Frisbee in November

This could very well be the last good frisbee session of the year. Oh, mom, can't we move??

Sunday Nap

Nothing better on a lazy Sunday than a nap in the sun with the trusty ol' bone.

Quilt Cuddling

I love when the weather cools off and I can cuddle under the quilt on the couch with mom.

Such a great time of year.

SMILE - General Anesthesia and Monitoring

We are almost ready to clean your pet's teeth.  Now, it is time to administer the general anesthesia so that intubation can be performed and the cleaning can commence.

Most commonly, a pet is induced (knocked-out) with an injectable anesthetic.  At the hospital where I take my dogs, they use a combination of ketamine and diazepam (Valium).  This is very quick-acting since it is injected directly into the vein.  Almost immediately the drugs take effect.  About half is given IV, then the technician will wait a minute to estimate how much more the animal might need to make sure the animal can be intubated.  A little more is given if needed.

Once the animal is asleep enough to allow intubation, the endo-tracheal tube is placed in the trachea to allow administration of an inhaled anesthetic (like isoflurane).  There is usually a cuff at the end of the trach tube (the part inside the trachea) which, when blown up, keeps fluids from entering the lungs.

In the above picture, you can see the endo-tracheal tube as it exits Heidi's mouth.  It is kept in place by a rubber band around the upper part of her mouth (snout or muzzle).  The little tube running alongside the larger one attaches to the cuff; this tube allows the cuff to be inflated once it is in place.  Once the cuff on the tube has been inflated, it is best to keep the tube from jiggling too much or pulling on it as this can damage the trachea.

(You can also see in this picture, above, Heidi's dirty teeth - she did not want me to show you this because she is embarrassed.  Her teeth are not terribly dirty since she has her teeth cleaned fairly often.)

Heidi has been attached to the anesthesia machine by her trach tube and is now asleep and ready for her teeth cleaning - almost.  The next step is very important!  The LVT will now attach monitoring equipment to keep track of her vital signs throughout the anesthetic episode (while she's asleep).  In my vet's hopsital, EKG leads are attached to three limbs (to monitor her heart rate), a pulse oximeter probe is placed on a toe (to monitor how well she is receiving and using oxygen), and an apnea alarm is placed on the end of the trach tube (to keep track of how often she is breathing).  Sometimes a tech might use a stethoscope or an esophageal stethoscope (placed in the esophagus near the heart) to monitor the heart rate.  

The top two rows of squiggly lines are her EKG.  Her pulse, shown as BPM or PR, is shown in big green numbers as 108.  Her pulse-ox reading, shown as a percentage and also called SpO2, is 98%.  Her respiratory rate, shown as RPM with the little lung symbol, is shown in large yellow numbers as 27.  All of these vital signs look really good.  108 is a normal heart rate for a small to medium sized dog.  98% is 98 out of 100, so that is great.  27 is a normal respiratory rate for a dog.  

Heidi's trip to la-la land is looking good so far.

Finally, the dental cleaning can begin!

SMILE - Pre-anesthetic Physical and Pre-Medication

The bloodwork is finished, the vet has perused it, and everything is ok to go full steam ahead.  This is when the vet gives a quick once over to make sure there is nothing else going on before the pre-med and anesthesia is given.

(Imagine taking your dog in to have their teeth cleaned and then goes home with an ear infection that no one noticed?  That is why your vet will perform a quick physical.)

After this, a "pre-med" is given.  This is usually a combination of a sedative and/or tranquilizer, possibly an analgesic, and an anticholinergic.  The sedative helps calm any jittery nerves and makes animals a little sleepy.  The analgesic will help with any pain that might occur during the procedure.  The anticholinergic reduces secretions (such as saliva in the mouth that could be aspirated) and prevents a slow heart rate that could occur from the general anesthesia.  All of this, mixed in one syringe, is injected under the skin (subcutaneously) about 20 minutes or so before the general anesthesia is started.

Heidi has had her pre-med and can barely hold her head up!  She is so sleepy.  I came back a minute later to find that her head had become too heavy to hold up any longer.

Once the sedation has started working, Heidi got to escape from the cage to have an intravenous catheter placed in her cephalic vein (her forearm).  She could barely sit upright (which was rather amusing)!

One of the LVT's is supporting her head so she doesn't flopple over.  The other one is feeling for the vein in her arm.  The purpose of an IV catheter is to provide fluids and electrolytes during the anesthesia (helps flush out the drugs and keep your pet hydrated since they are not drinking most of the day) and it gives IV access in case of an emergency (most emergency drugs need to be given IV since that is directly into the blood stream).

