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January 2018 Newsletter |
Be sure to have a look at our photo competition winners at https://www.facebook.com/DogslifeProject/
Second hand smoke and its effect on our pets
Help us with our 8th birthday celebrations!
Kennel Cough is a condition caused by infections of the larger airways that result in airway inflammation. Although we typically consider Kennel Cough to be a single disease, it is in fact a group of infectious conditions (both viral and bacterial), and it can often be caused by more than one infectious agent. The end-result is the same; the affected dog develops a “hacking” cough. Dogs with Kennel Cough will usually be well other than their cough, although in puppies and elderly dogs the infection can spread to the lower part of the airway causing pneumonia.
The term “Kennel Cough” is used because the infectious agents which cause the cough are passed from dog to dog by breathing them in, and so can be transmitted rapidly in kennelled environments. This is compounded by the fact that stress, smoke, cold temperatures and poor ventilation make dogs potentially more susceptible to developing an infection. They are also spread by direct contact with infected objects. The infectious agents can take up to two weeks after they have been transmitted before they cause clinical signs.
As so many different agents can cause Kennel Cough, there is no single test that can diagnose the condition. A history of exposure to other dogs with the condition in the recent past is enough to raise strong suspicion. Dogs may require more detailed investigations if there are concerns that the cough may be caused by other conditions.
Most dogs will recover from Kennel Cough without treatment within a few weeks, although it can persist for longer in some cases. Antibiotics may be prescribed if a bacterial cause is suspected, and cough suppressants and anti-inflammatories are sometimes dispensed to address the clinical signs.
Vaccines protect dogs against some, but not all, of the infectious agents that cause Kennel Cough. The most common infection causing Kennel Cough is a bacteria called Bordetella bronchioseptica, which can be vaccinated against (the “Kennel Cough” vaccine, which is administered as drops in the nose). Vaccines are not always fully protective as different strains can emerge to cause new infections, but they should still reduce the severity of infection; consequently, vaccinated dogs can still get kennel cough, although they are less likely to do so. If your dog has a cough, and you have any concerns, please contact your vet who will be able to advise you.
Second hand smoke and its effect on our pets
Second hand smoke can be really damaging to our health. When a person lights up, some of the smoke is inhaled by the smoker in to their lungs but most ends up in the air, and is then breathed in by those around us (also known as passive smoking). People who are routinely exposed to this, are more likely to get the same diseases as smokers including lung cancer and heart disease as well as increasing the risk of asthma and allergies but how are our pets affected?
In smoking homes, dog have a higher risk of suffering from lung and sinus cancer. The research that looked at approx. 40 dogs, half of which came from smoking homes, analysed hair samples for nicotine and surveyed how much owners smoked. Other effects noticed were ongoing cell damage and increasing weight gain after castration.
If you currently smoke and are not ready to quit, try to minimise the effect passive smoking has on others by smoking outside, including the car and asking visitors to do the same. Positively the study, found a reduction in a marker gene of cell damage in pets whose owners chose to smoke outside their homes and hence reducing the exposure of smoke to their pets. Whilst precautionary measures can help to reduce the impact smoking has on our pets and other loved ones, the only way to truly reduce the risk is by stopping smoking altogether. For more information about the study, passive smoking and advice about quitting see below.
Help us with our 8th birthday celebrations!
The project will this year have some dog members who turn 8! In celebration of this and our 8th birthday too, we would like to feature some our very first members, who joined the project in 2010 and who are still providing extremely important data to the project. Is this you? Would you like a mention in our July Newsletter? If so, we’d love for you to get in touch and give us an update on your Labrador and a photo so we can share this with all our members.
Please email in your photo to info@dogslife.ac.uk and let us know the following:
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Your dog’s name:
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Why you joined the project:
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Sum up your dog in 1 word:
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What makes your dog the best?
We look forward to hearing from you!
Congratulations to December’s prize winners! The following Dogslife members have each won £10 of Pets at Home vouchers: Mrs D from Ipswich, Mr R from York, Mrs R from Bedford, Mr R from Bristol, Mr H from Wiltshire, Mrs H from Norfolk, Mr S from Norwich, Mrs S from Telford, Ms P from Hereford and Mrs S from York. We hope you enjoy spending the vouchers on your pet!
Don’t worry if you haven’t won a prize this time; the next time you login at www.dogslife.ac.uk and update your dog’s record, you will be entered into the next prize draw which takes place in March.
Thank you to everyone who continues to support Dogslife. We are very grateful for your help with the study. To read about Dogslife’s findings so far, please click here: https://www.dogslife.ac.uk/study-so-far.
Is your dog special? Why not put them forward to become a Featured Dog? Look out for the link next time you log in!
