Animal Care Clinic San Luis Obispo Veterinary Hospital » kidney function

Animal Care Tips – No Wine for Pets

admin — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 01:41:06 +0000

As we prepare for our big Open House and wine tasting Gala on April 6, 2008 I am reminded to warn you that grapes have been shown to be toxic to dogs. While this is a relatively recent discovery, we do know that some dogs will develop kidney failure in response to ingestion of any form of grapes. Dogs should not eat table grapes, raisins, grape skins or even a glass of wine! I have known many dogs who ate table grapes regularly without trouble, so apparently not all dogs are susceptible – but to be safe, if your dog consumes grapes (or indulges in a little vino,) you should seek veterinary attention as soon as possible.

For you non-canine readers, we hope you will join us on Sunday April 6, 2008 between 2 and 6pm for a fundraising Open House/Wine Tasting Gala/Silent Auction. A small cover fee will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Association, and will give you full access to wine tasting from Wild Horse, Baileyana, Salisbury, Claiborne and Churchill and Niner Wineries plus savory delights from Nuccis and Old Country Deli. Educational displays will be set up throughout the hospital and you will find an amazing Silent Auction featuring Barrel Tastings, Magnums of local favorite wines, mouth watering delicacies, musical adventures…and even some animal related items! You will not want to miss this chance to help us fight cancer one step at a time!

by Bonnie Markoff, DVM, ABVP

Animal Care Tips -Wellness Labwork

admin — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 00:38:44 +0000

As we continue to look at wellness and preventive care strategies, we must not overlook screening lab tests. Animals age more quickly than we do. Large dogs average only an 8-10 year lifespan, while cats and small dogs often live into their late teens or even early twenties. But when compared to human longevity, those are very short time periods. This means that a calendar year can age a pet 4-8 years! Additionally, animals are usually not whiners. This means that they can be in pain or discomfort, experiencing nausea or feeling tired – and they won’t tell us! In the wild, animals who show weakness are eaten by predators. Even our pets have some level of instinct to hide disease. Because of this we must seek out diseases associated with aging like aggressive investigators. Waiting for a pet to show signs of disease can be a death sentence. If we can catch kidney failure, liver problem, diabetes, low grade infections, anemia and other issues BEFORE a pet acts sick, we can do so much more to slow down the disease process and often cure the disease.

At Animal Care Clinic, we recommend blood and urine profiles on a regular basis based on a pet’s age and size. Larger animals age more quickly and thus we consider them “old” at an earlier age. Most pets 7 years of age and older should have a full panel done every year. Some animals need more frequent screenings due to age or ongoing illness. Since our patients can’t talk, we depend on lab tests to help us provide your pets with the longest and most comfortable life possible. Come see us.

by Bonnie Markoff, DVM, ABVP

Animal Care Tips – Overdose

admin — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 18:43:02 +0000

I am writing this article just moments after admitting both of my dogs to the Tucson Emergency Vet Clinic. I am visiting my brother and just found that one or both of my dogs ate a whole bottle of doggy pain killers – the chewable kind that taste so yummy. Both of them appear perfectly normal even though I know one of them ate the pills about 10 hours ago. But I also know that this medication causes delayed effects on the kidneys and early intervention is life saving. Waiting to see if they get sick would almost guarantee permanent and likely fatal kidney failure. As I was driving to Arizona a few days ago, one of my friends called to say that one of her dogs had chewed on a box of rat poison. She was pretty sure that no poison was ingested and the dog was feeling fine. She went straight to the emergency clinic and they made the dog vomit – there was no sign of poison in the vomit. I still had her do follow-up lab work to be sure there were no delayed effects.

I tell you these stories for two reasons. First – always be aware that dogs (and cats) eat the darndest things. Chewable medications are particularly likely to be overdosed! Second – never base your pet’s need for veterinary care on how he or she seems to feel. Many toxins take several days to cause problems and waiting can be a death sentence. If you think your pet may have eaten something toxic, seek care immediately!

Everyone at Animal Care Clinic wishes you all a Happy New Year – be sure to kiss your pets at midnight Monday!

by Bonnie Markoff, DVM, ABVP

Animal Care Tips – Animals Are Not People

admin — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 17:46:04 +0000

I just had a fun conversation with my dentist, whose husband is a physician. We were remarking on how often well-meaning medical professionals do dangerous things to their pets, because they don’t realize that animals are not people. A single acetaminophen tablet (Tylenol‚) can kill a cat. Ibuprofen (Advil‚) can destroy a dog’s intestinal tract. Every animal species has some idiosyncrasy in it’s anatomy or physiology that keeps veterinarians on their toes. Did you know that a horse has no gall bladder? Cows and horses digest their food in completely different ways, and thus need very different diets. Cats are true carnivores and dogs are not. This means that cats need more protein and a different array of amino acids than do dogs. If a healthy dog eats cat food, he will probably be just fine, but if a healthy cat eats only dog food, he will likely go blind and develop life-threatening heart disease! A nice bar of special dark chocolate can be enough to kill a dog – and since grapes are now known to cause kidney failure in dogs, adding a glass of red wine to that chocolate could really put him over the edge! Lab values and drug dosages are quite different also. Our goals for controlling diabetic dogs and cats, include keeping the blood glucose level below 200 – this would be dangerously high for a person. In order to control a dog’s hypothyroidism, I have to give him over 10 times the human dose of thyroid supplement!

