11 Ways You're Shortening Your Dog's Life

As pet parents, we like to think that we are providing a healthy, happy life for our dogs. We feed them top quality food, give them lots of love, and toss the ball around the backyard whenever we have the time. But, there is a lot more that goes into raising a healthy pup. And sometimes, our busy lifestyles cause us to overlook some simple measures that could help to extend the lifespan of our canines.

The good news, however, is that all of this is repairable and it’s never too late to bump up the level of care that we put into raising our pets. So, just what could be shortening your pet’s life?

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Letting your dog gain too much weight

According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, an estimated 53 percent of dogs were overweight last year. In addition to that, the association found that 95 percent of the owners of these obese dogs incorrectly identified their pets as being at a normal weight. Letting your dog get too heavy can not only reduce their life span but also their quality of life. You may not realize this, but dogs do not process or break down food like we do.

For example, when a dog eats 1 ounce of cheddar cheese, it is equivalent in calories to a human eating 1.5 hamburgers or 3 chocolate bars. And it’s not just people food that presents the issue—some dogs are simply being fed too much dog food or treats. A simple way of remembering? Treat each treat like a candy bar. Would you give your child 8 candy bars a day? Hardly.

Solution: Limit the amount of people food you give to your pup and monitor their kibble intake. Don’t forget to increase your pets' exercise routines, even if that means getting creative. Can’t go outside? Put your pup on a leash and walk them around inside. It may sound silly, but anything to get them moving helps!

If the weight still isn't coming off, consult your veterinarian, as they may want to put your pet on a dietary program. Your vet may also be able to help identify an underlying disorder, like hyperadrenocorticism or hypothyroidism, that may be contributing to weight gain.

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Neglecting canine dental care

Periodontal disease (gum disease), is a common problem in dogs. As the American Humane Society reports, veterinarians estimate that 85 percent of dogs over five years of age suffer from the condition, which develops after food and bacteria collect along the gum line and form plaque in a dog’s mouth. A build-up of oral bacteria can ultimately lead to all sorts of health problems for your pet, including heart valve problems and infections within the kidneys.

Solution: Grab a toothbrush and start scrubbing your dog’s teeth as often as you can.

Surprisingly enough, it's not that difficult to brush your dog's teeth—the finger brush works great. There are chew toys and bones that assist in reducing plaque, as well as water additives that help maintain oral health. It’s also a good idea to schedule a visit with your veterinarian for a professional cleaning session at least once each year.

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Skipping annual check ups

While it may be a two-person-job to get your dog into the veterinarian on an annual basis, doing so may save their life. Simply getting your dog seen once or twice a year by a veterinarian can help improve life span, even for seemingly healthy dogs. Even if your dog is acting normally, something could be brewing inside. In some cases, by the time symptoms appear, there isn’t much we can do. But if we get treatment started early, that can help to improve a dog’s quality and quantity of life.

Solution: It is recommend taking your pup in for an annual or bi-annual physical (especially for dogs over the age of 7). If there have been underlying conditions in the past, pet parents should ask for yearly blood work to follow up on such ailments. It is ideal to keep pets up to date on vaccinations to protect them from rabies, canine distemper, parvovirus, adenovirus, parainfluenza, and bordatella.

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Not providing daily exercise

Just because your pet played hard at the dog park on Monday doesn’t mean that you can forgo giving them any exercise until Thursday. Exercise not only helps to keep the weight off, it also provides mental stimulation for your pup. Keeping up your pet’s fitness routine gives them a healthy way to expel energy, engage their mind, and improve overall mood.

Solution: Find an activity you and your dog both enjoy and work it into your daily routine. As an added bonus, people who exercise with their pets tend to lose more weight themselves. If you don’t have time to drive to the dog park five days a week, mix up your routine. Take your dog on walks around the block (or in the house), toss the ball in the backyard, or play a game of hide-and-seek in your house.

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Exposing your dog to second-hand smoke

Just like humans, canine lungs are not equipped to handle smoke being blown at them all day. Second-hand smoke can be extremely detrimental to pets, causing all sorts of ailments, such as an increased cancer risk and harmful respiratory issues.

Solution: Obviously the ideal way to tackle this situation is to abstain from smoking yourself. But if the habit is important to your lifestyle, then it’s a good idea to make sure that you do it away from your dog. Keep your dog in the house while you go outside on the patio to smoke.

