Hallowen Haunts your Dog!

The ghost and goblins will soon be approaching. Are you ready for Halloween? You have your decorations, the pumpkin is ready for carving, the candy is bought, and the costumes are in the making. But are you prepared for any unseen emergencies and most likely the stress that Halloween causes your dog?

Those cute blinking skull lights that make ghoulish sounds may be terrorizing your dog if they are not used to them being there all year round.  And the pumpkin or skull that sounds out each time someone passes by especially your dog is a challenge on their nerves. The ghostly décor hanging from the trees too are a fright. And if they get brave enough to tear them down out of their need to protect you, could mean a trip to the pet ER.

Eating a whole pumpkin isn’t going to be toxic but the results can still make for a very upset tummy and the need for lots of spot cleaner and some medicine to stop at least the diarrhea if not some vomiting. I would hope that by now everyone has switched from candles to tea lights to light the jack-o-lantern face for fear of fire hazards. But still that lighted face can either be tempting or terrorizing to your dog.

The candy is a big problem. Keep it up high. Dogs are tricky when it comes to stealing treats and if they get enough chocolate it is toxic causing seizures and possibly death. The toxic amount of chocolate is about ½oz per pound of body weight. That means a 5lb dog would have to eat 2 ounces of chocolate. That is about 12 Hershey Kisses. The filling, nuts, and nougat don’t count but it will still upset their stomachs and can cause some vomiting and diarrhea. So if they sneak a fun size bar or two you are okay. But if they devour the whole bowl you are in trouble. Or at least your dog is. Most of the time, the wrappers will pass leaving you with a decorative mess to clean up. Dark chocolate is not more toxic than milk. But if you are giving out the high cacao chocolate the problem doubles and often triples in intensity. But not many households are giving this out for Halloween.  Raisins are often given out as a healthy alternative. Only a small amount of raisins are toxic to the kidneys of your dog.  Sugar filled candy in general can be problematic too. It will lead to hyperactivity, excess water drinking, and some short term body function issues. So keep that bowl up high and in sight at all times.

Now more than ever, it is popular to dress up your pets for Halloween. Some pet costumes are more elaborate than the kid’s. This is adorable with Facebook and the internets flooded with all the pictures, but keep your pet’s comfort in mind. If your pet isn’t used to wearing a costume it can be pretty daunting. Try a sweater or T-shirt first and warm them up to the idea before spending on that exotic spider costume with legs dangling all around it and freaking your pet out. Even if your pet is comfortable with the attention, are they comfortable with the actual costume? Do the legs of that spider swing and hit them each time they move? Does the elastic get tight and is it causing swelling of the feet or legs or is it choking around the neck or holding too tight around the head causing a head ache? Does the hood or hat fall down in front of the eyes, making it difficult for them to see? Is it difficult to walk in or move in and is the costume heavy and tiresome after a short time? Most dogs will suffer through it for your love and attention, but should they have to?

Now comes all the trick-or-treaters. Kids of all ages with their parents are at your door. The costumes are precious to you but at least nerve racking if not frightening to your dog. The samurais are waving swords, the Jedi’s have lighted sabers, and even the princesses have wands.   Some are wearing masks or hats that hide their faces so your dog can not figure out who they are or even if they are children for that matter. They are yelling, ringing the doorbell, and knocking one after another. Your dog probably isn’t happy to see all those people.

Normally they are good dogs and they stay when you open the door and come when called. But tonight are not in their natural environment so they aren’t going to behave as they naturally do. You open the door for trick-or-treaters once, twice, maybe even 10 to 20 times. But then your dog sees an opportunity and bolts right past your or between your legs splitting the group of children on your porch. Are they following all the kids with candy or trying to escape them? Either way they are not paying attention to you and are now on the loose.  Even if they are not frightened out of their gourds, they are overstimulated and very excited. Just like kids, they can behave badly or act in a way that puts them in danger.

Best case scenario is your husband, wife, roommate, partner or whoever continues to hand out candy while you try to control the situation. Worse is that you are in the pet emergency room waiting for your dog to vomit up the 20 or more chocolate bars it ate or the results of x-rays because a car didn’t see your pet when running away in the dark of night.

Now I am not suggesting you turn off your lights and forego Halloween. Just see it through your pet’s eyes and mind and take proper precautions. Put your dog in a crate and have some dog treats nearby that you can hand to it every time it doesn’t bark at the trick-or-treaters or to distract it when it starts to look a little shaky.  The when it is all over, you can have some left over candy and they some more dog treats and rest up until Turkey Day when the next not so dog friendly holiday occurs.

 

 

 

The Cost of Veterinary Care & Getting What You Pay For

Getting what you pay for in Veterinary care is not always a deal. But you can prevent being ripped off or not getting the best bang for your buck.

I've been working in the veterinary field a long time and I have seen all kinds of veterinarians. I have worked for private practices as well as corporations and I have seen good and bad veterinarians at both. Let's make one thing clear. All veterinarians and veterinary staff love animals. That's why they are in this field. None chose this profession for the money, but admittedly some have discovered or  invented ways to make it the most profitable. Just because your veterinarian seems to be more than reasonably priced does not mean you are not being over charged.

