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With the best intentions, I have TRIED to brush my dogs and cats teeth! And have you ever tried to brush a cat’s teeth??? NOT FUN! This was met with a LOT of resistance and very little success…I tried different flavors of toothpaste. I tried different approaches. The end result was that the cats never let me into their mouths to begin with…being cats of course…and the dogs? Well Grace tolerated it for a VERY short period of time. Benson, being a big scaredy cat as any of you who read that post know, was of course scared of the toothbrush and would high tail it to the door as soon as he saw it!

According to the AAHA, most dogs and cats will have some sort of dental issues by the age of THREE! I noticed with Grace that she started getting plaque buildup right when her adult teeth came in. So I knew I had to do something about it sooner rather than later!

Early Signs of Dental Disease

Signs of dental disease in dogs and cats tends to show up early in their lives, and can include tartar buildup, bad breath and red swollen gums. If it is not treated, it can lead to chronic pain and inflammation. Dental treatment at the vet is not fun for anyone (not to mention expensive!) so early treatment is the key here!

Signs to Watch For

Pets are EXPERTS at hiding pain so you may not realize that something is amiss! Also, dental disease may not be apparent by simply looking at your animal’s teeth as it can be hidden under the gums. Signs to watch for can include decreased appetite, lethargy or irritability.

With Gizmo, I noticed that he wasn’t coming to eat his food which he usually would yowl for! So off to the vet. And they found that his front teeth were broken off, had gotten impacted in his gums and caused infection requiring his front teeth to be removed!

Bubbles had an interesting situation as well…She had just come back to live with me so I did not know what her normal behaviour was and had no idea that anything was wrong. She was a bit of a cranky cat which I attributed to the adjustment from being an outdoor cat to an indoor cat. When I took her to the vet for her annual checkup they found that she had tooth resorption. This is a condition where the tooth starts to erode and be reabsorbed by the body!

This is actually quite a common condition in cats surprisingly, causing her a lot of pain. The vet removed that tooth and she was a different cat all of a sudden!! Much more friendly and loving. As this condition can reoccur in other teeth, I make sure that she gets to the vet for her annual checkup.

Health Conditions

Dental disease in your pet can end up leading to other health issues. Besides tooth loss, the blood stream can carry bacteria from the gums to your pet’s kidneys, liver and heart which is why proper oral care is so important for our pets!

Prevention

It is recommended that you try to brush your pet’s teeth daily to prevent dental disease. Your pet’s annual vet checkup is also an important step in early detection of dental problems. However, with my experience and the inability to actually brush their teeth I ended up looking to other solutions.

Pet food was the first thing I looked to! My cats and dogs both eat Hills Science Diet Oral Care food. It is a larger kibble designed to clean your pet’s teeth when they bite it. And the best part is that it seems to taste great to my pets! And all other pets as well…I don’t even need to buy any other treats for the dogs, as they will come running for a piece of kibble! And Grace and Benson will pick that kibble out of the bowl before eating their other food! All the dogs at the dog park really like it too and I am frequently asked by other owners what treats I am giving out…

My cats have great teeth when we go in for checkups now. But it still wasn’t quite enough to keep my dog’s teeth entirely clean. I give Grace and Benson frozen marrow bones once a week, which acts to brush and floss your dog’s teeth if there is enough meat and cartilage left on them. The marrow can cause some stomach sensitivities in some dogs however.

Grace and Benson were also getting a dog teeth brushing chew but I found that raw frozen chicken feet are nothing short of amazing! Their teeth at 3.5 years old look perfect! It’s a bit gross to watch them eat them, but hey it works! And it also comes with the added benefit of joint support since they have an abundance of protein, glucosamine and chondroitin.

Brushing their teeth daily is still the best way to clean your pet’s teeth, but I have found that my cats and dogs have good oral health with the steps I have taken above.

What to Avoid

If you are considering bones for your dog, it is important to find the right ones!! They should be raw as smoked and cooked bones can splinter and end up causing other health issues. Also, if they are too hard for your dog they can crack and break their teeth (I have heard of this issue with antler chews).

Size also matters! You want to make sure that you are getting bones that are too large for your pet to swallow. With my beasts this means finding the biggest bones I can!!

Treatment

Treatment of dental disease is done at the vet, and requires general anesthesia. The anesthesia in itself carries its own risks and I try to avoid it. It is also particularly risky to older pets. Nemo had really bizarre teeth and had to have dental cleaning twice and each time it was a nerve wracking process!

Prevention really is the best way to keep your pets happy and healthy! Dental care is an important part of caring for our pets and ensuring that you are taking care of it properly is vital to their overall health.

Be sure to read our other posts for more health tips!

