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Posts Tagged ‘Pet Lover’

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My son recently got a lab/pit bull mix who is 4 months old. He just called me & said the dog’s jaw sometimes quivers when she yawns or she will whine and then the jaw will start to quiver.

Lori
Milford MI

Jaw quivering is a form of trembling. Usually it is harmless.

Jaw quivering is especially common in older dogs (and people). In these individuals it usually is progressive but it almost never compromises quality of life.

Four-month-old puppies generally do not suffer from progressive jaw trembling. The shaking is more likely a transient issue that occurs as the puppy’s nervous system matures.

Rarely, a quivering jaw may be a sign of poisoning or a serious neurological disorder. However, I’ll bet that your son’s puppy is simply going through a phase. I don’t think you should worry too much about this matter.

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Have you ever heard of a French Spay? I took my Yorkie to a vet to get spayed, and they almost lost her. The vet said that she was oozing blood from some of her organ tissues, and couldn’t find where the blood was coming from. So, instead of doing a regular spay, and make more cuts on her, the vet did what she called a French Spay.

Laura
Somerset, CA

Until you wrote to me, I had never heard of a French Spay. And a Google search revealed that the term isn’t commonly used. But after sorting through several worthless links, I found a discussion forum that seemed to offer the answer. A French Spay is an ovariectomy.

Normal spays, as every vet I know performs them, are ovariohysterectomies. In this procedure, the ovaries and uterus are removed from the body. In a French Spay only the ovaries are removed.

A French Spay will render a dog infertile and will eliminate heat cycles. Because the uterus need not be transsected, there is less risk of bleeding during surgery. However, a dog with an intact uterus will be at slight risk for uterine infections or cancer later in life.

If your dog was bleeding abnormally during surgery, a French Spay probably was a wise choice. However, I am worried about the abnormal bleeding. Bleeding like that doesn’t just happen–there has to be a reason.

Yorkshire Terriers and other small breeds of dogs are prone to a problem called liver shunt. This can lead to bleeding problems (and many other issues) in some cases.

I’d recommend that you pursue this matter further. Blood tests and diagnostic imaging may help to determine whether it is safe to correct the inguinal hernia that you have described.

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Yesterday a client brought a young male Pit Bull puppy to see me. The client was worried about eight small lumps located along the dog’s underside. Could they be flea bites? Some sort of rash? A strange form of juvenile cancer?

She was surprised to learn that the lumps in question were the dog’s nipples.

She asked why a male would have nipples. Before the advent of modern embryology, that question triggered an existential dilemma for many people. But these days the answer is known.

I started off with, “for the same reason that men have nipples.” That seemed to satisfy her, and she declined to listen to the rest of my explanation. It’s probably for the best, since the explanation is quite boring: the cells that develop into nipples differentiate prior to the release of sex hormones that lead to sexual dimorphism.

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Talking about the death of their cat Miss Kitty has helped the Shad couple deal with their grief. And so has the addition of a new feline to their brood — a new kitten they named Miss Prissy. “We fell in love with her,” says Mary Lou.

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A recent article in The Economist caught my eye.

Medical technology: A new, low-cost design for an artificial heart takes its inspiration from an unusual source—the cockroach

EVOLUTION has favoured cockroaches above human beings, at least when it comes to the functioning of the heart. A cockroach’s heart will continue to beat even when one of its chambers has failed; in similar circumstances, a man will die. Now a team led by Sujoy Guha of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, has created an artificial human heart based on a cockroach’s, which they believe will be unusually robust and affordable.

A cockroach’s heart is a tube that runs the length of its body. It has 13 chambers, linked like a string of sausages. As each chamber contracts, the blood within is pumped to a higher pressure. Each successive chamber increases the pressure. A human

or feline or canine

heart, by contrast, has four chambers. Two of these pump blood to the lungs, where it picks up oxygen, then the other two pump this oxygenated blood throughout the body. One of these four chambers—the left ventricle—contracts most strongly to pressurise the blood.

The artificial hearts developed so far have mostly mimicked human ones. The first devices, developed in the 1950s and 1960s, were large machines placed on trolleys next to the patient and attached by tubes. Modern artificial hearts are less cumbersome, but they are still rather unwieldy because they use compressed air to pump the blood and are powered by heavy batteries. They are used temporarily, usually for a few days or weeks, until a real heart is available for transplant.

