At Walkerville Veterinary Surgery we take an extra special interest in our newest patients. We encourage clients to bring them in for a health check within a few days of their arrival in their new home in order to start them in the best possible way.
During their early visits we double book their appointments to allow us the time for a thorough examination with plenty of time to spare for questions.
Vaccination
Puppies are vaccinated with ‘C5’ vaccines including parvovirus, distemper, hepatitis, bordetella and parainfluenza protection. We recommend puppies not be exercised in public places until 1 week after their last vaccination to minimise the chance of infection with these devastating diseases, especially parvovirus which remains common in unvaccinated dogs exposed to public areas.
It is now possible to give puppies their final puppy immunisation at 10 weeks of age. This allows them to socialise and exercise from 11 weeks of age. Call us for more information.
Adult dogs now receive their vaccinations using a vaccine with allows protection against parvovirus, distemper and hepatitis (C3) for three years. This allows us to give them yearly vaccinations for canine cough only and a 3-yearly C5 to maintain a full C5-standard of immunity. We have seen no evidence of illness or harm caused by more frequent annual vaccinations but we believe it is prudent to use the longer-acting vaccines when available to reduce the potential for over-vaccination.
Kittens are best vaccinated three times, at 6 to 8 weeks, 12 weeks and 16 weeks. Kittens are vaccinated with ‘F3’ vaccines including calicivirus and herpesvirus (cat flu) and feline enteritis protection. Recently, we have also been able to help protect them from the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV, similar to the AIDS virus, HIV) by using an FIV vaccine. This is now recommended at the same time as the F3 due to the high risk of infection in cats with outdoor access. Other vaccines are also available and may be recommended depending on the circumstances. Kittens should have very limited and supervised access to outdoors until well after their final vaccination. Dogs and cats can sometimes appear quiet on the day of vaccination, but real problems are very rare.
Vaccination is then once a year after the 16 week vaccination. Each visit includes a comprehensive health check and the chance to raise any problems at home.
Rabbits are best vaccinated from 2 ½ months of age against Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (calicivirus). This vaccine is also annual. Unfortunately there is no vaccine available in Australia for myxomatosis so rabbit enclosures need to be fly and mosquito proof and rabbits enclosed at dawn and dusk.
Desexing
Desexing, Neutering or Sterilisation, The Spey (for females) or Castration (for males) are many terms which all mean the same thing. This operation is a cause of much concern for many owners who wonder whether they should have it done and are often just worried about their young pup or kitten or kit having an operation.
Desexing in dogs and cats is usually performed at 6 months of age prior to the first heat. Rabbits are desexed from 4 months of age. All animals are given a physical examination prior to anaesthesia, and all animals receive potent post-operative pain relief. We find owners are surprised by how little their animal is affected by the procedure, and by how little impact desexing has on their pets’ personality.
Desexing is performed for many reasons. Our normal advice for pet owners is to have their animals desexed unless they intend to breed from them. However, we try to present the facts in a plain and unbiased way and let owners make up their mind.
Desexing:
1. Prevents unwanted pregnancies. Many of the unwanted puppies, kittens and kits produced each year are the result of irresponsible owners failing to control their undesexed animals.
2. Eliminates the heat period in females, a time when the animals will attract unwanted male attention, dogs have a persistent vulval discharge and cats exhibit often bizarre behaviour. Heats in dogs last roughly 3 weeks and occur 1-2 times a year; heats in cats can occur at any time of the year but generally in times of increasing daylength (July to December), and are semi-continuous until pregnancy occurs.
3. Reduces male dog behaviour problems. Most of these behaviours are exacerbated and reinforced by testosterone, especially dominance aggression. This is true of all breeds large and small. Early desexing prior to testosterone production prevents many otherwise untreatable disorders. Even trivial things like urine marking can be frustrating. Once these behaviours develop, late desexing is often unable to fix the problem, so in effect, male dogs need to be desexed before they show these problems. This is especially important where children are involved.
4. Prevents ‘tomcat’ behaviour. Most owners are blissfully unaware of what being a tomcat is, but these poor guys are victims of their own testosterone. The tomcat is compelled to carve out a large territory containing many females, but in an urban setting this means continuous fights with the many local cats, and the crossing of many busy roads. Fighting in cats leads to repeated abscesses, and even worse, to the spread of FIV and most other viruses- in fact tomcats are probably the source of most new infections with FIV and for spreading the cat flu viruses. Needless to say, their quality of life is poor and their life expectancy short and they are a significant health hazard for other cats.
