Q: A friend of mine said his dog was bitten by a rattlesnake
last week but with treatment, he seems to be doing all right.
Q: A friend of mine said his dog was bitten by a rattlesnake last week but with treatment, he seems to be doing all right.
I didn’t know that there were rattlers in this area, except maybe up in the hills. This guy lives over on Foothill Avenue, not that close to the hills at all. Another friend saw one last week on Sandy Court off Watsonville Road in Morgan Hill! How big a problem are snakes in South Santa Clara County?
A: Actually, veterinarians in this area see at least a few rattlesnake bite emergencies every year.
They are not uncommon at all. But your friend’s incident is a little unusual because it occurred so early in the year.
Ask anyone who spends time walking in the hills around here and they’ll tell you that that the surrounding wildlands are full of rattlesnakes. These reptiles make their way off the hills during the warm summer months as they look for water. As a result, most sightings are reported from mid-summer to late fall.
But this year, we’ve had a warm and dry spring and everything seems to be happening earlier than usual. Maybe it’s because of the weather, or maybe there are some other factors involved.
Whatever the reason, rattlesnakes are out there, and they’re showing up in the open areas of this valley.
If you let your dog run loose in open areas, there’s a chance that he or she could come across one. So be careful, please.
If your dog is bitten by a rattler, call your veterinarian immediately and get him into the clinic right away. Time is important. Rattlesnake venom causes extensive tissue damage and is very toxic. Quick aggressive treatment is essential for a healthy recovery.
Q: I have a 9-month-old Yorkie who has a lot of extra teeth on both the upper and lower jaw. It looks as though he has two or three sets of incisors. Is this from bad breeding? Is it necessary to have the extra teeth removed? Help!
A: Those extras chompers (called supernumerary teeth) can cause problems in your dog’s mouth, especially if they push his normal teeth out of their proper position.
Dental displacement can upset his normal bite, creating a condition called malocclusion.
Besides crowding his bite, supernumerary teeth can also trap food and hair in the tight spaces between them. This leads to tartar buildup, gingivitis, and foul-smelling breath, just a few of many potential oral problems. Veterinarians usually recommend extractions of the offending teeth.
Most everyone believes that there is a genetic (hereditary) link to this problem, so breeding this dog would be ill-advised. But we can’t be sure his breeder knew he would have this problem. I’ve seen some dogs with malocclusion whose parents had normal teeth.
Maybe your Yorkie’s parents had normal dentition. Nonetheless, its safe to say that somewhere in this little guy’s family tree, there have been some dental problems. And you don’t want to pass this trait along to more puppies.
So have him neutered, and while he is under anesthesia, his veterinarian will be able to extract those extra teeth. He’ll be a happier and healthier pet.
Q: My 1-year-old neutered cat occasionally chews and licks sections of his front leg until the fur is gone and the patch of skin (about the size of a quarter) looks red and irritated.
He seems healthy in all other respects. His fur is shiny, his eyes are clear. Could this be an allergy of some kind? Can cats chew their own fur out of anxiety? He is a somewhat nervous, neurotic cat. (I hope he doesn’t read this, but it’s true!)
A: There are several possible causes for your cat’s urge to lick.
An allergy, infection, or even an unusual immune disorder could be the culprit. But your hunch about anxiety or psychological problems may also be right. Cats that lick one area incessantly, sometimes suffer from a condition similar to obsessive/compulsive disorder.
The symptoms can be close to what you describe, but usually the licking is centered more around the tummy area. Have your veterinarian or a veterinary dermatologist evaluate him.
A few tests may be necessary, perhaps even a small skin biopsy to make a final diagnosis. But it’ll all be worth it. These conditions are treatable.
So the good news is that later on, you won’t have to pull out your hair worrying about a cat doing all that licking.
(Oh, and one more thing … don’t leave this article laying around the house where your feline buddy can find it. If he really can read, you wouldn’t want him to see this!)
