Priest Lake Veterinary Hospital Newsletters

Newsletter for August 2004

In this issue:

* DOGS DETECT EPILEPSY IN PEOPLE
* LOST PETS...FIND THEM WITH YOUR CELL PHONE
* SEAT BELTS SAVE PETS LIVES
* FOODS TO IMPROVE YOUR PETS IQ?
* KENNEL COUGH

Research show that dogs can tell when a child’s epileptic seizure is about to happen

If you have a child with epilepsy, you may view your pet dog as more than just your best friend, according to a new study. Dogs seem to behave differently when a child has an epileptic seizure ­ they also behave differently just before the onset of a seizure, say researchers.

Dr. Adam Kirton of Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary, said that the study was a small one and advised people not to get too excited by his findings. He said that his findings should be regarded as preliminary ones. He said parents with epileptic children should not go out and buy a dog just because they heard about his small study.

Some previous studies have also shown a link between a dog’s behavior and epileptic seizures. Some have even indicated that having a dog could reduce the numbers of seizures experienced by a human (small studies).

This is the first study that looked at dogs and seizures in children. 238 families were surveyed, all of them had a child with epilepsy. Of the 238 families, about 50% responded to the survey.

Of the families who had a dog, 40% said that their pet would change when their child had or was about to have a seizure. The most common reaction was for the dog to start licking the child. Some dogs would become protective and sit by the child before a seizure, or generally stay near them. They would behave differently up to 15 minutes before the onset of a seizure.

Asked whether dogs can smell the onset of a seizure, the researchers suggested the trigger is probably a visual one.  Dr. Kirton said that further studies were necessary.
Who knows? If further studies make headway, we may be able to train dogs to help children (and adults) who have epilepsy.



Where’s Fido? Check the cell phone and find out
        

In the Walt Disney film ‘‘The Incredible Journey,’’ two dogs and a cat are reunited with their owners after a long and dangerous trip.

For many pets, there is no such happy Hollywood ending. Few animals separated from their owners are reunited, according to the American Humane Association.

But wireless technology may one day provide some help both for animals and the humans who cherish them, whether the pets have strayed across town or across the border.

In one emerging technology, owners can keep track of their dogs by way of miniaturized Global Positioning System receivers and mobile modems attached to the dogs’ collars.

‘‘If the pet leaves the yard, you’ll get a call on your cell phone, PDA or any other two-way wireless device,’’ said Jennifer Durst, chief executive of GPS Tracks, a company in Oyster Bay, New York, that has devised a GPS-based system called the Global Pet Finder.

Durst said the system would be on the market by the end of the year and would fit dogs of all sizes except toy breeds. The receiver will cost about $300, and there will be a monthly ‘‘monitoring fee’’ of about $13, she said. ‘‘Cats will be next year,’’ she said, ‘‘in Version 2.’’

People who use the new system can set the boundaries for their dogs at a Web site or on the miniaturized device itself, specifying how far their pets can roam. It might be a backyard, Durst said, or, if both owner and pet are on vacation, a section of a beach, perhaps, or the area around a motel.

Software checks the pet’s position constantly, she said. When it passes the default boundaries, an alert is triggered, and owners receive a text message. ‘‘It will say, ‘Your pet has left’ and send the exact location,’’ Durst said. Locations will be identified by street name and number or, for certain cell phones, by maps.

‘‘In rural areas with no street signs, you will be given directions from where you are,’’ Durst said.

The GPS receiver calculates the position, and the coordinates are translated into a readable position.

The system is designed for any area covered by a GSM cell phone network.

Another application of wireless technology may help reunite pets with their owners even when the animals are in another country. Implanted microchip transponders have been used for years in the United States and elsewhere to identify dogs, cats and other pets. The tags include a glass-encased microchip with a unique identification number that cannot be altered but can be read by a low-frequency radio scanner. The number is then matched to a database to find the pet’s owner.

The problem has been that the American and overseas systems are incompatible. So some organizations in the United States that maintain identification databases are switching to the international system in the hope of one day linking American pets and owners to a global database.

The use of microchips has increased steadily, said Sue Richey, who directs the American Kennel Club’s Companion Animal Recovery program. It keeps a national database in Raleigh, North Carolina, in which people can enroll their microchipped or tattooed pets.

‘‘We’re getting 55,000 to 70,000 animals a month,’’ she said, ‘‘with a live recovery every eight minutes, 24/7.’’

Most pet microchips and scanners used in the United States now operate on a radio frequency of 125 kilohertz. But the chips used in much of the rest of the world operate at an international standard of 134.2 kilohertz, Richey said. That disparity can lead to problems when, for example, an American loses a pet while traveling in another country.

‘‘Their scanners can’t read our chips,’’ said John Snyder, director of companion animals for the Humane Society of the United States, in Washington.

Several groups have already begun using the 134.2 kilohertz chip, including the Oregon Humane Society in Portland, which started implanting them in January, said Sharon Harmon, executive director of the society.

