How can I say that? It’s obvious that some animals are cuter and more adorable than other ones. A cute kitty gets through my defences every time and I’m always baby talking to puppies.

It’s just that, beyond the fun, cuteness is completely irrelevant and even harmful to animals. I’ll explain why after trying to work out what makes an animal cute.

What Is Cuteness?

Cuteness is very much an individual taste, but certain traits seem to appear regularly:

• Age: young animals are cute
• Size: small animals are cute
• Facial features: large eyes, flat faces & folded ears all seem cuter
• Body shape: rounded bodies, short legs & stubby tails are cute
• Coat: fluffy animals seem cuter

The whole concept of ‘cute’ is probably a survival strategy to care for our young.

When Cuteness Goes Bad

It’s OK of course to have a cute pet. What is wrong is when the same factors that create cuteness cause suffering or even a reduction in quality of life. Then we cross a line, like what happens to Scottish Fold cats. Or Munchkins.

Other than these two, I’m not going to talk about the merits or deficiencies of certain breeds. Some are distinctly unhealthier than others, and some possibly shouldn’t be pets at all. I have a particular welfare concern with wildlife like sugar gliders as pets. However, most domestic species can (and do) lead high-quality lives if owners choose with their heads, not their hearts.

Why We Love Animals

There’s nothing wrong with liking the look of your pets. We all do. I remember being slightly offended when Loki’s breeder said she wasn’t happy with how his ears turned out. His ears? But they’re awesome!

We all get a bit of pride watching a fine animal or when someone says how handsome our dog or cat is. For some, owning a rare breed gives a joy in itself.

However, experienced vets see something that all pet owners should know. It’s how the love an animal receives has nothing to do with size, shape or appearance. It has everything to do with only two things:

1. The personality of the pet
2. The willingness of an owner to open their heart

In other words, as the RSPCA say, love is blind.

What Vets Want You To Know

• Loved pets are always cute to their owners
• Looks will distract you from making smart choices

Cuteness works its charm best on first impressions and outsiders. No owner says that one of their pets is cuter than another.

I think most experienced dog & cat owners know this innately. I see owners who recently lost a cute breed come in with a Staffy cross or a moggie from the shelter that they immediately and utterly adore. I see dogs who could be called ‘ugly’ to an outsider receive the same love as the most photogenic.

What We’re Up Against

Cuteness is certainly a big influence on the choice over which species or breed to purchase. Some people who lack other information may even use cuteness as the only factor in the decision. It takes a lot for them to look beyond the ‘cute at first sight’ breeds

It’s no wonder. We are increasingly bombarded with images of these dog and cat breeds. I see them used in all forms of media, especially on email and YouTube. I see them as the most commonly chosen breeds for advertising, even within our own veterinary industry. Are even vets susceptible? Until recently, the answer would have been yes.

How To Show Love

So this is a message to those among us about to become dog or cat owners. You will love your pet, no matter what they look like. You will love them not for their looks, which you will soon think are wonderful anyway. You will love them instead for who they are.

That’s why when we see your new puppy or kitten, we’ll spend more time talking about social development than health. That’s why we’re obsessed with allowing a young animal to grow to their full potential.

It’s good breeding, health and management that make happy pets and happy people. Nothing else. If they end up being cute too, that’s a bonus. Choosing a breed for cuteness first is a case of the tail wagging the dog.

Related: Healthy Dog Breeds | Health Costs Of Different Breeds | Cat Breeds of Adelaide

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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here.

There’s a big difference between what happens in my clinic and what happens at home. I like to believe I can safely give pills to almost any of my patients but when it came to treating Grendel, I got scratched.

It showed me that we’re asking and answering the wrong question. In failing to see the problem, we’re causing cats to miss essential medicines and people to get injured. I’ll answer the right question in a minute, but first, we need to talk about safety.

Why Cats Are So Dangerous

It’s not just the teeth and claws. Yes, cats can give you a painful scratch or bite, but the wounds are usually small punctures. They should heal quickly without requiring stitches.

It’s the infection that follows. Every vet knows to go to the doctor as soon as possible after a deep bite but how many cat owners know this? Once the infection sets in, it’s not unusual to need intravenous antibiotics in hospital.

Wounds from cats quickly close over, can’t be disinfected and aren’t exposed to oxygen. The bacteria found on cats’ teeth and claws multiply rapidly and start spreading, even in normal, healthy people. When a person has poor circulation, advanced age or a weak immune system, it only gets worse.

The Right Question To Ask

Now, let’s return to the original problem. When I said that giving cats pills was easy I had two big advantages over you:

1. Cats at the vet are scared and usually smart enough to cooperate
2. Our nurses make cat handling look easy

When I went home I was just like you: facing down a stroppy cat with help only from family members. That’s when it became clear; giving pills or ointment is less important than knowing you are safe while you do it. Then you can take your time and do a good job without fear, struggle or injury (and avoid arguments!).

Nowadays, when I demonstrate pilling to cat owners, I tell the person holding the cat that they have the most important job. Yet for all the Google searches on “how to give a cat a tablet” you don’t ever see people searching how to hold cats. It’s time to set the record straight. The question they should ask is:

How Do I Hold A Cat For Medicine?

