DON'T LET THE CUTENESS FOOL YOU...Continued

MacTavish recuperating after his first surgery to correct elbow dysplasia. 

Does this photo not tug at your heart strings? How can this little boy be nasty? When I warn people about him the reply is usually something like "oh but all dogs love me" as they approach him, not heeding my warning, and then when they are inches from his face and he lunges at them - teeth bared with every intention of biting - they seem surprised.   

Loving an aggressive dog as you can imagine comes with a plethora of problems; you have to be on your toes every second, have eyes in the back of your head, and be prepared for anything!! 

Our family lives on a court bustling with young children, who MacTavish loves to sit, watch and bark at. On one occasion he was sitting in his usual spot "keeping watch" and he saw one of the kids on our front lawn. He jumped up on the screen door with such force and determination and because the door wasn't latched properly it flew open. MacTavish bolted after the child and I bolted after him and screamed "STOP". Well the child certainly listened and came to a complete halt; luckily his father was right there to pick him up into his arms. That moment changed things for me; I realized that MacTavish truly was a very dangerous dog and if I wanted to keep him I had to make some drastic decisions and changes.  

I started to investigate some options and decided to try a "tens collar".  The collar sends a controlled impulse when a dog exhibits behaviour that is not acceptable. There are different levels on the collar and I have tested the levels on myself so I know what is uncomfortable. The idea is when he displays the negative behaviour and becomes so focused and immersed in his aggression that he is not aware of anything else going on around him, sending the electric impulse acts the same as someone tapping you on the shoulder to get your attention: "snap out of it" and then the behaviour stops. Some may say it's drastic, even cruel,  and I would have agreed with them before trying it but if I wanted to keep my dog alive and the community safe this is what I had to do. I did not make the decision lightly but once I had and spoke to others who knew MacTavish they were all in agreement that this was the most effective and quickest way to stop him from injuring someone. The problem with other methods for MacTavish is they would have taken a long time to get the desired behaviour from him (if at all) and time was not on our side. We needed him to change immediately. It is not the same as training your dog to sit, stay, walk calmly on a leash; those training behaviours can be taught over time if needed but with severe aggression every minute is too long. I am happy to say MacTavish has responded very well to the collar and we have gotten to a point now that just having the collar on is good enough.

I hope by sharing my story and the informed decision I made it will help others and give them options perhaps they have not explored.

So if you see MacTavish walking on the street I would still encourage you not to approach him...just admire him from a distance!

Sandra McBride, Practice Manager
Bowmanville Veterinary Clinic 

I Found a Baby Bird ...How Can I Help?

What kind of bird have I found?

Baby birds fall into two general categories based on how developed they are when they hatch.  These two categories are altricial and precocial.  To determine how to help the baby, the first step is to determine which of these groups it belongs to. 

Altricial  -  Altricial birds are naked or have only sparse down when they hatch.  Even once their feathers have grown in, babies often have patches of skin visible.  Many altricial babies open their mouths for food, and they can’t move around well until they are feathered.  All songbirds are altricial.  Hawks, owls, doves, crows, woodpeckers and herons are also examples of altricial birds. 

Altricial birds stay in the nest for 1-3 weeks.  When they are strong enough to jump around, they leave the nest, often before they can fly!  Their parents feed them both in the nest and for a period of time after they have left. 

Precocial – Precocial birds hatch fully covered with soft down and are walking or running within hours of hatching (usually within a day or two) and then follow their parents around on foot or in the water for a number of weeks. 

Examples of some common precocial birds are geese, swans, ducks and killdeer.  Precocial baby birds can eat on their own and do not depend on their parents to feed them.  However they do need their parents to keep them warm at night, to act as role models, and to protect them from predators.

How to help precocial baby birds – Precocial birds remain in the care of their parents at all times until they have adult feathers.  It would not be normal to find, for example, a downy duckling or gosling waddling around by itself.  A parent should be very close by at all times, protecting its baby from predators.  If you have found a precocial baby bird and no parent is in sight (or none that seems to be watching out for the baby), place the baby in a box in a warm, dark, quiet place and contact a wildlife rehabilitator.  It is very important to get the baby to a rehabilitator quickly and not to play with it in the meantime, as even a small amount of direct exposure to people can be harmful to precocial babies and impair their ability to survive in the wild.

