• Pet Sterilization Info & Protocol
• Vaccination Issues
• Heartworm Recommendations
• General Principles of Internal Parasite Control
• Fleas
• Dental Care of Pets - Info & Recommendations
• Senior Pet Care - Info & Recommendations
• Laser Surgery Information

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We've all heard about the importance of spaying and neutering our pets for the sake of controlling the unwanted pet problem. Without minimizing the importance of this reason for spaying or neutering your pet, there are other effects this surgery has on an animal, most of them beneficial.

Neutering of male pets (also called castration) entails the removal of the testes. As the testes are the site of male hormone production, all sexually driven

behaviors are thereby eliminated. This is true at any age but more so in an animal which has not reached sexual maturity. Consequently, undesirable behavior such as spraying (i.e. in male cats), fighting, roaming and urine marking (male dogs) are greatly reduced if not totally eliminated.

Neutering also has certain health benefits. In the case of cats, it tends to prevent the spread of infectious disease (i.e. by means of fighting or breeding) as well as reducing traumatic injuries. In dogs, neutering prevents the onset of prostate infections/cancer as well as testicular cancer later in life.

Spaying of female pets (also called ovariohysterectomy) entails the removal of uterus and ovaries. As the ovaries are the main site of female hormone production, the surgery prevents these animals from going through "heat" cycles. No more worries about three weeks of bleeding twice per year, dozens of male dogs invading your yard, or unwanted pregnancies or disappearing acts.

Spaying has certain health benefits too. It has been shown through studies that if a female is spayed before experiencing any heat, the chances of developing mammary (or "breast") cancer are next to nil. The chances of cancer increase after each heat until, after the third heat, spaying has no great benefit for this particular problem. Also, many older unspayed female dogs will develop an infection of the uterus called "pyometra". This problem is life threatening and can be prevented by spaying.

On the downside of the effects of sterilization, is the possibility of weight gain in some animals. This can be avoided, in most cases, by simply adjusting food intake to the needs of the animal. In addition, some dogs (usually later in life) develop urinary incontinence which generally is easily-treated. Finally, there is the concern over the general anesthetic required for surgery and the post-operative discomfort. Nowadays, with the improvements in anesthesia techniques and post-operative pain relief, the risks are minimal and, in most cases, so is the discomfort. Many clinics now also offer pre-operative in-hospital blood screening which even further reduces the risks.

As you can see, the benefits greatly outweigh the risks and spaying or neutering doesn't only benefit society as a whole, but also you and your pet.


In order for you, the pet owner, to have a better understanding of what happens with your pet when it comes in for its spay or neuter operation, we have outlined our protocol below...

1. Pet arrives at hospital, is weighed, and is admitted into the kennel area. We use cages made of formica rather than stainless steel for added comfort for the pet. Cats go to one room; dogs to another.
2. During the morning, we conduct a thorough physical examination of the pet to evaluate its suitability and risk for general anesthetic as well as to determine whether there are any other problems that need to be taken care of while it's at the clinic.
3. Any requested laboratory tests are conducted during the morning.
4. Later in the morning, when it's approaching time for the surgery, we administer your pet's 'premed'. This is a mixture of various medications for pain relief and sedation, Each pet's dosage and combination of medications varies depending on the procedure and the specific requirements of the pet. In this way, as pain relief is already on board, less general anesthetic will be required and post-op pain will be reduced. It's been scientifically proven that, if pain relief is provided prior to the painful stimulus, the post-op pain is more easily-controlled.
5. About 20 minutes later, we induce general anesthesia, using intravenous agents in dogs and mask-induction in cats.
6. An endo-tracheal tube is placed in your pet's airway to ensure proper oxygenation during surgery and to administer anesthetic gas and to prevent inhalation of potential stomach contents during surgery.  
7. The pet is clipped and prepped for surgery.
8. For dog neuters, we inject local anesthetic (freezing) into the area where the testicles are removed to reduce the stimulation it experiences. In spays, we infuse local anesthetic into the abdomen at the end of surgery to freeze the inside of the incision area and, again, reduce post-op pain.
9. Two hours after surgery, as the 'premed' starts to wear off, we administer another narcotic treatment to again reduce pain.
10. When the pet goes home, you will receive appropriate analgesic (pain killing) medications to keep your pet comfortable over the next two days for so.

*** No matter how careful we are with pain relief, any surgery and anesthetic has some associated discomfort. However, with our precautions, we hope your pet will experience the bare minimum of pain and discomfort!

