So how do you keep your pets and family safe from parasites?

The best way is prevention. We recommend monthly prevention to avoid timely and costly testing.  Blood parasite testing is also recommended to check for parasites like heartworm, and disease contracted from tick bites, such as Lyme disease and Erlichia.

Parasite prevention is still important for indoor only pets, as these pets can still become infected from other outdoor pets, ingesting insects or rodents, or even from the shoes/clothes of owners that have been outside and exposed to parasite eggs.

Talk to the team at Heartland Veterinary Clinic today, to get your pet(s) protected!

Alarming statistics?

Yes!

Here’s a better one:  Proper dental care could increase their life from two to five years!

So how do you provide proper dental care for your pet?

The best way is prevention, brushing their teeth daily is key, this may seem like a difficult task but many pets will take to having their teeth brushed very well! Come and see us for help!

Just think about what your own teeth would look like if you never brushed!

Feeding a clinically proven dental diet and clinically proven dental treats or bones can also help. Look for the VOHC (Veterinary Oral Health Council) seal of approval.

Ask us for recommendations!

How do you know if your pet has periodontal disease? Your veterinarian will tell you when examining your pet. New to the market is OraStrip testing, a new tool that helps us find disease under the gum line in dogs and allows us to intervene sooner.

If your pet has already been diagnosed with periodontal disease, a surgical dental procedure may be required to clean their teeth, and extract any diseased teeth.

Why are pet dental procedures so expensive?

Here are some differences between a human and pet dental procedure:

* Based on the 2012 Alberta Blue Cross Dental Schedule

Some pet insurance companies do provide some coverage toward dental procedures for pets. If you have pet insurance, make sure to check what kind of dental coverage you have.

Heartland will still be active in the community this year though! Look for us at the Airdrie Home and Lifestyle Show, the Canada Day Parade, as well as other events around town!

For additional information, you may want to check out the Pet Health Network website, where you can search for additional pet related information.

Visit www.pethealthnetwork.com today!

Stayed tuned for our next event!

We all had a great time at the second annual Heartland Pet Expo! We are still in the process of contacting some of our winners, and all the pictures will be posted here. In the meantime, here are some of our lucky winners!

To make owners aware of this serious disease, a majority of veterinary clinics will have many pictures posted in the clinic, however many owners still gamble that their dogs will never be bitten by an affected mosquito (“My dog never goes outside”), and not contract heartworm.

Heartworm prevention is simple and involves a small blood draw to ensure that the parasite is not present, then regular dosing with preventive medication.

Heartworm infestation is very dangerous. Untreated dogs die, and treated dogs go through a long treatment and discomfort while the worms are killed and eliminated from the body.

About the parasite: 

Parasites need to go through a few life stages before becoming adults. The mosquito is an intermediate host of the larval stage called microfilaria. The mosquito ingests the larva from an infected dog and then when it takes the next meal from an uninfected dog, it can transmit the parasite. Microfilaria (the larvae) will go through a few stages before becoming an adult, when it travels to the right side of the heart to reproduce. An adult worm can be 12 inches long and reside in the dog’s heart for years.

The time lag between the initial infestation with the larvae and reproduction by adult is 6-7 months. Females will release thousands of larvae that can stay in circulation for months waiting for the mosquito to ingest them. In the mosquito, they will undergo a series of changes that can take 10 days in warm climates and 6 weeks in colder climates.

Symptoms of Heartworm Disease:

The first sign of heartworm infestation may not occur for a year or more from the initial infection, and starts with a soft cough that gets worse with exercise, and is often dismissed by the owner. More active dogs may show symptoms of infection earlier than less active dogs. The cough will get worse, and can lead to fainting from exertion. Dogs become tired very easily, are weak and listless, start losing weight, and may cough up blood in advanced cases. These pets often do not want to go for walks or run in the park. The progression is dramatic, leading to congestive heart failure. At that point the dog is in very grave danger.

Where is Heartworm found?

The disease is present in every continent (with the exception ofAntarctica) where these four factors are present:

• Susceptible host population (dogs)
• Reservoir of the disease
• A population of vectors which spread the parasite (mosquitoes)
• Climate that supports the parasite’s life cycle

The dog is considered the definitive host and reservoir of the disease.

Testing: 

There is a Heartworm test, which is a simple and quick blood test recommended to be done in the spring before the mosquitoes return. It is important to test for the presence of Heartworm before starting any preventive medications. Radiographs (X-rays) can also show a large population of worms in the heart or lungs.