Roy Rogers said that veterinarians are the best doctors because their patients can’t talk to them, they’ve just gotta know. More recently I have seen a fun t-shirt that says “Real doctors treat more than one species.” The truth is that your veterinarian does know the differences between species and should be the only one to help you treat your pets. We would enjoy helping you to take care of your pets.

by Bonnie Markoff, DVM, ABVP

Animal Care Tips – Hypertension

admin — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 23:13:04 +0000

Last week I saw Susie, a middle aged Labrador who suddenly went blind. Over the previous 18 months, there had been a few episodes of blood in one eye, but these had resolved. Now Susie had partially detached retinas, inflammation in her eyes and no vision in either eye. Examination revealed no other clues aside from high blood pressure. Since high blood pressure alone is not very common in dogs, an extensive evaluation was done to try to find the source of her hypertension and the cause of her ocular problems. Labwork, chest x-rays and infectious disease screening were normal. Susie has seen a veterinary ophthalmologist and will be seeing a veterinary cardiologist this week – it looks like high blood pressure is the reason for her vision loss. While we will likely be able to control the hypertension, she will probably never see again. Luckily, Susie is already adjusting to her blindness.

High blood pressure in both dogs and cats is not uncommon, but is usually associated with diseases such as kidney failure, heart disease, Cushing’s disease or hyperthyroidism. Animals that have these diseases should have their blood pressure checked regularly. Cats occasionally get primary hypertension and so should be screened as they age. Getting a blood pressure reading in a pet is much more difficult than with a person, so it is not part of our regular exams, unless we see signs of high blood pressure. Unfortunately, signs of hypertenison are quite severe, as we saw with Susie.

Our doctors and nursing team are prepared to help you with wellness screening and to moitor your pets with chronic disease. Come see us.

by Bonnie Markoff, DVM, ABVP

Animal Care Tips – Thyroid or Parathyroid

admin — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 17:45:56 +0000

My good friend just had parathyroid surgery and conversations with her family and friends have made me realize that most people don’t know the difference between thyroid glands and parathyroid glands. The thyroid glands are in the neck, usually just below the larynx (or voice box.) The parathyroid glands are very small and sit either on top of or inside of the thyroid glands. Thyroid disease is very common in dogs and cats, and also in women. Dogs get low thyroid production and cats tend to have over-active thyroid glands. Thyroid disease effects metabolic rate – cats tend to get skinny and dogs tend to get lazy and overweight. The parathyroid glands help to maintain normal blood calcium levels. Parathyroid hormone and other agents determine how well calcium is absorbed from the intestinal tract and how much calcium is removed from or put into the bones. Dogs and cats usually get parathyroid disease only secondarily to other issues. The most common cause in this area is kidney failure. Since the kidneys play an important role in calcium metabolism, when they fail, the parathyroid gland goes into overdrive to try to maintain blood calcium levels. In areas where malnutrition is common, we will see hyperparathyroidism due to low calcium in the diet. This occasionally occurs in this area when people try to supplement a pet’s diet or make their own food. Most homemade diets not formulated by a veterinarian are deficient in calcium. The doctors at Animal Care Clinic have a great interest in internal medicine and want to help you and your pets.

by Bonnie Markoff, DVM, ABVP

Animal Care Tips – GDV

admin — Sun, 20 May 2007 05:02:04 +0000

This past week we were able to work with one of those really gratifying cases: a pet that was in great danger of dying, but who hung in there and went home with a normal life expectancy. Gracie is an older Labrador who was perfectly normal in the morning. Later in the day she began clinging to her owner more than usual and wretched once or twice. He noted that Gracie’s abdomen seemed distended and firm, and luckily knew that could be dangerous. He called us and our wise customer service team told him to come in immediately. The timing could not have been worse. We were in the middle of seeing appointments and had an involved case under anesthesia. Our outstanding nursing and doctor team were able to diagnose Gracie with a gastric dilation and volvulus (her stomach had twisted and was losing blood supply) and get her ready for surgery in less than 30 minutes! In surgery we could see that her spleen was also twisted and all of her intestines somewhat compromised. We were able to undo the twist, save all of her organs and suture her stomach down so it could not twist again. She then spent several days in intensive care. Dogs that recover from a GDV often develop cardiac arrhythmias, bleeding disorders, kidney failure and other life threatening complications. Gracie was monitored closely and all of her complications were managed successfully. She has gone home a happy girl.

