Welcome to out Spring/Summer newsletter. It is difficult to believe we are a quarter of the way through 2024 and already so much has been happening at our practice. In the main premises building works are ongoing behind the scenes to add an additional operating theatre. Further expansion is under discussion to allow for additional diagnostic and medical facilities, broadening and diversifying the services and care we are able to provide our patients. We have already appointed Ffern as out newest trainee vet nurse and will be welcoming Hollie, a registered veterinary nurse, to our team in the coming weeks.
For this newsletter we have decided to take a look at parasite control, to help clients tailor the use of preventative treatments to their individual dogs needs. With the concern over potential environmental contamination caused by indiscriminate use of anti-parasiticides being a hot topic, this seems a timely debate. Our second article looks to help clear up some conceptions/misconceptions about the health of our pets.
Parasites, is your pet at risk?
There is a lot of current speculation that we may be overtreating our pets with anti-parasitic drugs; some individuals are concerned that this may be bad for the health of our pets and the environmental. We always try to advise people based on their pet’s individual risk. The aim of this article is to try and explain the common parasites and the factors that influence the risk of your pet being exposed/infected by them and how to try an implement a targeted treatment plan.
Worms:
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Roundworms:
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Toxocara:
- Nearly all puppies and kittens will be infected with this parasite, larvae (immature worms) are transferred from their mother thought the placenta, transmission can also occur through the mothers’ milk.
- At around 6 months of age cats and dogs can develop a partial immunity Toxocara, at this time the risk of adult worms developing becomes much reduced.
- Symptoms of Toxocara infection in pets can include: diarrhoea, a potbelly and vomiting. Heavy infestations can cause an intestinal blockage.
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- Toxocara can cause disease in humans if worm egg/s, passed in the animal’s faeces, are accidentally ingested. In people symptoms vary and can consist of: fever, coughing, stomach ache, rashes and problems with vision. Please see the NHS page on toxocariasis for more information.
- Worming advice: we recommended worming all puppies and kittens monthly up until 6 months of age. As most soil is contaminated with toxocara eggs it is recommended to worm adult pets with outdoor access a minimum of four times a year, to reduce shedding of more eggs into the environment. Swiftly picking up your pets faeces and appropriate disposal will also help limit further environmental contamination. Animals that hunt/scavenge, eat a raw/unprocessed diet or live with pregnant women, children or immunocompromised individuals should consider worming monthly.
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Lungworm: (dogs - Angiostrongylus Vasorum, cats – Aelurostrongylus Abstrusus, Eucoleus Aerophilus)
- Dog and cats contract lungworm when they eat infected slugs or snails and/or from eating grass/food/water contaminated by an infected slug/snail’s slime trail. Animals can also contract lungworm by eating an intermediate host/s such as birds and frogs which have themselves eaten infected snails/slugs.
- Lungworm larvae usually travel thought the body to the lungs where they develop into adult worms. Infection in dogs can be asymptomatic or can cause bleeding/bruising issues, weight loss, breathing difficulties, coughing and/or lethargy. Larvae can occasionally migrate to other parts of the body including the spinal cord causing neurological signs.
- In cats symptoms are usually a mild chronic cough, sneezing, shortness of breath/wheezing, lethargy, weight loss and sometimes nasal discharge.
- For dogs Wales and Southern England are the highest risk areas in the UK, however cases have also been reported in the north and Scotland.
- Cats with outdoor access, that hunt and/or have access to food/water are at higher risk of exposure to lungworm.
- The only proven way to reduce the risk of lungworm infection in at risk individuals is to treat monthly with an appropriate wormer.
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Tapeworms:
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Dipylidium species
- Fleas carry the eggs of Dipylidium worms. Dogs and cats become infected when they ingest the infected fleas during grooming.
- Tapeworm segments may be seen in the faeces or around the anus of the affected pet which may be seen to itch/overgroom their bottom a lot.
- Good flea control will reduce the risk of exposure, it is advisable that any pet found to have fleas receive a treatment for tapeworm.