Case scenario: Your dog breaks it's leg. It either fell or got tangled up with something or worse case was hit by a car but there are no internal issues at least that are visible with the naked eye but it's leg is broken. You take it to your veterinarian and they give you and estimate for $1200. Wow! that's a lot of money. Not really, a 24 hour critical care specialty facility would give you and estimate of $5000 or more. Your friend call to tell you she knows a veterinarian that will do it for $600. Now you need to decide which is the best deal. Believe it or not the $5000 estimate is probably the best deal. More likely it is a complete estimate and includes all necessary days of hospitalization, medication to go with and more times than not some routine follow up care.  And although no medicine is 100% guaranteed, they are more likely to do the best procedure possible and stand behind there work. The critical care specialty hospital is also going to have critical care nurses. These nurses or veterinary technicians have a degree and a license similar to an RN in human medicine. A lot of RVTs(registered veterinary technician) have special interests in study. The critical care specialty facility has the latest a greatest equipment to monitor your pet before, during, and after surgery. They can offer the best medicine possible. The estimate is high because the overhead is also high. The profit margin is actually not as high as you would think.

The estimate for $600 most certainly does not  include a board certified orthopedic specialist nor RVTs who put in hours of continued education annually(usually unpaid) to keep their license current. The best anesthetic techniques and monitors are not used or available and even their standards of disinfecting and sterile techniques are low if not poor. The risk of something going wrong is much higher. But the thing that really gets my goat is the profit margin for these low cost procedures is often very high. They did not spend the money so they make more money. And when something goes wrong they are more likely to blame it on the pet or even and act of God. I have seen routine procedures go wrong and then the veterinarian will label the pet with a condition to have caused the problem when really it was lack of safe anesthesia protocols and well trained RVTs or veterinary nurses who can recognize and correct a situation prior to it becoming a crisis. Not to mention cheap low quality medicine used. No diagnostics were done to discover the pet had a problem prior and no diagnostics were done to confirm a disease or condition related issue post. Because that lower the profit margin . But wouldn't you have rather paid extra to make sure your pet was safe? Probably so if it was explain correctly to you.

I can do a cat spay rather cheaply with non-sterile instruments and archaic anesthesia protocols on a table in a room cleaned with Windex from Costco and 90% of them will turn out fine. But 10% will be drastic failures. But if my profit margin is 100% then I still make a lot of money. I can even "cut you a break" and you think I am wonderful. But I am still making 90% profit and sometimes if I cut corners  even more I can make up that lost profit on yours or another clients pet.

Now don't be confused. I am not charging you for things I haven't done. I am doing things as cheaply as possible so it doesn't cost me as much to do it. Nor am I paying staff much above minimum wage and if I maintain less than 8 staff members I do not have to abide by most employee regulations. This saves me even more money and maintaining that higher profit margin. But if I have to buy updated equipment, pay an RVT, and use proper sterilization and sanitation techniques, then I not only have to charge you more, I also make less profit. Now are you getting the picture?

Now realistically, the $1200 estimate is probably the best "bang for your buck". They are using proper techniques, good monitoring practices, have qualified RVTs or at least well experienced and trained veterinary nurses, and most likely will have a successful outcome. They aren't going to be as prepared or have the most expensive equipment if things star going seriously wrong, but they will be able to handle most situations. The reality is every business has to be profitable, but they are not making a large profit based on your estimate and the care they provide. Their profit margin is probably in the 25% range. A lot lower than 90% to 100% and the quality of medicine and care is probably 80% to 90%  better. No  care is 100%. People are fallible and as the saying goes, "shit happens" no matter where or who and what expensive equipment is available.

The $5000, as said previously, is probably more complete. Plus if you are at a specialty critical care facility it is probably because your pet needs specialized care with an orthopedic specialist with the most recent techniques and equipment. Even if you pet is not critical, they have it available and it is part of the overhead. They won't charge you for what they don't do or use, but their higher price is based on monthly cost to maintain a high quality staff & keep up to date equipment and medicine.

So when I see a veterinarian like Dr. Pol who if giving low quality medicine and making a huge profit it make me cringe. And let's be honest; it's the value of the available medicine not the cost that you should be looking for when it comes to your pet. Pick a veterinarian with values that meet yours. Be prepared by having pet insurance and a pet emergency credit card or savings plan so you can afford the cost of quality veterinary medicine and not rely on the cheapest estimate. It means better pet care for your furry loved one.

Things I Learned as a Studio Trainer Part VII: The Bond it Requires

It is not enough that you can teach your dog and it is willing to do it; you must have that special bond with your pet. You pet has to love and trust you more than anything in the world.