But many shelters do not have scanners that can read the new chips.

‘‘It’s not a good thing if we don’t have the scanners in place,’’ Snyder said, ‘‘because animals are being missed.’’

Scanners that can read both kinds of chips will be needed, said Jodi Buckman, director of animal programs for the American Humane Association in Denver.

‘‘One worldwide standard will provide the ultimate protection for pets,’’ she said.

Pet chips of the future may be different in other ways, too. For one thing, they may be updatable. Information on the current microchips cannot be changed, meaning that new developments in a medical history, for example, cannot be added.

But Walt Ingwersen, a veterinarian in Whitby, Ontario, who has served as chairman of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association’s microchip committee, said ‘‘smarter’’ so-called read-write chips were on the way.  Ingwersen is a member of a technical committee that is developing international standards for the advanced transponders. The New York Times
In the Walt Disney film ‘‘The Incredible Journey,’’ two dogs and a cat are reunited with their owners after a long and dangerous trip.

For many pets, there is no such happy Hollywood ending. Few animals separated from their owners are reunited, according to the American Humane Association.

But wireless technology may one day provide some help both for animals and the humans who cherish them, whether the pets have strayed across town or across the border.

In one emerging technology, owners can keep track of their dogs by way of miniaturized Global Positioning System receivers and mobile modems attached to the dogs’ collars.



Buckle Up, Ol' Blue: Using Pet Seat belts Can Save Lives


Buckling up could save your life - and your furry friends, too.

Unrestrained, roaming animals in vehicles may suffer severe injury or death caused by accidents or from leaping out of moving vehicles. Dr. Raquel Brown, a veterinary clinical associate at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M University, says that seat belts provide greater safety for the owner and the pet.
    
Brown was prompted to buy seat belts for her dogs when she was rear-ended by a vehicle while at a stoplight.   "It was at that point I realized that if my dogs had been in the car with me, they would have been thrown through the windshield and probably would have died," Brown said.  The pet seat belt is a fairly new product that has been marketed and supported by owners of pets that were or could have been severely injured in a car accident.

Pet seat belts restrain the animal in a harness that attaches directly into a regular car seat belt. They prevent the pet from distracting the owner while driving, plus keeping them restrained if the driver stops suddenly or collides with another vehicle or object.

If your pets are used to riding in the car without a restraint, it may take them a little time to get use to the seat belt, says Brown.
"My pets were upset because with their small size, it is harder for them to look out the window," Brown said. "But after a few rides, they now eagerly jump into the car and wait to be buckled in."

Today, many pet seat belts are made with a "booster" chair for smaller pets to sit on so they can still see out the window.
Brown says pets should always be securely buckled in the back seat to avoid injury from airbags. Seat belts have also been made to restrain dogs in the back of pick-up trucks by securing them close enough to the cab to prevent the dog from jumping out while still allowing movement.

Pet seat belts are not the only option to restrain and protect your pet. Crates are popular among many pet owners and provide adequate safety. However, crates can prove cumbersome for an owner with a large dog, multiple pets or a small vehicle. Brown found pet seat belts helpful when traveling in her small car with three mixed breed dogs.
Pet taxis are the smaller, softer relatives of the crate and may work better for cats, which generally do not like to be restrained and might also appreciate the privacy and protection they feel in a carrier.

"There are no studies that say seat belts are safer or visa versa," Brown said. "I believe that it is an individual's choice on what is best for his or her pet."  Brown says that pet seat belts, crates and taxis can be found in many large pet stores and come in all sizes, from extra small to extra large.

 

P&G MARKETS PET FOOD TO MAKE PUPPIES SMARTER ?


Claims New Product Improves Animal Cognitive Skills

Pet food marketers have promised brighter coats, fresher breath and much more over the years, but Procter & Gamble Co. may be staking the biggest
Initial marketing efforts for P&G's new puppy brain food are aimed at key influencers such as breeders and veterinarians.
They claim that -- that reformulated Eukanuba makes puppies smarter.

Smart-puppy effort

P&G launches its smart-puppy initiative today with a press conference at the annual conference of the American Veterinary Medicine Association aimed at a key group of influencers. The bulk of what may be the super premium brand’s biggest marketing effort ever breaks next month, including TV, print, on-line and direct mail.

“This is really breakthrough research, and we’ll be taking a truly 360-degree approach to communicate that,” said Eukanuba's brand manager, Mark Tinsey. “For us, that starts with key influencer groups -- the vet and the breeder.”

Fatty acid

Eukanuba claims that increased levels of the Omega 3 fatty acid DHA in its food makes puppies easier to train by improving cognitive performance, targeting the No. 1 reason dogs are abandoned, sent to shelters and euthanized, said Dan Carey, veterinary researcher for P&G. “In the United States,” he said, “bad behavior kills more dogs than any single disease.”

