NEWSFEED

With LOVE in the air this month we thought we would offer all of our loyal clients a whopping 20% discount off our whole range of EzyDog accessories. Get your loved pooch the gift they won't be expecting! ... and remember... love your pet as well as your lover this month!

February herlads the beginning of arthroscopy at Benalla Vet Clinic! Dr Steph will be offering minimally invasive joint surgery for dogs on their elbows, shoulders and knees initially. This is a very exciting development for our patients who will benefit from this more advanced method of joint problem diagnosis and corrective surgery. 

In this edition we discuss the benefits of minimally invasive laproscopic surgery in a dog who had liver and pancreatic disease. 

The annual ACT TO D-FEET MND (Motor Neuron Disease) is on again Sunday 26th February 2017 at the Benalla Lake Foreshore. This fabulous fundraiser has now been running for 10 years, so dust off your joggers and get out there and raise some money for a great cause! You can download your registration form here. 

Our fabulous EzyDog range.

Oscar - Looking very handsome sporting his new Ezydog harness

As you know Benalla Vet Clinic regularly performs advanced small animal surgeries including ‘keyhole’ abdominal surgery (laparoscopy). The following story is an example of how helpful laparoscopy can be to enable an accurate diagnosis safely and quickly.

Sunny is a gentle 13 year old Dachshund who presented with pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) and also hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) as diagnosed using our in house blood analysis lab. Although hospitalised and receiving treatment, he was not improving in the time that we would normally have expected. There was concern that the illness may not have been a straight forward organ infection.  It was proposed that laparoscopy, being a minimally invasive technique, could be performed so that Dr Steph Miechel could not only view the liver and pancreas, but also obtain biopsy samples safely and accurately. 

This procedure was performed (click for a short 1 min video) and Sunny recovered very quickly from the surgery. Luckily for him the pathology report revealed a nasty infection in both liver and pancreas rather than more sinister problems that unfortunately occur frequently in older animals, such as cancer.

In the past an ‘open’ exploratory surgery would have been required to obtain the same diagnosis and samples, but the large wound created (from chest to pelvis) in order to allow the veterinary surgeon to get access into a dogs abdomen results in a slower recovery because of a much larger and more painful wound. In contrast ‘keyhole’ abdominal surgery requires two or three tiny 1cm incisions.

Sunny has made a complete recovery and illustrates how we can effectively use minimally invasive ‘keyhole’ surgery in dogs and cats to great effect with minimal trauma and much faster healing, which is great news for our pets!

This is the lovely, gentle Sunny after his surgery

Normally an energetic Jack Russell, 6 year old Woody suddenly became dull & lethargic and began vomiting. On examination Woody was extremely painful in his abdomen and was nauseous and very dehydrated.

A blood sample was taken and revealed severe pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) and acute kidney failure due to the dehydration. Woody was immediately placed on intravenous fluids to rehydrate him and support his poor little kidneys.

Woody was not producing much urine and what little was coming out was a deep port wine colour because of blood loss from his damaged kidneys. He was in a very serious and life threatening condition and remained in hospital receiving pain medication and antibiotics for nine long days. Improvement was very slow initially, however, when Woody’s owner’s told us that he loved to follow the sun when in the garden we moved a cage outside and he brightened up almost immediately!

Woody has bounced back remarkably well and his owners report he is back to his old self.

Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas, an organ that sits close to the stomach and liver. The pancreas has several important jobs one of which is to produce digestive enzymes that help break down food; however during pancreatitis these enzymes are activated too early and start digesting the pancreas itself causing significant pain as well as potentially damaging organs around it –such as the liver.

Pancreatitis can come on suddenly but can also ‘smoulder’ in the background causing low grade pain. Cases can vary from mild pain to severe life threatening disease and often starts after the pet eats a fatty meal. The usual signs owners notice include loss of appetite, vomiting, abdominal pain and weakness. If your pet shows any of these signs it is important to seek veterinary help as soon as possible.

With Valentine's Day in February, there's never a better time to talk about your pet's heart health.

Knowing the early signs of heart disease can really make a difference to your pet’s life. It means you can seek medical help from us, we can start treatment early, your pet will feel better and in most cases live a longer life. 

As a general rule, heart failure affects the pumping mechanism of the heart and oxygenated blood does not travel around your pet's body effectively. This can have an impact on your pet's overall health as blood ends up pooling in their lungs and/or abdomen leading to detrimental changes in other organs. 

