Seasonal safety: Simple precautions will keep your pet healthy over the holidays
By Pet Connection Staff
November 17, 2009
Ah, the holidays. Chestnuts roasting, families gathering, fireplaces glowing… and then there’s Gina Spadafori’s life:
Some people seem to have bad luck over the holidays, and I have traditionally been one of them. I’ve filled the house with smoke from a poorly laid fire in the fireplace just before guests arrived for dinner, and I’ve tripped over a sleeping dog on Christmas morning and ended up in the emergency room (the dog was fine; I went home with a cast).
But that’s nothing compared to the disasters that seem to dog the pets in our family over the years. I’ve spent good parts of many holidays in after-hours veterinary clinics, and a few times those trips were for problems that could have been prevented.
Fortunately, the better part of two decades — and most of my writing career — have passed since my last holiday pet disaster, and I’d like to think it’s because I learned a few things along the way. In the interest of helping your holiday season go easier, I’d like to remind you of what to look out for in the weeks to come.
So, what has Gina learned about animals and the holidays? Find out here.
Does your pet bunny have a head tilt? It’s a common condition in rabbits. From Dr. Marty Becker:
Head-tilting in rabbits is common and can be caused by a variety of diseases. A common name for head tilt is “wry neck,” although the correct medical term is “vestibular disease.”
Rabbits with vestibular disease can have a head position that ranges from a few degrees to 180 degrees off the normal position. They can fall over, circle, have difficulties standing and develop eye injuries because the downward-facing eye is in a position of vulnerability. These pets need to see a veterinarian for proper diagnosis of the causes behind the head tilt and then targeted treatment.
For most rabbits with vestibular disease, the vast majority will recover most of their normal head position and lead normal lives, as long as good nursing, veterinary care and time for recovery are provided. Some rabbits, however, will have a lifelong residual head tilt even if the inner ear disease is cured.
Want more? Read the entire Pet Connection for this week, or download the PDF file exactly the way we send it to our client newspapers!
So every year around this time people post “Omigod! My dog ate a glass ornament! What do I do?”. And every year around this time the answer that gets posted is “Feed your dog cotton balls. They’ll pick up the glass pieces and help them pass safely through his system.”
Urban legend or not?
Comment by The OTHER Pat — November 17, 2009 @ 8:09 am
Not. The late Dr. Roger Gfeller, emergency and critical care specialist and VIN consultant, told me this one himself. He dipped the cotton in milk so it would go down easier.
I’d suggest, however, such a situation is a “don’t try this at home” remedy.
Perhaps our own ER expert, Dr. Tony J, will offer some thoughts.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — November 17, 2009 @ 8:17 am
Wonderful holiday tips Gina. Being single now with grown children most times my dogs are a stand in for family, especially after the festivities have ended and I’m alone again in the house so it’s an easy temptation to want to share with my dogs all the wonderful leftovers. This year I’ve solved the leftover issue by booking reservations out - it is hard not to share with those you love even the four footed kind. And if you have a counter surfer, it is harder still.
Oh, and the tree has always been a problem. It is up now and has a fence around it in my second living room where the dogs can’t reach - most times. But accidents happen and my big coonhound went prowling and brought back a Xmas teddy bear to my bed after knocking over but not breaking a Xmas snow globe. If that is my only mishap, we’ll be lucky indeed. One year I just gave up and put the tree outside on the front porch.
Comment by Snoopys Friend — November 17, 2009 @ 9:50 am
I think Christmas and Thanksgiving are a close second to Halloween and Easter in terms of the potential for pet mayhem. Maybe they even win out. Chocolate, pies, bones, tinsel - all sorts of possibilities for getting into trouble!
The cotton-balls-soaked-in-milk bit has been around forever, and I must say that it has not been subject to rigorous scientific scrutiny! Probably unlikely to hurt, though, unless you have a lactose-intolerant Lab on your hands.
The idea is to safely envelop any shards and help ‘push’ them through the GI tract without causing any damage (to the GI tract, that is). In the ER, we often recommend canned pumpkin (which is in short supply this year, I hear) to accomplish the same goal; surround and protect (which, I believe, is also the new motto for the LAPD).
The search for the newly-hard-to-find canned pumpkin could lead to the following scenario:
Aggravated Holiday Shopper #1:
“Finally - I have found the last can of canned pumpkin in the whole blessed metro area! Pies here we come!”
Reaches for can…
Aggravated Holiday Shopper #2:
“Thank heavens! I can now prevent my lactose-intolerant Lab from having intestinal surgery, as I have found the last can of canned pumpkin in the whole blessed metro area!”
Reaches for can…
AHS#1: “MY CAN! I need it for my holiday pie! The hot guy from R&D is coming over!”
AHS#2: “MY CAN! I need it for my dog’s colon!”
AHS#1: “You win, I’ve lost my appetite.”
Remember - canned pumpkin or milky cotton balls (which was my stage name when I was an exotic dancer, BTW) are no substitute for appropriate veterinary care. In some cases endoscopy or surgery are needed to remove things that are potential hazards to your pet’s health.
Happy Holidays!
Comment by Dr. Tony Johnson — November 20, 2009 @ 11:40 am
Why I buy canned pumpkin by the case, when it’s on sale. :)
Canned Pumpkin, by the way, was MY stage name when *I* was an exotic dancer.
Actual true fact: My brother worked his way through college in Virginia as a bouncer at my uncle’s strip club. The Frontier relied on that old real estate truism for its success: Location, location, location. It was the only club within walking distance of the basic training housing at the Naval base.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — November 20, 2009 @ 12:05 pm
MY stage name was “Silly Yum.”
Comment by Rori — November 20, 2009 @ 1:42 pm