Snake Bites and Your Pets

Did you know we see more snake bites in spring than summer? In our experience, October and November seen to be the worst months for snake bites in dogs and cats. This is for two main reasons. Firstly, the temperatures are a bit lower, so the snakes are a bit sluggish. This means they don’t get out of your pets way quite as quickly. Secondly, they haven’t hunted for months, so their venom is very concentrated. This means a bite can deliver a much higher dose of venom.

With snake bites, early recognition is important. Rapid treatment will make a huge difference to the speed of recovery and the amount of antivenom required.

For dogs, the “classic” presentation is the dog is outside then collapses suddenly. Within a few minutes the dog seems normal again. THIS IS A CRITICAL WARNING SIGN! A dog that does this has possibly had a lethal dose of venom. Contact your vet immediately for advice, as your dog will start to become severely affected very soon, possibly within a few minutes. Rapid treatment at this point may save your dogs life and will mean less antivenom is needed, so will also save you a lot of money.

For cats and some dogs, especially when a lower dose of venom is injected, we see the animal becoming progressively weaker. The classic cat presentation is what we call the “plastic cat” – the cat is so floppy it is like it is made out of plasticine. A dog that has received a lower dose of venom may look much the same, or just a bit weak and staggery.

Many people don’t see the pet being bitten, and you will almost never be able to find the bite wounds when a pet has been bitten by a snake. The tooth marks are very small and there is rarely any bleeding, so not being able to find tooth marks doesn’t mean your pet hasn’t been bitten. High dose Vitamin C doesn’t work, so please don’t waste time trying to give this.

We have a type of antivenom in stock that covers Tiger and Brown (Dugite) snakes, so knowing what type of snake bit your pet isn’t critical. Please don’t kill a snake to try to identify it, as you risk being bitten yourself and once again time is important and trying to kill a snake will take valuable minutes.

One Medicine

A lot of people ask how vets manage to learn how to treat such a wide range of animals, when doctors only have to learn one species. The fact is that many animals use the same basic “blueprint”, and as vets the trick is to know where the differences exist, as most things are pretty similar.

This similarity actually extends to people as well. As vets, we see humans as “just another species”, and hence the medicine in people has a lot of similarities to medicine in cats, dogs and other animals. Did you know that the genes that divide an ant’s body into a head, thorax and abdomen are exactly the same genes that do the same to us?

The realisation that there are so many similarities between species has brought forward the concept of “One Medicine”. Basically, it means that vets are learning more and more from doctors, and doctors are learning from vets.

One of the areas we see the most benefit from this approach is in cancer patients. For example, each year in the US approximately 1000 people develop a type of bone cancer called osteosarcoma. In the same time, around 100000 dogs will develop the same tumour type. This gives us the exciting opportunity to learn about treating this disease in people and dogs.

Before the “One Medicine” concept became established, vets and doctors would independently research a disease with almost no cross-over of knowledge. This meant neither progressed as quickly as it could. It also meant a lot of research was performed in laboratory animals which were artificially given diseases, and the research then applied to human medicine. It also meant that funding was difficult to obtain for veterinary research as it wasn’t as lucrative an area.

Now, with One Medicine, we are seeing the knowledge applied both ways. Using the bone cancer example, human researchers have potential access to 100000 cases to learn from and trial different treatment, while veterinary researches have access to improved funding, and the knowledge gained flows back to benefit animals. And in the meantime, the number of lab animals used is reduced. A real win-win situation. In fact, some human Oncologists now spend 2-3 days per week working with Veterinary Oncologists so they can learn from our animal patients.

For vets to keep up to date with their knowledge, they need a true dedication to continued learning. If your pet is ever diagnosed with cancer or any other serious condition, make sure your vet’s knowledge is right up-to-date.

Dr Braden Collins from the Bunbury Veterinary Clinic has undertaken additional training in Surgery and Medical Oncology, is a Member of the Veterinary Cancer Society, an affiliate member of the Veterinary Society of Surgical Oncology, a member of the Australian Small Animal Veterinary Association, and a Chartered Member of the Australian Veterinary Association.

 

Another reason being a vet is harder than being a doctor....

