Choosing the right dog leash

The weather is finally warming up and we hope you are getting outside with your pets.  Becareful when choosing your dog leash as there are many dangers in using a retractable leash.

1.  They are too long! Some of these leashes can extend over 25 feet.  This allows dogs to get far enough away from their humans that a situation can quickly turn dangerous. A dog on a retractable leash could run into oncoming traffic or make contact with other dogs or people.

2.  What if the dog they approach is aggressive.  You are more than 25 feet away which means they will surely be injured by the time you get there.  It is much easier to protect a dog on a standard 6 ft leash.

3.  The thin cord of a retractable leash can break – especially when a powerful dog is on the other end of it. If a strong, good-sized dog takes off at full speed, the cord can snap. Not only can that put the dog and whatever he may be chasing in danger, but also the cord can snap back and injure the human at the other end.

4.  If a dog walker gets tangled up in the cord of a retractable leash, or grabs it in an attempt to reel in their dog, it can result in burns, cuts, and even amputation. In addition, many people have been pulled right off their feet by a dog that reaches the end of the leash and keeps going. This can result in bruises, "road rash," broken bones, and worse.

5.  Dogs have also received terrible injuries as a result of the sudden jerk on their neck that occurs when they run out the leash, including neck wounds, lacerated tracheas, and injuries to the spine.

6.  Retractable leashes allow dogs more freedom to pull at the end of them, which can look like aggression to another dog who may decide to "fight back."

7.  The handles of retractable leashes are bulky and can be easily pulled out of human hands, resulting in a runaway dog.

8.  Along those same lines, many dogs – especially fearful ones – are terrorized by the sound of a dropped retractable leash handle and may take off running, which is dangerous enough. To make matters worse, the object of the poor dog's fear is then "chasing" her, and if the leash is retracting as she runs, the handle is gaining ground on her – she can't escape it. Even if this scenario ultimately ends without physical harm to the dog (or anyone else), it can create lingering fear in the dog not only of leashes, but also of being walked.

9.  Retractable leashes, like most retractable devices, have a tendency to malfunction over time, either refusing to extend, refusing to retract, or unspooling at will.

10.  Retractable leashes are an especially bad idea for dogs that haven't been trained to walk politely on a regular leash. By their very nature, retractables train dogs to pull while on leash, because they learn that pulling extends the lead.

If your dog is well trained, gentle mannered and smart enough to master a regular leash and a retractable leash without being confused, you could be one of the rare guardians that can walk your pooch on any kind of leash without increasing risks to either one of you.

article written by:

Lorene Rockwell, DVM

Formerly of Wolf Merrick Animal Hospital, Kenosha, WI

Healthy Appetite Means Healthy Pet... Not Always!

In most cases a healthy appetite indicates your pet is not suffering from illness, however, there are some diseases that are often associated with increased appetite in dogs and cats.  A healthy appetite can fool pet owners into thinking that their pet is generally healthy, when disease is actually at work. 

One of the most common causes for increased appetite is diabetes both dogs and cats.  Initially diabetes will frequently cause a pet to feel hungry, until diabetes progresses to a point where pets eventually become severely ill and anorexic if this disease goes on untreated.  

Increased hunger can be a result of digestive disorders that are associated with impaired digestion or impaired absorption of nutrients.  Pancreatic insufficiency is a digestive disorder whereby the pancreas does not produce enough digestive enzymes to properly break down ingested food into smaller nutritional units, preventing these nutrients from being absorbed properly in the intestine.  Increased hunger can also be the result of impaired absorption of nutrients by the lining of the small intestine.  Diseases ranging from intestinal parasites to inflammatory bowel disease to certain forms of cancer can impair of the ability of the cells that line the intestine to absorb nutrients.   Either impaired digestion or impaired absorption of nutrients can often cause an increase in appetite.

A very common disease affecting older cats is hyperthyroidism.  In this case a diseased thyroid gland produces excessive thyroid hormones causing increased metabolism and hunger.  Older dogs can develop problems with an “over active” adrenal gland that often results in increased hunger, along with various other symptoms including increased thirst.

