Leptospirosis Awareness

It's the start of Leptospirosis season, it's important to be aware, as there has been an increase of Lepto diagnosis in the past few years. This morning I was reading local news just for the Brooklyn, NY area, saying that two dogs have already died this week from Lepto, and many others had been treated. Leptospirosis is a life threatening illness. With treatment, it can have up to an 86% success rate, but treatment requires inpatient hospital care, up to a week on IV fluids, antibiotics, and in some cases hemodialysis.

Tip: When you take your dog to the park or out for a walk, don't let your dog run through standing water, as it may be a source of infection. The most common way Leptospirosis is spread is from the bacteria in urine from infected animals. If you can avoid walking through puddles, and wet areas it will reduce the chances of your dog being infected by Leptospirosis substantially.

Leptospirosis is a bacteria that thrives in warm, wet weather and will live in standing water and moist soil. It's spread by the bacteria in urine of rodents, skunks, raccoons, and other infected animals. From the time of infection, it will take between 3-14 days to start showing signs of illness. Once infected with Leptospirosis, the bacteria will settle in and begin damaging the kidneys. The signs include lack of energy, fever, lack of appetite, muscle aches, nausea, excessive thirst, and jaundice (yellow eyes).

Whether you should get the vaccine for Leptospirosis, is a judgement call. Numerous veterinarians will no longer recommend it because it's known for causing a variety of reactions, and in many cases will not prevent your dog from getting Lepto.

Portuguese Water Dog Rescue

The Portuguese Water Dog Club of America (PWDCA) is involved with Portuguese Water Dog rescue and relocation. One reason there aren't as many stray Portuguese Water Dogs, is that many of them are purchased from breeders, who encourage/require the new family to return the dog if the adoption doesn't work out. Even so, Portuguese Water Dogs are occasionally found as strays who have been lost or abandoned, in animal shelters, or being advertised in local newspapers. The PWDCA Portuguese Water Dog rescue will try to intervene in these situations, and find a safe haven and loving home for the dog.

The Portuguese Water Dog Rescue will try to locate the breeder, but if that's not possible, they will take full responsibility for the dog. They'll also provide free advice to Portuguese Water Dog owners who are having problems, such as training and behavioral assistance, in an attempt to help the owner keep their dog. There are people that for a variety of reasons, are simply unable to keep their dog, and turn them into the PWDCA Portuguese Water Dog rescue. In this case, they will accept the dog and search until they find a loving lifetime home. If every breed of dog had a dog rescue group like this, it would significantly reduce the homeless dog population.

More information about the Portuguese Water Dog rescue, can be found at the PWDCA website.

Butterick Patterns Dog Costume

If you like to sew, you may get a kick out of these patterns for dog coats. While I'm not selling any of these, you can find them by going to Butterick.com and typing "dog" in the search box. The butterick patterns dog costume packages may inspire you to create something warm and cozy in the next few months, just in time for the fall/winter season.






Included with each Butterick patterns dog costume package, they include patterns for XS, S, M, L, and XL dogs. That way, you can make one for your dog, and more for gift giving!

H3N8 Dog Flu - New Vaccine

H3N8 Dog Flu is just another term for Canine Influenza, a type of respiratory infection that has been around since 2004. Before that, it was a virus that infected horses, but mutated into the H3N8 Dog Flu. Since 2004, about 10,000 dogs have been infected, with a 5% mortality rate. In its current condition it's a threat, but it's possible it may become even more so, with further mutations. The USDA announced on June 23rd, 2009 they have approved a new vaccine for the H3N8 Dog Flu.

Bio-medicine.org reports, "Most dogs have no immunity to canine influenza because it is a novel pathogen and, therefore, the infection can spread quickly through animal shelters, adoption groups, pet stores, boarding kennels, veterinary clinics and any location where dogs congregate. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there is no evidence of transmission of the virus from dogs to people..."

The USDA indicates that this vaccine may not always prevent the H3N8 Dog Flu, but may lessen the severity of it. This vaccine is only approved for use with healthy dogs, and has a one year conditional license period, while they continue to evaluate it. In my case, I've decided not to be a guinea pig for this vaccine, as I'm not in a high risk group. Most likely a high percentage of shelters, breeders, and kennels will be vaccinating for H3N8 Dog Flu, as the results of a shelter wide infection would be so devastating.