Don't borrow trouble

Matthew 6:34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble".  Matthew 6:27 goes on to say "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" My version is, "Let today's on trouble be sufficient for the day".  So I daily tell myself not to worry about tomorrow until tomorrow gets here.  One day at a time.

So why share this with you?  Stressing and worrying is a daily struggle for me as a veterinarian, as a small business owner, as a mother/grandmother, a spouse, and as a daughter of aging parents.  It's hard not to worry about things we care about, it is human nature.  I watch many of my clients worry about their pets and their pet's illnesses.  Disease processes such as diabetes, heart disease, liver disease and cancers are often very debilitating for my patients and rightfully worrisome for their owners.  However, being the pragmatist, realist and optimist I am, I try to give my ACC family (aka clients) emotional support for their worries by quoting the above bible verse often.

I came across a copy, stuffed in the back of my desk drawer, of a story from a Chicken Soup book I made years ago.  It was meaningful then and still is.  I felt it was worth sharing.

The Trouble Tree---The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished a rough first day on the job.  A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit and now his truck refused to start.  While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence.  On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family.  As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands.  When opening the door, he underwent an amazing transformation.  His face gave way to smiles and he hugged his children and gave his wife a kiss.  Afterward he walked me to the car.  We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me.  I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.  "Oh, that's my trouble tree" he replied.  "I know I can't help having troubles during my day, but one thing for sure, troubles don't belong in the house with my family.  So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home.  Then in the morning I pick them up again.  Funny thing is," he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick 'em up, there ain't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before."

These two thoughts...the Trouble Tree and the bible verse, remind me to worry a bit less and enjoy life a little bit more.  To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson "Nothing can bring you peace but yourself."

How to make coming the vet less stress for your cat

A common complaint among my cat clients is that their cat hates the crate and hates coming to the vet.  Well it's no wonder, the only time the cat sees the crate is to take a car ride (he hates) and come to the veterinarian (he hates even more), where they are poked and prodded during a physical examination.  All these add up to cat wrestling trying to get the cat in the carrier for a trip to the vet.

You can help your cat be more at home in the crate by practicing these habits at home.  It could make your cat's next visit less stressful

Instead of having the carrier in a closet or garage in between outings, leave it in your front room and take the door off.  Put a nice bed in it.  This will give the cat a chance to go in and out, smell it, lay in it, rub against it and see it.  Things are  not so scary when you see it all the time.  Next put part of your cat's daily food in the carrier to help your cat associate it with something good.  If your cat has a favorite treat or toy, toss them in the carrier and let the cat get them.  Make the treats especially yummy.  (Be sure to put the dog outside or in his own crate when you practice this--otherwise the dog is stealing the treats!)

You can also try spraying Feliway, a synthetic pheromone, on the bedding of the carrier.  Feliway works to calm cats.  This could also be helpful to do just prior to your trip to the vet.

After your cat seems comfortable with going into the carrier on it's own, put the door back on and periodically close the door, leaving a nice treat (tuna), for a few minutes at a time and then let the cat out.  Repeat this from time to time.

Practice this through the year and your next veterinary visit may be less scary for your cat.

Colic and Stabled Horses

I got my first horse when I was 7 years old, Sonny was a nasty little Shetland Pony, pitching me off in wheat stubble and sand burrs every chance he got.  But I was undaunted.  As I grew older, I graduated to the cowboy's working horse, The American Quarter Horse.  My parents trailered me everywhere to horse shows and rodeos.  There wasn't anything I wouldn't try on horseback.  Later on, in my twenties, my Dad started keeping racing Quarter Horses.  We were simple country folks, and our horses didn't live in fancy barns with fancy stalls.  Only time they were regularly stalled was when they were in training for the track. As I went to veterinary college and during my rotation in the equine medicine department, I had the opportunity to see many horses that were suffering severely with colic and required surgery.  It occurred to me then how amazing it was that in all the years my family and I had horses, we never had one colic case.  I wondered if this was great management or just dumb luck.  I even asked my instructors if they felt that the stalling of horses increased incidences of colic...at that time, they couldn't say that they felt that was true.

Recently a research team in the United Kingdom used ultrasound to assess the frequency of intestinal contractions, comparing stalled horses to pastured horses.  Apparently, housing horses in pastures rather than stalls, could reduce the likelihood of a horse developing colic.  The research team found that stalled horses had a decrease in intestinal motility as compared to pasture kept horses.

What amazes me the most about this news is that there had to be a research team to confirm this.  Given that horses are obligate grazers and left to their own travel miles a day foraging for food and our knowledge that the gastrointestinal tract is stimulated by movement, why should this information be all that surprising.  I see the same thing in small animals, the more exercise they get, the better their digestive tract and bowel movements.  Even when we as humans are hospitalized for any purpose, our medical professionals encourage physical movement, and ask us constantly if we have had a BM today, because they know our gut mobility is decreased during our sedentary stay in the hospital.

The word 'colic' simply but means belly ache.  Lots of things can cause colic, too much grain, too much hay, not enough water, internal parasites, cancers, too hot, etc, but certainly the lack of good exercise is a contributing factor.  Standing in a stall for hours on end is not only boring....but is not healthy either.  Horses by nature are foragers.  In search for a good meal, a horse will travel 20 miles a day on the average.  When we stall our horses (all for our human reasons and convenience) we are denying them the opportunity to be a horse and compromising their intestinal health.

