Hi, newsletter friends! It’s Sam, and I’m back with a quick pet tip. As the weather gets cooler, your canine friends can develop allergies. This month is the peak of allergy season for your pets, and if your furry friend is showing signs of allergies, they could have a ruff time if it goes untreated. Here is everything you need to know about pet allergies. Why is fall considered allergy season? After the summer months, plants begin to release allergens into the air. The two common allergens that can affect your pets are pollen and dust mites. Your pet’s body can become inflamed if they inhale, ingest, or make skin contact with these substances. What are the symptoms? If you’re wondering whether your four-legged friend suffers from fall allergies, here are some things to look for: Border Collie Corner It’s Allergy Season!
Snickers is a very lovable 9-year-old Yorkshire terrier who had received a clean bill of health for her physical examination and wellness bloodwork performed at her annual exam in January with Dr. Saunders. Just one month later, Snickers’ family knew something wasn’t right when she started having urinary accidents at home. She wasn’t quite acting like herself, so they quickly made an appointment to see Dr. Green to try to get to the bottom of what was going on. Snickers’ family noted she had been having accidents all over the house, needed to go outside more frequently, was slightly more lethargic, and was drinking more water than normal. With that history, Dr. Green started to come up with a list of potential reasons Snickers could be experiencing these clinical signs. Increased drinking and urination can be caused by a variety of underlying issues, including several endocrine diseases such as diabetes or Cushing’s disease, bladder stones, and urinary tract infections, to name a few. Dr. Green began by performing a thorough physical exam of Snickers. Her weight was stable from her previous appointment just a little over one month prior, her heart sounded very strong, and her abdomen was very soft and comfortable when felt. Overall, Snickers appeared to be a very healthy girl on the outside. For most cases with increased urination and drinking signs, the first diagnostic steps include bloodwork and checking a urine sample, which is what Snickers’ family elected to do. Despite having perfectly normal bloodwork just one month prior at her annual exam, Snickers’ bloodwork from this appointment revealed that she had high blood sugar and a moderate amount of sugar was noted in her urine, which, along with her clinical signs, indicated that Snickers had in fact developed diabetes in just a month’s time. Diabetes is caused by the failure of cells in the pancreas to produce the hormone insulin, which helps to regulate blood sugar. Type I diabetes (sometimes also called insulin-dependent diabetes) results from total or near-complete destruction of the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. This is the most common type of diabetes in dogs. As the name implies, dogs with this type of diabetes require insulin injections to stabilize blood sugar, which is what Dr. Green started for Snickers. Snickers has now been receiving insulin injections twice daily since her diagnosis and has gone back to feeling like her normal, happy self, and to her owners’ delight, she is no longer having accidents in the house, either. Snickers’ Road to Good Health A Lot Changed in One Month
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Licking and chewing at paws Constantly scratching their body Pawing/rubbing their face and ears
Healthy Veggie Dog Treats
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