Preventative health and vaccine recommendations

Preventative health procedures in veterinary medicine are consistently cost
effective. A good preventative health protocol involves nutrition,
exercise, behavior training, parasite control, neutering and annual
vaccination-health check ups. This combination of good preventative health
protocol can help maximize the potential life span and quality of your pets
life. The benefits become even more pronounced as your pet ages and enters
the senior years of life.

Nutrition is a difficult subject. Criteria used to measure values in
different chows are not always uniform for comparison. Recommendations
based protein and fiber content can be misleading when trying to compare
alternatives. It is important to remember to pick the right chow for the
right age. Puppies should be fed puppy formulas because of their need for
extra protein and calories. Additionally, large breed dogs should not be
allowed to gain weight on an accelerated schedule. New data suggests rapid
weight gain in some breeds may increase the incidence of hip dysplasia in
those individuals with the inherited trait.  After the age of one year dogs
should be eating adult maintenance formula. These formulas decrease the
overall calories to prevent excess weight gain. Protein is also decreased.
There is overwhelming agreement that too much protein in the adult dog diet
is unhealthy for the kidneys. Aggressive working dogs (sled dog, racing
dogs) will probably require special formulas that your veterinarian can
suggest. Supplements to diet in puppies and adults are probably not
important in dogs consuming quality chows. The addition of a daily
multivitamin is recommended but not essential. Seniors dogs entering the
last one third of their lifespan should receive senior diets that decrease
calories, protein, fat, sodium and increase fiber. Well known brand name
chows reliably provide the appropriate needs for different ages. In
general, dry abrasive chows promote better dental hygiene. T/d is a chow
developed by Hill's that is specifically designed to inhibit tartar
formation. Tartar and gum disease play a major role in long term health.
Unhealthy inflamed gums cause early tooth loss and more important, increase
the incidence of kidney disease, upper respiratory infection, reoccuring
fevers, and other bacterial related infections that are seeded into the
blood through bleeding inflamed gums. Diet is just one step in dental
hygiene that includes brushing and periodic dental prophy from the
veterinarian.

Behavior training and exercise are vital to the overall health of your dog.
The number one cause of death in dogs is euthanasia. A good training
program begins when the puppy is 8- 12 weeks old and continues into senior
years. No dog is too old to start a training program. Training will
increase and cement the bond of friendship between owner and dog. Obedience
trained dogs tend to stay in the household for the duration of their life.
Disobedient dogs that are allowed to become a nuisance all too often
become euthanasia candidates.  Training should involve teaching the command
"down" in order to help establish and maintain your dominant position
within your dogs pack.

Exercise should start early and be a routine habit for your dog. It is an
excellent idea to accustom your dog to a daily regime of exercise and play.
Regular moderate exercise over a lifespan is best. Episodic bursts of
energy in unconditioned dogs frequently will result in musculoskeletal
strains or worse. Routine exercise also is an excellent way to control
weight. Obedience classes teach the owner how to teach the dog and
discipline every one to an important routine.

Your dog's first visit to the veterinarian often occurs at eight weeks of
age. This is when maternal antibody protection passed by the bitch to the
puppy is beginning to decrease below a protective level. The first visit
usually includes a physical examination, parasite control and the initial
vaccinations against the important infectious diseases. This is also the
best opportunity to get many important questions answered by your
veterinary care providers. Vaccines to consider are:
	1. Distemper; causes a fatal disease that starts with respiratory 	signs
		and ultimately causes seizures and death. This disease may be making a
		come back. ESSENTIAL
	2. Kennel cough viruses; these virus are highly infectious and cause
		disease in the major bronchi and trachea resulting in a loud, dry,
		nonproductive cough. Although, this is a very annoying disease and
		should be treated it rarely is fatal. ESSENTIAL
	3. Leptospirosis; causes serious disease in the kidneys and liver of
		dogs. The disease is uncommon in dogs and is primarily a large animal
		disease. Combination vaccines frequently include these infectious agents.
	4. Parvo virus; causes serious dehydration from profuse vomiting and
		bloody diarrhea often resulting in death even with intravenous
 		support. Severe destruction of white blood cells severely compromises the dogs
		immune system. Some breeds are more sensitive to the disease (Doberman
		and rottweiler). The mortality 	can be as high as 25% in puppies and older
		dogs. ESSENTIAL
	5. Lymes disease; causes short term serious arthritis and lethargy.
		Occasionally a relapse will occur several months after the initial
		infection (see update on Lymes disease). The disease is never fatal,
		responds well to antibiotics and long term problems are extremely rare.
	6. Corona virus; causes minor diarrhea in puppies that can add to the
		severity of a concurrent infection with parvo virus. The virus alone is
		not fatal or serious.
	7. Rabies; the disease is always fatal and provides serious potential
		public health problems. The disease is on the increase in some	states. A
		three year vaccine booster is available after the initial vaccine.
ESSENTIAL AND REQUIRED IN MOST COMMUNITIES
Many of the vaccines can be combined into one injection depending on the
manufacture. Vaccines should never be administered to an unhealthy or sick
animal. Their immune system may not be capable of responding effectively to
produce protective antibody levels. Schedules usually recommended by
manufacturers start injections at eight weeks of age and repeat every four
weeks until sixteen weeks of age. Between three and four months an initial
rabies vaccine is given. All the vaccines are repeated again in one year an
then annually accept rabies. Rabies booster can be given every three years
after the second injection. This schedule can vary depending on the dogs
age and the incidence of disease in your area.