The post How to Care for Your Pet’s Teeth first appeared on Help! I've Got Pets.

Incessant Itching and Chewing

The weather has really warmed up over the last month, and Benson started to blow out his undercoat. There were clumps of it just flying off him and coming off on my hands when I would pet him! I have an undercoat rake and put it to good use, getting enough hair off with each brushing to fill a garbage bag! Seriously, where does it all come from???

I noticed that around the same time Benson started blowing his coat that he was scratching his sides and his chest CONSTANTLY. He was also chewing his legs quite a bit. And then he started scratching his muzzle with his front paws. He was in a lot of discomfort. I wondered if it could be due to the dead undercoat, and if I wasn’t getting enough out and it was making him itchy. I started brushing him several times a day and it seemed a bit better, but he was still scratching and chewing himself!

This post may contain affiliate links at no additional cost to you.  By making your purchases through the links on this website HIGP may make a small percentage at no direct cost to you. HIGP only promotes products we use & truly believe in. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please refer to my Privacy and Disclosures for further information. HIGP thanks you for your support!

Vet Visit

Since Benson was due for his annual shots, I made a vet appointment and mentioned his recent behaviour so they could check it out while he was in there. My neighbour had suggested fleas as a possibility but Grace and Benson are on a really good flea and tick medication. But the idea stuck and I found myself constantly flipping them over to look at their bellies for signs they had fleas.

At the vet, when they called me to give me the update while he was inside she said there were no signs of fleas (whew!). She said sometimes even a hitch hiker can cause them a lot of distress! A hitch hiker is a single flea that gets on them and the sensation if they aren’t used to it can cause a lot of discomfort before the medication takes care of them. But no hitch hikers on Benson…

Diagnosis

The vet’s diagnosis was allergies. I can say that I wasn’t overly surprised, since Bernese Mountain dogs are KNOWN for their allergies so I was just waiting for the inevitable to happen. Without an allergy panel, she suggested that I start to treat for seasonal allergies and see if there is any improvement before having to move into the food allergy rabbit hole.

Surprisingly, you can treat seasonal allergies with regular old Reactin! Just the plain Reactin though, nothing that has the extra ingredients. Benadryl is also given to dogs frequently but the vet told me that this should be used for swelling and not for seasonal allergies. If you suspect your dog has seasonal allergies be sure to contact your vet for the best information and amount to get the proper amount to treat your dog with.

Signs of Seasonal Allergies

As I thought Benson had simply been blowing his undercoat, I didn’t give much consideration to the other symptoms of seasonal allergies. Some of the more common symptoms of seasonal allergies are:

• Scratching/itchy skin
• Rubbing their face
• Licking and chewing their paws and legs
• Hair Loss
• Red Skin
• Ear infections
• Skin infections
• Coughing or sneezing
• Runny eyes and nose

Without realizing it, Benson had quite a few of these symptoms! He has not developed an ear infection but has been shaking his head more than usual. He has been prone to ear infections in the past though, so I have medicated ear cleaner for him. But combined with the scratching, chewing and face rubbing it now all makes sense! He has improved with the Reactin which is great since I didn’t want to have to start changing their food.

Food Allergy Symptoms

If seasonal allergies are ruled out, food allergies are the next suspect! Many dogs have food allergies (estimated to be about 10% of dogs) and need specific diets. While some of the symptoms are the same as for seasonal allergies, there can be some other symptoms:

• Itchy skin
• Hives
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Weight loss
• Lack of energy or hyperactivity
• Aggression

How Food Allergies Develop

Food allergies take time to develop as the body’s immune system overreacts to certain ingredients in the food and produces antibodies to them. This is why your dog may seem to be fine with a certain type of food for a period of time before you start noticing symptoms of a food allergy. According to Patt Veterinary Hospital, most dogs develop allergies in their second year of life, so Benson definitely falls into that age category!

How To Diagnose A Food Allergy

When my vet was discussing Benson’s allergies with me, she said if we had to go the food route that a trial and error with different food types and proteins would need to be done. In this way we would eliminate all ingredients that Benson has eaten up until now and he would need to eat completely new food. He wouldn’t be allowed to have any treats or supplements during this elimination diet period! Poor Benson, he LIVES for treats and this is usually how I have to convince my beasts to do things! Like when they lie down on the sidewalk on walks and won’t budge for anything else…Or dragging Grace away from sitting on someone’s foot…

Bloodwork can also be done as an option to determine if your dog is allergic to certain foods. It is estimated to be up to 75% accurate in determining your dog’s allergies, and besides food can also be used to test for a variety of seasonal allergies and contact allergies.

