Pet Talk - April 2009 - Three Notch Veterinary Hospital

PET TALK
THREE NOTCH VETERINARY HOSPITAL
PARK VETERINARY CLINIC
Editor/Publisher: Terry S. Harvey
RABBITS AS PETS
Rabbits are the third most common pet owned in the United
States. Intelligent, friendly and
quiet, rabbits can provide years
of companionship with proper
care. The average lifespan is 710 years; we have some 11 and
12 year old bunnies in our practice and records of up to 15 years
of age have been reported.
Rabbits are very social creatures
and will form strong bonds with
each other. For this reason it is
recommended if at all possible, to
keep rabbits in pairs. The best
way to accomplish this is by
getting two young rabbits, perhaps littermates, and keeping
them together. If you have an
older rabbit who has always been
kept alone, it can be considerably
more difficult to introduce a
buddy for him or her. If you do
try to introduce a companion, it is
best to make the introduction in a
neutral setting (i.e. a car, in an
empty bathtub-someplace that
neither rabbit has
inhabited).
The bonded pair can
be either the same or
opposite gender;
however, for obvious reasons,
early neutering is especially important if you have a male and a
female rabbit kept together. Rabbits can reach sexual maturity as
early as four months of age.
Female rabbits should be spayed
at that time (if kept with a male)
or soon thereafter (if housed
alone or with another female).
Female rabbits are prone to developing cancer of the uterus any
time after two years of age, so
spaying (removal of both ovaries
and the uterus) should be done
even if there are no male rabbits
in the household. Male rabbits
can be altered (castrated) anytime after four months of age,
in most cases. While reproductive cancers are rare in male
rabbits, altering will help minimize aggressive and territorial
behaviors such as fighting and
urine spraying.
Rabbits are sensitive to extreme
temperatures, especially heat, and
thus are best kept indoors with
supervised playtime outdoors.
Cages should be tall enough for
the rabbit to be able to “rear up”
on his hind legs without bumping
his head on the ceiling-an aquarium is much too small. Rabbits
can be litter trained and a litter
box should fit in one corner of
the cage. Do NOT use clay or
clumping cat litter as rabbits may
eat it, resulting in a potentially
fatal intestinal blockage. Pelleted
recycled paper-type litters work
well; aspen shavings or straw can
also be used in the main part
of the cage. Do not use cedar
or pine shavings as these aromatic softwoods have been
associated with upper respiratory infections and liver disease
in rabbits. Make sure your rabbit
always has plenty of water available, either with a heavy (cannot
be overturned) ceramic crock on
the floor or a sipper bottle on the
APRIL 2009
side of the cage.
Appropriate dietary choices are
critical in maintaining rabbit
health. Rabbits are herbivores
adapted to extracting maximal
nutrition from a diet which would
not sustain many creatures.
Good quality grass hay
should provide the bulk of
the diet and should always
be available to the rabbit.
Alfalfa hay is too high in
calcium and protein
for all but the
youngest rabbits;
timothy hay is recommended and
readily available locally.
Green foods such as broccoli (including the leaves), cabbage, collard greens, romaine
lettuce, parsley, and kale are also
important to feed your rabbit.
These leafy greens provide moisture as well as important vitamins
and minerals. One cup of packed
leafy greens per two pounds of
your rabbit’s body weight is the
minimum recommended amount
per day. Be sure to rinse produce
thoroughly before feeding it to
your rabbit as this not only cleans
but also provides another water
source for your rabbit.
Commercial rabbit pellets
were developed for the
rabbit meat and fur industry. The intent was to
maximize weight gain in a short
period of time. Rabbits should
be fed no more than 1/4 cup high
fiber pellets (no seed mixes!) per
5 pounds body weight per day.
(continued on page 2)
CHECK OUT PAGE 2
FOR INFORMATION ON
APVES our partner emergency facility., located in :
Calvert County
Allied Partners Veterinary
Emergency Services
Special points of interest:
∗
Rabbits are sensitive to
extreme temperatures.
∗
Dietary choices are critical.
∗
Decreased appetite can
be critical to your rabbits health.
