Pawprints | Mossel Bay Animal Hospital

The Frenchie who did the splits

Vincenza's owner noticed that whenever she walked on a smooth surface, her legs would slide out sideways and she would do the splits. When she walked her forelegs were dragging, causing her nails to wear down badly.

When she arrived at Mossel Bay Animal Hospital, her symptoms were very worrying. Blood tests revealed little, but a full spinal x-ray showed the cause of the problem: a hemivertebra (vertabra that is wedge-shaped) in the thoracic area of her spine. Whenever she exercised too much the vertebra would shift slightly and pinch the nerves, causing lameness. The real origin is genetic, which an x-ray of her tail shows clearly. French Buldogs and also pugs, are bred to have "corkscrew" tails, which are literally curled up inside their skin instead of sticking out like other dog's tails. This same trait also produces hemivertrabra.

Following the accurate diagnosis by the Mossel Bay Animal Hospital veterinary team, Vincenza was prescribed 6 weeks best rest, anti-inflammatories and long-term medication. She now leads an almost normal life, with her owner just having to ensure that she doesn't leap off high objects and get into rumbles with her much bigger brothers, all of who are also regular visitors at Mossel Bay Animal Hospital.

More info on hemivertabra and this congenital defect:
https://www.ufaw.org.uk/dogs/french-bulldog-hemivertebrae

Itches and scratches

Tips for Senior Pets

Did you know that more than 50% of dog allergies are caused by the world around them?

Your pet’s itch could be due to fleas, pollen, dust and other environmental allergens. @Hill’s Pet Nutrition Prescription Diet Derm Defense, formulated to reduce signs of environmental allergies – has taken SA by storm. If your pet’s a sufferer, read more here:
http://bit.ly/HillsDermDefenseFood

Why pets are great in winter!

Only a pet lover would understand this!

Back in the sixties there was a band named “3 Dog Night” which borrowed the name from ancient times when owners would let their dogs sleep on the bed for added warmth. A very chilly night warranted sharing your bed with no less than 3 canines!

True pet owners still keep the tradition alive, but to preserve your duvet and sheets, place an old sheet on top of duvet to catch the hair and muddy paw prints. Shake the sheet outside in the morning and leave it to air during the day, otherwise you make start looking and smelling like your pet!

What is kennel cough?

Kennel Cough (also known as canine infectious tracheobronchitis) is a highly contagious respiratory disease. Dogs commonly contract kennel cough at places where large amounts of canines congregate, such as boarding and daycare facilities, dog parks, training groups, and dog shows. Dogs can spread it to one another through airborne droplets, direct contact (e.g., touching noses), or contaminated surfaces (including water/food bowls). It’s highly treatable in most dogs but can be more severe in puppies younger than six months of age and immunocompromised dogs.

What are the Symptoms?

If your dog is affected with kennel cough, you may notice one or more of the following symptoms:

a strong cough, often with a “honking” sound – this is the most obvious symptom
runny nose
sneezing
lethargy
loss of appetite
low fever

How Is Kennel Cough Treated?

Typically, mild cases of kennel cough are treated with a week or two of rest, but a veterinarian may prescribe antibiotics to prevent a secondary infection and cough medication to ease the symptoms.

“Nebulizers and vaporizers utilizing inhaled antibiotics or bronchodilators have been reported to be beneficial but are usually not prescribed,” Dr. Fitzgerald said. Speak to your veterinarian for treatment recommendations. Also, it’s important that owners use a harness rather than a collar to walk a dog with kennel cough because irritation of the tracheal can aggravate the cough and possibly even cause damage to the trachea. If you have a household with multiple pets, it may be useful to separate them as much as possible or at least to separate their water and food bowls to prevent the sick dog from infecting the other animals. Humans cannot catch kennel cough.

Distemper outbreak

GARDEN ROUTE NEWS – The Garden Route SPCA George branch has announced there has been an “enormous distemper outbreak, which started in February”. SPCA senior inspector Salome Bruyns said: “Although the numbers came down in the last month we still deal with distemper cases almost on a daily basis.

Bruyns stressed: “The importance of vaccinations to control this disease cannot be over emphasised.

“Distemper can be a catastrophic disease even for an adult dog, thus it is imperative to keep up these annual vaccinations.

“This outbreak of distemper started in Thembaletu and Eden Park and spread other areas. Currently most cases reported in George are from Parkdene.

“Dogs that are not vaccinated that come into any kind of contact with an infected animal carry a particularly high risk of contracting this deadly disease,” Bruyns said.

She noted that the virus was spread through the air and by direct or indirect contact with an infected animal. The disease attacked the respiratory, urogenital and nervous systems. The newest strain of the distemper virus caused aggressive symptoms, mainly neurological, that closely resembled rabies symptoms, Bruyns said.

Pet owners should look out for these symptoms:

Fever
Listlessness / tiredness
Vomiting and diarrhoea
Discharge from the eyes and nose
Coughing
Muscle tremors in the body and on the head – neurological stage.
Sudden aggressive behaviour / overfriendly – change in personality
Fear of water
Fever
Weakness
Loss of appetite
Seizures
Paralysis of the throat and jaw muscles may follow, resulting in the well-known symptom of foaming at the mouth.
Disorientation, incoordination and staggering may occur, caused by paralysis of the hind legs.

Should your dog have any of these symptoms, take it to your veterinarian immediately.

https://www.georgeherald.com/News/Article/LifeStyle/distemper-dogs-must-be-vaccinated-201805310805

All shapes and sizes

Our customers come in all shapes and sizes.

Some are neater in their appearance while others may be more concerned about their offspring than how they look!

We give them all the same care to ensure that they live long and healthy lives.