving time.

• An engraved ID tag: This simple inexpensive gift could be just what’s needed to reunite you and your pet if it’s lost.
• A microchip: A permanent identification chip can be placed under your pet’s skin. This will nearly ensure a homecoming if your pet escapes or is lost.
• Dental chews:  Nearly all pets suffer from dental disease. This a great time to provide them with the dental chews needed to help maintain oral health.
•  A ball or fetching toy: All pets benefit from exercise and it’s a great way to spend time with your pet.
•  A donation to a local humane society or charitable pet organization in your pet’s name.
• Start a savings account for your pet. The extra cash will certainly be helpful when your pet needs a dental cleaning or an unexpected surgery.

 I hope this blog finds you, your family, and your 4-legged friends healthy and happy. Enjoy this wonderful time of year!

Pet Obesity – Is Your Pet Overweight?

I’m not fat!  I’m just big boned, pleasantly plump, or maybe a little fluffy!

Call it what you want, but your pet being overweight is a BIG problem.

Is Your Pet Overweight?

Obesity is a raging problem in our pet population. Its effects are difficult to measure because it contributes to the development of so many painful and life-shortening diseases.

Is Your Pet Overweight?

How do you tell?
Your pet should have a waist when viewed from above and the side. Additionally, you should be able to easily feel the ribs, but not see them. Still unsure, stop by and we will help you evaluate your pet’s weight.

Why is your pet overweight?
It is often a combination of many factors including eating an excess of their own dog food, stealing food from other pets in the household, access to table scraps, too many treats, and inactivity.

If your pet is overweight, the kindest gesture you can provide as a loving pet owner is to help them lose weight. This will take excess weight off of their stressed joints, helping to prevent ligament damage that often requires surgery. You pet will also experience decreased fatigue and pain from arthritic joints-allowing your them to become more active furthering the weight loss. Being overweight can also contribute to other diseases including diabetes and liver disease-especially in cats.

We often view feeding our pets and giving them treats as a sign of affection, but in excess, we will shorten their lifespan and promote the development of unnecessary diseases.

To help your pet lose weight, you must be committed to the goal. Begin by weighing your pet and taking a “before” picture. We love to help our patients lose weight so please stop by anytime and use our scale in the lobby-no appointment necessary.

Dogs and cats can safely lose 1-2% of their body weight each week.  We can help you develop an individualized weight loss plan for your pet.

Look at your pet’s food bag. It will give you specific feeding quantities based on weight. Feed the amount of food for your goal weight, not the current weight. It is very important to MEASURE the amount of food given to your pet daily.  In general, pets are not good at self-regulating, so it is important we do that for them.

There are also prescription weight loss foods that help ensure your pet receives adequate nutrition while reducing calories. Most dog treats are very high in calories and can add up quickly. Choose treats that are low in calories and limit your pet to 1 or 2 treats a day. Good treat options include baby carrots and ice cubes.

We just received a shipment of a great new treats called Meaty d’Lites – each treat has just 10 calories and are a great option for all dogs. There is currently a special that allows to you try a bag for FREE!

Table scraps must be eliminated. Scraps are not only high in calories and fat, but also are simply not good for your pet. Small amounts of human food have a HUGE impact on your pet’s weight.

Increase your pet’s activity level. Start with a 15 minute walk twice a day and slowly increase the time/distance your pet exercises each week. This is a great bonding experience for you and your pet.

Swimming is a super exercise for dogs that enjoy water. Fall is a great time of year to get outside and moving. Winter will soon be here, making activity outdoors a challenge-let’s get started now!

Cats can exercise too. Laser lights and toys are great ways to get your cat up and moving. Some cats can be trained to walk on a leash and really enjoy the time outdoors.

These pet weight loss tips provide a great start for getting you and your pet started on the right track. If you have specific questions concerning your pet’s weight, please contact us.

Until next time-enjoy your four-legged family members! Spoil them with love, your time, and good health-not treats.

I Don’t Really Need to Use Flea Preventative during October, Right?

Wrong, wrong, wrong! We recommend using flea preventative all-year round. This is our recommendation because that is what is required to maintain a flea-free pet.

Adult fleas(the ugly little black bugs you can see on your pet) are only a small percentage of the fleas present in your pet’s environment. Flea eggs, larvae and pupae are baby fleas and account for 95% of the fleas in the environment. Additionally, fleas can survive inside your home year-round. Indoor pets, while at a lesser risk, certainly suffer from flea infestation. Fleas are able to gain access into our homes through small openings and can be transported indoors on humans and other pets.

Where do fleas come from?

Adult Flea

Fleas come from many sources including wild animals and unprotected pets in your neighborhood. It only takes a few moments for a flea-infested animal to infect your yard with fleas-resulting in those fleas hopping on to your unsuspecting pet. It is impossible to avoid all of the possible scenarios that will result in your pet becoming infested with fleas; this means prevention is your best option.

The significance of your pet having fleas is much greater than a few bites here or there. Many pets are allergic to flea saliva causing a full body allergic reaction and intense itching from a single flea bite. Your pet can cause significant damage to himself/herself when they scratch/bite at the fleas. This can lead to a severe bacterial skin infection that will require antibiotics.

Fleas also transmit tapeworms. Tapeworms are passed when your pet consumes a flea. Tapeworms lead to significant weight loss and a decline in overall health of your pet. Tapeworms are also a zoonotic risk (meaning humans can become infected!!).

The answer to this very real risk of constant flea exposure is using a high-quality flea control product every month, year round. It is important to choose a product that has action on not only adult fleas, but also the immature stages. I advise you choose from one of the high-quality flea control products available through your local veterinarian. These products are not only very effective, but are much safer than supermarket brands.

So the answer to the question-yes, your pet needs protection from fleas every month of the year!

Need more information about protecting your pets from fleas? Contact me at New Haven Vet Clinic.