November 2019 Newsletter 
  brought to you by 

Arete Chiropractic Giving Tree for Annie's Angels

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Introducing a New Angel Program!
Conscious Bella Gives Back
By: Amy Nelson
Because when you are fighting for your life, you shouldn’t have to worry about the toxins in the products you use!

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Thanksgiving can always pose certain risks for our pets so it’s important to know how to keep them safe.  I found this article and thought it had some useful information, some of which may surprise you!  First we would also like to give thanks to each and every one of you for the support  you’ve shown and to our veterans, and all the people that risk their lives every day to give us a peace in being able to celebrate the holidays the way we all want to. 

Thanksgiving Safety for Cats and Dogs
Sure, a small amount of the Thanksgiving bird may make a safe treat for your pets. Push it though, and you could be spending your evening and the next day cleaning vomit and diarrhea out of your carpet and nursing a very sick (and painful) dog.

A tablespoon of white bird meat is often safe enough to give your pets for a little holiday treat BUT giving them too much, or giving them any quantity of the skin, seasonings, drippings, gravy, or bones can cause inflammation of their digestive tract resulting in vomiting, diarrhea, lack of appetite, abdominal pain, and dehydration. Such inflammation (called ‘gastroenteritis’ when it affects the stomach and intestines and ‘pancreatitis’ when it affects the pancreas) often results in an unplanned trip to the veterinarian. Many cases of gastroenteritis and pancreatitis result in a hospital stay for your pet, and some cases can even prove fatal. Treatment for gastroenteritis/pancreatitis often runs in the few hundred to couple thousand-dollar range.

The carcass and bones of the turkey pose an additional danger to your pet should they chew or eat them. Turkey bones are brittle and splinter easily, with the resulting sharp points able to puncture your pet’s esophagus, stomach, or intestines. Puncture in any of these structures will result in a very sick, very painful pet and require an expensive surgical procedure. Don’t allow your pets to steal the carcass, and certainly don’t intentionally give them such ‘treats.’

The same warnings above also go for any other type of bird you might enjoy - be it chicken, duck, or all of the above (turducken is yummy!!). Anyone deep-fry their turkey? And if its ham you’re serving, you still need to be careful - because of the bone and of the (often high) salt content.

Stuffing                                      
Many Thanksgiving stuffings contain onions and/or garlic. In small quantities these vegetables aren’t likely to cause too big a problem for your cats and dogs, but in larger quantities, or if your pet already has a low red blood cell count (anemia) or dysfunctional red blood cells, ingestion of onions or garlic can prove both debilitating and expensive.

Additionally, as more people are getting creative with what they stuff inside their holiday bird, an increasing number of stuffings now contain raisins, currants, or (maybe even) grapes. What many people aren’t aware of is that grapes, raisins, and currants can be highly toxic to dog kidneys, even in small quantities. Not every dog is affected, and we aren’t yet sure of the exact toxic substance, but given that the resulting acute kidney failure can be fatal and can be expensive to treat (well into the thousands of dollars), it’s best just to avoid this one at all costs. This toxicity may affect cats, too.

Mashed potatoes and candied yams
Both of these traditional holiday season foods often contain significant quantities of butter and other fats, often making them irresistible to both people and pets. While an overindulgence on your part will likely lead to a post-meal unbuttoning of the pants and a nap, in your dog such an indiscretion can lead to a post-meal bout of pancreatitis. As already discussed, pancreatitis can range in severity from mild and uncomfortable to severe and fatal, with several ‘shades of grey’ (and associated outcomes and costs) in between. Certain dogs have an increased risk of developing pancreatitis, and some of these risk factors also increase the chances that their bout of pancreatic inflammation will be more severe too (read also ‘more painful, longer hospital stay, increased risk of death, and more costly’).

Generally speaking, miniature schnauzers and Silky and Yorkshire terriers are at increased risk of pancreatitis. As is any dog that is obese or has certain endocrine disorders (namely diabetes, Cushing’s disease, or hypothyroidism).

In addition to the risks associated with the fats in these side dishes, it is also important to be aware that some people use garlic in their mashed potatoes and some add raisins to their candied yams. Both of which, as previously discussed, can prove dangerous to your pets.

