The Vet Column

Q: My vet recently wormed my dog and said it would take care of all the worms, but yesterday I saw a small white worm crawling under my dog’s tail. Did the worm medication not work?

A: Consult with your veterinarian about what type of wormer was given to your dog. Most dogs and cats are dewormed for roundworms, hookworms and whipworms, the most common pet parasites. Usually small white worms, about an inch long and flat, found crawling on or around the tail, are tapeworms. Regular wormers are not effective against tapeworms. Tapeworms are tough parasites to kill and require a drug called praziquantel, available from your veterinarian. It is important to treat your dog for tapeworms as they cause damage to the intestinal wall where they attach and rob your pet of nutrients. Your dog acquired the tapeworms by eating a flea infected with tapeworm larva. Fleas act as hosts in the tapeworm’s life cycle and only one infected flea has to be eaten to infest a dog or cat.

Q: My dog and cat are getting old and seem to be much stiffer and play less now. Is there anything I can do to help them?

A: First, a complete exam is needed to confirm what is causing the stiffness. If arthritis is what is suspected to be the

cause, then the age, type of dog or cat, condition of the animal and financial limitations must be considered. Alternative treatments are very effective in many cases, including acupuncture, homeopathics and herbs. Supplements are another way to improve arthritic symptoms. There are many supplements on the market, so guidance from your veterinarian will be helpful when making a decision as to which supplement or combination of supplements such as glucosamine and chondroitins which mainly work to improve the cartilage in joints and are not absorbed well from an older animals digestive tract. Other supplements such as yucca root saponin or Cetyl M, work on the entire skeletal system and are usually more effective in relieving arthritis symptoms. In severe cases, medication is available to decrease the pain so a pet can remain active. The early forms of these medications had side effects, such as liver and kidney damage; however, the latest arthritis medication, called Zubrin, does not cause organ damage and melts in the mouth in seconds! Keeping an older pet active can be a challenge, but activity is also a factor in arthritis. The more active the animal, the less the arthritis will affect them.

Q: My horse doesn’t like to be touched or brushed anymore and won’t turn around the barrels

as fast as he used to. I’ve given him Bute (phenylbutazoldone) as an anti-inflammatory, but instead of getting better, he gets worse. He is not lame. What is wrong with him?

A: The signs you are describing sound as if your horse may be suffering from stomach ulcers. It has been estimated that as many as 80% of all horses have had stomach ulcers sometime in their life. It is most often associated with stress, and symptoms will vary from horse to horse depending upon the severity and location of the ulcer in the stomach. Common signs of gastric ulcers include poor performance, not wanting to bend, difficulty changing leads, disliking brushing on their side, not finishing grain, and a chronic sore back. When gastric ulcers are present, the hair coat is often dry and dull and in severe chronic cases, a slight sway back condition may develop. To diagnose gastric ulcers a nine-meter endoscope is needed, (it’s a long way from a horse’s mouth to it’s stomach!), to look inside the stomach. While this is an excellent diagnostic method, it is not available in all areas and can be expensive. Often, if all the symptoms are pointing to gastric ulcers, the acupuncture points corresponding to the stomach can be used as a diagnostic. These points are located just behind the last rib attachment to the horse’s back.

Tender acupuncture points are considered to be 80-90% accurate in diagnosing gastric ulcers, and since the location is just past the mid-point of a horse’s back, it is usually the reason for the associated sore back. Horse gastric ulcers are treated just the people’s, with stomach acid blockers. "Gastrogard" and "UlcerGard" are the two products available that block the main acid production sites in horses and allow the stomach to heal. While wonderful products, they cost about $40/day depending on the size of the horse. This is prohibitive for many owners, as it takes ulcers about 30 days to heal. Even a week’s worth of an ompremanazole product can help speed the healing process along. Ranitidine, sold in drug stores as Zantac, is the next choice of acid blocker for treatment, which is the most effective drug of this type for horse ulcers. Cintidene (Tagamet) does not work well in horses, as horses have fewer of the type of acid-producing cells that centadine affects, compared to people. In severe cases, stomach coaters before grain can help ease discomfort. Milk of Magnesia or Tums are well tolerated by most horses. Gastric ulcers can recur after treatment of stressed, so a daily maintenance product such as Ulcergard is recommended following 30 days of treatment.