Preventative Health Care
TLC Health Check
An annual health check is an important part of your pet’s preventative health care programme.
Just like we need regular visits to the dentist, optician & GP, our pets need regular check-ups too with their vet to keep them in good health.
Think of your vet as your pet’s interpreter, we know how to give your pet a through examination and look at areas that you can’t. We can find out if they have a sore tooth, an ear infection, if they are developing glaucoma or growing a melanoma on their skin. Your vet will ask you questions during the examination about your pet’s habits and behaviour that can also give us clues as to how well they are.
Unfortunately our special family members have a shorter life span than we do so one human year for us is equivalent to 5-7 cat or dog years for them. This means that in one year a lot can change in regards to the health of your pet, that’s why we recommend annual TLC health check-ups. This way we will be able to pick up any health conditions early and then get them started on a treatment plan.
Depending on what vaccinations your pet requires their annual health check may or may not include a vaccination. You can also use the TLC health check as an opportunity to get them flea treated and wormed by your vet and talk about diet and any concerns you many have.
Vaccinations
We offer the full range of vaccination options and tailor them to the specific needs of your pet. We follow vaccination protocols recommended by The World Small Animal Veterinary Association to ensure we are providing your pet with the best protection.
As part of your pets vaccination visit we give them a nose to tail examination to ensure they are fit and healthy with no issues that need addressing.
Why do I need to worm my dog?
Worms are a common cause of ill-health in dogs and can cause symptoms ranging from loss of appetite, pot belly, vomiting and diarrhoea, coughing, anaemia and even death.
Dogs are affected by four worm types in New Zealand—roundworms, hookworms, whipworms and tapeworms.
Roundworms are a problem mainly in young animals. Ninety percent of pups are born with roundworm infestations acquired from their mother during pregnancy. The worms are greyish white in colour and have round bodies resembling an earthworm.
Although much smaller, hookworms can have a serious effect on a dogs health as they suck blood from the lining of the intestine.
Whipworms resemble a stock whip and cause weight loss or diarrhoea.
There are various types of tapeworm. The most common is the flea tapeworm. This worm goes through a development stage in the flea. Infection occurs when a dog grooms itself and swallows an infected flea.
Cysticercus ovis is a tapeworm that causes sheep measles in sheep. Dogs infected from eating contaminated raw sheep meat shed this tapeworm in their faeces and transmit it back to sheep. For more information on prevention see our separate article on sheep measles.
Fortunately, the hydatid tapeworm these days is not common in dogs and can occur only when dogs are fed infected, uncooked sheep and goat offal containing cysts at the developmental stage.
Roundworms, tapeworms and hookworms can occasionally be a health hazard for people. Infection occurs simply by swallowing the eggs or larvae and naturally this is most likely with young children who are playing with puppies, or who are in a soiled environment. Regular worm treatment combined with simple hygienic measures such as ensuring young children wash their hands after contact with pets and particularly before eating, will minimize the risk of infection.
From the age of 2 weeks puppies should be treated every 2 weeks until 12 weeks old, then regularly every 3 months for the rest of their life. Monthly treatment is needed for those dogs regularly in contact with sheep to help keep sheep measles under control.
Some people advise treatment of pregnant bitches throughout pregnancy. However as long as the bitch has been wormed regularly every 3 months and the pups are treated from 2 weeks of age there is no need to increase the worming frequency of the pregnant bitch. In fact, some worm treatments should not be given during pregnancy. It is always best to check with your vet first- contact us.
Worm treatments are mostly available in tablet form but there are also combination flea/worm treatments that are available as a pour-on formulation or as a chewable treat. For advice on the best treatment to use for your particular situation please contact your vet clinic.
Why do I need to worm my cat?
All cats need regular worming to ensure control of roundworm, hookworm and tapeworm. These three worm types live in the stomach or intestines and can cause vomiting and diarrhoea, though more commonly they lead to general poor condition and in kittens a poor growth rate. It is important to treat for worms preventatively rather than after you think your cat has become infested with them. Kittens need treatment more often than adult cats.
From 2 weeks of age kittens need to be wormed every 2 weeks until 12 weeks of age, then every 3 months for the rest of their lives. For the first 12 weeks you need only treat for roundworm and hookworm but from 12 weeks onwards it is important to treat for tapeworm too. The common tapeworm in cats is transmitted by fleas and so treatment for fleas is also an important part of worm control for your cat.
