Rimadyl is an FDA approved medication to treat dogs with osteoarthritis. It is a potent anti-inflammatory that does not affect the stomach lining of dogs the way aspirin can. This medication may also be prescribed to treat post-operative pain. We are finding that is also has helps with spinal cord pain, although cortisones are used more often to reduce swelling in the spinal cord.
Cautions with this drug include side effects to the liver and kidneys and may require monitoring of these conditions with blood tests.
Deramaxx is another potent anti-inflammatory that helps with arthritis. It is a different type of drug than rimadyl and is supposed to have even less irritation to the stomach. These drugs interfere with COXtype prostaglandins. The manufacturer of Deramaxx (Novartis) claims that Deramaxx has more COX2 actions. What this means for those of us using these drugs for our patients is that there are more choices for the dogs and if one drug isn't effective or has side effects, then another type can be tried.
Both of these drugs must be used with caution and all non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs can harm a dog's kidneys or liver if they are predisposed
to this or have existing kidney or liver disease. The use of pain
medications for your dog involves close monitoring of the entire dog and
its well being. Sometimes tradeoff are done in order to have a lifestyle
for the pet that is humane.
These drug should not be combined with aspirin or cortisones.
Be sure to ask your veterinarian for any precautions for your pet.
Rimadyl and Deramaxx have proven to provide great pain relief for our older
dogs.
WheatNEasy is a new cat litter composed of wheat. It has several nice characteristics. It clumps with urine but unlike clay litter will not clog plumbing. It has a fresh, natural scent, less dust and less tracking in the house. It is also environmentally beneficial as it is not a mined product but a by-product of our food industry. It comes in three sizes: 7, 14 and 40 pound bags.
CET RINSE or Dentipaste are dental care products to be used at home on your pets teeth and gums. The mint and vanilla flavor have been shown to have high acceptance by dogs and cats. (Apparently people prefer the mint scent and the pets like vanilla). The main active ingredient is chlorhexidine which is very effective against bacteria found in the gumline of pets mouths and the cause of gingivitis. Untreated gingivitis can lead to infection of the tooth root and tooth loss, as well as being painful to the animal. Regular use of a dental product on your pets teeth and gums can prevent plaque on the tooth surface. We routinely use and dispense these products with patients following a professional cleaning of tartar from the tooth surface.
Microchips we
are using the HOMEAGAIN microchip to help owners locate their lost pets.
The microchip is the size of a grain of rice and contains a number that
is unique to that chip. When a special scanner is passed over the
area where the chip has been inserted (under the skin between the shoulder
blades) it will "read" and display that number. A call to the 800
phone number and relay of the chip number will allow the person scanning
to obtain the pet owner's name and phone number. Shelters and all
humane organizations have been given these scanners for free by the chip
manufacturer. Since many times people find dogs and cats, keep them for
a while, hoping to find the owner on their own and then turn them over
to a shelter or humane organization for adoption, we have urged shelters
to scan all animals.
We
use the HOMEAGAIN brand because the data base is held by the AKC (animals
do not have to be AKC registered) and because the chip has been FDA approved
to be non-reactive to the animal's body tissues. We use the scanner
on all stray animals presented to us by clients.
We prefer microchips to other forms of ID like tatooing because a microchip
cannot be altered. All dogs that are to be OFA certified have to
be identified with either a microchip or a tatoo.
Microchips may help you be reuinted with your pet if it ever gets lost
(without its collar!!) or stolen. In the event of a disaster, veterinarians
scan all animals that are recovered to see if their rightful owners can
be located. It is just another way to keep our human and animal families
together.