Flea Control

At some time almost every dog or cat is going to experience a problem with fleas. Even in the neatest, cleanest home Rover or Kitty can develop a flea infestation. The key to flea control is prevention.

How do I know if my pet has fleas?

Fleas are small (1-2mm) laterally compressed brownish black insects that scurry quickly through your pet's fur. They can jump and move quickly and are often hard to detect. The best place to see them is on the abdomen where the fur is less dense or around the base of the tail. Often the only sign of fleas you will notice is flea dirt (small blackish granules that is actually the feces of the flea). If you want to be sure the black material you are finding on your pet is flea dirt, place some on a white, moistened tissue. Flea dirt (which is partly digested blood) will quickly turn the tissue around the black flea dirt a dark red colour.

How did so many fleas get in my house?

Cats and dogs pick up fleas from other pets in their travels. Adult fleas can reproduce as soon as they take a blood meal. If the conditions are optimal a female flea can lay 10 to 15 eggs daily. The eggs develop into adult fleas in as little as 2 weeks. At this rate the flea population quickly explodes, and huge numbers will be found on the pet and in its environment.

How can I prevent my pet from getting fleas?

There are several new products on the market that are very effective in controlling and eliminating flea infestations. At Banks Animal Hospital we recommend Revolution  as our first choice in the war against fleas. Revolution is a topical flea control product and is effective within one day of treatment, and will continue to protect your pet for an entire month. It has the added benefit of controlling Heartworm, Intestinal worms, and earmites as well as sarcoptic mange.  . At Banks Animal Hospital we suggest starting your pet on flea control in April or May and continuing for at least 6 months. There are many other products on the market used to control fleas. Please contact us and speak to one of our veterinarians or technicians to discuss your pet's flea control needs.

Sometimes pets can develop a severe rash, skin infection, or hair loss from flea infestation. This is called flea allergy dermatitis and is an allergic reaction to the saliva of the flea. If you suspect your pet has flea allergy dermatitis you should contact you veterinarian to arrange for treatment.

Dentistry

According to the American Veterinary Dental Society, 80% of dogs and 70% of cats have oral disease by the age of 3. It is the most frequently diagnosed health problem in pets. Common signs of oral disease include tartar buildup, red and swollen gums, bad breath, changes in eating or chewing habits, pawing at the face and generalized depression.

A veterinarian should evaluate your pet’s dental health at least once a year. We recommend this because bacteria and food debris accumulates around a pet’s teeth and, if left unchecked, will lead to deterioration of the soft tissue and bone surrounding the teeth. This decay results in irreversible periodontal disease and even tooth loss.

There are other reasons why you should pay close attention to your pet’s dental health. Dental disease can affect other organs in the body: bacteria in the mouth can get into the blood stream and may cause serious kidney infections, liver disease, lung disease, and heart valve disease. Oral disease can also indicate that another disease process is occurring elsewhere in a pet’s body. A thorough physical exam combined with appropriate laboratory work can determine if this is the case.

We can recommend and demonstrate preventative measures you can begin at home. Our wellness program emphasizes and explains how you can avoid costly dental procedures with your pet in the future.

Cardiology (Heart)

Heart disease is one of the most commonly diagnosed conditions in the dog or cat. The heart is an important organ in the body. The heart collects blood from the body and pumps it to the lungs to be oxygenated and then pumps back to the body.

Signs of cardiac disease include coughing, weakness, difficulty breathing, fainting, weight gain or loss, gagging, or abdominal distention. Heart disease may result from heart valve degeneration, inherited defects, trauma, tumors, infections or heartworm to name a few. Diagnosis of these disorders requires a thorough history and a complete physical examination including auscultation of the heart. Usually it is necessary to do further investigations to characterize the exact nature of the problem. Additional tests that may be necessary include blood chemistry, urinalysis, x-rays, ECG, and ultrasound.

The veterinarians at Banks Animal Hospital may prescribe medications for you pet to improve its heart function. In some cases hospitalization might be required. In the clinic the veterinarians will attempt to stabilize your pets condition. For serious cases it may be necessary to transfer your pet to an emergency clinic for 24 hour monitoring.

