Staying Fit in Winter

Written by Nicole Gunkel, RVT

When it’s really cold and blustery or raining, the temptation to curl up on the couch can be irresistible for both our pets and us.  It’s important for our pets’ health to find ways to stay limber and fit, both in body and mind.  I asked some of our staff to share some tips that they like to do with their own pets.

Staying In

Take some time to play indoors.  You can hide treats around the house or in a toy that will force your pets to think a bit about how to get the treats out. The “Buster Cube” is a great example.  Lure or have your pet follow you up and down stairs, if you have them.  Does your pet play fetch?  Throw a ball or other toy down a hallway or other open area.  Rainy days inside are a great time to teach your pet a new trick or practice some simple obedience.  If your dog has a backpack, go ahead and put it on with a little weight while moving around inside.  Laser pointers are great for many cats and some dogs to get them moving about.  Get your pet a new toy that will excite them into playing.  A good scratching post will help cats wear their nails and stretch those muscles at the same time.  And for those who can’t be enticed by other methods, you may just need to pick up Fluffy and move them across the house so they will have to walk the distance to go back and lay down!

Nutrition

If your pet is not active, you may want to consider decreasing the amount of food your pet is consuming by 25-30%.  Keeping your pet at a lean body condition can increase your pet’s lifespan by up to 2 years!  You can also use kibble from your pet’s daily meal allocation as treats instead of adding in extra calories by adding special treats.  Healthy snacks such as vegetables (broccoli, carrots, etc.) or low calorie pet treats can be given.  Most pets can count (they know how many treats they should get), but size doesn’t seem to matter.  Give them the same number of treats, but in smaller sizes.  “Plain Joe’s O’s” and “Charlee Bears” work great!

Get Out

River wearing her children's sweater.

It’s good for us to get moving, even if it means you are just walking around the block.  If you and you’re pet are dressed appropriately it won’t matter if it’s a little cool.  In San Luis Obispo County, we are lucky to have pretty moderate temperatures and weather compared to other parts of the country.  [In yucky or cold weather be sure to bundle up appropriately.  If your dog has a short hair coat, get them a jacket or sweater.  I got a children’s sweater at a thrift store as an inexpensive way to keep my dog warm.]  Schedule a play date with friend’s pets outside or at someone’s house.  Enroll in an obedience or agility class.  You can also take your pet to visit a local pet store that allows leashed pets. 

Enjoy those winter months and stay fit so you will be ready to play hard this spring!

Meet Tara Pantano! Our Featured Employee of the Week!!

Tara moved to California from Farmington, Connecticut and joined the Veterinary Nursing team in January 2009. Tara graduated from the University of Connecticut. She has earned her Registered Veterinary Technician license in California, after previously being certified in Connecticut, and wants to continually find challenge in this profession. Tara enjoys hiking with her husband and dogs, Kona and Raylan. They also have 2 cats at home, Figo and Bailey. Tara also likes riding mountain bikes, traveling, photography, and is a volunteer with the Marine Mammal Center. Tara says, “I am a self-proclaimed ‘cat person,’ they are just way cooler than people give them credit for!”

Specialty Surgery at Animal Care Clinic

Written by Marissa Greenberg, DVM

As general practitioners at Animal Care Clinic, we all perform surgeries like spays and neuters.  Sometimes we do more extensive surgeries like taking out a spleen (called a splenectomy), taking out bladder stones, or removing an object from the gastrointestinal tract that a patient shouldn’t have eaten!  But sometimes there are surgeries that are better left to the hands of a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (DACVS).  We generally refer to these veterinarians as “boarded surgeons.”  This means that they have gone through at least 4 more years of training after vet school, honing their surgery skills.  They then must publish articles and take a test to become a boarded surgeon. 

At Animal Care Clinic, we are fortunate to have a working relationship with Dr. Greg Marsolais, MS, DVM, DACVS.  Dr. Marsolais worked at Animal Care Clinic as a veterinary nursing assistant while he was a pre-vet student at Cal Poly.  He then went on to receive his DVM and Master of Science Degree from Iowa State University.  He did his surgical residency at the University of Illinois.  He now runs his own practice called Pet Surgeons, Inc.  He travels to clinics to provide consultations and perform surgeries.  Because of his previous relationship with Animal Care Clinic, we are happy to be able to have him visit us to perform these services for our clients and patients. 

Dr. Marsolais is generally at Animal Care Clinic at least once a month.  He spends his morning doing consultations and meeting the clients whose pets are to have surgery that day.  One of our Animal Care Clinic doctors are always involved with each case to be sure that we are in the know and can follow through once Dr. Marsolais leaves for the day.  Our Animal Care Clinic doctor works with Dr. Marsolais to create an anesthesia and pain management plan for each patient that is having surgery.  Our staff monitors anesthesia for his surgeries just as they do for all of the surgeries our doctors perform.  Many of the surgeries that Dr. Marsolais performs are orthopedic procedures, but he does many others as well. 

Most of Dr. Marsolais surgeries spend at least one night in the hospital.  This is so that our staff can monitor the patient’s vital signs and control any post-operative pain.  We discourage owners from visiting patients post-operatively because it often excites them too much, and they can become very distressed when their owner leaves.  This can put patients at risk for post-operative complications.   Patients are generally discharged with very specific post -operative instructions and medications, and our doctors are always able to contact Dr. Marsolais regarding his cases for further follow-up. 

