Pet Dental Health Month

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!

Belated New Year's Resolution

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.

Bear's Neuter (Orchiectomy)

Warning: The following contains graphic images and may not be suitable for all readers 

Bear is a young male Shih-tzu who has been brought to Acres Animal Hospital to be neutered. The neutering operation is called an orchiectomy, meaning removal of the testicles.

There are lots of good reasons for a dog to be neutered, including:

Stem Cell therapy

My dog, Darwin, was given a full check-up and blood work. All his tests results told us he was healthy enough to undergo the surgery to collect his stem cells.  The night before surgery I fed him his dinner and then had to pick up the food and water dishes to fast him before surgery.  The morning of surgery his belly was shaved and he was placed under general anesthesia. 

I made a incision into his abdomen just behind his ribs. There is a nice fat pad here called the falciform ligament which I harvested. The whole surgery took 21 minutes.  At Acres Animal Hospital, pain control is a priority for all our patients and so I gave my dog an injection of pain medications so that when he woke up from the surgery he would be as comfortable as possible.

We sent the fat I had collected to the Avivagen Laboratory in Prince Edward Island via rush courier.  Darwin recovered well from his surgery and I spoiled him for the next day or two with as much cuddle time as he could handle.  He was a little sore going up and down the stairs, but his surgery site was looking really good. I was giving him regular doses of pain control medications as well as all of his joint supplements.

Avivagen received his sample the next morning, and they spent the day isolating all the regenerative (healing) cells including stem cells from the fat sample.  We were lucky and they were able to get 36,718,000 cells. Since we give 3,000,000 per site of arthritis, we had enough stem cells for 8 doses!!! I asked them to prepare 3 syringes, on for each ankle and one to give intravenously. The laboratory then cryogenically froze the remaining samples so that I can use them at a later date.  The lab got the cells ready to be couriered back to me, and I got Darwin ready to be sedated for the next step in the treatment where we inject the cells into the areas that need them.

The treatments was well underway, and Darwin was handling things like a champion. I couldn't wait to see if the treatment would help him!
Acres Vet

Stem cell therapy

As many of you know, I have an older black lab mix dog. He has developed arthritis in quite a few places including his ankles (tarsus), knee (stifle), elbow, shoulder and spine.  Because of his arthritis, he has needed pain control medication every day for the last few years. He also takes a number of supplements to supplement the pain control and medical diet he is on.  Despite all these treatments, he was slowing down a lot which is a common sign of pain in dogs. His Tarsi were swelling after each walk and he was having trouble getting up and down the stairs.
Overall he was still a happy boy, but needed more help.  A new treatment has been approved for arthritis and soft tissue injuries called stem cell therapy.  Basically, the therapy enables you to focus and enhance the body's own healing abilities. I took the course to be come an accredited provider of stem cell therapy in dogs and cats.
With great excitement, I scheduled my dog for stem cell therapy and so far things are going very very well. I will follow his progress via this blog so that anyone with a pet in a similar situation can see how this new treatment works.
Acres Vet

Our vets to talk at upcoming conference

Both Dr. Lee and Dr. Slater will be speaking at the Nova Scotia Integrated Health Expo which will be held in Dartmouth on October 8-9 2011.  Dr. Lee will discuss her work with performance dogs and Dr. Slater will be discussing stem cell therapy. More information can be found at their website http://nsihpe.com/.

Sticks and Stones

Now that the good weather is here, and we don’t need to bundle up for the great outdoors, our focus turns to lazy summer days playing with our pets in the yard or at the park. Summer arrives with its own set of dangers for our pets. The term sticks and stones may break our bones is a warning we need to heed. Dogs love to pick up sticks for us to throw, purely for their own entertainment. They proudly trot up with that impish grin and deposit that prize at our feet, and wait with anticipation for the throw. This seemingly harmless game can end with a frantic trip to your Vet. Punctures from sticks into your pet’s mouth, throat or chest are a common enough site at this time of the year. Even if this never happens to your pet, the wear and tear of chomping down on those sticks can cause those pearly white teeth to be prematurely worn down, exposing the sensitive pulp which causes pain every time your pet eats or drinks.

