Dealing with dreaded pet breath

Technically speaking, healthy pets shouldn’t bowl us over with their breath. Halitosis in dogs and cats can often indicate a more serious underlying problem. According to the American Veterinary Dental Society, periodontal disease is one of the most common and serious pet health problems, affecting approximately 80 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats by the tender age of three — often resulting in tooth and gum infections, loss of teeth and even organ damage.

Donna Spector DVM, DACVIM of VCA Bay Area Animal Hospital offers the following advice for keeping our furry friend’s mouths in the pink:

• Brush daily: Start when pets are still young and will more easily adjust to habit. Each pet should have their own toothbrush for cleanings once or twice a day. Proper pet toothbrushes should have bristles to reach under the gum line.
• A little flavor goes a long way: Most pets seem to prefer the poultry-flavored toothpastes.
• Use proper technique: Place the toothbrush bristles at a 45 degree angle where the gum and teeth meet. Use a gentle oval pattern that covers three to four teeth at a time, focusing on the outside upper teeth, since they do the most chewing. Complete 10 short oval motions before moving the toothbrush to a new location.
• Consider scheduling a professional cleaning: In addition to daily tooth brushing, some pets will intermittently require dental cleanings or fluoride treatments from a vet.

Because anesthesia is required for a thorough professional teeth cleaning, many pet owners are reluctant to put their pets under. Some groomers and veterinarians offer “anesthesia-free” dental cleanings, but they are not recommended by the American Veterinary Dental College because they are not as detailed and can increase the risk of injury to a pet’s mouth.

To help manage the risk to our pets, here are some tips from Dr. Spector regarding anesthesia:

• A thorough physical examination and preanesthetic blood work can help your vet detect problems with infection or malfunctioning organs that would require postponing a procedure or further testing.
• Your vet should select anesthesia drugs based on your pet’s age, breed, health status and the procedure being performed. Quick-acting IV anesthetics (e.g. propofol) and certain anesthetic gases (e.g. isoflurane, sevoflurane) are often preferred in older pets.
• Intravenous catheters should be used in older pets during anesthesia to provide IV fluids that will help prevent dehydration and support blood pressure. Pain medications can also be provided through the catheter if necessary for your pets comfort.
• Your pet should have a soft tube placed in his or her windpipe during anesthesia to prevent any fluid or secretions from blocking their airway.
• Your vet should use special equipment to monitor your pet’s blood pressure, temperature, pulse, breathing, oxygenation, heart rate and heart rhythm.
• Your pet should be monitored for several hours after anesthesia to insure a healthy recovery. 

Some pet health insurance companies, including VPI, reimburse for routine dental cleanings and other dental procedures. Check out Iams’ Healthy Teeth for Pets website for more information about preventive dental health for pets.

Do you brush your pet’s teeth regularly? Have you ever had them cleaned professionally by a vet? (While I’ll admit that I don’t make a practice of rooting around in The Doone’s mouth, she’s rarely suffered from horrid breath.) Share your tips and stories here.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/pets/detail?entry_id=45759#ixzz1SrRGArZb

What to do if your pet ate something poisonous

Story from www.petpoisonhelpline.com

My dog ate something poisonous!

Did your dog or cat just eat something poisonous? Call your veterinarian or Pet Poison Helpline at 800-213-6680 for help immediately! The sooner a dog poisoning or cat poisoning is diagnosed, the easier, less expensive, and safer for your pet it is to get treated!

What to do if your dog or cat is poisoned:

• Remove your pet from the area.
• Check to make sure your pet is safe: breathing and acting normally.
• Do NOT give any home antidotes.
• Do NOT induce vomiting without consulting a vet or Pet Poison Helpline.
• Call Pet Poison Helpline at 800-213-6680.
• If veterinary attention is necessary, contact your veterinarian or emergency veterinary clinic immediately. 

1) Immediately remove your pet from the area, and make sure no other pets (or kids!) are exposed to this area. Safely remove any remaining poisonous material from their reach.

2) Check to make sure your pet is breathing normally and acting fine otherwise.

3) Collect a sample of the material, along with the packaging, vial, or container, and save it – you will need all that information when you talk to your veterinarian or to a Pet Poison Helpline expert.

4) Do NOT give your dog any milk, food, salt, oil, or any other home remedies! Also, never inducing vomiting without talking to your veterinarian or Pet Poison Helpline – it may actually be detrimental or contraindicated to induce vomiting!

5) Don’t give hydrogen peroxide to your pet without checking with a vet or with Pet Poison Helpline first. For you cat lovers, hydrogen peroxide doesn’t work well to induce vomiting (it just causes massive foaming and salivating instead!), and stronger veterinary prescription medications are necessary to get your cat to vomit up the poison Kitty ingested!

5) Get help. Program your veterinarian phone number, along with an ER vet and Pet Poison Helpline’s phone number (800-213-6680) in your cell phone so you have immediate access to help.

Keep in mind that the prognosis is always better when a toxicity is reported immediately, so don’t wait to see if your pet becomes symptomatic before calling for help. It’s always less expensive, and safer for your pet for you to call immediately. Remember that there’s a narrow window of time when we can decontaminate (induce vomiting or pump the stomach) in the cases of poisonings!