Tick Removal 101

Tick season is upon us and I wanted to give you a refresher (or a first lesson) in tick removal.  Ticks will attach to their host (your pet or yourself) by grabbing a mouthful of skin and holding on for dear life.  There are many rumors about how to proceed with their removal, but the best and easiest is this: pull it out.  Yes, there is more.  Be sure to grab the tick as near to the surface of the skin as possible.  If you have fingernails to help, that's good, but don't pinch the tick off.  Pull with steady and firm pressure until the tick releases.  Once released, you can confirm that you got all of the critter by checking him.  His legs will be flailing against your fingertips and his tiny head and even tinier mouth usually has some skin in it.  Gross, but true.  You do want to remove the entire tick to prevent localized infection and transmission of disease.

The topically applied flea and tick preventatives often work to kill the tick before it is able to transmit disease.  Lyme disease is the commonly known one - it is transmitted by the deer tick in this region.  Other ticks transmit other blood-borne disease.  It is best not to wait for the product to work if you do find the tick, simply remove it as described above.  If you miss one, the product should take care of it for you.

Dr. Amy Hellard
West Chester Veterinary Care (WCVC)
www.westchesterveterinarycare.com

My dog nearly bloated…

Many dog owners and some non-dog owners know what bloat is.  The movie “Marley and Me” brought the issue to the surface for a while, though now many who saw the film still don’t know how that dog died.  I never saw the movie, but I do know about bloat and I feel it nearly unforgivable to happen to a vet’s dog.  Here is what happened: my dog Emma is a lab/springer mix.  She usually gets a burst of energy in the evening after I get home from work.  On this particular day, she had just finished eating her dinner, then goaded me into throwing her Frisbee for her.  We went into the back yard and I tossed the Frisbee.  The first chase and catch was mild, the second throw produced a nice chase and she nearly caught that one, the third throw included a high catch with a tail flip – it was beautiful.  The fourth throw never happened.  She came back and dropped the Frisbee, was panting as expected, but didn’t want to go again.  She paced a bit, then ran off to go pee.  After that, she returned to the porch, but didn’t want to play.  Shortly after, she vomited her dinner and a large amount of white foam.  She then vomited again and I saw her gums – they looked pale.  I lifted her lip and her gums were white.  Her tongue was pale blue.  No pink in the mouth anywhere.  I freaked.  She then proceeded to do all the usual things, tried to vomit repeatedly, only foam came up.  She couldn’t lay down comfortably – she kept changing positions.  She turned and looked at her sides where it hurt, and she continuously stretched her torso in an attempt to get some relief.  I didn’t end up having to take her to the emergency hospital that night.  I massaged her belly and watched for the next signs – fast heart rate and distention of the abdomen.  That didn’t happen.  After about 20 minutes her pain seemed relieved and we were safe again.  
What happened?  When a dog bloats, the stomach turns over itself.  The other name for this condition is Gastric (stomach) Dilatation (distention) and Volvulus (twisting) - GDV.  It is more common in “deep chested” dogs, think Boxer and Doberman.  After the stomach has twisted, the outflow tract is obstructed and the stomach begins to fill up with gas.  The end result is that the dog goes into shock, the stomach fills up so much gas that sections of it loose blood flow and begin to die.  The dog can easily die if this emergency is not addressed immediately.  Often these dogs need to be taken to emergency surgery to have the stomach emptied and set back into proper position.  Their recovery from surgery is also rough and requires constant supervision.  I dodged a bullet that day, but thought you all should know about this and what to look for.  I saw it happen in my own baby first-hand.  My advice to you, do not wait to go to the emergency hospital if you see these signs.  The sooner the dog receives medical attention, the better the potential outcome.

Dr. Amy Hellard
West Chester Veterinary Care (WCVC)
www.westchesterveterinarycare.com

Thunderstorm phobia in dogs

Lately I have been seeing quite a bit of this common problem with the recent weather we have been having.  Fear of thunderstorms can stem from several sources, but once the dog becomes fearful, it is a difficult and tiring process to reverse the effects.  Most puppies are not fearful of storms - this comes later in life and I feel the fear is based in behaviors the puppy observes.  Therefore, prevention is possible and so is behavior modification to reverse the behavior.

Prevention - teach the puppy that storms are nothing to be afraid of.  The puppy begins to worry about storms when they become noisy, the light shows begin, or when they see us responding to the storm in a dramatic way (running around looking for candles and flashlights).  One effective tactic is to take the puppy outside during a light storm and play ball.  You can take the pup for a walk in the rain, or sit on the porch and practice tricks while feeding treats.  If you ignore the storm, the pup will learn to do so as well.  When the puppy exhibits fearful behavior such as to a loud thunderclap, you should get his/her attention on something else and teach them to ignore the noise.  Reward the puppy with verbal praise for remaining calm, but do not coddle him/her. Simply ignoring the storm may not be enough - work with the pup during a storm to keep their mind off of the weather.

Behavior modification - when our dogs are scared, we give them attention and reassurance.  This response to the dog's behavior will perpetuate that behavior and make them feel justified in their fear.  Instead, ignore the storm all-together and help your dog to do the same.  You can close the blinds and turn the lights on brightly in the house.  Play the radio or TV and interact with your dog though play and/or training.  Your dog will associate storms with good things like attention and treats, but if he/she exhibits fearful behavior it is ignored.  Over time and with consistency the fearful behavior can be extinguished. 

Medication - if needed there are some good sedatives that can be used to help with storm phobia.  However, it is important to remember that any medication given to reduce anxiety has to take full effect prior to the beginning of the anxiety.  Keep tuned to the weather channel so that you can administer those medications early enough to help take the edge off.  One good over-the-counter medication you can give is benadryl (diphenhydramine) - this anti-histamine has the nice side-effect of mild sedation and is quite safe to administer.  The dose is 1 mg per pound of body weight.  A 23 lb beagle can have 1 adult diphenhydramine (25 mg) every 6-8 hours.  A 55 lb labrador can have 2 adult diphenhydramine capsules, and so on. 

Remember, giving attention for fearful behavior perpetuates the behavior.  Instead, re-direct the behavior to something more desirable.  Good luck!

Dr. Amy Hellard
West Chester Veterinary Care (WCVC)
www.westchesterveterinarycare.com