Sun and Skin Cancer

Skin cancer in dogs and cats is one of the few truly “preventable” cancers in our pets. We frequently see a type of skin cancer call “squamous cell carcinoma” (SCC) in white cats and dogs with unpigmented skin, such as Bull Terriers and Staffies. The ways to prevent this type of cancer are very similar in dogs and cats when compared to people.

1.       Slip – Slip on a sun suit. There are sun suits specifically designed for dogs. Many of these can be worn in the back yard, down the beach, in fact pretty much anywhere the dog goes.

2.       Slop – Slop on sunscreen. We recommend you use a sunscreen designed for use in animals to ensure there are no problems with toxicity. Using sunscreen is particularly important for white cats, as the nose and tips of the ears (which can’t be protected by sun suits) are the most commonly affected areas of cats. For dogs, sunscreen can be used on the head and any areas of unpigmented skin.

3.       Slap – While you can’t put a hat on a dog, you can make sure they are provided with plenty of shade. Some dogs love sunbaking. For these dogs it may be necessary to confine them to shady areas during the day to stop them from lying in the sun. Remember dogs don’t understand that sunbaking causes cancer, so it’s up to their owners to protect them from this.

The first signs we get with an animal developing SCC’s are little wounds or scabs that never quite seem to heal. As the cancer gets more advanced, the wounds may get bigger and be prone to bleeding. If caught early, we can often use cryotherapy (freezing) to treat the lesions. More advanced cases may require surgery to remove the affected skin.

These cancers are very invasive, so early detection and treatment is important. However, prevention is much better than cure so please make sure your pet is protected this summer.

Lumps and Bumps

One of the more common things we see pets for are lumps and bumps. It is almost always a stressful visit, as people often worry that the lump may be cancerous.

For far too long the vet profession has approached cancer as a "sorry, your pet has cancer. There's nothing we can do" disease. That has all changed now, but the single most important thing that determines what we can do is how soon we see the case.

When you bring a pet in to see us with a lump, we will normally ask a few questions about when it was first noticed and how fast has it grown.  Depending on the nature of the lump, we may take a sample with a needle in the consult room and examine it under the microscope. This will often tell us if the lump is inflammatory or if it may be a cancerous lump.

For most cancerous lumps, we need to do further test to determine if it is a benign tumour (the "good" kind, which do not tend to spread), or if it is malignant (the "bad" kind, which may spread and invade surrounding tissues). This further testing may be in the form of an incisional biopsy, where we remove a small part of the lump and send it to the lab for analysis, or an excisional biopsy, where we remove the whole lump and send it off to the lab. Which technique we use will depend on the location of the lump, and what we have found on the needle sample.

The vast majority of lumps we see can be cured surgically if we see them soon enough. Even the more aggressive tumours can be fully removed if they are operated on while small. In cases where the tumour can’t be completely removed, or to avoid the need for amputations if the tumour is on a leg, we may recommend daily medication to control the tumour.

If you find a lump on your pet, please see us straight away. Early diagnosis can make a huge difference. In most cases, a vet properly trained in treating cancer can make a significant difference to the quality and length of your pet’s life.

Dr Braden Collins BSc BVMS CMAVA has completed Medical Oncology and Surgery courses through Sydney University, and has an interest in cancer treatment. He treats dogs throughout the South West region, including Bunbury, Australind, Eaton, Gelorup and surrounds.

Pet Insurance

We are lucky to live in a world where our ability to treat our animals is improving at an amazingly rapid rate. Even since I graduated, many conditions that where owners were told “there’s nothing we can do” are now very treatable. The unfortunate side-effect of this is vet bills are getting bigger. A broken leg can cost around $2000 to repair, cancer treatments can cost $4500, and cases referred to specialists in Perth can cost over $10000. This is why pet insurance is now so important. Pet insurance gives you the ability to obtain the best treatment for your pet without having to worry about the cost.

Like any product, pet insurance varies depending on the policy type and company providing the policy. These are the things we recommend you look for when considering a pet insurance policy:

·         Cover for the duration of each condition: this means that if your pet develops a chronic condition such as arthritis, skin problems or any other ongoing condition, the insurance policy will keep covering the bills. Some policies only cover for 12 months from when a condition is diagnosed, which are ok if the pet breaks a leg or has an acute illness, but are not much good for chronic diseases.

·         Cover bilateral conditions: We recommend policies that will cover illnesses if they occur on both sides of the animal. For example, a dog that ruptures a cruciate ligament has around a 70% chance of rupturing the cruciate ligament in the other leg. Ensure your policy will cover both legs

·         Cover for life: We also recommend policies that will keep covering your pet even when they get old, as many policies only cover the animal until around 10 years of age. Like people, when pets get old they tend to need more treatments an medications, so it is important to have a policy that will keep covering your pet as they age

At the Bunbury Vet Clinic, we can offer 4 weeks FREE pet insurance for healthy dogs and cats between 8 weeks and 12 months of age. Please feel free to ask us about this offer when you’re next in, or phone or talk to one of our qualified nurses.

Should I Sterilse my Dog Part 2

The Benefits of Sterilising Part 2

The benefits of sterilizing male dogs are a lot less clear cut than females. It has been shown that males castrated at a young age will have a very similar life expectancy to entire males. They will however be prone to a few problems.