5. Prevents many diseases of old age. Pyometra and mammary cancer in female dogs, testicular cancer and prostatic enlargement in male dogs, mammary cancer in female cats, and uterine cancer in female rabbits are all very common and serious disorders of aging animals, and all prevented by early desexing.
Disadvantages of desexing include the potential for weight gain in both sexes, due to a 10% drop in food requirements. This can be controlled by reducing the diet after desexing, and bearing in mind that the time of desexing also coincides with a natural slowing down in growth and therefore a lower food requirement regardless.
Some people (especially men) find having a desexed male dog not sufficiently masculine, but as long as they are well informed of the reasons for desexing we don’t argue with their choice.
Microchipping
We offer and recommend the implantation of a permanent microchip for identification of dogs and cats. The microchip is inserted under the skin between the shoulder blades and causes no problems. It contains a unique number which when read via a scanner is matched to the owner’s details at Australian Animal Records, enabling a fast return home.
We prefer to place a small ‘M’ tattoo in the right ear to mark the animal as microchipped, as a second level of security. This requires a light sedation if microchipping is not performed at the same time as another procedure.
Prices for microchip insertion including lifetime registration are surprisingly low.
Nutrition
Good early nutrition is vital to achieving a balanced and problem free growth period. In the past, problems with nutrition were distressingly common, but fortunately the advent of complete and balanced pet foods has nearly eliminated this. Today the only choice should be which pet food to use. We strongly discourage the use of raw meat, or indeed any other ingredients other than in tiny quantities as these will almost invariably be unbalanced and detrimental.
A common trap to fall into is making food and feeding times into an area where the dog or cat learns to become fussy and demanding. This mostly happens as a response to owners being over-concerned by what appears to be a reluctance of their pet to eat their food. Most people cannot believe that the small amount little pets eat is indeed all they need and worry needlessly that they are not eating enough. Many animals also realise that if they refuse their food, it will lead to lots of time spent with the owner fussing over them, and they all crave attention. They also learn quickly that some owners will give them their own (human) food and since our pets think they’re people, this is exactly what they want. The trick is to never develop these bad habits by only feeding a good quality and tasty pet food and trying not to worry about the food too much.
At Walkerville Veterinary Surgery we stock a range of ‘super-premium’ pet foods manufactured by companies we trust. These retail for more than supermarket foods but are derived from higher-quality source ingredients and we feel they provide superior performance and palatability. Their cost per day is not significantly higher as less volume is fed. By getting the fussy animals onto these foods early, we give them a better start to life and give their poor owners a rest.
Behaviour
Many behaviour problems faced by owners and their pets are best addressed as soon as they appear. If left, unwanted behaviours can persist and become learnt- making ‘unlearning’ them difficult. Early correction of problems is often very simple with the correct advice. Problems include difficult toilet training, biting, aggression, fighting with other pets, fussy food habits, barking or howling, destructive behaviour, urine spraying to name but a few!
Each problem needs specific advice, but a few general rules are:
1. Never use physical punishment - usually it is completely counter-productive as well as inhumane. Use of a quiet ‘sin bin’ for five minutes’ time out within seconds of some problem behaviours is the best approach. Problems from five minutes or more ago are best forgotten. Often just ‘ignoring’ the offender (dog or cat) works well if it’s attention they crave. With behaviours like play biting, try making a loud dog-like growl or harsh ‘bah’ noise. This is similar to how dogs discipline each other and the puppy should stop immediately if it is deep and harsh enough.
2. Positive rewards, especially with dried liver treats, are a powerful way to reward all good behaviour and are a useful help in dealing with toilet training (no punishment!).
3. Early socialisation of puppies (before 16 weeks) and kittens (before 12 to 13 weeks) is very important for a well-rounded and less fearful adult. Exposure to a wide range of ‘normal’ experiences includes a range of people of both sexes and children, well-behaved (healthy) dogs and cats, and other puppies or kittens. Also they need to get used to normal daily items like vacuum cleaners and lawn mowers. For dogs, puppy preschool is the single most important part of early socialisation.
4. Early preventative desexing of males is highly recommended (see below).
5. Dog obedience classes once fully vaccinated are highly recommended for all.
6. Toilet training is a very difficult process with no magic cures. For success, owners need to constantly monitor their puppy when he or she is wandering in the house, and predict when to take them to the toileting place as much as possible. There is no substitute for the owner's time.
7. Remember that the ‘cute’ behaviour you encourage as a puppy or kitten is going to stay with the animal for life, so make sure you want it!
Please call us for more information.
