It’s the time of the year where families and friends get together to celebrate the coming of the new year. In the hustle and bustle of last minute preparation, you have many people to see and places to go. Let’s not make the veterinary emergency hospital be one of them. There are unexpected illnesses, sudden deterioration of chronic illnesses, etc… but more often, the below problems land more pets in the emergency room than anything else --- problems that are avoidable with a little foresight.
Food: Any food that your pets are not accustomed to --- too fatty, too spicy, too rich --- can lead to intestinal upset and/or pancreatitis. Unless your pets are used to the following, it is best to avoid the following:
- No fatty parts and no skin (poultry, pork)
- No bones, period. Cooked ribs, chicken or turkey bones may seem like a good holiday treat, but they can splinter and cause obstruction or serious injury to the intestines. Some people may recommend raw beef bones (knuckle bones or oxtails) which are “safer” than poultry bones. But we still see patients with intestinal upset (not necessarily intestinal obstruction) from the raw beef bones so we can’t recommend them.
Instead, treat your pet to some lowfat chicken broth over the regular dry food. Or if you want to share your dinner, add a few morsels of boneless, non-fatty meat, green beans, or potato in their food bowl. Just to be safe, stay away from onions and garlic. We don’t know if your pets are sensitive to them. Remember, these are given as treats or to add flavor to their regular diet --- they are not to replace the usual meal. Do not treat your pets to a whole “holiday meal.” You may do more harm than good.
- No chocolate for pets.
Other holiday hazards include:
- Decorations: Tinsel can twist up the intestines. They are especially dangerous to cats and kittens who tend to play and eat them. Ornaments, if swallowed, can cause intestinal obstruction. Even the water at the base of the tree contains secretions that can cause a stomachache. Unless you are there to supervise, it is best to make the tree off-limits; use barriers or have the tree in an area where you can block off access.
- Poisonings: Ivy, holly, mistletoe, hibiscus, poinsettia, lilies and Christmas greens can all cause gastro-intestinal upset if ingested in certain amounts. Some of them can be toxic to animals. Place holiday plants high off the ground. And if you have acrobatic cats, leave the plants in a room where the cats can’t get to them.
- Guests: Boisterous friends and families can frighten pets. Stressed out Fifi may not appreciate having loud kids petting and pulling on her. Designate a quiet and secure room for your pets’ retreat. And if there’s risks of your pets taking off when the door is left open, make sure they have ID collars and/or are microchipped.
Just like us, some pets may be stressed by the holidays. Stress can manifest itself in many ways: behavioral problems, loss of appetite, and excessive grooming to name a few. The problems can lead to serious medical issues such as hepatic lipidosis or “fatty liver” in cats. Contact your veterinarian or the emergency services for advice at early signs of problems --- before they become costly and life-threatening illnesses.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Healthy Weight, Healthy Pet: Body Condition Score - Dogs
In a previous post, we mentioned using the 9-point body condition score (BCS) system from Purina to evaluate our pet's weight.
You can determine your dog's body condition score (BCS) by following these steps:
1) Facing in the same direction, stand behind your dog. Lean over and place both of your thumbs on either side of your dog's backbone. Spread both hands across her rib cage. You want to be able to feel her ribs without having to exert too much pressure. Thick coats or long hair can make this difficult. Check the above chart. Based on ribs palpation alone, is your dog too thin, ideal, or too heavy?
2) Kneel down to your dog's level to examine the profile. Can you see the abdominal tuck? Another way to detect the abdominal tuck is to run your hand along your dog's underside, from the chest towards the belly (abdomen). If you feel your hand moving in an upswing motion as you move off the chest and rib cage to the abdomen, there's an abdominal tuck. As a pet gets heavier (BCS 8 and 9), she loses the abdominal tuck; your hand may drop downward instead upward.
3) Have your dog stand on all four legs in front of you. Stand behind your dog as in step 1 and look down at your dog's back from overhead. Do you see a waist behind the ribs? It's not a classic hourglass figure, but you should be able to see at least a slight curve inward behind the rib cage.
What is your dog's body condition? Did you come up with a body condition score?
Remember, there are other factors such as breed characteristics and conformation that may affect the BCS.
We use this 9-point system but we do not like the descriptive labels. The labels designated to the BCS are misleading. There are many pets with BCS 6 that we consider "healthy." And there are a few with BCS 4 that we don't consider "ideal" at all. We may say a pet is overweight or underweight then add on a BCS. But we often don’t give just a BCS alone since assuming a BCS of 4 is ideal may be inaccurate under certain circumstances. Even with these limitations, the body condition score system is a valuable tool in evaluating and monitoring our pet's weights. Once we have a way to recognize and monitor a problem, we have a better chance at finding a resolution.
Coming Up: Body Condition Score - Cats
You can determine your dog's body condition score (BCS) by following these steps:
1) Facing in the same direction, stand behind your dog. Lean over and place both of your thumbs on either side of your dog's backbone. Spread both hands across her rib cage. You want to be able to feel her ribs without having to exert too much pressure. Thick coats or long hair can make this difficult. Check the above chart. Based on ribs palpation alone, is your dog too thin, ideal, or too heavy?