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Forgetting about heartworm and flea and tick prevention

These measures are just as important as remembering to keep up with your dog’s vaccinations. Flea, heartworm, and tick control is critical. Tiny critters spread diseases, some of which are life threatening. Fortunately there are many prevention options available from your veterinarian—from collars and topical spot-ons to oral medications.

Solution: For the safest and most promising approach, purchase only veterinary approved products and to follow the recommended dosage guidelines. Don't forget to set reminders in your calendar for when your pets are due for their next dose of preventive treatment.

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Pushing certain breeds too hard

Small and toy dog breeds, as well as brachycephalic (short-nosed) breeds, have very different exercise requirements than other types of dogs. For instance, English Bulldogs, French Bulldogs, Pekingese, and Boxer types should not be exercised in extreme heat, as it can be life threatening to them.

Solution: Make sure to speak to your veterinarian about how much and what type of exercise is best for your breed. And if you feel like your dog is trying to tell you that you are overdoing the workout, listen to them. Symptoms such as excessive panting, dropping to the ground in the middle of a workout, or lethargic (weak and tired) tendencies mean that you should stop and let your dog rest immediately.

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Feeding your dog table scraps

In addition to adding extra and unnecessary calories to your dog’s diet, pet parents risk inducing pancreatitis by feeding their dog fatty table scrap. Many foods that humans consume are extremely high in fats and sugars compared to what our pets should be exposed to. In addition, certain human foods—including garlic and chocolate—can be toxic to pets if consumed.

Solution: If you have a hard time saying no to those pleading eyes, offer your dog a healthy treat like baby carrots or apple slices. If your dog begs at the table, feed them their meal in another room while the family eats dinner to cut down on under-the-table handouts. Pet parents should also take a moment to familiarize themselves with what foods are considered dangerous for dogs.

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Letting your dog outside unsupervised

Letting your dog roam free without you watching opens the door for a whole world of possible tragedies. Cars, coyotes or other predators, unscrupulous people—they're all out there. Don't let your dogs roam the streets unattended, even if they are tagged and microchipped.

Solution: Keep your dog on a leash at all times when walking outside. If you take your dog to the park, be a responsible pet parent and make sure to monitor their play sessions. If you notice a coyote or a potential predator, remove your dog from the situation immediately.

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Not socializing your dog

Dogs who fail to get socialized don’t get the same “bite” out of life as their happy, socialized counterparts. They often develop anxiety and fear-related issues, even dermatologic issues, and they don't enjoy walks in the same way. Similarly a dog that has no human interaction, no fun, and no playtime can get depressed.

Solution: Take your puppy at a young age (once fully vaccinated and cleared by your veterinarian) to training classes and puppy meet-ups where they can get to know other dogs. Let your dog stop and greet other dogs while out on a walk or host other dogs in your yard for puppy play dates.

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Not spaying or neutering

Forgoing spaying and neutering can be dangerous to your dog’s health. Spaying and neutering is still the best way to guarantee reducing the risk of several cancers, let alone the behavioral issues you can see with intact dogs.

Additionally, each heat cycle that a female dog goes through makes her more prone to the development of mammary cancer. Intact males are also more likely to develop prostatic diseases and testicular cancer than their neutered counterparts.

Solution: You can arrange to have a spay or neuter procedure done at your veterinary office. If cost is an issue, there are many clinics that offer low cost procedures; just call your local pet clinics and shelters to find out when they are having a special on the procedure. And as far as when to have the procedure done, there are different guidelines for different breeds. There have been many modifications made with regards to large breed dogs and when is the best time is. For this reason, you should discuss and plan the procedure out with your vet.

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4 Rainy Season Dangers You Might Not Know Of

Each year, certain parts of North America are bombarded with rain. While this may be good for the garden, high rainfall can potentially pose some real threats to your dog.

1. Mushrooms

During the rainy season, mushrooms may pop up in your yard with more frequency. There are thousands of species of mushrooms, but thankfully only about 100 are poisonous. That said, mushroom identification is very difficult, so it's hard to tell which are poisonous versus which are benign. As a result, whenever you see mushrooms growing in your yard, make sure to remove them immediately and throw them away to prevent accidental ingestion by your dog. If your dog does get into a mushroom, contact your veterinarian immediately about inducing vomiting to get any potential toxin out.

