Million Dollar Pet Pix

It's allergy season for your cats and dogs too!

This time of year plenty of us start in with our sniffling, sneezing and itchy eyes, and our pets can have the same types of allergies. However, their outward signs are often quite different than ours, and noticing these can be important in preventing the problem from getting worse in dogs and cats.

Probably the most common signs of allergies in dogs are itchy ears and itchy paws. Dogs will scratch at their ears, sometimes almost constantly, and will shake their head and ears frequently throughout the day. Of course, ear infections or foreign objects in the ear can cause this as well, and it is a good idea to have a pet examined in this case.

See it from your pet’s point of view!  

by John Robb DVM

We share our homes with our animal companions.  They live in the same environment we do.  Yet many times we change or introduce new things into that environment without considering the impact on our pets.  Let me give you a few examples.  During the holidays, especially Christmas time, we have parties.  Naturally we set up food items to be consumed by our guests.  The pets see those same items as food also.  The only difference is they will consume all of it while your back is turned. 

by Shawn Messonnier

The letter started, "Dear Dr. Shawn: Our family has a sweet cat named Doogie. While we really love him, our 12-year-old daughter was recently diagnosed with allergies, and it seems one of the things she is allergic to is Doogie. We do not want to give Doogie away, but is there anything we can do to ease our daughter's suffering?"

This problem is unfortunately quite common. Allergies to pets can be quite severe, and since family members are always in contact with the pet, relief is hard to come by for the sufferer. When the family pet is involved, a crisis situation often arises. No one wants to find another home for the cat, yet family members cannot suffer allergy attacks.

by John Robb DVM

Q. There has been a recent outbreak in salmonella poisoning mostly in children who have handled pet turtles. What can we do to ensure our son does not get this from his little turtle? Do we need to get rid of the turtle?

Practically all turtles carry Salmonella and you can’t treat them with antibiotics to get rid of it. This means that if you want to ensure the no child gets Salmonella, then you should not keep the turtle. Having said that, there are many practices you can adhere to that reduce the risk dramatically.

by John Robb DVM

Q. We are about to have our first litter of Pug puppies. I have heard that newborn puppies are susceptible to infections.  What are they and how can we prevent them?

This is a very good question! Prevention of infections in newborn puppies starts with the pup's mother.  By having the mother current on her vaccinations she will give passive immunity to her puppies.  This passive immunity is given to the puppies when they suckle her first milk called colostrum. 

This is why we don’t vaccinate puppies until they are 6-8 weeks old because they are protected by the mother’s passive immunity.

by Shawn Messonnier DVM

Skippy, a 14-year-old poodle, was not acting like himself. He spent a lot of time sleeping and seemed disoriented when awake, standing in a corner and barking at the wall. Despite being housetrained since puppyhood, Skippy was occasionally starting to eliminate in the house instead of asking to go outside. His owner was worried that he might be developing what she referred to as "doggie Alzheimer's disease."