Author: Dr. Vidt

      Separation anxiety is just one of a wide variety of behavior disorders which can affect dogs in general. These include obsessive-compulsive disorders, various phobias, panic attacks, ect. These disorders are probably not new conditions, but therapy, behavior modification techniques, and training methods to treat them. Separation anxiety appears to one of the most common behavior disorders that veterinarians encounter. Symptoms of separation anxiety commonly occur in the owners absence and include:     Elimination- urinating and/or defecating indoors when owner is gone. Destruction- chewing woodwork, furniture, carpeting, ect, when the owner is not in the house. This also includes...

Immunoglobulins are a group of serum proteins found in the blood and are commonly known as “antibodies”. There are five major classes of immunoglobulins called IgM, IgG, IgA, IgE and IgD. IgG and IgM are the immunoglobulins associated with responses to infectious agents, foreign proteins and protective antibodies. IgE is an immunoglobulin associated with allergic responses and IgD appears to be associated with skin allergic responses. IgA is the major immunoglobulin in the external secretions of the dog and is found in the saliva, tears, and mucous secretions . It is of critical importance in protecting the intestinal, respiratory, urinary,...

Epilepsy is a disorder of the brain characterized by recurring seizures. Seizures, fits and convulsions are synonyms which are used interchangeably to describe the manifestations of abnormal brain activity, usually involving a generalized motor component. A convulsion is used to describe seizures with a generalized motor component. Seizures can be confused with fainting episodes (syncope); narcolepsy which is a disorder characterized by sudden recurring attacks of sleep, collapsing episodes, activated sleep in young dogs, acute vestibular syndrome in older dogs (“stroke”), etc. A seizure is really abnormal electrical activity in one area of the brain (a focus) which can affect...

Odor in SP can often be isolated to one of several areas: Mouth odor — usually due to dental problems, lip fold infections, chin infection, mouth tumors. Bad breath can also occur with kidney failure (uremic poisoning), dehydration, oral injuries, oral foreign objects or be diet related. Ear problems –yeast infections, bacterial infections, food and hay fever- type allergies. Eyes — associated with increased drainage due to entropion, mucopurulent discharge seen in keratoconjunctivitis sicca (“dry eye”), glaucoma, rubbing and itching the eyes related to allergic disease (hay fever, food) and increased tearing with prolapsed gland of the third eyelid (“cherry...

In 1995 a primary immunodeficiency syndrome was described in Chinese Shar-Pei dogs1. This was a multiple immunodeficiency involving antibody – and cell-mediated responses in a group of 10 Chinese Shar-Pei dogs. Abnormally low levels of serum IgM and IgA were observed in most of the cases and low levels of IgG in fewer cases. Clinical presentations involved several organ systems and was associated with recurrent infections and malignancy. The dogs were presented with recurrent bouts of inflammatory disease and exhibited gastrointestinal, respiratory and cutaneous signs. The mean age at time of clinical onset was 3 years. Two of the four...

Check for pregnancy 30 days after last breeding via palpation, relaxin blood test or ultrasound examination. Feeding the bitch: 5th week of pregnancy – increase food by 25% 6th week of pregnancy – increase feeding by 50% 7th week of pregnancy – increase feeding by 75% 8th week of pregnancy and lactation- free choice feeding. Also feed the bitch smaller meals more often as the pregnancy progresses since the stomach is being crowded by the developing pups. Regular adult maintenance diet is fine and no supplements are needed due to the increase in food being consumed. X-ray bitch at day...

In veterinary medicine the death of an animal patient is often thought of as the end of a medical case. However until a thorough post-mortem examination is completed, the case is not closed. In fact, the post-mortem examination (autopsy, necropsy) is a very useful and necessary procedure in the diagnostic process as it often defines the cause of death. Why do a post-mortem examination? A good post-mortem has five benefits: Benefit to the owner/breeder: It may reveal deficiencies in husbandry practices which can be modified or corrected. It may reveal hereditary and/or congenital (birth) defects which may influence future breeding...

As you come in the door that afternoon you know something is wrong. Your 3 month-old Shar-Pei pup is not at the door to greet you. You search the house and find him in the family room huddled in the corner, ears down, tail limp, droopy eyes, breathing heavily and coughing softly. He feels warm to the touch. His temperature is 104°F and you know you’ve got trouble. The scenario above is pretty typical for pneumonia in the Chinese Shar-Pei. It often occurs in pups 8 – 16 weeks old and seems to come out of nowhere. The only specific...

In veterinary medicine we are limited in the number of oral pain medications we can use for control of pain. NONSTEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUGSor NSAID’s include two distinct subclasses: the carboxylic acids and the enolic acids. The carboxylic acid group can be further subdivided into the salicylates, proprionic acid derivatives and fenamic acids. ASPIRIN, a salicylate, is a very common, mild analgesic (pain relieving) medication. It is useful for the low-grade pain of arthritis and minor trauma. It is available over-the-counter and is inexpensive. IT IS TOXIC IN CATS! The most common side-effects are gastrointestinal irritation. NAPROXEN (Aleve®),IBUPROFEN (Motrin®, Nuprin®) and...

Gastroenteritis “Gastroenteritis” specifically refers to inflammation of the stomach, small intestine and large intestine without diagnosis of the cause. Most often this condition is caused by changes in diet whether intentional or unintentional, bacterial disease, viral disease, parasites, medical diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease or other conditions, toxicities, etc. The most common cause is changes in the diet and is usually seen as colitis which typically has clinical signs such as loose, cow-pie stools, mucous (“slimy stools”), straining to have bowel movements with little or no stool (tenesmus), blood in the stool (hematochezia), having frequent, small stools and house-broken...