News201206

102-101 Klahanie Drive, Port Moody, BC, V3H 0C3, CanadaTel 604 461-PAWS | www.healingpawsvet.ca | doc@healingpawsvet.ca Summer is here! It’s time for all of us and our fur kids to get out and enjoy the beautiful lakes, rivers and ocean we have here in BC. If you have a fur fish, it is really important to remember to keep them clean and dry after swimming. During the summer months at Healing Paws, it is very common for us to see our dog patients for ear irritation and infections. It is so important to remember these steps after your dog has fun in the water: 1. Dry their ears: If possible, immediately after finishing for the day in the water, clean the outside of the ears with something soft i.e. makeup pad, cotton ball, soft small towel, or gauze. 2. Cleaning the inside of the ear is just as, if not more, important as cleaning the outside. It is important to have a sufficient ear cleaning product that will help prevent any bacterial growth. As we know, bacteria and yeast love warm, moist environment. If we don’t completely dry the ears inside and out this welcomes infection very quickly, also known as “swimmers ears”. 3. A very common misconception is how much ear cleaner is needed to do what it is supposed to. Squeeze the solution for a count of 4 seconds (around 5mls for a large dog), apply a healthy squeeze for a large stream of solution. 4. Massage the ears to ensure the solution gets all the way down into the horizontal canal, as this is where infections begin. Do this for around 30 seconds. 5. If you see any signs of irritation, or smell of infection, contact us at Healing Paws so we can take a look and find a solution right away. As well as ears, paws need to be completely dried. Make sure that skin between all of the toes is nice and dry so there won’t be an ideal environment for bacteria and yeast to grow. Swimming is such great exercise for our pets. We often recommend swimming for our older dogs, within moderation of course. It helps their joints immensely! If you can follow these steps, it will greatly reduce the risk of ear/paw infections and hopefully we will see you and the fur kids just for visits to the cookie jar! We hope all of our fur kids and families have a wonderful summer! Our Allergy Seminar, held in June, was a great success. We had about thirty people in the audience who enjoyed evening of innovative view on how to manage itchy pets with supplements, healthy diets and herbs. To better fight those conditions, that can plague your pet’s summer, we still have a great promotion 50% off of all Allergy tests, right through the Summer months! Phone for more information and to book an appointment. With their natural curiosity, dogs and cats will typically get stung on their face and in their mouth, but can get stung anywhere such as on their paws or abdomen. This will cause skin swelling at the site of the sting that is painful to touch and warm. Although you sometimes won't see typical signs of insect sting, you may observe that they exhibit odd behavior, bark excessively, be irritated or rub their face and have welts on their body. Very rarely, some pets would have internal swelling of the upper airways that can restrict their breeding. This is a true emergency! If your pet gets stung, follow these steps: 1. Assess that your pet’s airways are not affected.
2. Remove the stinger if you can see it, preferably without rupturing the sac; do so as soon as possible, the longer the stinger is in, the more venom is being injected. The stinger can usually be removed by scraping a credit card or other similar object along the sting site carefully.
3. Wash the area thoroughly with soap and water. Avoid contact with eyes.
4. If the sting site is inside the mouth, observe your pet for symptoms of an allergic reaction for a few hours. The swelling from even a mild allergic reaction can restrict the airway.
5. If you cannot find or reach the stinger, leave it, as it will eventually shed on its own.
6. Relieve pain, inflammation and itching: i) Apply an ice pack wrapped in a cloth to the site for about 10 minutes, ii) Give an oral antihistamine such as Benadryl, just to be safe. Please, ask about dosage.
7. Observe your pet closely for the next few hours for any signs of an allergic reaction.
8. Watch the sting site for the next few days for any signs of infection such as redness, swelling, or warmth to the touch. Like people, some dogs and cats can have life-threatening allergic reactions to bee or wasp stings, while others just have a little bit of localized swelling and redness around the sting site. Be sure to assess your pet right away for any signs of an allergic reaction. Again, main symptoms may include: difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, hyperactivity such as excessive barking, welts, vomiting and diarrhea. If you see any of these symptoms you will need to seek Healing Paws attention right away! On Sunday, September 9th, Healing Paws is proud to join Paws for Cause SPCA Walk in Coquitlam, Lafarge Lake. Please, visit our booth during the event for some exciting promotions. During summer months, feel free to drop by and donate any non perishable items that will be passed to support our local SPCA. For more details, please call or visit our website. We are looking forward to our next seminar on Vaccination reality, this fall. Please, stay tuned for dates on our website!

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