Remember Your Pets During Poison Prevention Week

March 15-21 marks the 53^rd anniversary of Poison Prevention Week. Poison prevention is serious business and over the decades the information distributed via the American Association of Poison Control Centers has no doubt saved many lives. This information had for many years been directed at families especially those with children, but did you know that there are 24/7 Animal Poison Control Hotlines?

Springtime can be especially dangerous as pets may ingest or come in contact with gardening products like insecticides, weed killers and toxic plants.

Many human medications such as pain relievers, antidepressants, ADD/ADHD medications, sleep aids, muscle relaxants and heart medications are toxic to pets. Human foods like chocolate, grapes, raisins, onions, garlic, macadamia nuts, unbaked bread dough, sugar free gum and more are toxic to your pets.

So what should you do if your pet is poisoned?

1. Remain Calm

2. Remove your pet from the area

3. Check to make sure your pet is breathing and acting normally

4. Do NOT give your pet any home remedies or induce vomiting

5. Call a Pet Poison Control Hotline (listed below)

6. If veterinary care is necessary call your vet immediately

7. Collect and have on hand any material involved and a sealed bag of anything your pet may have vomited or chewed as this can be very helpful to your vet if treatment is necessary.

In the event of a poison emergency don’t want to wait till symptoms arise. It is important to take action immediately.  Many poisonings can have serious or life threatening outcomes. While prevention is the best cure it is worthwhile to have Pet Poison Control numbers handy should a poisoning occur.

PET POISON HELPLINE 855-767-7661

ASPCA ANIMAL POISON CONTROL CENTER 888-426-4435

Terie Hansen is the Owner of Good Dog! Coaching & Pet Care

For more information visit www.gooddogcoaching.com

What Are Ticks? Ticks are external parasites that feed on the blood of host animals such as your dog. They usually require three feedings to complete their life cycles.

How Are Ticks Transmitted to Dogs?

Ticks are most active from spring through fall and live in tall brush or grass, where they may attach to dogs playing on their turf. These parasites prefer to stay close to the head, neck, feet and ear area. In severe infestations, however, they can be found anywhere on a dog’s body.

How Do I Know if My Dog Has Ticks?

Ticks are visible to the naked eye. If you spot one, it is important to take care when removing it. Any contact with the tick’s blood can potentially transmit infection to your dog or even to you! Treat the area with rubbing alcohol and pluck the parasite with tweezers, making sure you’ve gotten the biting head and other body parts. Since it may only take a few hours for disease to be transmitted from an attached tick, it is ideal for your dog to be evaluated by a veterinarian soon after any  are found  on your pet.

What Are Some Complications Associated with Ticks in Dogs?

• Blood loss
• Anemia
• Tick paralysis
• Skin irritation or infection

These parasites can also transmit diseases such as Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, all of which can cause serious complications and are potentially fatal without prompt and proper treatment.

How Can I Prevent Tick Infestation? 

Many of the same products on the market that treat fleas also kill ticks and protect against future infestation. Speak to your vet to select the best product for your dog.
The key to any successful tick control program lies in your own backyard. Ensure a tick-free lawn by mowing it regularly, removing tall weeds and making it inhospitable to rodents by keeping garbage covered and inaccessible.

Tanera Swan Owner of Strutt Your Mutt Grooming

Two locations to serve you! In Lilburn: 5550 Lawrenceville Hwy, Suite 4, Lilburn 30047 470-395-7701 In Norcross: 2077 Beaver Ruin Road, Suite 90-1, Norcross 30071 678-691-7151 www.struttyourmutt.org

Is brushing my pet’s teeth really that important? Yes! Keeping your dog or cat’s teeth clean can save you money, keep them healthier and stave off bad breath. Let’s face it, even when your pet’s teeth are clean their breath doesn’t smell like roses but when the smell changes to something worse it can be a major problem.

Poor pet dental health can lead to periodontal disease which can lead to all kinds of serious health issues.

Click here to visit the AVMA-American Veterinary Medical Association’s website where you can watch short videos on how to brush your pet’s teeth as well as a video that explains what periodontal disease is and how you can prevent it!

Keeping your pet’s teeth clean is really pretty simple. There are products on the market for brushing their teeth with, products you just squirt in their mouth and even products you can put in their drinking water that all help to keep their teeth clean and can delay or eliminate a trip to the vet for a costly and traumatic cleaning procedure (I mean really, what pet likes to go to the vet?).  February is National Pet Dental Health Month so what better time to implement a brushing routine so get brushing people!

Simple tips for keeping your pet’s teeth clean

1. Choose a product- tooth paste, mouth rinse, water additive

2. For tooth brushing use a small amount on a pet toothbrush and gently lift your pets lips. Gently brush the side teeth and then the front teeth.

3. Be patient and take your time. Start with brushing once a week and work up to two to three times per week. This gives your pet time to adapt. If you have a puppy start right away as they will adapt pretty quickly.

4. Keep plenty of fresh water available as many pets will drink after eating which helps to rinse off a lot of food or treat particles.

