DCM is Dilated Cardiomyopathy. It is a disease that causes the heart muscle to gradually get weaker and weaker. The inability of the heart to squeeze blood out well causes problems as the disease progresses.
How does this happen?
True DCM seems to be coded in the genetics of our beloved pets. The breeds that are diagnosed most commonly with DCM are large breeds including, Great Danes, Newfoundlands, and Irish wolfhounds. The top two however, are Boxers and Dobermans.
DCM shows itself in two phases
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Check out the new page we added about pet's abdomens under our 'Diseases - Gastrointestinal' page. We discuss the difference between bloat, or GDV, abdominal swelling, and distention of the abdomen in dogs and cats. We hope you take a look around the website as we're working hard on keeping it up to date and creating more pages just for you!
Let us know in the comments if there's something specific you're looking for and it just might be the next thing we work on.
No matter what you call it: Poop, Feces, Stool, Bowel Movement, Number 2, Defecation, Boom-Boom, Turd, or even Trots; it all refers to a very important part of your dog and cat's overall health.
So, what is normal when it comes to your pet's bathroom habits?
It's a common question when you take your dog or cat to the vet: "Is Fluffy having normal bowel movements?" Well, after thinking about it you answer a resounding "Yes!" After all, Fluffy's stools have been normal; normal for her.
We may ask you for a description of the stool. (And don't worry if you take a picture of it to show us. I know it sounds gross to have a picture of poop in your phone, but it really can help us understand what you are seeing!) The Shapes and Colors of Poop
When discussing a pet's feces, it helps to know what's normal, and what is not. Let's check out the things we look for in good GI health.
This weekend is the SAGE Symposium and not only will Yvonne be speaking, but IMFPP will have a table at the event! We'll be bringing the the Pet Health Journal and we're hoping to have copies of the One Month Journal that we just launched this week. (The journal's are ordered and printing, we're hoping the shipment arrives before Sunday.) One Month Pet Health JournalThe One Month Pet Health Journal: Track Medications, Treatments, and Your Cat's and Dog's Health is the newest member of the Internal Medicine For Pet Parents Series. We're excited to announce it was published this week on Amazon. So, what is the One Month Journal?The One Month Journal is the baby brother to the Pet Health Journal. It has 5 weeks, a one month calendar, and is perfect for pets after a surgery or hospitalization that just need some extra attention for a few weeks. If you'd like a copy of your own you can purchase the One Month Journal from us directly, at SAGE Symposium, or got to Amazon and order your copy today! SAGE Symposium 2019The SAGE Symposium is a leader in continuing education in the San Francisco Bay Area. There are 6 tracks and the day will provide 7 RACE approved CE credits for both veterinarians and technicians. The Symposium outgrew the location on the peninsula and was moved to a larger venue at the Oakland Marriot. Because of the larger location, registration is still open and if you haven't snagged your ticket you still can. Register for SAGE Symposium here and make sure to listen to Yvonne's lectures and stop by the table and say hello and check out the new One Month Pet Health Journal. Oakland Marriot 1001 Broadway Oakland, California 94607 tel:+1 510-451-4000 Or get there by BART Hope to see you on Sunday!There is a lot of hype right now about grain free foods and heart disease in pets. We reached out to Ann, our nutrition and internal medicine small animal VTS author, for her prospective and she gave us the low down. In July 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a bulletin regarding a potential connection between diet and cases of canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM). Veterinary cardiologists had alerted the FDA of an increase in cases of DCM in breeds not typically genetically prone to this condition (1, 2). Dilated cardiomyopathy has been genetically linked to a number of breeds of dogs including Great Danes, Boxers, Newfoundland’s, Irish Wolfhounds, St. Bernard’s, and Doberman pinschers. Cardiologists were seeing an increase in non-typically breeds including mix-breed dogs and smaller dogs. (1)
Veterinary cardiologists were recently surveyed about cases of possible diet-associated DCM in dogs examined in the past 2 years. Information was provided for over 240 dogs. For dogs in which the breed was specified:
Getting tablets and capsules into cats can be challenging, but sometimes getting them to pass into the stomach can take even more time than we thought. Did you know this could cause problems? In an abstract published by ACVIM, Auburn University did a study to see if using butter helped tablets to pass from the mouth into the stomach of cats. In the study they used fluoroscopy to monitor a tablet as it passed from the cats mouths to their stomachs. In half of the cats it took over 10 minutes! However, when a small amount of butter was applied to the tablet it was able to pass easily into the stomach in under 1 minute. The same if a small amount of either butter or Nutrical was applied to the cats nose it helped facilitate licking and the tablets also passed in under a minute. What does that mean? To prevent medications from sticking in the esophagus possibly causing esophagitis it is important to encourage cats to swallow. **only use butter or Nutrical if it approved by your veterinarian** What is esophagitis and why should we care about it?
We had so much fun yesterday at the CaRVTA Symposium! It was great meeting everyone that came out to listen to some awesome speakers.
We'd love to see some of the pictures everyone took from the day! Go to our Facebook post and share pics of the day. Nothing gets us out of bed faster than the sound of retching in the middle of the night! But what about those times stuff just flies out of their mouths like in the movie "The Exorcist"? (You know the scene we're talking about: split pea soup!) We know, it's not our favorite thing to talk about but it's important to know the difference between vomiting and regurgitating. That Retching SoundThis weekend is the 2nd Annual CaRVTA Symposium. It will be held on Sunday March 3rd, 2019 starting at 8:00 am until 5:00 pm on the Foothill College campus. Topics include:
Some Familiar NamesWhen you attend you'll see some familiar names teaching the lectures including our very own Ashley and guest author April Bays! But don't miss out on these veterinary technician all-stars:
Be Sure to Stop By and Say Hello!!Internal Medicine For Pet Parents will have a table at the conference and we'd love it if you stop by and say hello. We promise to have goodies and we'll have copies of the Pet Health Journal for you to check out in person. Mention this post and we'll give you an extra goodie! Join us at Foothill College for the CaRVTA Symposium 12345 El Monte Rd, Los Altos Hills, CA See You Sunday!We're launching a new page on the website: Decoding a Pet Food Label We're super excited to have Ann teach us how to decode a pet food label. These are not as straight forward as you may believe. Definitely a must read for those looking for just the right dog or cat food. Ann Wortinger is an amazing veterinary technician with her VTS not only in small animal internal medicine, but also in emergency and critical care AND nutrition! Talk about a well rounded tech. We're honored to have her contribute to the website. Let us know what you think!
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Most of the information on this site is free for you to read, watch or listen to, but Internal Medicine for Pet Parents is also a business. So please expect hyperlinks to be affiliate links in many cases, where we receive a small percentage of sales if you wish to purchase. We only recommend tools, books and services that we use, or people we know personally. Integrity and authenticity continue to be of the highest importance to us. Read the privacy policy here. We hope you find the site useful! Thanks – Yvonne and Ashley Check us out on Facebook!
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