Holding a cat well is the secret to successful medication.

1. Get ready by clipping your cat’s nails and wearing long sleeves
2. Choose a flat surface such as a tabletop or your lap
3. If you use your lap you need to wear thick trousers or cover your legs in a rug
4. Position the cat sitting or crouching and faced away from you
5. Slide each of your hands down the chest until you grasp and control one forearm in each hand
6. Now tuck your arms in until they box your cat and prevent the hind legs from slipping out
7. Lean your head back so the other person can get access and away they go
8. The videos at the start show a good pilling or ointment technique

Your cat will often wriggle out of the hold or get the back legs free. Just start again as calmly and patiently as you can; if you feel yourself getting cross, take a break.

Now have a look at the video. That’s not a happy cat but he’s tolerating it and the good hold makes it easy and quick.

How To Give A Cat A Pill By Yourself

What if you can’t get anyone to help you? Realistically I don’t think it’s safe for most people to do this on their own. If you want to try, the technique is to wrap your cat in a towel and peg it around the neck like at the hairdresser. This keeps the claws under wraps. Then you face the cat away from yourself with your elbows keeping them in place while your hands give the pill.

So is it an option to avoid tablets? Sometimes the answer is yes, but you’ll never know if you don’t ask. Don’t be shy; we’d rather be successful than have you injured and cats not treated. Visit this page for other ways to medicate cats.

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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here.

Every dog owner’s worst nightmare is Parvovirus. This week the detection of a new strain in Australia was announced. Although there’s no reason to panic, here’s what vets and dog owners need to know.  

What Is Parvovirus?

Parvoviral enteritis is the disease caused by canine parvovirus. The virus attacks both the lining of the gut and the white blood cells, causing severe gastroenteritis and immune suppression.

What Are The Symptoms Of Parvovirus?

They are, usually in this order:

1. Fever, lethargy and not eating
2. Vomiting
3. Profuse watery diarrhoea sometimes with blood
4. Dehydration, septicaemia, and often death

From now on I’ll call it just ‘Parvo’. If you suspect your dog has parvo, see your vet ASAP or check this map for your nearest after hours emergency vet.

How Do Dogs Get Parvo?

The parvovirus is one of the toughest viruses we know; once a yard or park is infected, it can be dangerous for up to a year afterwards. It is passed in the vomit or faeces of dogs once they get infected.

Dogs get parvo by ingesting virus that probably gets on their paws, coat, food or water when in a contaminated area. If they have protective vaccination (see later), nothing more happens.

Dogs at risk are either:

• Never vaccinated
• Overdue for vaccination or under-vaccinated
• Not vaccinated against the correct viral strain
• In the window between loss of passive immunity and creating their own

This last group are worth explaining. Puppies get antibodies in colostrum, a special milk with is given in their first few days of life. These antibodies interfere with vaccination, which is why we have to give three parvo shots to puppies to be sure one will work.

During this window, there will always be a gap in immunity between when the mother’s antibodies stop being protective and when the vaccine antibodies are created. That’s why puppies in the middle of a course of vaccines still can’t be taken out.

Can Parvo Be Treated?

Yes, certainly. Death rates from adult dogs with parvo are probably only around 20%, rising to 80% for very young puppies.

Treatment starts with a diagnostic test. One of the findings from the Adelaide Uni researchers is that commonly used bedside tests may not be accurate for strain CPV-2c. Although this sounds very worrying, two things need to be said:

1. Treatment of parvo is supportive, via fluid therapy, antibiotics, electrolytes, antiemetics etc. In other words, we treat the symptoms. The diagnosis of parvo won’t usually change our treatment.
2. It looks like only some tests are giving negative results. CPV-2c has been in Europe since 2000 and I would be very surprised if most tests aren’t going to be accurate, given that they are all imported. The Anigen test we use, for example, gave positive results in the study.

Having said all this, test accuracy is still important. A positive diagnosis does allow the vet to do two useful things:

1. Stop performing other investigations and avoid unnecessary procedures or treatments
2. Protect in-contact dogs via a rapid vaccination, disinfection and quarantine program

We’ll update you as we learn more. In the meantime, confirmation testing is available via the Companion Animal Health Centre at Adelaide University. Ring 08 8313 1999 for more details.

How Is The New Strain Different?

Parvoviruses have been slowly mutating since CPV-2 first appeared in 1978. The new strain CPV-2c differs by a single base pair single mutation from CPV-2b. It probably causes an identical disease to other parvo strains, although there is some suspicion the diarrhoea is less bloody and bone marrow suppression may be less.

Clinically, there is no way to tell which strain is causing disease, which is why we think CPV-2c has been here for some time. The big difference may be in the protection given by existing vaccines.

Do Parvo Vaccines Still Work?

