We’ve talked about getting your packing list in order but we need to make sure your pet is ready also.

• Be sure your pet is ok to travel with you, and you are ok to travel with a pet.
• Logistics to consider when you have pets with you.
• Start with day trips or extended trips close to home for trial runs.
• Observe proper restraint rules for your pet and have them under supervision.
• Know the physical demands you are going to be asking of your pet and train for them.
• Make it fun! They just want to be with you and please you. Set them up for success on the road!
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Emergencies are never convenient. Prevent if you can, be prepared with

Pet Insurance

• There is no doubting the fact that pets have all kinds of advantages for us and our families.
• Lower blood pressure, risks for certain health problems, help communication in children, examples of unconditional love.
• Because of all these benefits, pets are seen as an entitlement, and they really are a privilege.
• Need to know you are getting the right pet as we have discussed, and be ready for taking responsibility for them financially.
• More than food and treats and toys.
• Routine Veterinary Care:_
• One of the most impactful things you can do to keep your pet healthy and happy and minimize the cost of their care.
• An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
• Pediatric exams and vaccination series may cost a few hundred dollars. Parvo treatment: $600-1200, not every puppy survives.

Heartworm in Cats:

• Year’s worth of prevention vs. lifelong lung treatment IF they survive.

Heartworm in Dogs

• Year round prevention vs. lifelong management of slow killer (no treatment available right now)
• Financially an impact but of course can’t forget the impact on the pet – pain, disease, etc.
• Other thing we have to have a plan for is how to take care of unexpected.
• Because most veterinary hospitals are not in the position to turn themselves into loan institutions, “trust me till next Friday”, or ‘can’t you just bill me” is usually not going to be sufficient. Small businesses who rely on the payment for their services to keep up with labor costs, supplies, etc.
• Credit card rewards, Care Credit, Automatic Debiting, but what if it’s not there? Having a third party help pay!
• Pet Insurance:
• Don’t endorse any particular one, but strongly advise you to check them out and discuss with your veterinarian on ones they have experience with.
• Many will have a deductible or co-pay, or will have you pay for services and then reimburse you for what they cover. Some have turn-around times of a week or less.
• Understand what it covers ahead of time! Preventive care, major medical, inherited problems.
• Veterinarian of your choosing.
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Is your pet healthy as a horse, or really sick as a dog? Dr. Windy’s shows why it is important to have regular medical care for our pets

Pet Wellness Care

• There’s a lot more than just shots, or “he’s mostly inside, he’s fine.”

History

• What kind of lifestyle does your pet have?
• Home body?
• Traveller?
• Indoors, outdoors, dog parks, groomers, camping, etc.
• Food habits, activities, what do you notice at home about your pet?

REGULAR EXAMS:

• These may vary from annually to every 6 months, to every 3 or 4 if they have a specific health problem. Many more things that can happen to a pet than fights and infectious diseases.
• Combine what you observe at home with what we can see, touch, hear. (Exam stats for wellness care)
• Common and Usual do not equal Normal

Preventive Care

• _Vaccinations:
• Preventable diseases, some are zoonotic! Rabies still required by law in many states, even for your indoor only cat!
• Parasite preventives: Yes, even your indoor cat. Heartworm, zoonoses!

Nutritional Management

• Obesity, unbalanced or low quality foods, lower their risk for a dozen diseases.
• Dental Care
• Behavioral Development

Early Detection Screening

• Fecal test, heartworm, bloodwork, urine, rads, etc. age and breed specific (large breed dogs and hips and stifles, cats kidneys,etc)
• Organ reserves, hard wired cats and dogs predator/scavenger instincts

What we can’t see on a physical or at home:

• It is always cheaper and easier and more successful to find problems early and small.

Owner Education

• Why do we need to do these things?
• Learn about the problems, diseases that can happen (feline heartworm, etc)
• Baselines, subclinical problems:
• What do we do about it if we find a problem?
• How do I maximize my pet’s longevity AND comfort/quality of life?
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Be sure your pets make Halloween a treat, not a trick, or trip to the clinic.

Pet Halloween Safety

Food

• Treats are great, but even humans have to have all in moderation. For some of our human treats, there needs to be zero tolerance. Also, wide variety of rich holiday foods can land them with a pretty ripping GI episode.
• Chocolate
• Raisins, Grapes, etc
• Wrappers and Containers
• Seeds
• Garbage cans

Environment

• Foot traffic – four footed doorbells
• Practical Jokers – keep outdoor pets inside
• Guests in house – cats can get stressed (urinary issues!), unsocialized dogs
• Costumes – pets need to be socialized to all kinds of things. Even Cinderella can look scary. Pets make different associations than we do.

Pet personal safety

• Costumes on pets – common sense:
• No streamers, anything tight around the neck or legs, unobstructed plumbing, pet’s comfort level.
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What is laser therapy?

On this episode of Tails from the Road, Dr. Windy defines laser therapy and explores situations where it is helpful.

Laser Therapy for Pets – injury or age

• Applied light energy (laser) to specific tissues that causes photobiomodulation. It’s a mouthful.
• Example: Vitamin D in sunlight.

How does it work?

• Photons of light penetrate into the cells of the deep tissues and stimulate cellular activity.
• Stimulates new blood flow and circulation to the area
• Increases growth factors and stimulates healing
• Relieves inflammation
• Decreases production of the chemicals in the tissues that stimulate pain and affects nerve conduction.

What can you use it for?

• Anything with pain and inflammation.
• Examples: Arthritis, Severe Ear Infections, Gum Disease, Bladder Disease, Wounds, Surgery Sites, Injuries, etc.

Why use it for treatment?

• Safe
• Non drug form of treatment
• Helping stimulate what the body is trying to do but can’t well.
• Non-invasive
• Great for a pet to use in conjunction with other treatments or when they can’t have other treatments.
• Actually kind of soothing.
• Used by many professional sports teams and physical therapists on human side.
• When not to use, any drawbacks.
• Penguin Laser Therapy
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Bite Prevention Pt. 3

• Learn the signs of a fearful dog.
• Teach children how to behave appropriately around dogs.
• Do not approach a dog while it is sleeping, eating, inured or caring for puppies.
• Respect a dogs’ personal space, don’t get in their faces.
• Human affection and Dog affection are not the same (staring, smiling, hugging, face to face) (Dr. Yin video)
• Do not run with, from or toward a dog. Predator instinct.
• Learn how to talk dog – several good resources, LOTS of bad ones. AVMA, Victoria Stillwell, Patricia McConnell, Jean Donaldson. Look for positive reinforcement and getting to the root of the problem. Avoid dominance training, punishment.
• Keep yourself out of harm’s way. Do not try to break up a dog fight with your body.
• Do not punish your dog if he bites, most are from fear and this makes it worse. You are also more likely to get bitten. Get a diagnosis for the biting and treat!
• Teach kids to act like a tree or a log.
• Learn to W A I T.
• W – wait to see if friendly, if off leash or alone, walk away.
• A – ask for permission to pet
• I – invite – let them come to you, don’t reach out
• T – touch gently on the body
• Talk to your veterinarian!
• Mail From the Road:
• What is the best way to get my pet back if it gets lost on the road?
• Common sense and proper confinement/leash
• Make sure collar has your cell phone or veterinarian’s number, not your home phone.
• Get your pet microchipped and keep up on the special features and perks in the database.
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