The goblins and ghosts are making their usual appearances this
time of year. So it’s time, once again, to remind everyone that
Halloween can be a scary time for pets.
The goblins and ghosts are making their usual appearances this time of year. So it’s time, once again, to remind everyone that Halloween can be a scary time for pets. Be sensitive to the reaction of your furry or feathered friends to all those sights and sounds out there. Some pets enjoy getting “dressed up.” Others become very stressed. A lot of dogs and cats become flighty when trick-or-treaters come to the front door. Don’t subject your dog or cat to tricks that he or she can’t enjoy. You might end up with a pet that scratches or bites someone. Keep you pets in a safe area in the back of the house. This will allow them to better survive this scary holiday.
This is also the time of year that candles are lit for the window displays and jack-o-lanterns. Last year a house fire started when a large Labrador knocked a candle off a table with his tail. It was quickly extinguished, but the results could have been much worse.
And finally, here’s a warning about outdoor cats. Sadly, every year we hear of people injuring or torturing cats during the Halloween season. There are so many hazards out there anyway. This is just one more reason to keep your kitty inside the house. Please protect your cats and keep them indoors during Halloween. And now to this week’s questions.
Q:
We have a great Dane puppy that has some problems walking. He’s 8 weeks old and a wonderful pup, but he falls down a lot when he’s running or even when he walks fast. The breeder says that it’s normal for Dane pups to do this for a while after they travel. But he’s been with us for a week now and his problem seems even a little worse. We haven’t named him yet, because I’m afraid he isn’t healthy and we might have to send him back. Is stumbling normal? Is there a problem with these pups after they travel? He came to us from Minnesota in an airline crate and we’ve already fallen in love with him.
A:
It sounds as though your puppy has some serious problems. Traveling in a small crate can cause some temporary, mild symptoms. But a week after traveling, this pup should be bouncing around and doing all those things puppies do. I’m worried about his movements because it sounds as though he might have a condition called “wobblers.” And this is very difficult to treat.
Wobblers is a descriptive term for the symptoms of a dog with weakness or instability in the spine. In Danes, this abnormality is often found in the cervical (neck) area, but it can actually occur anywhere along the spinal canal. In short, the vertebral column isn’t properly developed and the spinal cord, the main nerve, is repeatedly traumatized with any movement. The result is that the brain can’t clearly send signals to the legs. A wobbler dog suffers paresis; he stumbles and often falls over because he can’t completely control his leg movement.
Diagnosis of this condition is based on a thorough physical exam with radiographs and bloodwork to rule out other disorders. All of this can be costly, so you might want to first discuss things with the breeder. The bad news is that there is no predictably effective treatment for wobbler syndrome. Some dogs can live restricted lives. But many patients become so miserable that they are euthanized. So your best choice might be to return this puppy to the breeder for another, more healthy one.
Q:
Our 10-year-old terrier mix, Mavis, has a terrible skin condition. Her coat is always oily and scruffy-looking. Our veterinarian says she’s just oily skin and needs a special shampoo. But even if we bathe her every week, she still looks and smells bad. What can we do?
A:
Mavis has seborrhea oleosa, a condition where the oil glands in the skin are overly active. Her peculiar, rancid odor comes from the reaction of this excessive oil on the skin with oxygen in the air. Seborrhea is usually a secondary problem caused by some other skin condition, often an allergy. Parasites and yeast infections can also be the culprit. Treating seborrhea with special medicated shampoo usually isn’t adequate, because the oily mess keeps reoccurring unless the primary cause is identified and eliminated.
Allergies to fleas are very common, so you should always use effective monthly flea control on her, even if she is mostly kept indoors. Other allergies, to molds, grasses, pollens and even some foods, can also cause seborrhea. Your veterinarian should talk to you about a clinical workup that would help to determine the problem. A microscopic look at a swab of the skin will help rule out any mites or yeast problems. Further diagnostics, including blood and skin testing for allergies, can be time-consuming.
This probably has been a long-standing problem for Mavis, so you might want to consider going to a skin specialist, a veterinary dermatologist. While their fees are higher, they often can make a diagnosis more quickly than a general practitioner. Quicker diagnosis with fewer tests often means less expense for the pet owner. And I’m sure that Mavis would like some quick relief as soon as possible.