Short answer, yes, but possibly not as well. There has been a bit of alarmist talk about this so let me explain:

1. The three dogs in the Adelaide Uni study were: one 8 week puppy that died (as you know by now this is expected regardless of vaccination) and two 9 and 11 month-old vaccinated dogs that survived. It’s bad that they got sick at all but both were OK after a week. It looks like the vaccine conferred partial immunity.
2. CPV-2c has been present in Australia for at least two years without showing any change in the number of dogs getting parvo or a spike in dog deaths.
3. A single base pair mutation in the virus should not cause a loss of immunity in theory. That being said, it’s time for some Australian manufacturers to update their vaccines.
4. Up to date World Small Animal Veterinary Association guidelines for puppy vaccination may not always consistently be followed.
5. Published challenge studies have previously demonstrated Companion & Nobivac DHP (this is the vaccine we use) protect against all known CPV-2 variants, including CPV-2c

The particular CPV vaccine strain varies between manufacturers, meaning that each vaccine needs to be tested independently in order to prove it works. Remember what I said though: all vaccines should be at least partly protective.

How many times does a puppy need to be vaccinated?

Today Australian puppies should receive three parvo vaccines in their first 20 weeks of life. Read more about our early socialisation puppy vaccination protocol here.

The discussion on parvo strains is another good reason why the simplistic idea of dog vaccine titre testing should be treated with caution. Tests don’t tell you which strain the antibodies have been created for, as well as being poorly correlated with actual protection.

So the message for vets and dog owners is this: vaccination or a negative parvo test do not rule out the disease in a sick dog. It’s up to us vets to explore all the options to keep your puppies safe.

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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here.

For many dogs, the highlight of their day is a game of fetch with the ball. Who can resist? You’d have to have a heart like a stone to say no. Or, like me, to know too much.

Stay with me while I show you five ways that tennis balls were made in the devil’s workshop. Afterwards, I’ll tell you how your dog can still have that fun without the risk.

Tennis Balls Cause Injuries

Dogs are dogs, not cats. You probably didn’t need this vital piece of news, but many dog owners really do exercise their dogs like cats (some also feed their dogs like cats, but that story’s elsewhere!).

What do I mean? Think about how wolves hunt: they chase their prey over long distances, tiring them out until they can bring them down easily. In other words, just like humans, dogs are built to be endurance athletes.

What dogs aren’t are natural gymnasts. Although they can easily outrun a cat over a long distance they aren’t as good at leaping, twisting or climbing. They lack the explosive spring and the natural flexibility of cats, who hunt by stealth. In modern exercise terms, cats are fast twitch, dogs are slow twitch.

When dogs chase tennis balls they suffer a lot of joint injuries. You’ve only got to look at the way dogs twist and jump, skid and turn to see why. Injuries like a fragmented coronoid process in a puppy can lead to permanent damage, whereas older dogs commonly have chronic carpal (wrist) sprains.

Tennis Balls Damage Eyes

One of the most common causes of blunt trauma to the eyeball is the tennis ball. This happens when a dog runs into the path of a ball thrown for them or another dog in a busy park. The result can be internal bleeding, lens luxation, retinal detachment or even globe rupture.

Tennis Balls Cause Heat Stroke

That’s not the worst thing. The most common cause of collapse from heat exhaustion in dogs is playing fetch in the warm weather. It doesn’t even have to be that warm for dogs to overheat with vigorous exercise.

Dogs have been selected for thousands of years to work hard for humans, and they won’t suddenly stop now. The responsibility is with us to be their guardians.

Tennis Balls Stop The Fun

I made the mistake with Loki of playing with tennis balls when he was young. Who can resist it when it’s so much fun for the dog? The problem is, it’s so much fun that all the other fun stops. For many dogs, they get so obsessed that when there’s a tennis ball around, nothing else matters. They even stop playing or socialising with other dogs.

This happens mostly with working breeds that are by nature a little fixated, like Border Collies, Cattle Dogs (Heelers), Kelpies and yes, Jack Russell Terriers. Loki wouldn’t even eat or go for a walk, let alone come for a pat, if he knew where one was. Great if you want a good ratter, not so good if you want a happy dog.

Tennis Balls Damage Teeth

Then there’s the dental problem. Something about the fibrous coating of tennis balls causes persistent wear on the teeth, producing the characteristic flattened crowns shown. This effect is so reliable that when I see it I can predict with 100% accuracy that tennis balls are being chewed. Remarkably, this never happens with dogs that just chew bones.

With time, the tooth wear eventually exposes the root canal, causing pain, apical abscessation and tooth death.

Tennis Balls Cause Obstructions

If you’re like me you’ll find this video strangely compelling. It shows endoscopic removal of tennis ball fragments from the stomach of a dog. If these weren’t removed now, they probably would have gone on to block the intestine and cause a surgical emergency.

Tennis balls just aren’t up to the forces dogs create when they chew. Better to stick to these safer chew toys designed for dogs.

How To Play Fetch Safely

So spoilsport Andrew is saying that you shouldn’t play fetch with your dog and all fun is forbidden. Instead, here are some ways you can keep playing fetch games without doing so much damage.

• Try playing fetch with objects that go ‘plop’ instead of ‘bounce’, like special Frisbees made for dogs or rubber sticks (never use real sticks – read why here).
• Moderation is the key. Keep high impact activity down to 10 minutes a day, and have a clear ‘finish’ signal so your dog knows not to keep looking for more.
• Don’t play energetic games in hot weather, or when your dog is injured. They’ll keep going as long as you ask them to, to their own detriment.
• Use other balls, but if you must use tennis balls, don’t leave them out at home so your dog can’t chew on them or swallow them.
• Sometimes, just like when giving treats to dogs, you have to know when enough is enough. My Loki loves balls so much that we had to stop them completely just so he could live a normal life. Let’s just say that since then, no one ever says “what an unhappy dog”.

