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| Phyllis Giroux, DVM, CAC | FC Cock of the Walk "Rooster" (click for large picture) |
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| Phyllis Giroux, DVM, CAC | FC Cock of the Walk "Rooster" (click for large picture) |
All Deep Run dogs stay on heartworm preventative medication year round. Our pups start on heartworm preventative when they reach 12 weeks of age, and will stay on it for the rest of their lives.
We use Interceptor heartworm preventative, and give it on the first of each month. This not only prevent our dogs from getting heartworms, it also prevents them from getting roundworms, hookworms or whipworms. As many of our dogs compete in field events, or travel with us doing exhibitions and demonstrations, they are constantly exposed to many different types of parasites. We may travel south in the winter, to hunt, train, or compete. Keeping our dogs on Interceptor year round is a way to insure that they will be protected from Heartworms, Roundworms, Hookworms, and Whipworms regardless of where we travel.
There is another monthly form of Heartworm preventative called Heartgard. Heartgard Plus is also a safe, effective means of preventing heartworm, roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms.
I would certainly recommend you keep your dog on one or another of these medications.
Some people try to save money by mixing up a solution of injectable Ivermectin and giving this to their dog once a month. Ivermectin is the active ingredient in Heartgard. The cost of keeping a 65 pound dog on an approved heartworm preventative is approximately $6.00 per month. This is about the cost of a sandwich, drink and fires at the local fast food franchise, or two beers at the local bar. In my opinion, if you are unwilling to spend that much to keep your dog free of parasites, you are not doing the dog justice. Isn't your dog worth the best you can give him?
Canine Influenza is REAL! Northern Virginia has seen a large number of cases of Canine Influenza.
This is a NEW respiratory virus that can affect dogs of all ages and breeds. Persistent coughing, high fevers, and some deaths have been reported.
There is a vaccine, a series of 2 inoculations, that is available. If your dog goes to dog shows, hunt tests, field trials, training classes, dog parks, or anywhere where other dogs are (including the vet’s office) you should consider vaccination.
For more information, visit doginfluenza.com or download the attached brochure.
I recently had the opportunity to travel to College Station, Texas to attend a three day seminar on Canine Reproduction. This course featured detailed information on ovulation timing in the bitch, and stressed the importance of doing prebreeding vaginal cultures to insure conception. The bitch has a limited number of viable heat cycles in her life, probably no more than twelve, and once we decide to breed, we should do everything in our power to ensure conception. This will involve culturing the female once she comes into heat, treating her if she is infected, testing her for brucellosis, and timing her to detect ovulation. This must be followed up by breeding at the appropriate time, with semen of adequate quality to ensure fertilization. 
The advantages of Artificial Insemination, with fresh, chilled, or frozen semen are numerous. First, we can evaluate the semen for quality of sperm, and check for infections in the male. Second, we can be sure the semen is deposited in the reproductive tract of the female, at the appropriate time. Third, by using chilled or frozen semen, we can breed to superior stud dogs that we might not be accessible to us on the basis of geography, or their availability due to training or competition. The course covered techniques for collecting and processing chilled and frozen semen. I plan to incorporate these ideas both into our own breeding program here at Deep Run, and into the breeding services we offer to you, our clients.
A method of health care that treats the biomechanics of joint functions. Chiropractic care corrects a misalignment of vertebral bones and restores proper functioning of the nervous system.
To keep your dog functioning as a canine athlete and operating at peak performance. Your dog may have suffered a trauma such as a slip, fall, automobile accident, or blow which caused a vertebra misalignment in its spinal column. (Even stresses during the birthing process could create misalignment.) The symptoms of even a very slight misalignment may include lameness, neck and back pain, epilepsy, stiffness and pain in older animals, bed wetting, and many other diseases.
Your dog is first given a physical exam to determine if any health problems require surgical or medical attention. Then your dog undergos a chiropractic analysis to determine the health of its spine and any spinal vertebrae that may require adjustment. You will be notified of recommendations to pursue medical attention or chiropractic care.
Owners tell us all the time about how good their dog feels after receiving chiropractic care. One of the most exciting things that happens in almost all the dogs we treat is an improvement in the dog's attitude.
Animals recover very rapidly as a rule, but older dogs and more serious problems take more time. Age and physical condition, extent of damage, duration of the problem, and owner cooperation are all factors in 'get well' time.
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