Holiday Pet Survival Guide

Give up the toys! 

I'm pretty sure pets love the holiday season just as much as I do. Think about it - for a month or two shiny new toys get hung up all over the house, the whole house smells like food, and lots of gullible friends and relatives wander in and out who are much more likely to fall prey to puppy-dog eyes and give you some of whatever they've got handy. And, if you're lucky, you get into enough trouble for a visit to your favorite person - the veterinarian!

Okay, so maybe we aren't your pet's favorite person (second favorite? third?). Unfortunately, that is an all-too-common holiday scenario. So, if you'd like to give Muffy the gift of staying away from me this season, read on for simple tips to keep pets safe and healthy during the holidays.

They Call It "People-Food" For A Reason
Human foods may agree quite well with pet's mouths, but they often disagree quite strongly with their stomachs. While eating random table scraps and treats usually just causes a day or two's discomfort, there are very, very, very  (!) serious problems that may result:

• Many common foods - and holiday treats in particular - can be deadly toxins for pets.
• Pancreatitis is a life-threatening condition that may be triggered by fatty foods.
• Bones - all bones - commonly result in fractured teeth, intestinal obstruction, and even stomach perforation.

Last but not least, holiday treats are a leading cause of Food-Amplified Tissue (FAT) syndrome, which can take a year or two off your pet's life (and lead to a lecture from me about putting Muffy on a diet).

Curiosity Can Kill The Cat - Decorate Carefully!
The holidays bring lots of exciting things for pets - shiny tinsel, ribbons galore, electrical cords running everywhere, and a big green scratching/climbing post right in the living room!

• Strings and ribbons can be deadly if ingested - aside from causing blockages, they can saw right through intestines - and the only thing more interesting to most cats than string is a shiny string. Keep tinsel and ribbon well out of reach or avoid them entirely.
• Anchor your tree to the ceiling or wall to keep anyone from tipping it over. Fake trees are best, too, since pine needles can also poke through intestines if ingested.
• Missletoe, Holly, and Ivy can all make your pets ill. Check out this link from the ASPCA for a laundry list of other problem plants.
• Try to keep all those extra electrical wires neat and hidden.
• Don't leave candles unattended, and make sure pets can't reach them or otherwise knock them over.

Curiosity Can Kill The Cat (Again) - Keep Things Tidy! 

These bars will not hold me. I will eat
your toys, and garbage, and shoelaces.
I will eat them all.

My wife is going to laugh when she reads this - me, telling people to keep things neat and clean. But, a big part of keeping pets from getting into things they shouldn't is preventing access, so:

• Clean the kitchen as you go, and don't leave bowls of candy and the like out where pets can reach them.
• Pick up all the wrapping paper and ribbons immediately after opening gifts. December 26th is usually paper/ribbon/string foreign body day at the ER.
• Don't let the kids (or your husband) leave new toys laying around, else they get confused for chew toys, food, or both.
• If you have a ferret, lock it in the bathroom with food and water until late January. Okay - that's a little extreme, but those buggers get into everything!

Respect Pet's Personality and Space 
Some pets are social butterflies, but many just get stressed by the all the people and commotion that come with holiday parties. It's never wrong to put the furry kids in a room of their own for the evening and let them have some peace and quiet. And even if they do enjoy a good party and are given roam of the house, you should provide a room or crate for them that's off-limits to guests in case they do need some alone time. New Year's Eve is a particular problem for many pets, with the potential for lots of noise and even fireworks - this article offers some tips for pets with noise fears.

Also make sure any random children the in-laws drag along only get to interact with pets while supervised, as kids who aren't used to pets usually don't understand "boundaries" at all. Or, suggest putting the kid in the spare room with food and water while the pets roam free. That usually goes over poorly with their parents, though.

Choosing Pet Gifts

Best. Christmas. EVER!

I'm all for a new toy or special treat for the holidays. Seriously, send me something. Oh, and get the pets something too - just be thoughtful in your selection.

