Pet Health Insurance

Due to advances in medical technology, veterinary care has become incredibly sophisticated. Unfortunately, the cost of these new services can be expensive.  Without pet insurance, you are forced to put a price tag on the life of your beloved companion. This traumatic situation can be avoided by enrolling your pet in an insurance program.  Pet health insurance covers your pet for unexpected accidents and illnesses, including procedure costs, prescription drugs, and x-rays. Insurance programs also offer coverage for spaying and neutering and routine wellness care, such as annual checkups, vaccines, and dental cleaning. 

For most insurance policies, you pay at time of service, but are reimbursed after you mail the claim form, filled out and signed by an authorized member of your veterinarian’s staff.  Benefits and rates vary.

Three of the most popular insurance providers are:

• PetCare, 866-275-PETS, www.petcareinsurance.com;
• VPI, 888-899-4VPI, www.petinsurance.com;
• Petshealth, 800-807-6724, www.petshealthplan.com.

Spaying and Neutering

Some veterinarians will spay or neuter puppies as young as eight weeks old, but you should definitely spay or neuter your puppy well before six months old, when most dogs reach sexual maturity.

When dogs are spayed or neutered, fewer unwanted litters end up in shelters or are sold on the street. Fewer puppies are weaned from their mother, separated from their littermates, or isolated from human touch before they are ready. Spaying and neutering also helps prevent many unwanted behaviors, including fighting, marking and roaming.  And dogs that have been spayed or neutered have a lower risk of uterine and ovarian cancers, as well as a decreased risk for prostate disorders. 

Your local shelter, SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), or www.pets911.com can tell you about reduced fee spay and neuter clinics. Arranging for this procedure is the responsible thing to do, AND it will improve your dog’s behavior and health.

Vaccines

When a puppy stops nursing, he loses his mother’s immunity.  An early decline in a puppy’s maternal immunity can leave him susceptible to infection at a very young age, but a strong maternal immunity can inhibit  vaccines from working appropriately.  This is why puppies receive a series of vaccines rather than one set only. 

There are many vaccines available today and, depending on your locality and dog’s lifestyle, some infections may be more or less likely.  Your veterinarian should help you decide which vaccines are appropriate for your pet.  Some of the most common vaccines include:

• DHPP Vaccine – against  (Distemper, Hepatitis, Parainfluenza, and Parvovirus)

Otherwise known as the puppy vaccine, its components are:

• Distemper virus - Attacks the lungs and affects the function of the brain and spinal cord. Disease can be fatal.
• Hepatitis – Affects the liver and can cause loss of vision.
• Parainfluenza – Respiratory virus that causes coughing.
• Parvovirus – Attacks the lining of the intestinal tract and damages the heart of very young puppies. Can be fatal.

The DHPP vaccine is administered every three to four weeks to your new puppy.  The vaccine is generally given at eight, twelve, and sixteen weeks, unless your breeder already started the process at six weeks.

• Bordatella Vaccine-  (Kennel Cough) – The disease causes severe, but rarely fatal, respiratory disease.  Puppies are treated once or twice with a nasal spray. 

• Corona Vaccine – This virus attacks the gastrointestinal system, causing severe diarrhea.  Is given to puppies twice, three or four weeks apart.

• Leptospirosis vaccine – This bacterium causes kidney and liver damage.  The vaccine is protective against some strains, but not all strains, of the disease.  Is given to puppies twice, three or four weeks apart.

• Lyme Vaccine – A tick-borne bacterial disease that can cause arthritis, lameness, lethargy, and can attack the brain, kidneys and heart.  Can be fatal.  Is given to puppies twice, three or four weeks apart.

• Rabies Vaccine – Is usually administered with your pet’s last puppy shot.

Although your puppy will not be fully immunized until his third set of shots, don’t use that as an excuse not to socialize your puppy. He can be introduced to friends’ dogs that are healthy and vaccinated, and he can start puppy kindergarten after his second set of vaccinations.  However, your puppy’s basic immunity, developed during these early vaccines, will not protect your puppy forever.  Yearly boosters need to be administered for most vaccines. 