Worm treatments are available in tablet or pour-on formulations and some of the pour-on’s also treat fleas and ear mites at the same time. Pour-on’s are the ideal way to treat a cat that is difficult to tablet. For advice on the best treatment to use for your particular situation please contact your vet clinic.
Worming Programme for Sheep Measles Protection
The Vet Centre Marlborough co-ordinates a worming programme for both working dogs and companion animals. The working dog programme is aimed at controlling Sheep Measles on the farm. These are small cysts found in the meat of infected sheep and goats. Cysts are not a human health risk; however they are considered a quality defect in the meat, in both local and overseas markets.
The Worming Programme Protocol:
Once enrolled on the worming programme you will receive a monthly dosing schedule and the required tablets for each dog. The tablets are posted at the beginning of the month, in order for them to be given on the 15th of the month – this allows a regular dosing programme to be in place. To enrol your dogs on the worming programme or for further information, please contact Derryn on 577 9822 or enquire@vetmarlborough.co.nz
Sheep Measles
Sheep measles is the common name given to a disease of sheep and goats in which cysts of the tapeworm Cysticercus ovis (Ovis) are found throughout the muscles. This downgrades the quality of meat when the animal is sent for slaughter. To see why this is important for dog owners read the following information about sheep measles:-
- Ovis is a tapeworm transmitted by dogs. Ovis eggs are passed in the faeces of affected dogs and contaminate the surrounding pasture. Eggs eaten by sheep grazing the pasture hatch into larvae which migrate to the sheep’s muscles where they develop cysts. Dogs catch Ovis by eating the cysts within infected sheep muscle and so the cycle continues.
- Neither dogs nor sheep get sick from Ovis infection. There is no risk to humans from eating the cysts but the meat is unpalatable and unfit for human consumption. At the meat works if one animal from a farm is found to have Ovis cysts then ALL the sheep carcasses from that farm in the same consignment are downgraded. This results in a huge loss of profit for the farmer.
- All dog owners in NZ whose dogs walk on or alongside sheep paddocks have a moral obligation to ensure their dogs are kept free of Ovis.
To help keep your dog free of Ovis and help prevent the spread of this parasite:-
- Do not feed raw sheep or goat meat to your dog and this includes preventing them from scavenging dead carcasses. Freezing meat for a minimum of 10 days kills the parasite and also cooked meat is safe to feed.
- Ovis eggs from dried out dog faeces can be carried in the wind for a short distance. Always pick up and safely dispose of your dog’s faeces on walks.
- Regular worm treatment is essential. If your dog does not roam near sheep paddocks then worming every 3 months with a multi-wormer (for tape and roundworm) is adequate. If your dog does roam near sheep paddocks then as well as the 3 monthly multi-wormer they will additionally need treating every month with a product containing Praziquantel (eg. Drontal, Milbemax or Droncit tablets) to kill tapeworms. Please note that the pour-on combination flea and worm products Revolution and Advocate do not kill tapeworm.
Other ways to break the life cycle of the tapeworm:
- Any home killing of sheep or goats should take place in a dog proof enclosure. Offal and dead stock disposal sites must also be in areas away from dogs.
- Before feeding sheep or goat meat to dogs, the meat should either have been cooked or frozen.
- COOKING – the meat should be heated to a core temperature of 72 degrees Celsius and cooked throughout to ensure the cysts are killed (this should take place in a dog proof area). As a general rule, all the meat should turn brown. Any tinges of red suggest insufficient cooking.
- FREEZING – meat should be frozen to a core temperature of -10 degrees Celsius (or colder) for at least 7 days. The dog food should be clearly labelled and dated to allow easy identification. Check the freezer temperature regularly to ensure it is operating at the required temperature.
- Feed alternative foods eg. dry food, biscuits or dog roll.
- Keep all dogs under control at all times to prevent scavenging.
Flea Control- For Your Pets
Fleas can kill!
Not many people realise quite how serious a problem fleas can be for their beloved pet. The most obvious problem is skin irritation and this can be quite severe particularly in pets that are allergic to flea bites. Constant itchiness drastically reduces the quality of life for the pet. You can imagine how awful it would feel yourself to be constantly nibbled by sandflies! What many people don’t realise is that the flea sucks blood from their pet and if this continues untreated for several weeks the pet will eventually become anaemic from constant loss of blood. This can be so severe that it can actually kill the pet. This is particularly a risk in young kittens and puppies. The flea is also responsible for transmitting the common tapeworm which adds to the pets problems. In cats the flea is also responsible for transmission of Mycoplasma haemofelis, a parasite that causes a particularly severe type of anaemia.