Related: The danger when  dogs play with sticks

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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here.

So here we are, in possibly the most female dominated of all the professions, yet all the major celebrity vets are male. Why?

It’s Comfortable

Ever since the days of James Herriot, the friendly vet on evening TV has been a big part of our lives. It’s so easy to slip back into this comfortable format each time a new show is planned. It’s probably not even a conscious decision.

Marketing

Quite possibly, television executives are nervous about changing the format, and wonder if the public really want that change. These shows are highly successful, and generate substantial product endorsement for the actors involved. Let’s face it, some of these vets (so I’m told) are quite attractive too.

Sexism

We all think we don’t do it, but I think deep down it’s so tightly ingrained it’s hard to spot. You probably have been caught out by this riddle like I was the first time I heard it.

A father and his son are in a car accident. The father dies instantly, and the son is taken to the nearest hospital. The surgeon comes in and exclaims “I can’t operate on this boy.”

“Why not?” the nurse asks.

“Because he’s my son,” the surgeon responds.

How is this possible? (Answer at end)

TV probably throws back at us what we expect society is, rather than what it really is.

Why It Matters

This year’s graduating class at the Adelaide University veterinary school is 85% female. It’s been this way for a long time now; the profession attracts many more bright young women than men. These women graduate into a workforce that is also predominantly female.

If you go to a vet at random today in the Western world, you are far more likely to see a female than a male. That’s also true in my clinic.

The problem is that the media keep showing us images of vets as males, and don’t represent the true diversity of the profession. This could be creating a false expectation in the mind of many pet owners. If the media image doesn’t match the reality it can’t be good for the vet involved.

That’s not all. The lack of prominent successful female vets in the media can only hurt young girls’ expectations of what they can achieve.

What Can You Do?

We have a golden opportunity. Think about your favourite vet, but do ask her first if she would be comfortable being nominated.

Then go to The Bondi Vet page by clicking the link and nominate her. Then let’s watch what they do with all the names.

Yes, I am only too aware of the irony of myself as a male vet in the media. However, I also feel that the television and radio interviews I’ve done in the past have been as much because of my gender as my skills. This is my atonement.

Yes, there are several excellent female vets on TV such as Katrina Warren and Jonica Newby but they don’t get the limelight in the same way. Dear God, please not let it be said that I’m criticising the excellent male veterinary celebrities and professionals we have around us. It’s not their fault they are chosen, and they do a great job for animals and the profession. It’s just that it’s time for a change. A real one. And yes, that surgeon in the riddle was female, but you’ve already guessed it.

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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here.

Image at top: Eva Rinaldi [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

To find out why this is happening, we need to dive into the debate over bone safety.

Why Fewer Vets Recommend Bones

Vets in the USA and UK have a long history of not advising bones for dogs. Personally, I think it goes right back to the bad old days of dogs being given leftover roast or chop bones. However, for this to be true it would mean vets in these countries are confusing raw and cooked bones, so that can’t be the whole story.

I think it’s a bit like Bondi Beach. When I lived in Sydney, like many Sydneysiders I swam there regularly, but it appeared in national news for poor water quality. When my friends arrived for a visit from Adelaide, they flat out refused to go in the water. All they knew was the news, not the experience of those who used it.

Vets who don’t advise raw bones (especially if they live in entire societies that don’t do it) are only likely to hear of the bad things that happen. As some US vets I know said recently, “you can always rely on a bone picture to share on Facebook.” Like this one, which by the way is definitely the wrong type of bone.

What adds a modern twist is the dominance of US-based information on the internet. Australian and New Zealand vets who recommend bones now have to explain to their clients why these pictures don’t tell the whole story.

The Rise Of Corporate Vets

Add to this the recent and dramatic ownership changes in vets worldwide. Mars Inc (yes, the guys that make Snickers) now own around 10% of North American vets, often the larger hospitals.

If you then read our guide to feeding bones to dogs, you’ll see the problem. Keeping every staff member of a large corporate structure ‘on-message’ is impossible, and the risks of feeding bones badly are real. I don’t think they have a choice but to protect themselves legally. If I ran a corporate veterinary chain I would do exactly what Greencross have done and make a blanket policy that raw bone feeding is discouraged.

Once enough people in a society don’t give bones to their dogs, the market disappears and those that want to do it can’t buy them. That’s what happened in the UK and why we wrote our guide to finding places that sell bones in Adelaide. In Australia, up to this point, we still have a strong tradition of local butchers and pet food stores mostly absent from the UK.

How Bones Are Dangerous

Bones can be dangerous to dogs by:

• Becoming lodged in the mouth
• Being stuck in the oesophagus
• Causing gastrointestinal upsets
• Causing tooth breakage
• Causing constipation
• Causing dogs to fight
• And possibly by causing choking if lodged in the throat

Beware: there are many more dangers if a bone has been treated in any way. I have only seen the problem of splintering and intestinal obstruction with cooked or processed bones. That’s why we never feed these.

Hazards & Possible Solutions

If all these things happen, how common or serious are they?

