In Australia, Halloween is getting bigger and bigger every year. With the cultural impact growing it’s a good idea to consider some safety issues for your pet.
**Trick-or-treat candies are not for pets Chocolate in all forms, especially dark or baking chocolate can be very dangerous for dogs and cats. Even non-chocolate candy is dangerous, as it may contain, xylitol, an artificial sweetener that can cause a sudden drop in blood sugar and seizures.
**Take caution with your pet’s costume Don’t dress your pet in a costume unless you know they’ll love it. Make sure it fits properly and is comfortable, doesn’t have any pieces that can easily be chewed off, and doesn’t interfere with your pet’s sight, hearing, breathing, opening its mouth, or moving.
**Don’t leave pets out in the yard on Halloween. Dog and cat owners should consider keeping their pets in a secure location during the celebrations. Too many strangers can be scary and stressful for pets. Loud excited kids dressed in unusual costumes can freak out pets. Dogs are especially territorial and may become anxious.
**Keep away from decorations Keep lit candles out of reach of pets. Carved pumpkins or candles are very easily knocked over causing a fire hazard or burns.
**Make sure your pet has ID There has been an increasing number of pets going missing on Halloween, ensure your pet has an identifying tag, engraved with your phone number. Having the proper identification will increase the chances that they will be returned.
If you have any pet safety concerns please call your local vet or one of 24-hour Pet Emergency Centres:
EssendonFields: (03) 9379 0700 Point Cook: (03) 8368 7400
Georgy is a gorgeous Burnese Mountain Dog who presented to Animal Accident and Emergency Point Cook last week for severe abdominal pain, abdominal distension (bloated belly) and dry retching (attempting to vomit without producing any vomit).
This presentation and breed are typical of a disease commonly known as BLOAT. The technical name for bloat is “gastric dilation and volvulus” or “GDV” for short.
In cases of GDV the stomach has become distended and has filled with gas and then twisted over on itself. This is a life threateningcondition as all the blood vessels that supply the stomach get kinked off like a bent hose pipe and this stops the blood flow to the stomach wall. The stomach wall begins to die as a result of the lack of blood supply. The stomach then inflates further as gas cannot escape out of a twisted stomach. The inflating stomach blocks off blood that is returning to the heart via the large vessels in the abdomen. This causes shock. Another complication of the overly inflated stomach is that it puts pressure on the diaphragm (the muscle that makes you breath) thus making it very difficult for these poor doggies to breath!
Please see this link for an animation of what happens in GDV:
In summary, the main things that happen in a bloat case are:
distended stomach twists and loses blood supply causing the stomach wall to start dying
the distended stomach inflates even more and blocks off other blood vessels returning blood to the heart
the now very distended stomach puts pressure on the diaphragm and prevents the dog from being able to breath properly.
So now that we all know about GDVand what happens, what can we doto correct it and save your beloved dog?
The first thing to do is confirm the vets suspicion of GDV with a x-ray of the patient’s belly. This is exactly what we did for Georgy. If the vet suspects that your dog has GDV, you may be asked if we can take an x-ray immediately to check if that is indeed what is happening.
GDV XRAY VET EMERGENCY
Unfortunately, once the twisted stomach has been confirmed, the only way to fix what is happening is surgery. Before we get into what is done surgically to correct this condition we need to stabilise the dog first. Stabilisation involves deflating the stomach by either passing a tube down their throat or using a needle to let some gas out. Given that these patients are in shock fluids will need to be started immediately in order to help their heart and circulation. This condition is also painful and pain relief will be provided in this phase.
The next step is surgery. Surgery involves anaesthetising the patient and an incision (cut) into the abdomen (belly). The stomach is untwisted and inspected carefully. Sometimes the stomach will be dead in places and these places will have to be removed because dead tissue cannot be left behind. The spleen (a blood storage organ) is closely attached to the stomach and sometimes this may have twisted with the stomach and may need to be removed as well- this may sounds like a big deal but dogs do just fine without their spleens. Once the stomach and spleen are dealt with, the stomach is then stitched to the abdominal wall to prevent it twisting over on itself again – this is called a GASTROPEXYand is a VERY IMPORTANT part of thesurgery as this condition will recur if this is not done!
The rest of the abdomen is inspected and then closed.
RECOVERY
Recovery time for this surgery depends on a lot of different things. Minimum time in hospital after surgery is 24 hours but some patients may require a few days. The longer the stomach is twisted for before surgery is performed, the more complications are encountered and the longer the recovery period.
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR?
BREED IS THE NUMBER ONE CONSISTENT FACTOR IN BLOAT. Certain breeds are far moreat risk than others. These breeds are the bigger breeds of dog and tend to have “deep proud chests”. Breeds most at risk: Great Dane, German Shepherds, Standard Poodles, Dobermans, Boxers, Dalmatians, Weimaraner, Burnese Mountain Dogs, Saint Bernards, Newfounlands, Labradors, Retrievers, Chow Chows and Rhodesian Ridgebacks. However OTHER DOGS CAN HAVE GDV.
Bloated belly
Trying to vomit (dry retching). Some dogs with bloat may be able to produce some vomit so do not exclude bloat on the basis that your dog can vomit. A vomiting pet is always a concern and you should always seek veterinary advice if your pet is vomiting or trying to vomit.
Sore belly- standing hunched, whining or yelping.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU THINK YOUR PET HAS BLOAT?