A good example I use is that your pet has to be willing to lay on its back, relaxed, while you hold it or massage it on the floor. That position is considered total submission. Your pet is submitting to you. And if it is relaxed while you do it, it is leaving itself vulnerable but trusting that you would not let anything bad happen. Because lying on their back they are in no position to defend themselves or to be able to quickly retreat. This sometimes takes some bonding sessions and sometimes it happens naturally. If it requires some sessions, GO SLOW and only push so far. You want to gain it's trust not increase the distrust by pushing too fast or hard.  Once your pet is comfortable with this the ultimate test is being able to trim its toenails by yourself. It sounds crazy but if you can trim your pets toenails while it lays on its back or in your lap, you have reached the ultimate sign of trust and bonding. But it is important that 2 things never happen. 1) You become nervous or agitated. If you are nervous, you pet will feel that and think something bad is going to happen. 2) It should hurt. If the nails don't need trimming but to gain your pets trust, use a nail file to start with. It you cut the quick and it bleeds, you pet isn't likely to trust you again for a while.

As a veterinary nurse I am called upon to do treatments and procedures on animals that the owner just can't bring themselves to do. Ear cleaning, nail trims, anal gland expression, etc. This is because of 2 reasons. Either the owner has never been taught the proper way to do it while developing a trusting bond with their pet or the owner is afraid of breaking the trust they have by doing something the pet isn't comfortable with.

If you are going to work with your pet on set it requires that trusting bond. You will at some point have to ask your pet to do something that it is not comfortable with and it has to trust you that it will be okay, it won't hurt, and you will reward it tremendously in the end. Usually with a treat, but always with praise and admiration.

Most of the best studio animals spend a great deal of time with their owners/trainers. The owners don't leave for work all day and then come home to them and watch TV or get on the computer. I am not saying you have to be jobless. The best situation is you have a job where you can take your pet to work with you or you work from home. If that is just not possible, you must be willing to make the time and use it to work with your pet.  You are working with your pet and developing a bond every time you take it for a walk and ask it to sit, circle, or lay down in the middle of the beach or park. Massage it every commercial break or ask it to hump your leg or tap your hand. When I had days free and worked the swing shift it was much better for my pets. I could be home more often during the fun hours and I was fortunate enough to be able to bring Petal to work with me so we could have dinner and breaks together. My favorite actress, again is Maggie. She spends virtually 24 hours a day with her owner. They had and immediate bond upon meeting because she was adopted from a shelter. She is a service animal so she can go many places with her owner and be exposed to many different situations. The two of them are adorable together and Maggie will try anything to be with her owner. She rides horses, paddleboards, rides skateboards, pushes shopping carts, agility, and has learned a numerous amount of tricks for set. Everywhere they go Maggie shows off her skills making her use to doing her tricks in multiple types of environments and situations. The bond and trust they have together is amazing. Making Maggie an amazing animal actress. Petal has most of these qualities but isn't as athletic as Maggie. But then again, I am not as athletic as Maggie's owner either.

Developing that bond with your pet is an important part of not just animal acting but in the satisfaction of pet ownership for many activities such as agility, nosework, hiking, surfing, trick training for friends and family, and even just hanging around the house. It is possible with even the most nervous pet. It just takes time and patience and again: Don't push to hard or to fast but push them just to their limits not past them. And you will be amazed at the bond you will develop and the trust the you will have earned.

Things I Learned as a Studio Trainer Part VI: Working with Distractions

In your living room everything is going great. You can get your pet to work at a reasonable distance and it's learning all kinds of new tricks.  But at home there are no distractions. When you bring your pet to the park or on set with workers, noisy lights, and moving equipment, it shuts down and either won't move or just wants to run to you and be near. It doesn't know how to handle distractions.

Agility training will help because there are dogs and people everywhere. I also take my pets to shopping plazas and ask them to perform for the people in stores, near fountains, and just noisy busy area in general. Training in a room with several other pets and trainers can be very rewarding. It requires both you as the trainer and your pet to be able to work with distractions. The boardwalk at the beach or a busy park can be a nice challenge. Never train at a dog park with treats as that is too big of a distraction as all the dogs run towards you for food and a possible fight ensues. You can ask convalescent  or assisted living facilities if your pet can perform for their residents. That is great for training your pet and entertainment for folks.

Noise is the biggest issue for pets on set. Things roar, bang, and strobe. Actors shout and pound things. Cameras are on rails that roll and screech. Phones ring and knocking are done loudly.  All this can be very frightening and many animals that are calm otherwise are freaks on set. The more distractions you and your pet work with the better prepared you will be.

Just a tip: If your pet does become frightened or nervous, don't get nervous with it. Just calming speak to it. Pet or stroke it gently to reassure it and NEVER pick it up or Hug it. That only justifies its fear and will make your battle worse. Work them through it reassuringly.

I did a scene with 8 other dogs once. Dogs were running, barking, jumping, etc., etc., and my dog had to run specifically through the middle of them all. She also has had a scene with a high school band was playing and marching during it. She had to run with a soccer team who were kicking a ball back and forth and she had to follow one player specifically and not be afraid of a ball coming by her that was much the same size as her. But my favorite was the guy in a giant bear costume that raised up tall and growled while she ate out of a bag of Doritos.

So doing tricks in your living room isn't usually going to get your pet many parts. But get them to perform for a crowd and you may have a chance.

Part VII: The Bond it Requires.