Heidi's vein was difficult to find that day.

So, to recap, Heidi has been checked in, assigned a cage, had blood drawn, been checked over by the vet, given a nice drug cocktail (the pre-med), and finally had an IV catheter placed.  And the actual dental cleaning hasn't even started yet!

Next up: General Anesthesia and Monitoring.

SMILE - Pre-Anesthesia for a Dental Cleaning

Dental Day commences:

Heidi and the boys have been checked in and are on their way back to the treatment area.  They all get weighed and have their temperature taken.  Blood is drawn from the jugular vein in the neck or the cephalic vein in the forearm.  Usually about 3ml of blood is drawn into two different kinds of tubes.  A CBC (complete blood count) and serum chemistry are performed usually.

Heidi getting her blood drawn from
her jugular vein in her neck.

A CBC looks at the numbers of red and white blood cells and platelets found in the sample.  The hematocrit (HCT) or packed cell volume gives an indication of the amount of red blood cells in the blood as a percentage.  This helps the veterinarian determine if an animal is anemic or dehydrated.  Heidi's hematocrit is always on the high end which can show that she is slightly dehydrated.  She has her bloodwork done every time she has anesthesia, so we are able to see that this high hematocrit is considered normal for her.  The blood chemistry panel can vary as to which chemistries are tested.  Usually there a few tests that look at the kidneys and a few at the liver.

The CBC results.

The serum chemistry results.

Heidi does not like being in a cage!  She is barking at me as I stand there and look at her imprisoned.  She calms down and is fine if I am not around.  As soon as I reappear though, she starts barking at me again.

You can see her cage card on the outside of the cage.  This is important to have on every animal's cage.  It not only identifies the name of the pet, but the sex, the date of arrival and departure, the veterinarian, and the reason for the visit.  DAP is our veterinarian's initials.  F,S means female, spayed.   The little blue squares indicate that she is not to be given water or food.

So, while Heidi's blood goes to the lab to be performed, she gets to lie in her cage and watch the mayhem that is a veterinary office in the morning.

Next up: Pre-anesthetic physical and Pre-medication.

Summertime, Summertime

I have to say that the weather has been particularly good the last couple of days.  Prime frisbee playing times!  With the long evenings, mom has more time to play frisbee with me - this is the best time of year.

Just throw it already, sheesh!

SMILE - Checking In for the Day

Your dog (or pet of choice) needs to get their teeth cleaned.  You've made your appointment.  Now what?

Because a dental cleaning requires anesthesia, you will likely get a phone call from your veterinarian's office about fasting your dog.  This usually means something like no food after 8pm the night before the dental and no water after midnight.  The purpose of this is to reduce the risk of vomiting during the anesthesia.  When an animal is anesthetized the swallowing reflex is gone.  If vomit makes its way into the mouth it can be inhaled and cause infection in the lungs.  Fasting will help keep this from happening (as well as endotracheal intubation, but we'll talk about that later).

You've managed to be strong against the dirty looks your dog is soaring at you from across the room because they have not received any food or water.  They sense a visit to the vet is forthcoming - that special sixth sense animals have - but you have managed to get them to the vet's office.  Now, you check-in at the front desk.

Every hospital is different regarding their check-in procedures.  At our veterinarian's office, there are a couple of forms to sign and Heidi and the dogs are whisked back to the treatment area.  The forms that most hospitals will want you to sign are general consent forms allowing them to anesthetize your dog, perform the dental cleaning, perform anything that may arise from the examination (pulling a tooth, radiographs, etc.), and perform pre-anesthetic bloodwork.

At our hospital, the pre-anesthetic bloodwork is offered as a choice.  It is always a good idea to have this done.  A lot of people say, "well, she seems healthy" when there could be subclinical problems that might be found with bloodwork.

Once the forms are signed, Heidi and the dogs get plastic collars with their names written on them.  All other collars and harnesses are removed - this is very important.  Collars and harnesses can catch on a part of the cage and cause injury or death.  The plastic collars that they acquire at the hospital can be ripped off easily if they should snag on something.

An assistant or vet tech comes out, takes a cage card with their name on it and they disappear to the "back".

Heidi's a bit apprehensive.  Heidi, it's not that bad, I promise!

Next up: Pre-anesthesia 

SMILE - Let's see those pretty teeth!

Heidi's mom here!


What Heidi said is true - having a good, thorough dental cleaning is a must.


I will go through everything, from start to finish, about what happens when a pet gets their teeth cleaned.  


And to start: Why does my dog (or pet of choice) even need this?