Summary:
Pain relief is provided before, during, and after surgery as well as when your pet goes home. We use a combination of careful tissue handling during surgery along with narcotic agents, local anesthesia, and anti-inflammatory agents to achieve this. In addition, laser surgery is now a new option that reduces pain and swelling during the recovery period (see section further down). Please phone us for any questions.

What is a vaccination? 
How important is it? 
What does it do? 
Reactions? 
What is vaccination/immunization
Vaccination involves the introduction of weakened or killed germs into an individuals body. These germs, although unable to cause disease, are recognized by the body as foreign, thereby stimulating the production of "antibodies" which will protect the patient against the real disease when it comes along. This principle of preparing the body's immune system for a defense against infectious disease has resulted in the elimination and/or control of a large number of diseases of both animals and people all over the world in the last 50 years. The beauty of the technique is that is uses the body's natural defenses to combat diseases rather than relying on various drugs or antibiotics for this purpose.
Side Effects of Vaccines
In small animal veterinary practice, the only species we generally vaccinate are dogs, cats and ferrets. All three species can be vaccinated against Rabies when indicated. Dogs are always vaccinated for Distemper, Hepatitis, Para-influenza, and Parvo virus. Kennel cough (bordatella), leptospirosis, corona virus, and lyme disease are other diseases which, in certain circumstances, may also be vaccinated for. Cats are always vaccinated for Rhinotracheitis, Calici, and Panleukopenia (distemper) viruses. Feline Chlamydia, Feline Leukemia, and FIP vaccines are also used under certain conditions. Ferrets are always vaccinated for Canine distemper virus. The diseases for which dogs, cats, and ferrets are always vaccinated are generally common diseases with, often, life-threatening consequences. They can be contracted by sniffing or ingesting infectious material (i.e. stool or urine or droplets in the air). As these can sometimes end up on a person's clothes or shoes, even strictly indoor pets should be vaccinated for these diseases. The additional vaccines mentioned, are, generally, only given when the risk factors warrant their use.
Current Vaccine-Related Issues
The discovery of a possible relationship between vaccination and tumor formation in cats has sparked an active debate within the veterinary profession on the subject of vaccination and immunity. In the past, as a profession, we felt vaccination to be a completely harmless procedure and we were excited anytime a new vaccine became available for a new disease so we could protect our patients against another disease threat. With recent developments, however, we are taking another look at the issue. Much research into the subject of vaccine related tumors as well as duration of immunity is happening at this time but research is expensive and slow in producing results. As a profession, veterinarians are greatly concerned about the possibilities of harmful side effects from vaccinations and we are doing everything to minimize the chances of these problems occurring.
Vaccination Recommendations at Central Valley Veterinary Hospital, Kelowna
It is our belief that vaccination remains one of the most important things, from a preventative medicine standpoint that one can do for the health of one's pet. Every year we see unvaccinated cats and dogs dying or getting severely ill from completely preventable viral diseases thus underscoring how important vaccination is. In our opinion, there is no question as to whether vaccination should be done, but more so a question of which vaccine components are important and how often they need to be given. In principle, we tailor our vaccination programs to the lifestyle needs of the pet. We tend to only vaccinate against disease for which the pet is actually at risk and only at a frequency proven to be beneficial to the pet - no more, no less. We are also committed to stay abreast of all the latest issues and recommendations on the topic of vaccinations and will institute changes based on solid research information and experience. Following is a list of diseases for which we commonly vaccinate and the conditions under which they are recommended as well as the frequency at which they need to be given.
Rabies
Required when taking the pet out of province. Recommended when pet is exposed to wildlife or bats such as when dogs go into the woods or when cats stay outside at night. Given as a juvenile (12 weeks or older) again at one year and then, every 3 years (certain provinces require annual vaccination).
Distemper, Hepatitis, Parainfluenza,  Parvo
(standard dog combo).