Treatment:

 Treatment for existing heartworm can be risky depending on the severity and stage of the disease. Medications can be used for treatment, but can put the dog’s health at risk. Animals can die as a side effect of treatment., making prevention extremely important.

How can I prevent Heartworm Disease? 

This is the best option to deal with this devastating disease.

There is topical or oral medication that is very effective in the prevention of the disease. Many of these medications also treat intestinal parasites.

Contact us at Heartland Veterinary Clinic to discuss heartworm testing and the appropriate preventive program for your pet.

GIARDIA

Also known as “Beaver Fever”, Giardia is a protozoa that primarily lives in water.  Most dogs get Giardia by drinking or playing in contaminated water, such as streams, rivers, and lakes.  The major symptom is on-and-off diarrhea, but depending on how it affects your dog, symptoms may be as mild as weight loss and anorexia (not eating).  Giardia can be transmitted to people, but luckily it is easily treated once diagnosed.  A fresh stool sample will likely be collected at your veterinary clinic and examined for Giardia, among other parasites.

INTESTINAL PARASITES

Dogs and cats can get many different kinds of intestinal parasites, such as tapeworms and roundworms.  If a pet has worms in its stool, this actually means that the number of worms in the intestines is very high.  It is important to test a stool sample to find the microscopic eggs, even if worms aren’t visible in the stool.

Many worms can be transmitted to people.  Unfortunately, most human cases are children as they tend to put things (including their hands) into their mouths.  If their hands contain an amount of infected stool, the children will develop worms too.  In people, worms can travel in ways that they don’t in pets.  The most scary route is through the body (causing damage as they go) and ending up in the eyeballs, or brain.

Since intestinal parasites can be contracted so easily and at any time of the year, most veterinary clinics recommend deworming all pets in the household at the same time, and several times a year.  If there are children in the house, monthly deworming is highly recommended.

HEARTWORM

This disease is extremely common in places such as the southern United States, interior of BC, and Ontario.  However, due to pets travelling or being adopted from these areas (ie Hurricane Katrina dogs), heartworm is becoming a concern in Alberta.  Heartworm is transmitted by mosquitos and can be prevented by monthly medication.  In endemic areas, prevention is given year-round, but in Alberta we recommend it only during the summer months (May to October).

Heartworm can infect dogs and cats, but rarely humans.  Early symptoms in dogs and cats can include coughing.  Sometimes cats will hide the disease until they die suddenly.

EHRLICHIA/ANAPLASMA/LYME

These three diseases are spread by ticks, so tick prevention is key.  If you are in areas with tall grasses, or where wildlife such as deer frequent, it’s a good idea to check your pet thoroughly for ticks.  Do not try to remove the ticks yourself unless you have a tool for removing ticks.  Sometimes the tick’s head is left behind, imbedded in your pet’s skin, and can cause an infection.

It can be hard to search for ticks so topical products can be used monthly that will repel them.  Also, you can vaccinate your pet against Lyme disease so that their immune system will be able to recognize the Lyme bacteria and fight it more efficiently if they are bitten by a Lyme-carrying tick.

A dog who needs a dental cleaning

The same dog after having her teeth cleaned

Your veterinarian has examined your pet and says “Fluffy needs a dental cleaning.  Let me get a treatment plan together, so that you know what’s involved in cleaning his teeth.”  The estimate will only tell you about cost, so to better understand what’s involved, we thought we’d share what actually happens during a dental cleaning.

Once your pet is under anesthesia, he is moved to our dedicated dental area.  We keep everything related to dentals in this space, so that we don’t need to move very far to get the instruments we need.  This means that your pet is under anesthesia as short as possible.

In “dental land”, as we affectionately call it, we monitor your pet’s heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, and EKG continuously during anesthesia.  Your pet has a technician dedicated to monitoring anesthesia while the procedure is performed.

The first step in a dental cleaning is a thorough dental exam.  This is where we examine every surface of every tooth, even the ones that are way in the back.  We clean the tartar off each tooth with an ultrasonic scaler that vibrates so quickly you can’t see it with the naked eye.  We also use a variety of hand scalers to be sure that every nook and cranny is free of tartar and plaque.

If any teeth are wiggly (mobile), broken (fractured), or infected (abscessed), we get your permission to take x-rays.  This enables us to see the whole tooth, both above and below the gumline, as well as inside the tooth.  The veterinarian assesses the tooth as well as the x-rays to determine if it needs to be removed.

Once the extractions are complete, we polish every surface of every tooth to be sure that they are completely smooth.  Every rough surface that is left behind is a magnet for plaque and tartar to stick to.  A smooth tooth, combined with daily tooth brushing, will stay cleaner for much longer.

