Choose a season: Fall

Fall Warnings For Pet Owners

Fall brings leaves of bright orange, yellow and brown, and a crispness to the air that is invigorating. Packer games, Halloween and Thanksgiving draw family and friends together. While these may bring fine feasts and friendship, fall activities can cause serious health problems for our pets.

Practice Safe Hunting With Your Dog!

Hunting season is upon us and many dogs are active and eager participants. However, these pets can easily be mistaken for small deer. Make sure your hunting dogs are well trained to respond to your commands. Be sure they are wearing a bright orange collar or coat for easy identification in the brush. Bring along a first aid kit specifically made for your pet .

Keep Antifreeze out of reach!

Many car owners will refill or replace the antifreeze in their radiators at home. The active ingredient, ethylene glycol, is a sweet tasting and smelling substance that can be fatal to your pet. It is so attractive to pets that they have been known to chew open sealed containers and ingest the contents. As little as 2 tablespoons of the substance can be fatal to a small dog or cat.

The initial problem is due to the ethylene glycol which causes changes in the pet's brain. The substances made as this chemical is broken down in the body are toxic to the kidneys and can lead to deadly kidney failure. Signs that your pet may show after ingestion include: staggering and "drunk" behavior (within 1-10 hours of ingestion), "spacey" abnormal mentation, loss of consciousness, seizures, vomiting (green fluorescent liquid), excessive urination, no urination, and eventually death.

If you suspect that your pet may have ingested antifreeze, TIME is of the essence. You must take your pet to a veterinarian IMMEDIATELY. If ingestion occurred within the last 1-10 hours, a blood test can be done to confirm that ethylene glycol has been ingested. If positive, ethanol (vodka or wood grain alcohol) or a newer antidote, will be administered intravenously and continued for at least 24 hours. Peritoneal dialysis can be used to remove the ethylene glycol and its toxic metabolites from the blood stream, often preventing any kidney damage. When ingestion has occurred over 12 hours previously, there may be no antifreeze still detectable in the blood and supportive care for kidney failure may be the only treatment available.

The best treatment is PREVENTION:

• keep pets out of the garage
• remove all antifreeze from surfaces
• never drain into open container
• keep antifreeze in enclosed cabinets with a latch or lock
• have antifreeze work done by professionals at a garage
  

Chocolate Toxicity.

UMMMM! Chocolate! A favorite Halloween treat. While safe for humans, chocolate contains a stimulant that can be toxic to pets when eaten in sufficient quantities. Our pets seldom stop with just one piece. Dark baker's chocolate has the highest concentration of stimulants per ounce and light milk chocolate the least. Clinical signs that your pet may show include: vomiting, diarrhea, hyper-excitability, trembling, tremors, seizures, and eventually death.

If you suspect that your pet has ingested chocolate, contact your veterinarian and inform them of the type and quantity eaten. If the ingestion has been recent and of a quantity to cause toxicity, the pet should be brought to a veterinarian immediately. The pet may be forced to vomit and activated charcoal may be given. Often, intravenous fluids are given to promote urination of the toxic by-products of chocolate metabolism. The pet will be encourage to empty his urinary bladder frequently since toxic by-products are excreted in the urine and could be re absorbed into the blood stream if held too long.

Rat and Mouse Poisenings.

The cooler weather often brings rodents into the home. Home owners and exterminators will place rodenticides in small nooks and crannies that they believe are not accessible to pets. However, this is seldom the case. These products are made to attract rodents by their smell and taste and will also attract our pets.

Most rodenticides work by causing the blood not to clot within the rodent, leading to fatal hemorrhage. Unfortunately, this will also occur in pets that ingest the poisons or ingest a rodent that has eaten the rodenticide. Clinical signs that your pet may show result from internal bleeding and include: labored breathing, bloody vomit, bloody stool, and bruising of the skin.

If you suspect that your pet has ingested a rodenticide (a chewed up package or brown grains or blue-green pellets are on the floor), you must bring your pet and the container to your veterinarian immediately. If the ingestion was within the last 2-3 hours, your veterinarian will most likely induce vomiting and administer activated charcoal to prevent further absorption of the poison. The antidote is vitamin K1 and is administered at home.

When the pet is presented with evidence of internal bleeding, whole blood or plasma transfusions may be required with the vitamin K1 . Other supportive care may be required.

Watch What They EAT!

Do not feed fatty or spicy table foods and do not allow access to bones. Table food is for people - only!

Vomiting and diarrhea can cause life-threatening dehydration. Call a veterinarian immediately if it is a recurrent problem or if the pet acts depressed or loses his appetite.