Dental Care At Home

If you’re like most pet owners (myself included), you’ve probably realized you could do a better job of keeping your pet’s teeth healthy and clean. While good habits take a while to become routine, a little diligence can go a long way towards preventing long-term health problems and expensive trips to the vet.

Once your pet’s teeth have been professionally cleaned, try to establish a routine that will help them to stay that way. Since your pet’s gums may be slightly sore after a professional cleaning, we always recommend waiting a week before attempting to brush his teeth at home. In the meantime, start using a water additive to keep plaque and tartar from accumulating. When it’s time to start brushing, be sure to select a toothpaste that is specially formulated for pets. Human grade toothpastes are not meant to be ingested, and pets are not able to spit it out like we do. Choose a toothpaste with an enzymatic cleansing agent and most importantly, make sure your pet likes the taste! Lift the lip at each quadrant and gently brush the teeth and gumline. Since the enzymatic cleansers actually digest bacteria, it is not necessary to vigorously scrub as we do when we brush our own teeth. Be sure to give your pet lots of praise so he associates brushing with making you happy. When we brush our own dogs’ teeth, we always end the exercise by letting them lick the toothbrush clean. It freshens their breath and makes them feel like they’re getting a tasty treat!

Since it takes several weeks for a routine to become a habit, aim for a brushing session every day. While three times a week is likely to get you the results you want, striving for a daily cleaning allows for normal lapses in said routine. Life is hectic. Go easy on yourself

Click here to watch a video of Grendel getting her teeth brushed!

http://sabalchaseanimalclinic.com/videos/brushyourdogsteeth.html

Is My Pet’s Mouth Really Cleaner Than Mine?

If you born any time before the Clinton administration, you probably remember hearing the expression “An animal’s mouth is cleaner than a human’s!”  If you’ve ever stopped to wonder whether or not this is true, allow me to clarify once and for all.

It’s not!

Spinal Tap is not a real band, there is no such thing as a jackelope, and an animal’s mouth is absolutely not cleaner than a human’s. Like humans, our pets deal with routine dental problems such as plaque, tartar, gingivitis, and tooth decay. But unlike humans, our pets don’t brush or floss on a daily basis. Left untreated, dental problems can lead to life-threatening medical conditions such as kidney disease, systemic infections, and congestive heart failure.

If you’ve never given your pet’s teeth much thought, you may want to have a look. Carefully lift the upper lift up towards his nose. If he pulls his head away, or won’t let you touch his face, do not try again. He may be experiencing pain or discomfort, and he may bite you if you inadvertently hurt him. Let your veterinarian do this for you. If your pet complies, look at the gums. They should be pink as opposed to red. Look for any chips or breaks, bearing in mind that these are not always obvious to the untrained eye.  While some light staining on the teeth is not unusual, generally speaking, the teeth should be white. Hard brown clumps mean it’s time for a cleaning. Finally, if your pet is comfortable, lean in and have a sniff. If his breath conjures images of green vapor, it’s definitely time for a trip to the vet!

And don’t look for jackelopes in the waiting room!

February Pet of the Month

Our February pet of the Month is Bandit! 

Little Miss Bandit was left with her siblings to fend for themselves at three months old! Luckily, her mom and dad saved them all, and even found them homes, but they couldn't say goodbye to Bandit.

Now she is living in luxury, and was even reunited with her mommy kitty, whom her owners also kept!

Congratulations, Bandit, and tell all of your friends- you're our Pet of the Month!

Breaking Bad Habits

Every January,  we ask ourselves how we can do better in the New Year. While often daunting, and not always kept, New Year’s resolutions can encourage us to embrace good habits, and break the bad ones. For pet owners, the New Year can also be a time to take an honest look at some of our pet’s bad habits!

A trainer once told me that his favorite challenges for new clients was “Name something your pet does that you know is naughty, but you let him get away with because it’s cute.” His favorite example was the owner of a West Highland Terrier who growled at her whenever she got into bed with her husband. She thought it was funny. The behavior escalated until the night the dog bared his teeth and lunged at her face. The end result was $10,000 worth of reconstructive surgery. If you don’t think your pet has any bad habits, examining those naughty, but “funny” or “cute” behaviors is a great place to start.

Unwanted behaviors nearly always escalate. Anxious barking can become destruction. Poor leash etiquette can cause injury to humans. Nipping can turn into biting. Now is the time to take an honest look at your pet’s behavior, and don’t despair if you don’t like what you see.  A Certified Professional Dog Trainer can help you get your dog’s behavior on track - and most of them are great with cat behavior as well!

Shedding The Holiday Pounds

Each year, the average American gains roughly six pounds during the holiday season.  And every January, my clients guiltily confess that their round hounds and festive felines were included in the feasts. It should therefore come as no surprise to hear that our pets tend to gain weight during the holidays as well.

If your New Year’s resolutions include getting in shape or shedding a few pounds, why not include your pets? Most of us could stand to be a bit more active. Our dogs would love nothing more than to join us on a walk or a bike ride. Classes in agility or nosework, and trips to dog-friendly parks are fun and inexpensive ways for the whole family to get out and get moving. If healthier eating is on your agenda, be sure to review your pet’s diet as well. It may be time to switch to a better, or more age-appropriate diet. Most importantly, throw away those commercial dog and cat treats. Treats are the caloric equivalent of candy bars, and most of my patients get several of these goodies every day! When you’re tempted to give your pet a treat, think of the treat as a king sized Snickers bar.  It’s a fast and effective way of changing the way we humans think about pet treats.

All They Want For Christmas Is You

All They Want for Christmas is You

A client who was in last week confessed that while she loved the idea of spending the holidays with an adopted shelter pet, the timing was just impossible.  The holidays at her house, she explained, were just short of utter chaos. The kids are wired, the whole family is in town, food is everywhere, doors get left open - adding a new pet to the mix just might push both her and the pet over the edge! Thankfully, the rescue community has already thought of an alternative.

For families who are rightfully concerned the timing of a holiday adoption, an adoption certificate may be the way to go. Petfinder’s Pet Promise certificate strives to re-open the dialogue about what is expected of a pet owner, and remind a potential adopter of the responsibilities involved in pet ownership. The giver agrees to cover the adoption fees, while giving the receiver the opportunity to pick the pet that best fits their lifestyle at whatever time of the year that is convenient. Regardless of your family’s “chaos factor”, a pet promise certificate may be the best way to provide a pet in need with a home for the holidays!

Homes for the Holidays

Homes for the Holidays

Every January, shelters across the country are over run with adolescent puppies and kittens that were purchased as holiday gifts.  While the idea of surprising the family with a Christmas kitty of a Hanukkah hound may sound appealing, most holiday shoppers are ill-prepared for the work and chaos a new pet can impose on an already hectic time of the year. But what about holiday pets that are adopted from shelters? Do they find themselves back at the pound with the impulse purchases gone wrong?

Surprisingly, new studies show that pets who are adopted and given as gifts almost NEVER get returned to the shelter! The reasons for this are not clear. Perhaps shoppers are more impulsive than adopters, perhaps adoptees are more likely to be older, and past the demanding (and often destructive) baby phase. But for once, the statistics favor the animals, and that’s a good thing!

If you are thinking of adding a new pet to your family, consider adopting one of the many sweethearts in our shelters.  It is always wise to enlist the help of a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, or an animal behaviorist to help you select a pet that will suit your family.  There are thousands of animals, including pure breeds, right here in Miami that would love one of Santa’s special helpers to give them a home for the holidays!