Thursday, February 19, 2015

Kitty Evac - or What to Pack For An Emergency.

With so many things going on in the world today I found this article extremely good, with loads of useful information.


Remember to have this packed and ready to go at a moments notice.   You just never know , and if you never need to use it , the peace of mind is immeasurable. And should you NEED to use it - well you will definitely be happy you were prepared.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Emergency-Pet-Evacuation-Pack/?ALLSTEPS



1 thing I would note - is that they recommend a harness ( and I agree) but the pictures they show as examples I feel are completely useless.  I would very much recommend a Sturdi brand walking Vest. These are a complete product that includes a leash but more importantly offers safety and comfort for your pet. Just be sure to do your homework and make sure you have both sizes available, or have prefitted your kitty ahead of time and are familiar with how to put one on.  http://sturdiproducts.com/pages/walking-vests


And again , when it says a lightweight travel bag - again here, I would HIGHLY suggest the Sturdi brand Incognito bag. http://sturdiproducts.com/pages/incognito-pet-carrier   This wonderfully constructed bag was designed with your pet in mind, has storage compartments AND has the added benefit of making your pet "less obvious: in that emergency situation when tempers and  anti-pet concerns can run so high. It also provides a great deal of privacy to your pet
 please note all images are the property of Sturdi , I am only using them here to encourage you to investigate for your own knowledge and personal only use.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

New HCM Updates

We are pleased as punch share with you our results from today's (yes I know its a Wednesday ) HCM clinic. Performed by Dr Whit Church at the Scottsdale Vet Specialists Center.

Bella is 7 1/2 years of age and has again scanned Clear/normal/negative for HCM.  She is officially CFA Grand Kender's Faithful Servant PKD neg, PKD1 Neg, HCM Clear, PK clear




And Hans  received his first HCM scan today at 20 months of age. He was super sweet and accepting of all the attention.  We look forward to a long and healthy life and career for him.  He is officially CFA Champion Kender's Prince Hans HCM Neg, PKD1 Neg (by parentage) and PKD Neg (by parentage)




Monday, February 16, 2015

Vaccine Protocol

Vaccine protocol we tend to follow which is very close to mimicing teh American Association of Feline Practitioners 2010 Guidelines -  http://drjeandoddspethealthresource.tumblr.com/post/66885321280/dodds-cat-vaccination-protocol-2013-2014#.VOKk1iyy4s1

2013 and 2014 Feline Vaccination Protocol - W. Jean Dodds, DVM

Approximately seven years ago, the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) sponsored and conducted a groundbreaking study on feline vaccines. The panel - which included Dr. Dodds’ colleague, Dr. Ron Schultz - divided the vaccines into core and non-core. Just this year, the AAFP published updated feline vaccination guidelines. Dr. Dodds agrees with the panel’s findings, with the exception of giving feline leukemia vaccine to kittens that will be kept strictly indoors. She also prefers a more minimal and delayed vaccination schedule to offset potential adverse vaccine reactions and feline vaccine injection site-associated sarcomas. Additionally, Dr. Dodds considers factors such as presence of maternal immunity, prevalence of viruses or other infectious agents in the region, number of reported occurrences of the viruses and other infectious agents, how these agents are spread, and the typical environmental conditions and exposure risk activities of companion animals.
2013-2014 Feline Vaccination Protocol
Note:
The following vaccine protocol is offered for those cats where minimal vaccinations are advisable or desirable. The schedule is one Dr. Dodds recommends and should not interpreted to mean that other protocols recommended by a veterinarian would be less satisfactory. It’s a matter of professional judgment and choice.
8-9 Weeks Old:
Panleukopenia (feline parvovirus), Calicivirus, Rhinopneumonitits Virus (feline herpesvirus-1)
(FVRCP)

12-13 Weeks Old:
Same as above

24 Weeks or Older (if required by law):
Rabies (e.g. Merial Purevax™, recombinant)

1 Year:
FVRCP booster (optional = titer)

1+ Year:
Rabies, same as above but separated by 2-3 weeks from FVRCP
Perform vaccine antibody titers for panleukopenia virus every three years thereafter, or more often, if desired. Vaccinate for rabies virus according to the law, except where circumstances indicate that a written waiver needs to be obtained from the primary care veterinarian.  In that case, a rabies antibody titer can also be performed to accompany the waiver request. Visit Rabies Challenge Fund.
W. Jean Dodds, DVM
Hemopet / NutriScan
11561 Salinaz Avenue
Garden Grove, CA 92843

Cats & Allergies

Over all not a bad article in general -  https://www.petfinder.com/cats/living-with-your-cat/cat-allergies/