While pets affected with any one of this diseases seem to eat a lot, they often lose weight despite their hearty appetites.  If your pet seems to have an unexplained increase in appetite; especially if there seems to be associated weight loss, be aware that your pet may actually be sick. 

article written by:

Dr. Scott Peteriet

Companion Animal Hospital

Yellow Vomit... Yuck!

Do you sometimes wake in the morning to find a spot of yellow vomit on your floors or carpet left by your dog, yet find your dog does not appear ill and will readily eat his morning meal with no further vomiting problems?  The yellow vomit is actually bile, produced in the liver, which backflows into your dog’s stomach and mildly irritates the stomach lining to cause vomiting.  It is called bilious vomiting syndrome and in most cases, can be easily prevented.

To understand why this vomiting occurs it’s important to know how things work in the upper digestive tract.  Bile is normally produced in the liver and transported to the intestines via the bile duct to aid in digestion.  Peristalsis is the normal coordinated contractions of the esophagus, stomach and intestines that works to move food from the mouth, through the stomach and intestines and out the back end.   This peristalsis is what allows you to successfully drink water while standing on your head!

These dogs that vomit yellow fluid are presumed to have a digestive motility disorder.   In these dogs, when there is not the stimulus of food in the stomach or upper intestines, peristalsis seems to stop.   It is the peristalsis that moves the bile deposited into the intestines to move down the intestinal tract away from the stomach.   When it has been a while since the dog’s last meal, the stomach and intestinal tract are empty and peristalsis stops.   When this happens the bile tends to accumulate and pool in the upper intestines, then leak backwards into the stomach.   The bile in the stomach will cause a dog to vomit the yellow liquid.

Most times you can correct this problem by feeding your dog smaller but more frequent meals so that there is always some food in the upper digestive tract to maintain normal peristalsis.   You will find that bilious vomiting occurs long after your dog had his last meal.  If increasing frequency of feedings does not help, talk to your vet about medications to aid in promoting proper digestive tract motility.

article written by:

Scott Petereit, DVM

Wolf Merrick Animal Hospital, Kenosha, WI

Companion Animal Hospital, Mount Prospect, IL

Lumps and Bumps on Dogs

Lumps and Bumps on Dogs

Few things in life are as scary as finding a lump on your dog.  Immediately your mind will jump to worst case scenario and the “C” word will inevitably creep into your thoughts.  So if you do find a lump, try to stay calm, and call your veterinarian to make an appointment to have it investigated.

Before you get to the office it is helpful to document the location and size of the lump.  It may be helpful to draw a circle on the fur with a sharpie marker or shave off the hair where the lump is.  It is amazing how many lumps cannot be found once the owner is in the office.  Documenting the size with a ruler can be very helpful for your veterinarian when it comes time to decide whether or not the lump should be removed.

Once at the office the doctor will likely ask you how long the lump has been there and then examine your dog to look for other lumps on their body.  A next step is to perform a needle aspirate of the lump that the doctor will look at under the microscope to try to determine what the lump is and how they should proceed with treatment.  If the doctor cannot accurately determine what the lump is they will either make a recommendation to send the slide to a pathologist (a doctor that evaluates cells and tissues microscopically all the time) or they may recommend having the mass removed and sent in for testing.

There are so many different types of lumps that dogs can get – most of them are benign, but some of them are malignant.  Approaching each lump with care and caution will help to keep your dog healthy and cancer free.

article written by:

Dr. Lorene Rockwell

Formerly of Wolf Merrick Animal Hospital

Kenosha, WI

Correct Diet is Important!

Before joining Wolf Merrick Animal Hospital, I was presented with an unexpected case of a female Bichon that had started seizing several minutes prior to arriving at the hospital.  The limited information we were able to obtain was that the female had recently given birth to puppies and was in the process of nursing.  A quick blood test confirmed my suspicion - low calcium, known more commonly in lactating cows as “milk fever.”  After carefully supplementing the Bichon’s calcium while monitoring her heart rhythm, she was looking right as rain.  In follow-up discussion with her owner, I learned that she was still on an adult maintenance diet!  This was not the appropriate diet for a female who was nursing puppies.  I was reminded of this case while reading a recent veterinary journal article about a survey of just over 2,000 dog breeders.  It found nearly 17% of them were using an incorrect commercial diet for their pregnant females and 9% an incorrect commercial diet for their puppies.  That doesn’t include those who were feeding unbalanced home-made diets.  Of the breeders surveyed, only 50% had consulted with a veterinarian about diet selection.

