HELPFUL HOLIDAY NEWS!

Holiday Pet Hazards
The Pet Connection
By Gina Spadafori, Pet Columnist (Via Veterinary Partner)

Thanksgiving is at hand, and the rest of the holiday season looms ahead. It's a busy time, but you need to make sure in the whirl of activities that you aren't ignoring any danger to your pets.

Every year at this time I offer a list of the most common holiday hazards for pets: feeding problems, foreign-body ingestion and accidental poisoning. The bad news is that many pets will end up at the veterinarian's office this holiday season. The good news is that yours won't be among them if you keep an eye out for these hazards.

Feeding problems. Foods too rich, too fatty or too spicy -- or anything your pet's not accustomed to -- can trigger a bout of intestinal upset. For some animals, the treat can trigger a serious inflammation of the pancreas or intestine, and that means a life-threatening illness.

What to avoid? Anything you wouldn't eat your pet should avoid, too. While a little bit of meat -- beef or poultry -- won't hurt and would be appreciated, steer clear of the fatty parts and the poultry skin, which also harbors fat. Foreign-body ingestion. Cooked poultry bones may seem like the perfect gift for the pet who has everything, but do him a favor and save them for the soup. (Low-sodium poultry broth is a wonderful treat poured over your pet's regular food.) Even the largest turkey bones are prone to splintering, sending shards through the animal's intestines. Should one pierce through the lining, the result can be deadly peritonitis.

While cooked poultry bones are out, some raw beef bones can be safely substituted. Knuckle bones (for large dogs) and oxtails (for small ones) stand up to vigorous gnawing, providing your pet with plenty of yummy, messy fun. Supervise your dog's chewing, and throw bones out after a few hours of attention or if they get broken into pieces that can be swallowed. Dangerous decorations: The Christmas tree is full of hazards for dogs and cats. Tinsel can be an appealing target for play, but if ingested, it can twist up the intestines. This is a particular danger to cats and kittens, who seem to find tinsel -- along with yarn, ribbon and string -- especially appealing to eat.

Ornaments, too, are deadly in the mouths -- and stomachs -- of pets, and even the water at the base of the tree contains secretions that can at the very least cause a stomachache. Light strings are no good for chewing, and the whole tree can come down on the cat climbing in its branches. Some dogs may even be inclined to break the rules of house-training on a freshly cut tree -- why else, they reason, would anyone bring a tree into the house?

The best way keep your pets out of tree trouble is by making the tree off-limits unless you're there to supervise. Put the tree in a room with a door you can close is probably the easiest solution.
Poisonings. Holiday plants such as mistletoe may look intriguing to your pet, but they're also toxic, as are the bulbs of the amaryllis plant. (Long the poster child for holiday poisoning, the falsely maligned poinsettia can be safely welcomed into the pet lover's home.) And before you share your holiday candy with your pet, be aware that chocolate is toxic to dogs and may be deadly to the little dog who gets a good-sized piece. Again, the best cure is prevention: Keep all dangerous plants out of the reach of your pets, and make the candy dish available to people only.

Hip Dysplasia and Large Breed Dogs

Owners of large breed puppies are justifiably worried over the risk that their new puppy will eventually develop hip dysplasia. Large breeds, whether from a kennel, private owner or a pet store are at risk of this crippling disease. It can be very painful, and by the time it is diagnosed and treated the dog has often suffered for weeks or even months. Preventing this suffering has been everyone's goal for many years.

Treating hip dysplasia is expensive. In mild cases aspirin and other pain relieving drugs can be used, but must be given for the life of the dog and are eventually irritating to the gastrointestinal tract. Surgery, which is very expensive and a lot more debilitating to the patient can treat more severe cases. The most common surgical options are:

1. TPO (triple pelvic osteotomy) -- This $1,200-$2,000 per hip surgery cuts and then re-attaches 3 bones in the pelvis to change the angle of the hip socket. Only done early in life (6-10 months of age), there is a loss of range of motion.
2. FHO (femoral head ostectomy) -- This $700-$1,000 per hip surgery removes the femoral head. This surgery results in a loss of the normal hip anatomy, and the larger the dog, the less successful the surgery is.
3. THR (total hip replacement) -- This hip $3,500-$5,000 per hip surgery replaces the abnormal hip joint with a prosthesis. It is only done at specialty and university clinics.

Different surgeons recommend different procedures based on their skill level, instrumentation, age of the pet, severity of the disease, and finances available. The entire process can be very complex, costly and emotionally draining. Most of all, this very painful disease is now largely preventable!

Hip Screening

Testing is now available that can predict which puppies are at greater risk of developing hip dysplasia. Furthermore, a surgical procedure is now available that should allow the hip bones of a puppy to develop and form a better hip joint.

Screening of large breed puppies (over 50lb adult weight) MUST be done before eighteen weeks of age (the earlier the better).

The screening consists of general anesthesia and palpation of the hips. If palpation is positive, this indicates a loose or lax joint. "PennHip" x-ray may be done to provide further verification.

Those puppies that test positive benefit from a procedure (Juvenile Pubic Symphysiodesis) that destroys the growth plate in the pubic bone. This causes early fusing which changes the angle of the hip as the puppy grows, ultimately providing the puppy a much better hip joint. Benefits of the surgery, compared to those required for hip dysplasia, are remarkable. There is very little discomfort after surgery. There is no "bone" surgery and no loss of range of motion of the joint; integrity of the hip joint is maintained. There is rapid healing with few complications. Also, the cost is low when compared with dysplasia surgeries.

This surgery reduces the degeneration of the hip joint beginning at a very early age. The most important factor in its success is the timing of the surgery -----IT MUST BE DONE AS CLOSE TO FOURTEEN WEEKS OF AGE AS POSSIBLE! Early detection is imperative.

Hip screening total cost only $150.00: Office consultation, pre-anesthesia blood tests, isoflurane gas anesthesia, and palpation.

**Dogs that receive JPS surgery should not be bred and spaying or neutering is MANDATORY at the time of the JPS surgery.

Remember: This surgery SHOULD BE DONE AT 13 WEEKS OF AGE OR IT BEGINS TO BECOME LESS EFFECTIVE!!

Call Animal Medical Clinic, Animal Medical Clinic North, or CherryVale Animal Clinic to make an appointment with Dr. Thompson or Dr. Buhl for your puppy's hip screening today.