Certain types of mushrooms may cause organ injury including:

• Gastrointestinal injury (signs include drooling, not eating, vomiting, diarrhea)

• Liver linjury (signs include vomiting, black tarry stool, yellow skin)

• Kidney injury (signs include abnormal urination and thirst)

• Cardiovascular injury (signs include a very slow or rapid heart rate)

• Neurologic injury (signs include hallucinations, tremors, seizures)

When in doubt, get to your veterinarian immediately as it's easier - and less expensive - to treat early on versus once clinical signs have developed.

2. Leptospirosis

Leptospirosis, a bacteria-like spirochete, is carried naturally by wildlife, like rodents and raccoons. In high rainfall situations, it’s prevalent in the environment. In dogs that have exposure to water sources, contaminated by wildlife urine (puddles, streams, ponds, etc.), transmission can occur. Canine leptospirosis can result in liver injury and acute kidney injury.

Signs of leptospirosis include:

• Vomiting

• Not eating

• Malaise

• Yellow skin

• Excessive thirst

• Urination

As leptospirosis can accidentally be transmitted to humans, it's important to talk to your veterinarian about prevention, including vaccines.

3. Mosquitoes

While mosquitoes may seem like just a pesky insect to you, they can be life-threatening to your dog. That's because mosquitoes can carry Dirofilaria, which transmits heartworm infection to your dog. Thankfully, there is a very effective preventative in either a topical or oral form. When in doubt, use year-round control to prevent problems from mosquitoes. If your dog has thin fur or skin and is more predisposed to getting bitten, use Skin So Soft or a topical insect repellent that repels mosquitoes. Talk to your veterinarian to be safe before applying anything.

Click here to learn more about heartworm disease in dogs.

4. Toads and frogs

Depending on where you live in the United States, certain types of toads - specifically the Bufo marinus or Bufo alvarius - can be poisonous to dogs. In fact, a dog drinking water from an outside dog bowl, that had a poisonous toad sitting in it, can result in clinical signs of:

• drooling

• panting

• walking drunk

• a racing heart rate

• a very slow heart rate

• even seizures

Frogs are not toxic, but can cause gastrointestinal upset when ingested.

To be safe, supervise your dog outside to prevent accidental ingestion of dangers like toads and frogs. When in doubt, contact your veterinarian or ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at 888-426-4435 if you think your dog is ill or could have ingested something poisonous.

If you have any questions or concerns, you should always visit or call your veterinarian -- they are your best resource to ensure the health and well-being of your pets.

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Heartworm in Dogs: Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention

Heartworm is a potentially lethal parasite that is transmitted only by mosquitos, which pick up larval heartworms, called microfilaria, circulating in the bloodstream of infected animals.

Dogs and other canids, such as foxes, wolves, and coyotes, are considered the primary heartworm hosts, but these parasites can also affect other mammals, including your cats and ferrets.

There are treatments available for dogs, but prevention is the wisest approach to dealing with heartworms.

What is Heartworm Disease?

The heartworm in dogs that’s prevalent in the U.S. goes by the scientific name Dirofilaria immitis or D. immitis. It does not spread from dog to dog, but requires an intermediary—the mosquito—to infect new hosts.

The worms enter their host through a mosquito bite when it is taking a blood meal. Residue on the mosquito’s mouthpiece carries immature worms called microfilaria (which are only about 1/100th of an inch long) from an infected animal to an uninfected one. The immature worms travel through the bloodstream and, after about two months, settle in the right side of the heart and begin to grow.

They mature after six months and can live in the dog’s body for seven years, each reaching up to one foot in length, and constantly producing offspring. After about a year, a dog may harbor hundreds of these worms, although 15 is the average burden. The worms cause inflammation and damage the heart, arteries, and lungs.

How widespread are heartworms?

The first canine heartworms in the U.S. were discovered in the southeast in 1856. While it was once more common in the Atlantic and Gulf coast states, the American Heartworm Society, in its first update since 2014, reports that heartworm is increasing throughout the country and worldwide. In the report, Cassan Pulaski, DVM, MPH states that, “…While southern regions of the country have historically been associated with heartworm, we now know pets all over the country are potentially at risk for heartworm disease throughout the year.” According to U.S. Food & Drug Administration, incidents of the disease have been reported in all fifty states. This is especially important to keep in mind if your dog travels.