FEATURES THIS ISSUE:
Front Page
Rabbits As Pets
1
APVES Emergency
Information
2
Obedience Corner Cookie Monster
3
New -
4
Dogipot Stations
Mission Statement
5
Service Numbers
5
Page 2
PET TALK
EMERGENCY SERVICES
ALLIED PARTNERS VETERINARY
EMERGENCY SERVICES
Three Notch Veterinary Hospital and Park
Veterinary Clinic provide after hours
emergency services through our partner
emergency service, Allied Partner Veterinary Emergency Services.
APVES is located just north of Prince
Frederick, Maryland in Huntingtown.
APVES has emergency hours weekdays:
6PM-8AM, weekends and holidays: 24
hours.
You may reach them by calling:
410.535.9722
To learn more about APVES visit their
website
www.vetmash.com/APVES
(continued from page 1)
Pet rabbits eating timothy hay and a variety of
leafy greens do not really need pellets. If you
do elect to include them in your rabbit’s diet,
make sure the pellets are at least 18% or
higher in fiber, 2.5% or lower in fat, 16% or
lower in protein, and 1% or lower in calcium.
If you wish to give your rabbit an occasional tasty treat, some good choices
are berries, peaches, apples
and carrots. Think of these
foods as “dessert” and do not
feed more than one tablespoon per two
pounds body weight per day. Too many of
these sweets can upset the digestive tract and
cause loose, messy bowel movements.
Exercise is very important for your rabbit to
prevent obesity as well as boredom. Your
rabbit can be supervised outdoors in temperate weather, or can be allowed to scamper
about the house in an properly rabbit-proofed
(no carpet, no access to electrical cords, no
chemicals) area.
Appropriate toys for
rabbits include cardboard boxes, empty
paper towel/toilet
paper rolls, cat chew toys, old phone books
and even empty tin cans (make sure there are
no sharp edges).
If your rabbit is eating a good diet in a comfortable indoor hutch and gets plenty of exercise, you will probably only need to seek veterinary care for check-ups once a year and
neutering surgery. It is important to handle
your rabbit gently and often. As calm and
quiet as rabbits appear, many do not particularly like to be “cuddled”, although grooming
and petting are often appreciated. Dropping a
rabbit can result in severe spinal injury; attempting to grab a rabbit by the leg can result
in fracture or dislocation. For these reasons,
rabbits are not ideal pets for very young children. Though bites are rare, rabbits do have
sharp toenails and can inadvertently scratch
an overzealous owner. Fortunately it is easy
in most cases to trim the nails at home, as
long as your rabbit is accustomed to being
handled.
Rabbits are a prey species and as such often
hide signs of illness much longer than a cat
or dog. Symptoms that should prompt you to
make an appointment for your rabbit include
lethargy, decreased appetite, decreased defecation (rabbits normally produce many small
firm fecal pellets throughout the day),
hardness of the belly, abnormal behavior
(head tilted to one side, tooth grinding),
scratching excessively, any skin lumps or
rashes, and respiratory signs such as discharge from the nose or eyes, sneezing,
and/or difficulty breathing. Rabbits cannot
vomit.
There are some good online resources for
rabbit information, including www.rabbit.org
(website of the House Rabbit Society),
www.rabbitweb.net , and
www.veterinarypartner.com .
However, if you are unsure about whether
your rabbit is sick, contact your veterinarian.
Here at Three Notch Veterinary Hospital and
Park Veterinary Clinic, there are three veterinarians with considerable rabbit experience:
Dr. Ironmonger, Dr. Matteson, and
Dr. Yasuda.
Author
Rebecca Ironmonger, DVM, DABVP
Page 4
NEW AT THREE NOTCH VETERINARY HOSPITAL AND PARK VETERINARY CLINIC
Three Notch Veterinary Hospital and Park Veterinary Clinic have recently added Dogipot stations to both of their locations.
Being responsible pet owners and removing your pet’s waste will help keep our environment clean, as well as keep the grounds
free of any infestation of parasites. We appreciate your co-operation and assistance.
Cause we know who leaves the mess
Page 3
PET TALK
OBEDIENCE CORNER
Cookie Monster
Mom! Sadie ate my cookie! If you own
a dog, you know they are great magicians. They can make your favorite food
disappear right off your plate. In this
edition of Obedience Corner,
we’re going to discuss those
wily rascals that steal food
from the table or like to
“counter surf” for goodies.
