It’s estimated that 70-80 million dogs and 74-96 million cats are owned in the United States; approximately 40% of all households have a dog, and 35% a cat. Wow! That’s a lot of fleas! Wait, why am I saying this? Well, let me cut to the chase: the truth of the matter is that we need to accept that we all have fleas in our home and back yard, even if we don’t own a pet!

Fleas pose a medical problem to our pets and family, as they can cause allergies in our furry friends and transmit diseases, such as tapeworms (to dogs and cats) and Cat Scratch Disease (Bartonella henslea) to pets and humans.

One of the most common myths is that if you do not see fleas on your pets they don’t have fleas. The adult fleas comprise only 5% of the flea  population, leaving 95% of the flea life stages invisible to the naked eye. By the time we see fleas on our pet, it’s safe to say we have an infestation in our home.

One of the most important factors in controlling fleas is to understand that the female flea can produce eggs (40-50 eggs/day) only when she eats a blood meal on your pet or other wild animal in the yard. Therefore, she needs your pet in order to keep the population going  (the next generation will hatch in as little as 2 weeks).

Following these three steps can help prevent flea infestations at home:

1. Use a veterinary-approved flea-control product on all pets in your household, so none of  them maintains the population.
2. Use the flea-control product all year round. Not using flea control during the winter months (especially in Georgia’s mild winters) will restart or maintain the flea reproduction cycle, allowing new flea generations for later.
3. The flea-control product must kill the adult flea or prevent/interfere with the insect’s growth, so that new eggs are not produced, or the ones that are produced are not viable.

Some infestations may require treatment of the environment with professional pest control. The fleas that you see today hatched from eggs laid 3-8 weeks ago. Therefore, it may take this amount of time, or longer, to effectively eradicate the flea infestation.

Veterinarians offer a wide array of safe and effective products that can help us achieve these goals. Some products are administered orally, while others are applied directly on the skin; some are used monthly, and one product lasts several weeks. Please consult with your veterinarian to find out which product best suits your pet’s and family’s needs. Let’s protect our family by protecting our pets!

Dr. Wilmer A. Bustelo is a small animal veterinarian with 17 years experience. He and his wife, Dr. Maria C. Salazar, have owned Woodstock Veterinary Hospital since 2006. They have three small children and a Weimaraner, and live in Woodstock since then.

What is “kennel cough”? Kennel cough is also known as Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex (CIRD) or Canine Infectious Tracheobronchitis. This condition is not limited to the trachea and/or coughing.  Some of the clinical signs may include sneezing, coughing, nasal and/or eye discharge, fever, lethargy, difficulty breathing and sometimes could include lung disease, such as pneumonia.

A common misconception about the disease is that only pets that go boarding or spend time at a kennel are at risk. This confusion can come from the similarity between the name of one of the causative agents, Bordetella bronchiseptica, and the word “boarding”. Pets that are around other dogs at the dog park, neighborhood, grooming facilities, and doggie day care centers are all at risk of becoming infected.

It is important to know that Bordetella bronchiseptica is not the only cause of “kennel cough”. The CIRD Complex is caused by multiple highly contagious bacteria, viruses and secondary bacterial organisms that can complicate the original infection. As pet owners, we have our dogs vaccinated with the “kennel cough vaccine” or “Bordetella” and we believe that our pets are protected against all the CIRD Complex organisms. The best protection from the CIRD Complex diseases is prevention.  The good news is that we have vaccines for the most common organisms. There are vaccines against Adenovirus 2, Herpesvirus 1, CIV H3N8, CIV H3N2, Canine Distemper, Parainfluenza virus, and Bordetella bronchiseptica.  Canine Influenza Virus (CIV) vaccines are the most recent vaccines to come on the market. After multiple cases of dogs infected with the Canine Influenza Virus (CIV) in the state of Georgia, including Cherokee county, The University of Georgia released the following statement recommending Canine Influenza Vaccine H3N2/H3N8 vaccination:

“Canine influenza vaccination is considered a “non-core” vaccine and is recommended for socially active dogs, such as those that travel, are boarded with other dogs, or are exposed to dog shows or dog parks. The risk factors for Bordetella infection and canine influenza are the same and it only takes a single infected dog to bring the virus into a new area. Consult a veterinarian for more information about the vaccination and to decide if your dog has a lifestyle that would support administration of the vaccine.”

