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Tag: titer testing

  • Keep it to Yourself, Don’t Spread Canine Diseases

    Last summer as we approached Howie, one of our neighborhood’s sweetest, best-behaved dogs, his guardian stopped us from allowing our dog to get close to his. The gentleman told us he was keeping Howie away from others because the pup was being treated for kennel cough.

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    Naturally, we thanked him for being so proactive, considerate, and helpful. He is exactly the kind of person we all hope to have as part of our dog community. He has raised a dog to be a good citizen, he follows the rules that govern being out and about with a dog, and he is as careful with our dog as he is with his.

    Happily, Howie made a quick recovery and our Poppy was able to have a sniff fest with him again.

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    It helped that Howie pays attention to his person when asked and we were able to slip by without contact.

    Know What Is Contagious

    You should not only know what is contagious among dogs, but also how the disease is spread and what you can do to prevent your dog from becoming sick. For example, Mary Fuller, DVM, writing about Kennel Cough for Vet Street wrote, “This extremely contagious respiratory disease, also known as canine infectious tracheobronchitis, isn’t always caused by a single organism.” Your dog can get it from inhaling the virus or bacteria left behind by a sick dog at places where dogs congregate.

    Other highly contagious canine diseases include: distemper, adenovirus [hepatitis], parainfluenza, and parvovirus. These all have vaccines that your dog may have been given by your veterinarian. Once initial immunity is established, you can do titer testing for all but rabies to be sure your pup is protected from one year to the next.

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    Our cat friends should also be protected from contagious diseases. (photo courtesy of American Veterinary Medical Association)

    You may be offered vaccinations for other contagious diseases including coronavirus, leptospirosis, bordetella, lyme disease, and canine influenza.

    There are also parasites that one dog can pass to another. We know that fleas and ticks love to ride on one dog and jump over to another like subway riders switching from the Red Line to the Green.

    Other unwanted guests like roundworms, hookworms, sarcoptic mange, and giardia can be transmitted via feces, on soil, or in standing water including shared bowls.

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    Puppies like this one plus elderly and frail dogs need special protection from contagious diseases.

    Doing Your Part in Prevention

    In general, it’s a good idea to keep your dog away from other dogs when he is not feeling well and ask your friends to return the favor when their dogs are a bit under the weather. Something that a very healthy pup can shake off could be a death sentence for a frail or elderly dog.

    We are often alerted when some sort of canine gastrointestinal issue that may be contagious is going around the area. You just have to observe the smears on the sidewalk where people with the best intentions try to pick up after a sick dog.

    While our little Poppy has been a very healthy girl, we did face more health issues with our last dog Maggie Mae. Because of this, we know how difficult it can be to clean-up after your dog if they are suffering from an upset tummy or diarrhea.

    We found that slipping a newspaper or a couple of paper towels under her would often catch most of the what she released. We’d then deposit the mess in a plastic bag and take it to the trash.

     

    Today we still carry small absorbent puppy pads to do this sort of job just in case we ever need one. We have used these at home and in rental places to keep from soiling furniture and carpets, just as when Maggie was ill.

    Thanks to all who do their best to alert us to sick dogs and clean-up as best they can when out and about. 

    Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.

    Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Photos: ©2017 Penny & Ed Cherubino 

    (Adapted for BostonZest from one of our City Paws newspaper columns.)

  • Attention Boston Dogs! State Issues a Parvovirus Alert

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    This little terrier is bringing important news. Yes, we know, none of our canine pals likes to get shots but sometimes it's better than getting very, very sick.

    Parvovirus Alert

    The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) has issued an alert for dog guardians about an outbreak of Parvovirus in Berkshire and Worcester Counties, “Dozens of dogs have been affected in these two areas, and several have died or had to be euthanized due to severe illness caused by the virus.” 

    Many BostonZest readers travel to those areas and dogs from there visit Boston. Given the highly contagious nature of the disease, we're devoting this week’s Sunday Dog post to this topic.

    Parvovirus

    In the alert, MDAR explained, “Parvovirus primarily infects puppies, but any unvaccinated dog can be susceptible. Dogs usually exhibit symptoms of gastrointestinal illness, including vomiting and diarrhea. Although dogs can recover from the disease if it is detected early and treated aggressively, it can be fatal. The virus is typically spread directly from dog to dog, but it can persist in the environment for several months. Dogs that have been infected and recover can remain infectious for several months.”

    What to do

    You should confirm with your veterinarian that your dog is protected from parvo infection. And, in light of this alert, you should also act quickly and seek emergency treatment if Parvovirus symptoms appear. 

