Spring is finally here!

As the weather warms up, many people start thinking more about the creepy crawlies their pets can get. Things like fleas, ticks, and heartworms are at the top of a lot of peoples’ minds this time of year.

Here are some things to consider when looking for flea, tick, and heartworm prevention:

Safety and efficacy:

Most of the preventative medications on the market are both safe and effective… but not all. Some of the over the counter medications for fleas and ticks are not so safe. There are also some that just don’t do a whole lot of good and are a waste of money. It’s best to consult your vet on what products they recommend. In general, skip the sprays and “natural” products. They aren’t very effective and aren’t actually any safer than those products your vet recommends. Using ineffective products delays appropriate treatment and allows fleas and ticks to flourish which makes the situation worse.

Ease of administration: 

Another area for treatment failure is lack of compliance. This may be due to forgetting doses, not following through with vet recommendations, or maybe your pet refuses to take their preventative medication. There are so many options for the prevention of fleas, ticks, and heartworms which is great but can be overwhelming. There are chewables (monthly and tri-monthly), topicals, and injectable medications. Finding what works for you and your pet is one of the most important aspect to that preventative being successful. If you forget doses or your pet throws up a pill outside or they go swimming right after you apply a topical medication, those meds won’t work.

Be honest with your veterinarian about what challenges you’re facing. If Fluffy won’t take her pills or you know you’re apt to forget doses or you can’t afford the current prevention 12 months a year, tell your vet. We’re human and face a lot of those same problems with our own pets.

I’m busy and time gets away from me easily so monthly heartworm prevention doesn’t work for my lifestyle. I also have a dog who won’t take the dang pills no matter how tasty they’re supposed to be. I can’t break it into small enough pieces to put into a pill pocket without him being able to eat around it. So, for me, injectable heartworm prevention is necessary. But maybe for you, cost is a huge limiting factor so maybe we use a no-frills generic chewable preventative for your pets.

Again, we have options and while the number of options may seem overwhelming, if you discuss what your needs are with your vet, they can guide you to what is likely going to work best for you. And if it’s not working, let your vet know so you can pivot and pick something else.

Convenience:

Let’s be straight: if it’s not convenient, you won’t do it. Right? I’m the same way. If something is going to take me a bunch of extra steps, it will usually get pushed to the bottom of the to-do list which means it might not get done.

That’s why it’s important to factor in what will be convenient to do to keep your pet protected 12 months out of the year. Fleas are nasty. Ticks spread disease. And heartworms are deadly. Cases of heartworms are on the rise. We can’t just put off doing what’s right for our pets.

We’ve all heard over and over how important heartworm, flea, and tick preventative is to protect our pets. So why aren’t they all covered?

What would be most convenient for you? Is it convenient to stop into the vet hospital once a month to pick up doses? Not for most people. Is it convenient to purchase 6 or 12 months at a time? If you’re like me, it will go into a cabinet and quickly forgotten. Even with all of the reminders on my phone or calendar, it still doesn’t get done because my schedule is wacky and I don’t always get the reminders when I am able to give the medication.

That’s why we recommend ProHeart12 injections for many of our patients. It’s safe, easy, and your pet is protected for 12 months. For flea and tick prevention, we recommend utilizing our online pharmacy which will ship you a single dose to your home once a month. You get the dose in the mail, you give it. Done. Easy. If you prefer a chewable heartworm preventative, it can be set up the same way.

If you have questions about what preventatives are recommended for your pet or want to learn more about monthly shipments, let us know. We’re here to help keep your pet protected so they can live a long, healthy life.

Most people have been there. You either walk into another room and find a mess or you come home from work and find ripped open packages of something containing a toxin. When I was in vet school, I myself found an empty bag of chocolate chips that my Cocker Spaniel, Ducky (that’s him in the picture above), ate one night while I was sleeping.

What do you do? 

First, don’t panic! Pick up any packaging you can find and save it. The box or bag contains important information for you vet to know when advising you over the phone or treating in the clinic.

Call your vet clinic. If your regular vet is not open, call a local emergency hospital or the ASPCA Poison Control Hotline (888) 426-4435. Whether the substance will cause problems for your pet depends on a few things.

Here’s what your vet will ask:

1. What exactly did your pet eat? If you tell me chocolate, I’ll have follow up questions like white, milk, dark or baking chocolate because those have varying levels of toxic substances in them. White chocolate does not contain any toxins whereas baking chocolate in small amounts can be deadly. If it was a pesticide, insecticide, or other chemical, it will be faster for you to read off the active ingredient than for us to have to look it up.
2. How much did your pet eat? Was it a new bag of chocolate chips or had you used most of them and he found the leftovers? When you’re not sure, let your vet know that and tell them how much would have been in a new package so we can consider worst case scenario and go from there.
3. How big is your pet/what does your pet weigh? Do you have a teeny tiny Chihuahua or a giant Great Dane? Because the dose ingested compared to your pet’s body weight factors heavily on whether this is a life threatening emergency versus something you can safely monitor at home.
4. How long ago did your pet eat the substance? Sometimes you might not know. Ducky ate the chocolate chips some time between 10pm and 6am. Beyond that, I had no idea, but that information is also important to tell the vet. If you witness your pet eating something or know that it wasn’t more than a couple hours ago, your vet may have different advice about what to do.

Once your vet or the Poison Control Hotline advises you over the phone, they will likely either have you come in or attempt some things at home. If they have you come in, they will likely induce vomiting (depending on the toxin). There are some substances that will be dangerous for your pet to throw up which is why it’s important to seek advice first then act.

If your vet tells you to bring the pet in, do so immediately and let the vet know about how long it will be before you get to the clinic. Delays make the treatment less successful and if you’re further away from the clinic than expected, your vet may ask you to do something at home first. Always follow the vet’s advice on the next steps you should take.

When you get to the hospital, check in and the staff may take your pet to the treatment area right away to induce vomiting. The medications that vets have available to stimulate vomiting are safer than what you can do at home and work quickly. At Premier Pet Care, once your pet is done throwing up, we’ll give them another medication to stop the nausea before you go home.

Assuming your pet vomits up most or all of the toxin, there may or may not be follow up treatment. We’ll generally give a medication call activated charcoal to pets who eat chocolate. Animals who ate rat or mouse poison might need Vitamin K. Sometimes 24-48 hours of IV fluids is recommended in cases of ibuprofen or grape toxicity. What ancillary treatment or testing is required is based on what your pet ate.

Once your pet is out of danger and gets to go home, it’s important that you take precautions in the future to avoid another accident. Pets who eat a toxin once may be prone to trying other things. Keep your pet out of trouble by keeping them confined to a bedroom or kennel when you’re not home. Alternatively, keep dangerous substances behind closed doors or on high shelves and in cabinets.

Ducky was fine. I took him to school and had one of the interns examine him. He showed no signs of negative effects from the chocolate chips and went on to live to the ripe old age of 15. That dog had a stomach of steel.

If you have any questions about what household products are toxic to your pet, give us a call or send us a message on Facebook.

If your pet has eaten anything toxic and you live in St. Charles County, Missouri, contact us immediately at 636-322-4052.

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