Posts Tagged ‘veterinary care in Glen Carbon’
Does Your Dog Have Diabetes?
Diabetes mellitus is a common disease that is caused by either the lack of insulin or an inadequate response to insulin. It persists in anywhere between 1 in 100 to 1 in 500 dogs.
Diabetes typically occurs when dogs are between 4 to 14 years old. The primary cause is unknown, but experts suggest that genetics may play a role. Any breed can be affected, but breeds that tend to have a greater risk for developing canine diabetes are:
- Cocker Spaniels
- Dachshunds
- Doberman Pinschers
- German Shepherds
- Golden Retrievers
- Labrador Retrievers
- Pomeranians
- Terriers
- Toy Poodles
Knowing the signs of diabetes is the key to protecting your pet. Proper treatment can lead to a long, happy, healthy and active life. If any of these statements or symptoms describe your pet, I would recommend talking to your veterinarian about the possibility of diabetes:
- Drinks more water than usual
- Urinates more frequently, produces more urine per day, or has “accidents” in the house
- Always acts hungry, but just maintains or is losing weight
- Has cloudy eyes
A veterinarian will check your pet’s general health and may ask about the previous signs. This can rule out the possibility of other infections or conditions. Your veterinarian will probably check your dog’s urine for the presence of glucose and ketones and, if indicated, will measure the blood glucose concentration in your pet. A definitive diagnosis only is definite when glucose is found in the urine and a persistantly high concentration in the blood.
If your pet has diabetes, the goal is to manage the diabetes by keeping the glucose concentrations regulated, avoiding spikes and drops, and to reduce or eliminate the clinical signs of this condition, such as excessive thirst and urination. Although diabetes can’t be cured, it is not unreasonable to expect that the condition can be successfully managed with daily insulin injections and changes in your pet’s diet and lifestyle.
Once your pet is on the daily insulin injections, it will be important to monitor the blood glucose concentration and keep it to as close to normal as possible. You don’t want the risk of hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) or other long term complications developing. This can be done using urine glucose test strips or blood glucose meters. By consulting with your veterinarian, you can decide what will work best for you and your dog.
Your pet’s diet plays a vital role in keeping the blood glucose regulated. Ideally, your pet should be fed exactly the same amount of the same diet every day and at the same times of day. Your veterinarian can determine how many calories your pet needs daily, based on his weight and activity level. Most veterinarians recommend a high-fiber, low-fat diet. The fiber slows the entrance of glucose into the blood stream and helps your dog feel full. Low-fat foods have fewer calories. So together, the diet can help your dog eat less and lose weight.
Make sure that your pet drinks plenty of water. Fiber takes water from the body and can cause constipation and other problems.
It is important that your dog continue to eat due to the fact that you cannot give insulin to a dog on an empty stomach. It can make him very sick due to the blood glucose level dropping to dangerous levels. So if your pet is not eating much, talk to your veterinarian. This may mean that he doesn’t like the food or it can mean that he is having diabetes-related complications.
Exercise is important for all dogs, but it may be even more important for dogs with diabetes. Exercise needs to be regulated because it affects the blood glucose concentrations in the diabetic dog. It is best to create a consistent exercise routine for your pet to avoid sudden changes in energy requirements. If you are concerned about your pet’s needs, just ask your veterinarian.
Regular check ups with your veterinarian can help identify changes in your pet’s condition. While you may feel that things are going well with your ability to care for your diabetic dog, visiting your veterinarian regularly will help you successfully manage the condition over time.
Diabetes isn’t a death sentence. So take a deep breath because with good care, your companion can lead a long healthy life. For more information, or if you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact our office.
Caring For A Deaf Dog
It is human nature for everyone to boast that they have the perfect family, including their pets. But sometimes life throws us a curveball and we have to adjust to make it the best possible. Our pets sometimes have impairments like deafness that make it harder for them to adjust to everyday life. During the third week of September we recognize this impairment as Deaf Dog Awareness Week. Whether it is congenital or acquired it can lead to frustrations in training the pet, which isn’t the pet’s fault.
Deafness can be caused by some hereditary issues which is known as congenital deafness. Hearing loss can also happen due to an ear infection, injury to the ear or it may be due to old age. Loud noises may also cause hearing loss, as can certain drugs.
Congenital deafness is most commonly related to the white coats of dogs. The white coats have unpigmented skin which produces white hair. If there is unpigmented skin in the inner ear, the nerve endings atrophy and die off in the first few weeks of the puppy’s life, resulting in deafness. This deafness can affect both ears or it can affect only one ear.
Early signs that your pet may be deaf is that it plays more aggressively or bites too hard because it is not deterred by the other puppy’s yelp of pain. It may not awaken during feeding time unless it feels vibrations or is bumped by a littermate. The owner may notice that it doesn’t respond to being called when sleeping, too far away or looking at you. There are several tests that you can do at home to assess that your pet is deaf, but the most reliable method is BAER testing. It is 100% reliable in determining if your pet is deaf. This test is a procedure using computers to record electrical activity of the brain in response to sound stimulation.
Outside of the obvious physical defect, deaf dogs are just everyday normal dogs. They play, sleep, and share their lives with us as companions, but they just don’t hear. A person that discovers this will be often faced with many negative warnings from misinformed people but with proper training, your impaired pet can lead a happy and active life. There are very few health considerations that apply to all deaf dogs.
Most people think that they are hard to train which could not be farther from the truth. They just need to be trained with the positive reinforcement approach to training. Since they can not hear, they rely on using visual signs instead of sound. This can be an advantage, since they are more focused and doesn’t have the noise distractions from other pets in the class. They may need more available time spent with them to build a solid foundation for training. So a person that has little time to train them may not be a good match. It is also good to have them interact frequently with other people and dogs.
Since a deaf pet cannot hear, it may be best to take steps to assure their safety. To prevent them from running off, it is important to exercise them on a leash frequently or have them in a fenced area. There are vibration collars available that can aid in getting the dog’s attention to call them back with hand signals.
Pets are always perfect in our eyes, even though some of them are impaired to some degree. If you have any concerns or questions please feel free to contact us.