Petfinder Blog

Dr. Lauren Brickman writes a pet health and care column for Petside.com. Read all the Q&As she's shared with Petfinder here.

Q: My Cocker Spaniel swallowed a small, round lamb chop bone whole. Are there signs that this may be hurting her? Should I wait to see if she can pass it, or take her to her vet immediately?

A: Hopefully, since this is a small bone, it will pass. It is important to monitor your dog for signs of a gastric or intestinal obstruction. Some of these signs are:

• vomiting
  
• unwillingness to eat
• lethargy
• a painful belly

You should see your vet immediately if your dog exhibits any of these signs.

If you have questions about your pet's health, you can submit them to Dr. Lauren at drlauren@petside.com.

Petfinder has helped pets find homes since 1995 -- and now we're launching FurKeeps, a new campaign designed to help KEEP pets in homes.

At Petfinder.com/FurKeeps, you'll find links to a New Adopters Checklist and First 30 Days tips for both cats and dogs -- as well as resources for handling the problems most likely to cause a pet to be surrendered to a shelter:

• Moving
• Behavioral issues
• Cost
• Pet health problems
• Pet aggression

We're so excited about FurKeeps, we're throwing a week-long kick-off from March 8-14:

• A Twitter scavenger hunt with fun prizes at 11am and 4pm Monday-Saturday! #FurKeeps
• A live Facebook chat with some of our FurKeeps experts, including:
• Liz Marsden, C.P.D.T. Monday, March 8, 12-2pm EST
• Dr. Grant Gugisberg D.V.M. Tuesday, March 9, 12-2pm EST
• Pia Silvani, C.P.D.T. Wednesday, March 10, 12-2pm EST
• Jacque Schultz, MA C.P.D.T. Thursday, March 11, 12-2pm EST
• Elise "Ledy" Van Kavage, Esq. Friday, March 12, 12-2pm EST
• A week-long Ask the Experts forum with our experts, including dog and cat behaviorists, veterinarians, a small-animal expert and others where your questions will be answered within 24 hours. (Meet all our experts here.)

Want to take part? Become a Petfinder fan on Facebook and keep an eye out for updates. See you there!

Dr. Lauren Brickman writes a pet health and care column for Petside.com. Read all the Q&As she's shared with Petfinder here. 

Q: My Black Lab gets chronic ear infections. What causes this and how can I prevent it?

A: Dogs have differently shaped ear canals than humans do. Theirs are shaped like an "L," which allows more debris to become trapped inside the ear.

Certain breeds, such as Labradors and others with long, hanging ears, are more at risk of getting ear infections. Other dogs, like poodles, have a lot of hair in their ear canals that puts them at risk for infections when wax and dirt become trapped within the hair. Any breed of dog that has a type of allergic skin disease can suffer with chronic ear infections as well.

Read the rest of Dr. Lauren's answer after the jump.

Guest blogger, Joshua Cary, runs a successful pet sitting business in New York and is the co-creator of PetSittingOlogy, a site devoted to giving pet sitters the tools, guidance and resources they need to become responsible, caring and much-appreciated pet sitters.

Finding a professional and reliable pet sitter you can stick with for life shouldn't be as nerve wracking as a visit from your in-laws.

Each day, more pet sitters are taking to the web as potential clients search online for their perfect match.

Here's a checklist of what to look for -- and what to look out for -- when doing your initial research online.

1. First Impressions Count
   Your first impressions really are everything. Trust your gut and listen to your instincts. How do you initially feel when you arrive at a potential pet sitter's Web site?
   
   Ask yourself questions like, "Does the company have a professional logo? Did I easily find the info I was looking for?"
   
   The way you initially feel about this Web site is a strong indication of how you might feel about the pet sitter.


2. The Basics
   Many pet sitter Web sites forget to provide the simple basics that allow you to make an informed decision.
   
   Make sure you can find an email address, phone number, contact form, service area, a list of services offered and a list of (at least general) service fees to minimize your time.
   
   In my experience, how professionally a pet sitter runs a Web site is indicative of the amount of professionalism you can expect from his or her service.