Treatment of a Food Allergy

After doing an elimination diet and figuring out what your dog is allergic to, you will likely need to change your dog’s diet. You can find many hypoallergenic foods as well as limited ingredient foods to fit your pet’s needs. I know many people also make their own raw diet so they know exactly what is going into their dog’s meals! This can be a bit of a challenge though as you have to make sure they are still getting all the proper nutrients in their diet and can be quite time consuming.

I am happy to report that Benson has been improving since his vet appointment last week! His scratching and chewing has almost completely stopped! I will be keeping a close eye on him though just in case he starts reacting to his food. He is still shaking his ears a bit so I am going to have to pin my big boy down at some point today to give them a good cleaning…This is NOT a fun chore as Benson weighs more than me and fights the entire time and usually I need to back him into a corner before I can get in there! He also knows what the bottle is for…so I have started using a dropper that I can hide in the palm of my hand and get in there pretty quickly…

If you suspect that your dog may have an allergy, consult with your vet to narrow down what kind of allergy it might be and the best treatment for your pet. It really is no fun to watch your dog deal with allergies, and there are very effective treatments that can dramatically improve their symptoms and alleviate their discomfort. To give them some immediate relief for skin issues, you can check out these allergy relief products.

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The post How To Tell If Your Dog Has Allergies first appeared on Help! I've Got Pets.

I don’t know about you, but the thought of fleas and ticks on my pets (and potentially myself) is enough for me to make sure that I am diligent in treatment of my animals. Last year the cats started venturing outside for the first time since we moved into the house. So I had not been giving them meds as I was with the dogs.

I was giving Bubbles some scratches on my bed and felt what was like an extra piece of skin like a skin tag hanging off the back of her neck. Upon looking closer and giving it a little poke, I saw the little legs wiggle and knew. It was a TICK. On my CAT. On my BED. GROSS!

This post may contain affiliate links at no additional cost to you.  By making your purchases through the links on this website HIGP may make a small percentage at no direct cost to you. HIGP only promotes products we use & truly believe in. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please refer to my Privacy and Disclosures for further information. HIGP thanks you for your support!

Tick Removal

Running downstairs, I grabbed a pair of rubber gloves, the tweezers, a bowl of alcohol and alcohol swabs. I was now ready to clean the wound when I was done with this gruesome task.

Bubbles actually sat really well for me while I tended to her. This actually surprised me somewhat as I expected a bit of a battle to keep her still enough to remove the tick. I carefully parted her fur where the tick had latched on to do its dirty business. Then I got the tweezers right down under the body where it met the skin.

Hoping for the best, I pulled straight upwards with a steady motion and I could feel how tightly it was latched on. Finally I heard a POP and it was out! But I was still sitting on my BED with a half engorged tick…Into the alcohol it went! I ended up keeping it for several days in case Bubbles had a reaction. If she did the tick needed to be tested for Lyme disease.

It’s Out!

Cleaning up the wound area, I was hoping that I got out all the body parts and that there would be no infection. I checked the site regularly for the next few days. In addition I carefully monitored her behaviour to make sure that a vet visit would not be in order. Any regular reader knows I spend half my life there already anyways!

That was the first time I have had to remove a tick from one of my pets, and a bit of an eye opener. Where I grew up in Saskatchewan ticks are prevalent in the spring. So there are lots of stories of us running scared and screaming from a tick! There was also the time I found one latched on behind my Mom’s ear when we lived in Calgary…But I had not thought much of it living in the middle of a large city.

Fleas

Although small, fleas and ticks have the potential to create a great deal of chaos in their wake.

The most common external parasites found on pets are fleas. I have been relatively lucky in this regard, as I have only had to deal with fleas on my pets once. When I first moved to the city I was living in a basement of a house. My roommate’s cat would go outside and brought GIANT fleas into the apartment. They were the biggest fleas I have ever seen, and required multiple treatments to go away.

Part of the arachnid family (like spiders and mites), fleas are wingless.

Where Fleas Live

They can live outside in your backyard, thriving in the shade and moisture of grass. Fleas can also come in on your clothing and belongings, or come from daycare and boarding facilities. They can jump up to TWO FEET to latch on to their unsuspecting host, and start feeding within five minutes and can feed for up to two and a half hours! They can stay on your pet for up to five months!

