Top Ten Winter Skin & Paw Care Tips

Exposure to winter’s dry, cold air and chilly rain, sleet and snow can cause chapped paws and itchy, flaking skin, but these aren’t the only discomforts pets can suffer. Winter walks can become
downright dangerous if chemicals from ice-melting agents are licked off of bare paws.

Says Dr. Louise Murray, Vice President of the ASPCA Animal Hospital, “During the winter, products used as de-icers on sidewalks and other areas can lead to trouble for our animal companions, potentially causing problems ranging from sore feet to internal toxicity. Pet parents should take precautions to minimize their furry friends' exposure to such agents.” To help prevent cold weather dangers from affecting your pet’s paws and skin, please heed the following advice from our experts:

• Repeatedly coming out of the cold into the dry heat can cause itchy, flaking skin. Keep your home humidified and towel dry your pet as soon as he comes inside, paying special attention to his feet and in between the toes. • Trim long-haired dogs to minimize the clinging of ice balls, salt crystals and de-icing chemicals that can dry on the skin. (Don’t neglect the hair between the toes!)

• Bring a towel on long walks to clean off stinging, irritated paws. After each walk, wash and dry your pet’s feet to remove ice, salt and chemicals—and check for cracks in paw pads or redness between the toes.

• Bathe your pets as little as possible during cold spells. Washing too often can remove essential oils and increase the chance of developing dry, flaky skin. If your pooch must be bathed, ask your vet to recommend a moisturizing shampoo and/or rinse.

 • Dressing your pet in a sweater or coat will help to retain body heat and prevent skin from getting dry. • Booties help minimize contact with painful salt crystals, poisonous anti-freeze and chemical ice-melting agents. They can also help prevent sand and salt from getting lodged in between bare toes, causing irritation. Use pet-friendly ice melts whenever possible. • Massaging petroleum jelly into paw pads before going outside helps to protect from salt and chemical agents. And moisturizing after a good toweling off helps to heal chapped paws.

• Brushing your pet regularly not only gets rid of dead hair, but also stimulates blood circulation, improving the skin’s overall condition.

• Pets burn extra energy by trying to stay warm in wintertime, sometimes causing dehydration. Feeding your pet a little bit more during the cold weather and making sure she has plenty of water to drink will help to keep her well-hydrated, and her skin less dry.

• Remember, if the weather’s too cold for you, it’s probably too cold for your pet. Animal companions should remain indoors as much as possible during the winter months and never be left alone in vehicles when the mercury drops.

 SOURCE: https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/top-ten-winter-skin-paw-care-tips

Part 2 of our discussion on pet dental care! By Dr. Jones

In a prior post, we discussed preventative dental care tips for your pet that you can institute at home.  Just like if you or I didn’t brush our teeth for years, pets who don’t receive routine preventative dental care will inevitably develop diseased teeth and gums.  Common problems include heavy tartar and plaque buildup, serious gingivitis (gum inflammation/infection), recession of the gums, broken or damaged teeth, or even resorption of portions of the teeth (common in cats).  These issues can lead to infection, oral pain, difficulty eating, foul breath odor, and they can even impact other organ systems if left untreated (such as the heart and kidneys).  If our vets notice these issues, they will recommend we pursue an anesthetized dental procedure for your pet to fully evaluated and treat the issues present.

However, for the same reasons that we recommend preventative home dental care for your pets (and that our human dentists recommend twice annual cleanings in the office!), our goal is always to address dental disease well before it gets to an advanced stage.  Once we see early signs of tartar buildup on your pet’s teeth, we recommend scheduling an anesthetized oral examination and dental cleaning right away.

Before we go further, I want to address a common question we hear in the exam room: “Doc, why is anesthesia necessary for the full oral exam and cleaning?  My dentist cleans my teeth without sedation.”  Well, if we could ask our patients to calmly hold still with their mouths open for 20-40 minutes while we use motorized scalers and polishers (not to mention take x-rays!), then we certainly wouldn’t need to use anesthesia either!  J  Yes, there are some non-veterinarians out there offering “anesthesia-free” dental cleanings.  Unfortunately, these procedures cause unnecessary stress and pain for many pets, and often mask or even cause severe tooth and gum issues.  You can read more about this issue here:  http://avdc.org/AFD/. 

It is also important for our pet parents to know that we are an AAHA- accredited veterinary practice (American Animal Hospital Association (https://www.aaha.org/pet_owner/), and as such, we adhere to the highest levels of anesthetic care and monitoring.  While some practices have a sole individual responsible for cleaning a pet’s teeth and monitoring their anesthetic episode, we actually have three medical staff involved in each procedure!  These include an anesthesia nurse whose sole job is to monitor every aspect of the anesthetic episode (our dental suite resembles a human operating room!), a “dental hygienist” who will perform the cleaning and charting, and a veterinarian who will assess and treat any disease present.

Once your mind is eased about anesthesia, you might be surprised to find out that your pet’s dental procedure itself actually includes a total of twelve steps! 

1)     Oral examination on the awake pet

2)     Oral examination under anesthesia

3)     Plaque and tartar removal above the gumline using calculus-removing forceps, hand instruments, and power scaling equipment

4)     Scaling below the gumline to remove hidden plaque and tartar

5)     Polishing the teeth to eliminate crevices and scratches in the enamel that would encourage future tartar buildup

6)     Irrigation to remove diseased tissue and plaque from any gingival pockets

7)     Fluoride treatment

8)     Post-cleaning exam and diagnostics, including digital dental x-rays when indicated to evaluate the tooth roots for abscess, fractures, etc.

9)     Medical charting to record any disease present prior to treatment

10)  Therapy to treat any lesions noted.  This might include, among other things: tooth extractions, oral surgery, removal of excessive gum tissue, and injection of antibiotic-impregnated gel into gingival pockets to help prevent future infection.

11)  Detailed communication with pet parents about what was done and our recommendations going forward for home care or future dental procedures.

12)  Follow up progress visits—our dental procedure cost includes at least one progress visit so we can reassess your pet’s mouth and discuss any concerns you have been having, what sorts of home dental care has been working (or not!) for you, etc.

“Wow!” is the typical response I get when I have these conversations in person.  Most parents are shocked to find out the detail and level of care that is involved in our dental procedures at PAH & CCC.  I hope this post has been enlightening for you as well!

Please don’t hesitate to call us with any questions your may have or to schedule an oral evaluation for your pet.  We can assess your pet’s current level of dental health and either help you tailor an individual preventative care plan to implement at home or, if needed, schedule your pet for a sedated oral examination to fully evaluate the oral cavity and discuss treatment option for any issues that may be present.  Don’t forget: dental month is coming up in December!!

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