Greenbrier Emergency Animal Hospital

Tremorgenic Mycotoxin Toxicity: The Moldy Shakes

admin — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:00:37 +0000

The compost pile, a seemingly innocuous feature of your outside garden, can seem like a great idea, for a variety of reasons. Unfortunately, this kind of eco-friendly heap of decomposing organic matter can also look like a free meal to your dog. As food in a compost pile starts to decay, a variety of molds can grow on it — molds that won’t always deter a dog from wanting to enjoy an outside feast. Many of these molds (at least 20 varieties are known to inhabit compost piles) produce mycotoxins that can have negative health effects. Ingesting even a small amount of mold can cause small muscle tremors and ataxia (which will cause your pet to look like he/she is drunk or having trouble walking) for a period of hours or days. A large amount of mold exposure can cause severe tremors, seizures and even death.

Spoiled food and fats in the compost pile can also cause gastrointestinal problems, including vomiting and diarrhea (sometimes bloody). Moldy dairy products such as cheese, moldy nuts such as walnuts or peanuts, moldy grains, and pastas are often the culprits behind these kinds of issues.

Apart from food found in compost piles, moldy refrigerator food thrown outside or in the trash can also potentially expose your dog to toxic molds. If you suspect that your pet has gotten into a compost pile or moldy trash, please take him/her to a vet immediately. Depending on whether the pet is showing signs of toxicity, your dog may be made to vomit. We never recommend the inducing of vomiting at home, due to possible complications. For instance, if your pet isn’t stable, he/she could inhale their own vomit or bloat. At the vet, a dose of activated charcoal is also often given to help absorb toxins from the GI tract.

Most dogs with this kind of mold toxicity likely will be kept in the hospital on IV fluids and given muscle relaxants to address any tremors, until the tremors cease. Antibiotics are also sometimes used to treat any diarrhea. A hospital stay can range from one day to several days, depending on how much mold your pet consumed and how quickly they were treated by a veterinarian.

Just like anything else, with mold toxicity, prevention is key. Keep compost piles in areas out of reach of your pet, or keep the material in a secure composting container. Also, don’t throw food away in inside trash cans. Most outside trash cans are much sturdier, and some are made to be difficult for a dog to open — even if the can is overturned. Finally, avoid throwing moldy food from your refrigerator in your backyard.

PODCAST: “Lar Par” in Dogs

admin — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 10:00:24 +0000

The larynx, which is the opening through which outside air flows into a dog’s lungs, allows for vocalization and prevents food inhalation (aspiration) — both of which are important functions. Paralysis of the larynx, otherwise known as laryngeal paralysis or “lar par” for short, means that one or both of the vocal folds do not open fully during breathing. The condition can occur in cats but is more common in dogs, and specifically in large-breed dogs. It can be hereditary in Bouviers, Huskies, Bull Terriers, Dalmatians and Rotweillers and is also commonly seen (but not necessarily hereditary) in Labs, Goldens, St. Bernards and Newfoundlands.

PODCAST: Oh No! My Pet Had a Seizure!

admin — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 10:00:29 +0000

Seizures can have a number of causes, including toxins, low blood sugar, low calcium, kidney or liver problems, blood clots to the brain or “strokes,” infectious diseases, inflammation of or around the brain, cancer, epilepsy, and trauma. In pets that are predisposed to having seizures, stress and different medications can also cause seizures. As well, seizures can also result from stopping certain medications.

PODCAST: Tremorgenic Mycotoxins

admin — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 10:00:59 +0000

Tremorgenic mycotoxins produced by molds on foods are a relatively common — and possibly under-diagnosed — cause of tremors and seizures in pet animals. Because of their relatively indiscriminate appetites, dogs tend to be most commonly exposed to tremorgens. These toxins are produced by a variety of fungi, but tremorgens produced by Penicillium spp. are the most commonly encountered. The molds grow on practically any food, including dairy products, grains, nuts and legumes, and compost piles may also provide a source of tremorgens. Tremorgens have a several different mechanisms of action: some alter nerve action potentials, some affect neurotransmitter action, and others change neurotransmitter levels. The overall result is the development of muscle tremors and seizures.

PODCAST: Canine Distemper — Make Sure Your Dog is Vaccinated!

admin — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 10:00:39 +0000

Canine distemper is a very serious, contagious virus found in dogs that attacks the immune system, making them more susceptible to other infections, including bacterial and parasitic infections. Sneezing, coughing, pneumonia, anorexia, fever, vomiting and diarrhea are all potential signs of this disease.

PODCAST: Ferrets as Pets?

admin — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:00:39 +0000

Dr. Tripp Stewart in this quick podcast will talk about ferrets and whether they have a place as pets.

PODCAST: Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:00:22 +0000

In this installment of Vet Tips, Dr. Tripp Stewart discusses Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus in detail.

PODCAST: Heartworm Disease

admin — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 10:00:32 +0000

In this installment of Vet Tips, Dr. Tripp Stewart discusses how heartworm disease spreads and affects dogs, cats and ferrets. He argues that prevention is the key to avoiding expensive treatment.

