miércoles, 30 de noviembre de 2011

Galicial publica el decreto de normas zootécnicas y sanitarias de las explotaciones


Va referido a las producciones avícolas artesanales y crea un registro de ellas. La Consellería de Medio Rural ha publicado en el DOG un decreto por el que se establecen las normas zootécnicas y sanitarias de las producciones avícolas artesanales y se crea el Registro en el que deben figurar estas explotaciones. El decreto recuerda que la producción avícola gallega tanto de carne como de huevos tiene hoy en día un carácter industrial y la nueva normativa tiene en cuenta esta realidad coexistente con sistemas de producción tradicional caracterizado por su escaso volumen de producción y por la calidad diferenciada de sus productos. Por ello el departamento que dirige Samuel Juárez desarrolla un marco zootécnico y sanitario para este tipo de explotaciones artesanales, dado que las disposiciones normativas básicas estatales en la materia está concebida especialmente para la avicultura industrial intensiva. El nuevo decreto es de aplicación en las explotaciones de aves de cría ponedoras de huevos para incubar, hasta una capacidad máxima de 50 aves adultas y las de aves ponedoras de huevos de consumo, hasta un máximo de 50 aves adultas. También la producción para carne, con un máximo de 400 aves de cebo al año.

Un centenar de buitres devora a una vaca y a su cría recién nacida en Ávila


Una bandada de más de un centenar de buitres ha devorado a una vaca y a su cría, recién nacida, en una explotación ganadera situada en el término municipal de Pascualcobo (Ávila), ocasionando a su propietario pérdidas por valor de 1.600 euros. Según ha denunciado hoy la organización agraria UCCL en un comunicado, el ganadero Lorenzo Albarrán fue a ver el estado de un ternero recién nacido y de su madre a una parcela de su propiedad, en Pascualcobo, y comprobó que la madre, de raza mestiza, no podía levantarse del suelo por el parto y que la cría no podía mamar. El ganadero decidió entonces acudir al pueblo a comprar una botella y una tetina para extraer leche a la vaca y dársela al ternero.

Al regresar, una hora después, se encontró con una nube de unos cien buitres sobrevolando la finca, con la vaca moribunda y el ternero muerto, según ha explicado a EFE el propio Lorenzo Albarrán. Los buitres habían devorado la parte trasera de la vaca, que permanecía viva, y se habían comido las partes más blandas del ternero, que había muerto de sufrimiento y desangrado. Avisados por el ganadero, técnicos del Servicio Territorial de Medio Ambiente de la Junta de Castilla y León en Ávila se personaron en el lugar para tomar fotografías y redactar el informe oportuno. Lorenzo Albarrán tiene la explotación ganadera desde hace menos de un año, tras acogerse a las ayudas a la incorporación de jóvenes a la actividad agraria que concede la Unión Europea. El ganadero ha mostrado su pesar por lo ocurrido y ha criticado a la Junta, que aún no le ha abonado el importe concedido de la ayuda, de 34.000 euros. La UCCL ha recordado que el buitre "ha cambiado sus hábitos de conducta a raíz de la desaparición por ley de los cadáveres de animales del campo", por las medidas para controlar enfermedades del ganado como el mal de las vacas locas. Por ello, ha pedido que "se permita que determinados cadáveres puedan dejarse para alimentación de los buitres".

Is Your Pup Prepared for Her Genetic Destiny?


Your puppy is genetically predisposed to certain medical diseases. If you have a purebred puppy, you have an advantage, because you know the most common diseases to afflict your breed. If you don’t know which diseases to watch for, you can find out by going to your national breed club’s website

If you have a mixed breed puppy, you won’t have such a clear view of your pup’s medical future unless you know the breed of the parents, but you can still guess what will come your way based on your dog’s body type, size, and physical characteristics. Her genetic destiny is already determined, but how you manage her environment, feed her, and exercise her will affect how quickly she reaches that destiny. This is especially true in the case of orthopedic diseases.

You can also manage her behavior so that she is accustomed to the handling and care that will be necessary if she does contract a medical disease later in life.
Hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia and patellar luxation are all common orthopedic diseases. These diseases are generally inherited, although environmental factors such as exercise and nutrition affect how quickly osteoarthritis can develop. The only way to prevent these diseases is to stop breeding the dogs that are carriers. How painful the condition is for the individual animal depends on the breed, individual tolerance for pain, and environmental factors.

