Good Bloggie!

Recently listened to a presentation by the American Heartworm Society. (Did you even know there was one?) They threw out some rather alarming facts:

Thanks to Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. demographics of heartworm have changed forever. Heartworms have always been more of an issue in coastal and warmer, southern states because they are transmitted via mosquitoes. Because so many heartworm-positive dogs were rescued and transported to other states from the Gulf Coast, areas, which rarely saw heartworm cases, are now more likely to have them. Before all those rescued dogs were treated for heartworms in their new state, local mosquitoes were treated to dog blood, swimming with microfilariae (baby heartworms). YUCK!

However, it’s just a matter of time before heartworms spread to cooler, northern states. According to AHS, anywhere it’s warmer than 80°-85° for more than two weeks, that area is in danger of heartworm transmission and heartworm cases have been reported in all 50 states. If you live in a northern state and don’t give monthly heartworm preventative during the cold or cooler months, you may need to rethink this approach.

Another thing putting your dog at risk could be your neighbor. A very large percentage of Americans don’t even give their dogs heartworm preventative. Your dog could get infected from mosquitoes snacking on your neighbor’s dog. Or, in very rare cases, humans can be infected with heartworms. Ewww…

Ivermectin (oral), milbemycin oxime (oral), selamectin (topical) and moxidectin (injected) are the main ingredients in preventative heartworm medicine. The thinking used to be; a safe, 40-day window existed between doses, if a dose was a week or so late, your dog was covered. Now the research shows, 30 days, no grace period. Our vet once told us, you aren’t treating for the coming 30 days, you are treating for whatever happened in the past 30 days. Another reason to opt for that once-a-year heartworm test. Make sure some sneaky mosquito didn’t slip Fido unwelcomed guests.

If your dog is infected with adult worms, they need a different approach to kill the worms safely. It only takes a few months to go from larval to adult stage and heartworms can live for five to seven years. Giving the monthly medicine to kill microfilariae (larval worms) can cause complications if the dog has adult heartworms. Dying adult worms cause serious, sometimes fatal, problems to their host. Often, dogs undergoing treatment must be hospitalized. Heartworm prevention is much preferred to treatment, by both you and your pet.

You and your vet can decide what type of medicine and which brand is best for your pet. Personally, we go with an oral tablet given once per month, which also contains flea prevention/sterilizer (lufenuron). (Tip for litter planners: a few months before planning a litter we change our girl to an oral heartworm medicine WITHOUT lufenuron, and keep her on this until she’s had her pups and is finished nursing. While lufenuron is considered safe for pregnant animals, we’d rather avoid using it while our pups are developing in utero and nursing.)

According to AHS, there is no proven or effective holistic treatment for heartworms. Garlic might work for vampires, but not these blood-borne killers.

If you’d like to learn more, visit:
American Heartworm Society
FDA

At your next vet visit, ask about heartworm prevention and be sure you’ve circled on your monthly dosage day on your calendar. Make this monthly treat a truly heartfelt one.

A couple of years ago we added a health handbook to our library of dog books. Last year, we found ourselves reaching for it again and again. It is called Dog Owner’s Home Veterinary Handbook and is written by three DVMs and a doctor, Eldredge, L.Carlson, D. Carlson, and Giffin.

It is a reference book, set up to find health topics easily. The book states the condition, the symptoms, things you can do at home, if possible, and treatments most often used by a veterinary practice. Text is written succinctly and is easy to understand without needing a medical background. It’s great for looking up symptoms to decide if you pet needs to go to the vet (the book often states whether you can treat at home, or if it’s imperative you see a vet.). It’s also great to have as a reference to get the terminology correct when speaking to your vet or to review once you get back from an office visit. (What was that word? How is it spelt?) It does a wonderful job of covering a wide range of dog health topics from emergencies, to disease and infections, to even breeding and geriatrics in one book.

You may have noticed, as we have, dogs have a tendency to develop symptoms after-hours and on weekends. This handbook has eased a few worries of whether we should wait for the vet’s office to open the next day, or take someone to the emergency clinic right away. And if dog health is an interesting topic to you, it is actually a good read.

While it’s easy to do a web reference search on a topic when you have time, during an emergency you just can’t beat the ease of opening a book, written with the authority of medical professionals, which needs no powering up and is so well organized by topic. Being able to compare and verify internet info is a comfort, too.

Maybe someday they will perfect that “What exactly is the dog thinking? device. Better have a boxful of treats and toys handy, and in the case of Rocksie, a handful of cat toys! Oh wait; she’s pretty good communicating THAT thought already.

Link to book on Amazon:

Dog Owner’s Home Veterinary Handbook

Lots of news just released by the Rabies Challenge Fund. See below.

