Barking Dog

OFFICE HOURS STARTING 

MONDAY        8 am – 7 pm

TUESDAY         8 am – 7 pm

WEDNESDAY 8 am – 7 pm

THURSDAYS  8 am – 7 pm

FRIDAY            8 am – 7 pm

SATURDAY      8 am – 12 pm

SUNDAY           CLOSED

In order to comply with social distancing measures in Ontario, our front door is locked. Please call in advance to make an appointment for your pet or if you need to pick up food or medication. Our hospital phone number is 519 969-7390

If you have a cough, fever, loss of taste or have traveled out of Canada in the last 14 days, please advise our staff when you call us. Please advise us if you or anyone in your house is presently diagnosed with COVID.

Thank you for your patience. We will continue to update our clients of any changes to our protocols on our Webpage, Facebook and Instagram platforms.

Sincerely, 

Dr. Chris Chamandy and the staff of South Windsor Animal Hospital

                Guinea pigs are great pets, they are inquisitive and social, are very well mannered, and live around 5-6 years of age (though some can get as old as 8 years!). They originate from South America, and they are found in four different types of coats: Peruvian (long-haired), Abyssinian (with coats in whorls, rougher coat), Smooth coated, or hairless (a.k.a. skinny pigs).

                Male guinea pigs are called boars, with females called sows, just like real pigs. They make many different types of noises, including short chirps and ‘wheeks’ to get your attention or ask for food, to purring noises, something like a cat would make. Check out the Metropolitan Guinea Pig Rescue’s website for various guinea pig sounds.

Nutrition

                Nutrition is extremely important with guinea pigs.  They need to eat large amounts of hay every day, with Timothy hay being the most recommended type.  The hay helps to keep their teeth ground down to a normal level.  If they don’t get enough hay, their molars can easily overgrow. Vitamin C is also very important for guinea pigs, they need a daily source of this important vitamin (such as the Oxbow Vitamin C tablet). They can also eat vegetables in their diet, with certain types being recommended more than others. For example, iceberg lettuce isn’t recommended, since it is too high in water content and guinea pigs can get diarrhea from this type of lettuce.  

Housing

                Guinea pigs need a large amount of floor space to keep them comfortable. While guinea pigs aren’t avid jumpers, having a cage with walls high enough to avoid escape is important (>10 inches).  They can easily get hurt from jumping from a high height, it is best that if they have a second floor to their cage, that it (and the ramp) is enclosed to protect them from injury. The most commonly used caging for guinea pigs is called a C&C (Cube and Coroplast) cage. Having several areas in the cage to hide, such as an igloo, or a box is helpful, since they like their privacy.

                The cage needs to be changed daily, since they are prolific at urination and defecation. Bedding can either consist of shredded paper products or pellets, aspen shavings, or towels/blankets. Do not use pine or cedar shavings, since they have aromatic oils that can predispose to respiratory and skin diseases.

                Guinea pigs are indoor pets, they prefer temperatures between 65-80⁰F (18-26⁰C) for comfort. Ensure there is plenty of water available. They typically prefer a water bottle, but some guinea pigs will only drink out of a heavy dish on the ground.  If you are using a bowl, ensure to clean this water several times daily, it will get dirty very quickly. 

Handling

                Guinea pigs can be skittish, and it takes them time to get used to handling. Bringing them out for play at least once daily can help get them used to being held.  To hold a guinea pig, pick them up with a hand under their belly/chest, and one hand under their rump.  Hold them on your chest, with one hand under the rump, one on their back to prevent jumping.

Nail trimming

                Guinea pig nails can get very long, curling around themselves. Nails should be trimmed about once every month.  Just like with dogs and cats, you want to avoid cutting the blood vessel in the nail.  If you aren’t sure where this is, you’re always welcome to have your veterinarian or a veterinary technician demonstrate how to best hold your guinea pig, and how to trim the nails safely.

When should I bring my guinea pig to the vet?

If your guinea pig’s appetite reduces or they are putting out less feces than normal, they should be seen by a veterinarian. With a guinea pig’s digestive system, they need to continually eat to keep themselves healthy.  A reduction in appetite is a medical emergency.

Otherwise, guinea pigs can develop other health issues just as any other species, such as a runny nose, or blood in the urine.  Proper nutrition and housing can prevent a lot of health problems. Weighing your guinea pig weekly will help to monitor their condition as well.

Registered Veterinary Technicians are wonderful, important members of the Veterinary Team.  They are involved with every part of medicine from birthing puppies, through vaccine appointments and illnesses, through to helping us when we lose a pet family member. They are experts in taking an animal’s blood for wellness profiles, delivering anesthesia to our patients, performing dental cleanings, taking x-rays, administering medications and treatments, as well as delivering compassionate care to each and every creature.

Becoming a Veterinary Technician is a choice to become patient advocates, discussing cases with the veterinarians and ensuring concerns are heard.  They are knowledgeable in disease, health, preventive medicine, treatment, communication and of course, their plethora of technical skills. Our technicians have spent hours with clients and patients, ensuring animals are the happiest and healthiest we can make them.

At our clinic, we are so fortunate to have five skilled technicians who devote their lives to such a noble cause as helping to keep our pets healthy and safe. Thank you to: Amy, Briana, Cathy, Kristi, and Sharon for all that you do.  Superheroes can wear scrubs, too!

