Love your pet month!

This February will be "Love Your Pet" month here at the Animal Hospital of Walnut Cove. In celebration of "love your pet" month, we will be offering 20% off all spays and neuters for the entire month of February. Having your pet spayed or neutered is better for its overall health. Spaying and neutering can prevent mammary and uterine cancer in females, and testicular and other types of cancer in males. Spaying prevents pyometra, a deadly infection that can occur in the uterus of a female dog that isn't spayed. In males, neutering prevents protaste enlargement and prostate infections. Other than the health benefits, spaying and neutering can help decrease aggression, roaming, spraying and marking.

Spaying and neutering also helps the pet overpopulation crisis. Each day, tens of thousands of puppies and kittens are born in the US. There are simply just not enough homes for all of them, and those that don't find a home can end up a stray on the streets or in shelters. Untfortunately, each year millions of dogs and cats in shelters do not find homes and are euthanized to make room for more homeless pets. One simple way to help fix this major problem is to have your pet spayed or neutered. While you may not think that having one dog or one cat spayed or neutered can have much of an impact, consider this scenario. An unspayed female cat, her mate and all of their offspring, producing 2 litters per year, with 2.8 surviving kittens per litter can produce over 11.5 million cats within only nine years. So having your pet spayed or neutered can significantly help reduce pet overpopulation.

You dog or cat can be spayed or neutered once they are twelve weeks of age or older. Most pets can home the day of surgery, or they can stay at the hospital overnight to get extra rest after the surgery. All the pets go home with pain medication to help them stay comfortable while recovering. Aftercare involves restricting your pet's activity and monitoring their incision area for 8 days after the surgery until the sutures are removed. All pet's have a complete physical exam before surgery, and we also offer pre-surgical bloodwork to help ensure your pet is healthy enough for anesthesia. If you would like to schedule to have your pet spayed or neutered, or would like to find out more about spaying or neutering, please give us a call, 336-591-8250.

Dentals

Before your pet has a dental, they are examined to assess their overall health. Any pet five years of age or older must have pre-anesthetic bloodwork performed before a dental. This is done to help ensure that they are healthy enough for anesthesia. The pre-anesthetic bloodwork can detect if a pet is anemic, has an infection, or has any liver or kidney problems.

While your pet is anestitized during a dental, they are monitored very closely. We are able to monitor their heart rate, breathing, pulse, ekg, and the oxygenation level of their blood. Some pets may be given extra fluids to help keep them hydrated during anesthesia. We place an IV catheter in all pets which is used to easily give any needed drugs or fluids during anesthesia.

In a dental, the teeth are cleaned using a dental scaler. The scaler thoroughly removes all the plaque and tarter from the teeth. The scaler is also able to clean the area between the tooth and the gum where plaque likes to hide.

Any teeth that are loose or infected are removed during a dental. An infected tooth often causes pain, and most often the only way to clear the infection completely is to remove the tooth. A loose tooth is a sign that the tooth and the gum surrounding the tooth is unhealthy. If not removed the loose tooth can cause further problems such as pain, infection, and additional damage to the tissue surrounding the tooth. Sometimes owners are surprised when their pet has several teeth removed during a dental. In reality, a dog or a cat with just a few healthy teeth can eat their food easier and have less harmful bacteria in their mouths than a dog or cat with a mouth full of unhealthy teeth.

After a dental, the pet usually goes home that same day with oral pain medication, and antibiotics if needed. Most pets do very well after a dental, and have no problem eating their normal dinner that evening.

A healthy smile equals a healthy pet

We all know how it important it is to take good care of our teeth, we are constantly preached to brush twice a day, floss daily and visit the dentist regularly. What most of us dont know is that taking care of our pet's teeth is just as important. About three quarters of dogs (especially small dogs) and cats show signs of oral disease by 3 years of age. The signs of oral disease include persistant bad breath, tarter buildup along the gum line, and red, inflamed gums.

Oral disease begins when bacteria combines with food and saliva in the area between the tooth and the gum leading to plaque development. The plaque combines with more bacteria and calcium deposits leading to the buildup of tarter. The plaque and tarter create an ideal environment for continued bacterial growth. The bacteria and bacterial by-products lead to the damage of the perdiodontal tissue that provides structure and support to the teeth. Then the immune system attacks the bacteria, but this only causes more inflammation and damage. Eventually periodontal disease develops which causes bad breath, pain, red and swollen gums, bleeding and recessed gums. This then leads to loose teeth. But it doesnt stop there, the inflammed gums allow bacteria to enter the bloodstream. The bacteria then travel and infect other organs such as the heart, liver and kidneys. This is why a healthy mouth can help your pet have a healthier, longer life.

You can help prevent oral disease in your pet by taking your pet to the vet for annual check-ups which include a dental exam. You can also help prevent oral disease by brushing your pet's teeth routinely. If you are concerned that your pet may already have oral disease, make an appointment with us to have your pet's mouth examined. This is especially important if your pet is showing signs of oral disease such as bad breath, changes in eating or chewing habits, or pawing at their mouth. We may reccommend a dental prodecure to clean the teeth and remove all the plaque and tarter. Below is a picture of Bat, our clinic dog, showing off his "smile".