• Toys should be resistant to shredding into small, ingest-able bits. 
• Also avoid super-hard chewables like Nylabones. These are a big cause of fractured teeth. My rule of thumb: bit down hard on it yourself - if there's no give or the pressure hurts you, Muffy shouldn't have it either. Plus, it's really amusing for anyone walking by in the pet isle.
• Avoid treats made in China, or anywhere else with questionable regulatory oversight.

Educate Your Guests

You, dear reader, are smart enough to take all this advice and avoid any unexpected visits to me and my ilk this holiday season. But it's all for naught if you set a couple dozen folks loose in your home who really think Muffy needs that turkey bone, chocolate candy, ball of yarn to play with/eat...or that despite her pulled back ears and snarl, she really just needs a belly rub right now. Make sure your guests know what is and isn't okay. If educational enlightenment doesn't seem to work, consider threatening them with fruitcake. Works for me.

Two final tidbits: make sure all pets have up-to-date ID (tags, microchips, or both) in case someone leaves a door open, and check out this article if you plan to travel with Muffy this season. Happy holidays!

Quick Tips for Pet Travel

Maybe you're headed on a big cross-country road trip. Maybe it's just a weekend with the in-laws a few hours away. Whatever the occasion, traveling with pets can be fun, exciting....and stressful. Poorly planned, it might even be dangerous. Today's article covers several easy tips to lower the stress level and keep things safe, so you can focus on relaxing and having a good time together.

Bear in mind this just refers to domestic travel by car; airlines and international travel are different beasts that will be covered in future articles.

1. Bring plenty of extra food / medications: This is an obvious one...so it should be no surprise it's the most common one folks forget. Imagine running out of food, having to substitute something else, and triggering a nice bout of diarrhea. While driving. In your car.


2. Seatbelts / carriers:  I'm not going to lie - my dog usually rides shotgun, unrestrained. He's also been dumped forcefully into the floor when I've had to slam the brakes. That wouldn't happen if I was smart enough to practice what I preach and get a pet seatbelt. Excited pets bouncing around the cabin isn't conducive to safe driving, either.


3. Windows up: I once witnessed a Yorkie jump out of the car window as it drove by the vet clinic I was working at. Good timing, I guess - but it nearly killed him.


4. LEASHES!: Never let your dog (or cat, or iguana) off leash in an unfamiliar place. I don't care how much you know/trust them - the unfamiliar sights, sounds, and smells could provide the unexpected surprise that leaves you spending the day searching for them, or worse.


5. Dealing with anxiety and car-sickness: Pheremone collars (DAP or Feliway) can help many pets with mild travel anxiety. For motion sickness or more significant anxiety, talk to your vet about Benadryl and other options.


6. Current flea & tick prevention: Make sure your pet's flea prevention will cover the duration of the trip; no one wants to finish off a vacation with a bunch of nasty new house guests. Do this even if you don't normally use a flea preventative - trust me. 


7. Microchips: Make sure your pet's microchip is registered to your current address. If they don't have a microchip consider getting one

Here are a few more things you may want to ring your veterinarian's office for:

1. Get a record or certificate of all vaccinations (and make sure they are up-to-date): Most hotels require up-to-date rabies vaccination at a minimum. Tell them where you are going, and ask if there are any other vaccines they'd recommend. These may include Bordetella, Leptospirosis, lyme disease, or others.


2. If your pet has any major medical history - chronic diseases under treatment or past major surgeries - ask for a copy of the medical record to take with you. Hopefully your pet won't need veterinary care during the trip, but if they do that record may be invaluable.


3. Ask your veterinarian about an official health certificate: may be required to enter certain states or to stay at some hotels, and all airlines require them. Your veterinarian can provide one after a thorough physical exam - which is itself valuable, since more than once I've picked up problems owners weren't aware of that might make travel a bad idea. Health certificates may only be good for a limited time (10 days for airlines), so set your appointment appropriately.

Is Pet Insurance For Me?

