Why Dentistry?

Does your pet have stinky breath? Are there brown deposits on the sides of the teeth? Is your pet less energetic than he or she used to be? Has your pet refused food or had difficulty chewing hard treats or food?

Any of these things could point to periodontal disease, commonly known as pyorrhea. Most of us never give our pets teeth a second thought, but dental disease is a leading cause of a number of common and serious internal problems. In fact, “dirty teeth” is one of the leading contributors to kidney, heart, and liver disease in dogs and cats.

With this in mind it is easy to understand why we consider dental problems to be serious threats to your pet’s health. In fact, keeping your pet’s teeth clean throughout its life can add years to his/her lifespan. This is very similar to the situation in humans.

Plaque in both people and animals is primarily made up of oral bacteria. The calculus (the brown deposit that you can see on your pet’s teeth) is just a mineral deposit that contains huge quantities of plaque bacteria. Every time your pet chews these bacteria leak into the bloodstream and float via the blood to distant organs (often the heart and kidneys). Over time, these bacteria can do major damage to these (or other) organs, leading to chronic kidney disease or chronic heart disease.

How do you prevent the problem? It’s easy, have your pet’s teeth examined and cleaned on a regular basis. You will add years of good health to your pet’s life.

Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is a common affliction of both older dogs and cats.  Diabetes is a disease in which the body fails to make insulin or can no longer recognize insulin.  Insulin is needed by cells in order to use glucose; without glucose, the cells of the body can not function properly.  Diabetes can be seen in any breed or gender but is typically more prevalent in female dogs and male cats.  Diabetes is also more typical in poodles, dachshunds, miniature schnauzers and Siamese cats.  Diabetes is generally broken into three classifications: Type 1, which requires daily insulin shots; Type II, which is non-insulin dependent and may be managed by diet and oral hypoglycemic agents, and; Type III, impaired glucose tolerance.  100% of dogs and approximately 50-75% of cats have Type I diabetes.  25-50% of cats have Type II.

Typical signs of diabetes include an increase in drinking and urination, increased appetite, obesity with recent weight loss, and rapid onset cataracts in dogs.  Treatment of diabetes usually focuses on weight loss using a prescription diet recommended by your veterinarian, and daily insulin shots.  Usually insulin is given twice daily with meals; however, some pets may only need once daily injections.  How much insulin and how often it is given is decided by frequent monitoring via several methods: glucose curves done at your veterinarian’s office, at home monitoring of blood glucose or urine glucose and watching for clinical signs of diabetes by owners, especially increases in water consumption.  Insulin should be kept in the refrigerator and rolled, not shaken, prior to injections.  It is very important when giving insulin that owners are sure their pet has eaten.  Giving insulin on an empty stomach can lead to serious consequences such as hypoglycemia, seizures, coma or even death.  If you are worried that your pet is exhibiting signs consistent with too much insulin, rub karo syrup on the gums and seek veterinary assistance immediately. 

Complications of diabetes include recurrent infections, cataracts in dogs, liver disease in cats, neuropathies in cats, and renal disease.  Lack of treatment of diabetes can lead to a condition known as Diabetic Ketoacidosis.  This is a very serious and potentially life threatening situation in which the body starts to break down fat cells due to a lack of insulin.  Typical signs of ketoacidosis include vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia, lethargy, dehydration and weakness.  Without medical intervention, this is often a fatal condition.

Diabetes in pets, as in people, is a very serious medical condition, which usually requires life long treatment.  Occasionally cats can develop diabetic remission in which they no longer require treatment for diabetes.  As with all diseases, it is important to work closely with your veterinarian to ensure a long and happy life for your pet. 

Heartworms

With the advent of Daylight Savings Time, it's time to remember that heartworm season is with us. Heartworms are parasites that infect the heart, lungs, blood vessels, and other organs and can cause serious disease (and even death) of our pets.

Heartworms are long, slender worms that are carried by mosquitoes. They infect dogs, cats, ferrets, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, and occasionally even people. In coastal areas sea lions and seals have been diagnosed with the disease. These worms damage the lining of arteries in the lungs and other organs causing a number of serious problems. Regrettably, some cases are fatal and all cases are serious.

Heartworm disease occurs in almost every part of the U.S. , including New Mexico . Fortunately, the disease is almost completely preventable. Preventive treatment is safe, effective, and much less expensive than attempting to treat an already infected pet.

A blood test is the simplest way to check for the disease, since most animals only show symptoms after the disease is quite advanced. The disease appears quite differently in dogs than in cats, but in general, the longer the disease is present, the more damage has occurred.

Prevention is easy. Dogs less than 6 months of age may be safely started on the preventive medication. Dogs 6 months of age or older should have a simple blood test to ensure that they are not currently infected (and in need of treatment), after which they may begin the preventive medication.

There are a number of preventive medicines available. We recommend Interceptor in our practice due to its high level of safety and efficacy. The important thing is to ensure that your dog is on a sound preventive program. You may only rarely notice the mosquitoes in your area, but they are around. Remember, it only takes one mosquito to infect your pet with a life threatening (but entirely preventable) disease.

Please call us this week for an appointment to start your pet on a heartworm preventive program. It's simple, affordable, and it may save your dog's life.

Creepy Crawlies

With the advent of warm weather it pays us all to be aware of the crawling creatures that can infest our pets.  Fleas, ticks, and other “bugs” can colonize pets and, in some cases, infest the people who live with those pets.  Aside from making your dog or cat miserable, these pests can carry diseases to both people and pets.  Let’s spend a minute looking at the common bugs that can bring such trouble to our pets and to us.

Ticks
Ticks are actually arachnids, and are closer kin to spiders than insects.  These small parasites are blood suckers and can carry a variety of diseases from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever to Lyme Disease to Ehrlichiosis.  There are several different species that inhabit the Albuquerque area, and all pose a threat to your pet. Ticks tend to be found in areas of tall vegetation where they wait for an animal to pass by and then hitch a ride and a meal (blood).  Keeping tall vegetation trimmed back and protecting your pets from running through such areas will lessen your pet’s exposure.  However, these are just the areas that dogs and cats love to investigate.  It’s part of their hunting instinct.

Fortunately, there are effective tick preventatives available.  The secret is to prevent tick attachment in the first place, and secondly, to kill or remove them as soon as possible if they do attach.   Please speak with our staff concerning selection and proper use of these products.  They are quite safe when used properly, and we will be happy to assist you in tick prevention.

Fleas
Fleas are true insects that parasitize a number of different animals (and people).  As with ticks there are a number of different species of fleas in our area.  While there are few cat and dog fleas in the Albuquerque region, there are many rodent and bird fleas.  While these insects prefer rodents or birds, they will feed on other animals and people.  The rodent fleas are notable because they can be carriers of plague, a serious and sometimes fatal bacterial disease.  Bird fleas are also important because of the intense irritation (and secondary effects) they cause.
Others:  There are a number of other “bugs” in our beautiful desert landscape that can cause trouble for your pets.  Certain flies can infect your dog’s skin, causing a raised, inflamed draining lesion with a larval grub inside.  Maggots from common flies often infest long haired dog’s skin, especially when there have been wounds or irritations under the skin.  Maggot infestations can even be fatal.

Mosquitoes
Finally, don’t forget mosquitoes.  Mosquitoes are the carriers of heartworm disease (yes, it does occur here in Albuquerque.) as well as a number of other infections (e.g. West Nile Virus).

Again, as with ticks, we have a number of safe and effective preventive and repellent treatments available for both dogs and cats.  Please come see our friendly staff, any of whom will be happy to assist you.