I am not trying to convince horse lovers to turn their horses out (well maybe a little), but we should be aware that the more we manage like mother nature, the healthier our animals may be.

Dangers of Winterization for your Pets

As winter draws near, take note of these few tips to ensure a safe winter for your pets.

Dogs and cats are attracted to the sweet smell and task of antifreeze (Ethylene Glycol).  As you prepare for winterizing your cars, be especially cautious of spills.  Antifreeze is highly toxic and is rapidly absorbed.  Initial signs can appear even 1 hour after ingestion and the mortality rate is high.  Signs of ingestion may include stumbling, vomiting, depression; your pet appears 'drunk'.  Ultimately this toxin cause renal failure; occuring 12-24 hours in cats and 36-72 hours in dogs.  Success of treatment depends largely on how quickly it is diagnosed and treated.

A safe alternative to Ethylene Glycol antifreezes is to use an antifreeze that contains Propylene Glycol.

Cold, damp weather aggravates pets with arthritis.  If your pet is having trouble getting up and down, has difficulty going up stairs, cries or snaps when picked up or touched, a visit to your veterinarian is in order.  A soft cushy bed may help along with dietary supplements of glucosamine and omega fatty acids.  Your veterinarian can prescribe a NSAID for your pet.  Never medicate your dog with human prescription or over the counter medications without first consulting your vet.  Tylenol can be fatal, especially to cats!

For your outdoor pet, make sure that adequate shelter is provided to shield from wind, moisture and cold.    Animals need fresh water, make sure the water is not frozen.  Outside pets need addtional food to sustain body temperature as well.  However, please check with your vet to decide if your pet needs additional nutritional intake, an obese dog is not a healthy dog.

As always, exercise is important!  If there is snow on the ground, check your pet's paws for ice balls or injuries.  Rinse feet off if your pet has walked where de-icers have been used.  Some de-icers are toxic when ingested (when your pet licks paws).  If your pet is having difficulty exercising due to the depth of snow, slick surfaces or appears winded, shorten the usual exercise.

Be aware and have a safe winter.

Puppy Socialization Series--Part 3

Puppies need positive experiences with people, pets and places starting at least by 8 weeks of age.  These early weeks are the ideal time for puppies to form bonds and learn to recognize many conditions that will serve as a positive foundation for later learning.  If you wait too long, your pup will be afraid of new things later, and may well react to the scary things in his world by growling, barking and later biting.

I start basic obedience skill training as soon as I get my pup.  From day one my pup learns that he has to earn his keep.  I have to work for my food, so does my dog.  From the first day, my pup gets his entire meal from my hand.  I use his daily kibble allotment as rewards for good behavior.  I put little to no food in a bowl.  Puppies are extremely food motivated and I use this to my advantage.  Eery morsel of food is a reward and there is no free food.

Day one, I start teaching a sit.  Using his kibble, I lure him into a sit with his kibble and give a morsel of kibble when his rear end touches the ground.  We may practice this for about 4 or 5 sits and stop.  Remember his attention span is short at this stage and I don't want to loose his interest.  Also if he stays a little hungry, I know that I can get him to play the game again a bit later.  I will also use part of his daily meal in food puzzles such as Kong's Havaball, Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball (Meade's personal favorite), or other food toys.  Premier Pet Products make a lot of really good food puzzle toys.  A fun thing is to practice sits for a few kibble, then give your pup a food toy with kibble in it.  This way he learns reason and problem solving along with giving him something to do to burn energy and keep him out of trouble.  The Omega ball was a life saver for me when Meade was little.   While cooking dinner, I would give her about a third of her meal in it, it kept her busy while I was cooking and I didn't have to wonder what she was up to or worry that she was getting into something (placing child gates to block her in the kitchen area was handy too!)

In those early days, we practice sitting for everything.  I don't even put a word to it in the beginning.  We sat to be petted, we sat to go outside to the bathroom, we sat to go out to play, we sat for attention.  I carried (still do) kibble in my pocket and every time Meade was close at hand we practiced a few sits.  She thought I was the best because she got treated every time she sat down.  Sitting was an easy job she thought.  Once she started just offering a sits every time she looked at me, I started giving the action a word.

About the same time we also started learning 'down'.  Using her kibble again, you lure your puppy into a down position and treat the behavior.  Same as with sitting, no words were necessary.  Lure into a down position, say 'yes' and give her a kibble treat.  Alternate sits and downs, throughout the day.  Always end with a good sit and then throw their favorite toy or food puzzle toy.

Is  your puppy jumping on you, your family, your company.  Here is a perfect chance to teach your puppy what you would rather him do.  To say hello politely, he must sit for attention.  So when he is jumping on you, do not touch, talk or look at the puppy.  Just wait until all four feet are on the floor, say 'yes' ask for a sit and treat the sit.  Everyone must play the game.  The puppy must sit to get attention.  Timing is everything.  Attention either in the form of a treat or petting must come only when the puppy is sitting.  Not almost sitting.  It's butt must be on the floor before the reward is given.  If it starts to come up before the treat is given, then it misses the treat and must return to a sitting position and stay there long enough to get rewarded for it's sit.

There you have the beginning of a good start to a well mannered family dog.  Stay tuned for more Puppy Training Exercises with our next blog posting.