Brooklyn Bark Talks

Kitty is  lethargic. Pup is drooling.  Kitty won't eat her favorite dinner.  You left pup in a very warm room and maybe it was too warm.

Is this serious?  Is this going to pass or do I need to contact my vet?  Or do I need to get her to her vet pronto? 

Shock is the underlying issue with any injury.  In shock, the circulatory system is starting to shut down.  There is a simple test to tell if your petis in shock, moving into shock or coming out of shock.  It is called "Capillary Refill" or CRT (Capillary Refill Time).  

Very easy to do.  You press your finger against your pet's gums to produce a blanched (white) spot and then measure the time it

Greetings!  

Depending how well I know you I either shake your hand or give you a hug.  Perfectly polite.  And depending on your state of health, I might have just picked up a cold, the flu or worse.

If we were two dogs, we'd sniff each other, nose to tail, to exchange our greetings.  Perfectly good dog manners.  And in doing so I might have

Chocolate.  On the miniscule chance that there is anything left of your chocolate Easter Bunny or her eggs, please put them far from pup's reach.  Yeah, they should be out of my reach, too, but that's for caloric reasons.  For pup, chocolate is poison.

Barbecues are for you, me and pups too.

Whether you are celebrating Easter, Passover or just joyous family time there is always food.  And lots of it.  And where there is food, there is generally a dog with a "tail of woe" describing imminent starvation in a land of plenty, his or hers to be precise.

This is your baby or your friend's baby or any sweet pup in your world.  And you don't want to see suffering so you slip him a piece of ham or matzoh or a jelly bean. 

What's a good idea and what isn't?  Sharing food is one of the ways humans bond and your altruistic pup is ready to give you an ultimate

Allergies.  Yep, dogs and cats have allergies just like we do.  They can be allergic to specific foods, to bee stings, to pollen.  They can be allergic to pretty much the same things that cause reactions in us.

The good news is that they react to Diphenhydramine exactly as we do.  OK, that's Benadryl.  Same drug; same strength but there are a few caveats.

The dosage is 1-2 mg of Benadryl per pound of pet's bodyweight.  This is, obviously, a very forgiving calculation.  But if you are not good with numbers or are terribly nervous, ask your pharmacist help you with the calculations for your pup or kitty when you buy the Benadryl and keep the dosage taped to the package so you don't have to do the math in real time.  If you didn't do that, call your

April showers not only bring May flowers but they bring mosquito larvae, heartworm, ticks and fleas.  Oh my!

But with the weather warming and moistening, things are definitely going into high gear

These are equal opportunity blood suckers.  With climate change, many vets are now keeping even their northern patients on heartworm prevention year round.  This writer has removed ticks after a hike in frozen February.  

Sometimes the prevention is more dangerous than the cure.  Most drug store bug repellants contain DEET which the FDA considers safe for human

Call it an Elizabethan Collar, an E-Collar or a Cone of Shame it defines "adding insult to injury". First poor pup or kitty goes under the knife to lose their private parts or becomes play-toy of a bully at the dog park or eats something that has no way out other than via the knife.

That's the easy part. Then the well meaning, highly trained, brilliant, compassionate veterinarian puts Fido or Boots in The Collar and your pup or your kitty can't lie down, can't bend to eat, can't navigate corners, can't play.... oh, life is not worth living.  

Instead of the Cone of Shame aka Elizabethan Collar post surgery, discuss using a cloud collar with your vet. They aren't pleasant but they do accomplish pretty much what the cone does - keeps teeth and tongue from the surgical areas.  

First marketing by Kong but private labeled by Pet Smart and others, Cloud Collars are reminiscent of a traveler's neck pillow. They are much less cumbersome

Lilies are beautiful but not if your cat eats them.  And preverse critters that many cats are, they take one look at an Easter lily and see lunch.