Given long-running kibble quibbles among the leading premium brands, with numerous challenges to ad claims over the years, P&G thoroughly vetted its claim. It tested 39 beagles in simple H-shaped mazes, where they were conditioned to find treats by following a path marked by a circle or square over the course of 30 days. Then, they were retrained the following 30 days with the symbols reversed.

Maze success

About 70% of pups on the enhanced-DHA diet passed the test, compared to about 35% of pups on typical-DHA diets. Success was defined as going the right direction 80% of the time on two successive days in each version of the maze. “That’s a huge difference, which gives us great confidence it’s quite meaningful,” Mr. Carey said.

The improvement isn’t just to the puppy food but also to Eukanuba High Performance dog food for pregnant dogs or dogs in athletic competition. For the puppy to reap the full benefit, both pregnant mother and her pup must eat the enhanced food, Mr. Carey said.

From a marketing standpoint, that makes breeders a key influencer group for the brand, too, said Mr. Tinsey. Not only will they have to use the food to see the full benefit, but they are also likely to promote it to potential buyers.

Competing claims

Eukanuba isn’t the first super premium dog food to claim it improves cognitive function, but it is the first to try it with puppies.

Colgate-Palmolive Co.’s Prescription Diet b/d launched in 2002 claiming to prevent brain aging in older dogs and, as a result, promote alertness and enthusiasm and reduce household soiling. On a challenge from P&G, the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus recommended Colgate modify the ads because of insufficient support and qualification, but Prescription Diet has kept the ads promising cognitive benefits on air.

'Heart-opening' ads

Mr. Tinsey declined to say how Eukanuba’s ads will dramatize its claim, but said they will be “more heart-opening” than clinical. Publicis Groupe’s Saatchi & Saatchi, New York, does advertising. Omnicom Group’s Targetbase, Irving, Texas, and Fleishman-Hillard, St. Louis, handle direct marketing and public relations, respectively. Bridge Worldwide, Cincinnati, works on interactive marketing.

While DHA is readily available, he said it would take a competitor considerable time to replicate P&G’s research, which Mr. Carey believes will give P&G exclusivity for a considerable time. Prescription Diet works by different means, adding antioxidant vitamins to prevent damage to cells from free radicals.

Despite recent research indicating border collies understand hundreds of words, Mr. Carey is not prepared to claim Eukanuba will help there. “It would make a lot of our feeding studies easier to document if the dogs would just fill in the blanks.”



Kennel Cough


Prevention is the best medicine...

"Before you bring your dogs to a boarding kennel, dog show, puppy school, or other situation where they'll be around a lot of dogs, it's a good idea to vaccinate your dog against kennel cough," says Dr. Jennifer Brinson, veterinarian at the University of Illinois Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital in Urbana. "Kennel cough is a highly contagious respiratory condition thought to be caused by a bacteria called Bordatella.

There are two types of vaccines for kennel cough. The injectable vaccine takes a while to have an effect, so it?s not the best choice if you are in need of rapid protection. The intranasal (inhaled through the nose) vaccine has a quicker effect and is best for more immediate pet contact situations.

You can vaccinate for kennel cough as early as 4 weeks of age. Annual and sometimes bi-annual boosters are needed. Dr. Brinson suggests getting an additional booster before intense exposure to other dogs.

Kennel cough causes bouts of high pitched, honk-like coughing that keeps both you and your pet awake at night for up to 2 weeks. Onset of this bacterial disease occurs abruptly after contact with infected dogs. Dr. Brinson says that some owners also note vomiting in their dogs, but usually their pets are just expelling a large amount of phlegm. Pretty gross, huh?

"During an infection, dogs generally keep up their normal activity level and don't feel too sick," says Dr. Brinson. There is no cure for kennel cough except time. Thus, prevention is the best way to contend with this disease. "However, kennel cough is self-limiting and will generally clear up in a couple of weeks even without any medication."

Owners should be aware of possible secondary infections, which may lead to pneumonia. If pneumonia sets in, antibiotics may be necessary to help clear the infection. At this stage, getting phlegm out of the dog's system is key for recovery, which is why cough suppressant medication is not appropriate. Intense coughing can be painful for your pet, so limit activity; the more Fido moves around, the more he will cough.

If you have other dogs in the house, they will probably get kennel cough too, but you can take some precautionary measures. "Separate everyone," says Dr. Brinson, "and wash your hands after contact with each dog. Use bleach to clean areas where your sick dog has been.

"If your pet is coughing for more than 2 or 3 days without signs of improvement, bring your pet to your veterinarian," says Dr. Brinson. "Your canine's cough may not be kennel cough."
If you see any secondary signs, such as depression, lack of appetite, fever, blood in phlegm, or difficulty breathing, bring your pet into your local veterinarian for assessment and
treatment.

Most importantly, if your dog does have kennel cough, don't take him into a situation where he will put other dogs at risk of infection.



Dr. Pennington
http://www.priestlakevet.com
priestlake@mindspring.com
615-361-4646