Nicotine Toxicity in Pets

admin — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:00:14 +0000

Recently here at Greenbrier Emergency Animal Hospital, we had a patient that presented with full body tremors, was drooling, was excited, and started vomiting and experiencing diarrhea. The owner had stated the dog was normal in the morning, and the dog’s presentation condition was consistent with her getting into something. However, after asking the owner numerous questions, we were unable to identify what the dog potentially could have ingested. It wasn’t until the next morning, when the owner was smoking, that she noticed several cigarette butts in front of her house were missing.

Nicotine toxicity in dogs and cats is more common than most people think, and it is especially common in pets with owners who leave cigarette packs out or toss cigarette butts outside. Nicotine is most commonly found in cigarettes, cigars, nicotine gum and candy, and nicotine transdermal patches. The average cigarette (depending on the brand, blend and whether it is marketed as a “light cigarette”) contains 13-40 mg of nicotine, and it doesn’t take much nicotine to cause problems — the lethal dose for a dog is 9.2 mg of nicotine per kilogram of your pet’s body weight. Incidentally, an average cigarette butt contains about 25 percent of the nicotine present in an unsmoked cigarette, so they can be toxic as well.

Nicotine gum actually has to be chewed — not swallowed (which most dogs will do) — to release nicotine. However, the sweetener xylitol, which is also toxic to pets, is often added to nicotine gum.

Once nicotine is ingested, signs typically develop within 15-90 minutes. However, in some cases it can take hours for symptoms to emerge. Initially you might see your pet being hyperactive or acting overexcited. They might also start drooling, experience vomiting or diarrhea, or even look like they are having trouble breathing. At higher doses or for longer exposures, your pet might show signs of weakness, start twitching or having muscle tremors, have an elevated heart rate, collapse, and even die. So nicotine toxicity is a potentially life-threatening condition.

As with any toxicity, early treatment and diagnosis are crucial, so be sure to bring your pet to your regular vet or to Greenbrier Emergency Animal Hospital. If your pet is not already vomiting upon arrival, a drug is typically given to make them vomit. Activated charcoal is also administered to help absorb nicotine from the GI tract. Your pet will also likely be put on IV fluids; started on antacids; and given oxygen, if they are having trouble breathing. Usually within 24 hours of treatment, your pet should be almost back to normal (although diarrhea can sometimes take 1-3 days to resolve).

Our cigarette butt eater here at Greenbrier came through just fine, but the experience should serve as a reminder to all pet owners who smoke: Keep your cigarettes, cigars and other nicotine-containing products out of reach of your pet. And think twice before just tossing that cigarette butt!

Cranial Cruciate Ligament (CCL) Rupture in Pets

admin — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 10:00:27 +0000

One of the most common problems we see at Greenbrier Emergency Animal Hospital is lameness, and one of the most common causes is a cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) rupture.

The cranial cruciate ligament is found in the knee and prevents abnormal rotation of the joint, much like the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in humans. When the CCL ruptures, pets experience different degrees of lameness in the hind end. The injury typically isn’t acute, but rather stems from chronic degeneration that ultimately leads to lameness from a seemingly minor event (e.g., running in the yard or engaging in normal activity). Overweight pets; pets with abnormal conformation of the knee joint; and certain dog breeds, including Labradors and Rottweilers, are more predisposed to experiencing these kinds of injuries.

So what should you do if your pet is lame? Take him/her to your primary care veterinarian or Greenbrier Emergency Animal Hospital in Charlottesville, Virginia, to have the problem evaluated. On physical examination, the veterinarian may find “cranial drawer,” a term used to describe abnormal movement in the knee after a ligament rupture. Some pets have such strong musculature surrounding their knee that they may need to be sedated for the vet to be able to feel the abnormal movement. Next, the vet will likely recommend radiographs (x-rays) of the knee.

So what happens if your pet has been diagnosed with a CCL rupture? Most pets do best with surgery. Some smaller pets can recover with conservative therapy, which includes pain medication and strict exercise restriction for several months. Larger pets most often need surgery, and there are several different surgical options, depending on the pet’s size. Even with surgery, your pet will have to be exercise-restricted, but the recovery period is often shorter — and overall improvement often better — with surgery.

Now, when we talk about strict exercise restriction, we mean STRICT. No running, jumping, playing, chasing, being off-leash, jumping on the bed or roughhousing. As the rupture begins to heal and pets start to feel better, they will likely want to run and jump, and that type of exertion too early in the recovery process is one of the main reasons for surgical failure. What’s more, pets diagnosed with cruciate ruptures are more likely to rupture the cruciate in the other knee as well, and such a likelihood is increased if they are not exercise-restricted appropriately. So following a CCL rupture, keep your pet as calm as possible; sometimes it can be hard and seem like forever, but it will pay off in the end!

Another tip that will help with the recovery process is keeping your pet from licking at the surgical site — you may need an e-collar (a cone that goes around your pet’s head) to make that happen. Another cause of surgical failure is infection, so make sure your pet is taking all medications prescribed by your veterinarian.

One more important step in recovery for many of our patients is weight loss. Losing even just a few pounds will improve the recovery period and decrease the chance of having problems in the other knee. Weight-reduction plans as a preventive measure can reduce the risk of tearing the cruciate in the first place.

If your pet has been diagnosed with a cranial cruciate rupture and you have any questions, please call your primary care veterinarian, or give us a call here at Greenbrier Emergency Animal Hospital.