Peak-a-boo? Where are you?

Where do mosquitoes go during the winter months?

Mosquitoes are cold-blooded creatures and do not generally bite in temperatures below 50F. In Georgia, some adult mosquitoes become inactive with the onset of cold weather and enter into hibernation before the first frost. Other mosquitoes die in the fall but have winter-hardy eggs, which hibernate as embryos.

Some species of mosquitoes die off when the weather turns cold, leaving only eggs, which lie on the ground like seeds, waiting for warmth and spring rains to hatch and produce a new generation. Except in the warmest part of their range, these adult mosquitoes actually do only live in the summer and disappear in winter.

Other species survive cold weather by hibernating. Mosquitoes that belong to the genera Anopheles, Culex and Culiseta hibernate, and so do some other less common types in the United States.

It’s hard to believe that these fragile-looking creatures can survive freezing temperatures.

J. Turner Brakeley, who owned a cranberry plantation up north in New Jersey, became fascinated around the turn of the 20th century with studying mosquitoes in the cold. Brakeley discovered a new species with a unique cold-weather survival strategy, the pitcher-plant mosquito (Wyeomyia Smithii) but he also found and described hundreds of ordinary hibernating adult mosquitoes, alive and well in the midst of a New Jersey winter.

Brakeley found mosquitoes, hiding outdoors in the sheltered areas of banks that overhung creeks, amid exposed tree roots, and in holes in the ground left by moles, mice and other animals, as well as in hollow trees.

Around human habitation, they hid in cellars of both barns and houses, where the underground temperature stayed warmer than the outside area. He also noticed them in vacant houses or buildings, or among boxes and other stored junk.

If they could find a partially heated space, such as a cellar in a heated home, they would fly away if he disturbed them. If they needed to survive where the temperature was truly cold, they went into full hibernation and he could pick them up or knock them loose so they fell to the ground.

To survive the cold, the mosquitoes took a position Brakeley called the “hibernation squat,” bending their legs and tucking their body close to the surface they sat on. They may have been trying to absorb some heat from the surface, since they’re cold blooded and can’t make their own body heat. He found thousands of mosquitoes hibernating in homes and outbuildings around the cranberry bogs, some in the cellars, others squatting on the walls or ceilings of empty buildings.

Since they don’t eat during the winter, they add weight in the fall by switching from blood to food with more sugar, such as rotting fruit or nectar, and can double their weight. Scientists have recently discovered what signals them to change their diet.

Some mosquitoes can stand the cold better than others and don’t need to hibernate where winters are mild, or will come out of hibernation when the weather warms even a little in winter, or will hatch in the spring while snow is still on the ground. They’re all usually nicknamed “snow mosquitoes,” though they belong to several different species

For more interesting known facts about mosquitoes visit MosquitoSquad.com

by Jeannie Moreira, Mosquito Squad of Duluth-Lawrenceville 770-271-1833

Anal Glands: To Express or Not to Express

Anal glands are located inside the anus of most carnivores, as well as a few other mammals. These glands secrete a foul smelling fluid-like material. Normally, as an animal defecates, the glands empty some of this material for the purpose of scent marking. When an animal is stressed or scared, he may express his anal glands resulting in a noticeable foul odor.

Some animals may have a difficult time expressing their anal glands on their own. The quality of your pet’s food may contribute to problems with the anal glands. The glands are expressed physically as stool passes. If the stool is not firm enough, the glands will not properly express. What a pet eats may affect the material that builds up in the glands. If the material is too thick it will be difficult to express and may block the duct that drains the material leading to impaction.

Dogs are more likely to suffer from complications with their anal glands than cats, and small breeds are more likely to have problems than other dogs. Alternatively, pets with medical issues causing chronic soft stools or diarrhea may also have trouble expressing their anal glands. Some dogs may benefit from the addition of 100% canned pumpkin (which is a good source of fiber) to their diet. The fiber helps to firm up and add bulk to the stool, which in turn will help to express the glands.

Signs that your pet may need their anal glands expressed:

• A common sign is scooting, or dragging the rear end on the ground. This is most often an attempt to relieve the discomfort of full anal glands.
• Many pets will excessively chew or lick at their hind end which can cause the glands to express a small amount of material and a foul odor may be noticed.
• Some pets will circle and chew at their tail
• Others may sit abruptly at times, which may be followed by scooting, licking, or chewing.

If the anal glands are not expressed they will become impacted. This leads to infection within the glands. The gland will then become painful. At this stage, it will require veterinary treatment to heal properly, and in many cases requires a pet to be sedated to have the glands flushed. If the infection is overlooked, the infected glands will abscess.

This is why it is extremely important to have your pet’s anal glands expressed when he or she starts to show signs that they are full. Please make sure your vet and/or groomer are checking your pet’s anal glands regularly!

Tanera Swan owner of Strutt Your Mutt Grooming

2 Locations to serve you! 2077 Beaver Ruin Rd, Suite 90-1, Norcross 678-691-7151 and 5550 Lawrenceville Highway, Suite 4, Lilburn 470-395-7701