So what is the best way to treat fleas?
The answer to that is it is far better to prevent fleas in the first place rather than simply treating once you find a flea on your pet. The reason for that is because by the time you actually find a flea on your pet you can guarantee that you will already have a flea infestation in your house and that will be harder, take longer and be more expensive to treat than it would have been to use preventative flea treatment. Also the pet would have been suffering needlessly from flea bites for quite a time before you notice the presence of fleas. It is important to understand that fleas are actually quite hard to find especially on dark coated, long haired breeds. If you find one flea on your pet you can be sure that there are at least ten more lurking somewhere on the pet! It is much kinder to assume that your pet does have fleas and treat preventatively rather than assume that they do not have a flea problem.
Another very important fact to be aware of is that the fleas you find on your pet represent only 5% of the total flea population in your home. To understand why, we need to know a little about the flea life-cycle. Adult fleas breed on the pet and lay eggs which fall off into the surrounding environment. The female flea lays 50 eggs per day! Within 10 days the eggs hatch into larvae and 12 days later develop into pupae. So 95% of the flea population in your home is the eggs, larvae and pupae. The whole flea life cycle takes just 2-4 weeks.
The pupae can remain dormant in the environment for many months and are resistant to freezing, desiccation and insecticides. They are stimulated to hatch into adult fleas by vibration, warmth and carbon dioxide. In a cold, empty house the pupae remain dormant but as soon as animals or humans are around to cause vibration by walking around, breathing out carbon dioxide and warming the house the pupae hatch and within seconds the flea jumps onto its host and starts to drink blood. Because pupae need warmth to hatch, owners often assume that fleas are not a problem during winter. Unfortunately this is not true as with modern insulation and heating methods most people’s houses in the 21st century are plenty warm enough to keep the flea cycle going all year round. So the choice is to keep your house freezing cold all winter or to use preventative flea treatment all year round.
So which flea treatments/preventatives are best?
To prevent a build up of flea eggs in the environment it is essential that the flea treatment kills ALL adult fleas on the pet quickly BEFORE they have time to lay eggs. When a flea lands on its host it takes 24-hours before it starts to lay eggs so the aim of top quality flea treatment is to kill 100% of fleas within 24-hours. It is even more important that the product continues to kill 100% of fleas within 24-hours for the whole treatment period. Not all flea products can achieve this and many start to wear off before they are next due to be applied.
It is important to treat ALL pets in the household at the same time to break the flea life-cycle. With heavy flea burdens it will also be necessary to treat the environment with insecticides that prevent eggs already present from hatching.
The ideal flea treatment should kill fleas within 24hrs for the whole treatment period, have a long lasting action, be easy to administer and be non-toxic to the pet and humans. Not all flea products on the market can meet these criteria, especially those sold at non-veterinary outlets. Some products might reduce flea numbers but leave enough active breeding fleas alive to keep the flea cycle going. Some products contain organophosphates or permethrin both of which are toxic if used incorrectly and there is known flea resistance to permethrin. Sprays, shampoos and powders are messy to apply, have little or no residual activity and are easily washed off by rain or swimming.
The more modern and effective flea treatments are applied in the form of a pour-on on the back of the neck or as a chewable treat. There is quite a large range of products to choose from but BEWARE, as not all pour-on flea treatments are the same. Some are based on organophosphates or permethrin and others simply have a very inferior performance.
There is a huge range of flea treatments on the market to choose from nowadays and it can be difficult for you to decide which product to use. Some products are excellent whereas others are a waste of time and money.
At The Vet Centre we only stock quality products that we have faith in, in terms of safety and effectiveness. We choose non toxic products that have proven performance. We stock a large range of pour-on products to suit different situations. Some will treat worms as well as fleas and some will also treat ticks, ear mites, skin mites and lice. One very important benefit of buying your preventative flea treatment from a Vet is the professional advice that can be given about which product is best for your own pets situation. Not all pets are the same and it is important that the most appropriate product is used.
All our front counter staff at The Vet Centre are very knowledgeable about the products we sell and enjoy sharing that knowledge with you. Below is a table to show some of the properties of our range of pour-on flea and worm products but before buying make sure you ask our advice.