• Bones lodged in the mouth does happen at times and is very distressing until removed. It probably happens three or so times a year at our practice.
  Reduce by: choosing bones large enough that your dog can’t crack or splinter them.
• Oesophageal obstructions occur at Walkerville Vet roughly every five years and although treatable, it’s usually a distressing and expensive emergency.
  Reduce by: good bone selection. Avoid pieces of bone that are small enough to be swallowed whole, and raw poultry of any size.
• Gastrointestinal upsets cause vomiting or diarrhoea.
  Reduce by: knowing that not all bones suit all dogs. Upsets can be due to a beef, lamb or pork intolerance, a marrow intolerance, pancreatitis or bacterial contamination, especially with raw poultry. Read more here about making raw diets safer.
• Tooth breakage is also common and is in my view the greatest price to pay for feeding dogs bones. We probably remove a fractured tooth once a month at our clinic but of course, we don’t know exactly how each one happened.
  Reduce by: never feeding cooked, smoked or cured bone, or other hard materials like antlers. When we also see it with raw bone, these are usually over-enthusiastic dogs like Labradors trying to eat up instead of gnaw a bone. If you hear cracking noises, stop!
• Constipation occurs in some dogs.
  Reduce by: reducing the amount of bone offered per day. I know one dog that gets psyllium husk on bone days. Constipation is much more likely with cooked bones.
• Choking could happen but is extremely rare.
  Reduce by: avoiding chicken bones completely, breakable bones or anything small enough to fit in your dog’s mouth. Read two other good reasons not to feed raw chicken to dogs here.
• Fighting is very common when two or more dogs have bones.
• Reduce by: keeping dogs with bones separate if there’s any risk. My dogs, like most are OK but I’m always wary.
• Resource Guarding is the same possessive aggression that some dogs experience when with a bone, this time towards people. It can be a problem especially if children try to approach these dogs.
  Reduce by: only feeding bones to these dogs when they can be isolated, and picking up their bones before visitors arrive. Seeing a behaviourist is ideal, and never try to confront the dog directly.

Of course, all these risks can never be completely prevented and are increased if you choose to give dogs bones unsupervised (as I do). It’s all about knowing the risks and knowing your dog.

How Often Do Dogs Choke On Bones?

I have supported owners who choose to offer bones for over 25 years. In that time, I have sadly seen one dog die from choking on bones. The dog in question was a puppy being fed raw chicken wings.

I have seen other dogs appear to come close to choking on raw chicken and do not recommend it for this reason. I suspect that these dogs choke when they attempt to swallow raw chicken without chewing it properly. I suspect this could also happen with turkey bones.

Choking on mammalian bone is rare enough that I haven’t seen it, but it could still happen if dog manages to swallow a small-enough fragment. That’s why before starting, please read more about bone selection and bone safety here.

Are There Alternatives To Bones?

There’s no way we expect every dog owner to be happy to feed bones. Other ways to keep teeth clean include:

• Dentastix® or Greenies® daily
• Dental foods, especially Hills t/d®
• Toothbrushing daily
• Dental ultrasonic scaling under anaesthetic

Of these, toothbrushing is the most effective prevention, but only bones or ultrasonic scaling can remove tartar. However, never use bones to remove tartar without first getting a vet to check for painful teeth.

There are many other options tried by our clients, but I don’t see much else working. It’s also important to point out that some dogs not given bones end up chewing on other more dangerous items instead.

Rawhide chews, for example, are not an alternative. They appear to do nothing for teeth and represent a real choking hazard. If you’re still not convinced, just look into how they’re made.

Other ways to keep dogs amused are listed on our page of safer dog chew toys.

The best way to supply calcium and minerals is to use a quality complete, balanced diet.

Are Raw Bones Good For Dogs?

Owners give raw bones to dogs for three key reasons:

1. Cleaner teeth, healthier gums and a reduced need for dentistry (bones have been shown to remove tartar in two studies)
2. Behavioural benefits from ‘slow food’ that occupies time and relieves boredom
3. Nutritional support, especially to dogs on homemade or raw diets

Click here to read unpublished bone feeding research based on data that came from our own patients. That’s right- some of your dogs!

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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here.

“Whoa, please don’t do that, it hurts.”

So I was probably already in the bad books when the owner, with an unreadable smile, asked me: “What breed do you think these puppies are?”

“Pit Bull Terriers” I said.

All hell broke loose for the next two hours like I have never seen before. Police were involved.

Before I explain why, let me say one important thing that may shock you. It’s not that I don’t like Pit Bulls. I have known a lot of them and I think they are fine dogs if raised properly. These were lovely puppies too.

Pit Bulls, like many breeds such as my Jack Russell Terrier, are probably more prone to aggression towards other dogs. That’s a common and preventable problem. Apart from that, with good owners, they are just great.

The problem I see with Pit Bulls is that the wrong sort of people are attracted to them. People who encourage and value the sort of dog behaviour that as a society we are trying to eliminate. People who are unlikely to train using appropriate methods.

Take this owner for example. At one point he asked me what dogs I had and I told him about my two terriers. “I’ll bet they’re desexed, just like their owner”. Yep- we all withstood two hours of this sort of thing. To people like this it’s useless to point out the proven link between entire male dogs and injuries to children.

