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| a great place for pets - www.thevets.com.au | |||
March 2006 edition
1. What can be done for our senior friends suffering from Osteoarthritis?? 2. Shaka gets stronger while having fun 3. Licorice and Corn - not a good combo 4. Protect your pet and your car 5. Frank's toilet trauma 6. Time for the Animal Games 7. Fighting between dogs that live together – a solution |
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1. What can be done for our senior friends suffering from Osteoarthritis?? In the management of Osteoarthritis it is often necessary to modify the animals exercise, as excessive stress on an arthritic joint will exacerbate the condition. Physiotherapists use modified weight bearing exercises and hydrotherapy to improve the animals mobility, muscle strength and function. Aquatic physiotherapy is an extremely effective treatment as exercising in warm water reduces pain, encourages muscle relaxation, improves joint range of motion and increases muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness. This allows the animal to exercise effectively and lose weight without aggravating their pain and dysfunction. Visit Aquadog soon to see the benefits of hydrotherapy for yourself. For a first hand account of how Aquadog can benefit your dog, please read the article about Shaka below. Aquadog: 4/90 Spencer Rd Nerang, next to Coast & Country Vets phone: (07)55022444 Back to top |
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2. Shaka gets stronger while having fun Shaka is a 10 year German Shepherd dog who suffers from osteoarthritis in his knees and hips. His muscles are very wasted and he has difficulty just walking around. Shaka comes to swim at Aquadog twice weekly and after just 2-3 weeks his owner has already noticed a huge difference in his mobility and how much stronger he is becoming. Shaka was very scared of the water in the beginning but on his second swim, became quite keen and now he can't wait to get straight in and start swimming. Back to top |
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3. Licorice and Corn - not a good combo Licorice loves his walks – especially in the local park where there are tennis courts, ovals and bbq's. Just before Christmas, in typical Labrador style, he gleefully scoffed some rubbish he found near the bbq's. Initially there were no ill effects... At a Christmas party two days later with friends, Licorice's usual “love the one you're with” attitude was absent. He was retiring, weak and just not interested. Martin, his owner, took him straight to the vet where he was examined. X-rays helped confirm a possible intestinal obstruction and he was admitted for surgery. The surgery involved opening Licka's abdomen and this revealed extensive damage – enough for a significant part of his intestine to have to be removed and the cut ends rejoined. This complex procedure was essential if he was to survive – without it his gut would have died, taking him with it. The culprit: a corn cob jammed in the damaged intestine. The corn was probably picked up in the park as part of the rubbish eaten two days earlier. Licorice recovered remarkably fast and was home two days later. Martin said he'd lost his manners while in hospital and wolfed the pitifully small dinner he was allowed in record time. The other good news is that he lost some much needed weight! Corn is definitely off the menu from now on – so is any other rubbish. Back to top |
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4. Frank's toilet trauma Rob and Marjorie noticed some strange behaviour in their cat Frank before they had to rush him to the vet for an emergency procedure. Frank, a 6 year old male Tabby, had been a part of the family since a kitten. He took to a litter tray straight away and there'd never been any problems until just recently. A few weeks ago he began urinating around his tray, leaving messy patches on the laundry floor. At first it was only occasionally, then it became more frequent. Added to this, he began to howl while going to the toilet. He was only passing small amounts of urine but one morning Marjorie noticed Frank was really agitated and there was blood around the litter tray. At the site of this, she rushed him to the vet. It was good she did because his bladder was blocked and he was having difficulty passing urine. Without rapid intervention, a cat can die in this situation. Frank was anaesthetised and a catheter passed via his urethra into the bladder. This allowed the urine to flow and empty the bladder. A urine test was done and revealed the source of the problem – crystals [or “bladder stones”] that were blocking the outflow. Frank was prescribed a special food to dissolve the crystals. Diet plays a pivotal role in keeping urine clear of crystals. He'll have to be on a special diet for the rest of his life, but Rob and Marjorie say it's worth it because he means so much to them. Hill's* Science Diet* foods are specially formulated to minimise the risk factors that influence the development of urinary disease in cats. For more information click here. Back to top |