How to help altricial baby birds - There are many altricial species, but songbird babies are the ones more commonly found by people. Babies of all of these species are no bigger than a tennis ball (and some much smaller), and usually gape their mouths open for food when approached.  Call a wildlife rehabilitator for further advice if you have found an altricial baby bird that has:  a) a body that is bigger than a tennis ball, or b) a body completely covered in fine yellow or white hairs, or c) a sharply hooked beak, or a beak longer than its head

If you find a warm, unfeathered or sparsely feathered baby bird on the ground that does not appear to be sick or injured but cannot hop around on its own, it is probably a NESTLING.  If you definitely know which nest the baby originated from and you can do so safely, replace the baby in its nest.  The nest will probably be directly overhead or very nearby, and should have identical siblings in it.  If the nest has been destroyed, but you know where it was, make a new one!  Use a large clean margarine tub with a few holes poked in the bottom, or a berry basket, with dry grass packed tightly inside it to form a cup shape.  Tuck the babies into the nest so they are sitting upright.  Place the new nest out of direct sunlight, in the same location as the original nest.  This will allow the parent birds to locate their babies.  Thread some wire through the holes on the bottom of the container and twist it around the tree branch or other surface to hold it in place.  Parents WILL accept babies that have been handled by humans, but try to minimize handling anyway.  Do not feed the baby anything, or give it water.  Watch from a distance to make sure a parent comes to feed the baby within 1-2 hours.

Not all birds nest in trees!

European Starlings, for example, build their nests in crevices, such as inside a roof or exhaust vent of a building, or even a hydro box or a lamp pole.  One of the most distinctive traits of baby starlings is that the insides of their mouths and sides of their beaks are bright yellow.

If you find a nest of starlings that as fallen or been removed from its original location, you can build a false nest using a clean 4-litre jug with a 9cm x 9cm square cut out of the front (leave the top side of the square attached and bend the cut flap outward to form an awning under which the parent can perch).  Poke small holes in the bottom and the sides of the container, then tuck the nesting material and babies snugly inside.  Hang the bottle in a shaded area over top of the original nest entry point and watch from a distance to make sure an adult bird is returning to feed the babies.  

They go around on the ground:  Babies that have already left the nest are called FLEDGLINGS.  Fledglings are fully feathered but will have a short stubby tail (relative to the adults of the species), and sometimes have little tufts of down sticking through their feathers.  They also often have yellow or white skin along the side of their beaks and will open their mouths for food.  You may see them on the ground hopping around or fluttering their wings.  Fledglings often leave the nest before they are able to fly.  The parents feed then frequently and care for them on the ground and in areas surrounding the nest.  They are vulnerable at this time, but this is an important stage in their development, and they need to stay where they can receive their parents’ care.  You can help them to survive by keeping cats indoors and dogs on a leash.

Are the parents caring for their baby? If you have found a fledgling bird and you are concerned that it may be orphaned, a good way to test if its parents have been caring for it is to see if it is pooping normally.  Parent birds feed their babies frequently and as a result, a healthy baby bird will poop often.  If the bird poops within one hour of when you find it and the feces has both white and dark colours in it, then it has been fed recently by its parents and should be left where it was found, unless the area is so dangerous that the parents cannot return to feed the baby (such as the middle of a highway).  You should not feed a baby bird without talking to a wildlife rehabilitator, and if you have fed the baby, this will not be a reliable test.  If you have fed it, return the baby to where it was found and watch from a good distance away for one hour to see if the parents return to feed the baby.  Be sure to watch constantly as parents can feed the baby and fly away quickly.  If no parents return, or the baby is not pooping or its poop is all white, contact a wildlife rehabilitator for further advice.

WARNING SIGNS:  How to tell is a bird needs help – If the baby appears to be sick or injured, do not try to reunite it with its parents.  Watch out in particular for these signs:

a)      the baby has been picked up, played with or attacked by a cat (you should assume the bird is injured even if it looks fine).

b)      It is fully covered in feathers but cannot stand up or is falling over

c)       It is keeping its eyes closed most of the time

d)    It is sitting in an exposed area (like the middle of a sidewalk) for long periods of time, not avoiding people or not trying to hide

If the baby does need help….  If you think a baby bird is injured, sick, or orphaned, put it in a box.  Put the box in a warm, quiet, dark place.  Do not give the bird anything to eat.  Altricial baby birds depend on their parents to give them the right food so babies will usually eat whatever is put in their mouths, even if it is the wrong food for them.  The wrong foods or improper feeding techniques can cause a lot of harm.

Never put water or other liquid in a baby bird’s gaping mouth, as babies easily inhale liquid, which can cause serious illness.

Call a wildlife rehabilitator immediately for further instructions.  Baby birds need professional care, proper socialization, and frequent feedings of appropriate food.  Trying to raise baby birds without proper training can be very harmful to the baby, and is against provincial and federal laws.

Other ways to help…

a) Spread the word.  Let your neighbours know about nestlings and fledglings.

b) Avoid using pesticides, especially in the spring and summer.

c) Try to avoid trimming trees and bushes between April and September, as this can  disturb nests.  It is against the law to disturb nesting birds.

d) Keep your cat indoors.  Cats are the #1 cause of injury to altricial baby birds.

e) Donate to or volunteer for a wildlife rehabilitator to help care for sick, injured and orphaned birds. 