So what happened? I walked into a trap. Unknown to me, he had spent a good deal of time at the front desk getting a new breed name entered on our system. He knew they were Pit Bulls, and knew I did too. But he was intent on creating an elaborate fiction about their identity.

Why? Because breeding and selling Pit Bulls is illegal.

Here’s how it goes:

• Horrific dog attack is reported in the media
• Media identify the dog as a Pit Bull (usually it’s not, by the way)
• Politicians promise to do ‘something’ about it
• Specific legislation is created targeting the breed (usually without expert advice)

It’s nice in theory: by banning the breeding or sale of a certain breed it should slowly disappear by natural attrition. In the meantime to keep the public safe, heavy penalties apply if the breed is not restrained, identified and desexed. But…

There are major problems with this sort of Breed Specific Legislation:

1. It’s so easy to get around.

Take this owner for example. He’s well known to the police but they can’t easily get him for breeding Pit Bulls. There is no proven way to identify a Pit Bull, and most DNA dog breed tests either don’t include it in their profiles or say it isn’t a legal proof.

All there is is my opinion against someone else’s. If I’m called to court to state that they are Pit Bulls, another expert will be easily found with a different view.

2. It’s not the dog, it’s the person

Yes, breeds do vary in their potential danger to people and dogs. Read my top 20 dogs for children here. However, the big differences in aggression come from not who they are but how these dogs are raised.

In this case, even if his Pit Bulls are removed, he’ll just find another dog of the same general type and raise it the same.

3. It doesn’t protect children

Breed specific legislation is designed to make the public feel safe. However, most dog bites don’t happen on the street or in the park, they happen at home. And serious dog bites happen a lot more to children.

What about the future?

There’s hope with the new Dog and Cat Miscellaneous Amendment Bill. It must be only months away. The requirement for compulsory breeder registration could act as a barrier, especially as the Dog & Cat Management Board has the right to refuse registration on any grounds it sees fit.

The only workable solution is to target the person, not the dog.

We can only hope that dramas like this don’t happen in the future. Just imagine where those puppies end up! Sadly it’s not just the puppies; the nurse, vet student and other clients at the time all copped their share of abuse. I am truly sorry to have started it.

Featured image by Wimbows (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here.

Recently I saw a very unfortunate case. The dog was barely 12 months old and had already had LOTS of vet visits. The owners were at their wits end both emotionally and financially. It didn’t help when I said; ” That’s not uncommon for the breed”.

“How were we supposed to know?” they said. I had to agree there wasn’t an easy way. There should be.

Did you know it can cost over four times as much to keep some dog breeds as others? That doesn’t mean having a more expensive breed should be seen as a mistake. There isn’t a right or wrong dog breed as long as you’re prepared.

Later: A chart showing the cost of keeping common Adelaide dog breeds.
***
NOW: How to read the chart.

The Major Costs Of Dog Ownership

Here are the five large expenses all dog owners should be prepared for. Prices are in Australian dollars & were accurate at the beginning of 2017.

Medical Care

Some breeds cost twice as much to insure as others! These differences are related to the cost of treating the health problems of different breeds.

I’ve used pet insurance data even though fees are probably higher than fund-it-yourself healthcare would cost (I estimate 25% extra). And of course just because a dog is known for a disease doesn’t mean it will happen every time. However, the costs should be in the right ballpark and allow us to compare dog breeds.

If this makes you wonder what are the benefits of dog insurance, follow the link to learn more!

Food

I’ve used the same high quality dog food that I feed my dogs (Hills VetEssentials) and extrapolated my older dog’s daily food intake, which is much less than the packet recommends. I’ve used the cheapest source of this food that I could find.

It’s still possible to feed dogs quality food more cheaply but not by a lot. It’s also possible my estimates for dogs over 40kg could be a little high.

Grooming

I’ve asked around for grooming prices, but I’ve assumed that short and medium coated dogs will be shampooed at home and not clipped.

Add extra if you use others to do your cleaning or get your dog clipped for summer (which they really love, by the way).

Preventative Health

These costs include:

• Annual health check and vaccination ($90 per year average in our clinic)
• Continuous heartworm control
• Monthly flea control
• 3-monthly intestinal worming

I hope you notice this is reliably the smallest of the four costs!

What’s Not Included?

I can’t put a dollar value on our time, but it’s precious, and all dogs need a lot of it every day. If dog ownership goes to plan, time will never feel like a cost, but it’s without a doubt your biggest investment in your dog.

Other less predictable costs can be associated with training, boarding, transport, public liability, home rents & mortgages, pet accessories etc. These aren’t included either.

I can’t accurately estimate for cross breeds but they should be at similar rates to dogs of the same size and breed.

And now the chart. If you want to see the actual dollar value for each breed, there’s a table at the end. Click here to see the average sizes of each dog breed used in the calculations. Follow this link to learn more about the diseases associated with different dog breeds.

Chart Of Dog Breed Costs

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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here.

Then there are the prey species, like rabbits, guinea pigs and birds. They deliberately hide signs of illness. They even pretend to eat! Most of the time what looks like ‘sudden death’ or a ‘heart attack’ is really the end of a long, slow illness we couldn’t see.