Instead of trying to mimic the action of the left ventricle, Dr Guha’s design uses a multi-step approach borrowed from the cockroach. His device, made from plastic and titanium, is the same size as a human heart but with five chambers arranged like the layers of an onion. Each chamber acts in succession to increase the pressure of the blood. The contraction of each chamber is controlled by a motor driven by bulky batteries. The artificial heart is being tested on goats, with human trials scheduled for next year. If these are successful, the device could be on the market in three to five years.

The multi-step approach makes this artificial heart much cheaper to build than those that use compressed air to pump the blood. Dr Guha says it would cost $2,000-2,500.

Add in the costs of protection from liability lawsuits, and I’ll bet the new artificial heart will come in for $50,000 or so.

This article nearly inspired me to make another 30 year prediction for the record: that artificial hearts will be available for cats and dogs by 2039. But, although I am excited by advances in artificial heart technology, I am not going to make that prediction.

Instead, I predict that within 30 years stem cell technology will allow veterinarians to grow new hearts for cats and dogs from their own tissues.

If you love dogs, you’ll love MyAwesomePet.com. My Awesome Pet is the number one social site for pet lovers. Their pet friendly community is like a "My Space" for pets. Create a free profile for you and your pet. Post lots of pictures, pet videos, read their professional articles and blogs.

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People who lack common sense may be good for my job security, but their pets often pay a price.

Fleas are vile blood sucking disease spreading parasites that are easy to prevent. They are extremely common in northern California.

A few days ago a client brought her cat to me. The cat reeked of patchouli. It was almost dead.

The cat’s gums were pale–a sign of anemia. It was weak and could barely walk. It was covered in fleas and flea feces.

The client told me that she and her cat had been battling fleas for several months. When the client noticed the fleas she applied witch hazel extract and then tea tree oil to the cat. When those failed to work, she tried bathing the cat in dish soap. Then she fed the cat a garlic-based herbal remedy. Finally, she applied patchouli oil–which was obvious from the way the room smelled.

I had to ask.

“Did you try Advantage?”

Her shocked response was no, she did not want to apply chemicals to her cat.

I resisted the urge to point out that tea tree oil, patchouli oil, and witch hazel extract are made of chemicals. I did, however, tell her that garlic is toxic to cats. Finally, I talked her into giving her cat Capstar and applying Advantage.

Ten minutes later thousands of dying fleas began falling off the cat.

I understand the desire to avoid exposing a pet to synthetic chemicals. In an ideal world it would not be necessary. But if your pet is dying from fleas, it is time to bite the bullet and use something that works.

I am confident that the cat will make a complete recovery. But the cat nearly paid the ultimate price for her owner’s lack of common sense.

Photo: Patchouli. Doesn’t cure fleas. By Kurt Stueber.

If you love dogs, you’ll love MyAwesomePet.com. My Awesome Pet is the number one social site for pet lovers. Their pet friendly community is like a "My Space" for pets. Create a free profile for you and your pet. Post lots of pictures, pet videos, read their professional articles and blogs.

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Hi Dr. Barchas,

Name and location withheld

I may have bitten off more than I could chew when I decided to discuss canine marijuana ingestion twice (here and here; you can also check out my website for more information on the subject here) on this blog.

Yesterday I spoke on the phone with a person who tracked me down on the internet. She was interested in using medical marijuana to help with lack of appetite in a dog who was undergoing chemotherapy. The dog had been to a number of specialists and clearly had received the best possible medical and home care. The client was exploring every possible option to promote a high quality of life for the pet. (My answer, in short, was that evidence-based studies on the subject were lacking. However, if adverse side effects could be avoided, the therapy might be beneficial. The legal ramifications of such therapy are uncertain but possibly (although probably not) serious depending upon the jurisdiction. The client elected to experiment cautiously.)

On the same day, I read the question posted above.

I am not a specialist in animal toxicology. This blog is not a clearinghouse for questions about pets and illicit substances.

Nonetheless I feel that rushing to judgment is not in the best interest of the animals involved in these sorts of situations. What follows is my best attempt at an answer. To the questioner:

Methamphetamine vapors almost certainly are harmful to cats. Cats’ lungs are exquisitely sensitive. Second-hand cigarette smoke can trigger or exacerbate a number of feline respiratory problems. Although methamphetamine vapors contain less tar than cigarette smoke, it is hard to imagine that second-hand meth is not deleterious.

