Pet Obesity - Are We Killing Our Pets?

Obesity was once only considered a condition affecting the health of adult men and women, who for some reason or another, didn’t take care of themselves properly. Statistics indicate that the severity of obesity has far more reaching implications than impacting on basic fitness quality. Obesity kills approximately 280 000 adults in the US alone.

This would be an alarming concern on its own, but research has proven that obesity also affects children. A survey has revealed that the rate of childhood obesity has grown rapidly in recent times with 4.2% of children aged between 6 and 11 years of age in 1963 to a staggering 17.5% in 2004. (CDC.gov.) In reflection one might even determine that these statistics are not completely surprising given that children today are not performing the same physical activities as they were in the 1960s. This is true.
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Ehrlichia in Greyhounds

Ehrlichia is a tick-born infectious blood disease that greyhounds commonly get while on the track. Symptoms may not show up in your greyhound for as long as 5-7 years following a bite from a tick carrying Ehrlichia. Your greyhound may have contacted the disease while at the track and then adopted out in another area of the country where Ehrlichia is not common. So make sure to tell your vet, if you know, what region your dog raced in or that he is an ex-racer who may have been infected by a tick. The most common species is Ehrlichia canis but there are other species of Erhlichia also. Ehrlichia canis is a rickettsia (an orgnamism somewhere between a bacteria and parasite) carried by the brown dog tick. Unfortunately it is very common on the track. All of the greyhounds mingle together sharing the ticks between one another.

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Diabetes - sudden onset or ketoacidotic diabetes ( Dog )

There are times when diabetes occurs secondary to another problem, particularly immune mediated disorders and other hormonal illnesses. Genetic factors, obesity, some medications such as progesterones and chronic pancreatitis have also been associated with diabetes. Diabetes can be a really insidious disease. The weight loss would be a good hint her. Diabetic dogs do reasonably well until they lose most of their ability to utilize sugar. Once this happens, they burn body fat for energy almost exclusively. Fat accumulates in the liver leading to liver problems. By products of fat metabolism include ketone acids which cause acidification of the blood and severe metabolic problems.

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Cushing’s Disease or Hyperadrenocorticism

Cushing’s disease is probably more accurately referred to as hyperadrenocorticism — the production of too much adrenal hormone, in particular corticosteroids. It can be naturally occurring or due to over administration of corticosteroids such as prednisone (iatrogenic Cushing’s). The latter is easy to cure - just cut out the corticosteroid administration slowly to allow the body to return to normal function. The former is more difficult.

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Dog Diabetes Insipidus

Diabetes insipidus is a disorder in which the kidney is insensitive to a hormone, called anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) or in which there is not sufficient quantity of this hormone available. The result is excessive drinking and urination, or polydipsia and polyuria. This is one cause of changes in urinary habits that leads to problems with urination inside the house in dogs in which “housebreaking” seemed to be satisfactory prior to the disease onset.

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Common Questions About Vaccinations

Common questions about vaccinations are to be understood by the dog owners, as a priority. One of the common questions is whether the dog needs to be given vaccination on the first week of age or not. The dogs need not be vaccinated within five to six weeks of age. But, if they did not receive vaccinations, then the vaccination against the parvoviral infections used to kill viral vaccines and measles disease may be given. Another common question is whether dog is to be given bordetella disease vaccine and lyme disease vaccine. No, these vaccines are only optional. Can the parvoviral vaccine can be used in first week of life? No. This will interfere with maternal antibody levels.

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Flea Control Tips - Preventing Flea Infestation

Fleas also known as cat fleas are tiny, irritating parasites that not only feed off your pet’s blood, but your own blood as well. It is possible to find that fleas have laid their eggs almost anywhere and everywhere they please inside or outside, for instant, in your carpets, furniture and bedding as well as your front and back yards. Therefore, it is likely that an infestation of fleas and their eggs is very high. To determine if your animal has fleas, you should look for the tell tale signs of fleas on your dog, for instance the excrement of fleas are dark, specks of curly dots which are also called flea dirt.

This flea dirt or excrement are black specks, which are the remains of digested blood that has a reddish brown appearance when wet, and are best found while having your pet lay on a white sheet or cloth while you brush through its coat. On dogs that have a darker coat you will need a magnifying glass to search for flea eggs, as they will give the appearance of dandruff within your pet’s coat.

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Canine Cushing Disease

Cushing’s disease causes increased drinking, increased urination, increased appetite, panting, high blood pressure, hair loss - usually evenly distributed on both sides of the body, pendulous abdomen, thinning of the skin, calcified lumps in the skin, susceptibility to skin infections and diabetes, weakening of the heart
and skeletal muscles, nervous system disease and other symptoms. Most owners reach a point where the water consumption and urination become bothersome to them.

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