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Providing The Best For Your Pet Topics In Canine Healthcare

Kristi Lively, DVM, DABVP Village Veterinary Clinic, Farragut, TN. Providing The Best For Your Pet Topics In Canine Healthcare. Canine Healthcare. Today we will discuss the basics of routine canine healthcare to help you meet the needs of your canine companions, including: Home care

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Providing The Best For Your Pet Topics In Canine Healthcare

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  1. Kristi Lively, DVM, DABVPVillage Veterinary Clinic, Farragut, TN Providing The Best For Your PetTopics In Canine Healthcare

  2. Canine Healthcare Today we will discuss the basics of routine canine healthcare to help you meet the needs of your canine companions, including: • Home care • Nutrition • Behavior/ Training • Veterinary care • Lifestyle & age related needs

  3. Home Care Many facets of appropriate care in the home: • Housing • Exercise • Sensory input/ output • Nutrition • Training

  4. Appropriate Housing • Appropriate housing may be breed dependant • Outdoors: A securefenced yard is extremely important (not a tie out) • Outdoors: Shelter from the elements

  5. Appropriate Housing • Indoors: Crate training provides a safe place for your pet when you are not at home. • Indoors: Confine from areas where they could damage valuables or hurt themselves if unattended • Indoors/outdoors: Keep away from chemicals, access to garbage, antifreeze

  6. Exercise • A breed and age specific need • Leash walking- daily. Good for you and for your dog • Swimming • Chasing a ball • Seniors- even more important

  7. Sensory Input/Output • Dogs are social animals • Tougher to fulfill this need for strictly outdoor dogs • Taking them with you just for a car ride • Toys to occupy their time when you are away • Daycare/ neighbors • Companionship

  8. Nutrition • High quality dog food • Controlled, measured feeding • Twice a day, 10 minutes • Snacks: fat for us = fat for them • Body condition score

  9. Nutrition Home dental care: • Diets made to aide in cleaning of the teeth • CET chews (hexadene) • Greenies (only if supervised) • Nylabones

  10. Proper Training • Proper training is imperative to preserve a positive human- animal bond • Training providesboundaries your pet will understand • Often, training is for the owner more so than for the pet

  11. Proper Training • Use the same command words consistently • All family members attend classes together • Positive reinforcement as much as possible

  12. Positive Reinforcement • Primary means of training • Give a treat or praise every time the wanted behavior has been performed • Focus on training, avoid distractions

  13. Crate Training • Puppies should be trained to see their crate as a positive place • Use crate whenever they are unattended and at night • Crates provide a safe haven when you have company, workers, or when you are not at home

  14. Negative Reinforcement • Not as effective as positive • More likely to negatively impact your relationship and not train at all • Only to be used in dangerous situations such as running out of the yard. • They often don’t understand the punishment

  15. Veterinary Care • Dogs need to have annual or semi-annual exams • Vaccines • Heartworm prevention • Fecal exams • Flea and tick control • Routine urine and blood work screening • Spay and neuter!

  16. Vaccines • Distemper • Parvo • Hepatitis • Rabies • Parainfluenza • Bordetella (Kennel Cough) • +/- Corona/Lepto

  17. Heartworm Prevention • Transmitted by mosquitoes • Infection causes heart and lung disease • Indoor and outdoor dogs are all at risk • Heartworm preventive should be given year round • Treatment is more expensive than prevention • Annual blood test

  18. Parasite Screening • Fecal parasite exams are recommended by the CDC twice per year • Intestinal parasites in dogs can be transmitted to people • Monthly heartworm preventives can help control intestinal parasites as well

  19. Flea and Tick Control • In East TN, we see many fleas and ticks • Ticks do carry diseases such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Lymes Disease and Ehrlichea • Excellent topical products are available (Frontline, Advantage) from your veterinarian

  20. Spay and Neuter • It is healthier for pets to be spayed or neutered • Cancer • Behavior problems • Reproductive tract infections • Overpopulation problem • Do it because you care

  21. Routine Screening • Recommend annual urine evaluation, CBC, and chemistry • Blood pressure measurement • Try to identify silent disease processes before they manifest as problems • Provides a good baseline for future

  22. Seniors As dogs age, their needs change: • Diet • Exercise • Proactive veterinarycare • Pain management

  23. Remember • If your pet is an integral part of the family, you will be more able to meet your pet’s needs socially, emotionally and medically. • A pet is for a life time. It is not a right, but a privilege, and we must remember we took responsibility for their well being when we brought them into our home

  24. How • Proper home care • Proper nutrition • Behavior/ Training • Proactive veterinary care • Remembering lifestyle and age related needs

  25. Why? • Talk to your veterinarian • Talk with your family • Teach responsible pet ownership to children • You will be rewarded with unconditional love

  26. Rewarded For Years to Come Unconditional love

  27. For more information, please contact CAITwww.vet.utk.edu/caitcait@utk.edu865-755-2276

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