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This is a "bare bones" primer on dog and cat medical issues - ailments, tests, treatments, prognosis, etc...
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The vaccinations your dog receives may vary with the area of the country and the philosophy of your veterinarian. At Animal
Health Center the following vaccinations and health checks are given beginning at 6 weeks of age and continuing until 4 months.
Distemper, Hepatitis, Leptospirosis, Rarainfluenza - at 6, 9 , 12 weeks of age
Parvovirus - at 6, 9, 15 weeks of age
Rabies - at 3 months of age then annually
Intestinal worm checks - at 6 and 15 weeks, then twice yearly
Neutering or Hysterectomy - at 5-6 months of age
Heartworm preventative - begun between 8-15 weeks of age and continues for life
Annual booster vaccinations given along with an intestinal worm check twice yearly and annual heartworm blood tests
Canine Distemper
Canine distemper is a disease that attacks the nervous system of a dog. It usually causes death and can affect dogs of
all ages. Since puppies are the most common victims of this dreadful disease, the vaccination program every three weeks is
designed to help prevent distemper. Distemper is a virus that can develop pneumonia as secondary bacterial infection takes
over the body. The distemper virus attacks the brain within a few weeks and death or euthanasia is generally the outcome.
Vaccinations are very effective in preventing this disease.
Canine Hepatitis
Canine Hepatitis is a viral disease which affects the liver. Fortunately, Hepatitis is rarely seen to day due to the effectiveness
of vaccinations. Most all distemper vaccines are combined with hepatitis vaccine to control most diseases.
Leptospirosis
Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease that usually affects the kidneys and other organs of the body. If the kidneys are
affected the puppy usually dies. Leptospirosis like hepatitis is not seen often. The bacteria is most often carried in the
urine of rats. The disease was seen more often in farm dogs that could be exposed to rat urine. Distemper vaccine does not
always have leptospirosis vaccine included.
Parvovirus
Parvovirus is an intestinal virus in dogs. The virus can remain in the area for months and can be transmitted on your
shoes or other articles. Your dog does not have to be around a sick puppy to get parvo virus. The symptoms include depression,
bloody diarrhea and vomiting. The treatment is aggressive supportive care with I.V. fluids and medicines for vomiting. Without
proper veterinary care this disease is most often fatal. Vaccinations are generally very effective in preventing the disease.
dogs over one year of age rarely will contract the disease, but vaccinations are recommended as an insurance that the disease
will not strike your dog.
Rabies
Rabies is a scary disease that is spread mainly through the wild animal population in an area. The signs are foaming at
the mouth and behavior uncommon to the animal. However, Rabies can be difficult to diagnose and any abnormal behavior in a
dog should be viewed with suspicion. Vaccination for Rabies is a state law in Georgia.
Parasites
Intestinal worm checks are tests done on a dog's bowel movement to see if there are any worm eggs present in the dogs'
body. In South Georgia we see hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, coccidia, tapeworms, and Giardia. Only two of the six worms
common to Georgia can be seen without the aid of a microscope. Hookworms can be spread through a dog's feces or can penetrate
the dog's skin, or travel through the milk to nursing puppies. They attach to a dog's intestines to feed on the blood. Hookworms
can cause major blood loss which is sometimes fatal to puppies. The baby stage of hookworms are called sandworms. These baby
worms can penetrate the skin of people and migrate under the skin causing a human health hazard.
Roundworms can be spread for mother to puppies or through soil that has eggs in it. They can cause bloated bellies and
diarrhea and vomiting. Roundworms can be transmitted to people also and can cause some serious health problems relating to
loss of sight. Whipworms can cause diarrhea, weight loss and dehydration. They are very hard to detect and also to eliminate.
Whipworms do not lays eggs very often so they can be overlooked during the worm checks performed by a veterinarian.
Heartworm Prevention
Prevention of heartworm disease is very simple. Heartworm preventative for dogs is usually started between 2-3 months
of age and the preventative is given once each month for life. (a daily heartworm preventative is also available) Since heartworms
are spread by mosquitoes which are prevalent here in South Georgia all year long, the preventative must be given all year
long unlike some other areas of the United States where the pills can be given only 6-9 months of each year. Heartworms are
the most life threatening parasite dogs can have. The microfilia (baby heartworms) are deposited in the dog's body by a mosquito
bite. These baby worms grow and move to the heart where the damage to your pet's health is done. Symptoms of heartworms do
not show up sometimes for years. but early tests performed by your veterinarian will diagnose the disease before much damage
is done. Your dog should be on the medication every month for life with once yearly testing to make sure the preventative
is doing it's job.
Birth Control
We recommend surgery at 5-6 months of age to prevent your dog from being able to reproduce. For male dogs the procedure
is called neutering or castration and for female dogs it is called ovariohysterectomy. Neutering your pet has lots of advantages.
Male dogs will not roam away from home which cuts down dramatically on the chances of being hit by a car or being in a fight
with other dogs. The surgery involves complete removal of both testicles while under a general anesthesia. An ovariohysterectomy
means the surgical removal of both ovaries and the uterus. This surgery is the same procedure performed in people called a
hysterectomy. In people the ovaries are generally not removed. Female dogs have a 200% less chance of developing breast cancer
if the ovariohysterectomy is done before the first heat cycle. Breast cancer is a very common form of cancer in animals.
Vaccinations given before three months of age are often called "temporary". Vaccinations given after three months
of age will last for one year. The only exception is the 3 year Rabies vaccination given by some veterinarian. The first year
of a puppy's growth is equal to 15 years growth for a person. This means that every 3 weeks of the puppy's first year is equal
to one full year to a child. Since growth changes occur so fast, it is imperative that wellness examinations be performed
each time the vaccinations are given.
Puppies receive protection from disease from the antibodies in their mother's milk during the first three days of nursing.
The length of time the protection lasts is different for each puppy. Therefore vaccinations are given to "boost"
that protection until the puppy can produce his or her own antibodies.
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