Corn on the cob
While this left over yummy summer treat has never been a staple at any of my family’s Thanksgiving feasts, I know it is at others. The primary danger that corn on the cob presents to dogs is when they eat the cob itself. Many dogs will swallow large chunks of the cob, which will wind up lodging in and obstructing their intestines. And though this often makes for a cool looking x-ray for we veterinarians to look at, it also requires expensive surgery to resolve. Save yourself a few thousand dollars, and your dog the time in the hospital and on the surgery table… don’t give your dog corn cobs and don’t give them the opportunity to steal them out of the trash or compost either.

Yeast bread and rolls
Here it isn’t so much the finished product that’s a problem for pets, but rather the rising dough prior to baking. When yeast and starch come together in a warm environment the yeast ferment the sugars in the starch, giving off carbon dioxide gas and alcohol. (It’s this carbon dioxide gas that causes yeast bread dough to ‘rise.’) The yeast doesn’t care if that warm environment is in a covered bowl or in your dog’s stomach; it’s all the same to them!

When the fermentation occurs in your dog’s stomach, the resulting alcohol gets into their blood stream leading to severe metabolic and neurological abnormalities (alcohol poisoning) and the carbon dioxide distends their stomach leading to pain and a decreased return of blood to their heart (shock). Either of these can prove fatal. Add the potential for the rising mass of bread dough to cause an obstruction preventing the passage of itself and other things from the stomach into the intestine, and you’ve got an emergency that you definitely want to try to take simple steps to prevent.

Yeast bread dough ingestion requires an emergency trip to the veterinarian, most often leading to a hospital stay, and occasionally resulting in a surgery. If you bake your own bread or rolls, or anything else with yeast, be sure to keep it well and truly out of your dog’s reach while it’s rising. This emergency most often happens when people leave dough out to rise on the counter overnight - don’t make this mistake. Let your dough rise in a turned off conventional or microwave oven, or on a high up shelf, where it will truly be safely out of reach for your dogs.

If your dog does ingest yeast-containing dough, immediately try to get them to drink ice water and then get them to the veterinarian as quickly as possible. The ice water will drop the temperature within their stomach, inactivating the yeast and halting the fermentation process. (Don’t worry; the ice water doesn’t cause Bloat!)

Desserts
A Thanksgiving meal just isn't complete until the pies, cakes, and cookies are all gone. Am I right! Well, while you and your house guests are likely aware of the dangers that chocolate poses to cats and dogs, I would venture to guess that many of the people around your holiday table likely aren't aware of what Xylitol is, let alone the fact that Xylitol is VERY dangerous to dogs. With more and more people eating "all natural" and trying to decrease their sugar intake, xylitol is becoming increasingly common in both store-bought and home-baked goodies. Xylitol is a natural sweetener that is becoming an increasingly common sugar replacement, it can quickly plummet a dog's blood sugar and even destroy their liver.

Food preparation materials and trash
Though not typically present on the Thanksgiving table, the things that go into preparing and serving the meal can also wreak havoc with your pets and your celebration.

Aluminum foil and plastic wrap: When covered in food scraps and drippings such items become a hard-to-resist treat for your wayward pets. If ingested, these can cause inflammation and/or obstruction of your pet’s digestive tract.

Cooking twine and rubber bands: Often used to close the body cavity of the turkey, such objects can pose a very significant danger to your pets, particularly cats. If they get partially stuck within their digestive tract, such linear foreign bodies can insidiously lead to damage to the wall of the intestine, resulting in the leakage of intestinal contents into the abdominal cavity necessitating surgery and a prolonged hospital stay.

Trashcans and compost bins:  Kitchen trash cans and compost pails are a dietary indiscretion treasure trove for mischievous dogs and cats. From turkey bones and giblets to discarded coffee grounds and filters, trashcans and compost bins contain many things that can cause your pet significant health problems. Be sure to truly secure these hazards by making sure that they are closed tightly and kept safely behind closed closet or cabinet doors.

-safe treats during the holidays 
Treating pets safely can be as simple as some extra snuggle time, an extra long walk, a freshly cleaned out litter box, or a nice new bed to sleep in. But if you’d like to give them a little extra food snack on this day, here are some pet safe treats to do so with.

Thanksgiving should be a wonderful day spent with friends and family reflecting on all that we have to be thankful for in this world, not one spent in the waiting room of the local pet emergency hospital. With prior awareness and simple precautions you’re more likely to have the former and avoid the latter.