Playing with stones also comes with its own hazards. Stones can get lodged in their throat causing a choking, sometimes fatal, outcome. If swallowed the stones can prevent food from exiting the stomach which brings about vomiting and loss of appetite. If the stones are small enough they can form an impasse or plug in the intestines, all of which require surgical intervention. The abrasiveness of the stones also wear down the enamel of the teeth, or cause the enamel to break off when they are chewing, which in turn can result in mouth pain for your pet.

Commercial toys are great, but do try to take into consideration the type of dog you have and the size of his mouth. Find a toy big enough not to cause a choking hazard, yet pliable enough not to cause dental issues.

Always make sure your pet is supervised when playing with any toy. But most of all have fun with your pet and enjoy those lazy summer days together.

Happy stories

We have had a couple of weeks full of kittens at Acres.

A cat was brought in after being hit by a car.  She had some broken bones and was in shock. We discovered that she was heavily pregnant.  We were able to stabilize her and make her more comfortable while we tried to find her owners.  Despite advertising on a couple of local radio stations, in a local news paper, as well as contacting all the rescue organizations, we were unable to find her owners.  The night after she was brought into Acres, she gave birth to 2 live kittens. Thanks to the efforts of 3 of our staff who stayed up with mummy cat most of the night, we were able to get the kittens cleaned and nursing. Mummy cat was showing all the signs of being a loving and caring mother, but due to her broken bones, was unable to care for her kittens at first.  Our staff did a wonderful job with the kittens caring for them around the clock while mummy healed enough for the surgery needed to repair her fractures.  3 days after she was brought in, we successfully repaired her fractured jaw and removed her broken teeth. Her other injuries were healing very well.  Within a day of her surgery mummy was trying to lick and care for her kittens.  About 3 days after her surgery mummy was able to pick up and fully care for her two babies.  The babies were growing and growing!

A few days ago, one of our staff rescued an abandoned 4 week old kitten, he is sooooo cute!  But much too young to be on his own yet.  We brought him to the mummy cat and her kittens at their foster home, and they took to each other right away.  Thor, the abandoned kitten, is nursing from his adopted mother and learning how to play with his adopted brother and sister.  He will go home with his new owner in another 2 weeks or so. Mummy cat will be spayed once her kittens are weaned, and her two babies will be up for adoption in another 3-4 weeks. We will have the mummy cat and her babies at the spring fling if any one wants to come and meet them.

 Last week, one of our receptionists noticed a cat carrier abandoned in the parking lot.  Inside was a mummy cat and her 4 kittens. The kittens looked to be 6-8 weeks old and thankfully the whole family appeared to be fairly healthy.  The whole family was dewormed and vaccinated. Again, despite our efforts, we were unable to locate their owner and so began the process of adopting out the cat and kittens to loving homes.  We have one last female kitten looking for a home. She is a mostly black short hair cat with white on her chest and paws. She is lovely, and gets along well with kids. Hopefully, she will find her forever home soon!

I am not sure if there is anything quite as cute as kittens playing.  Hopefully all the kittens will grow up to be wonderful happy cats. In the mean time our staff is taking the opportunity to stock up on kitten cuddles when ever we have time!

Acres Vet

Quality of life

I had a lovely senior dog in for check-up; he is starting to show signs of a progressive illness. The owner and I had a long talk about quality of life, and how to ensure he is still happy.  I find that determining quality of life for senior and sick pets is very important, but can be a real challenge. There is a great questionnaire that owners can use to evaluate and track their pet’s quality of life. You can find the questionnaire at: http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-practice-news-columns/bond-beyond/quality-of-life-scale.aspx

As always, if you have questions or concerns about your pet our vets are here to help. We all want your pets to be as happy and healthy as possible!

Acres Team

I have the best job in the world

I have the best job in the world!  We had a whole litter of puppies in for their 6 week exam and first vaccinations. All the puppies and their mother are happy and healthy.  There is something wonderful about a room full of playful active puppies!


The general recommendations for puppies and kittens are 3 sets of vaccines. The first set should be given at 6-8 weeks of age, the second at 10-12 weeks of age, and the third at 14-16 weeks of age. Our veterinarians can help you decide which vaccines are right for your pet depending on their age, lifestyle, health and vaccination history.
 

 Snuggling puppies and being covered in puppy kisses makes for a  wonderful day at work!!!!!

Acres Vet