Dr. Alicia’s Monthly Newsletter

February 2018

By: Dr. Alicia Marquart

This month is Valentine’s Day month, so I hope you all get to celebrate some love in your life. My monthly newsletters are available for tidbits of information regarding pet healthcare. My intention is to educate clients and enhance their relationship with me. I am hopeful this will aid you in keeping your furry family member healthy! Please feel free to share these with your family and friends.

What to expect from our monthly newsletters:

1. Fact or Fiction? We will provide a “True” or “False” statement for your consideration. The answer will be in the next month’s newsletter.

2. New information regarding any recalls or other matters pertaining to your pet’s health.

3. Updates on new recommendations

4. Seasonal recommendations for your pet.

5. Behavior training recommendations for your pet.

6. Question of the month. One client’s burning questions will be answered by a veterinarian.

7. Pet of the month

FACT or FICTION:

• January – Cat’s should drink milk to get more nutrition
• False
• Milk should be considered a high calorie dense treat for a cat, not another source of nutrition. Compare it to us eating ice cream J. There are some cats that are even Lactose intolerant, so if your pet vomits or seems to be in discomfort after dairy I would recommend not giving it to them anymore. For more information regarding this please visit: http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/whats-the-deal-with-cats-and-milk

Picture from: http://pawesomecats.com/2016/08/19/ok-cats-drink-milk/

• February – There is at least one dog breed and one cat breed that is hairless.

Tune in next month to find out the answer for January. Let us know what you think in the comments!!

DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know I recommend a daily routine for your cat?

• Just like kids, cats also like to expect what is going to happen during the day. I recommend feeding them at similar times every day, a daily brushing/loving routine and a daily playtime for your cat. This can help eliminate stress for your fur baby and help alleviate some behavior problems.

Did you know that February is Dental Month?

• I recommend checking in with your veterinarian to see if your fur friend is in need of a professional dental cleaning. There is no time like now to get their dental health back in order. See below for more details. 

Picture from: http://binglevet.com/pet-care-celebrating-national-pet-dental-health-month/

IMPORTANT MONTHLY INFORMATION (RECALLS)

• JustFoodForDogs Dog Food for a Listeria outbreak. If your dog is eating this and is exhibiting any unusual signs, please let your veterinarian know. 

Picture from: http://company.justfoodfordogs.com/packaged-frozen/

BEHAVIOR: HOW CAN I GET MY PET USED TO NAIL TRIMS AT HOME?

Picture from: https://www.vetbabble.com/dogs/grooming-dogs/trimming-dogs-nails/

This can be tricky for a lot of pet parents and sometimes on some animals it is best to leave this to the professionals. However, there are some tricks at home that can help your pet get used to you giving them nail trims. My tips are below:

1. Remember Rome was not built in one day. It will take time to train your pet to tolerate a pedicure.
2. I recommend going to your veterinarian and requesting a nail trimming session. This way you can see them trim the nails and have a better understanding of how much to take at a time. Most clinics are happy to assist you.
3. Make sure to start off slow. I recommend first buying a nail trimmer like the one I pictured here as I find these the easiest. Take the nail trimmer out daily and give your pet a high reward treat – string cheese, turkey hot dog, peanut butter, salmon flakes, tuna, cream cheese, etc. every time you take it out. Do this for 2-3 weeks before trying to trim their nails with the trimmer.
4. Once step 3 is finished, it’s time to start trying to trim the nails back. I recommend doing 1 nail and giving your pet the high reward treat. If they are still tolerating this well, you can do the entire paw. I would stop there and give them the high reward treat. Do 1 nail/paw a day until they tolerate this well.
5. Start slowly increasing the amount you trim day by day until you can get all 4 paws done at a time. Always give a high reward treat after every paw.

A good video demonstrating how to trim your pet’s nails can be found at: https://www.petmd.com/dog/grooming/evr_dg_how_to_trim_a_dogs_toenails

QUESTION OF THE MONTH: How Often Should I Have My Dog’s/Cat’s Teeth Cleaned

This answer is different for every patient. I recommend getting a general scaling of your pet’s teeth when your veterinarian says he/she has Grade 1 out of 4 dental disease. I recommend this so that periodontal disease does not progress to a stage where there will be multiple extractions. This increases risk of organ damage with your pet and also will increase anesthesia time, which we like to avoid.

The time frame of this is different for every dog. There are certain breeds/dogs/cats (typically the smaller breeds or longer nosed breeds) that require yearly dental cleanings. There are other breeds/dogs/cats that go their whole life without needing a dental cleaning. I always recommend checking with your Veterinarian at your pet’s annual exam to see if they need a dental cleaning that year. 

PET(S) OF THE MONTH

There were no submissions for pet of the month for January. Please send us  a picture or two with a small description of why your pet is so special! We would love to show them off!

Please send us a picture and small paragraph about your pet to get them featured in out next newsletter. Send the information to drmarquart@brentwoodanimalhospital.com Attention PET OF THE MONTH.