Good internal parasite control is extremely cost effective.  Roundworms and
hookworms are best diagnosed with a microscopic examination for the eggs. A
fecal exam with your annual veterinary visit will diagnose most intestinal
parasites. Dogs that are outside frequently should consider the option of
annual intestinal deworming without a fecal exam. Tapeworming is not
routine and the drug is more expensive. Additionally, most dogs get
tapeworms from swallowing fleas or eating rodents not from other dogs and
cats. Therefore, many dogs are never exposed to tapeworm infestations.
Tapeworms are easily seen by the owner. A good tapeworm medicine can be
administered orally or by injection.

Ectopic parasites (fleas and tics) present more obvious problems. A good
flea prevention program is easy. Removing fleas from your house environment
once they have established themselves is extremely difficult and expensive.
There are good weekly fleas spray with timed released pyrethrins that
provide whole body protection. Fleas collars work best on dogs that are
small, have shorter coats and curl up when they sleep to bring the collar
towards the rear of the dog. Chlorpyrifos (organophosphate) is available in
sponge on dips that provides one month of prevention. Most recently, insect
growth inhibitors have become available. These products stop the growth of
the immature flea making it impossible for the flea to sustain itself in
your house. The IGH products are often combined with an other agent to kill
adult fleas on the pet. In the last 12 months IGH has been released as a
once a month pill or liquid to feed your pet. Any flea that bites the dog
gets a tiny dose of IGH and will not be able to breed. The oral IGH is safe
for use in pregnant and nursing animals. The oral IGH does not provide any
tick control but they can be used with other tick products. IGH is
predicated on the flea biting the dog. This is fine for the majority of
dogs . However, the dog that is allergic to flea saliva will continue to be
at risk to the allergy.

Ticks are controlled best with permethrins, DEET or organophosphates.
Products vary in there rate of application but if they frequently get wet
the drugs will dissipate more quickly. Flea collars provide good tick
control with the above chemical choices. There is no evidence to support
the use of sonic collars. Garlic and B-vitamins do not seem to provide
effective tick or flea control. Good tick control in Lymes endemic areas of
the country provide first rate defense against Lymes infection. Strong
evidence suggests the Lymes (deer) tick needs to be on the host for 24
hours before passing the disease.

Heartworm disease can easily be prevented by a monthly drug during the
mosquito season. Manufactures also have added the option of a roundworm and
hookworm preventative to the heartworm pill. Dogs that are old enough to
have lived through a mosquito season should receive a negative  heartworm
blood test before starting prevention. When the monthly drug is
administered immature heartworm under the age of thirty days are killed and
are prevented from maturing and causing heart disease. Therefore the drug
should not be stopped until 30 days after the mosquito season. The use of
daily diethylcarbamazine is still available at far less expense than the
monthly drugs. It is administered daily through out the mosquito season.
Annual heartworm testing prior to each season is essential with the daily
drug because of potential serious side effects if the dog has a current
infection with heartworm. However this requirement may change with the use
of the monthly preventative which has no side effects in the face of an
infection.

The benefits of neutering your pet are significant. Neutered dogs will be
much less likely to roam. Territorial description decreases in size for
male dogs and reduces tendencies toward aggression. Non cycling females
dramatically decrease their roaming tendencies. Less contact with other
dogs mean less contact with disease, parasites and less chance of being hit
by a car. When male dogs are castrated they will not develop any benign
enlargement of the prostate gland. Neither do they contract prostatic
infections or prostatic cancer. Females spayed before their first heat
cycle dramatically decrease their chance for developing breast cancer; a
very significant disease in dogs. Spaying after the third heat cycle has no
effect. By spaying your dog you also eliminate the chance of pyometra, a
life threatening uterine infection.  Contrary to public opinion females are
not better pets just because they have whelped and neutering does not cause
obesity. However, if your dog becomes less active you do need to cut the
food back to accommodate for the decrease in burned calories. Finally, we
all know about the need to decrease the population of unwanted kittens and
puppies.

A good preventative health program will increase your dog's chances of a
healthier and longer life. As an owner, your veterinary expenses will be
minimized because many of the visits to a veterinary clinic are related to
preventable problems.