By Dr. Courtney Smock

I have recently been asked my opinion about pet insurance several times by friends and family, and it seems to be a question on the rise among clients as well. While a quick comparison between the costs of identical services at human vs. veterinary hospitals makes clear that vet care is one heck of a value, that still doesn't mean it is cheap. Particularly when the bill is coming out of your pocket, not Humana's or Blue Cross'. We want the best care for out pets, and it's no surprise an increasing number of people are looking toward insurance plans to afford that care. But are they a good deal for everyone?

As with any free-market product, there are almost as many choices for pet health insurance as there are pets.  However, with little exception, they all share an operational feature: YOU pay the bill at the veterinary clinic, submit your claim, and get reimbursed (or not!) at a later date.  This is an extremely important point to consider before anything else - even though pet insurance may help offset your costs in the future, you are still responsible for the entire bill in the present.  So, if you cannot temporarily access a few thousand dollars for an emergency situation (think tapping into savings, a high interest rate credit card you wouldn't normally use, or borrowing from friends and family), then pet insurance is not going to do squat for you, because there will probably be very little veterinary care happening.

Well then, what is pet insurance for?  Like any insurance, it is a tool to mitigate your expenses should something unfortunate happen.  But pet insurance is unique in the respect that it may help you make a difficult medical care decision should something unfortunate happen to your pet.  Let me give you two examples:

• At your dog’s yearly wellness visit, the veterinarian tells you that she feels a mass in Muffy’s belly.  X-rays suggest that it is a tumor in the spleen.  Your vet explains that there is a decent chance the tumor is benign, meaning that surgical removal of the spleen could be 100% curative.  If you do nothing, Muffy’s spleen could rupture, leading to fatal blood loss.  The estimate for surgery is $1500.  You have a credit card you could use, but every dollar is already spoken for in your budget and you don’t know how you will be able to make payments.  Pet insurance might allow you to authorize the surgery, knowing that most of the cost will be reimbursed in your insurance payout.  
• Your happy-go-lucky lab puppy gets loose at the dog park and is hit by a car (Dog forbid).  Fortunately there are no mortal wounds, but one of her legs is broken in the incident.  The vet says the fracture is too complicated and will need to go to a specialist for repair - but all those plates, screws, rechecks and the expertise of the surgical specialist are going to run $3000-$4000.  Otherwise, the fracture won't heal and the only humane thing to do is to remove the leg.  Pet insurance could save the leg without amputating your savings in turn.  

I used to tell clients that I didn’t think pet insurance was a good value; that they should take the money they would pay in premiums each month and put it in a dedicated pet savings account.  The problem with this recommendation is that if aforementioned puppy goes on the lam and you’ve only had time to save $60, that’s not really much help.  Now I amend that statement to say that if you have $2-5,000 to put in a dedicated savings account for your pet, or some other way to access that kind of money in an emergency, you definitely don’t NEED pet insurance.  However, if the idea of dropping five grand on Muffy’s prolonged hospital stay when she breaks her elbow jumping out of your handbag makes your stomach turn, you may still WANT pet insurance.

In the interest of full disclosure, I will freely admit that my pets are not insured, nor do I have $5,000 socked away in a pet savings account.  If, dear reader, you are still with me, and still thinking about getting pet insurance, then consider these KEY POINTS:

1. Remember that insurance providers are businesses, and they wouldn’t offer this service if they didn’t make a profit – you may break even or come out ahead financially, but the odds are not in your favor, so that should not be the main factor in your decision.
2. Wellness care (annual exam, vaccines, spay/neuter surgery, heartworm testing and preventative) is an expense that can be anticipated and for which you can save – I do not recommend insuring for wellness care.
3.  For the love of Dog, READ and be sure you understand any policy in full before committing (See point #1 above)!  Particularly be on the lookout for pre-existing condition exclusions and waiting periods, breed-related exclusions, and maximum payout details. If you have questions, talk to your veterinarian.
4. Go to Dr. Frances Wilkerson's site, Pet Insurance University.  Aside from an excellent article series on how pet insurance works and why you would consider it, she provides detailed reviews on all the major plans for easy comparison.