That said, it also is hard to imagine that your cat’s lymphoma was caused by exposure to methamphetamine. Meth has numerous adverse effects on the body. It may well be a carcinogen in cats–this matter has not been well studied. But the carcinogenic effects of any substance of are dose-dependent. Second-hand exposure to methamphetamine vapors will not lead to high levels of exposure.

Bottom line: I doubt that methamphetamine exposure played a role in your cat’s illness. It is more likely that a hereditary predisposition to lymphoma was to blame.

I recommend that you monitor your Main Coon’s appetite, thirst and weight. Seek veterinary attention if you note any irregularities. I consider it unlikely that he or she will experience adverse effects from exposure to the illicit substance.

If you love dogs, you’ll love MyAwesomePet.com. My Awesome Pet is the number one social site for pet lovers. Their pet friendly community is like a "My Space" for pets. Create a free profile for you and your pet. Post lots of pictures, pet videos, read their professional articles and blogs.

Are you a pet lover? Join the number one community site for pets and their owners. Visit MyAwesomePet.com

Stunning styles of four-footed fashion were unleashed at the first-ever Pet Fashion Week in Moscow, Russia.

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I have been told by some that a Cane Corso is not a Cane Corso unless they have the tail and ears cropped and docked. What is your opinion? I have a six-week-old female named Lupa. I have also asked numerous vets, and they have told me that they do not do this procedure. Help, I need answers.

Sandra
Philadelphia, PA

Don’t do it.

A Cane Corso is a Cane Corso regardless of whether her ears are cropped and her tail is docked. A Cane Corso is a Cane Corso whether she has four legs or three and two eyes or one. A Cane Corso is a Cane Corso whether she is black, fawn, or brindled.

The breed standards for many breeds call for tail docking and ear cropping. The breed standards are on the wrong side of history.

Here is another 30 year prediction, to go on the record with my 30 year prediction yesterday regarding antibiotic feed additives. In 30 years, almost nobody will own dogs with cropped ears or docked tails.

There are two reasons why I am confident of this. First, public opinion is rapidly turning against the practices of ear cropping and tail docking.

You alluded to the second reason why the practices will die out in your question. Fewer and fewer are willing to perform the procedures. I do not perform them. Nor do most of the vets I know.

The vast majority of vets who dock tails and crop ears are older. In 30 years they won’t be practicing. You won’t be able to get your dog’s ears cropped even if the breed standards haven’t changed.

But they will change. The inevitable cannot be delayed forever.

Photo: Look at those beautiful ears! By Claudio Domiziani. License: CC.

If you love dogs, you’ll love MyAwesomePet.com. My Awesome Pet is the number one social site for pet lovers. Their pet friendly community is like a "My Space" for pets. Create a free profile for you and your pet. Post lots of pictures, pet videos, read their professional articles and blogs.

Are you a pet lover? Join the number one community site for pets and their owners. Visit MyAwesomePet.com

From the Gulliver Blog over at The Economist:

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES’ announcement that it would allow small pets inside the cabins of its aircraft from June 17th has not been universally welcomed. Or rather, it was not welcomed by people quoted in a report in the Denver Post, which was subsequently picked up by several other media outlets. These interviewees voiced concerns about allergic reactions and the noise the animals would make.

I have a hunch that the announcement will be welcomed by Vet Blog readers who are on the lookout for more pet travel options. When people fly with pets, I always recommend keeping them in the cabin if possible.

Gulliver continues:

It’s unfair to single out Southwest in this context as several other American carriers already allow pets to fly in planes with their owners. And a company spokesman played down the possibility of strife: “We will quickly make accommodations if a pet is causing any disruption in flight,” he said. “This is similar to the peanut allergy, and we do have experience in accommodating customers.”

Well said. And finally, I must agree with the comment writers cited by Gulliver in an e-mail he sent out announcing the post.

Many commenters say they would rather share a cabin with dogs than children.

Hear, hear!

Photo: Paul Carter. Photo license: CC

If you love dogs, you’ll love MyAwesomePet.com. My Awesome Pet is the number one social site for pet lovers. Their pet friendly community is like a "My Space" for pets. Create a free profile for you and your pet. Post lots of pictures, pet videos, read their professional articles and blogs.