Author Archives: hounslowvets

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Dog ear infections and causes

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Dog ear infections are commonly seen in many breeds but why is this ?

ear anatomy

Certain breeds such as those with long floppy ears may be more susceptible, but we do see ear infections in all breeds with all types of ears.

The main causes are

  • Bacterial or fungal infection– if the ear becomes full of wax, it blocks the air flow into the ear, and it becomes hot and sticky. The normal bacteria or fungi that live on all skin can then grow rapidly and cause an infection. This often causes the ear to give off a pungent smell.

Treatment involves a visit to your vet to confirm the infection and then usually a course of  antibiotic containing ear drops, possibly with an ear cleaner and  oral antibiotic tablets.

Prevention- keeping the ear free from a build up of wax is the most important way to prevent ear infections. You can use an ear cleaner which helps dissolve and move the wax out of the ear once or twice weekly.

ear cleaning solutions

  • Allergies–  unfortunately allergies are common in dogs to a variety of indoor and outdoor allergens. The commonest  allergen is the house dust mite,  however other allergens such as  pollens and grasses can occur.  Food allergies are rarer but do sometimes occur.  All of these allergens can cause inflammation and redness of the outer ear and ear canal lining. This causes increased secretion of wax and a secondary infection often follows.

Treatment involves investigation of underlying allergies with possibly exclusion diets, or blood tests. The allergy will need to be treated as well as the ear infection, to prevent recurrences of the ear infection.

  • Ear mites can be the cause of an infection, but as they are passed on by close contact between dogs such as grooming each other, they are much more common in young puppies. If your puppy has noticeably waxy ears you should ask your vet to check him for ear mites.

Treatment may involve ear drops for some weeks and a spot on treatment such as stronghold.

  • Grass seeds can lodge in the ear canal and cause acute onset head shaking as well as secondary ear infections. They are mainly a problem in the summer months.

Treatment usually requires either heavy sedation or anaesthetic to remove the grass seed as it often passes deep down to the level of the ear drum.

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Lifesaving surgery for Buster

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Buster a 9 month old Springer Spaniel was attacked by a Bull Mastiff whilst out for a walk on his lead with his owner. He was rushed to our Hounslow surgery, where he was given immediate treatment for shock, and placed on a fluid infusion pump.

Buster had severe bite wounds to his head and neck. Further investigations of his wounds  revealed that he had suffered a 90% laceration to his wind pipe (trachea). This was a life-threatening injury, so  Buster was anaesthetised and had an airway tube passed across the torn wind-pipe to administer oxygen and anaesthetic gas, before being rushed into the operating theatre, where his torn wind-pipe was repaired, together with other skin wounds.

Buster needed close anaesthetic monitoring for this delicate surgery and required a  continuous ecg (monitoring heart rate and rhythm) and blood pressure monitoring, throughout the procedure.

torn wind-pipe (with orange airway tube visible)

repairing wind-pipe

Buster’s breathing immediately improved, and he was kept in the hospital to monitor his recovery.

Buster recovering from surgery

Buster continued to recover well and here he is the day following surgery looking a little the worse for wear, but progressing encouragingly well. His appetite had returned which is always a good sign!

one day post surgery

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Kitten litter training

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Kitten litter training should  start as soon as you get them home, usually at 6-8 weeks old.

  • Place the litter tray away from the feeding area, in a quiet area, away from busy passageways.
  • Place the kitten on the litter tray immediately after each feed, and reward them with praise if they perform their toilet.
  • Clean the litter tray out daily (scooping out soiled areas and replacing with fresh litter), and completely wash the tray out once weekly.
  • Different types of litter are available,  but some cats may have a preference for a certain type.  I would suggest avoiding types with citrus fragrances. Clumping type sand like clay based litters are usually very well accepted.
  • Clean up any “accidents” with enzymatic washing powder and warm water. Do not use ammonia or hypochlorite containing bleach based disinfectants as they can smell to the kitten like another cats urine, and so encourage them to go toilet again in the same area.
  • You should have one litter tray per cat in the house plus one extra tray, in different locations.
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Puppy toilet training tips

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Puppy toilet training should begin as soon as you get them home.