The good news is that you can tell. Here’s what to look for:

Body Condition

You can’t see if a chicken is thin, you have to feel for it. Here’s how:

How To Tell If A Chicken Is Thin

Feel for the ‘keel’. This is the part of the breastbone that forms a hard ridge running straight down the middle.

1. Healthy, non-laying birds have a keel almost below the level of the breast muscle.
2. Chickens during lay have a keel that stands out and sunken breast muscle. However there is still a rounded surface to the remaining muscle.
3. Thin chickens have a concave or sunken feel to the breast muscle.
4. Very thin chickens have a sharp feel to the keel and almost no breast muscle, and can die anytime.

Ask us to show you this next time you’re in or talk to your breeder.

Another way to tell if a chicken loses weight is to weigh everyone once a week and record the results. You can easily make a perch that sits on a set of scales.

General Behaviour

A healthy hen is bright & alert, inquisitive and active. They peck, scratch and explore continuously. You can’t see or hear them breathing unless you look closely.

A quiet, hunched bird who separates from the others is probably unwell.

Comb & Wattle

The comb is the red fleshy thing on top of the head. The wattle is the same, but under the chin.

These are excellent, quick telltales of health, especially if you have other hens for comparison. It’s good to know what’s the normal size and shape for your chicken’s breed.

However, all combs should be:

• Firm and upstanding (except the very big ones that are too heavy- mostly only roosters)
• A healthy pink or red colour: both a pale comb and a dark comb are signs of illness; beware a comb with dark, bluish edges.

Visit our gallery of chicken breeds to see normal combs and wattles.

Eyes & Ears

Should be fully open, clear, bright and free of discharge, with dark pupils. The third eyelid (nictitating membrane) should not be visible. Sick birds often look ‘sleepy’.

The ear lies just behind the eye. It should be clean, not like the picture here of an ear infection.

Sinuses

These are found above and below the eye. If you can see a semicircular swelling here, your hen has chronic sinusitis. There’s a picture of swollen sinuses on our guide to respiratory infections.

Beak & Nares

A hen who breathes with the beak open (except in hot conditions) is in serious trouble.

On the top at the base are the two nostrils (we call them nares -“nair-ees”). These should be clean, open and free of discharge or bubbles.

Choanal Slit

Unlike mammals, birds do not have a complete hard palate. The fissure in the top of the mouth with connects with the nasal passage is called the choanal slit (“ko-anal”). It’s easily seen by opening the beak and looking at the top of the mouth.

It should be clean and dry. While looking in the mouth, look down the throat quickly for anything out of place.

Plumage & Skin

Feathers in a healthy bird should sit flat and conform to the body shape. A bird sitting ‘fluffed up’ (except when sleeping) is usually quite unwell.

Lice are best found at the base of the feathers around the tail area and vent. They are surprisingly large and stay put.

Mites are small, and usually red. They often run onto your hands and cause nasty bites. Both lice and mites make the skin red and angry-looking

Hens during moult can look quite patchy but feather loss should be symmetrical and without other signs of illness.

Legs & Feet

Look for four things here:

1. Scaly mite produces rough legs with hard irregular growths that can look like spurs (see a picture of scaly leg here)
2. The skin should not have a bluish tone
3. There should be no limp when walking
4. Look under the feet for circular marks,sores or swelling where the weight sits between the toes. This is probably ‘bumblefoot’, and despite the silly name, it’s very serious.

Abdomen

The number one cause of death in backyard poultry is egg peritonitis – read more here. The only early clues are a loss of body condition, irregular egg production and a swollen abdomen.

A normal abdomen conforms to the shape of the bird. It shouldn’t bulge or have a hard or fluidy feel. You probably need to compare this to another hen.

Vent & Droppings

This is the single outlet for faeces, urine and eggs. Look for matting of faeces which may indicate diarrhoea.

Droppings also have a story to tell. They should have a formed, solid faecal component, usually light green. Urine in birds is passed together in the form of solid white urate with very little wetness.

Eggs

The shell can tell you about oviduct and uterine disease. If eggshells become thin or bumpy, something’s wrong.

Remember that any drugs used to treat your chickens may make the eggs unfit for human consumption. Vets take this responsibility seriously and choose treatments with the shortest withholding period.

Good luck! Your observations should allow you to get your hen to a chicken-friendly vet with enough time to get the right treatment underway.

For more about chicken care, visit our guide to keeping chickens healthy.

Euthanasia and Humane Killing Of Poultry

One last word needs to be said on a subject no-one wants to talk about. We all love our chickens but one day their end will come. In my opinion, far too few chickens are euthanased correctly, and many are just left to suffer when a humane death is available.

Commercial poultry are often euthanased via decapitation, neck dislocation or carbon dioxide gassing. I’m not going to argue with these methods, although there is no doubt some brief distress or pain will occur with each. As long as it’s quick and efficient, it’s still OK.

‘Euthanasia’ doesn’t just mean killing. It means providing a ‘good death’. Even if you never see us in the life of your chicken, we hope we can help at the end.

The problem backyard chicken owners face is that it’s often the first time. All authorities on animal welfare agree that these methods are only humane if performed by skilled operators. Too often a chicken is only partially decapitated or sustains a non-fatal neck injury before escaping. None of us wants that.