The orthopedic diseases covered here eventually cause osteoarthritis, so supplements may be helpful to continue to provide the building blocks for cartilage and for reducing inflammation. There is not near as much research as we would like on the preventative value of supplements, so it is best to speak to your veterinarian about which supplement, if any, is best for your puppy. You can also slow the progression of hip dysplasia in particular by using the slow-and-steady-wins-the-race feeding strategy. To facilitate this, many veterinarians recommend feeding an adult food, or at minimum a large breed puppy food, starting at eight months. Puppy food should be discontinued at 12 months of age.

Regardless of which orthopedic disease ends up affecting your pup, you are well advised to reduce the load that your puppy will have on her joints. She should look like a lean, mean puppy machine. She should be a healthy weight, not chubby. Start non-weight bearing exercise such as swimming soon after you adopt her. This type of exercise will help her to stay lean and strong without adding concussion to her joints. She should play, run and romp as much as she wants, but don’t start jogging with her until she is about 18 months old.

Let’s start with hip dysplasia. This is a very painful, inherited disease, which eventually results in osteoarthritis. Large breed dogs are generally affected, but any size dog can develop hip dysplasia. The hip (coxofemoral) joint is a ball and socket joint. In order to work correctly, the ball (femoral head) has to sit tightly in the socket (acetabulum). It must have lots of cushion and should be well lubricated. If a puppy inherits this disease, her hips will develop in such a way that the ball doesn’t sit nice and tight in the socket. The laxity in the joint causes the cascade of events that lead to painful osteoarthritis.

Once osteoarthritis is present, there is no going back; it is there for good — unless your dog has one of a couple of surgeries to correct the disease. Affected dogs limp on one or both of their hind legs. When they run, they often bunny hop instead of placing each hind leg on the ground as an unaffected dog would. Affected dogs may stand very upright on their hind legs to shift weight to the front of the body, making the hind legs look straighter than expected. You might notice that your dog’s toes look splayed on one side when compared to the other as she shifts weight onto the less painful leg. As the disease progresses, the muscle mass over the hind legs shrinks, making the legs look skinny.

Next, let’s talk knees. The kneecap (patella) is supposed to live in the patellar groove. As your pup flexes and extends her hind leg, the patella smoothly glides up and down that groove. If your pup is affected by patellar luxation, the patella doesn’t stay in the groove. It moves (luxates) medially (to the inside) or laterally (to the outside) of the patellar groove. Medial Patellar Luxation is very common in small dogs. The more time the patella spends outside of the patellar groove, the more the bones around it become deformed. Over time osteoarthritis develops, causing pain and often limping on the affected hind leg. Another common sign is skipping while exercising. As the dog is running, she may pick up the affected leg for a couple of strides, making it look like she is skipping.

Lets move to the front of the dog to talk about elbows. Elbow dysplasia is used to describe a set of inherited diseases that cause osteoarthritis in the elbow. This disease hides out for a while in many dogs, becoming painful when they are older and when, unfortunately, there are fewer options available to help them.

If your puppy is lame on the front legs, take it seriously. Get her in to see your vet. Better to find it early and do surgery than to find it later in life when arthritis kicks in. Depending on how severely the dog is affected, there are various options for treatment of these orthopedic diseases, including pain relievers, physical therapy, acupuncture, supplements, exercise, weight loss, cartilage building injections, and surgery.

Your puppy will need the following skills in order to face evaluation and treatment with as little stress as possible. Start teaching these skills in puppyhood, not after she has been diagnosed:

  • Stand still for injections, examinations and physical therapy
  • Walk on a leash without pulling so that the veterinarian can assess her movement
  • Lie on her side for examinations, radiographs, acupuncture and physical therapy.
  • Take a pill in food
  • Swim

There are lots of ways to teach a puppy to stand still. For most pups, it is easiest to teach them to move their front legs. Start with your pup in a sit, put a treat at her nose and let her get interested in it. Slowly move the treat forward until she is in a standing position. When her body is upright, say "stand," and then let her eat the treat. Repeat this sequence many times until she is moving as soon as she sees your hand moving. If you like, you can work to fade the hand lure and then the visible treat, but you should continue to reward for every correct attempt for about 100 reps. You can also add a "stay" to this sequence. Then, you can put your pup on variable reinforcement (you sometimes give a treat and sometimes don’t).