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Taenia species
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- These large tapeworms are spread by pets that themselves contract the worms by eating infected rodents and/or scavenging dead livestock (sheep and cattle). Feeding a raw food diet, if not appropriately frozen, can also be a potential route of infection.
- Most infections are asymptomatic but a heavy worm burden may result in diarrhoea, or constipation, with weight loss. Segments of the worm may also be seen in pets’ faeces or around the pets’ anus.
- Life style is the main determining factor for risk of infection pets which are hunters, known scavengers of carcasses or raw fed should be wormed monthly.
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Echinococcus Granulosus
- This is a small tapeworm that can cause potentially severe disease humans.
- Dogs are infected by scavenging infected carcasses or from being fed raw offal. An infected dog will shed worm eggs and contaminate the pasture, exposed livestock will develop cysts which can be a significant economic concern for farmers, as the meat from affected animals may be condemned.
- If a human accidentally ingests a worm egg either directly from their pet or contaminated environment, they can develop cysts with symptoms dependant on the organ affected.
- Powys appears to be the most high-risk area in the UK for Echinococcus Granulosus, however Herefordshire does have a higher-than-average incidence of the worm compared to the rest of the UK.
- Dogs who have unsupervised access to farm pasture, with potential access to scavenge fallen livestock, should be wormed regularly. Appropriately picking up after your dog when they defecate will also reduce environmental contamination.
Fleas
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- Fleas are a very common ectoparasite that are carried by most of wildlife which frequent our gardens, parks and countryside. Rodents, rabbits and hedgehogs often carry lots of fleas. If you have a cat that regularly hunts or a dog who is frequently going into the undergrowth it is likely they are regularly exposed to fleas.
- Female fleas rapidly reproduce, eggs laid will contaminate the environment and can lay dormant for months to years until they are stimulated to hatch and mature, ready to re-infest. It is estimated that only 10% of the flea population is actually on the pet the other 90% is in the pet’s environment.
- The most common sign of fleas is itching, flea allergic animals are especially sensitive to flea saliva and can overgroom and develop a severe rash.
- The risk of flea exposure is highest for cats’ with outdoor access, especially hunters. For dogs’ regular access to wildlife rich areas i.e. woods, fields etc and those living with a high-risk cat/s have significantly increased risk of fleas exposure.
- Pets at low risk of fleas may be managed to regularly checking the coat with a flea comb and treating when necessary. Pets at high risk of exposure, especially those that are flea allergic, should receive regular flea treatment at an interval appropriate for the product being used. There is huge debate and growing concern over potential environmental contamination, especially of waterways, associated with the use of flea treatments in pets. Consideration should be given to avoiding spot-on treatments in those who regularly swim or have baths.
Ticks
- With the change in climate over recent years ticks are becoming an increased concern milder winters meaning they can be active throughout the year.
- Several different types of tick can be found across the UK:
- Ixodes ticks are the most common, typically being most active in the spring and early summer. These ticks can be found in urban environments as well as woodland, areas of thick vegetation and some coastal regions.
- Dermacentor reticulatus is predominantly found in Wales and the south west but it is slowly spreading throughout the UK, it is mainly active between March to June and August to November.
- Haemaphysalis punctata has been found in the marshlands of Kent and Essex but has been reported in west Hampshire, is common on sheep along the north Wales coast.
- Some exotic ticks found in mainland Europe that can potentially be imported into the UK on travelling pets, there is growing concern that, due to climate change, these ticks are likely to become established in the UK.
- All UK ticks can carry a variety of disease including Lymes disease, Tick-borne encephalitis, babesia which they can transmit to you or your pet when they bite/feed .
- Cats and dogs who regularly go outside into areas where there are sheep, deer, hedgehogs and/or rabbits, who go through dense undergrowth will be at most risk; we would recommend they are checked daily for ticks as well as receive regular preventative anti-tick treatment. Appropriate tick prevention should have repellent and/or rapid kill activity to reduce the likelihood of transmission of tick-borne diseases.
- We strongly advise preventative tick treatment for all pets travelling outside the UK to help significantly reduce their risk of exposure to some of the potentially life threatening exotic tick borne diseases.
Please talk to your vet to help form an appropriate preventative treatment plan to meet your individual pets needs.
