So, what is distemper? Almost everyone has heard of distemper, but most don’t know what it is or what it does. Well, distemper is a nasty virus that will attack the respiratory system, the intestinal system, and sometimes the nervous system of puppies and dogs. It most commonly affects puppies under 16 weeks of age that have not been fully vaccinated but it can also affect unvaccinated or improperly vaccinated adult dogs. It can also infect foxes, wolves, coyotes, raccoons, skunks, and ferrets and often this is how it gets back into the pet population. It is most commonly spread through respiratory secretions of infected dogs but can also be spread through other secretions. Unfortunately, anything or anyone that comes in contact with these secretions can potentially spread the virus to other dogs. The one good thing is that the virus doesn’t survive for much longer than a few hours at room temperature and is pretty easily killed in the environment by bleach or quaternary ammonium disinfectants.

What are the symptoms of canine distemper? The first symptoms that we may see are a greenish or yellowish eye and nose discharge. It can be watery to very thick and mucusy. This can progress to a cough and in some cases into pneumonia. These dogs can be lethargic, may have a fever, and may lose their appetite. Vomiting and diarrhea may also develop. You may also see thickening of the nose and foot pads. The first signs of distemper can develop about 1-2 weeks after exposure to the virus but in some cases can take as long as 4-5 weeks. Often dogs with distemper may appear to recover from all of these symptoms, only to have the virus spread to their nervous system. About 1-3 weeks later they may develop neurological symptoms such as seizures, tremors or twitching, imbalance, or muscle weakness. These symptoms may progress to death, or can cause permanent damage to the pet. Some can recover from this is their immune system is strong enough.

Diagnosis and treatment of distemper are challenging. There are several ways to test for distemper. The problem is that recent vaccination may interfere with some tests giving a “false positive” result. “False negative” results are also possible with testing as the virus can be hard to find in some pets. For this reason, clinical symptoms combined with testing are used to try and diagnose distemper. The other challenge with diagnosis is that distemper can look like other diseases such as Kennel Cough or other respiratory infections, Parvo, or Epilepsy. As for treatment, we don’t have anything that will cure distemper. Treatment is aimed at helping the dog with the symptoms they have. Preventing secondary infections with antibiotics, helping with dehydration from vomiting or diarrhea with IV fluids, and treatment for seizures are some examples of helping dogs with the symptoms of distemper.

The good news in all of this is that distemper is a preventable disease. The vaccine for distemper is highly effective in preventing the disease. Puppies begin the vaccine at their veterinarian at 6 weeks of age and then receive boosters every 3-4 weeks until 16 weeks of age, then they receive annual vaccination. We strongly discourage owners from doing their own vaccinations as we often see these vaccinations fail due to improper storage, improper handling, given in an improper series, or are just poor quality vaccination. In addition, when your dog completes it’s distemper vaccinations at our hospital, that distemper vaccine is guaranteed by the manufacturer. Don’t let your dog become a victim to distemper this summer. Call to get your dog vaccinated today!

Your pet needs dental care – regular, professional care from your veterinarian, as well as care at home from you. The American Veterinary Dental Society recommends that pet owners follow three basic steps:

STEP 1: Take your pet to the veterinarian for a dental exam. Don’t wait for his annual checkup if you suspect a problem.

STEP 2: Begin a dental care regimen at home. Your veterinarian can suggest steps that may include brushing your pet’s teeth. One of the most convenient and effective ways to combat oral disease is feeding specially formulated foods proven effective in combating plaque and tartar buildup. The Seal of Acceptance from the Veterinary Oral Health Council, an organization initiated by the American Veterinary Dental Society to guide consumers, appears on products that meet defined standards for plaque and tartar control in dogs and cats. For further information on the VOHC or their product standards, visit www.vohc.org.

STEP 3: Schedule regular veterinary checkups. These are essential in helping your veterinarian monitor the progress of your pet’s dental health routine. Your veterinary health care team can help you schedule the appropriate visits.

Please visit petdental.com for this article and for more  information on caring for your pet’s teeth!

If you are like me, my dog Chubbs IS my kid.  I love her and want her to live the longest life she can.  I also like getting kisses from her, I like her breath smelling good and I like her feeling her best and being pain free.  I know that keeping her teeth healthy will have a great impact on all of these things.  Chubbs’ teeth are no different from mine.  The same problems that can affect my teeth can affect hers.  The same things that can cause dental decay, tooth loss, pain, and infections in my mouth can affect hers.  Just as dental disease can lead to heart, liver, and kidney disease for me, it can do the same for her.  So what do I do to prevent these problems?  I brush her teeth daily, just like I do.  It makes her breath smell better so she can give me more kisses.  It removes plaque from her teeth, just like it does for me.  Plaque is that film of bacteria on your teeth when you wake up in the morning.  It will eventually become hard and turn into tartar.  Brushing her teeth removes this bacteria and slows the tartar buildup.  It also prevents it from getting under her gums and causing gingivitis.

Chubbs also benefits from the use of t/d, a tartar control food from Science Diet.  It is clinically proven to reduce plaque and tartar build up.  T/d works like an edible tooth brush- it is very hard and when she bites down into it, her teeth sink into the piece of food, which scrapes plaque off her teeth, much like a tooth brush would.  So each time she eats t/d, it’s like brushing her teeth.

A new thing I’ve started doing for Chubbs is when I start to see little bits of tartar (that yellow stuff that is hard and collects on your pet’s teeth along the gum line), I will have our technicians do a hand scaling for her.  They will use hand instruments and scrape the outside surface of her teeth to remove the small amounts of tartar that have built up.  This will help remove bacteria from her mouth that can damage her gums, teeth, and her overall health.  It will also help increase the times between her full dental cleanings.  I have this done about every 2-3 months.

The last thing that I do to keep Chubbs’ teeth healthy is anesthetize her as needed to have a full dental cleaning done.  We use an ultrasonic cleaner to chip away all the tartar that has collected on her teeth.  This allows us to reach all surfaces of all the teeth and to remove the tartar that we can see as well as the tartar we can’t.  This is so important because if that tartar was allowed to remain on her teeth, the bacteria that makes up the tartar would ease its way under her gums, up to the roots of her teeth.  This will damage the roots, leading to tooth decay, tooth loss, tooth abscesses, and pain.  This bacteria would eventually get into her blood stream and cause infections in her heart, liver and kidneys, leading to major medical problems and shortening her life.

I want Chubbs to live as long as she possibly can so I make her dental care a number one priority in my life.  I’ve seen too many a pet with dental disease so severe that we have to pull most if not all of their teeth.  These pets are in a lot of pain but owners are often unaware because pets are great at hiding illness.  But after these rotting teeth are removed, the owners can’t believe how much better their pet feels and wish they had known sooner.  I never want to Chubbs to have to experience that pain.  So I show her how much I love her by taking care of her teeth.  Show your pet how much you love them and make their dental care a number one priority in your life!  We offer free dental exams to evaluate your pet’s teeth and are offering 10% off dental cleanings under anesthesia for your pet during the month of February.  Call 757-7979 to make an appointment today.