Remember the science of learning — behaviors that are never rewarded will be extinguished. That means that you will always be rewarding your dog in some way for her compliance with your requests. In other words, when you stop expecting your boss to pay you for a job well done, you can stop rewarding your pup for her hard work.

To get your pup to lie on her side, start with her in a down. Most pups learn this exercise in small steps, so you will be rewarding her for small approximations of the final behavior. Observe which hip she is resting on or which side she is leaning toward. Hold a treat at her nose and let her get interested in it. Then, slowly move the treat to her shoulder causing her to flex her neck to that side and roll further onto her hip. When she gets onto her hip, let her eat the treat. Repeat, repeat, repeat. When she can easily roll onto her hip and flex her neck toward her shoulder when you move the treat, you are ready for the next step. Instead of giving her the treat when she rolls onto her hip continue to move the treat toward her mouth gently to get her to move her neck and head toward the floor. When she moves even a little, give her the treat. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Continue this way until she puts her ear on the floor. When her ear hits the floor, say "side," and let her have the treat. Repeat these steps many, many times until you can stand up and tell her to lie on her side and she does.

Once your pup can do these things well, she has to learn to do them at the veterinarian’s office when someone is touching her. Expect her to forget most of what you taught her at home. This is a new environment for which you have not prepared her, so a little loss of memory is expected and normal. Come prepared with your treats and let the veterinarian and technician know what you are doing. Watch out because they might hug you! We don’t get very many dogs that can stand still or lie on their side for exams! They will think they have died and gone to heaven!

Dr. Lisa Radosta

martes, 29 de noviembre de 2011

Proteger del frío al perro y al gato.


Cada animal tiene una percepción diferente de frío. Estos son algunos consejos para afrontar mejor el frío con nuestros amigos de cuatro patas.

La lluvia y el frío pueden poner en tensión el deseo de salir de nuestros animales. Incluso si el perro y el gato están cubiertos por el pelo, no creo que no se enfríen cuando salen de casa.

Hay algunos animales que no piensan nada en absoluto en poner la nariz fuera del hogar, mientras que a otros les gusta salir a tomar un baño en un charco.

Cuanto más joven es el animal y el más grande, mejor apoya la disminución de la temperatura, sin embargo, la mayoría son de edad avanzada y sufren más con las bajas temperaturas. Los perros grandes pueden afrontar los rigores del invierno sin ningún problema, incluso fuera, siempre y cuando tengan una perrera y un lugar protegido de la lluvia, en el que para escapar durante la noche, cuando bajan las temperaturas. Para otros, sin embargo, la atención debe ser preservada para cuando salen los paseos habituales. Es importante prestar atención a la temperatura, las corrientes de aire ya que incluso los animales pueden enfermarse. Para los gatos, de hecho, debe estar alerta a los síntomas de la rinitis y los resfriados, las enfermedades que pueden ser muy graves.

El destete de los perros y gatos: de la leche materna al pienso.


Desde el momento del nacimiento y durante las tres primeras semanas de vida, los cachorros y los gatitos reciben directamente de la leche materna todos los nutrientes que necesitan.

Durante los próximos 3 / 6 semanas, con el destete, puede comenzar a ofrecer alimentos específicos de la industria que deben ser caracterizadas por altos niveles de proteínas, minerales, vitaminas y ácidos grasos esenciales en los alimentos para más de perros o gatos. Esto es porque durante los primeros seis meses de vida, su cuerpo se caracteriza por un rápido crecimiento, y es por eso que el crecimiento de pequeñas tienen una mayor demanda de energía y nutrientes esenciales.

Para ayudarles a masticar el pienso, puede humedecer ligeramente con agua, dividiéndola ración diaria en 3 / 4 comidas. Esto es importante debido a que su estómago y sus intestinos no han alcanzado aún el tamaño y la capacidad de un adulto, entonces no tienen la capacidad de recibir todos los nutrientes que necesita en una sola comida.

Sólo entonces podemos reducir la frecuencia de la administración diaria a un ritmo como un adulto (una o dos veces al día) cuando el animal es más viejo ahora. Además, el desplazamiento del alimento a pecho industrial debe ser gradual para que poco a poco, a los pequeños cambios en la dieta, limitando la aparición de trastornos digestivos.