Dermatology (Skin)

The number one reason for clients to bring their pets to a veterinarian is for a skin problem. Dermatological disorders we commonly see at Banks Animal Hospital include itchy pets, balding pets, pets with dandruff, skin infections, poor hair coats, skin cancers and parasite infestations. The skin is a good barometer of the health of the pet and problems with coat condition often indicate a problem elsewhere in the animal. The list of disorders of the skin is too long to describe adequately on this web site. Below is listed some of the diagnostic procedures we employ to help us determine the cause of your pets problem.

1) Physical examination . A thorough physical examination is needed to help determine the nature of your dog or cats skin problem including an exhaustive search for the elusive flea.

2) Skin Scraping . A skin scraping is done usually to look for microscopic parasites that may infect the skin such as demodex (a mite) or sarcoptic mange (also a mite) It involves scraping the skin with a scalpel blade to obtain a sample. To get a good quality sample it is necessary to scrape the skin until it actually bleeds as some of the little critters we are looking for live deep in the skin. This does not hurt your pet and it looks a lot worse than it really is.

3) Skin Biopsy . A skin biopsy involves removing a sample of the skin using a local anesthetic and sending it to a pathologist for examination. We often take skin biopsies when we suspect endocrine disorders or immune-mediated skin diseases or when we are just plain stumped!

4) Blood Testing . Blood samples are used to check the general over all health of your pet as well as to rule out specific skin disorders. Many hormonal imbalances which affect the skin such as hypothyroidism or Cushings disease can be ruled out with specific blood tests.

5) Allergy Testing . Skin testing or allergy testing is sometimes done to try to determine the allergen responsible for certain types of allergic dermatitis. Usually a veterinarian specializing in the treatment of skin disorders does this.

Endocrinology (Hormones)

A wide variety of hormonal disorders can affect the dog and cat. Examples include diabetes, hypothyroidism, Cushings disease, Addisons disease, and hyperthyroidism. Testing for these disorders includes some of the procedures mentioned below.

1) Blood Testing . Blood samples are used to check the general over all health of your pet as well as to rule out specific hormonal disorders.

2) ECG. Electrocardiogram or ECG is an electrical tracing of the heart used to determine the health and activity of the cardiovascular system. Characteristic changes in ECG tracings often indicate specific hormonal disorders.

3) Urinalysis. Analysis of a urine sample is required in conjunction with blood testing. A high blood glucose might indicate the disease of diabetes for example, or a low urine specific gravity might lead one to believe an animal has Cushings disease.

4) Hormone Level Determination . Blood tests to determine the levels of hormones in the serum are used to rule in or out hormonal disorders. Sophisticated and sometimes expensive tests are often required.

Endoscopy

Endoscopy is a diagnostic procedure that allows our veterinarians to visualize and biopsy (obtaining samples of tissue for testing) your pet’s gastrointestinal tract without the need for invasive surgery. It can, for example, allow us to retrieve an accidentally ingested item without the need for surgery. If your pet requires endoscopy a specialist is usually brought into the clinic to perform the procedure.

Radiology (X-Rays)

Radiology (x-rays) is routinely used to provide valuable information about a pet’s bones, gastrointestinal tract (stomach, intestines, colon), respiratory tract (lungs), heart, and genitourinary system (bladder, prostate). It can be used alone or in conjunction with other diagnostic tools to provide a list of possible causes for a pet’s condition, identify the exact cause of a problem or rule out possible problems.

When a pet is being radiographed, an x-ray beam passes through its body and hits a piece of radiographic film. Images on the film appear as various shades of gray and reflect the anatomy of the animal. Bones, which absorb more x-rays, appear as light gray structures. Soft tissues, such as the lungs, absorb fewer x-rays and appear as dark gray structures. Interpretation of radiographs requires great skill on the part of the veterinarian.

Sometimes the x-ray films are sent to a specialist for evaluation. This can help us to determine the cause of the problem for an unusually difficult or rare disorder.

Ultrasonography

Ultrasonography is a procedure whereby sound waves are used to generate an image in cross-section of an organ or body structure. Usually a specialist is brought into the clinic do perform this. Ultrasound is useful for detecting early pregnancy in the dog, detecting small masses in the abdomen, for diagnosis of certain types of cardiac diseases and for obtaining biopsies of the liver and kidney. We often recommend an ultrasound because it is a non-invasive alternative to surgery.