The reason dogs steal food is
pretty simple. They can!
They have a wonderful food
detector, otherwise known as their nose,
so they always know when something
yummy is around. Dogs can smell much
better than we can so they can even sniff
out a plain slice of bread or a simple
cracker. When a dog finds a good treat
on the table or counter, that’s all it takes
for him to keep on looking day after day.
It may be inconvenient, but the best way
to teach a dog not to steal food is to not
give him any reason to keep trying. Keep
ALL surfaces clear of food; especially
when you’re not around. After several
weeks of looking for food and not finding any, Boscoe will stop looking.
So what about at dinnertime? You
gotta put out food sometime, right?
Just on cue, Rex stands right by the
kitchen table and waits for his chance
to pounce. First of all, NEVER feed
your dog from the table. Second, this is
a good time to teach the command
“Place”. This command will tell your
dog to go find his “place” so that he
will stop begging at the table. To start,
find a rug or mat and have it in the
same room as the dinner table but at
least 6 ft away or so. Tell your dog
“place” and then throw a treat on the
rug. Your dog has to go to his rug to
get the treat. Practice this several times
and then say “Place”, but don’t throw
the treat until your dog moves toward
the rug. As soon as your dog makes the
slightest move toward the rug/mat,
throw the treat. The next time, wait
until your dog moves a little closer, and
so on. You may have
to lure your dog to the
rug a few times. Practice this when the
kitchen is quiet and
don’t try this at dinnertime until your dog
is really good at it.
You can also add the “Stay” command
after your dog learns “Place” and you
can reward with a chew bone or treat.
Soon, your dog will start to hang out at
his “place” during dinnertime instead of
waiting to scarf your hamburger or lurking next to the table waiting for something to drop.
Brian Markowich, CPDT
Author, Editor, & Trainer
Obedience classes forming
Call - 301.475.5778 or Email:
training@dogboyobedience.com
THREE NOTCH VETERINARY HOSPITAL
PRSRT STD
44215 Airport View Drive
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Hollywood, Md. 20636
HOLLYWOOD, MD.
PERMIT # 4
CLIENT LABEL
UNTIL NEXT TIME
KEEP THEM HEALTHY
AND HAPPY!!!
Page 5
T H RE E N OT CH VE T E RIN A RY HOSPIT A L
PARK VETERINARY CLINIC
E ditor /Publishe r : T e r r y S. Har ve y
Three Notch Veterinary Hospital
44215 Airport View Drive
Hollywood, Md. 20636
Phone:301-373-8633
Our Mission Statement
Three Notch Veterinary Hospital and Park Veterinary
Clinic are dedicated to providing the highest quality
veterinary care to the patients of St. Mary’s and
Calvert Counties. We strive to deliver this care in an
atmosphere of respect and compassion for the needs of
both our patients and our clients.
Park Veterinary Clinic
21367 Great Mills Road
Lexington Park, Md. 20653
Phone: 301-863-9222
We believe the quality, as well as value, can only be
delivered in a setting where the entire staff is dedicated to continual enhancement of their skills and
knowledge. We are committed to the concept that
learning is a lifetime event, and to providing opportunities to all of the staff to further their education.
Exceptional Service…
Compassionate Care…
Clinical Excellence...
We’re on the web!
www.threenotch.com
Clients who would like to receive their edition of “Pet Talk”
via e-mail may send your e-mail address to:
terry@md.metrocast.net
SERVICE NUMBERS
Three Notch Veterinary Hospital
Three Notch Veterinary Hospital
301-373-8633
Park Veterinary Clinic
Park Veterinary Clinic
301-863-9222
Top Notch Grooming
307-373-6968
Office Hours
Monday-Friday
Office Hours
Obedience Training
301-475-5778
Mornings: 10 a.m. — 1 p.m.
Evenings: 4 p.m. — 7 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m. — 1 p.m.
Visit our on line store
www.threenotch.com
Monday—Friday Morning: 10 a.m.- 1 p.m.
Evenings:
Monday & Tuesday: 3 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday - Friday: 3 p.m. - 6: p.m.