Después de los tres primeros meses de vida, los cachorros y los gatitos empiezan a ser capaces de comer por sí mismos y entonces usted puede más fácilmente y reducir la cantidad de agua que se usa para humedecer el alimento seco siempre respetando la dosis diaria recomendada en el envase de los alimentos.

De esta manera, los cachorros y los gatitos crezcan sanos y fuertes, beneficiados de una nutrición completa y equilibrada de sus primeros meses de vida.

Dispelling the Mixed Breed Health Myth in Observance of National Mutt Day


In commemoration of National Mutt Day, I am exploring the notion that mixed breed dogs have health advantages over pure breeds.

What exactly makes a mutt? "Mutt" is a term typically referring to dogs, but does not necessarily exclude animal counterparts of other species. The term mutt is often used in a derogatory fashion, but it should be perceived in a more positive light. A mutt is merely a living being having a mix of known or unknown genetics. One can even consider most humans to be mutts due to our various genealogical lineages. Heck, I'm a French, Irish, and Lithuanian mutt.

Not all canines fit into the mutt category, as some dogs have specific genetic lineage that is traceable through generations and are thereby known as pure breeds. The American Kennel Club (AKC) defines purebred as a "dog whose sire and dam belong to the same breed and who are themselves of unmixed descent since recognition of the breed."

As a practicing veterinarian I am aware of the commonly held perspective that mutts are healthier than mixed breed dogs. There are some aspects of this statement that I agree with and others with which I disagree.

From a clinical perspective, what may make a mutt healthier is the general lack of awareness of specific illnesses that develop based on their genetics. Veterinarians can cite specific examples of pure breed dogs and rattle off a list of breed specific diseases; plus one for the mutts.

Veterinarians can never certify that a mixed breed dog will completely lack the potential for developing a genetically correlated disease. We can only speculate that a mutt may have a reduced likelihood as compared to a particular pure breed; minus one half for the mutts.

An example of this mixed versus pure breed phenomena is hip dysplasia (HD), one of the most common canine orthopedic abnormalities. HD (AKA Coxofemoral subluxation) is a developmental malformation of the hip joint that highly correlates with the genetics of many large dogs. HD is an undesirable trait, as it increases the likelihood that a dog will suffer from painful osteoarthritis during its lifetime.

Acquiring a dog from a reputable breeder who uses Penn HIP or Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) techniques to evaluate the sire and dam’s hip health can reduce the likelihood that the offspring of normal parents will develop hip dysplasia.

Breeds of dogs that are prone to hip dysplasia include (but are not limited to) the Golden and Labrador Retriever, Rottweiler, and German Shepherd Dog. Not every dog within these pedigrees has HD, yet plenty of mixes of these and other breeds do.

As compared to a dog’s breed, a more realistic determining factor of the likelihood of developing HD is physical size. Generally, large dogs (roughly > 50 lbs) are more likely to develop hip dysplasia than small dogs (say < 20 lbs), regardless of being a pure or mixed breed.

Additional factors that play a role in a dog’s development of HD are:

  • Fast rate of weight gain
  • Obesity (see Pet Obesity: Health Implications, Recognition, and Weight Management)
  • Elevated protein, calcium, and other nutritional factors
  • Traumatic joint injury

Although acquiring a dog of prime and known genetic stock may reduce the likelihood that a disease like HD will develop, the overall picture of health and wellness is multifactorial. Both pure and mixed breeds have the same potential to develop illness secondary to toxic exposure or infection. Additionally, getting hit by car, enduring a dog fight, falling from heights, and other traumas have no mixed versus pure breed discriminatory pattern.

I am all for adopting a pet, provided you have adequate time, financial resources, and have made this decision in a well thought out manner. Organizations like PetFinder are leading the way in the on-line adoptive realm and are currently striving to place nearly 200,000 dogs into homes.

Interestingly, PetFinder lists the available canines by known or suspected breed categories. A disclaimer reads:

Breed Note: Many of these pets are mixes. In these cases, the breed listed is the one that best matches their looks and personality. Also, some of the pets presumed to be mixes may be purebred.

Perhaps claiming a dog is a particular breed makes it more adoptable after all.

Truly, I hope your mutt, pure breed dog, cat, or other companion animal lives many years having a great quality of life। Providing the best pet parenting possible, along with some good fortune, can help make this goal a reality।

Dr. Patrick Mahaney