Your Pet Is Not a 4 Legged Human

This morning I received a telephone call from a woman expressing concern that her dog was painful and had been up all night.  This morning she gave her dog an Ibuprofen tablet.  I was immediately concerned for the dog.  You may not know that Ibuprofen is not tolerated by dogs and extremely toxic to cats.  Your pets are not furry humans.  In the Veterinary World, we use lots of human labeled medications in pets, but how the animal utilizes it and eliminates it from the body can differ from humans.  Your veterinarian is educated in pharmacology and the best source of information regarding what medications are safe for your pet.  Before you give any over the counter medication or left over medication your physician prescribed you, please talk to your veterinarian.

This conversation inspired me to address the issue of recognizing and treating pain in your pets.  Since your pet is not verbal, it is often difficult to assess pain in dogs and cats (even for a veterinarian), they are very good at masking pain (especially cats!).  Animals have a genetic "hardwire" to hide pain, if they exhibit pain, they could be vulnerable to predators that prey on the weak.  Pain is very subjective and difficult to measure.  It is not uncommon for us to see one patient crying and limping over a torn toe nail and another that happily wags it's tail and jumps around with a broken leg.  Some animals are just more stoic than others with regard to pain, same could be said for humans.

Signs of pain can be very subtle; a reluctance to move, anorexia, hiding, anxious behavior, pacing, grouchiness are some examples.  These can also be signs of other conditions.   Even overt signs of pain like crying or yelping can be associated with conditions that cause pain; pancreatitis, cancers, etc.  It is common for me to have a pet owner bring their pet in because they sense that something is just not right, we call that "ADR" (Ain't Doing Right).  They don't have anything specific they can pinpoint, the pet is eating ok, drinking ok, not vomiting, going to the bathroom ok, not limping or crying, but just seems a little left of center.  A careful history, physical examination, potential diagnostic tests such as blood work and radiograph may be necessary to isolate the problem.  It is important for you and your veterinarian to work together interrupting your pet's body language in order to isolate the primary problem.

The important thing to remember is FIRST TALK TO YOUR VETERINARIAN.  Make an appointment for your pet to have your veterinarian assess your pet's condition and why your pet is painful before any medication is administered.  For more information on how to determine if your pet is painful check out this link at the American Animal Hospital Association.

Your Horse's Vaccinations

Every April the Animal Care Center hosts an Equine Health Month by offering discounted vaccines and Coggins testing.  This is our effort to try to get our equine enthusiasts ready for a season of fun and keep their riding buddy healthy.  Every year I get lots of questions about vaccinations in horses, so I thought I would address them today.

One common question we get is whether the horse owner can vaccinate their horses themselves.  Of course you can.  This can sometimes be one way to decrease some of the costs of vaccinations.  However, I would recommend your purchasing your horse's vaccinations from your veterinarian.  One of the biggest concerns veterinarians have is if the vaccines have been shipped and stored properly.  Vaccines that have not been stored under refrigeration may be de-natured and not effective.  If you order your vaccines on-line and are not cold on arrival, send them back.  When you get them, refrigerate them right away if you are not immediately administering them.  I am always cautious about purchasing from local farm stores, because I don't know if they were warm when they came in, or were left sitting in a box until they were warm and then refrigerated.  If you trust your local farm store, then by all means they can be purchased there.  In our clinic, all vaccines are immediately taken from their shipping container and refrigerated, if they are not cool on arrival they are returned to the supplier.  You can trust your veterinarian.  The biggest advantage of letting your veterinarian vaccinate-manufacturers will guarantee the safety and efficacy of the vaccine if it was administered by a veterinarian. 

What do you vaccinate for?  What you should be vaccinating for depends on your horse's lifestyle and designed to protect your horse according to their risk of exposure.   All horses should at least receive core vaccines: Western and Eastern encephalitis, tetanus and West Nile).  Ask your veterinarian if horse should be vaccinated against Rabies, Strangles, Herpes and Influenza.

Finally, I would recommend giving your horse at least a 48 hour rest after a vaccination.  Vaccinations stress your horse's immune system and cause him to feel off center for a few days.  The ideal would be to wait at least 2 weeks after his vaccinations for any heavy riding or performance.

If you have any questions about your horse's vaccination safety, feel free to give me a call or e-mail me.