THANKSGIVING DANGERS TO BE AWARE OF!!

Thanksgiving Holiday Dangers to Avoid to Keep Your Pets Safe!

 from: http://www.pethealthnetwork.com/lifestyle/thanksgiving-holiday-dangers-avoid#overlay-context=content/holidays-and-hearty-foods

• Grapes, raisins, and currants: Currants and raisins are commonly found in stuffing, baked goods, and as snacks. When ingested, these fruit from the Vitus sp. can result in severe acute kidney failure. Signs of poisoning often don’t show up for days, until kidney failure has already taken place.
• Onions, leeks, chives, and garlic: When ingested, these common kitchen foods from the Allium sp. can result in oxidative damage to the red blood cells, making these cells more likely to rupture (e.g., hemolyze).  Cats are especially sensitive, and can develop a severe anemia (low red blood cell count) from even small amounts. Thankfully, this is typically seen more with chronic ingestion (e.g., when they are eating it for days), but to be safe, keep these out of reach. 
• Xylitol: If you have any calorie-counting chefs in the kitchen (I mean, really, why bother on this holiday?!), you may want to verify if they’ve used any xylitol in the baked goods. Xylitol, a natural sugar-free sweetener, is a sugar substitute used in a ton of products nowadays: gums, mints, mouth washes, nasal sprays, chewable vitamins, baked goods, chocolate, etc. When ingested by dogs, it can result in a massive insulin spike, causing a life-threatening hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and even liver failure with higher doses.
• Fatty table scraps: While I’m guilty of feeding my own dog table food (and yes, he gets to lick the dinner plate when I’m done), I’m savvy about what is healthy or not. Fatty table scraps like gravy, turkey skin, etc. are potentially dangerous to your dog, as it can result in severe pancreatitis. Certain breeds are especially sensitive, including miniature schnauzers, Shetland sheepdogs, and Yorkshire terriers. Even a piece of bacon can trigger pancreatitis in dogs, so when in doubt, don’t feed it to your dog or cat! 
• Bones and turkey legs: Huge no-no. While you may think you’re giving your dog a treat, you’re actually putting him at risk for a possible foreign body obstruction. I’ve seen the rare dog die from getting a chunk of bone stuck in the esophagus. The bones can also get stuck in the stomach or intestines, potentially resulting in a perforation (or rupture) of the intestines.
• Unbaked bread dough: About to throw some fresh bread in the oven? Make sure your dog doesn’t eat the unbaked dough first. When this occurs, your dog’s stomach acts as an artificial oven, making the yeast rise and release carbon dioxide, causing a distended abdomen and potential life-threatening gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV). Next, the yeast and sugar in the unbaked dough are metabolized to alcohol, resulting in secondary alcohol poisoning in your dog. 
• Alcohol: As mentioned above, we can see alcohol poisoning from weird sources (e.g., unbaked bread dough, rum-soaked fruitcake, etc.). Likewise, dogs can be poisoned by ingesting alcohol drinks, so keep the mixed drinks and beer away from your dog. Accidental ingestion can cause severe coma, slowed respiration, and a life-threatening low blood sugar in your dog.

Top Ten Halloween Safety Tips for Pets

IT IS HALLOWEEN TIME!!!

Halloween brings about a number of dangers that we need to be aware of as pet owners.

PET MD has a list 

right here! 

Jerky Treats That Can Kill!

More and more evidence has been coming out about jerky treats made in China. Numerous instances have been reported of dogs getting sick and sometimes dying after ingesting these treats. So as this vet says:
"I’ll do more than "urge pet owners to use caution." Don’t feed your pets any type of jerky made in China until this problem is resolved"  

I would even go farther and say don't feed your pet any treat that is not made in the USA. There are just too many cases of pets getting ill after eating treats manufactured in China.
**Just an FYI-many times the back of the package will say "distributed by XYZ,NJ,USA but if you look closer you will see that they were made in CHINA but distributed by a company out of New Jersey. Make sure you look closely! 

To Read the Entire Article Click Here 

Hose Water Can Get Hot Enough to Burn Your Dog!

FROM PETMD

August 14, 2012 

"Here’s a new summertime threat I had never thought of before — dogs being burned after being hosed off with scalding hose water. Ten such cases were recently reported in an article published in Veterinary Dermatology.

All of the affected dogs had second or third degree burns along their backs after being exposed to hot water from a garden hose that was laying out in the sun. "Third degree" describes a severe burn that damages both the skin and its underlying tissues. Second degree burns involve the superficial and deep layers of the skin."

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE RIGHT HERE!!

Does Your Dog Keep Licking His/Her Feet??

Many of my clients will call me and ask if there is anything I can do for their dog? They tell me, "they keep licking their paws and they won't stop! They are starting to get sore and irritated."
 Well, there is something I can do but there is also something you can do to be proactive in trying to stop the itching before it starts. The following article gives you a step by step plan to help your dog. Click here!

Some bullet points:

• Did you know about 50 percent of foot licking and chewing can be alleviated by mechanically removing (rinsing off) allergens and other irritants collected on your dog’s paws?
• The only places dogs sweat from are their noses and the pads of their feet. So those damp little pads can collect a really heavy load of irritants.
•  A soak at the end of the day will reduce the chemical burden on your dog, as well as the potential for irritation.
• The entire article is here...

Heat Stroke and Your Pets, It Happens FASTER than you may think!!

I just read an article where two dogs died this week in a hot car. The owner thought it was ok because they had cracked the windows and left water. Well, apparently, that didn't work. In this kind of heat,  90+ days,
"..... if a dog is left in a parked car, even with the windows open, the temperature in the car can be as high as 160°F! Within minutes, the dog's body temperature can rise rapidly under this condition to over 104°F, when he will start panting heavily. (A dog's normal body temperature is somewhere between 100.5°F and 101.5°F.) If no action is being taken to cool him down, his body temperature can rise to a dangerous level (up to 106°F or higher), when heatstroke occurs and brain damage (sometimes death) may occur rapidly as well."

DON"T let this happen to your pet or to a pet you see in a hot car! Read the entire article so you can recognize the signs of heat stroke. It doesn't only happen in a hot car.  Read it here!