Dog and Cat Teeth Cleaning: Its More Important Than You May Think

Introducing your new puppy or kitten to dental care early in life may be one of the most beneficial steps you take in the health of your pet. Even though dogs and cats don’t often get cavities, 80% of pets that are over three years of age have a certain degree of periodontal disease. Periodontal disease, an infection caused by plaque, can cause detrimental effects if left uncontrolled. Dog and cat teeth cleaning is an important step to take early in life. This alone can help avoid many types of problems and diseases, as they get older.

Having your veterinarian check your puppy or kitten is the first step in oral care. The vet will give an oral examination to determine if any problems exist. This is a good time to discuss with your veterinarian the routine care for your pet. If you need help, your veterinarian can teach you the proper dog and cat teeth cleaning procedures. If your pet develops periodontal disease, or other dental problems, he will need to see the vet for treatment and possibly teeth cleaning.

With some preparation dog and cat teeth cleaning is possible at home. Start by getting the puppy or kitten used to being touched around the mouth. Start out slowly by gently touching him around the mouth a few minutes each day. Talk softly to him and reward him with a hug or a treat. Once he is relaxed when touching his mouth, wrap some gauze around your finger, and get him use to you stroking his mouth with the gauze-covered finger. Spend about a week practicing this until he is calm with it. The next step is to lift up his lip on one side, and gently rub the surface of his teeth. After he becomes comfortable with this, do the other side. Always finish with a hug and a treat.

Once accustomed to the gauze-covered finger, move on to a finger brush or a toothbrush with the same gentle movements, hugs and treats. When you move to a brush, use a soft circular motion and clean the area where the tooth and gum come together.

There are several methods to help keep teeth and gums clean.  A few products include dry kibble, dog biscuits, and hard rubber toys. All of these methods will help scrap off and dislodge plaque. Many pet stores and veterinarian offices have a multitude of treats and toys made especially for dog and cat teeth cleaning. Look for dental supplies such as finger toothbrushes, regular toothbrushes and pet toothpaste at your veterinarian’s office or at your favorite pet shop.

An Introduction to Clicker and Reward Training for Dogs

For  some dogs, a visit to their veterinarian is an exciting experience that is filled with fun, and familiar faces. But for so many dogs in this country, a trip to their neighborhood animal clinic can result in deep feelings of stress and fear. These anxieties can lead to aggression and even health problems. For some unsocial pets, this aggressiveness prevents even the most simple treatments and tests to be done without some form of costly sedative.

Fortunately these anxieties, fears, and expensive sedation are very preventable. Veterinary Preparation Training is a simple, effective, cutting edge form of basic behavioral modification. Most effective when started as a puppy, Vet. Prep. Training is designed for socialization through repetition of several techniques used to restrain or position a pet for certain medical and hygienic treatments. Some of these include a Doctor’s exam, nail trims, ear cleaning, hair cuts, giving medicines, vaccinations, x-rays, ultrasounds, even drawing blood.

A pet that has a positive experience in a veterinary setting, with a “been-there-done-that” attitude toward being touched and handled, is calmer and has less stress than a dog that is in a new environment, surrounded by strangers, not fully understanding their good intentions. All of these techniques can easily be learned and duplicated at home as part of your basic obedience curriculum for your dog. You can help yourself, help your Veterinarian, and most importantly, help your best friend be a healthier, safer, and much more comfortable dog at your Vet. Clinic for the rest of their life.

Andrew Bisher is a Veterinary Technician & Obedience Instructor in Jacksonville, FL.  His company, Polite Pooch promotes positive behavior through clicker and reward training for dogs.

For more information, or to ask a question, contact Andrew at: Andrew@politepooch.com

Cancer in Dogs

Cancer is a disease that affects millions of people and many lose their lives to this dreaded illness.  Many people do not realize that this is the number one cause of death in dogs that are over the age of ten.  It is estimated that over half of dogs who reach the age of ten, will be stricken with cancer and this is a staggering number.  The good news is that many of these animals can be treated successfully if the disease is caught while in the early stages.  There are several symptoms to watch for and it is important to schedule regular check ups with a veterinarian.

