Q: My dog was just spayed and the incision is red - is this normal?
A: This is normal, unless the incision is swollen, bright red and/or soft to the touch. Try to keep your pet from running and stretching the incision area since this will cause more swelling. You can try a warm/hot compress over the incision to help with the swelling.

Q: My dog runs away from home often -- is there anything that can be done?
A: Male dogs often roam during the spring and fall, when female dogs are in heat. One way to prevent roaming is to have your dog neutered. The resulting reduction in hormone levels will lessen the desire to run off. It may not fix the problem totally, but it should help.

Q: My cat tries to use the litter box often and nothing comes out- is something wrong?
A: Yes. A urinary tract infection or bladder stones can cause what you are seeing. Make an appointment with the veterinarian as soon as possible to have the urine checked.

Q: What kind of worms are there and how do you get rid of them?
A: Roundworms and Hookworms are the most common intestinal worms. They are primary a puppy and kitten problem, causing vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy. Treatment is to give Nemex three times a year or monthly heartworm prevention. Whipworms primarily affects mature dogs causing anemia and bloody diarrhea. Treatment is Panacur. Tapeworms looks like rice found in stool. Treatment is Droncit tablets. Coccidia affects young animals. It causes watery bloody diarrhea. Treatment is Albon,

Q: What are the signs of heartworms and how can it be prevented?
A: Signs - lethargy, coughing, vomiting, weight loss, anorexia.
Diagnosis - Quick and easy blood test by a veterinarian.
Prevention - Starting heartworm prevention tablets before 6 months of age and staying on prevention every month. Products include: Heartgard - covers heartworms, rounds, and hooks; Interceptor - covers heartworms, rounds, hooks, and whips; Sentinel - covers heartworms and is also a flea protection product.

Q: What is parvovirus?
A: Parvo is a viral infection that occurs by dogs ingesting the virus through fecal material off the ground. The virus stays in the environment for a very long time, infection is most severe between 6-14 weeks of age and vaccinated animals can also get this disease.
Signs include vomiting, bloody diarrhea, lethargic.
Treatment is fluids, antibiotics, and blood transfusion.
Prevention vaccination starting at 6 weeks of age and continuing vaccinations every 3 - 4 weeks until 14 weeks of age.

Q: What can I do to get rid of fleas?
A: Prevention and treatment on the animal includes; Frontline - kills fleas and ticks and lasts for one month. Advantage - kills fleas larvae and lasts for one month. There are also various shampoos and sprays that can be used. Most only last for 4-5 days and can be very toxic to small cats and dogs. Always read the labels before using any flea products.

Q: How often do females come into heat?
A: Dogs Golden Rule - Every 6 1/2 months. However the range is four to ten months. There is no seasonal pattern, dogs and cats go through puberty any time of the year.
21 days of heat cycle
7 days in - bloody discharge, swollen vaginal area
7 days actual heat - female accepts male
7 days out - non receptive female, but the male still hangs around
*pregnancy length - 63 days plus or minus 2 days

Q: What is the best food I can feed my pet, how much, and how often?
A: Puppy - a lot of food for 20 minutes, three times a day
1 year old - start mixing puppy food and adult food to change diet
Adult - usually 1 cup per 10 pounds twice a day

Q: What does the distemper shot protect against?
A: Everybody calls it a distemper shot. It actually covers 5 different viral infections and a bacterial infection.
1. Distemper - nervous system and respiratory virus
2. Hepatitis - liver virus
3. Parainfluenza - respiratory virus
4. Paravirus - intestinal virus
5. Corona virus - intestinal virus
6. Leptospirosis bacteria - kidney and liver bacteria

Q: What causes my pet to itch so much?
A: 1. Dry skin - try a shampoo with oatmeal and an antihistamine
2. Mites (Mange) - need to dip the animal with a medicated dip
3. Fleas - use advantage or frontline
4. Allergies - need allergy medication

Q: What is Sentinel?
A: Sentinel is a product that protects dogs from five very important parasites. Sentinel is given orally with food once monthly. The five tiny parasites that pose a gigantic threat to dogs are Heartworms, fleas (sentinel kills flea eggs), roundworms, hookworms, and whips.

Q: How often should I bathe my dog and with what?
A: Normally a dog should be given a bath no more often than every 2 week - with exceptions to certain dogs when every week is needed. Dogs have very sensitive skin so an oatmeal base shampoo and conditioner are very highly recommended.

Q: At what age can I apply flea medication?
A: Depends on the flea medication
Sentinel - 4 weeks
Program - 6 weeks
Advantage - 7 weeks (dogs) 8 weeks (cats)
Frontline - 10 weeks (dogs) 12 weeks (cats)

Q: My pet has been potty trained but is now urinating in the house - What's wrong and what can I do?
A: Two things should come to mind

1. Urinary Tract Infection or Bladder stones
Common Symptoms - frequent urination, urinating small amounts, blood in urine, urinating in house
Recommend - See a veterinarian

2. Environmental Stress
Common Causes - new pet in house, new person in house, new house or remodeled house, anything that has changed enviroment
Recommend - Isolation in a small room with litter box for a week when away from house

Q: Should my dog be on vitamins?
A: If your dog is on a well balanced diet, then vitamins are not really use extensively. Vitamins are essential in pregnant animals, debilitated animals, small fragile animals, and in animals that have been diagnosed with a vitamin or mineral deficiency.