Monthly Treatments

Your dog should receive some monthly preventative treatments in order to help him stay at his healthiest. 

• Fleas and ticks can be prevented through monthly treatments that you perform at home.  Since some flea/ tick treatments can be toxic, you should consult your veterinarian for the most effective, yet safe, flea prevention treatment.  Ticks are common in long grass and wooded areas; so, If your dog frequents such areas, you should check him daily and remove any ticks, including the head, with a tweezer.

• Heartworm preventative pills should also be given monthly to your dog.  Heartworm is a dangerous condition on its own plus the monthly pill helps guard against some other parasites. 

Intestinal Parasite

It is fairly common for a dog or cat to become infected with an internal or external parasite at some point in its lifetime. Parasites are especially common in young animals.  Parasites can affect your dog in a variety of ways, ranging from simple irritation to causing life-threatening conditions, if left untreated.  *Some parasites are zoonotic which means they can infect and transmit diseases to people.

Parasites include hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, and tapeworms.  Worms can be detected in a dog’s stool, which is why it is so important to have a fecal exam at least once a year, and more often if needed.   Puppies should be wormed every three to four weeks when they go to the vet for their puppy shots. 

Some Heartworm preventatives are also broad-spectrum anti-parasitic drugs with activity against intestinal parasite.  Use them year round once a month to help control parasitic infections in your pet.

Lyme Disease

Dogs get Lyme disease from a tick that passes the Borrelia Burgdorferi bacteria into the animal’s bloodstream when it bites.  Without treatment, Lyme disease causes problems in many parts of the dog’s body, including the heart, kidneys, and joints.  On rare occasions, it can lead to neurological disorders.  Lyme disease is most commonly associated with symptoms like high fever, swollen lymph nodes, lameness, and loss of appetite.

The SNAP 3DX or 4DX tests are extremely accurate in detecting Lyme disease in dogs, even if they don’t show any symptoms. This is because the tests looks for C6 antibodies that are present only if there is an actual infection, not as a reaction to the vaccine.  This is very helpful for dogs who have been vaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.
If you get a positive on the SNAP 3DX test, a follow-up test, called the Lyme Quantitative C6 Antibody Test, should be administered. This will establish the baseline values your veterinarian will want to monitor as your pet is being treated, making it a useful tool both for therapy and diagnosis.
Treatment involves the use of an appropriate antibiotic, such as doxycycline, for at least three to four weeks. If treated immediately with an antibiotic, the disease can be controlled.  However, you frequently don’t know whether you or your dog has been bitten, and the disease can cause a lifetime of discomfort.

There is a vaccine for the prevention of Lyme disease.  Quick removal of any tick on your dog will also help prevent Lyme disease, since the tick must remain attached to the dog’s body for some time before the disease can be transmitted.  Consult with a veterinarian about the different tick prevention products that are available; they can be an effective way to prevent the disease.

Dental Care

Did you know that?

• 85% of all adult dogs have some degree of periodontal disease.
• Only 25% of dogs and cats get treatment.
• Bacteria from the oral infection can get into the bloodstream and cause damage to vital organs like the heart, lungs, kidneys and liver!

Signs of Periodontal Disease include:

• Bad breath
• Yellow-brown crust on teeth
• Bleeding gums
• Going to the food bowl, but not eating
• Change of chewing or eating habits
• Tooth loss
• Abnormal drooling
• Food dropping from mouth

You should train your pet to allow you to brush his teeth at least 3 times per week.  Training is easier when your puppy is young and happy to try new things.  For the first few days, hold your dog the way you would if you were brushing his teeth and stroke the outside of his mouth for a minute or two.  To make it easier, you can cover your finger in chicken broth.  When your dog has learned to be comfortable with your holding him, let him taste some toothpaste on your finger.  Next, place some toothpaste, possibly mixed with chicken broth, on the toothbrush.  Brush one tooth in a circular motion.  Gradually, you can increase the number of teeth you brush, but always stop before your dog gets upset.  Reward and praise your dog after each step in this process.

In addition, you should make sure your veterinarian checks your dog’s teeth at least once a year to determine how often a professional dental cleaning is needed.