Remember to thank your technicians!

The internet can encyclopedic, with great information, but you have to be a skeptic.  Some information can be misinformation, or even harmful to your pets, but it can be difficult to sort out! Also, many times information is anecdotal, without the scientific evidence backing it to prove it is true.  When researching as to whether an item is appropriate or not to use for your pet, give your vet a call. This will likely be the best resource for you, since they know your pet well, and can tell you the safety for that specific animal.  Secondarily, sources such as the pubmed research database, veterinarypartner.com, or lifelearn articles on our website are excellent other resources. I’m going to discuss a few common anecdotally recommended items which are not as helpful as you may think, and some which can be harmful.

Tea Tree Oil

There are many websites and product which purport the benefits of using tea tree oil application on the skin, or in shampoos or conditioners.  What many people don’t know is that dogs and cats are much more sensitive to this product than humans, with it being absorbed through the skin into the nervous system, causing varying severity from weakness to paralysis!  All pets are sensitive to the product in the air, it can cause breathing issues.  If ingested, it can be toxic, and pets can have severe reactions and even liver damage with tea tree oil products. Check out the aspca toxicity information on Tea Tree Oil.

Coconut Oil

While delicious as coconut oil is when used for cooking, it does not have the same skin benefits as omega fatty acids.  Coconut oil is a medium chain triglyceride, which if ingested, the body uses as calories- it is broken down well in the small intestines. While omega fatty acids in the correct dosages can be used to treat many inflammatory conditions such as skin and joint issues.

On the skin, coconut oil is still a food- but for bacteria and yeast!  We often see skin issues get worse very quickly when this oil is applied to the skin. Plus, your pet will try to lick it, which also adds more bacteria to the skin!

Yoghurt as a probiotic

The type of bacteria in yoghurt is in the genus of Lactobacillus. Since the exact strains and volumes of Lactobacillus vary widely in yoghurt, not being in high enough concentrations to be helpful, and yoghurt can often promote vomiting and diarrhea since dogs and cats can’t digest it well- Yoghurt is not be best probiotic for our pets.

Chamomile tea on irritated eyes

Chamomile tea has had some reports of toxicity with dogs and cats, exposed mainly from drinking from an unguarded mug! Chamomile tea has Coumadin inside, which can predispose to bleeding disorders, vomiting and diarrhea.  For some reason, animals seem to be much more sensitive to the Coumadin than humans. So, while chamomile has some properties of reduced inflammation, it isn’t worth the risk of using a tea bag on those eyes.  

Garlic and Heartworm disease or Fleas

There are many safe heartworm and flea medications available through your veterinarian.  The good news is, heartworm preventions have been tested stringently and have been proven to work well.  There are no safe alternatives to heartworm prevention which actually work to prevent heartworm disease.  Garlic is a food which contains sulfur compounds. Enough sulfur compounds can cause a type of anemia called Heinz body anemia. Remember, if we don’t protect our pets from heartworm disease, the treatment for heartworm disease is quite expensive, and can cause them pain, illness, and discomfort. Prevention is safe and effective.

Not an all exhaustive list, but at least an overview on the more common home remedies. If you have any questions about whether you should use something with your pet, give your vet a call.

Dr. Kim Quinn                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Jan 2018

                Dogs and cats get intestinal parasites from exposure to other animal’s feces, eating animals (such as rodents/birds), drinking from puddles, or from their mother (through her feces, milk, or while in the uterus).  This is the main reason why we ‘deworm’ animals frequently, sometimes monthly, depending on their risk.  Another important reason is to prevent the risk to humans of picking up a parasite. 

                Most of us have read the news article about the couple from Windsor who contracted hookworm in the skin of the feet while on vacation in Dominican Republic. While the concentration of hookworm is higher in tropical climates, this IS a parasite we see in the Windsor-Essex County area in dogs and cats.  Dogs and cats acquire hookworms from another animal’s feces, through penetration of the parasite through the skin, from their mother, or in cats, from eating rodents.  The parasite lives in the intestinal tract, ‘hooking on’ to the inside of the intestines.  The worms feed on blood and can cause anemia, which can be fatal if there is a large number of worms present. They can also cause diarrhea and loss or protein from the GI tract.  Good news? It is a parasite which is easily found on fecal sample testing since the adult worms lay eggs which are released in the feces. It is also easily treated with specific deworming medication, but we will ask that you remove any feces from your yard to prevent them from re-infecting themselves (wear gloves!).

                How do humans factor in to this picture?  Hookworms are deposited in feces in soil, on sand, etc.  If the area where they are deposited are not exposed to high temperatures from the sun- i.e., shaded sandy soil areas, the parasite can live well.  They wait for a human or animal to walk in the area for the parasite to penetrate through the skin.  Since their normal life cycle involves living in the intestines, being under the skin isn’t a normal place for these worms.  They cause weeping sores which are painful and itchy on the feet.  These can be treated, but it is an awful issue to have to go through.

Foot with hookworm, from cdc.gov website

                Life lessons from hookworm:

– Don’t walk on shaded sandy soil without wearing shoes, they can burrow in your skin.  Sunny soil during summer should be fine, since the heat of the sun kills the parasite.

– Perform fecal tests with your pets at least once yearly

– Deworming is so important, because it protects your pet, and YOU!

– Pick up the feces from the backyard after it is defecated, wear gloves