What to do if your pet eats chocolate

Dogs are known for eating things they are not suppose to. They have an excellent sense of smell and can  find our Easter eggs quite easily if given the slightest opportunity. 

This Easter, remember that chocolate is a killer! Ensure that all Easter eggs are kept out of reach of your dogs and cats.

If you find your pet has managed to eat some chocolate, there are a few steps you will need to take:

1. Act quickly! Remove any more chocolate from your pets' reach immediately.

2. Call your local or 24 hour emergency veterinarian. They will want to know the weight of your pet and approximately how much and what type of chocolate your pet has eaten.

3. Transport your pet to the vet immediately for examination. The vet will then advise you of what treatment is required for your individual pet.

Make your home a flea-free zone!

  

As the cooler weather sets in, it may be tempting to think that the need for flea control diminishes. Indeed, cooler outside temperatures may reduce (but not eliminate) flea re-infestation from outdoor environments. However, warm winter homes remain a perfect environment for on-going flea development and infestation of pets.

During winter, flea pupae that developed from flea eggs laid up to 6 months earlier, could be present waiting to emerge as new fleas to infest you pet. Once on your pet, fleas will feed, mate and lay eggs. An adult flea can lay up to 50 eggs per day, which falls off your pet's coat resulting in long term flea contamination of your home. Therefore, winter is also a key time to protect our furry friends and home from flea infestation.

Remember, the adult fleas on your pet only represent 5% of the problem. The other 95% is made up of eggs, larvae and pupae that are hidden in and around your home. For every flea that you see, there could be hundreds lurking in your carpets, between floor boards, on your furniture and even on your bed.

Thankfully, FRONTLINE PLUS has 2 active ingredients to protect your pet against all stages of the flea life-cycle. Using Frontline Plus all year round will control any existing flea problems, as well as prevent new infestations from occurring, even during winter. 

  

Bonnie Doon's Story

Bonnie Doon is a 9 year-old Jack Russell Terrier who is always a very cheerful and lively dog, bouncing in the air with a happy face every moment of her life. She loves greeting people, loves her food and even loves coming to the vet hospital. It seems that everything around her just makes her happy. Just by looking at such a happy dog, no one would have guessed that she has been through so much in the past 12 months. Bonnie Doon has been such a brave warrior and she has never shown us a sad face even while she was sick. In February 2012, she had a fitting episode at home and she was then diagnosed with stage 1 insulinoma. Insulinoma is a highly malignant tumour in the pancreas, which causes Bonnie to have low blood glucose at all times due to an excessive secretion of insulin from the tumour cells. Soon after diagnosis, she had a massive surgery done at a specialist hospital in which half of her pancreas and some of the lymph nodes were removed. Tests revealed that the tumour might have already spread to her lymphatic system at the time of surgery. Despite having the massive surgery, Bonnie Doon was doing very well after that and went into clinical remission. Unfortunately in August 2012, the nightmare came back. On a routine health check, she was found to have low blood glucose again and an ultrasonography exam revealed that her nasty tumour has come back. This time Bonnie's insulinoma came back even stronger and not only the pancreas, her liver, guts and bladder were also invaded with tumour masses. This time with a stage 3 insulinoma, her oncologists expected that she would only live for 2 months. Even with the poor prognosis, no one has ever thought of giving up on her as she was just such a happy dog!  We started Bonnie on chemotherapy since September 2012 and she did so well on the chemo surprisingly! We have never encountered any side effect from her chemo, and she is still as energetic and happy as she used to be. Today is almost 6 months since Bonnie was diagnosed with stage 3 insulinoma, and Bonnie Doon is still the same Bonnie Doon, who runs and jumps at us happily every time she comes to the hospital. Last year, we did not expect her to survive through Christmas. But look at Bonnie now, she even gained almost 2kg since the start of the chemo, sometimes we would be thinking, maybe she is going to live for many months or even years? Maybe staying happy does play a role in stopping the tumour from spreading? If one day she is not bouncy anymore, everyone will certainly be really upset. Bonnie Doon is just a miraculous dog. We all love her so much. Let's all hope that she will stay healthy and happy.

Heat Stroke

  

Dogs do not sweat like humans do. They rely upon panting to exchange warm air with cooler air. However, if the weather is hot and humid, this process would be much less effective. Heatstroke can be a life threatening condition, and does require emergency treatment.  A dog's normal body temperature is 37.8-39.2°C, if the body temperature is higher than 40.5°C, it can be very dangerous. 

Heatstroke commonly occurs in hot summer weather when dogs are left in hot vehicles without adequate ventilation. However, heatstroke may also occur when an animal is left outdoors or is exercised in hot/humid conditions without adequate shade and water. Heatstroke is also more common in long haired or brachycephalic (short-nosed) dogs. Other predisposing factors may be obesity and diseases affecting a pet's airway. 

Initially the pet appears distressed, pants excessively and becomes restless. Then, he/she may drool large amounts of saliva from the nose and/or mouth and may become unsteady on feet.  You may notice the gums starting to turn blue or bright red in colour due to poor oxygenation.

What to Do

• Move your pet to a shaded, well ventilated and cool environment. 
• If possible, determine rectal temperature and record it.
• Begin to cool the body by placing cool, wet towels over the back of the neck, in the armpits, and in the groin region.  You may also wet the ear flaps and paws with cool water.  Directing a fan on these wetted areas will help to speed evaporative cooling.  Transport to a veterinary hospital immediately.

What NOT to Do

• Do not use cold water or ice for cooling. 
• Do not overcool the pet.
• Do not attempt to force water into your pet's mouth, but you may have fresh cool water ready to offer should your pet be alert and show an interest in drinking.

It is very important to take your dog to a veterinarian as soon as possible following an episode of heatstroke. Heatstroke can lead to laryngeal oedema which can worsen breathing problems. Other possible consequences of heatstroke include kidney failure, spontaneous bleeding, irregular heartbeat and seizures. These complications can occur within hours or days later.