Note that our feline friends seem to be very good at hiding signs of heart disease (and it's often harder to pick up these changes at home as we don't tend to take our cats for a walk around the block!).

The signs to look out for in both dogs and cats:

• Laboured or fast breathing - the most common sign in cats 
• An enlarged abdomen
• Weight loss or poor appetite

Signs to look out for in dogs only:

• Coughing, especially at night
• A reluctance to exercise and tiring more easily on walks
• Weakness or fainting associated with exercise

If we are concerned about your pet's heart we will initially recommend X-rays and an ultrasound of the heart. An ECG or further examination with a heart specialist may also be required.

Thankfully we have a number of medications available to help improve your pet's heart function and management of heart disease is advancing quickly. 

If you think your pet is showing one or more of the above signs, it is important that we see them for an examination, as early treatment can help your pet lead a longer and happier life.

Heartworm is spread by mosquitoes and it is the most dangerous of all the worms for our pets.

Think about this: wherever there are mosquitoes, there is the risk of heartworm.

When an infected mosquito feeds on your pet's blood, the heartworm larvae enter the blood stream. These larvae mature into worms that can reach up to a scary 30 cm in length!

The worms can eventually become lodged in your pet's heart leading to heart failure. It is at this point that the disease can be fatal. Dogs are more commonly affected by heartworm disease but cats may also be at risk.

Prevention of heartworm is far better than an attempt at a cure but choosing the right heartworm medication can be confusing, especially with so many options on the market.

You need to be aware that many of the intestinal 'all wormer' tablets do not prevent against heartworm infection.

There are topical treatments, oral treatments and a yearly injection for dogs. Ask us for the most suitable prevention for your pet - we will make sure your pet is protected.

Flies are back in force this summer and they can be a real nuisance for your pet. 

Did you know that some fly species will actually bite around your pet’s ears and nose causing painful and infected sores?

Look out for dried, bloody scabs at the edges of your pet's ears and around the nose.

The best thing you can do is ask us about the very effective topical treatments we have available to help repel these annoying insects and follow these tips to help your pet out at home:

 •  Remove any dried blood from fly bites ASAP as the blood will attract more flies
 •  Don’t leave pet food in bowls to spoil outside - flies love this!
 •  Clean up your backyard (dog faeces, rubbish) to reduce smells that may be attractive to flies
 •  Try and give your pet a place to escape from the flies such as a kennel or a cool room

Ask us for more information on protecting your pet from pesky pests this summer.

And don't forget, we are the best people to give you advice on the best parasite prevention products for your pet.

This perspective highlights a few important things we must all remember when mustering cattle.

•  The pace setters are at the front. This group of cows will resist any other cows coming past them. Therefore, they determine how fast the rest of the cows will walk.

•  The cows’ pecking order is different for eating, walking and milking. Give cows space to reorder in the milking yard before closing the gate.

•  Cows avoid side to side bumping. If there is too much pressure and they are tightly bunched, the less dominant cows will begin to reverse out.

•  Cows walk with their heads down to see any rocks or obstacles on the road

If you think your pet has smelly, dirty or red ears it is time for a check up with us. Ear infections are very common at this time of the year and it's important that we visualise the canal and make sure your pet is not in any pain.

The ear contains its own 'mini environment' and this can be easily disrupted by heat, moisture and self trauma (for example from itching due to allergies). Bacteria and yeast love the change in environment and begin to increase in numbers, resulting in a very unhappy ear canal and an uncomfortable pet.

Watch out for:

• Shaking of the head
• Rubbing ears along the floor or furniture
• Itching behind ears with paws
• A head tilt
• Flicking of the ears (especially cats)
• Discharge - may be smelly and can be black, white or yellow
• Hot and red ears

We will use an otoscope (a fancy tool with a light) to examine your pet's ears and make sure there is not a foreign body such as a grass seed contributing to the problem.

A sample must be taken and stained with special chemicals to identify the type of bacteria or yeast under a microscope. This enables us to prescribe the correct medication for your pet and gives the ear the opportunity to heal as quickly as possible.

The good news is, we have lots of very effective medications available as well as some treatments that can help prevent recurrent ear infections - just ask us for more information.

If you think your pet might have itchy or smelly ears arrange a check up with us ASAP. The longer you leave an ear infection, the more painful the ear becomes and the harder (and more expensive) it becomes to treat. 

Remember, it may be detrimental to your pets health to put any substance in a pet's ear without veterinary advice.