These were posted as comments on a previous topic on the same day, and I thought they were worth addressing.When I got my dog she didn't have fleas. There are no other animals in the house & I put Frontline Plus on her immediatly. This is her second month of treatment (I put the med. on two days before the month was up) and she is still COVERED! HELP! Fleas don't suddenly appear out of nowhere. They are animals, and therefore have to come from parents. This could mean that your dog did have fleas, but just too few to notice. If that isn't the case, then your dog picked them up while outside. Stray dogs and cats, as well as wild animals such as squirrels and deer, can all harbor fleas. If one of these animals walks through your yard, flea eggs will drop off. When you let your dog...
Allergy Options?
Elizabeth sends in the following situation...I have a 2.5 y/o Siberian Husky. She does a lot of "reverse sneezing" and also hacking, coughing up phlegm and swallowing hard. We have taken her to the vet for this several times and they have done x-rays and blood tests and treatment for nasal mites, she doesn't have any abnormalities in her heart, lungs, chest, or anywhere else, she is otherwise healthy and up to date on all her shots. Her throat seems to be swollen; she can still bark, but wooing and howling seem to be more difficult. We've tried using an air filter and humidifier, but I think it may be an allergy to something in the house (mold in the walls or under the floor maybe, or possibly a sewage smell that has been prevelent since last winter) since she is ok outside and in other buildings....
Super-Dooper Pooper Scooper
The last few days here in the Atlanta, Georgia area have been pretty crazy. We've had unprecedented rain and flooding, worse than anyone has seen around here before. Major interstates have been closed due to the extent of the water. Incredible damage has been done, and several people have died. Yesterday was probably the worst of it, but today people have still found themselves unable to get to certain areas because neighborhoods and roads are flooded.This affected our ability to get staff safely to work, and we were extremely short-handed today. For the first couple of hours at work it was me and two other doctors and nobody else. We finally ended up with two receptionists and one tech for most of the day, and then one of the receptionists had to leave. Most of our clients came in,...
Psychological unhealth... in dogs
Okay, okay, I'm giving in to the masses! A New Year, a new post...It took me years as a practicing veterinarian to begin thinking about the psychological well-being of dogs. A healthy person is one who is free of disease: both physical and mental. A human patient suffering from general anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, or even a serious phobia, without cancer or diabetes, is still a sick patient, n'est-ce pas?Therefore a dog who is hyperactive, untrained, phobic, or suffering from aggression (for example, fear aggression), is not a healthy dog. These conditions need to be recognized (the hardest part), discussed (the second hardest part), and...
Pulling Up Seedlings
Several years ago I heard a great analogy from someone in a leadership class. I've always taken it to heart, and wanted to share it here.Tim (his real name) grew up in the southwestern US where the climate is a desert. He moved to Portland, Oregon, which is a temperate rainforest biome. He had never seen greenery like that and was fascinated by it. In a flowerbed at his home one spring he noticed some evergreen seedlings growing. Never having seen things growing like this, he saw it as something special. His wife told him that he needed to pull them up soon or it would be too late. He didn't really listen to her, and continued to watch as the seedlings sprouted and grew bigger and bigger. After several weeks of watching this, he finally realized that the seedlings had become saplings...
Flu Facts And Fiction
Flu season has started, and this brings up questions every year. Now that swine flu has become prominent in the media, this is even more of an issue, and makes people concerned about their pets and human families. So I thought that I would address some of these things with some facts and help correct some misconceptions.* Regular influenza causes 250,000-500,000 deaths globally every year. Swine flu (H1N1) caused a little over 3,000 deaths last year. Yes, there is a growing concern, but it's not necessarily a worse disease. Seasonal flu leads to death in less than 0.1% of infections. Swine flu leads to death in 0.007-0.045% of cases. So someone please tell me why the world seems up in arms about swine flu.* Swine flu does not infect pets, and cannot be transmitted between dogs, cats,...
Twenty-First Century Medicine
Yesterday's entry has made me think more about where we have come in veterinary medicine. I have been in practice for over 12 years, but have been around the profession for about 25. I've seen a lot during that time, and can imagine what retired vets think. Technology can be great, and has helped improve the quality of medicine and treatment. Here are a few things that really hit me on this topic.Radiology--Decades ago it was uncommon for a vet to have x-ray equipment in their practice. Then it became routine, and eventually automatic processors were created that developed films quicker and easier than hand-dipping them (anyone remember that?). Now we have digital radiography. This is common in human medicine, and is increasing in veterinary medicine. Digital "films" eliminate the...
School Interview
As a veterinarian, it's common for me to get questions from children about my job. Often this is for a school project of some sort, as is this set of questions I received today. I know that I've answered similar topics before, but there are a few different ones in Megan's list that I thought would be interesting to address.Im doing a project for school, and I have to interview a veterinarian, so if you dont mind, can you answer these following questions. Describe your job? Well, I'm a veterinarian. I examine pets, perform diagnostic tests, determine the cause of a disease or injury, recommend and perform treatment (including prescribing medications), and perform surgeries.How does knowledge of science affect your job?Very strongly! Medicine is completely grounded in science (or, it should...
Yes, You Really Are Doing It Wrong
This week I was reading an interesting article in one of my journals. One of the premier flea experts, Dr. Mike Dryden (whom I've mentioned before) has been doing a study on flea control. He went to Florida, the state with the biggest flea problem in the US, and visit the homes of around 30 people who were having flea problems and said that their flea prevention products weren't working. Dr. Dryden studied the environment and what the clients were doing to control the fleas. In every single case, he found that there was a problem with client compliance. The lack of flea control was not a problem with the product itself, but with how the client was using it or how they were treating (or not treating) the environment. Remember, these were all people who thought they were doing things correctly...
How Much Could You Spend?
I've often said that any pet owner needs to have at least $500 set aside for sudden animal health emergencies. When we removed the kidney from the cat last week, the owner's bill was around $1500, and they're looking at another thousand or two in chemotherapy. This morning we received a report from the local emergency clinic for a patient of ours that had never been spayed, and ended up with a serious uterine infection. Several days, numerous lab tests, emergency surgery, intense hospitalization, and $4000 later, the pet went home.Last month I posted a poll asking how much you could spend right now if your pet had a serious illness or injury. Here are the results after 41 votes:Less than $100--2%$100-400--34%$500-999--14%Over $1000--50%This isn't a scientific study, but the results surprised...
Geeking Out
One of the favorite pursuits of geeks around the world is attending conventions. For anyone who doesn't know about this, imagine thousands of people getting together to dress in costumes or geek-related t-shirts, browse comics, fairies, or sci-fi gear, meet celebrities, and attend panels on various related topics. One of the largest of these conventions is Dragon*Con, held every Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. An estimated 30,000-40,000 people descend on the downtown area, taking over all major hotels. This year the big draws were Leonard Nemoy and William Shatner of Star Trek fame. Besides them, there were a few dozen other celebrities...
A Bit Twisted
I think that most medical professionals have a slightly twisted sense of humor and idea of what is cool and exciting. Veterinarians are no exception.I am currently mentoring a new graduate veterinarian, and today she had an interesting case. A five year-old cat came in with a large mass in her abdomen and was acting lethargic. After blood tests and x-rays we determined that she was overall in good condition, though thin and dehydrated, with an unknown mass involving the spleen, kidney, or something else in the belly. The owner agreed to do exploratory surgery and try to remove the mass.We got in and quickly discovered that the very large mass was actually the right kidney. All of the other abdominal organs appeared fine and the left kidney looked good. But the right one was about 3-4...