Contact a vet immediately. As mentioned before, time is of the essence in both saving your dog and in minimising complications. AAE Essendon and Point Cook are open 24 hours a day 365 days of the year.
HOW CAN YOU PREVENT GDV?
If your dog is an at-risk breed for GDV (see breeds above) there is the option to consult your general practice vet about prophylactic gastropexy (a surgery where they stitch the stomach to the abdominal wall before the GDV has occurred). This is the ONLY way to prevent your dogs stomach from twisting. This surgery is especially easy to do in females when they are spayed as puppies as the vet is already entering the abdomen and saves a separate anaesthesia and surgery.
If you have an at-risk breed of GDV (see breeds above), it is recommended to feed your dog smaller meals more frequently as opposed to one large meal.
It has long been thought that exercising your dog immediately after feeding may increase the risk of bloat. It is recommended that you avoid exercising your dog soon after you have fed them.
DISPELLING THE MYTHS
Feeding your dog antacids or de-gas medication does not decrease the risk of the development of GDV.
If your dog has a twisted stomach, surgery is the ONLY option in order to save your dog’s life, without the appropriate surgery THE VAST MAJORITY OF THESE DOGSWILL TWIST THEIR STOMACHS AGAIN!
Dr Tim Conolly & Georgy
We are happy to say that the lovely Georgy made a full recovery from her GDV and subsequent surgery with very few complications.
Guinea Pigs and Rabbits should not be put together
We do not recommend rabbits and guinea pigs together for the following reasons:
Rabbits may hog the food
Rabbits may bully the guinea pigs.
Guinea pigs can cause severe eye injuries to rabbits.
Rabbits carry a bacteriaBordetellathat is lethal to guinea pigs
They require different feeding regimes
Rabbits talk ‘rabbit’ with rabbits and guinea pigs talk ‘pig’ with guinea pigs.
Guinea pigs rarely cohabit well with other species. If you have indoor dogs and cats you need to a secure enclosure.
TheMelbourne Rabbit Clinic is the first and only hospital in Australia to treat rabbits and guinea pigs exclusively.
Melbourne Rabbit Clinichave an absolute passion for rabbits and guinea pigs offering high quality veterinary care especially tailored for Rabbits and Guinea Pigs.
Melbourne Rabbit Clinicis consulting at Animal Accident & Emergencyour 24 hour Vet Emergency Centres – Essendon Fields & Point Cook
Oliver was placed in an oxygen chamber and admitted for supportive care.
The leading cause of heart failure in dogs is chronic valvular disease, next is dilated cardiomyopathy and then congenital heart disease and heartworms.
What is Congestive Heart Failure?
CHF occurs when either the heart muscle or the heart values are diseased and the heart is not able pump blood efficiently. This causes a build up of fluid in the lungs and also sometimes the abdomen. Congestion the lungs means not enough oxygen is available to the body.
Symptoms:
Coughing more than usual
Having a hard time breathing or exercising
Tiring easily
Pacing before bedtime
Swollen belly due to fluid build-up in the lungs and other organs
Fainting
Tongue or gum change to a bluish grey colour
Weight loss
Unchecked heart problems can make things harder on your dog and even shorten their life span. Receiving the right treatment and care your dog can go on to live a long life.
Sadly, Oliver’s heart disease will continue to progress and he is on medication for the rest of his life. The medication will give Oliver a happy and comfortable life for as long as possible.
Oliver has gone today with his caring owner and the staff at AAE wish him all the best.
Alfred was admitted to our Pet Emergency Centrefor Paraphimosis (Prolapsed penis). Paraphimosis is the inability to retract the erect penis back into a normal position – into the preputial sheath.
Alfred’s owners had attempted to manually fix the problem but with no success.
When Alfred arrived at our Essendon Pet Emergency Centrehis prolapsed penis was very swollen/inflamed that our emergency vets needed to place Alfred under a general anaesthetic.
Causes of this condition can be from excess licking, sexual excitement or foreign bodies getting up under the skin(hair) and trauma.
If the swelling does not resolve within 30 minutes then immediate veterinary treatmentis required due to tissue damage and urethral obstruction. In some cases the tissue of the penis dies off due to lack of blood supply and the dog requires a partial penis amputation.
In Alfred’s case our emergency vets had been able to replace his penis back into it’s normal position. He is a very sweet 5 month old Basset Hound puppy and the staff at AAE wish Alfred a speedy recovery.
If you have a pet emergency please contact one of Animal Hospitalslocated in Melbourne:
We do see heat related diseases at our 24 Hour Pet Emergency Centresin Melbourne.Heat stroke is serious and is commonly seen in dogs. Heat stroke, is when the body temperature reaches above > 39.5°C. Dogs may die if their body temperatur…e reaches > 41.7°C.As an emergency critical care specialist centre, we see heat stoke due to:
1. Locking a dog in a car, even if the car windows are open it is too dangerous.
2. Exercising with a dog when there is excessive heat and humidity
3. Leaving your outdoor dog in the sweltering heat without adequate water or shelter/shade.
Some signs of heat stroke:
-Constant panting
-Dry gums that feel sticky to the touch
-Dark red gums
-Vomiting
-Wobbly
-Seizures
-Dark coloured urine
-Diarrhoea
-Difficulty breathing
-Collapse
If your pet is suffering from a heat stroke, then we need to see your pet as soon as possible.
• Cool them down with fans and water
• Phone us
• Drive to our emergency centres as safe as possible.
Animal Accident & Emergency 