You may have seen recent news in the media regarding the canine influenza virus. In short, canine influenza is a newly emerging highly contagious infectious disease caused by a ”flu” virus known as H3N8 which can cause respiratory illness. You can view detailed information regarding the disease at www.cdc.gov/flu/canine/. Due to the recent confirmed cases of canine influenza in Tarrant County, Arlington Heights Animal Hospital will be taking action against this highly contagious virus. As of January 2012, we will be requiring that each canine patient be vaccinated for influenza in order to be admitted to our boarding or grooming facility. Both Dr. Billy Davis & Dr. Jimmy Davis are HIGHLY recommending the vaccine for canine patients, depending on their exposure risk and health status.  Please contact our office staff for details regarding vaccine schedule and cost. As always, the doctors and staff of AHAH strive to assist you in keeping your pet healthy and protected!

Call 817.735.1381

“Dodger” is a regular at the Cat’s games, and he has been coming to see us for over a year now.  “Dodger” was seriously injured after being hit by a car a few weeks ago.  With aggressive treatment and some TLC, “Dodger” is now doing great!  He is quite the fighter!  On Sunday, June 5th, “Dodger” escorted Dr. Jimmy and Dr. Billy to the mound for the first pitch.  “Dodger” wasn’t very impressed, but it was great to see him out there taking in the game.  Check out our facebook page for a short video soon to come of ”the pitches.”

Our pets don’t brush and floss their teeth daily like we do.  So, we are left with other methods to prevent these bacteria from binding to the teeth, resulting in plaque formation.  There are several products out there, including dental chews and diets that can be used to reduce the ability of these plaque forming bacteria to bind to the tooth surface.  There are also several veterinary specific products that are very effective at accomplishing this goal.  Consult with your veterinarian prior to purchasing some of these products, because the efficacy and safety of some of the over the counter products may vary.  Again, most of these products are designed to reduce the buildup of plaque on our pet’s teeth.

Once plaque has begun to form, however, the best way of removing it, is through a routine dental prophylaxis.  Most of our pets, no matter how many products we buy, will reach this point in their life.  This has been shown to be an effective and appropriate method for maintaining the viability of our pet’s dental health. 

This year, we are doing our best to inform our clients about the importance of proper dental care for our patients.  We care so much about your pet’s dental health, that we have been offering a discount on our dental prophylaxis service.  Every year we offer this discount during the month of February.  Because our clients have been so willing to make this a priority for their pets, we are extending the discount through the month of March.  So, call today and ask about how you can save up to $100 on your pet’s dental prophylaxis through the end of March 2011.

*Certain restrictions apply.  Call for complete details.

Referrals must be presented at the first visit.  No maximum referral limit.

I see so many cases, this time of year regarding flea infestations and flea allergies.  In the majority of these cases too, the problem can be easily prevented.  The three most common mistakes that occur when treating for fleas are 1) improper use and/or application of the flea control product, 2) incorrect dosage and quality of product, and 3) inconsistent and intermittent use (which I’ll extend on further). 

There are so many products available for flea control that it can be confusing which products are even worth your money.  Some of these products, if used improperly can cause serious illness and even death in some of our pets.  For this reason alone, I recommend that you consult with your veterinarian on the best products available and the correct application of these products.

Inconsistent use of flea control products is a major problem when we think about how fleas perpetuate themselves.  Think about this… 95% of the flea life cycle (eggs, pupa, and larva) is off of the dog and cat.  This means that the majority of our problem isn’t even on our pets.  It’s in our house and in our yard.  This is compounded by the fact that some of the immature stages are very resilient to environmental stressors, including temperature changes.  Now, in order for fleas to live and reproduce, they need something to eat, which is where our dogs and cats participate.  Here’s another fact, both adult fleas and ticks are found active in our area of Texas as late as November and as early as February.  So, not only are adult fleas active for 10 months of the year, in which time they are feeding on our pets, but their babies can survive much of what we call a winter.  Therefore, if we are only treating the adults for 6 months out of the year, then we allow many of them to live and reproduce, thereby multiplying exponentially.  Think about it.

So how do we combat this?  As I mentioned, purchasing an effective product and applying it to the animal correctly is one step in the control of these nasty bugs, and nasty they are.  Proper and timely treatment of the environment can be necessary in certain instances as well.  Remember that the majority of the flea life cycle is found off of our pets.  Many of the products available have drugs in them that kill and prevent the younger stages from becoming adults.  Again, consult your veterinarian, about which products are best for this use, and read, read, read the labels before using them.

There are so many reasons why consistent, month to month, flea control is very important.  Flea allergies are the most common type of allergy that we see.  It’s been shown through studies, that the incidence of allergies to fleas can be increased by the intermittent use of flea control products.  Hence, allowing these bugs to feed sporadically on our pets, we are actually increasing the possibilities of them having severe allergies to the flea saliva when they bite.

Allergies aren’t the only thing that we worry about when it comes to fleas.  They also can carry diseases and parasites that not only our pets contract, but we can too.  Yikes.   Tapeworms and Cat Scratch Fever (yes it’s a real disease) have been associated with transmission to humans via fleas.

In conclusion, with the help of your veterinarian, we can hopefully reduce the prevalence of these pesky bugs, and the problems that they present to us and our family pets.

-James Davis, DVM

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Certain limitations apply.  Offer good for wellness exam with vaccines visit.  Good for multiple pets.  One coupon accepted per client account.  Payment must be received on visit date for offer to remain valid.