Recommended for every dog. Puppies vaccinated at 6 - 8 wks, 9 - 12 wks, 12 - 16 wks of age, then at one year. After 1 year, vaccinating for these diseases every 3 years is probably sufficient. However, boarding kennels my still require annual vaccines.
Corona Virus
Not used at Central Valley Veterinary Hospital in Kelowna. Not common and not proven to be necessary or effective.
Leptospirosis
Only used in cases where dogs have frequent contact or confrontations with raccoons. Hardly ever used. This is one of the more antigenic components of dog vaccine and tends to cause reactions more often than the other vaccines. Not proven to be effective. Given annually in selected cases.
Bordetella (Kennel Cough)
Required
Rhinotracheitis, Calici and Panleukopenia
(standard cat combo)
Recommend for every cat, even those which never leave the house. Given at 9 weeks and 12 weeks in kittens, then 1 year later. After that, every 3 years is likely enough. However, boarding kennels may still require annual vaccines.
Feline Chlamydia
Only used in cases where a significant risk factor exists such as in multiple cat households where new kittens and cats regularly arrive from humane shelters, catteries, etc. Given twice to kittens, then annually. More likely to cause reactions than standard combo.
Feline Leukemia Virus
Used mostly in kittens up to 2 yrs. old. Given together with initial series of vaccines, then at one year in cats which go outside or go to boarding kennels etc. Used also in multi-cat households, especially when new introductions are common.
FIP Vaccine
Not used at Vetcetera. Not proven beneficial. May possibly be harmful. 
Lyme Disease
Not usually recommended unless dog is at high risk. Normally, prefer to institute tick preventative measures, as this is the transmission vector for the disease. Lyme disease does not appear to be a high risk in the Okanagan area at this time.
Heartworm Recommendations
Heartworm is a parasite that lives in dog's hearts. It is transmitted by the mosquito and is a serious health threat in the Southern Okanagan. We aim to keep Kelowna free from this disease by putting as many dogs as possible on the preventative monthly tablets from July to December.
Based on recent information published in the Canadian Veterinary Journal, our recommendations for heartworm testing have changed. Previously, we used to recommend that pets have a heartworm blood test every two years during the spring season, even if they'd been on heartworm prevention. Now, we only require an initial test for adult dogs prior to starting on a heartworm prevention program. If the pet has been on appropriate prevention, no further tests are required for pets that stay in B.C. If travel to higher risk areas has occurred or if an animal is showing suspicious symptoms, a blood test will be recommended. The decision whether to start your dog on a preventative program will depend on certain risk factors:
1)  exposure to mosquitos
2)  exposure to other dogs
3)  travel/camping
Certainly, placing your dog on heartworm prevention is never a bad idea. There are the added benefits of deworming for regular intestinal parasites that occurs with each heartworm prevention treatment. 
'Sentinel' is a combination product that also prevents fleas. For purposes of general health and hygiene, we recommend Sentinel for any dog. Flea prevention starts in early April; heartworm prevention starts in early July. We usually recommend starting the season with 'Program' until July and then switching to 'Sentinel'. Please ask us if you have any more questions?
General Principles of Intestinal Parasite Control
  • Dogs and cats get worms from ingesting/licking the feces of other dogs and cats, eating rodents, rabbits, or birds, eating raw moose or deer organs, or eating raw fish. Also, fleas can give pets tapeworm.
  • The only way to reliably diagnose intestinal parasites in pets is by microscopic examination for parasite eggs in the stool. A fresh (< 6 hours) sample is required.
  • We recommend you bring in a stool sample from your dog for parasite analysis every year at the time of the annual exam.
  • Indoor dogs or cats do not need de-worming or parasite analysis after they have been de-wormed as puppies or kittens and confirmed to be free of parasites.
  • Heartworm preventatives are a good idea for most dogs as they prevent intestinal parasites as well.
  • Any cat that goes outside needs a de-worming at the time of annual exam as well as several more times during the year. (Depending on hunting activity, anywhere from monthly to twice per year).
  • People can get serious health problems from pet parasites – not usually worms, but migrating larvae that end up in the central nervous system or eyes! This is more common in children as they tend to pay less attention to hygiene.
  • To protect humans from pet parasites, the following general hygiene practices are recommended:
    A)         Pick up feces outside daily and on walks immediately.
    B)     Scoop litter box daily.
    C)     Limit places where pets are allowed to defecate.