Areas with large populations of wild or stray animals also pose an enhanced risk, but even dogs that stay inside most of the time are not totally safe from a mosquito’s bite. Also, pets being shipped from state to state may introduce heartworm into regions where it was historically not a problem. This is especially notable due to the bringing in of shelter dogs from heartworm endemic states and from disaster relief efforts. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, for example, about a quarter of a million pets traveled from the New Orleans area to new homes around the country. Some brought heartworm with them. AHS estimates that more than a million pets in the U.S. are infected. The AHS notes that climate and environmental change also contribute to the spread of the disease.

Should your dog be tested for heartworm?

• All dogs should be tested annually, even those on heartworm prevention medication year round.

• Puppies under seven months old may be started on heartworm prevention even though it can take six months or more for blood work to test positive. After that, they should be tested in six months and again, six months later.

• Adult dogs over seven years old that have not previously been on a heartworm prevention regimen should be tested.

• Dogs that have missed a treatment, or for whom treatment has lapsed, need to be tested. If you’ve missed even one dose, or been late to administer, your dog should be tested.

What are the symptoms of heartworms?

In the early stages, there may be no signs of disease. As the worms grow and multiply, symptoms will become evident, increasing in severity as the disease progresses. There are four classes of infection:

• Class one has no symptoms or just a mild cough.

• Class two is marked by mild exercise intolerance and persistent cough.

• Class three will result in greater exercise intolerance, abnormal lung sounds, weak pulse, syncope (fainting caused by impaired blood flow to the brain), decreased appetite, weight loss, and ascites (swollen belly due to heart failure).

• Class four is known as caval syndrome, a life-threatening cardiovascular collapse, which is marked by labored breathing, pale gums, and dark coffee-colored urine, leading to complete organ failure and death.

How is heartworm diagnosed?

Early diagnosis important; the earlier heartworm is detected, the better the chances for recovery. In many cases, a blood test can determine the presence of the parasite. The blood is tested for the presence of antigens (proteins) even if there is no evidence of microfilariae. If your dog is diagnosed with heartworm through a blood test, your veterinarian will use additional tests for confirmation and make sure your dog can safely undergo treatment. These include:

• Radiographs to pinpoint abnormalities in the right side of the heart and pulmonary arteries.

• Ultrasounds to show abnormal organ shape as well as wriggling worms.

• Echocardiography to see inside heart chambers and visualize worms.
  

How to treat heartworms in dogs

Confirm diagnosis

Treatment is expensive and complex, so your vet may want to perform additional tests to confirm the diagnosis.

Restrict activity

Although it may be difficult to restrict normal activity, especially in active dogs, this is crucial. Exertion will increase the rate of damage to the heart and lungs. Crate confinement may be necessary.

Stabilize the disease

If your dog has advanced symptoms or other medical conditions, preliminary therapies may be required.

Kill worms

The drug that is FDA-approved for treatment in the U.S., is melarsomine dihydrochloride, which is sold under the brand names Immiticide and Diroban.

It is administered by deep intramuscular injection into the dog’s lumbar region of the lower back and is recommended for disease that has not progressed past class three. Another FDA-approved drug, Advantage Multi for Dogs (imidacloprid and moxidectin), rids the bloodstream of microfilariae. In addition, other drugs such as heartworm preventives, antibiotics, and steroids may be part of your veterinarian’s protocol.

Surgery

In extreme cases, veterinarians will resort to surgery, physically pulling the worms out.

Follow-up testing

The first test should take place six months after successful treatment.

Preventing heartworm

Treatment for heartworm is hard and sometimes dangerous for the dog and very expensive, which is why veterinarians are so adamant about yearly testing and administration of preventative compounds — what scientists call chemoprophylaxis. The current AHS guidelines include the following:

• Year-round administration of a heartworm prevention medication.

• Strict compliance to the schedule of dosing recommended by your vet.

• Application of FDA-approved mosquito repellants.

• Environmental control to reduce or eliminate mosquito breeding grounds, such as pools of standing water; the use of mosquito traps; and avoiding your dog’s exposure by limiting outdoor activities at dawn and dusk, mosquitos’ prime feeding time.

• These medications, used for prevention, are also effective against other parasites, such as roundworms, hookworms, fleas, and tapeworms. Make sure to use a formulation specifically intended for dogs.

For more information on heartworm prevention relevant to your doggo, speak directly with your veterinarian.

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