Not only can fleas infest your pets, but they can infest your home as well and live in your carpets, furniture and bedding. It can only take one flea to cause an infestation given rapid reproduction habits. A single female flea can lay up to 2000 eggs over the course of her lifetime, 40-50 a day for up to two months. There are circumstances where newly developed adult fleas can hide in nests in your home for MONTHS in some cases until conditions are ideal…

Signs of Fleas On Your Pet

Among the first signs that your pet has fleas is relentless scratching. Flea bites are itchy, and you pet will likely be scratching continuously to try to get some relief. You can also look for small, flat brown objects on your pets. They can move fast though, so I have found that the best way to check is to flip your pet over and check their groin and armpit areas as fleas tend to love these spots. For a severe infestation there could be a rash, bumps and hairloss as well as potentially an unpleasant odor. Some animals also develop allergic reactions to flea bites.

In addition to being a nuisance, fleas can transmit tapeworm to dogs and people as well as spread bacterial diseases heightening the importance of treating your pet for fleas.

Ticks

Hand-in-hand with flea season comes tick season. Ticks start out small and are relatively hard to spot. They can be as small as a pin-head before latching on to you or your pet. As with fleas, they begin to get active when the weather warms up in the spring and into summer, and may be active all year around depending on where you live.

Where Ticks Live

Ticks tend to live in tall grass, shrubs, bushes and trees (fields and wooded areas in other words). They latch on and burrow their heads into the skin for a blood meal from their host. As they administer an anesthetic when they latch on, it is likely that you may not notice a bite until it the tick begins to swell with blood (as was the case last year with my cat, Bubbles). When they are full, they unlatch and fall off.

When your pet comes in, you can check for ticks by running your hands over your pet, paying particular attention to the ears, head and feet areas. They feel a lot like a skin tag when they start to get gorged on blood.

How To Remove A Tick On Your Pet

If the unthinkable happens and you happen to come across a tick, you can take steps to remove it. You will need tweezers or something similar to grip the tick, rubber gloves and a container of rubbing alcohol.

Try not to panic…like I did for a moment until I got my head cleared…Make sure to use rubber gloves, as you can potentially transfer infection to yourself or your pet by coming into contact with the tick’s blood. DON’T squeeze the body of the tick as it can cause infected fluids to move into your pet.

A partner can help you keep the pet calm and still (in my case I was alone so I did it myself). Separate the pet’s fur around the tick and use the tweezers to grip it between the body and the head at the surface of the skin.

Once you have a firm grip on the tick at the skin contact level, pull steadily straight upwards. It is VERY important not to twist or tug too quickly as it could leave parts of the tick embedded in your pet resulting in infection.

What To Do After Tick Removal

Grab your container of rubbing alcohol once the tick has been removed and deposit the tick into it. It will not only kill the tick, but you can keep it in here for a few days in case it needs to be tested for disease. For myself, I was panicking thinking I was going to drop a half fed tick onto my bed before I got it into the container…

Disinfect the wound on your pet, and watch carefully over the next few days or weeks even for any sign of infection (redness/swelling) and make sure to wash your hands and disinfect the tweezers used. Also monitor your pet’s behaviour for anything unusual. If your pet develops an infection, the tick may need to be sent for testing.

Disease From Ticks

Aside from infection at the entry point, ticks can cause a host of medical issues including blood loss and anemia, Lyme disease, tick paralysis and other infections.

Signs of Lyme disease in pets can include loss of appetite, depression, fever, swollen painful joints and kidney failure. With treatment (typically antibiotics) your pet should start to improve within a couple days. As such, it is important to consult with your veterinarian as soon as possible on finding any unusual signs following the removal of a tick.

Prevention

Prevention is the best way you can keep your pets and yourself flea and tick free. There are many options available, including topical and oral treatments. Please consult with your vet for the best option for you and your family, and we wish you a flea and tick free summer!

Another Tick…

Update: It is May 3rd. I was scratching Whiskers on the couch and found the telltale bump behind his ear. Sure enough, I part the hair and it is another TICK in my house! UGH!!! Got the tick removal gear out again…

This tick was about half the size of the one on Bubbles and boy did it move around when I exposed it. I pinned Whiskers down on the rug at the back door and went to work.

Oh Benson

I was just applying alcohol to the bite area when Benson came to see what all the commotion was about as he was yowling like crazy. He KICKED the container with the tick in it sending alcohol all up my side, onto my face and into my hair!!! OMG WHERE’S THE TICK.

Checking the floor and rug frantically I could not see the tick. Seeing as how the contents of the container were kicked all over me I PANICKED. Clothes went flying off! Hair shaken out! Checking all over myself and my clothes to find that stupid tick. Any of my neighbours behind me could have seen exactly what was going on…

I finally, finally found the tick on the rug…It is secured. Now the watching starts, as I am hoping that he won’t need to go to the vet…because we all know how that goes…In the meantime, trying to get over the creepy crawlies.

The post How To Keep Pets Safe From Fleas and Ticks first appeared on Help! I've Got Pets.