Fact or fiction, a look at some common facts and misconceptions in veterinary patients.
1. It is good for a bitch to have at least one litter or puppies, a bitch who has had puppies will not get pyometra.
False
There is no health benefit to a bitch having a litter of puppies. As with all mammalian species pregnancy and birth are not without potential risk to the mother. Pregnant bitches can suffer from diseases like diabetes and eclampsia (low blood calcium). During birth puppies can get stuck (dystocia) which may result in the need for the bitch to undergo surgery (caesarean) to remove the puppies. Post whelping infections of the womb (pyometra) or mammary tissue (mastitis) can also occur. Not all bitches are instinctively good mothers and some can become very distressed, even violent, with their puppies. All entire bitches are at risk of developing pyometra in later life even if they have had a litter of puppies.
2. Garlic is a good, safe natural therapy against fleas and worms.
False
Whilst there is some evidence that garlic can cause the shedding of tapeworm segments it does not kill tapeworms; the head part, attached to the pets intestinal wall, is unaffected by garlic and just produces more segments full of eggs. Garlic, like onions, belongs to the allium family of plants, which are be toxic to dogs. Dogs consuming these plants can develop potentially life threatening haemolytic anaemia, as red blood cells are damaged.
3. Feeding vegetables to your dog is good for them
True
Recent evidence suggests that dogs fed fresh vegetables in their diet are at lower risk of developing bladder cancer.
4. Fish oils and/or turmeric can help manage osteoarthritis
True
The Omega 3/6 ratio in fish oil has been proven to be a safe and natural anti-inflammatory. Turmeric has also been found to have painkilling properties in dogs and is included in some commercially available joint supplements.
5. A diagnosis of cancer is always a death sentence.
False
Just as in humans our canine and feline patients suffer a wide variety of cancers both benign and malignant. Even within the group of malignant tumours, although some are rapidly progressive and fatal, for others there are many different types of therapy that can be either curative or put the cancer into remission for a significant period of time. Every case is different and treatment recommendations may include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy or cancer vaccines. Every case must be assessed and a treatment plan made on an individual basis. It is true many of the treatments are expensive, especially when they are only available at specialist facilities, but the options are ever improving for our pets, just as they are in the human field.
6. Early neutering of female dogs and cats can reduce the risk of them developing mammary cancer.
True
The relative risk of a bitch developing mammary cancer later in life is considered to significantly increase after they have had two or more seasons. Cats who are neutered before the age of 6 months of age are 91% less likely to develop mammary tumours than those spayed after 2 years.
7. Castrating male cats reduces the risk of then fighting and/or wandering.
True
Entire male cats have been shown to wander further from home and be involved in more cat to cat fights.
8. Castrating dogs eliminates unwanted mounting behaviour, aggression and calms a dog down.
False
Mounting behaviour is not always sexually driven so will not always improve when a dog is castrated. In addition it is now understood that the majority of aggression shown in dogs is a response to anxiety, newer studies suggest that this is heightened when a dog is castrated and therefore this can be worsened rather than improved with neutering. Whilst some dogs slow down after being castrated this is more likely due to the natural maturing or the weight gain experienced after they are neutered, generally high energy dogs will remain high energy dogs. If you want a calm quiet dog then researching your breeds before committing to a pet is recommended (n.b. dogs do not read books and not all dogs fit the typical breed profile!!)
9. Neutering increases the risk of obesity.
True
It is true that neutering a pet can reduce their metabolism by up to 30%, there is also a suggestion that the change in hormones can also affect the satiety centre in the brain (the area that recognises when you have had enough to eat). Many neutered pets will eat more than they need and gain weight. Reducing your dogs calorie intake alongside increasing exercise can help counteract these effects.
10. Obesity is a risk factor for development of diabetes in cats.
True
Obesity in cats can result in what is known as insulin resistance, this is where the body does not respond to insulin as it should and blood sugar increases. Managing obesity in a diabetic cat is important for management of feline diabetes. Some diabetic cats suitably managed can go into diabetic remission where they no longer require medication. Obesity is not a direct risk factor for diabetes in dogs.
