It's tick season in Frederick, MD

Summer is here!  It’s a season filled with lots of time to spend outside with your pet enjoying the nice weather, but it’s also a time where little critters can start to be quite the nuisance.  Even here in Frederick, Maryland it's recommend that you keep your furry critters protected against ticks, as they can hide away in your pet’s fur and can easily remain unseen.  Not only are ticks a concern for your pet, they can hitchhike into the house on our furry friends and make a meal of your human family.

The deer tick is the most concerning, as it can be as small as a pinhead and of course, are the ones likely to carry Lyme disease.  If you find one of those little critters embedded in your pet, you can use something such as an O’Tom Tick Twister to ensure you get their little head out and that it stays attached to their body.  

Ticks carry disease.  Not only can they transmit Lyme disease, but they can also carry other diseases such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Anaplasmosis.  These diseases can be transmitted by the tick to both pets and humans alike.  Prevention is the key.

As far as preventatives, our favorite topical product is Frontline Plus as it is the safest thing on the market for your pet.  Frontline does not contain any repellants which could be toxic to your pet or seep in systemically in their body. Frontline stays on the lipid layers of your pet’s skin and is even safe if we were to touch it, including your children! 

  
It’s recommended to obtain Frontline from your veterinarian as it is backed up by the manufacturer and they offer free doses through veterinarians.  Here at Kingsbrook Animal Hospital, we carry both the O’Tom Tick Twister and Frontline Plus.  Stop by and get yours today!

In addition to protecting your pet with Frontline Plus, our veterinarians recommend vaccinating your pet against Lyme disease if they are at risk.  If you think your pet may be at risk or you have questions regarding preventatives call Kingsbrook Animal Hospital.  One of our knowledgeable team members would be happy to speak to you.
          

Service Pet Peanut in Frederick, MD

Peanut chillaxin' at KAH

 Throughout the year there are several days memorializing our service men and women. Today, we are saying a special thank you to one of our service pets in Frederick, MD: Peanut.  Peanut is a 13 year old Domestic Shorthair that was adopted by his owner, Katie, when he was 7 years old.  Shortly after Peanut's adoption, Katie began taking him for "walks"- and by walks we mean rides in a pet stroller!  Peanut enjoyed getting outside into the fresh air and Katie started realizing that she had quite the unique kitty. 

Peanut visiting with Katie's grandmother.

  After Katie's grandmother fell ill and was placed in a nursing home, Katie took Peanut to visit with her.  She passed away the following day, but Peanut's visit made her so happy.  That is why Katie started to take him to see other residents. Peanut enjoys himself as well!

  Peanut is now a therapy pet and regularly visits the nursing home with Katie.  His favorite toys are ear plugs, and he will even go so far as to remove them from Katie's ears when she is sleeping if he is feeling frisky!  Katie- just make sure Peanut doesn't eat the ear plugs or you will be visiting his veterinarian at Kingsbrook Animal Hospital.

Warrior Canine Connection

In July 2008, Licensed Social Worker Rick Yount created the first Warrior dog-training program to provide a safe, effective, non-pharmaceutical intervention to help treat the symptoms of post-traumatic stress (PTS) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). The program, based at the Palo Alto VA’s Men’s Trauma Recovery Program in Menlo Park, CA evolved into a highly respected intervention. To date, hundreds of Service Members and Veterans suffering from symptoms of combat stress have participated.

Rick was asked in 2009 to establish the Warrior
dog-training program at Walter Reed Army Medical
Center’s Warrior Transition Brigade (WTB) in Washington, D.C. In October of 2010, he and the program were invited to be part of the PTSD and TBI research, treatment, and education mission at the new National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE), in Bethesda, MD – located at what is now the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

In 2011, Warrior Canine Connection was founded to expand the availability of this therapeutic service dog-training program to DoD and VA medical treatment facilities throughout the country, and to conduct research to establish this model as an evidence-based therapy for PTS and TBI.

Training a service dog for a fellow Veteran provides a valuable opportunity for a Warrior suffering from psychological injuries to reintegrate into civilian life. As part of his or her training, Warriors have the responsibility to teach the dogs that the world is a safe place. Through that process, they must convince themselves of the same.  

Warrior trainers are taught to praise and provide treats to their dogs when they experience a startling event, such as hearing a car backfire. Rather than turning inward to focus on their past trauma, the trainers must get outside of their own heads to focus on the dogs and their mission to help another Veteran. Additionally, dogs offer opportunities for Warrior trainers – who often isolate themselves from society – to experience positive interactions with members of the community. Their training requires emotionally numb Warriors to demonstrative positive emotion in order to successfully teach their dogs. 