    D)     Cover up sand boxes when not in use (cats like to use them too!).
    E)     Fence vegetable gardens.
    F) Use gloves when gardening.
    G)     Discourage wild life by not leaving garbage outside and preventing access to outbuildings.
    H)     Do not feed wild or stray animals.
    I)     Wash hands prior to eating.
    J)     Wear foot wear outside.
Fleas!
Although the flea situation in Kelowna is not as bad as it is in the Fraser Valley or Vancouver Island, we definitely do get some pets and homes that are completely infested. Once your pet acquires fleas, they are hard to eliminate. Thankfully, there are some excellent products available nowadays to effectively take care of the problem but a thorough understanding of the situation is helpful.
Does your Pet have Fleas?
There are two easy ways to find out if your pet has fleas:
1)  Checking for 'flea dirt' (feces of the fleas) - Have your pet sit on a white surface (ie: piece of paper towel or arborite) and rub the hair on the rump or tailhead vigorously. Flea dirt will appear as black specks falling off your pet. When this material is wetted, it will dissolve and turn a bloody or rusty brown color (as it is in fact digested blood).
2)  Looking for adult fleas - these are hard to find as they move very fast. Finding flea dirt is much more reliable. Adult fleas are about the size of a large piece of dandruff and they are dark brown in color.
Flea Lifecycle
The flea lifecycle involves several stages. Understanding these stages impacts the success of your flea control protocol. The only visible stage is the adult stage. This stage only lasts a few weeks and then the adult flea dies. During its life, and adult flea feeds on blood from your pet, breeds, creates the 'flea dirt' we spoke of earlier, and lays about 2000 eggs which fall off the pet wherever it goes. These eggs hatch after a few days to few weeks and become larvae which feed on the flea dirt that falls off the pet. Consequently, they do best in the area where the pet hangs out most of the time. The larva becomes a pupa which can survive a year or more. Apparently, only 5% of a flea problem is in the adult stage which means that most of the stages are microscopic and in the environment!
Treatment
Hopefully, you see by now that simply giving your pet a bath is going to do no more than give temporary relief. After the pet dries, the fleas just jump right back on from the environment and start back up again! We have several excellent products now that will nicely control your flea problem.
A) Environment - Vacuum carpeted areas and furniture thoroughly and eliminate the vacuum bag into a sealed garbage bag. Wash pet's bedding, preferably with some bleach. Spray areas where pets spend much time with a premise product such as Siphotrol. This will prevent eggs from hatching as well as killing larvae and adult fleas in the carpets etc. In bad situations, spraying once monthly for a few months is not a bad idea. In mild cases, just vacuuming may be enough.
B) Pets - Every pet in the household has to be treated! Typically, we use a topical product that's deposited on the skin of the pet once monthly, killing fleas the entire time and rubbing off on the environment affecting some of the immature stages as well. Products that do this are: Advantage, Advantage Multi, and Revolution. This has to be done for at least 4 months to get the problem under control. Subsequently, a preventative program needs to be undertaken...
Prevention
Prevention usually involves the monthly administration of an oral product called Program or Sentinel. These products should be started by June first at the latest and, possibly, used year-round. Program and Sentinel contain a substance called "lufeneron" which does not kill adult fleas but prevents the eggs from ever hatching, thereby preventing an infestation. For those cases where pets visit high-risk areas and pick up occasional adult fleas that cause symptoms, we'll dispense a oral product called Capstar which will kill adult fleas within 1/2 hour of treatment. This can be used on an occasional basis when a pet seems to have picked up some adults that make it itchy.
Summary
• fleas are a long-term problem that require long-term solutions.
• every pet in the household needs to be treated.
• keep in mind the environment.
• once the problem is apparently under control, prevention is needed to take care of all the pupae in the environment (ie: survive for more than a year).
General Information
There is more involved here than cosmetics! Dental disease has a surprisingly huge impact on the health and longevity of your pet. The process starts with the formation of gummy food debris on the surface of the tooth called “plaque”. This combines with minerals derived from the saliva and forms the hard material called tartar, which cannot be brushed off but has to be scaled off. Tartar causes the brownish discoloration we see when we open the mouth and look at the teeth.

