Fleas

Here in the Inland Empire, we are very lucky when it comes to fleas.  While they are endemic (meaning that they are ever present... at a low level), they are not commonly seen within our client base.  In places like Seattle, dog/cat fleas are a common pest that find there way onto the most pampered pooch or sedentary house cat.  The reason for this is our climate.  Fleas don't like hot dry summers or freezing cold winters.

However, that does not mean that we are immune.  Here at the clinic we have seen a rash of flea cases in the past few weeks.  Why?  Probably a combination of sheer (bad) luck and the cool wet weather.  Normally we see the highest caseload of flea infestation during early spring.  The early spike tapers off, and we don't see much through the summer and fall.

Dogs and cats acquire fleas from the environment.  Fleas can be found anywhere animals congregate.  This can be the dog park, public park, your back yard, or even your house.  So even if your dog only goes outside to go to the bathroom, your dog can acquire fleas brought there by some other animal (think feral cat or neighbor's dog).  Once on your pet, the fleas begin setting up in your house.  If you see a flea on your pet, you can assume there are hundreds or even thousands of flea eggs and larva in your carpets and pet bedding.

So what do we do about fleas?  The best way to deal with fleas is to prevent them from infesting our pets.  This means monthly topical flea prevention.  We recommend quality flea control topicals such as Vectra or Frontline.  There are hundreds of different topicals flooding the market, so I cannot speak on each one.  However, they are not all created equally... which is why we stick with what we know.

If your pet (and your house) already has an infestation, it has to be treated aggressively.  Half measures will lead to a continuing infestation and greater long term expense.  The most important aspect of treating an established infestation is; You must treat all animals in the household at the same time.  If you dog-sit your cousin's dog once a month, he must also be treated.  Even though you see fleas on your dog but never your cat, you must treat your cat.  An untreated animal will act as a reservoir that will continue the infestation.

While treating your animals, it is also a great idea to clean the environment.  Wash all bedding, vacuum carpets, etc.  Pet stores will sell bottles of Frontline area spray, which are a good idea to utilize on carpeted areas.

Most people want to know how long they have to treat to get rid of fleas.  I usually recommend no less than three months.  However it is probably best to just keep them on a monthly flea preventative indefinitely.  The reason is that your pet acquired the fleas from some reservoir... there is nothing to prevent re-infestation once you discontinue flea prevention.

My dogs came down with a case of fleas a couple years ago.  I suspect they picked them up at the public park across the street.  As such, they are on flea prevention for the rest of their lives.  It's just part of the cost of having a healthy pet.

Extra Credit:  Fleas are an interesting parasite that have had a profound impact on human history.  There are many different species of fleas.  Each one is relatively host-specific but most are also opportunistic.  Fleas that commonly infest dogs and cats are Ctenocephalides canis and Ctenocephalides felis.  These fleas will prefer to bite your pet, but will occasionally bite you if the opportunity presents itself.    Humans have their own flea (Pulex irritans) which has a fairly wide host range.

The most important flea in human history is Xenopsylla cheopis, the oriental rat flea.  This flea is a vector for the bacteria Yersinia pestis, or the Bubonic Plague.  Bubonic plague is thought to have wiped out almost a third of the human population during the middle ages.  When a rat flea would bite an infected rat, then bite a person, the plague would be transmitted to the person through the flea's mouth parts.  Luckily, our pets' fleas are not generally considered a vector for plague.  Modern sanitation has significantly lowered the rat population and plague is treatable with common classes of antibiotics.

Running with Dogs

Spokane is a running town...  Well really its a basketball town, but with a lot of runners.  I commonly get questions about when you can start running with your dog, and how far they can go.  Unfortunately, there is no hard and fast answer to this as the answer will vary based on the dog and his/her owner.

First we will address when to start running with your puppy.  Let me preface this by saying there is no peer reviewed data available to us at this time that measures the effects of running on orthopedic development in dogs.  But we can extrapolate from what we know about running and what we know about dogs.

Observation of wild dogs shows that puppies are very active from an early age.  Rambunctious play, sprinting, jumping, and rough-housing are all part of normal puppy growth and socialization.  A large breed puppy's normal exercise threshold is probably greater than most adult humans.  However, puppies engage in self-regulated short high-intensity exercise... not long plodding miles on the pavement.

While this high intensity exercise can appear to be high-impact, the force applied to joints (and more importantly growth plates) over the given exercise period is significantly lower than for jogging over the same period.  Therefore, most orthopedic specialists will recommend skipping the leash runs until a dog is 12 months old.  The idea is that excessive force applied to a growth plate can cause changes in growth characteristics and at worst premature growth plate closure.  Another worry is that long term low level stress can cause changes in bone conformation due to the relative malleability of young dogs' bones.

Another piece of the puzzle needs to be filled in by the owner.  What do you consider to be running?  My wife's runs, my runs, and my sister-in-law's runs are completely different things.  A 12 minute mile run around Manito park would be fine for a 6 month old lab puppy.  A half marathon run in an hour and thirty minutes on the centennial trail would likely be too much.  As much as I dislike the term "common sense", it must be applied here.

Once a dog is mature, the next question is "how long can I take him?"  The answer depends on breed, age, and conditioning.   Most people that want to take their dog for a run have fairly energetic medium to large breed dogs.  Your average lab or retriever can easily be honed to medium distances (5 -7) miles, and could likely go further given some training.  My great dane, Ilse, goes for a 6 mile hill run on trails with me almost every week.  She's walking beside me at a leisurely pace as I gasp for air on the miles of switchbacks.  She will, however, hit a wall at 10 miles.



Ilse at Checkpoint "0" during a winter trail run

I have met dogs that have run marathons.  Like people, they have a few prerequisites.  First they must like to run.  Second, they have to have the athletic potential.  Finally they must be carefully and methodically trained to do so by gradual increases in weekly milage... just like a person.  If you have any doubts as to the endurance capabilities of canines google search "Iditarod" and see what the elite canines can do.

Jeff King 2006 Iditarod team.  Alaska Stock Images.

Also like people, dogs are not immune to injuries sustained from running.  Running places a lot of stress on joints, tendons, ligaments, and pads.  A running dog will likely develop some kind of overuse injury during it's career.  As owners we need to be attuned to our dogs' normal gait and take heed when we think there is a change.  Missing a couple weeks worth of runs to rest an injury is better than missing a couple months or years because we ignored early warning signs.

We must also remember that our dogs are much more prone to overheating than we are.  They are not effecient at evaporative cooling (sweat).  During the summer months, it is best to run in the early morning to avoid the heat of the day.  If the distance is long enough for you to want water, it is more than long enough for your dog.  I pack a collapsable nylon fabric water bowl for Ilse.

A dog is a barefoot runner... perhaps a well-padded one, but barefoot nonetheless.  Hot surfaces, broken glass/sharp objects, course surfaces, and excessive miles are real hazards for dogs that our well-shod feet may not even be aware of.  So you must be vigilant for the sake of your running partner, who will happily follow you anywhere you lead him/her.

Finally, maintain control of your dog.  Leash laws protect your dog from dangerous situations as much as they protect people from dangerous dogs.  I know your dog is the sweetest thing that would never cause any harm... I can't say the same about the truck he runs out in front of, or the other dog walking towards you.