Karen Commings

Does interacting with your feline companion bring tears of agony instead of tears of joy? In addition to itchy, watery eyes, do you exhibit other symptoms such as runny nose, rash, hives, coughing, sneezing, wheezing, asthma or other breathing problems?
Living with Cat Allergies
Thinkstock
Like an estimated 2 percent of the U.S. population, you suffer from an allergy to cats and, like about one-third of those people, you’ve chosen to keep your cat companion. But at what cost?
Contrary to popular belief, cat hair itself is not allergenic. The cause of allergy to cats is a protein called Fel d 1 emanating from sebum found in the sebaceous glands of cats. The protein attaches itself to dried skin, called dander, that flakes off and floats through the air when cats wash themselves. Although you may never be able to eliminate all your allergy symptoms, following these suggestions can help make living with your cat a more enjoyable experience.
  1. Designate your bedroom as a cat-free zone. Begin your program of allergen reduction by washing bedding, drapes and pillows. Better yet, replace them. Use plastic covers that are designed to prevent allergens from penetrating on your mattress and pillows. Allergen-proof covers are available from medical supply outlets. Don’t expect results overnight. Cat allergens are one-sixth the size of pollens, and it may take months to reduce them significantly.
  2. Restrict your cat’s access to designated areas inside your home. If you have a safe outdoor enclosure, allow your cat some time outside where dander will waft away in the wind. Brush your cat in the fresh-air enclosure to prevent loose, allergen-carrying hair from dispersing through your home.
  3. Eliminate allergen traps such as upholstered furniture and rugs. Carpet can accumulate up to 100 times the amount of cat allergens as hardwood flooring, so replacing the wall-to-wall with wood will keep allergens from accumulating as much. If ripping up the carpet is not an option, have it steam cleaned as often as needed.
  4. Vacuuming blows as many allergens through the air as it removes, so when you vacuum, use an allergen-proof vacuum cleaner bag or a vacuum cleaner with a high efficiency particulate arresting (HEPA) filter.
  5. Get some fresh air. Highly insulated homes trap allergens as well as heat, so open the windows to increase the ventilation in your home, and run window fans on exhaust. (But remember to always screen windows so kitty stays safely indoors.) Also, clean the air inside your home. Although nothing will remove all of the allergens present, running an air cleaner with a HEPA filter will help.
  6. Wipe the dander away. Bathing a cat often is suggested as a way to reduce the dander, but experts disagree on its effectiveness. “Bathing a cat was once believed to be helpful,” say Dr. Robert Zuckerman, an allergy and asthma specialist in Harrisburg, PA, “but the cat would have to be washed almost daily.” Instead, daily use of products such as Pal’s Quick Cleansing Wipes™ will remove saliva and dander from your cat’s hair and are less stressful for felines who prefer not to be rubbed in the tub.
  7. Spray allergens away. Anti-allergen sprays are a convenient way to deactivate allergens, including those produced by pets. Allersearch ADS, made from plant-based, non-toxic substances, can be sprayed throughout the house to take the sting out of household dust by rendering allergens harmless.
  8. Clean the cat box. Cat allergen is found in urine and is left in the litter box when your cat makes a deposit. To help prevent allergic reactions to the litter box, use a brand of litter that is less dusty and have someone in the household who is not allergenic clean the box.
  9. Take your medicine. Over-the-counter or prescription antihistamines, decongestants, eye drops and aerosol inhalers will help reduce the symptoms, although they do not eliminate the allergy. If you prefer to take a holistic approach, try Nettle tea, a bioflavinoid called quercetin or acupuncture. In recent studies antioxidants such as Vitamins C and E have demonstrated significant anti-allergen effects.
  10. Get tested. An allergy specialist can determine the exact source of your allergic reactions by a simple prick of the skin on your arm or back.
  11. Look at the whole picture. Because allergies rarely come individually wrapped, other culprits, such as dust mites and pollen, may be causing reactions, too. “An individual rarely has a single allergy,” says Zuckerman. “A cat owner may be able to tolerate contact with the cat in winter, but when spring arrives, all the allergies together may prove unbearable.”
  12. Build up resistance. There is no cure for allergy to cats, but immunotherapy may help increase your tolerance. Immunotherapy involves getting allergy shots once or twice weekly for up to six months, then monthly boosters for three to five years. Some individuals develop complete immunity, while others continue to need shots, and still others find no relief at all.
Coping with an allergy to cats is nothing to sneeze at. It’s a commitment. After all, shelters receive cats for this reason every day. Hopefully, following these tips will make a world of difference.
Karen Commings is the author of “Manx Cats” (Barron’s, 1999), “The Shorthaired Cat” and “Shelter Cats” (Howell Book House, 1996 and 1998, respectively).