Warrior Canine Connection trains and places Service Dogs for physical and psychiatric disabilities, Facility Dogs and Military Family Support Dogs. Applicants must agree to follow Warrior Canine Connection and Assistance Dogs International standards of care and ethics for working dogs; including adhering to all exercise, health, behavior and training regiments. In addition, all applicants must commit to maintaining the training level of each dog and give it opportunities to use its skills. Applicants must also attend a 2-3 week training camp at WCC headquarters and participate in ongoing follow-up visits and training for the lifetime of the partnership.

There is no fee for the dog or for the training.

For more information CLICK HERE

Kingsbrook Animal Hospital would like to thank all of America's Warriors for fighting for our freedom.

Presidental Pets

Engraving of George Washington with a Foxhound

Our founding father, George Washington, was a big fan of hound dogs, as most of us know. What you may not know is that the American Kennel Club recognizes Washington as the father of the Foxhound breed. George Washington bred French, English and American hounds to become what is now the Foxhound! It seems Washington was in general smitten with canines because in addition to a large number of hounds, he owned terriers, spaniels and a Newfoundland that resided at Mount Vernon. Washington was creative in the naming of pups. He had Coonhounds named Drunkard, Tipler, Taster and Tipsy, and Staghounds named Sweetlips, Scentwell and Vulcan. Washington was also a wealthy, accomplished equestrian and owned many stallions. His favorite was a stallion named Nelson that he rode in the Revolutionary War. Later, Nelson lived his old age out at Mount Vernon in return for his services during the war.

Lyndon Johnson with a furry friend



   Although Washington did not live in the White House, an array of animals have resided there since the time of our second President, John Adams. Adams was an admirer of horses and built the stable at the White House that housed his horse Cleopatra. He also owned 2 dogs named Juno and Satan.  Next in line was Thomas Jefferson. He quite possibly was the one who began the trend of unusual animals at the White House. In addition to some dogs, Jefferson also had a mockingbird. During their expedition across the United States, Lewis and Clarke sent a magpie, 2 grouse and a prairie dog to Jefferson. Even more unusual was a gift of 2 baby grizzlies bought from Indians and delivered across the country to Jefferson by horseback. For a time, the bears lived in a cage on the White House front lawn, but eventually they were sent to a museum.


Harry Truman's puppy, Feller



  After Jefferson, the resident animals of the White House became more odd. Tiger cubs, given to Martin VanBuran by a Sultan, stayed in the White House until Congress stepped in and had them sent to a zoo. John Quincy Adams had an alligator that lived in a bathtub for several months. This was not the only alligator to spend time at the White House! Herbert Hoover's son had 2 pet alligators that would visit and crawl on the grounds. This list goes on from goats, cows and one legged roosters,  to possums, black bears and Pygmy Hippos! Theodore Roosevelt and Calvin Coolidge had the most animals resulting in what could be considered a petting zoo! Coolidge's pet raccoon, Rebecca, was meant to be part of their Thanksgiving dinner. Coolidge found her to be too friendly and instead she became part of his menagerie until she got to rambunctious and was sent to Rock Creek Zoo! Thankfully, it is no longer politically correct to own exotic or wild animals so hopefully no more caged bears or alligators in bathtubs at the White House!


William Taft with Pauline Wayne the cow



   No matter what pet is living in the White House, we enjoy hearing about it. When we hear the name Socks we think of Bill Clinton and Barney and Millie conger up memories of the Bushes. Likewise, when a Portuguese Water Dog walks through the doors of Kingsbrook Animal Hospital, we are reminded of Sunny and Bo!

Noise Phobias in Dogs

 

This is the time of year when a lot of dog owners notice their dogs having Noise Phobias.  Whether it is from fireworks, thunderstorms, motorcycles or gunshots, dogs can show the same symptoms/reactions to these noises.  The most common fear reactions in dogs to these noises would be hiding, panting, trembling, and seeking attention from their owner. In severe cases, you may see destructive behaviors and or aggression.  The magnitude of these reactions can be based upon the severity of the dog’s phobia or the loudness of the sound.                                          

Here at Kingsbrook Animal Hospital, we see a lot of our patients with these fears to noises.  There are a few things that we recommend that you can try:

 The first would be desensitization to these loud noises.  There is a great website by Dr. Sophia Yin that is a great reference. To visit her website CLICK HERE.  Dr. Yin focuses on behavior modification and has lots of great tips for these types of situations. 

Ranee's Blossom modeling her pink Thundershirt

Another great option to try would be a thundershirt.  The concept of a thundershirt is to apply constant pressure and a feeling of comfort much like a baby being swaddled in a blanket.  For more information CLICK HERE.

Another option would be DAP or dog appeasing pheromones.  Pheromones naturally relax or affect an animal’s behavior.  These can be found in a collar, spray, or a plug in at any retail pet store.

In some cases these options are just not enough for a severe noise phobia. In that case, we do recommend an exam with one of our veterinarians to discuss medication options. 

Please feel free to call and speak with any of our staff here at KAH to discuss further if you think your dog may be having a noise phobia.