Newspaper training

  • Place  newspaper on the kitchen floor, and after each meal pick him/her up and put them on the newspaper. If he urinates or defaecates on the paper reward him with attention such as “good boy!” and give him a little treat with one of his puppy biscuits.  Do this after each meal and he will soon learn that he is praised and receives a treat each time he does this.
  • If you come in and find that he hasn’t used the newspaper, do not tell him off, just ignore him for a few minutes. Being ignored is the best way of disciplining a puppy, as he really wants your attention.
  • Once he starts using the newspaper regularly, reduce the amount of paper put down and move it near to the back door.
  • When he is using this newspaper regularly, put some lightly soiled newspaper outside the back door and start placing him on this after each meal.
  • Once he has the hang of this remove the newspaper and start placing him further into the garden after each meal. It can help to put him on different surfaces so that he doesn’t develop a preference for doing it only on one surface. try concrete surfaces, grassed areas, areas with and without trees.
  • Finally you can start to vary the routines and vocal cues, so that he doesn’t become too habitual. This can help avoid problems in the future if his circumstances are changed, such as if an unfamiliar person is caring for them.

Crate training

Your puppy is introduced to a plastic crate or cage, by being fed in it, having toys thrown into it and eventually being closed in for short periods.

  • The crate should be large enough to turn around in, but should not be too large or your puppy may rest at one end and toilet in the other end.
  • After a few days you should be able to keep your puppy in the crate for a few hours.
  • You can work out the length of time between toileting for your puppy by using the number of months age, plus one if a small breed, or plus 2 if a large breed. Thus a 2 month old labrador can wait 4 hrs, but a 2 month old pekinese 3 hours.
  • The puppy should be taken outside to eliminate  and should be praised and then given a treat if it does so. It should also be taken outside after each play session and meal, but should be kept in the crate at all other times.

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Puppy and dog training tips

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Puppy training tips

 

Puppy and dog training is  essential for all, and time taken early on with the basics will go a long way to prevent behavioural problems developing later in adulthood.

 

 

  • Remember that there are only two basic training techniques-

 

 

  1. 1- reward  for good behaviour, and
  2. 2- being ignored if badly behaved.

 

 

  • Always reward your puppy/ dog with verbal praise FIRST and a small treat such as a dog biscuit SECOND, for any good behaviour. It is important that you consistently keep this order so that the dog can learn that verbal praise is likely to be immediately followed with a treat.  Treats should ONLY be given as rewards for good behaviour not just for being “cute and cuddly.”

 

 

  • Over time you should start rewarding good behaviour with praise only sometimes, and do not give a  treat every time, but this will only work if you have followed the guidance above regarding the order of rewards.

 

 

  • You should still follow praise with treats often enough to make the good behaviour for praise only, worthwhile to your dog. The combination of praise plus treat , and praise only, for good behaviour is more effective as a training method than giving a treat every time.

 

 

  • DO NOT shout or try to tell your dog off if badly behaved. They will think the attention they are getting is a reward, so your effort will be counter-productive.

 

 

  • If your puppy or dog is badly behaved, they should be ignored, and you may want to put them out of the room, or if using a crate you could put them in the crate.

 

 

  • Dogs behave like pack animals, and in any pack there will be a leader. The leader receives the most attention.

 

 

  • As your puppy grows into adulthood, sometimes they may try to become higher up your “family pack” and become dominant over one or more people in the house.

 

 

  • Male dogs can be prone to this type of behaviour. To prevent this happening it is important not to give immediate attention when they want it particularly when returning to the house or first thing in the morning.  I would suggest you make a drink and wait a few minutes for your dog to calm down and THEN turn around and greet the dog.

 

 

  • In this way attention is always given on your terms, and this reinforces the fact that your dog is the lowest member of your family pack. It is important that ALL family members follow this advice.

 

 

  • Finally puppy classes are excellent and important ways to socialise your puppy with other dogs and people and are best done at 10-16weeks of age.
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Choosing your puppy – top ten tips

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Choosing your puppy from a large litter of cute pups can be difficult-