I Own A Husky-Why Pee Scares Me!!!

As mentioned in my previous blog, Kenzie and I spend a great deal of time outdoors walking in the beautiful fields and woods north of Bowmanville. This area is also home to an abundance of wildlife.

The owner of an active out-doorsy type of dog does have to consider more vaccines to protect their animal in comparison to those dogs that rarely go outside. These are called life style vaccines.

Although I know the importance of all vaccines through my work as a Technician at Bowmanville Veterinary Clinic, one disease in particular worries me... Even as a very young puppy I wanted to start Kenzie's protection against Leptospirosis ASAP. This vaccine can be given in combination with your dogs Distemper virus/Parvovirus/Adenovirus vaccine. It is administered twice in the puppy series and yearly thereafter.

Leptospirosis sp. are bacteria that are most commonly spread through the urine of wildlife or unvaccinated dogs. This is why pee or urine scares me. The transmission of this disease is as simple as a squirrel urinating near a puddle of water, Kenzie walking in it and then licking her feet when she gets home. This past winter with the amount of snow we had I was able to see very clearly how many times dogs or other wildlife urinated along the paths I walked. Recently I thought I would count urine for the heck of it and saw 150 different spots over a 3 KM path at the local conservation area. Winter is not the time of year when Lepto is usually transmitted but it reiterates how much urine is out there, and not being able to see these areas in the summer and fall when Leptospirosis is more prevalent makes protection even more important.

At Bowmanville Veterinary Clinic we see several cases of Leptospirosis each year. The dogs that come in are usually very sick. Signs and symptoms can resemble many other diseases. For us this is of importance because the other reason pee scares me is that this disease can be transmitted to humans. The medical term for this is zoonosis. There have been many cases of death in humans from Leptospirosis. The one incident that sticks in my mind was of a 16 year old kennel student in the United States who contracted and then died from Leptospirosis after spraying down a run that had housed a Leptospirosis-infected dog.

The number of cases of Leptospirosis is on the rise in Southern Ontario. At Bowmanville Veterinary Clinic we recommend protecting your dog against this potentially life threatening disease if they go outside at all.

There is a wealth of information regarding Leptospirosis but I have included a really great website for you to learn more about this serious disease: Boehringer's Canine Leptospirosis Page: http://www.leptoinfo.ca/

Diane McGill  RVT
Bowmanville Veterinary Clinic

Introducing a New Pet to the Household

Ideally, you want to introduce a new pet slowly.  We had great plans for introducing Joy, our new kitten, to Gus and George, our older pets.  In my case we wanted to confine our new kitten, Joy, to a room in the house with litter and water and a bed to sleep in, spending lots of time with Joy, and with the older pets, individually.  Once Joy became comfortable, we would allow her access to the rest of the house while confining other pets.  In my defense, I did try to keep them separate, but Joy was more interested in investigating her new home and kept escaping into the rest of the apartment!  Introducing Joy to the dogs should have been done through a gate in the doorway, blocking the dogs from entering while allowing the new kitten the security of her safe place.  Each would have been fed treats so they associate their introduction with yummy treats.  We were planning on letting our new kitten set the pace.  If she hid, we would have let her, allowing her introduction to take a little longer.  Taking things slowly could help avoid a bad first impression.

The best laid plans!  Joy escaped my daughter’s room, where her bed, food, toys and litter were kept.  We were not ready for her introduction and neither were any of the other animals in the house!  Gus, one of our Shih Tzu's, saw Joy run and immediately his prey drive kicked in.   He went tearing after her at full speed, scaring her into action too.  It is a small apartment so she just ran in the opposite direction from Gus and found herself in a dead end, the bathroom.  We all followed, intending to rescue our new kitten from the big bad Shih Tzu.  The bathroom appeared empty except for Gus, who was sniffing around in search of what he thought would be his new favorite toy.  No sign of Joy in the bathroom, so we assumed she had doubled back without our noticing.  As we were leaving the bathroom I took one last look behind the door and there she was, in typical Sylvester style, claws locked into the wall balancing precariously on the top of the wainscoting, the hair on her back and tail straight up, and a look of sheer terror in her eyes.

That was their first introduction.  I worried that it would set the scene for the rest of their existence.  Luckily for us, Joy is a sparky girl with a huge attitude and a very forgiving personality.  She has indeed become Gus’ favorite toy but the feeling is totally mutual.  They often chase each other through the apartment and are later found curled up next to each other, the best of friends.

Laurie Hancock, Receptionist 

Bowmanville Veterinary Clinic