If you ever have any concerns that your pet is just acting “funny,” don’t hesitate to call us or a local emergency clinic. Minutes can sometimes be difference between life and death.

by Bonnie Markoff, DVM, ABVP

Animal Care Tips – Wellness

admin — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 02:48:19 +0000

Last week I mentioned wellness screening to help detect kidney failure before it makes pets sick. Part of our goal at Animal Care Clinic is to nurture the bond you have with your pets. This means we want to increase the quality and length of your pets’ lives while improving your relationship with them. We think that wellness is the cornerstone to the human animal bond. Wellness means disease prevention and early detection. It includes physical exams yearly for youngsters and at least twice yearly as pets age or develop chronic diseases.

Wellness includes vaccination programs that are specific for your pet’s age, lifestyle, likelihood of exposure and your personal feelings about vaccines. We also emphasize parasite control, both internally and externally to protect people and animals in the household. Nutrition, weight control, fitness and behavior are also essential parts our wellness programs. Disease screening is extremely important. So many diseases can be cured if caught early and yet be devastating if diagnosed only after the pet begins to show signs of the problem. At risk pets should be screened for certain infectious diseases including feline leukemia and Lyme’s disease. As pets age, we recommend blood and urine testing to look for early cases of kidney disease, liver problems, thyroid dysfunction, bladder infections/stones, diabetes and a multitude of other maladies that cut a pet’s life short of allowed to progress unchecked. When we catch diseases early, we can often manage them just with dietary changes or other simple treatments.

By Bonnie Markoff, DVM, ABVP

Animal Care Tips – Kidney Failure

admin — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 02:42:42 +0000

With the recent pet food recall, kidney failure has become a hot topic. The kidneys are responsible for many processes in the body. They maintain hydration, determine how much urine a pet produces, balance phosphorous and calcium levels, filter out toxins and breakdown products from protein use, maintain red blood cell counts and help to balance blood pressure. When these organs fail, things can fall apart quickly. Kidney failure can be acute or chronic – fast in onset or developing slowly over time. Chronic kidney failure is extremely common in middle aged to older pets and causes weight loss, decreased appetite, increased thirst and urination. Acute kidney failure is often associated with toxins, drugs, infectious agents or poor circulation to the kidneys as we might see during shock or trauma. Pets are usually very sick with poor appetites and either increased or severely decreased urine production. Diagnosis is made with blood and urine testing along with possible ultrasound, x-ray or biopsy. Treatment will depend on the results of various tests, but virtually always involves fluid therapy. Mild cases can be treated at home with fluids under the skin, while more severe cases are best hospitalized on IV fluids.

The good news is that most cases of chronic kidney disease are quite treatable if caught early. Screening of healthy middle aged to older pets can help us find early cases of disease before pets have to feel bad and when nutritional intervention can greatly slow the disease. Come see us at Animal Care Clinic and we can develop a wellness-screening plan specifically for your pets.

By Bonnie Markoff, DVM, ABVP

Animal Care Tips – Bad Bones

admin — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 05:35:31 +0000

Last week we looked at normal bone function. One of the most common problems we see with bones is fracture. Most breaks are due to trauma; hit by car, falls, etc. These fractures are usually best treated with surgery to provide a very stable support with pins, screws, plates or other systems of fixation. Some fractures occur secondary to thinning of the bone. Thin bone, or osteoporosis/osteopenia can be due to nutritional deficiency of calcium or vitamin D, hormonal abnormalities or even kidney failure. These can be difficult if not impossible to treat. Bone tumors are relatively common. Many tumors will cause pain and limping before they become big enough to see during an exam. Tumorous areas of bone are more likely to fracture, so if we see a bone fracture in an older pet without a history of trauma, we need to consider that there may be a tumor within the fracture site. While some bone tumors can be relatively benign if treated early, most canine bone tumors are quite aggressive and painful. There are many developmental type bone diseases we can see. Young, fast growing large breed dogs often develop inflammation of the long bones called panosteitis. This can be like growing pains or can be a pretty debilitating disease. Some youngsters will develop inflammation of the growth plates. This can be painful and damage the growth plate. Any trauma to growth plates or developmental abnormality here will lead to abnormal bone growth. The result is a shortened bone or one with excessive curvature which leads to abnormal joint stress and development.
Next week we will look at joints and ligaments. If you have a pet with an orthopedic problem, give us a call.

by Bonnie Markoff, DVM, ABVP