Life Long Immunity

Article can be found here - http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/lifelong-immunity-vets/



The duration of immunity for Rabies vaccine, Canine distemper vaccine, Canine Parvovirus vaccine, Feline Panleukopenia vaccine, Feline Rhinotracheitis, feline Calicivirus, have all been demonstrated to be a minimum of 7 years by serology for rabies and challenge studies for all others.
In the Duration of Immunity to Canine Vaccines: What We Know and What We Don’t Know, Proceedings – Canine Infectious Diseases: From Clinics to Molecular Pathogenesis, Ithaca, NY, 1999, Dr. Ronald Schultz, a veterinary immunologist at the forefront of vaccine research and chair of the University of Wisconsin’s Department of Pathobiological Sciences, outlines the DOI for the following vaccines:

Minimum Duration of Immunity for Canine Vaccines:

Distemper- 7 years by challenge/15 years by serology
Parvovirus – 7 years by challenge/ 7 years by serology
Adenovirus – 7 years by challenge/ 9 years by serology
Canine rabies – 3 years by challenge/ 7 years by serology
Dr. Schultz concludes:  “Vaccines for diseases like distemper and canine parvovirus, once administered to adult animals, provide lifetime immunity.”  “Are we vaccinating too much?” JAVMA, No. 4, August 15, 1995, pg. 421.
Yet vets continue to vaccinate annually.  Dog owners feel that their vets are doing their dogs a great service by vaccinating every three years instead of annually – why do we allow it when these studies were done over thirty years ago and have been replicated time and again by other researchers?
Ian Tizard states:  “With modified live virus vaccines like canine parvovirus, canine distemper and feline panleukopenia, calicivirus, and rhinotracheitis the virus in the vaccine must replicate to stimulate the immune system. In a patient that has been previously immunized, antibodies from the previous vaccine will block the replication of the new vaccinal virus. Antibody titers are not significantly boosted. Memory cell populations are not expanded. The immune status of the patient is not enhanced.
After the second rabies vaccination, re-administration of rabies vaccine does not enhance the immune status of the patient at one or two year intervals.  We do not know the interval at which re-administration of vaccines will enhance the immunity of a significant percentage of the pet population, but it is certainly not at one or two year intervals. Tizard Ian, Yawei N, Use of serologic testing to assess immune status of companion animals, JAVMA, vol 213, No 1, July 1, 1998.

“The recommendation for annual re-vaccination is a practice that was officially started in 1978.”  says Dr. Schultz.  “This recommendation was made without any scientific validation of the need to booster immunity so frequently. In fact the presence of good humoral antibody levels blocks the anamnestic response to vaccine boosters just as maternal antibody blocks the response in some young animals.”
He adds:  “The patient receives no benefit and may be placed at serious risk when an unnecessary vaccine is given. Few or no scientific studies have demonstrated a need for cats or dogs to be revaccinated. Annual vaccination for diseases caused by CDV, CPV2, FPLP and FeLV has not been shown to provide a level of immunity any different from the immunity in an animal vaccinated and immunized at an early age and challenged years later. We have found that annual revaccination with the vaccines that provide long-term immunity provides no demonstrable benefit.”
Why then, have vets not embraced the concept of lifelong immunity in dogs?
“Profits are what vaccine critics believe is at the root of the profession’s resistance to update its protocols. Without the lure of vaccines, clients might be less inclined to make yearly veterinary visits. Vaccines add up to 14 percent of the average practice’s income, AAHA reports, and veterinarians stand to lose big.  I suspect some are ignoring my work,” says Schultz, who claims some distemper vaccines last as long as 15 years. “Tying vaccinations into the annual visit became prominent in the 1980s and a way of practicing in the 1990s. Now veterinarians don’t want to give it up.”
The report of the American Animal Hospital Association Canine Vaccine Taskforce in JAAHA (39 March/April 2003)3 includes the following information for vets:
Misunderstanding, misinformation and the conservative nature of our profession have largely slowed adoption of protocols advocating decreased frequency of vaccination'; ‘Immunological memory provides durations of immunity for core infectious diseases that far exceed the traditional recommendations for annual vaccination.
‘This is supported by a growing body of veterinary information  as well-developed epidemiological vigilance in human medicine that indicates immunity induced by vaccination is extremely long lasting and, in most cases, lifelong.’
Both the AAHA and the AVMA must do more to “step up to the plate” says noted immunologist, Dr. Richard Ford. But the reality is the vets do not have to listen to the AAHA or the AVMA and it appears the state veterinary medical boards are not interested in enforcing vaccine schedules, opting to leave it up to the individual vet.
Dr. Bob Rogers hired a Chicago based law firm and initiated a class action suit for pet owners who were not given informed consent and full disclosure prior to vaccination administration. His article entitled “The Courage to Embrace the Truth”, states “While attending conferences like WSVMA and NAVMC I have asked over 400 DVMs from various parts of the country if they attended the seminars on New Vaccination Protocols. I was told by all but one, “I don’t care what the data says, I am not changing.” One DVM here on VIN even said “I am not changing until the AVMA makes me change.”
It seems that pet owners are against the wall when it comes to vaccination. The obvious conclusion is that pet owners who are concerned about the long term health of their companion animals must take it upon themselves to research vaccines, duration of immunity and vaccine dangers. At the very least, question every vaccine that goes into your animal – but none of the above information indicates you will get an honest or well-informed answer.
Be your dog’s advocate – protect him with knowledge and by taking a stand against unnecessary vaccination. His life may depend on it!