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5. Protect your pet and your car No matter how often you travel with your pet in the car, there are some simple things you can do to make it as pleasurable and safe as possible. Whether you have a dog, cat or an Eclectus parrot, they all need to be secured. In the event of an accident, loose pets can cause serious damage - to themselves or to others. Here are some tips: Seat belts – probably the best option for dogs. Allows them to look out the back window while being attached to the car. Most seat belts also have hooks to clip leads into. We stock seat belts and will help you fit them correctly. Use seat belts in the back seat only as airbags located in the front can harm a dog if activated. Crates – are a cat's favourite. Enclosed and secure, it's the way cats best handle the unusual experience of driving. Simple plastic cat cages with a wire top or wire side door are ideal. For long trips, consider a larger cage where there's room for a water dispenser. To alleviate distress associated with travel, cover the cage with a towel and use a pheromone spray [available from the clinic]. Seat protection - There are some great products on the market for protecting your upholstery against claws, slobber and hair. They come in various forms – from a simple seat cover to one that lines the whole interior at the rear of the car [click here to see some really smart examples]. Easter reminder: if you're off on holidays, check boarding has been booked, vaccination and worming are up to date and identification is current [tag and microchip]. Back to top |
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6. Time for the Animal Games Karak, the striking South-eastern Red-tailed Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus banksii graptogyne) is the Official Mascot of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. Thorpey, Tatiana Grigorieva and Liz Ellis are at the top of their sports as humans - let's see who Karak picks as the top performers in the animal world: Fastest fish The cosmopolitan sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) is considered to be the fastest species of fish over short distances, although practical difficulties make measurements extremely difficult to secure. In a series of speed trials carried out at the Long Key Fishing Camp, Florida, USA, one cosmopolitan sailfish took out 91m of line in three seconds, equivalent to a velocity of 109km/h. By comparison, the cheetah, the fastest land mammal over short distances, can reach top speeds of around 96.5km/h. Best Jumper Cats are impressive – they can jump 5 times their own height from a standing start. But the super champs are fleas. They utilise a superelastic protein called resilin to trigger an explosive jump that hurtles the flea upwards – accelerating at 140G's – 50 times that of the space shuttle. You'd think they'd be pretty tired after one jump but the resilin allows them to jump repeatedly – one flea was recorded to have jumped 30,000 times. The highest recorded jump is 70cm by the froghopper (Philaenus spumarius). Tallest Mammal The tallest mammal is the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis). The tallest specimen ever recorded was a 5.8m male named George, who was received at Chester Zoo, UK, in 1959. George was originally from Kenya. On average, mature giraffe males grow to a height of around 5.5m. Their long necks possess no more than the usual seven vertebrae found in most mammals, but each one is greatly elongated. For more information on Karak click here and Guinness World Records click here Back to top |
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7. Fighting between dogs that live together – a solution It's hard to appreciate how distressing fighting amongst your own dogs can be, unless you have experienced it yourself. Seeing dearly loved members of the household furiously snarling, snapping and biting each other is no fun. The good news is that it is usually solvable. The tricky bit is finding the reason as there are many possibilities. Some aggression is a normal part of dog pack behaviour. The species has very well developed rules and signals for settling conflicts over desirable things such as bones. This allows them to live as a pack and so benefit from group living. Left to themselves dogs usually sort things out with little or no fighting and only occasional minor injuries. It doesn't make sense in the wild to seriously injure a pack member as the group would reproduce less effectively. So what goes wrong in the household? The key factor is us, the owner – we tend to get in the way of these disputes and impede their speedy and safe resolution. The following can result: 1. Being bitten – a common result of trying to separate fighting dogs 2. Interrupting the dispute, leaving the conflict unresolved and left to smoulder and spark another day 3. More ferocious fighting in future. Banishing the better fighter of the two and comforting the other may inadvertently make it worse. The better fighter feels she has to be more aggressive and the weaker dog is more desperate to protect his relationship with the owner. The solution lies in a professional analysis of the situation. Once we understand the triggers, the solution is often straight forward with great results. People faced with this situation often feel beseiged or can see no light at the end of the tunnel. If you know someone like this, let them know help is available. Back to top |
The Vets Nerang Unit 5/90 Spencer Road Nerang 4211 ph 5596 2322 fx 5596 0549 Helensvale Unit 7/14 Sir John Overall Drive Helensvale 4212 ph 5529 8011 fx 5529 4133 www.thevets.com.au |
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