Many pets are seen at the vet hospital over the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend and the days following that because they've gotten into something they shouldn't have.

Thanksgiving Food Smells Soooooo Good ! 

Sometimes their noses will get them into trouble...  Some will counter surf, some will get into the garbage, and some pets will be given scraps as a treat.   Be aware that some foods do come with potential hazards to your pets.

What Hazards Should I Be Aware Of ?

Fatty Foods:   Foods like butter, bacon, fatty meat drippings, gravies and meat scraps may seem harmless but can possibly lead to pancreatitis. Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas that can result in your pet vomiting, having diarrhea, loss of appetite and abdominal pain. Some breeds are more prone to it such as Yorkies, miniature Schnauzers and Shelties,  but all dogs  who ingest a large enough quantity of these foods are at risk. Symptoms may not be immediately after they eat such foods and can occur up to 4 days after the exposure.

Dough:  Do you make your own bread or buns?   If your dog ingests raw dough, they are at risk of developing GDV ( Gastric Dilatation Volvulus).  Your dog’s stomach acts like an artificial oven, making the yeast rise.  Carbon dioxide is released causing a distended abdomen and  can be potentially life-threatening.  Yeast and sugar in the unbaked dough are metabolized into alcohol, which can result in secondary alcohol poisoning.    Seek veterinary care immediately!

Turkey Legs & Meat Bones :    You may think you are giving your dog or cat a treat, but you are actually putting them at risk for a possible foreign body obstruction.  Pieces of bones can get stuck in the esophagus and become a choking hazard.  The bones can also get stuck in the stomach or intestines, possibly resulting in a perforation (or rupture) of the intestines. 

It's just not worth the risk.

Alcohol :  Prevent access to alcohol.  Accidental ingestion can cause severe coma, slowed respiration, and a life-threateningly low blood sugar in your dog.

Onions/Garlic/Leeks/Chives:    Many foods contain onions, garlic, chives, and leeks.   These plants are all part of the Allium family, and are poisonous to both dogs and cats. Garlic is considered to be about 5X as potent as onions. Onion and garlic poisoning happens as a result of oxidative damage to the red blood cells (making the red blood cells more likely to hemolyze / rupture) and gastroenteritis (with symptoms of nausea, oral irritation, drooling, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea).  Anemia may be seen, and signs include lethargy, pale gums, an elevated heart rate, an increased respiratory rate, weakness, exercise intolerance, and collapse.  Keep in mind onion and garlic poisoning may have a delayed onset.  

Clinical signs may not be apparent for several days.

What Can You Do To Prevent A Visit To The Hospital ?

- Don't feed table scraps, give bones, or let your pet lick the plate

-Keep your pet out of the kitchen while you are cooking

-Take the garbage bag with food scraps, bones, meat rope, mesh baggies out to your sealed garbage pail as soon as the meal is over to prevent your pet from getting into it and becoming sick

-Make sure guests know not to feed your pet fatty snacks or table scraps

-If your dog or cat counter surfs, make sure to hide dough or other foods to prevent accidental ingestion

-Don't let pets around unattended lit candles; prevent burns and fire

If your pet finds themselves in trouble outside of our regular open hours be sure to seek veterinary care as soon as possible.   The KW Veterinary clinic is open when we are closed, they can be reached at 519-650-1617 and are located at 405 Maple Grove Rd.

Alexis is an RVT and groomer who graduated from Seneca College from the Veterinary Technician program with honours in 2016. She also has a Bachelor of Science degree with honours majoring in Animal Biology from the University of Guelph. She’s been working with animals for more than 6 years and has been grooming part time for 4 years!

She has four cats, Lucifer, Lucky, Titten and Pumpkin and a lovely dog named Toro. In her free time, she enjoys playing soccer and going on hikes with her dog.

Tick Season Is Here

With temperatures so up and down these days, ticks can be found year round.  Give us a call to discuss the risk factor for Ticks in Ontario.   As daily temperatures reach 4 degrees Celsius ( and possibly at any above zero degrees) ticks become active and therefore it is time to start your pets tick prevention.  Many prevention products will also prevent fleas at the same time, another pesky parasite. 

Let us recommend the right product to protect

 Lyme disease is a growing concern for pets and people. 

Numbers of reported Lyme positive dogs is just an indication of the issue at hand.  What we need to consider is that true numbers are likely higher because not all dogs will be tested.  In the photo below Idexx has indicated that in 2017 there were 1261 Lyme positive dogs, and in the past 5 years a total of 6215 in Ontario..... keep in mind this is only one laboratory...so the actual count is sure to be higher.   So far there have been 148 cases reported in 2018 !

Why is testing your dog for Lyme disease important?

"There’s some info that suggests canine exposure to Borrelia (the bacterium that is transmitted by deer ticks causing Lyme disease)  can also be an indicator of the risk of human exposure, which makes sense since dogs and people are exposed the same way (i.e. being bitten by an infected deer tick ( Ixodes scapulars) tick)." 

-  from the worms and germs blog

Tracking the incidence of Lyme disease in dogs brings awareness as to where on the map it can be found and indicates that we as humans must also take precautions not to contract it through tick bites.  Some areas on the map may have a higher endemic incidence than others,  but even one Lyme positive Deer tick  in our area indicates we should be doing all we can to protect our pets and our family.

Get Started Today !

As part of your dogs parasite screening this spring; a simple blood test can screen for Tick borne diseases like Lyme,  as well as Heartworm at the same time. Results can be reported in as little as 24-48 hours.

Call us to book your dogs appointment now. 519-624-9760

** As always Heartworm prevention should be started by June 1st !

*** Keep in mind that cats who live with dogs should also have prevention medication on board.
 

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