The main benefit of castration is behavioural. Castration is likely to reduce aggression as well as wandering tendancies in a dog. The benefits of this are most pronounced if the dog is castrated prior to sexual maturity. A castrated male will often be less affected by stress than an entire dog.

The medical reasons for castration relate to testicular and prostate problems. Obviously, if a dog is castrated it can never get testicular cancer. This is especially important for dogs that have undescended testicles, as these testicles are around eight times more likely to become cancerous, so should always be removed.

Dogs, just like people, are prone to prostate enlargement as they age. This can lead to problems urinating or defaecating, as well as prostatitis. The prostate gland is very testosterone responsive, so generally castration will help treat these conditions, but early castration can prevent them from occurring in the first place. Castration has no effect on the risk of prostate cancer in dogs.

 The main downside of castrating dogs is the risk of obesity. Testosterone drives metabolic rate, so castration leads to a lower metabolic rate. This can easily be prevented with reducing the calorie intake or using specifically designed foods.

In large breed dogs such as Great Danes, there is a very weak link between castration and bone tumours. The risk from this is small, but it is often worth waiting until these large breed dogs are 10-12 months old before castrating them.

The majority of dogs tend to have fewer health and behavioural issues if castrated young, but we would encourage you to discuss your own pet with your vet to determine what is best for them.

Bunbury Vet Clinic: Serving the animals of Bunbury, Australind, Eaton, Gelorup and Surrounds.

Dental Disease

One of the more common problems we see in dogs as they age is dental disease. While dental problems are a normal part for the ageing process, good care for our pet’s teeth can have significant benefits for their health and wellbeing.

The early signs of dental disease in our pets are often quite subtle. Redness of the gums and a build-up of calculus can often be seen by lifting up the lips, and bad breath (halitosis) can be noticed when you are close to the animal.

As the problem progresses, we rarely find that animals show any outward signs of pain. We often see dogs with tooth root abscesses where the owner didn’t realise the dog had a problem until the face started to swell, but once the teeth have been removed or treated the dog will be noticeably happier and more active, with some owners saying they are like a puppy again. Cats are more likely to show signs of pain when they eat, with the cat approaching the food bowl as if hungry then backing away quite quickly.

Dental disease can have wide-ranging effects on the body. A recent study showed that dogs with advanced dental disease had a significantly higher risk of liver or kidney damage. We believe this is because large numbers of bacteria are able to enter the bloodstream from the diseased mouth, which are then filtered out by these organs.

Good dental care starts at home. Diet is one of the main factors that influences an animals dental health. Food can be used to physically clean the teeth with a scraping action. Animals that are fed a diet entirely of tinned or soft food will be at an increased risk of dental disease as the soft food does little in the way of physically cleaning the teeth, and can leave the teeth coated in food remnants, encouraging bacterial growth.

The use of bones to help keep teeth clean is controversial. Chewing bones carries the risk of tooth fractures, bones becoming stuck in the intestine, or constipation. Personally, I think the benefits of bones outweigh the risk in most cases, so I do recommend feeding bones. Bones should always be raw, and avoid bones like chop or neck bones that could become stuck in the throat or intestine if swallowed whole. If you pet has a history of constipation, pancreatitis or other illness then talk to your vet before feeding bones.

Specialised diets specifically designed to protect your pet’s teeth can be fed, and the Australian Veterinary Dental Association also recommends brushing your pet’s teeth daily – there is even chicken and beef flavoured toothpaste for pets.

The next time you see your pet, have a quick look at its teeth and gums. If you pet already has established dental disease, treatment at the vets is often needed. Otherwise a few simple things can help prevent a big problem.

Bunbury Vet Clinic - Modern Medicine, Compassionate Care for the animals of Bunbury, Australind and surrounds.

Should I Sterilise My Dog?

The Benefits of Sterilising: Part 1

A lot of people ask us whether they should sterilise their dogs. For female dogs, the answer is a clear yes. For males, the answer is not always so straight forward. This week I will discuss the benefits of sterilising females, and next week will discuss sterilising males.

The first benefit of desexing is the obvious one. No unwanted pregnancies. As anyone who works with a rescue organisation such as SAFE or SWAR will tell you, there is already more puppies out there than good homes. If more people sterilised their bitches early, this problem would be reduced.

The second reason is to reduce the risk of mammary tumours (breast cancer). If you sterilise a bitch before her first season, she has almost no risk of ever developing mammary tumours. After the first season her risk is 1:200, which is still pretty low. By the time she has had three seasons, the risk is 22%. This risk is then life-long, regardless of whether you then sterilise her or not.

The third reason is the risk of a uterine infection called a pyometra. Dogs have evolved to have puppies almost every time they come into season. If they have several seasons without becoming pregnant the lining of the uterus can get thicker, which can lead to an infection. This is potentially life threatening and requires urgent treatment.

Some people ask if they should let the bitch have one litter for their temperament. Studies have shown no benefit in doing this, and I have seen a case where a good tempered bitch bit a child when she was trying to protect her puppies. There are no health benefits to letting them have a litter.

The risks associated with sterilising are increased risk of obesity, and a small risk of urinary incontinence. Obesity can occur because the bitches metabolic rate drops after sterilising, but this is easily managed by reducing the amount fed or by using specially designed foods to prevent weight gain. The urinary incontinence is normally mild and responds well to medication, so although inconvenient it is generally easy to manage.

Recent studies have shown that sterilised bitches have a significantly longer life expectancy than entire bitches, so it is definitely recommended.