If your pet has any issues that you think may warrant a consultation with Dr. Marsolais, please contact us so we can help schedule an appointment!  

Meet Cate Morris! Our Featured Employee of the Week!!

Caitlin goes by Cate here at ACC, and has been a part of the Customer Service Team since November 2007. Cate grew up in rural Mc Arthur located in Northern California. She is married to Travis of our nursing team and has two children, her stepson Skyler and daughter Hailey. Cate loves hiking, tide pooling and spending time with her family.

Matted Fur - KSBY Local Experts Question

By Bonnie Markoff, DVM

Thank you, Shawna for your question about grooming Persian cats. This can be a big problem for many cat owners! The fine hair of a Persian easily clumps together to form matts – those Rastafarian type clumps of fur that cannot be broken up with a brush. Matts can be very painful and even cause damage to the skin because they pull on the skin like an over-tight ponytail. Many animals resent any effort we make to remove the matts, and it seems that Persian cats have the most pain associated with the procedure.

To remove matts that are not painful, try a brush designed specifically for that purpose. These brushes actually have sharp edges that cut through the matt. Once you break the matt into smaller parts, it is less painful and easier to remove. In some instances, you may be able to cut them off with scissors – BUT BE CAREFUL!! It is extremely easy to cut the skin. Never pull up on a matt and cut below it. The process of pulling up on the matt will tent the skin and almost guarantee your scissors will cut your pet. Electric clippers are usually the best way to remove the matts. Groomers can often do this. If the process is painful or your pet just hates being groomed, we may need to sedate your pet for the treatment. Shawna, you quoted a very high dollar amount for this procedure. Our hospital should be able to help you for about half that price, maybe less on subsequent visits.

Prevention is the best way to manage matts. Animals who are prone to matting their fur should be brushed every day with a good rake type brush. If you find any small matts while brushing, remove them with a matt rake or scissors when they are small and not painful. Some animals benefit from removing the hair that typically matts. A groomer can keep the hair in these areas clipped short or even shaved down to the skin. It is usually much easier to clip the hair short before matts develop than to remove the matts later. I hope this helps, Shawna!

Cat and Dog Buds

Written by Jennifer Evans, DVM

We’ve all heard the saying ‘fighting like cats and dogs’ but sometimes cats and dogs can be the best of friends!!  If raised together, dogs and cats are often great buddies; playing, sleeping and even eating together.  There is something quite profound about seeing a large pit bull snuggled up with a cat, they should be enemies yet they aren’t.  Kind of makes you wonder what we should be capable of as a ‘more intelligent’ species! 

Baldwin (cat) and Bean (dog)

While it’s true that some dogs just simply can’t safely be around cats, many can be taught appropriate ‘cat manners.’  The easiest way to start integrating the two species is either with a youngster of each or with an adult dog or cat that is used to the other species and a youngster who doesn’t know they should be afraid.  An adult cat that runs unfortunately becomes a really fun game for a puppy and can actually become ‘prey’ for adult dogs that don’t know better.   Whenever introducing the two, always have the dog under control with a leash and have the cat’s nails trimmed.  See how they do and progress from there.  Keeping the cat in a crate for short training periods and rewarding the dog when he ignores the cat or possibly squirting him with water if he’s too fixated will sometimes help an adult dog learn how to peacefully co-exist with a cat.  Always be cautious when introducing new critters to each other and never leave them alone unsupervised until they have proven they can get along safely.   Sometimes it takes a while for them to become friends. 

Rocky (cat) and Petey (dog)

Our office manager Lavella adopted her “chiweenie” from the shelter months ago and it took a while for her cat ‘Rocky’ to accept the new addition, but in time he realized the benefits of having another four-legged buddy in the house.  The rewards of having a dog and cat that love each other are quite numerous, not the least of which includes really awesome photo ops! 

Winter Dog Activities

Slink playing in the snow.

Written by Marissa Greenberg, DVM

Though it hasn’t felt like it lately, winter is here!  As you plan any trips this winter, consider including your dog if you are going to the snow!  Most dogs seem to take to the snow naturally, and just love playing in it!  When I moved to Washington with my dog Slink, she had never experienced the snow.  But she instantly loved it and enjoyed running through it, looking for things to chase underneath it, and trying to catch snowballs! There seems to be something about it that just energizes some dogs.  The first time Mico went, he instantly loved it as much as Slink!

River wearing her winter jacket.

There are several activities you can do with your dog at the snow.  The first is just playing in it! Letting them run, play, try to catch or find snowballs, and digging through it can be very entertaining for all involved.  There are many places you can take dogs with you on trails where you can snowshoe or cross country ski.  It is important to make sure that your dog is comfortable in the cold weather-some may need sweaters or jackets if they are short haired breeds.  If running around a lot in the snow, your dog may need booties to protect their pads.  Also, make sure they have a water source that isn’t frozen over and that they have a warm place to sleep.

River jumping to catch snowballs.

Skijoring

For the real snowy condition enthusiasts, you may want to try your hand at skijoring.  Skijoring is where a dog or pair of dogs are harnessed and connected to a skier, thus pulling the skier along the trails.  Any medium to large sized dog could enjoy this sport!  The other dog snow sport is of course, dog sledding.  If you are interested in more information about either of these sports, please check out this website http://www.psdsa.org/Default.aspx. 

We would love to see pictures of you and your pets out enjoying the snow! Have fun out there enjoying winter wonderlands of snow with your pets!