As a pet owner, when it comes to pet foods and pet treats, the most important group to be familiar with is the Association of Animal Feed Control Officials – a.k.a. AAFCO (petfood.aafco.org).  While it is up to each state to enforce rules and regulations for pet food labeling and production, it is the AAFCO’s responsibility to make those rules and set minimum standards.  Did you know that there are limitations on what ingredients can be included in pet foods and treats?  Despite some marketing campaigns’ attempts to claim that “other dog foods” put unwholesome or unfit ingredients in their diet(s), this is simply untrue as long as the food meets “AAFCO Guidelines” and states such on its nutrition label.  Of course, if a pet food or treat does not list “AAFCO tested” or “meets AAFCO guidelines” on its nutrition label, it is probably something you want to avoid. 

As many pet owners have experienced, your pet has different needs at different stages of his or her life.  In general, these stages can be simplified into two groups: maintenance ‘adult’ diets and puppy/pregnancy diets.  Growing puppies are putting extra energy and nutrients towards developing bigger muscles, bigger bones…bigger everything!  As a result, they require a diet that is proportionally higher in energy content, mineral content and other nutrients.  Pregnant and nursing females have nutritional requirements similar to puppies – after all, the nutrients they pass on to those growing puppies need to come from somewhere!  Whether you’re intentionally breeding or had an unexpected pregnancy, it is important to keep a pregnant or lactating female on a “gestation,” “puppy” or “all life stages” diet.  You can then use the same diet for the puppies when it comes time to wean them!  Without an appropriate diet, you may find yourself with growth abnormalities or a female unexpectedly having seizures. 

When in doubt, don’t make the mistake that 50% of the surveyed breeders made – consult a veterinarian.  If you are aiming to use a non-commercial diet, such as a home-made diet, consult a veterinary nutritionist or a PhD in animal nutrition. 

-- A veterinary nutritionist service we often recommend is BalanceIt (balanceit.com), which is based out of the University of California-Davis -- 

article written by:

Dr. Erich Roush

Wolf Merrick Animal Hospital

Kenosha, WI

Human Food That Can Be Harmful for Pets

Surprising Things That Your Pet Can't Eat 

We all know that dogs can't eat chocolate, but did you know that there's actually a longgggg list of human food that pets can't eat? Check out the table below to read more foods that pets can't eat! 

Human Food That Can Be Harmful for Pets

Acai Berry Alcohol (beer, wine, liquor, etc.) Anise Apple stems, leaves, and seeds Avocado Bones Broccoli in large quantities (more than               10% of diet) Chives Chocolate (any form including powdered) Citrus oil, stems, leaves, peels, and seeds Coconut oil Coffee (in any form including decaffeinated) Corn cobs Doughs made with yeast (bread dough, etc.) Fatty foods (including grease, oil, or fat trimmings) Garlic Grapes Hops Human vitamins containing iron Macadamia nuts Mace Moldy food Mustard seed Nutmeg

Onion Paprika Persimmons Pits of fruits such as apricot, cherry, peach, and plum/prune Pomegranate Potato (when immature or “green”) Raisins Raw/undercooked meat, eggs, and fish Rhubarb leaves Salt in excess quantities Scallions Shallots Soft drinks/sodas with caffeine Spinach Teas with caffeine (including “decaffeinated”) Tobacco (cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, etc.) Tomato leaves and stems Tumeric Walnuts Wild mushrooms (just as for people) Xylitol (an artificial sweetener often found in but not limited to chewing gum, candy, and ice cream) Yeast

If your pet consumes any of the listed foods, make sure to contact us right away. 

By: 

Amanda Schnitker, DVM