ARKANSAS 3 Year Rabies Law Effective 1/1/10

Updated Rabies Control Act Allows Longer Vaccination Intervals http://www.todaysthv.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=95265&catid=2 “The updated Rabies Control Act has new rules passed by the State Board of Health that allow for a longer interval between rabies vaccinations for dogs and cats. The new rules will become effective January 1, 2010.   If a three-year vaccine is chosen, the pet will be required to be revaccinated three years later.”

RHODE ISLAND 3 Year Rabies Regulations

At the end of April 2009, Rhode Island’s Rabies Control Board approved a change to allow for a 3 year protocol, yet no date has been set for it to become effective.  Concerned pet owners should contact their legislators http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/ and the Chair of the Board, State Veterinarian Dr. Scott Marshall at 401-222-2781 scott.marshall@DEM.RI.GOV to insist this policy change is instituted.

RHODE ISLAND – Board OKs Change in Rabies Policy Providence Journal News Digest May 1, 2009 http://www.projo.com/news/content/news_digest_01_05-01-09_5KE7P0O_v4.38640bf.html “PROVIDENCE –– The Rhode Island Rabies Control Board has approved a change in policy that could pave the way for regulations that will allow the vaccination of dogs and cats every three years, rather than every two years. ”

San Diego Pet Vaccination Seminar with Drs. W. Jean Dodds and Ronald Schultz

Award-winning author, Jan Rasmusen, has organized a vaccine seminar to be held in San Diego, California on March 28, 2010 to benefit The Rabies Challenge Fund.  World-renowned veterinary vaccine research scientists, Drs. W. Jean Dodds and Ronald Schultz, will be the featured speakers at this all-day event.  Detailed information on the seminar can be found at http://www.petseminar.org/ .

Third Year of Rabies Challenge Studies Begin

Thanks to generous contributions from pet lovers, The Rabies Challenge Fund was able to raise the funds needed to begin the 3rd year of research at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine in November.  The current challenge is to collect $150,000 per year to cover the estimated costs of Years 4-7 to complete the studies.

New Website Design & Facebook Page

Mimi Englander has redesigned and updated The Rabies Challenge Fund website www.RabiesChallengeFund.org and added important vaccine data for pet owners.  The RCF has also joined the Facebook community http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rabies-Challenge-Fund/119106981159?v=wall&ref=ts , where vaccine data is posted under “Discussions.”

PERMISSION GRANTED TO POST AND CROSS-POST

Sincerely,

Kris L. Christine
Founder, Co-Trustee
The Rabies Challenge Fund
www.RabiesChallengeFund.org
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/The-Rabies-Challenge-Fund/119106981159?ref=ts
ledgespring@lincoln.midcoast.com

Successful efforts by The Rabies Challenge Fund leading to changes in state rabies laws/municipal ordinances to the 3 year national standard:
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Wichita, Kansas
States of Alabama, Arkansas, Maine, and Rhode Island

The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization [Fed. EIN # 84-6390682].

You know pet insurance has gone mainstream when The Wall Street Journal is reporting about it!

If you are considering pet insurance, check out the informative article about selecting pet insurance. You may want to read the comments people are leaving, as well.

Polly Want and Insurance Policy?

As if you didn’t have enough to worry about, now Poochie is susceptible to the contagious H3N8 strain of dog flu.

We’ve heard of this before. This strain started as an equine (horse) flu and mutated to a canine flu. The canine version was first documented around 2003, and this may be good news as Poochie could have contracted it already and developed antibodies. The other good news is that neither the canine or the horse strain is contagious to humans.

We have to wonder if this is was going through the dog shows earlier this year. Our Rocksie picked up something at a spring show, but her symptoms didn’t exactly match the list for this flu. Fortunately, after a vet visit and a round of meds, she was fine and no one else in the house seemed to get what she had. (Perhaps because they are older?) Did hear of several show dogs this spring and summer who got sick, some with tragic results.

If your dog or pup goes to doggie daycare, a groomer, public parks, dog shows, or other public venues, you might keep an eye out for these symptoms:

• Cough (sounds like the dog has something stuck in its throat);
• Runny nose;
• Discharge from the eyes;
• Fever (hot ears are often a sign of fever);
• Loss of appetite;
• Weakness and lethargy.

And just like humans, if your dog is exhibiting any of these symptoms, do other dogs a favor. Keep your guys home until they are well.

There is a flu vaccine for your dog. It won’t keep your pooch from getting the flu, but can reduce its severity. To read more about the vaccination, visit this link: Dog Flu Vaccine

For much more about this flu, visit the links below:

Fox News
WFAA Dallas
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention