Monthly Archives: February 2014

Horses

Colic in horses

The Pet Professionals - Colic in horses
 Colic is still one of the most common causes of death in horses despite all advances in Veterinary Medicine. The term colic is not referred to a specific disease, it is used to describe a very generic symptom: abdominal pain (pain in the belly).

There are many different types of intestinal problems that can cause abdominal pain: overload of internal parasites; abnormal spasms of the intestinal wall that cause discomfort; impactions, when the intestine is blocked by a firm mass of food; bowl displacements, when a section of the bowel moves to an abnormal location within the abdomen; bowl strangulations, when a portion of the intestine becomes entrapped somewhere in the abdomen; torsions, when the bowl twists on itself and even when the gut wall is stretched by gas or feed material. Sometimes it is not possible to determine what is causing the symptom.

Clinical signs of colic can vary from mild to severe. In mild cases signs include: restlessness, pawing the ground repeatedly with a front foot, turning the head towards the flank, arching of the neck and curling the upper lip.

In moderate and severe cases horses will typically display kicking or biting at the abdomen, loss of appetite, depression, decreased bowel movements, lying down more than usual, getting up and lying down repeatedly, stretching out as if to urinate, straining to defecate, sitting down like a dog, sweating and rolling from side to side.

Intestinal problems can range from mild to life-threatening or fatal. For this reason it is very important to take these symptoms seriously and seek veterinary assistance. Early diagnose and early treatment is essential for a positive outcome. If you think your horse is showing signs of colic please contact your veterinary surgeon.

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Dogs

Benefits of microchipping your pet

The Pet Professionals - Benefits of microchipping your pet
The microchip is considered the best permanent method of pet identification by vets, animal organisations and general authorities. A pet should be identified with a microchip as well as with a collar and an identification tag but the microchip is a much more effective system since collars and tags can easily be removed and/or replaced.

A microchip is a tiny capsule (slightly bigger than a grain of rice) that is implanted behind your pet’s shoulder blades. This small capsule will hold a unique identification number that can be read by a scanner. After your pet is microchipped you must register your contact details with the microchip company and these will be associated with your pet’s unique microchip number.

This method of identification has many advantages. It greatly increases the chances of being reunited with your pet if he or she ever gets lost. Hundreds of pets are lost and stolen every year and sadly many of them never go back to their owners and to their families due to lack of identification. Whoever finds them has absolutely no idea where they come from or how to contact their owners.

Nowadays not only vets but also animal rescue organisations, dog wardens and even local authorities have microchip scanners. If a dog is microchipped and gets lost, once it has been found and scanned, your name and contact details will quickly be provided and your pet can promptly be returned to you. This is why it is so important to keep your details up to date on the microchip company database. Please remember to keep this information updated if you move home or change phone numbers.

Microchipping also promotes responsible pet ownership since it is an effective way to identify owners that allow their pets to roam free and cause trouble,  it allows to trace puppies back to their breeder and therefore deal with possible puppy mill situations, it allows to identify owners in suspected cases of animal cruelty and it would also improve canine health in a long term, since it would be easier to register hereditary health problems and gradually reduce its incidence through responsible breeding.
Recently the government has announced that microchipping will soon be compulsory for all dogs in England from April 2016 onwards. Hopefully this decision will help reunite more owners with their lost pets and relieve some of the burden on animal charities and local authorities.

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Horses

Laminitis – The most common cause of lameness in the UK

 

Laminitis - The most common cause of lameness in the UK

Laminitis is an inflammation of the laminae (the inner layer of the hoof wall) and it is one the most common causes of lameness in horses in the UK. Horses of any size, age and breed can suffer from this painful condition, although people usually associate it with overweight ponies.

There are several factors that contribute to this debilitating disease. Heavy breeds and obese horses tend to be more susceptible as well as horses that are fed diets containing high carbohydrate content (like grain). Since obesity is a growing problem, laminitis is becoming more and more common.

Laminitis can also occur following sudden changes in their diet like consuming excessive amounts of fresh grass (pasture induced laminitis), intense exercise on hard surfaces or following other diseases like metritis, colic, Cushing’s disease, Equine Metabolic Syndrome and severe infections. Horses that are supporting most of their weight on one leg due to injury to the other leg may develop this condition as well.

There are two forms of laminitis: acute laminitis and chronic laminitis. In the acute form of laminitis the animal is uncomfortable and shows the firsts signs of this disease. In the chronic form of laminitis (founder) there are already structural changes in the internal anatomy of the hoof: the pedal bone sinks and rotates.

Clinical signs include lameness, warm hoof walls, increased digital pulse, pain in their feet, abnormal gait (heel before toe), an altered stance (with their weight shifted to the hind limbs with the forelimbs stretched out in front (to ease the weight off their feet), reluctance to move and in severe cases, panting, sweating and trying to lie down (which can be confused with colic).

If you notice any of these signs please call your vet as soon as possible. Early treatment is critical to reduce the chances of chronic laminitis (founder) and it is very important to treat any other underlying disease that may contributing to the onset of this condition!

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Dogs

Unbelievable sniffers!

The Pet Professionals - Unbelievable sniffers
Dogs are known for their incredible sense of smell but most people are not fully aware of how powerful those noses really are. A dog’s sense of smell is somewhere between 1,000 to 10,000,000 times more sensitive than a human’s, depending on the breed.

Our canine friends can smell tiny scent particles and in an environment filled with many different odours they can distinguish those particles with amazing precision! A dog’s nose can detect things that are up to 40 feet underground and scents that can be several days old.

This ability allows them to know a lot about another dog or even a human. When a dog smells you he knows what you have touched, what you ate and because they can also smell pheromones they will know if you are male or female, if you have recently given birth, what mood are you in and even if you are sick!

For many years this incredible sense of smell has been used to our advantage and nowadays dogs are trained to detect several specific odours. Our canine friends are used to look for missing explosives, narcotics, contraband and missing people!

Recent studies have shown that dogs are capable of detecting different types of cancer with an accuracy that is just as good or even better than modern advanced scanning techniques. The latest item in the long record of canine sniffing achievements comes from diabetes alert dogs. These dogs are trained to warn diabetes patients whenever their blood sugar levels are below or above the normal range, making a great difference in these patients’ level of independence.

Dogs are definitely our best friends!

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