A chicken vet should have a setup in place to humanely despatch sick chickens. We use a large chamber with anaesthetic ports which is connected to an inhaled anaesthetic machine. The chicken is placed inside, often with the owner nearby, and we pipe in isoflurane until the chicken is unconscious. We then administer a lethal overdose of barbiturate.

Birds are extremely sensitive to gases and the process is quick and relatively stress-free.

To encourage humane euthanasia, we would like to offer to charge no more than a normal consult fee for the euthanasia process. Please note that this is not normal charging so please let us know when you make the appointment if you have read this.

This offer also only applies if you take your chicken home afterwards. However, please remember that poultry are classified differently from pet animals and therefore home burial is usually not permitted in your state. Also, the use of barbiturates makes the carcase dangerous if eaten by another animal.

Chicken Post Mortem Examination

Necropsy of chickens is an extremely valuable way to make sure that the rest of your flock is healthy and not at risk. Vets can usually give an accurate cause of death and estimate the worm burden in the flock. Once again, we offer a chicken post mortem exam for the price of a consultation (plus disposal fees if required).

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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here.

Myxomatosis is a serious and common disease of pet rabbits in Adelaide. We’ve put together this information for rabbit owners about preventing and treating myxomatosis.

What Is Myxomatosis?

Myxomatosis is a viral disease which causes:

• A ‘sleepy eyed’ appearance
• Fever, lethargy and sickness
• Not eating
• Swollen eyelids, ears and genitals
• Discharge from the eyes and nose

Eventually progressing to:

• Secondary bacterial infection
• Dehydration
• Death
• Tumours called myxomas in many survivors

Important: do not confuse myxomatosis with rabbit calicivirus. You can read all about Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease and calicivirus here.

How Do Rabbits Catch Myxomatosis?

Myxo is mostly spread by biting insect vectors such as rabbit fleas and mosquitoes. In suburban areas, most rabbits will catch myxomatosis via mosquitoes or other blood sucking insects. It is also possible for myxomatosis to be spread directly from other affected rabbits.

Myxomatosis also clearly occurs in epidemic (‘epizootic’) events, probably responding to weather conditions that favour the insect vector. For example, the outbreak in Adelaide in October 2016 occurred in a warm spell following prolonged wet conditions, whereas 2022 was also in warm weather following heavy rain.

How Do I Prevent Myxomatosis?

Here’s how to stop rabbits getting myxomatosis:

1. Keep rabbits inside if possible, especially during outbreaks
2. Use these parasite protections on your rabbit. Of the choices, neither is likely to exert a strong repellent effect. A product with a proven mosquito repellent effect that has been tested in rabbits is Advantix (the smallest size used in puppies); see the reference to its use in rabbits below. Please be warned: it’s use is off-label and cannot be guaranteed to be safe despite preliminary testing. Using off-label ivermectin may work but is not recommended. There is an excellent safe alternative in selamectin, however both require the flea to bite to kill it.
3. Keep flyscreens well maintained on hutches
4. Use insect repellents like DEET nearby (but not on) rabbit hutches
5. Try fly zappers or mozzie coils
6. Prevent mosquito breeding by removing stagnant water
7. Avoid going to rabbit shows during outbreaks
8. Quarantine all new arrivals for at least two weeks- if one rabbit gets myxo, separate all the rabbits until it is known who else is infected, wash hands between handlings and use separate food and water containers.

Is There A Myxomatosis Vaccine?

No. Although the vaccine is available overseas, it is illegal to use it in Australia. It is a case of conflict between the needs of farmers and the needs of rabbit owners.

Current vaccines use a modified live virus. The Department of Agriculture fear that this could spread into wild rabbits if it was used in Australia. If this happened it could also protect wild rabbits from myxomatosis.

Rabbits are indeed a significant cost to Australian agriculture, but using myxoma virus as rabbit control is cruel and needs to change.

Can Myxomatosis Be Treated?

Myxomatosis produces severe symptoms and causes significant suffering. Survival rates in pet bunnies are low. Therefore, it is often kindest to euthanase affected rabbits when they stop eating.

Some rabbits can do well with supportive care such as fluids, anti-inflammatories and antibiotics. It’s also advisable for vets to hospitalise severe cases for intravenous fluids.

Owners must always put the welfare of their rabbit ahead of everything else. If a rabbit is not responding to treatment or becoming dehydrated, then euthanasia is the most humane choice.

How Long Will The Outbreak Last?

Based on experience of previous outbreaks (e.g. 2016), we advise rabbits be kept inside for at least one month. We will keep you updated on this page and via our Facebook.

Hansen, O., Mencke, N., Pfister, K., & Beck, W. (2006). Efficacy of a formulation containing imidacloprid and permethrin against naturally acquired ectoparasite infestations (Ctenocephalides felis, Cheyletiella parasitovorax, and Listrophorus gibbus) in rabbits. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN VETERINARY MEDICINE, 4(4), 320.

Featured image: Fletch 2002 at English Wikipedia [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

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By Andrew Spanner BVSc(Hons) MVetStud, a vet in Adelaide, Australia. Meet his team here. The information provided here is not intended to be used as a substitute for going to the vet. If your pet is unwell, please seek veterinary attention.