Last week, I took a look at canine diseases and vaccines. This week, I will discuss how vaccines and titre testing work. I will talk about feline disease and vaccinations at a later date.
You can read Part 1: Canine Diseases and Vaccinations here.
Acres Animal Hospital is a full service small animal veterinary hospital, offering a patient-centered, family-focused approach to you and your pet's well being. Dr Laura Lee and the entire Acres team are dedicated to your pet's welfare and your peace of mind.
Last week, I took a look at canine diseases and vaccines. This week, I will discuss how vaccines and titre testing work. I will talk about feline disease and vaccinations at a later date.
You can read Part 1: Canine Diseases and Vaccinations here.
Veterinary medical guidelines are constantly being updated. Canine vaccination guidelines were updated in 2011, with the development of core vaccines that are proven to provide immunity for at least 3 years. Last year, in hospital canine titre tests became available in Canada. Canine vaccination guidelines can not be updated to incorporate in house titre testing. Over the next two weeks, I will post a series on canine titre testing and vaccinations. Posts on feline vaccinations and titre testing will follow. This week, we will start with a brief description of canine diseases and vaccinations.
You can take our titre test survey and enter our draw here.
The 2011 American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) Canine Vaccination Guidelines divides vaccinations into 2 categories: core vaccinations and non core vaccinations. The AAHA Canine Vaccination Guidelines are the standard used throughout most of North America when recommending vaccinations for dogs. The AAHA Guidelines can be found on the AAHA website (see Appendix 2: Resources). It is important to recognize that the AAHA Guidelines are guidelines only: the exact vaccination schedule of a patient will vary depending on medical history (illnesses), missed vaccinations, and lifestyle.
Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) image of a flea from the Australian Museum |
Everyone loves cupcakes, right? I know I do. That's why we decided to have a Cupcake Day at Acres.
National Cupcake Day was begun by the SPCA as a way to raise money for humane societies. At Acres, we've decided to have our own cupcake day this year and support Homeward Bound by offering cupcakes and pup-cakes for a donation. Drop in for a yummy homemade cupcake for you or your dog, and support Homeward Bound!
We've all been to the human dentist and had our teeth cleaned, our cavities filled, and had fluoride treatments. Those of us who are unlucky have also had dental surgery such as root canals and extractions, or removal or the teeth. We all know the drill (so to speak) at the human dentist. What do our pets experience at the veterinary dentist? Teardrop, a 9 year old Sheltie, has agreed to share her big day.
February is Pet Dental Health Month. Across Canada, veterinary professionals will be teaching pet owners about good dental hygiene. Keeping our teeth strong and white keeps us healthy overall. Here's a look at what we will be doing this month.
To start the month off, we have posted a new issue of Rowan's Report, our quarterly newsletter, on our website. We also have printed copies available in hospital. This dental edition gives an introduction of dental disease and some tips to prevent it. We also give a brief walkthrough of veterinary dentistry. Next week, we will post a longer walkthrough (here on the blog) of a dental cleaning and dental surgery, with photos. This will be similar to our walkthrough of Bear's Neuter, and will continue our procedure walkthrough series.
On Facebook, we will focus our weekly games and fun facts on dental health. We also have some videos and slideshows we will be posting. In the hospital, we will be promoting dental care. Call or visit the clinic to ask us for details or make an appointment.
There are lots of things you can do at home to help keep your pet's teeth clean and healthy. There are lots of things we can do to help too. What would you like to learn for dental health month?
Edit: We were originally planning to post the dental walkthrough tomorrow (Friday). But it's taking longer to put together than anticipated. We'll get it up next week.
Edit 2: The dental walkthrough is finally posted!
We had one post last year. That's a little sad. So for our belated New Year's resolution, we resolve to post at least twice a month. Next January, we'll have to look back at this belated resolution, and see how we did.