What your vet wishes you knew about your pets
Dr. Bryant was recently featured in Canton Family Life. She shared several tips for owners on care and animal behavior.
1) Regular physical exams are the most important thing you can do for your pet’s health. This allows you to tell your vet about symptoms or behaviors that might alert the doctor to problems. Animals naturally hide symptoms. By the time the illness is apparent to owners, it is often late stage and our treatment options may be limited. Clients frequently describe things they think are no big deal, but are signs of a possible underlying disease. Physical exams and blood tests can help identify many of these diseases.
2) Animals feel pain, just like we do. They can’t tell us what hurts and rarely cry or whimper. Animals tend to curl up and sleep to try to avoid pain.
3) Human medications such as Aspirin, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, other over the counter anti-inflammatories and decongestants are dangerous and potentially fatal. Always call your veterinarian before giving any medication to your pet. Many veterinarians will answer these types of questions over the phone.
4) Dental disease is real, and really hurts. Most animals won’t show signs of pain and will keep eating. However, owners describe how much more alert and spunky their pets act after those painful teeth are treated or removed. There are no shortcuts in dental care. There are many people out there in the business of selling shortcuts, but safe and thorough dentistry requires anesthesia and dental x-rays.
5) Heartworm disease is caused by mosquitos which are around all year long in Georgia. No winter breaks for them. Heartworms lead to heart failure and is nearly 100% preventable with a simple preventative every month, all year round. 80% of unprotected dogs in Georgia will get heartworms at some point in their lives. Cats get heartworms too.
6) Most people know chocolate is toxic to pets, but did you know grapes and raisins can cause kidney failure? Onions and macadamia nuts can cause problems as well. Xylitol is a common artificial sweetener in chewing gum, medications and other foods like yogurt. This can cause rapid and severe liver disease in pets. And it doesn’t take much. A half of a stick of gum can make a small dog sick.
7) Food does not equal love in your pet’s eyes. They may surely enjoy snacks. But they will still know how much you adore them, even if you minimize snacks to keep them at a healthy weight.
8) Speaking of foods… quality matters. Many of the less expensive, popular foods are high in fat. This is why your pet likes them so much. Better foods do cost more, but tend to have lower fat contents and less non-digestible materials. This often means less poo! Labeling on foods is notoriously untrustworthy. There are all kinds of gimmicks and loopholes in the claims they make. Just because it’s on the label, doesn’t mean it’s true.
9) Cat foods are a bit easier… the best food for most healthy cats: Canned Fancy Feast. Avoid dry foods when possible. Bottom line; ask your veterinarian for two or three good food options that are available in stores. The vast majority of our patients eat regular store foods and we are happy to make recommendations.
10) If your pet is drinking more than usual, urinating more than normal, vomiting, not eating, sleeping more than usual, is less active or having soft stools…don’t wait. At least call and ask for advice. Most veterinarians, or one of their veterinary nurses, will be able to talk to you and get you some basic information. Unfortunately, waiting to see if things get better on their own, or using old fashioned home remedies, often makes things much worse.
You can view the full article on Veterinary Care in Canton Life Magazine Here
I had no idea that the cheaper dog food had a high fat content. Thus creating a lot of excess excrement. Now I know why I need to go with the more quality foods. If I go that route hopefully I’ll be able to spare my dog a visit to the hospital.
I had no idea that grapes and raisins can cause kidney failure! We love to give my dog the nutrition he needs, and I always thought that fruit was just as good for him. We will be sure to not give him any grapes.
I really like your second tip “animals feel pain, just like we do.” I think that is something really important to remember. We have been wanting to take our pets to a new animal hospital for a while now. We will have to keep these tips in mind while we are searching.
I had no idea about a lot of these things! There was one time my neighbor kept feeding his cat whenever it wanted food, and it ended up gaining so much weight that it developed heart problems. I remember that we had to take him to the animal hospital in order to help him recover. It was really sad.
Number 9 is an eye opener. I regularly give my cat Fancy Feast as a special treat, but I thought a good quality dry food (like Iams) should make up the majority of his diet. So ideally it’d be best if he ate soft food all the time? I know he wouldn’t object!
I just got a new puppy, and I love him so much. He is so little and precious, I want to do anything I can to take care of him. Your advice on not using food to buy your dog’s love was really interesting. When my puppy does something right, I give him a treat. I’ll be sure to remember this, and find a different way to encourage him.
I had no idea that animals naturally hide symptoms. I can see why this would be important to be aware of if you are thinking your pet might be sick. I agree that having regular physical exams would be a good way to catch any sickness that they might be feeling. It might even be good to ask the vet what things you could look for if you suspect there might be sickness.
I love what you said in number two. I think this information would be perfect for anyone who might think they want to become a veterinarian. I was unaware that animals tend to curl up to avoid pain — I think that is so sad! Thank you so much for the reminder, and I will make sure to be more attentive!
I had no idea that heart worm disease was caused by mosquitoes! I have always wondered where they came from so that makes a lot of sense. We have been thinking about taking our dog to the vet so that we can figure out what the best course of care is when it comes to preventing heart worms so I’ll be sure to ask the questions that I have. Thank you for sharing!