Q: What are earmites?
A: Earmites are common in kittens and puppies, but can also affect adults. These mites are very small and they irritated the lining of the ear and cause scrum and thick crust to accumulate. Head shaking and ear flapping, along with scratching at the ears are common signs. Cleaning the ear and treating with miticide is recommended.

Q: How do I housebreak my dog?
A: (According to Canine Behavior: A Guide for Veterinarians by Bonnie V. Beaver)

As puppies have a natural tendency to eliminate in specific locations by 9 weeks of age, housetraining a newly acquired puppy is generally quite easy. The primary ingredients needed are patience, confinement, and schedule.

Patience is necessary because puppies do not become housebroke over night. They will have accidents for even the most dedicated owner. Some puppies are also slower about learning what is expected, so the owner cannot necessarily expect carpets to be safe after just a few weeks of even concerted effort. Some dogs take a year of consistent handling before they finally become house-safe, and a few others never seem to learn. It is important, however, that owners be consistent in their housetraining program, because deviations can confuse the young dog and delay the learning even more.

Confinement is the second recommendation for housetraining a puppy. As activity triggers eliminative behaviors, keeping the puppy still is an important management tool. Because puppies have a small urinary bladder and do not concentrate urine well in the kidneys, they generally cannot retain urine after 4-5 hours. Thus, they should not be left confined longer than this time, or they will not be able to avoid soiling their bed area. Special arrangements should be made if the owner must be gone for longer times.

Dog crates are ideal confinement areas and, if used properly, become a safe area instead of a punishment location. The crate should be big enough so that the puppy can lie fully extended in lateral recumbency. It should be tall enough so that the puppy can stand and wide enough so that the puppy can easily turn around. The crate should not, however, be so big that the puppy can become active. For large dogs, it may be necessary to use two or three different sized crates as the puppy grows, or at least to block off part of a large crate at first. The goal of confinement is to discourage activity because it can trigger eliminative behaviors. When active movement is allowed, the puppy needs to be taken to the chosen elimination site to prevent it from soiling unacceptable locations.

The owner who must be gone more than 4 hours should look for alternative to prolonged crate confinement. It may be possible to leave the puppy in a fenced yard, in a garage, or at a friend\'s home. Another alternative would be to keep the pup in an area two or three times larger than a crate, such as a bathroom or a wire- or plywood-framed indoor kennel. In this way the bed area can be separate from a newspaper-covered elimination area. Any area larger than this, such as the whole house, is not conducive to successful housetraining. When the owners are home, they should take the puppy outside at times when the probability of elimination is high.

Surfaces used in elimination areas also need to be considered in confinement. Surface preferences are learned between 9 and 24 weeks, so it is best to start the puppy on the same surface type that will be used for the adult dog. For most dogs this is grass, so the mats in a crate should have a different texture than that of the carpets in the house. Shag throw rugs are out. The paper-trained puppy may be fine in a high-rise apartment, but expecting it to change its eliminations to grass a few years later after a move into a house is not realistic. It is also impractical to paper-train the puppy that will grow up to become a 50-pound dog because of the volume and associated odor of the excreta.

The schedule is the third element of housetraining. Timing is critical, so the schedule used for a puppy becomes important. Puppies normally eliminate when they wake up, after they eat, after activity or excitement, approximately every 2 hours when awake, and before bed. These are the times a puppy should be taken to the elimination site. Because puppies sleep several times a day, they wake up often. They eat three or four meals a day, which should be offered at the same time each day. Thus, more than four trips to the elimination site will be required in the beginning.

For the very young dog, it is desirable to have the owners take the puppy to the elimination site once during the middle of the night. This small investment of a few minutes each night minimizes the risk of accidental soiling when the puppy is least able to hold large volumes of urine and when it does not sleep through the night. After 3-4 weeks, the owner can gradually get up 30-45 minutes later each night until the puppy can last through an entire night without needing to eliminate. A seven-day-a-week schedule should be maintained for several months so that the expected pattern becomes firmly established.

Owners should never expect their dog, especially a puppy, to ask to go out to eliminate. That behavior can be taught, but not all dogs will pick it up on their own. By using the timing of a schedule, owners are less likely to have problems with housesoiling.

If a pet door is going to be used, it is best to start the puppy under supervision as already described, so that it learns what the preferred site and surface is. Once these patterns are well established, then the young dog can be taught how to use the door. The exception would be if an older dog is present that uses the pet door. In this case, the puppy will follow its older companion and usually pick up acceptable behaviors because it is in the right place at the right time.

To teach a dog to indicate a desire to go outside, an owner can use a shaping technique. If the typical routine to go out for elimination involves calling the dog to the door, this behavior is rewarded with praise and a small food treat. A bell is hung from the doorknob so that it can be easily reached by the dog. After the dog learns that it will get a food treat, the owner should bring the treat close to the bell before the dog takes it and goes out. The next step is to move the treat into a position where the dog must bump the bell in order to reach the treat. Eventually the dog will have to ring the bell before getting the treat and getting let out. Finally, the connection,will be made between ringing the bell and being let out, if the ringing is always associated with the opening of the door.