    Titer Testing

    To avoid over vaccinating their dogs, many people opt for titer testing after initial immunity to a disease like parvo is established. But, you have to be careful that your veterinarian specifically requests a “vaccine titer test” and gives you those results. Titer tests are also done to check if a dog has a disease and the two can be confused by a laboratory. 

    Be sure to ask if your animal hospital is following the current protocol established for vaccinating dogs. The American Animal Hospital Association publishes the current guidelines on their website.

    As for the little guy up top, he has a vivid imagination. The needle is certainly not that big!

    Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.

    Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a birthday or wedding gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Artwork: istockphoto  

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

  • Attention Boston Dogs! State Issues a Parvovirus Alert

    IStock_000023187312Small

    This little terrier is bringing important news. Yes, we know, none of our canine pals likes to get shots but sometimes it's better than getting very, very sick.

    Parvovirus Alert

    The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) has issued an alert for dog guardians about an outbreak of Parvovirus in Berkshire and Worcester Counties, “Dozens of dogs have been affected in these two areas, and several have died or had to be euthanized due to severe illness caused by the virus.” 

    Many BostonZest readers travel to those areas and dogs from there visit Boston. Given the highly contagious nature of the disease, we're devoting this week’s Sunday Dog post to this topic.

    Parvovirus

    In the alert, MDAR explained, “Parvovirus primarily infects puppies, but any unvaccinated dog can be susceptible. Dogs usually exhibit symptoms of gastrointestinal illness, including vomiting and diarrhea. Although dogs can recover from the disease if it is detected early and treated aggressively, it can be fatal. The virus is typically spread directly from dog to dog, but it can persist in the environment for several months. Dogs that have been infected and recover can remain infectious for several months.”

    What to do

    You should confirm with your veterinarian that your dog is protected from parvo infection. And, in light of this alert, you should also act quickly and seek emergency treatment if Parvovirus symptoms appear. 

    Titer Testing

    To avoid over vaccinating their dogs, many people opt for titer testing after initial immunity to a disease like parvo is established. But, you have to be careful that your veterinarian specifically requests a “vaccine titer test” and gives you those results. Titer tests are also done to check if a dog has a disease and the two can be confused by a laboratory. 

    Be sure to ask if your animal hospital is following the current protocol established for vaccinating dogs. The American Animal Hospital Association publishes the current guidelines on their website.

    As for the little guy up top, he has a vivid imagination. The needle is certainly not that big!

    Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.

    Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a birthday or wedding gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Artwork: istockphoto  

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.

  • Attention Boston Dogs! State Issues a Parvovirus Alert

    IStock_000023187312Small

    This little terrier is bringing important news. Yes, we know, none of our canine pals likes to get shots but sometimes it's better than getting very, very sick.

    Parvovirus Alert

    The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) has issued an alert for dog guardians about an outbreak of Parvovirus in Berkshire and Worcester Counties, “Dozens of dogs have been affected in these two areas, and several have died or had to be euthanized due to severe illness caused by the virus.” 

    Many BostonZest readers travel to those areas and dogs from there visit Boston. Given the highly contagious nature of the disease, we're devoting this week’s Sunday Dog post to this topic.

    Parvovirus

    In the alert, MDAR explained, “Parvovirus primarily infects puppies, but any unvaccinated dog can be susceptible. Dogs usually exhibit symptoms of gastrointestinal illness, including vomiting and diarrhea. Although dogs can recover from the disease if it is detected early and treated aggressively, it can be fatal. The virus is typically spread directly from dog to dog, but it can persist in the environment for several months. Dogs that have been infected and recover can remain infectious for several months.”

    What to do

    You should confirm with your veterinarian that your dog is protected from parvo infection. And, in light of this alert, you should also act quickly and seek emergency treatment if Parvovirus symptoms appear. 

    Titer Testing

    To avoid over vaccinating their dogs, many people opt for titer testing after initial immunity to a disease like parvo is established. But, you have to be careful that your veterinarian specifically requests a “vaccine titer test” and gives you those results. Titer tests are also done to check if a dog has a disease and the two can be confused by a laboratory. 

    Be sure to ask if your animal hospital is following the current protocol established for vaccinating dogs. The American Animal Hospital Association publishes the current guidelines on their website.

    As for the little guy up top, he has a vivid imagination. The needle is certainly not that big!

    Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.

    Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a birthday or wedding gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!

    Details:

    Words: Penny & Ed Cherubino
    Artwork: istockphoto  

    Note on Comments: We monitor comments constantly and anything that is pure spam, inappropriate, or nasty is swept away. In addition to readers' comments, we welcome hearing from the people, places, and services we cover. Often, those add great insights for our readers. As long as it doesn’t become a pure ad, we’d love to hear from you. We do reserve the right to edit ads and links out of comments.