When we qualify as vets, we are unleashed on the public as fully qualified, ready to go vets. Unlike doctors, vets don’t go through an internship, or have several years of close supervision after we graduate. We can be on our own, making life and death decisions with very little real-world experience. The first two years after graduation are absolutely terrifying, and unfortunately things can go wrong. Normally, things can be fixed and disaster averted, but occasionally animals die as a result of our mistakes.

My first job was in Esperance. Around four months into the job, I was called out to a “downer cow” (a cow around calving time that can’t get up). I drove the 90 minutes out to the farm, and the cow was ANGRY! There is a condition in cattle where the blood magnesium levels drop, which makes the cow very weak but also makes them very aggressive. I checked the cow over as best I could, diagnosed low blood magnesium and decided to give it some magnesium into the vein. The problem with magnesium into the vein is that it can stop the cow’s heart if given too fast.

It is a very difficult condition to treat when the cow is trying to attack you while you are giving it an intravenous injection. I raced in, gave it a dose, then bravely ran and hid behind a tree…..no response. The cow still down, and still angry. I repeated this process twice more. On the third dose, the cow took a deep breath, and died. I had given the magnesium too fast.

The farmer was furious. He said the cow hadn’t calved yet, and I had killed them both. Trying to think quickly, I decided that I would do an emergency caesarian and save the calf. Working as fast as I could, I opened the cow…..and the uterus was empty. She had already given birth and the calf had either wandered off or been left behind. This obviously didn’t help the farmer’s opinion of me.

Feeling sick at what had happened and very upset, I then had to drive the 90 minutes back to the clinic to tell the boss. As soon as I walked in the clinic, I asked the boss to talk to him in his office. I burst into tears and told him what had happened. This is where I was very lucky to have a great first boss. He told me he was glad I had talked to him straight away. He phoned the farmer and paid him the value of the cow and calf, and the problem was settled.

Itchy Dogs and Pollen Allergies

Itchy Dogs

As we approach spring, we normally see an increase in the number of dogs suffering from itchy skin. If your dog has itchy skin, it may have a pollen allergy. The areas most commonly affected include the paws, belly, ears and armpits, although any part of the body can be itchy with pollen allergies.

We normally expect pollen allergies to start between 18 months and 5 years of age, with certain breeds such as Staffies, West Highland White Terriers, Bull Dogs, Boxers and Retreiver breeds being amongst the most commonly affected.

Many people find their dog also becomes quite smelly when they are itchy. This is normally due to a secondary infection with bacteria or yeast, and this can contribute quite a lot to the itchiness.

To treat dogs with itchy skin, we firstly need to confirm the diagnosis. The itchiness being seasonal, especially in Spring gives us a a pretty good idea that the dog may have a pollen allergy. We also check the dog for other causes of itchiness such as fleas, mites and other allergies.

Once we are reasonably sure we are treating a pollen allergy, we look towards long term control of the condition as well as improving the skin in the short term.

Much of our long-term treatment is based around trying to eliminate or at least reduce the need for ongoing steroids. I do this by recommending the following:

·         Fatty acid supplements such as Nutricoat: helps restore the normal oils in the coat (I use this product for my own dog who has a pollen allergy and I haven’t needed any steroids for him for over two years)

·         Good flea control: to minimise another major cause of inflammation within the skin

·         Antihistamines: these can be a bit hit and miss so often we need to trial several different antihistamines before we find one that works

·         Regular bathing with a low-irritant shampoo: I normally recommend an oatmeal based shampoo but care needs to be taken as occasionally dogs will react to the oatmeal. I recommend weekly washes, allowing the dog to be wet for around 10 minutes

·         In some cases, specific tests and hyposensitisation injections may prove useful

For dogs experiencing a flare-up or severe problems, my approach is more aggressive initially, but I will normally try to transition them on to the long-term options above once controlled. Short-term treatments commonly used include:

·         Antibiotics and antifungals: to treat any secondary infections

·         Steroid: orally or injection until skin settles, occasionally longer term

·         Topical lotions and treatments: to help moisturise and soothe the skin

·         E-collars: if significant self-trauma

The key to successful outcome with itchy dogs is early diagnosis and treatment. If we can control the condition before secondary infections occur we can minimise the need for steroids and other aggressive drugs, and keep the dog comfortable in the long term.