There are huge amounts of bacteria growing within this plaque and tartar which like to invade the soft gum tissues around the base of the tooth, causing redness and inflammation of the gums, called “gingivitis”. If this process is allowed to continue on, bone damage around the tooth occurs and the tooth begins to loosen. This stage is called “periodontitis”. It is very common in pets because most owners don’t tend to notice how the process is advancing in their pet’s mouth. It is not a place one looks very often!

Surprisingly, although one logically would expect there to be a lot of pain associated with this, pain is not always something we notice in these cases. However, it is important to know that the infection present in the mouth is constantly invading the blood stream. These bacteria bombard the heart, kidneys, joints and other internal organs on a constant basis. Although the immune system is able to prevent these bacteria, in most cases, from establishing themselves in these internal organs, a lot of permanent damage is done to the internal organs. This manifests itself as accelerated aging and health issues such as heart failure, kidney failure, arthritis etc.

The impact of oral health is hard to under-estimate. Since the veterinary profession has started paying more attention to this area of pet care, along with the improvements in nutrition, pets have been living significantly longer and healthier lives. So if you want to do the best for your pet, please allow us to do regular professional cleanings and pay attention to our dietary recommendations. These are two areas of health care that will make a big difference for your best buddy!
Recommendations:
Pets less than 7 years of age–
Although it’s mostly the older pets that are going to be having major problems with their teeth, requiring extractions, etc, it’s during the younger ages that you can have the most impact. We recommend that all pets have their teeth brushed daily. We also recommend the use of oral hygiene treats such as CET chews for cats and for dogs, CET dental rewards for dogs, Medi-Treats for dogs and cats. Also, Medi-Cal Dental Formula dog and cat food are an excellent choice to add to a dietary regime to reduce the rate of tartar formation by 50%!

The need for professional dental cleaning will be affected by your management of the pet as well as their genetics. Some breeds are particularly prone to problems. For dogs, any small breed will have more trouble than a larger breed. Particularly bad are: Pomeranians, Miniature Poodles, Dachshunds, Bichons, and Shi-tzus. For cats, any breed with a shortened face such as Persians are worse. Obviously, with such breeds, one needs to be more aggressive with preventative care if one wants to avoid extractions by the age of 4 or 5. We will tell you when you come in for an annual check-up whether a professional cleaning is needed on your pet.
Pets more than 7 years of age–
Most pets over 7 years will benefit from at least a semi-annual teeth cleaning. Often, at this age extractions are required, depending on how thorough you have been about preventing this at home. At your pet’s annual check-up we will always look at his or her teeth and make a recommendation as to whether a cleaning is needed. However, you should expect that this will be necessary at least every two years on most older pets. Our anesthesia protocols are extremely safe and so, for most patients, the risk of gingivitis is higher than that of an anesthetic.
Summary-
If you brush your pet’s teeth daily when they are young, and use the recommended treats and diets, they will look better, smell better, and be healthier longer. In addition, you save yourself a significant amount of money in teeth cleanings and your pet a certain amount of stress and anesthesia. Be prepared that, when your pet gets older, usually a semi-annual teeth cleaning is necessary. These will be simpler and less expensive if you have them done earlier rather than later.

When your pet shows a touch of gray around the muzzle, once clear eyes become a little cloudy, there’s less animation in the gait, and activity level reduces, then your pet should be considered a ‘senior’. Although there is a variation between different sizes and breeds, the incidence of internal health problems increases around the age of 7 or 8 years.

Senior pets need an increased level of care as they become more vulnerable to multiple health problems and respond differently to stress, medication and environmental factors. Just as middle-aged women should have mammograms and middle-aged men need prostate screening, so older pets should be monitored more closely by use of various tests. These tests and examinations increase in frequency and detail the older the pet gets.

Although a physical examination gives us a tremendous amount of information about he general health of your pet, it doesn’t tell us what’s going on with the internal organs. Laboratory testing is needed to tell us whether there are any problems developing internally. The idea of preventative medicine is to help us to pick up problems early, when they can still be impacted without major intervention. This means sometimes investigating when the pet actually still looks healthy.
Senior Pet Protocol:
• Annual physical examination (may become more frequent as pet approaches the end of its life).
• Annual ERD Screen – This is a simple, economical test run on the urine of your pet. This is a non-specific screening test that basically tells us if there are any indications of internal problems developing. It is very sensitive but not specific. In other words, if it’s negative, we can probably relax and feel that all is well. If it’s positive, we’ll need to investigate further because we know something’s wrong but we don’t know what.
• There are many other tests we can run. These will be based on findings on the above screening procedures. If all is well, we won’t run additional tests. If there are any concerns, however, we might recommend a blood and urine panel, check the blood pressure, perform xrays, EKG, or ultrasound.
• Pets in this age group will benefit from a senior pet food. The two most commonly recommended diets are: Medi-cal Mature formula and Medi-cal Dental formula. There are others available, however, depending on the needs of your pet. Most senior diets are reduced in calories and sodium, increased in fibre, and contain various anti-oxidants and nutrients to reduce the incidence of arthritis and kidney problems. For cats, we recommend mostly canned food as they get older. This has some major beneficial effects on the kidneys as well as on the metabolism.

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