miniature schnauzer puppies

My top ten tips are as follows

  1. Make sure that the puppy is lively and responds to your stimulation.
  2. The puppy should have clean bright eyes, clean nose and a clean coat, without excessive scabs or scaling. There may be occasional scabs around the head or neck which can be caused by rough play with littermates which is fine.
  3. The puppy should be eating solid foods well  and generally be more than 6 weeks old.
  4. Ask to see the mother and if possible the father of the pup. This will give you a good guide of the temperament of the parents which is likely to be passed to the pups. It will also give you a guide to the adult appearance and size of your puppy.
  5. If a pedigree puppy, ask if there are any screeening schemes that the parents have been through. These may include hip scoring for hip dysplasia (lower score is better, but there is an average score for each breed -generally less than 20), elbow scoring for elbow dysplasia (possible score is 0-3 where 0 is normal and 3 is severly affected), eye testing for genetic eye diseases (categorised as affected or unaffected) . If they have been screened ask to see a copy of the screening results. If you are unsure how to interpret these, make a note of them and speak to your local vet. Further information is available at http://www.bva.co.uk/canine_health_schemes/Canine_Health_Schemes.aspx
  6. Ask when the puppy was treated for worms. They should generally be treated from the weaning age at around 4 weeks of age, and then every 2 weeks. All pups will be born with some worms and so will require treatment, often with  a liquid wormer such as Panacur to start with . It is a good sign of a caring and responsible breeder if they have been regularly worming the pups.
  7. Try to see where the puppies and mother are actually kept. If they are kept in a dirty barn with many  other different breeds of puppies, there is an increased risk of transference of diseases between the pups. The commonly seen diseases include skin problems such as mange, gastrointestinal diseases such as parvovirus, and giardia, and respiratory diseases such as kennel cough. Look for excessive scratching of the puppy, diarrhoea, or coughing which can be a sign of disease.
  8. Look in the mouth to check the jaw is not overshot or undershot (ie that both upper and lower jaws are the same length and meet normally). This cannot be corrected surgically, but is usually only of cosmetic consequences.
  9. Feel the belly to check for sign of umbilical hernia , which is a soft fatty swelling under the skin in the middle of the belly, in  the region of the umbilical cord. This is caused if the  hole that the umbilical cord came through does not close completely after birth, leaving a small hole that fat from inside the belly can pass through. If present this may require surgical correction at a later stage.
  10. If the puppy is male you may want to check the scrotum for 2 testicles. The testicles normally descend shortly after birth, and are normally visible in the scrotal sac when a puppy is bought at 6-8 weeks of age. If there is only one testicle present, it is possible still that the other testicle will descend a little later, but not guaranteed. If the testicle(s) has not descended by 6 months of age, this is called cryptorchid and your vet will usually recommend that the dog is castrated, to reduce the chances of testicular cancer developing in later life.
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Choosing a healthy kitten – top ten tips

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Choosing your kitten can be difficult when presented with  multiple  cute little ones to pick from.  Below are my top ten tips:

 

 

 

1-Look for one with bright clean eyes, a clean nose and one that is lively. Runny eyes or frequent sneezing can be a sign of infection with cat flu viruses, which can be a persistent problem.

 

 

2-If colour is an issue remember that tortoiseshell coloured domestic short hairs (“moggies”) which are always female, can be very feisty in nature.

 

 

3-Sexing kittens can be tricky if you are not practiced at it. You may want to double check the sex yourself rather than just relying on the owner’s information, or have it checked by your local vet.  When looking under the tail, there is always a bigger gap between the anal ring and penis, than there is between the anal ring and the vulva. It can help to look at a few kittens hopefully of different sex to see the difference.

 

 

4-The kitten should be at least 6 weeks old and should be fully weaned and eating solid foods.
Feel the belly to check for an umbilical hernia. This is a soft fatty swelling under the skin in the middle of the belly and occurs when the hole that the umbilical cord passes through does not close fully at birth. This can allow a small amount of fat to pass through from the abdomen, and if present may need surgical correction at a later date.

 

 

5-Check the coat for fleas or flea droppings. Flea droppings may be easier to spot and look like specks of dirt in the coat,  which if put on damp white tissue paper leave a red stain as they contain traces of blood. Very young kittens heavily infested with fleas can become anaemic, although in most cases a few fleas can be easily treated with a spot on treatment from your local vet.

 

 

6-Check when the kitten was last wormed. Kittens should be wormed when weaned at about 4 weeks of age and then every 2 weeks until 10 weeks of age, often with a liquid wormer such as Panacur. All kittens will be born with some worms, and so will require treatment to eliminate them.

 

 

7-Pedigree kittens can be at higher risk of genetic diseases, although most are usually perfectly healthy.  Some cats may be screened before breeding, to reduce the risk of passing these diseases to the kittens.  Current screening schemes include heart disease (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is prevalent in maine coon and rag doll cats), or kidney disease (polycystic kidney disease is prevalent in persians and exotic shorthairs). Further information can be found here http://www.fabcats.org/breeders/registers.php

 

 

8-You may want to see the mum and if possible the dad to give you an idea of temperament and size when adult, although there can be a great deal of variation even within a litter, especially of domestic short hairs  (common “moggies”). This may be more useful with pedigree cats which have less variation.