After your pet wakes up, we call you to let you know how everything went.  We schedule a discharge appointment so that the technician and/or veterinarian can go through any questions you may have, as well as explain any medications that may be needed.

I’ve heard of people who scrape pets’ teeth while they are awake.  Can you do this?

Every patient is put under a general anesthesia, as this is essential to performing a proper and complete dental procedure.  First off, nobody in their right mind would put their fingers in the mouth of even the most patient animal!  Also, if any x-rays or extractions need to be performed, animals won’t understand that they need to sit still with their mouth open.  Plus, scraping teeth alone will only remove the tartar you can see, while leaving tiny scratches on the teeth where bacteria will collect even faster.

I don’t pay this much at my own dentist…why is the dental so expensive?

Keep in mind that to do a proper cleaning, your pet needs to go under anesthesia.  This is an extra expense that you probably won’t encounter at your dentist.  Also, your dentist bills your insurance company first, and then you pay what’s left over.  This is why we recommend pet insurance for all pet owners.

Can my pet eat with no teeth?

We only take out teeth that need to be removed.  We try to keep “strategic” teeth if at all possible.  Strategic teeth are mainly the canine teeth at the front of the mouth and the big molars on the side of the mouth.  Canine teeth are important in jaw health, because their roots are so large that removing them can compromise the strength of the bone.  Canines also preserve the appearance of the mouth in general, as far as the owner is concerned.  The molars are important for chewing, but pets who don’t have these teeth can still eat canned or softened food.

My pet is only 3 years old…why does he need a  dental cleaning?

Pets, just like people, are individuals.  One dog may not need a dental cleaning until much later in life, while another dog (even a sibling from the same litter) may need dental cleanings starting at a younger age and needing to be repeated more often.  This is because each pet’s saliva is different due to their individual diet, environment, and genetics.

Also, at Heartland we believe in preventative medicine.  Would you rather see your pet have a Grade 1 dental cleaning so that you can start brushing teeth and put off future dentals?  Or would you want to wait for several more years and end up doing a Grade 3 dental cleaning with numerous extractions instead?

My pet’s report card was perfect except for the teeth.  Is this really something I need to worry about?

Your pet may seem otherwise healthy after a physical exam and screening bloodwork, but leaving dental disease is just asking for trouble.  The blood that runs through your pet’s gums also runs through the heart and the rest of the body.  Pets with dental disease may develop kidney and liver disease because these organs clean the blood.  The heart and lungs can also be negatively affected by dental disease.

Once dental disease is present, this inflammation will lead to irreversible damage to the surrounding tissues. Without plaque removal or control, dental disease always progresses in severity.  In the mouth, tissue damage and eventual tooth loss will occur. The rest of the body can be affected by bacteria traveling through the bloodstream, potentially affecting organ function.

Signs of Dental Disease:

-   plaque and tartar (light brown color)                                      -   bad breath

-   gingivitis (redness, swelling or bleeding of the gums)      -   pain

-   tooth mobility/movement                                                          -   gum recession

*Your pet may not exhibit all of these signs*

Pain:

Your pet may experience pain with any grade of dental disease. Pain can come from sore gums, exposed roots or cavities, fractured teeth, loose teeth, or even misaligned teeth. Some common signs are: chewing on one side of the mouth, chattering teeth while eating or drinking, pawing at the mouth, drooling, dropping food out of the mouth, avoidance of being touched around the mouth, or vocalization.

Food & Brushing Teeth:

Tooth brushing is a mechanical action to prevent plaque and tartar accumulation.  Some foods will try to mimic this action with specialized kibble, or have enzymes which break up plaque.  Tooth brushing may prevent tartar accumulation, but any existing tartar can only be removed by scaling and polishing under anesthesia

Dental Procedure:

A full dental examination is possible only under general anesthetic – have you ever tried to look in the back of your pet’s mouth!?!  The purpose of an exam is to visualize the plaque and tartar on all surfaces of the teeth, assess gingivitis or gum recession, tooth mobility, and exposed pulp or roots.  Digital dental X-ray can be used to see root structure, which helps us completely assess tooth health.

Scaling and polishing is the only way to remove tartar once it is deposited on the teeth.  Some practices may offer sedation dentistry, or dental work without any sedation or anesthetic.  For staff and patient safety, we find that this does not allow for proper evaluation and treatment.

Please contact the clinic for a complimentary dental exam with one of our technicians.  They can let you know where your pet’s dental health stands currently, and can advise you about how to proceed to maintain your pet’s best overall health.