Today's guest blogger, Dr. Lauren Brickman, started as a veterinary technician at Garden City Park in 1997 and went on to veterinary school at Ross University. She currently writes a popular pet health and care column for Petside.com that she has shared with us today.

Q: I take vitamins every day. Should my dog and cat take vitamins too?

See Dr. Lauren's answer after the jump.

Today's guest blogger, Dr. Lauren Brickman, started as a veterinary technician at Garden City Park in 1997 and went on to veterinary school at Ross University. She currently writes a popular pet health and care column for Petside.com that she has shared with us today.

Q: My cat gets awful motion sickness! Every time I take him to the vet he throws up in the car. Is there something I can give him to be able to travel short distances?

A: Many animals get motion sickness in the car, just like some people do. This may be because your cat is not used to car rides. If you only take him in the car once a year he doesn't have much time to get used to trips.

See the rest of Dr. Lauren's answer after the jump.

Today's guest blogger, Dr. Lauren Brickman, started as a veterinary technician at Garden City Park in 1997 and went on to veterinary school at Ross University. She currently writes a popular pet health and care column for Petside.com that she has shared with us today.

Q: I recently adopted a Pug. In the paperwork that came with him it says not to give him the Leptospirosis shot.

I have always given my pugs this shot, but my new pug was never given it because of the fear of reaction.

What is your opinion on this? My vet says it's up to me. I want to do what's best for my dogs.

Read Dr. Lauren's answer after the jump.

Today's guest blogger, Dr. Lauren Brickman, started as a veterinary technician at Garden City Park in 1997 and went on to veterinary school at Ross University. She currently writes a popular pet health and care column for Petside.com that she has shared with us today.

Q: I have a four-year-old Yorkie/Fox Terrier mix who has had two seizures since September.

The first was during a thunderstorm -- he takes Acepromazine (ACE) for those -- about 45 minutes after his dose. The vet told me it was probably due to the storm and excitement.

Then, about three weeks ago, he had another one -- at home during a quiet evening.

What causes seizures in a healthy dog?

Read Dr. Lauren's answer after the jump.

A New York dog has contracted the first confirmed case of the H1N1 Swine Flu virus to occur in domesticated U.S. dogs, according to a recent CBS News report.

Though the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) had previously recorded cases of the Swine Flu occurring in cats, ferrets and poultry, no U.S. cases of human-to-dog transmission had been confirmed until now.

The 13-year-old mixed breed male, which is recovering, apparently caught the virus from its owner. But Michael San Filippo, a spokesman for the American Veterinary Medical Association, said there's no evidence that the flu strain can be transmitted from a pet to a person.

"In theory it could happen, but so far it's really looking like a dead end in pets," he said. (CBS News)

According to the AVMA's Swine Flu FAQ sheet, pet parents shouldn't panic or consider giving up their pets for fear of infection. So help spread the word to other pet parents!

You are much more likely to catch the flu (any type of flu, including the 2009 H1N1 flu) from an infected person than you are from an animal. So far, all of the pets infected with the 2009 H1N1 virus became infected from being around their ill owners. (AVMA Swine Flu FAQ sheet)

Experts are still unsure how serious the Swine Flu strain is in dogs and cats, due to the relatively small number of confirmed cases. While the New York dog is recovering, fatalities have been reported in both cats and ferrets.

Get flu symptoms and prevention tips after the jump.

Guest blogger, Dr. Lauren Brickman, started as a veterinary technician at Garden City Park in 1997 and went on to veterinary school at Ross University. She currently writes a popular pet health and care column for Petside.com that she has shared with us today.

Q: My nearly two-year-old male Labradoodle has to take benedryl for allergies and hates pills and medications. I have tried the peanut butter method and the pill on the back of the tongue method.

With the peanut butter, he will still manage to spit out the pill, and with the pill on the back of the tongue, he flatly refuses to swallow and I can't justify making him sit there while holding his mouth closed for 20-30 minutes at a time. Any other suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Read Dr. Lauren's answer after the jump.