I just moved towns and I am nervous about finding the right vet for my dog! She is my baby and best friend! I like the idea that animals feel pain, just like we do and so I want to find my dog a doctor that understands that and will treat her well.
This is some really good information about the veterinary car for your pets. My grandmother is very close to her pet cat. I didn’t realize that can cat food is better for your cat. That is a good thing for her to be aware of.
You said that dental disease is a problem among animals. I recently took my dog to the vet so they could see how he was doing. Maybe I should ask them to check his teeth and to take care of them.
I love that this article pointed out that food quality does matter! We as humans don’t pick the cheapest foods with zero nutrition 24/7– at least I hope we don’t! We should be making sure the same goes for our pets. They need quality food to live off of so they can be healthy and taken care of. I think if they are eating the right food, they can live a lot longer and have healthier lives.
My wife and I have been looking for a good animal hospital for our dog for if there are any issues that we need. I’m glad that I found your information about some things that could potentially cause a trip to the animal hospital, in particular a lot of sleeping to try and avoid pain. I’m going to have to keep an eye out for our dog oversleeping and be sure that if we do need to take him to the animal hospital, we’ll know he’s well taken care of!
Thanks for the information on vet care. We have a small dog, and I want her to live a comfortable, healthy life. I didn’t know that human medications could be fatal to my dog, so that is good to learn!
It’s good to know that regular phsycial exams with a pet are important since they often try and hid their symptoms. My wife and I are thinking about getting a dog, but neither of us have owned one before and we don’t know much about proper care. We’ll definitely be sure to have our dog checked routinely by a professional to ensure it stays happy and healthy its entire life.
I had no idea that 80% of unprotected dogs in Georgia will get heartworms at some point. My own dog just got heartworm disease and I am trying to find the best ways to care for my beagle. Thanks for pointing out that heartworms can be easily preventable every month, as I find a dog lawyer, I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.
It’s interesting that fat content can affect your pet’s digestion. My dog has been having some issues with diarrhea lately. We should look into changing his diet to see if he’s eating too much fat.
It’s helpful to learn that when it comes to human medication for pets a vet could guide us how to best treat our cat’s sickness even with just calling them. I never knew that human medications can potentially cause fatal side effects for our pet. I’ll surely be devastated to learn that I’m the one that caused my feline pal’s death if that happens. I’ll be sure to consult and schedule a regular check-up for our cat next week. Thanks for the guide on veterinary care! I’ll be sure to jot these down for future references.
I do like how you mentioned that our pets normally tends to curl up and sleep their pain away if they aren’t whimpering or crying. That is something I will be sure to keep in mind as I would like to be able to take proper care of my beloved buddy. Once I notice any drastic change in my buddy’s behavior, I will be sure to get him to a reliable veterinarian. Thanks!
Thanks for these tips about veterinary care. I’m glad this article mentioned some food items that are bad for pets, like grapes and raisins. I wonder if it could be beneficial to compile a list of these so you can make sure you know what you can give a pet.
Wow, it’s awesome that you talked about how important it is to stay on top of dental issues. I have a cousin who is looking to hire veterinary services that will really help with taking care of her dog. I think I will talk to her about hiring a professional who also cares about dental issues.
I like what you said about animals feeling pain just like we do. Sympathizing with my dog and really caring for it is important to me because I love my dog. Recently he’s been whining and I’m not entirely sure why. I’m thinking I’ll have to take him to the vet soon and get him checked out.
You make a great point that grapes and raisins can cause kidney failure and be just as toxic as chocolate. My sister’s dog has been sick for several days, and she’s wondering if he ate something that would’ve harmed him. It’s probably best for her to just take her dog to the vet to get him checked out and make sure that everything’s alright.
Thanks for talking about different ways we care for our pets. I had no idea that human medications could be harmful to pets as well. I was always under the impression that Aspirin was fine for animals. My sister wants to get a dog and she wants to find out what she needs to do to take care of it first; I will be sure to share this with her.
My husband and I recently got a puppy and we have never had a pet before, so I appreciate the tips in this article. I did not realize that regular physical exams done by a qualified veterinarian are so important. This way we can be aware if there are any problems that need to be treated before they become worse and get into the late stages. Also, you make a great point that you should choose quality food for your dog that has the best nutrition because this will help our puppy to stay as healthy as possible. I will definitely share these tips with my husband!
Thanks for the suggestion to ask a veterinarian for two or three good food options that are available in stores. My husband and I are thinking of getting a kitten from our neighbor, whose cat just had a litter last week. We want to be sure we’re prepared if we do take one home, so we’ll definitely need to start looking for a great vet in our area who can help us create a great home environment for a cat.
Thank you for your tip about avoiding dental disease for your pets. I feel like this can be something that is overlooked by first-time pet owners. We will be sure to take proper care of our dog’s teeth and to find a vet for regular checkups.
It’s good to know that regular physical exams are the most important thing you can do for your pet’s health. My daughter has a Shih Tzu pet dog. She wanted to have it groomed, but she didn’t know how and where to find these services. I will share this post with her.