 

 

9-Check the hair coat of the kitten.  Most cats are short haired, but some may be long haired (even in the same litter of “moggies”)  and they may need more grooming and be more prone to developing matted fur.

 

 

10- Be aware that bottle reared kittens who have lost their mums may be more aggressive than usual in play.

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Dog nail clipping

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Dog nail clipping is possible at home  but you need some knowledge of how to do it correctly.

  • What type of clippers should i use ?

dog nail clippers

These are the type that i use most commonly in practice, which have a scissor action. There are larger and smaller ones depending on the size of dog, generally use the small type if your dog is less than 10kg, and the large ones if they are more than 10kg.

I would not recommend the “guillotine” type of clippers as dogs seem to resent the crushing action that occurs with this type, and it is more difficult to see exactly what you are cutting.

  • How do i cut the nails?

There is a lot of variation in the pigmentation in dogs’ nails, from completely black nails, to the whiter type through which it is possible to see the pink colouration associated with the blood vessels and the quick. The quick is the sensitive part of the nail that contains the blood vessels and MUST be avoided.

dog nail

The dotted line shows the level to cut the nail approximately parallel with the bottom of the pad. If in doubt just cut the sharp tips off the ends of the nails to avoid the quick.

  • what if i cut the quick?

Dogs generally have a very good blood supply to the quick, and if cut can bleed profusely. I would suggest applying pressure to the cut surface of the nail with cotton wool or a pad of kitchen roll for 3-5 minutes. You can also use  silver nitrate or a styptic pen if available. You may have to use a light bandage to apply pressure on the cut end of the nail and bandage the whole foot, if it is still bleeding after applying pressure.  If the nail is  bleeding after 10 -15 minutes, you’ll need to call your vet.

  • How often should i cut my dog’s’ nails?

If your dog walks on concrete or other hard ground regularly, this should wear the nails down naturally, and they may never need clipping. Other dogs may need them cutting more frequently if walked only on soft ground, every few months.

  • Can i just clip my dogs dew claws?

Yes you can, as these may not wear down as quickly as the other claws, and may need trimming every 3 months.

  • Do the back paws need trimming as much as the front paws?

No, the nails on the back paws often wear down more than the nails on the front paws, and so usually don’t require as much to be clipped off.

Don’t forget clipping dog’s nails, can be tricky, so if in doubt then take your dog into your vet.

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Cat nail clipping

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Cat nail clipping is possible at home, as long as you have a little knowledge.

  • First of all what type of nail clippers should you use ?

nail clipper

These nail clippers are the type that i use most commonly in practice, but there are smaller variations on this design that also work well. The type of clippers that i would avoid are the “guillotine” type.

  • How do i clip the nails ?

This is ideally a two person task, and is easier performed on a table at about waist height.  While one person holds your cat still, you can the hold a paw and clip the tips of each nail.  If you look at the diagram below you will see an area of the claw marked with dotted lines called the ungual process. This is the sensitive part of the nail that contains sensory nerve endings and a blood supply (also called the quick), and should NOT be cut.

anatomy of cat claw

When you look at the claw from the side, often the tip of the nail is much finer, and it then thickens as you move towards the base. This thicker region contains the blood vessel and should be avoided.

So if you can see the fine tip of the nail this is the part to be clipped.

  • How often should i clip my cats nails?

If your cat goes outside,  or uses a scratching post you may never need to clip your cat’s nails. However the nails can  grow quickly just like our own nails , and so can be clipped whenever the sharp points have regrown.  If in doubt clipping every 3 months should be fine.

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Killer Snails and Slugs

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Dogs can pick up a dangerous disease from slugs and snails in your garden, called lungworm or angiostrongylus. It is being spread by foxes to the slugs or snails and if your dog eats a slug or snail, or even licks the slug trail it can pick up the disease, which can cause severe bleeding , and even death.

Vet Matthew Wilson comments ” We are seeing more cases of this dangerous disease each year in Hounslow,  as foxes are very common in our region.  Young dogs and certain breeds such as Staffordshire Bull Terriers are infected most commonly.”

You can protect your pet from this potentially deadly disease with a monthly spot on application of Advocate, which is a vial of liquid that is poured on the back of your dogs neck once a month. This is a prescription only medicine that can be purchased from your vet and is dispensed according to the weight of your dog.