Treats! Treats! (The Wonderful Fruit.)

Dear Fellow Pet Lovers,

 

As many of you have learned, I am not a big pet treat fan for several reasons, but I do understand that many of you are.

 

You may remember the discussions about Chicken Jerky treats causing real problems up to death in thousands of dogs since 2006. The problems occurred most often in treats that, though from American companies, were actually produced in China. To this day, we do not know the entire problem with the treats.

 

A recent report indicated that the problem with chicken jerky treats for dogs has reduced dramatically, though there still are cases. Not all the cases were from Chinese product, and, again, we never totally discovered the cause of the problem.

 

So, I recommend that you never feed chicken jerky treats to your canine friends in any case.

 

If you are a real pet treater, and feel you must treat…

 

– Use a product, preferably one made in the US that is known to be safe.

– Do not feed large quantities of treats, as they are often rich and cause upset stomach and sometimes diarrhea.

– Avoid “tipping,” meaning giving your dog a treat every time he does what he is supposed to anyway.

– Use lots of attention and petting and talking to in lieu of large amounts of treats, and your dog will be happier and lighter.

 

So, there you have it. My take on treats….

 

See? Something CAN be done about preventing pet illness.

 

 

That is all.

 

 

Dr. John Emerson, Pet Emergency Clinic

Take This!!!! (You Dirty Rat.)

Dear Fellow Pet Lovers,

 

Rat poisons have for many years been relatively easy for DVM’s to deal with, since they cause bleeding, and they take about two days to cause symptoms. They have a good antidote and are almost always curable if we have any ideas that are present. What’s not to like?

 

In the past few years, the bleeding type rat baits (warfarin or coumadin types) are being replaced by products that affect the animal much more quickly with much more severe symptoms, including sudden death. There are some reasons given why this is occurring, but I do not really understand them.

 

So, a few words to consider:

1- Be extremely careful with any rat poison, but especially with newer ones that are not “warfarin” type or “coumadin” type. If your pet ingests much of the newer type, he will be at severe risk of death.

2- If your pet ingests rat poison, or ANY poison for that matter, call the ER or your DVM NOW with the active ingredients. In many cases, vomiting is important and vomiting within an hour of ingestion may save a life. So have your container with label out when you call, and bring it with you to us.

3- An Animal Poison Control, which is current on all animal poisons, is available to us for a fee. Be prepared to allow us to use it if we need it.

 

As I always advocate, use good basic common sense in these situations, and you will often save the day.

 

 

See? Something CAN be done about preventing pet illness.

 

 

That is all.

 

 

Dr. John Emerson, Pet Emergency Clinic

 

Loosen up!

Dear Fellow Pet Lovers,

I was recently asked what the most common condition we treat at the ER. Was it hit by car, dogfights, overheating, heart attacks, etc. etc. etc.?

On thinking about this, I realized that the most typical problem we see at Pet Emergency Clinic is DIARRHEA.

Though this does not seem very glamorous, it is true. And, since there are a large number of conditions that cause diarrhea, there are also a large number of possible treatments.

People ask if their pet’s diarrhea is an emergency, and I answer with a very definitive “IT MAY BE.”

A pet may have diarrhea as a symptom of serious disease, or it may just have loose stool because it ate the wrong thing.

How do we tell? We have to examine the pet!

Since diarrhea may be a symptom of major disease, and since, over time, it may cause dehydration, best to get it checked ASAP.

Often, treatment of the symptoms using hydration and medicines and bland diets will handle the problem. But, in other cases, the pet needs IV fluids and injectable meds.

How to avoid the big D?

1- Feed a high quality name brand food and avoid scraps in general.

2- Avoid treats, since I relate these to diarrhea.

3- Keep your pet’s preventive medicine updated by yearly (or more often) visits to your DVM.

4- And if you see diarrhea, DEAL with it now rather than later.

That is all.

Dr. John Emerson, Pet Emergency Clinic

Ev’ry Rose Has Its Thorn

Dear Fellow Pet Lovers, 

Recently, doctors at Pet ER have treated several pets believed to have ingested some sort of poison. The vast majority of these pets did very well, but info on this topic will be helpful, so here are several “poison points” for you….

Poison is not just one thing. Many clients sort of have the idea that being poisoned is one discreet thing that is treated on one way. Remember that ANYTHING to excess, even water and oxygen, can become a poison, so, of course, knowing the exact poison in the body helps a lot with treatment.

In many cases, the actual poison may be unknown, but a general treatment may be similar. This usually includes IV fluids to flush the system, and treatment of any specific symptoms.

Many people believe that there is an antidote for every poison, and this is mostly not true. Though there are antidotes to many specific poisons, such as rat poisons (D Con, etc.) and organophosphates (Sevin Dust, etc), for many poisons, we simply have to keep the pet alive while the material clears the body.

The vast majority of poisonings are caused by you, the pet owner. ( Sorry, I said it) How so? Mostly, it is in some attempt to help the pet (giving Tylenol or Advil), some attempt to kill a varmint (Rat Poison), some attempt to kill a flea (Permethrin flea products, esp in cats), some attempt to prevent heartworms on the cheap (cattle dewormer as heartworm prevention),some attempt to prevent car overheat (Changing antifreeze) or some bit of forgetfulness (forgot to put the “nasties” away.)

So, what to do????? Follow my simple tips, of course…

1) Never give anything to your pet unless you KNOW it is ok and you KNOW the correct dose. (I do not mean that “Joe” said it was safe or you dosed it on the internet. Rather, I mean that your DVM specifically ok’ed it and dosed it.)

2) Keep any chemicals, medications or other toxic things put away and in no place that your pet could get to.

3) If your pet has signs of illness, call your DVM right away. (Call ER 337-562-0400 if after hours) If you believe that poisoning is possible, advise the DVM, and provide as much info as you can. That is, just saying “he was poisoned” may not be helpful, but that he may have gotten into “[exact product and amount. Here is the product, etc etc]” will give us our best chance to help.

4) Finally, if your pet got into something that you may be embarrassed to admit, admit it anyway. Your DVM is interested in helping your pet. He is not concerned with whatever it is that is embarrassing you. He just needs data to help your pet. In some cases of accidental marijuana ingestion, I have spent hundreds of dollars on diagnostics that were unnecessary because the owner did not want to reveal what really happened. 
So there you have it. Poison facts for you. (Did you recognize the song in the title?)

That is all.

Dr. John Emerson, Pet Emergency Clinic

NEW GAME- If you reply with the name of the group that performed the song that is the title of this post, I will send you a PetER magnet. (Reply with your name and mailing address) [PetER magnets are made of high quality plasticized magnetic material, with crisp graphics, and an amazing number printed on it. If you punch that number into your personal communication device, and if it is after hours, you can commmunicate directly with a PetER human staff member, who of course, you call is very important to. The magnet is able to remain unassisted on your fridge or other metallic device]