There are two main types of Cancer in Dogs and they are benign and malignant tumors.  A benign tumor usually spreads very slowly and is not as dangerous.  Malignant tumors tend to much more severe and are potentially invasive.  If your dog has a growth, it is very important to keep a close eye on it and note any type of changes.  Some of the symptoms that one should look for include lack of appetite, sudden weight loss and decreased activity.  One should also look for any type of changes such as odors and heavy bleeding.  If a pet displays these symptoms, it is important to seek veterinary care.

There are many different tests that a veterinarian may perform in order to determine whether or not your pet has cancer.  They can also perform physical examinations of the tumors.  Diagnostic testing such as x-rays, blood work and ultrasounds may be performed to determine the severity of Cancer in Dogs.  If it is determined that your pet does indeed have cancer, your vet may refer them to an oncologist.  There are treatments that are similar to those given to humans with cancer such as chemotherapy.  This type of treatment is not as hard for our pets as it is on humans and this is a very good thing.  Many dogs can expect to undergo a full recovery from this affliction.

It is very important to take your pets to the veterinarian for regular check ups.  It is also important to act quickly if you suspect that your dog is displaying any symptoms of this disease.  There are many diagnostic tests that can be performed to determine the prognosis.  Your veterinarian can advise you further on this matter.

Spaying Your Dog or Cat

Hi. My name is Dr. Dean Severidt and thank you for joining us on the Pet Doctor Blog.  Today I am going to talk a little bit about spaying your dog or cat.  Spaying is something you certainly want to do to all of your females, both dogs and cats.  We have an overpopulation of pets, cats and dogs, and we certainly do not need to add anymore if you are not a breeder.  Besides overpopulation, there are also some medical reasons to spay them.  For instance, dogs that are spayed at a young age do not have a chance of developing mammary cancer later in life, obviously, you cannot have uterine problems or ovarian problems, such as cancers, endometriosis and things like that if they have been spayed.

I get asked when to spay pets a lot.  Cats basically go in heat all the time in the spring, they are induced ovulators, so once they are bred, that is when they ovulate.  Spaying your cat can also make your cat more pleasant because they will absolutely drive you crazy when they are in heat if you do not get them spayed.  Dogs usually go into heat twice a year, usually spring and the fall.  So I would certainly recommend getting them spayed at a young age, usually around four to five months of age.  That is going to get them before they ever go into heat and you can avoid those problems.   Spaying recovery is very mild for both cats and dogs and they can be up and running in a very short time, usually within a couple of days.

If you get an older dog that has not been spayed, I would certainly get it done at that time.  It is best not to do it when they are in heat, but certainly as soon as they go out of heat and everything goes back down to normal as far as the swelling, that would be a good time to get it done.

Thanks for joining me and please feel free to leave your comments and questions.

Demodectic Mange and Sarcoptic Mange in Dogs

Thank you for joining us on the Pet Doctor Blog.  Today, I am going to talk a little bit about mange in dogs.  I hear a lot of questions about dog mange and hope to answer those questions here.  First, just because your dog has bad looking skin, some hair loss, scratching and things like that does not mean they have mange.

Mange is specific to a mite, which is a bug that actually lives in the skin.  There are two types of mange that we deal with: one of them is called demodectic mange or the demodex, which is mange that is usually found in young dogs.  The reason being is that younger dogs do not have immune systems as strong as older dogs that can fight this off and so these dogs somewhere around three, maybe four months of age will start getting little hairless patches of skin and eventually we will find a mite there that needs to be treated.

The other type of mange is called sarcoptic mange—it is a lot more serious.  It can be seen on dogs of all ages, it is something that is very contagious.  It is contagious between pets and it is also contagious to people and it can be very difficult to diagnose.%