We recommend having your pet up-to-date with all the necessary vaccines a few weeks prior to boarding, grooming, visiting the dog park, and any other exposure to dogs. Also, ask your groomer and boarding facility which vaccines are required for admission. A good facility will require or recommend having your dog vaccinated for Canine Distemper, Adenovirus 2, Parainfluenza virus (DA2PP Vaccine), Rabies, Bordetella and Canine Influenza Virus H3N2/H3N8, as all of these infectious organisms are very contagious and can cause serious disease.

If your dog develops any of the symptoms related to CIRD Complex, please notify your veterinarian immediately. Remember, these diseases are very contagious and may spread to other pets by sneezing or coughing, but also by fomites, which are inanimate objects, such as clothing and food bowls, that are capable of transmitting infectious diseases.  Your veterinarian should be able to test and try to identify the cause of the CIRD Complex. If treatment is needed, it should start immediately to improve the comfort of the pet and to potentially prevent serious complications, such as pneumonia.

“Let’s protect our family by protecting our pets”.  Dr. Bustelo

We all love our families and our pets, and we would do anything to keep them healthy and happy. How we can protect our family? Well, it’s very simple; as pet owners we can keep our pets healthy by administering a broad-spectrum parasite preventative year-round, as recommended by the CAPC (Companion Animal Parasite Council). The preventative should have efficacy against heartworms, intestinal parasites, fleas, and ticks. This recommendation will help prevent diseases not only in our pets, but also our family members.

Some of the diseases that we can get from our pets (also known as zoonotic diseases) are roundworms, hookworms, tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme’s Disease, and Cat Scratch Disease. Lyme’s disease is caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi that is transmitted through the bite of an infected deer tick. Cat Scratch Disease occurs by the traumatic inoculation of the bacteria Bartonella henslea, and it’s transmitted from pets to humans via fleas. Roundworms (Toxocara spp.) are transmitted by the ingestion of the egg from a contaminated source, such as soil or pet feces. Hookworms, like roundworms, can be transmitted by ingestion of the eggs; however, they are commonly acquired by penetration through the skin. This is the main reason why dogs (and cats) are not allowed in beaches or playgrounds with sandboxes, which are places where people lay on the sand and walk barefoot. If dogs defecate on the sand that immediately becomes a public health problem.

People and pets are at the same risk of being bitten by ticks due to the simple fact that many ticks live outside; non-the-less our dogs and cats can bring then into our home if we do not apply the appropriate preventative product. However, there is one tick (Brown Dog tick) that can be found in cracks and crevices in houses, garages, and dog runs. These ticks often crawl up walls in homes and kennels, posing a risk to indoor-only pets.

How serious could these diseases be? Some of them can be very serious. For example, a roundworm infection can cause visceral larva migrans, a medical condition that could affect the liver and lungs, and ocular larva migrans, that can cause blindness. Hookworms commonly cause cutaneous larva migrans, and it’s one of the main reasons why people should not work in the garden without gloves. Lyme’s disease is characterized by an acute or a chronic infection that can affect our joints, kidneys and immune system.

The good news is that we can prevent all of these diseases on a monthly basis. We need to administer a monthly dewormer, usually included in the monthly heartworm prevention, and a flea/tick control product. Please consult your veterinarian for available products.

The peace of mind to enjoy our pets is invaluable. We will do anything to keep our family safe, and a simple monthly dewormer (heartworm prevention), in combination with a flea/tick preventative is all we need to do, every month, all year round, to do so. Let’s Protect Our Family by Protecting Our Pets!