There are cosmetic reasons for having the teeth cleaned; the teeth look nicer and the breath is less eye-wateringly stinky.  More importantly, there are health reasons for having the teeth cleaned.  Pets, unlike humans, do not sit still or tolerate having their gums poked or their teeth scraped.  Animals must be anesthetized to fully examine their mouths.  A full examination uses specialized dental instruments to evaluate the health of the gums - are there gingival pockets?  Is anything infected?  Do the gums bleed easily?  Are there any teeth loose or broken?  Is the pulp exposed on any of the teeth?  Answering "yes" to any of these questions means your pet could be in pain or at risk of developing more severe dental problems.  


One big concern of having the teeth cleaned well and a full mouth evaluation being performed is that gum disease can lead to heart problems.  Congestive heart failure can be a direct consequence of bacteria making their way into the blood stream through diseased gums, or gingiva, and destroying the heart valves.  


Why is anesthesia needed?
A good article to explain why "No-anesthesia-needed dental cleanings" are not effective and end up being a waste of money.

Next time: Check-in for the dental cleaning.

Do You Have a Dirty Mouth?

Once a year, or every other year, the three dogs and I have to go to the dentist.  Well, the dentist is our regular veterinarian and the hygienist is a licensed veterinary technician.  Mom says it is very important, not just for looks or to make our breath smell better, but because it can save our lives.

Having your teeth cleaned professionally can save your life!  Did you know that?

A lot of people complain that veterinarians just do it to make money.  Having first hand experience with this -   I am here to tell you that is just plain stupid.  Umm, obviously, they need to make money so they can stay in business, but they are not going to risk your life over it.

A professional dental cleaning is a must.
Period.

Smile!
~Heidi

May 13-15 Beach Time!

Mom's friend made us go to the beach again.  Squeezed into a little station wagon, Mom, her friend, her friend's two kids, the three dogs and I took off for sandy pleasures.  I sat on mom's lap most of the ride down there.  It was a bit uncomfortable, but I really like to help navigate and keep an eye on traffic.

We made it in one piece.  Since we arrived at night, we had to wait until the morning to go to the beach.  The first day was cold, windy, and cloudy which makes for a not-so-good beach experience.  But that's my opinion.  The kids still had a great time and even got wet in the freezing water.  I could tell from touching the wet sand that it was too cold for my taste.

Here's a couple of picture of mom's friend and her two kids.

They are soaking wet - how can they stand it??

I did get a little, decent frisbee action on Sunday.  There was only one good picture because mom forgot to empty her sd card before we left for the beach.

Edgar also got to go over for a little bit to enjoy the weather and ocean.  He prefers to sniff around instead of play, but I guess he can do what he wants.  We are very different in that respect - he just doesn't get the lure of the frisbee.

We had a great time.  Mom has spoiled us this spring with a couple of trips to the beach.  We usually only get one good one in August, but we got lucky this year.  Hope she keeps it up!

~Heidi

Back to the Beach!

A couple of weekends ago, Mom, her friend, her two kids, the dogs, and I all packed into a tiny station wagon and drove to the beach.  We stayed a very short time and it rained half of the time we were there, but it was so worth it.  The beach smelled great.  The water is too cold so mom didn't throw me in like she usually does.  AND we got to go to our favorite bakery - Salty Paws.

Since there are no tall trees and we were right on the coast, we got to watch a storm roll in over us.  Kind of spooky looking.  While I hate rain, well because obviously then I can't play frisbee, watching that storm was really neat.

Luckily, it did not rain that long, so we were able to go back to the beach for a little bit before we had to leave for home.  The ride home seemed to take forever.  I forced my way to the front seat.  Mom wouldn't switch with me, so I sat in her lap on the way home.  I was getting kind of drowsy.  

Then, we stopped at Cracker Barrel for dinner.  Of course, we had to stay in the car.  It is so ridiculous to me that dogs are not allowed in restaurants.  It's supposedly for health reasons, but, I mean, really?  We're more likely to get sick from the food than what humans have to give us.

Anyway, so we were left in the car while mom and her friend went inside to eat.  I got bored.

So, I had a little Pirate's Booty when they left.

SNOW! Finally, SNOW!

It's March!  It took ALL of winter to get a little snow!
Mom!  We need to move NORTH!

It's Been A Long Time!

I've missed you guys!

Mom has been unwell for the last couple of months.  She is finally starting to feel better and has agreed to type for me again.

We have so much to catch up on from the last many (very many) weeks!

But, Mom says I can only say "HI" tonight.  She has a lot of other things to do tonight, like fold the clothes that she washed a week and a half ago!

Hugs and Licks, Heidi