Iron deficiency in dogs and cats

Written by Nick Carmichael


We have recently seen a number of cases of iron deficiency anaemia, both in cats and dogs. In iron deficiency, red cells do not developrepparttar normal complement of iron–containing haemoglobin andrepparttar 125820 cells that form inrepparttar 125821 bone marrow are small (microcytic, low MCV) and hypochromic (low MCH and MCHC). The process of red cell maturation becomes prolonged so young red cells no longer contain large amounts of RNA and therefore do not appear polychromatic. As a resultrepparttar 125822 anaemia is non- regenerative, with inappropropriately low reticulocyte counts. There is often a marked increase in variation in red cell shape (poikilocytosis) and red cell fragments (schistocytes) are often seen, as above. In cats,repparttar 125823 red cells are often so small that platelets appear larger than red cells and this overlap in sizing can contribute to apparently very high platelet counts as some automated counters include some small red cells inrepparttar 125824 platelet count. Iron deficiency anaemia reflects chronic external blood loss, either throughrepparttar 125825 gut associated with bleeding tumours or ulcers or occasionally with severe flea burdens and parasitic blood loss.

Dog Ear Care - Keeping Your Dog's Ears Healthy & Pain Free

Written by Teresa James, Dog-Supplies-Advisor.com


Importance of Regular Home Dog Ear Care

Routine home dog ear care is very important torepparttar health of your dog. Performed between your regular checkups withrepparttar 125819 veterinarian, it will help keep your dog’s ears healthy and pain free. If you see signs of trouble you may be able to head them off before they require an extra visit torepparttar 125820 vet. Excessive wax, foul odor, redness, constant scratching, excessive matting of hair inrepparttar 125821 external ear, rubbingrepparttar 125822 ears against other objects, head shaking, and disorientation can all be signs of ear problems.

Inspect Your Dog’s Ears Regularly By Using Your Eyes & Your Nose!

By performing a home dog ear care inspection; you will be able to detect problems early. Use both your eyes and your nose. If you need help seeing inside your dog’s ears you may want to invest in a pet scope. A tool very similar torepparttar 125823 kind your doctor uses to check your ears. Check for redness, excessive wax build up or any other foreign matter.

Sniffing your dog’s ears is another way to detect problems early. Normally a dog’s ears shouldn’t smell foul in any way. If you see a dark waxy discharge this may be a sign of ear mites. Onrepparttar 125824 other hand, if you see a pus-like discharge along with a foul smell this may be a sign of a bacterial infection. Allergies are also known to cause some dogs to have smelly ears. If you’re new to this and are unsure haverepparttar 125825 vet check your dog’s ears. Right afterrepparttar 125826 vet gives your dog a clean bill of health make sure you inspect your dog’s ears. This way you will learn how your pet’s ears should normally look and smell.

Is Your Breed of Dog More Susceptible To Dog Ear Care Problems?

Due torepparttar 125827 warm, damp, and dark environment, as well as poor air circulation, your dog’s ear canal can berepparttar 125828 prefect breeding ground for mites, yeast or bacterial infection. This is why, for certain breeds, home dog ear care is even more important. Some pets may require routine applications of dog ear care products to keep their ears free of mites, yeast or bacterial infections.

Some dog’s ears stand straight up which allows for more air to flow intorepparttar 125829 ear canal. Dogs with floppy ears, like spaniels and bloodhounds, are very prone to ear infections because very little air flows into their ear canals. There are also breeds, likerepparttar 125830 Lhasa, that have a heavy growth of hair inside their ears. This hair must be routinely removed as a prevention against chronic ear problems.

If Excess Ear Hair Is A Dog Ear Care Problem Learn How To Remove It

If you suspect that excess ear hair is a problem, you may need to pluckrepparttar 125831 hair that grows inside your dog’s ears. This is a routine dog ear care task that can be performed at home and is much easier then it sounds. You will want to apply dog ear powder torepparttar 125832 inside of both ears. Make sure thatrepparttar 125833 hair is completely covered, especially atrepparttar 125834 base. Oncerepparttar 125835 powder has dried start plucking a few hairs at a time with your fingers or a tweezers. Plucking just a few hairs at a time will be less irritating forrepparttar 125836 dog.

You may want to stop a few times to give your dog’s ears a good rub. Make sure you give your dog lots of praise and a few dog treats too. Once allrepparttar 125837 inside hair has been removed, follow up by cleaning and inspectingrepparttar 125838 ears. If you are unsure about this dog ear care procedure, have your vet or a professional groomer show you how to do it.

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