Sunday, February 1, 2015



 Neither Of My Dogs Killed a Shelter Dog.

*Editor note - We love this Facebook status update by our friend Michelle Gonsalves. We included it (with her blessing) on our old website. Seeing as we just moved everything to our new website, we wanted to make sure people could still read and share it. Thanks again for the wonderful commentary Michelle, and for letting us share it with our readers! 

"Neither Of My Dogs Killed a Shelter Dog"
A Facebook Status update by Michelle Gonsalves – Reprinted by permission.

I am NOT ashamed to be the owner of two responsibly bred dogs. Neither of my dogs killed a shelter dog. Neither of my dogs took a shelter dog’s home. Neither of them added to pet overpopulation. If I didn’t have them, I just would not have a dog.Do you know what kills shelter dogs? Irresponsible owners kill shelter dogs. They kill them when they don’t do their research and add the wrong dog to the wrong household, then ditch it to die at a shelter when they can’t or don’t care to properly care for it.Let’s not forget that in many breeds, it was responsible breeders who started their breed’s national rescue club. Not to save their own dogs (which don’t need saving), but to save the dogs that they never bred. To save the ones that don’t have safety nets. Responsible breeders did that. They did that in IGs.

I was interviewed more intensely to buy my two responsibly bred dogs than I ever interviewed a rescue candidate. I had supervised visitation… Multiple times. I don’t even own them outright, they are on co-ownership, so that if anything ever happens to me they will go back to their breeder (yes, even the neutered one).
How do I know this will come to pass? I’ve seen her do it with another of her dogs when the owner died unexpectedly. And I saw her do it with my own dog when I nearly died myself. No questions asked, she opened her home to him for as long as I needed her to… Potentially forever, if it came to that. Because that’s what responsible breeders do. And trust me, I researched until I found a responsible breeder.

Added to that, I am PROUD of the responsible breeders in this country who work SO hard to preserve our wonderful breed. Without them, the IG would be an unsound, neurotic, unhealthy creature. Not the elegant, sweet, healthy blessing that I love so much. Without responsible breeders, we’d never have gotten the amazing genetic health tests for enamel hypoplasia, the vonWildebrand’s test, the cda test or the pra test that are on their way.Without breeders, the domestic dog would CEASE TO BE! I do not ever want to live in a world without dogs. What a terrible place that would be, yet so many professed animal lovers are campaigning through shaming to create just such a world. Because that’s what it means when you say things like “adopt don’t shop,” “don’t breed while shelter dogs die,” and “people who buy dogs from breeders should be ashamed of themselves.”What do you think will happen if we sterilize all dogs? What do you think will happen if all breeders stop breeding? You’d very quickly lose the rare breeds and the giant breeds FOREVER. Wait a bit more and you’d lose important genetic diversity, causing untold suffering for dogs that have to come from increasingly small gene pools. And then, the dog- man’s best friend- would become extinct. Gone the way of the Dodo. Gone forever. So shame on YOU! Shame on you for hating dogs!I am not ashamed of my dogs. I am not ashamed of their breeder, who is an amazing person who has given so much of herself for this and other breeds. I am not ashamed of my extended family all around the world in the sport of dogs. And I am not ashamed of myself for daring to want a responsibly bred dog that fits my lifestyle.

Blaming me for the death of shelter dogs is like blaming a parent for the death of orphans in Uganda because she chose to have a baby through pregnancy, rather than adopt one. I have never surrendered an animal in my life. I have never caused the death of a dog in all my life. So why don’t you focus your ire on the people who did– the people who dumped those dogs at the shelter. They are the ones who left those dogs to die. Not me.Stop bashing your allies. Stop the shaming. We ALL need to work together for the good of dogs. Because there are scary people out there who want your dog gone. Who want your cat gone. Who want the horse out of your paddock, the guide dog out of his harness, the chicken out of the coop and the cow out of the dairy. Keep shilling their slick propaganda and shaming your fellow animal lovers and you help Animal Rights militants erase your dog from your very own home.If anyone has a problem with that, feel free to unfriend me.