2) Kneel down to your dog's level to examine the profile. Can you see the abdominal tuck? Another way to detect the abdominal tuck is to run your hand along your dog's underside, from the chest towards the belly (abdomen). If you feel your hand moving in an upswing motion as you move off the chest and rib cage to the abdomen, there's an abdominal tuck. As a pet gets heavier (BCS 8 and 9), she loses the abdominal tuck; your hand may drop downward instead upward.
3) Have your dog stand on all four legs in front of you. Stand behind your dog as in step 1 and look down at your dog's back from overhead. Do you see a waist behind the ribs? It's not a classic hourglass figure, but you should be able to see at least a slight curve inward behind the rib cage.
What is your dog's body condition? Did you come up with a body condition score?
Remember, there are other factors such as breed characteristics and conformation that may affect the BCS.
We use this 9-point system but we do not like the descriptive labels. The labels designated to the BCS are misleading. There are many pets with BCS 6 that we consider "healthy." And there are a few with BCS 4 that we don't consider "ideal" at all. We may say a pet is overweight or underweight then add on a BCS. But we often don’t give just a BCS alone since assuming a BCS of 4 is ideal may be inaccurate under certain circumstances. Even with these limitations, the body condition score system is a valuable tool in evaluating and monitoring our pet's weights. Once we have a way to recognize and monitor a problem, we have a better chance at finding a resolution.
Coming Up: Body Condition Score - Cats
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Cold Weather Tips....
Brrr! Us
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Healthy Weight, Healthy Pet: Introduction
In the 1960's and 1970's, 1 in 10 dogs in the United States were considered to be obese. Recent reports now conservatively estimate about 1 in 3, and as high as 2 in 3, dogs are overweight or obese in the U.S. Similar numbers are reported for cat populations.
It is not a coincidence that these statistics parallel the rise of obesity in adults in the U.S. The sedentary lifestyle packs on the pounds on our pets the same way it does on us.
The most common causes of obesity in dogs are diet and hormonal disorders. Of the two, diet is the more common problem. However, it is important to rule out any underlying medical problems prior to starting a weight loss plan.
The first step, of course, is to identify and recognize when our pets are overweight. The ideal body weight is specific to each pet based on the pet's breed or breeds. Body size and conformation also play a role in a pet's ideal weight. With all these variables, sometimes it is not easy to recognize when our pet is overweight. Hence, it is a good idea to discuss a pet's body weight and condition during the general physical exam.
Using weight (pounds or kilograms) as a unit measure to monitor healthy body weights is not practical. Being 5 pounds over the ideal body weight for a 95 pound Shepherd Mix is not as bad as it is for a 20 pound Terrier Mix. Body condition score (BCS) is a measure often used to assess, compare, and track a pet's body weight and body condition. Unfortunately, there are several body condition scales, so a BCS of 4 may be overweight on the 1 to 5 scale of one system, yet thin or ideal on the 1 to 9 scale of another.
At The Family Vet, we use the 1 to 9 system from Purina where a score of 4 and 5 are ideal in the dogs and 5 is ideal in cats.
For dogs
For cats
BCS is not perfect but it is an effective way for us to assess and monitor our pets' healthy weights. Just be consistent and use the same scoring system so you can track progress.
Once it is decided that a pet is overweight, the next step is to determine the target weight. The target weight may not be the ideal weight. We use target weights as steps to reach the ideal weight. At each target weight, we re-evaluate the body condition score to see if that is the healthy weight for the pet and adjust as needed.
With the target weight in sight, we then determine the plan based on the pet's lifestyle and the client's ability and resources. If there is no underlying medical condition, the health plan varies but often includes the same basic prescription as for people: Less calories, more physical activities.
Follow-ups are critical to success. Timely weight checks motivate us when we are nearing the target weight and/or encourage us to work harder on our plan. Even more importantly, follow-ups allow us to detect serious problems, such as drastic weight loss (not a good thing, especially in cats), that may require changes to our plan.
So the general steps to a healthy body weight for our pets include:
1) Find the pet's weight and determine the body condition score.
2) If the pet is overweight (or underweight), check with the veterinarian to rule out any underlying medical problems. Based on the pet's age and physical exam, blood and urine tests may be needed to assess health condition.
3) Determine a realistic target weight for the pet.
4) Design a practical health plan to include diet changes and appropriate activity levels.
5) Follow-ups to monitor progress and modify plans as needed.
In the coming weeks, we will look at some of the above steps in more details, including tips to implement the health plan and make it more enjoyable for both you and your pets. We will also look at whether or not pharmaceutical products, such as Slentrol, have any role in our pet's health plan.
Coming up: Determining the Body Condition Score: Dogs.
It is not a coincidence that these statistics parallel the rise of obesity in adults in the U.S. The sedentary lifestyle packs on the pounds on our pets the same way it does on us.
The most common causes of obesity in dogs are diet and hormonal disorders. Of the two, diet is the more common problem. However, it is important to rule out any underlying medical problems prior to starting a weight loss plan.
The first step, of course, is to identify and recognize when our pets are overweight. The ideal body weight is specific to each pet based on the pet's breed or breeds. Body size and conformation also play a role in a pet's ideal weight. With all these variables, sometimes it is not easy to recognize when our pet is overweight. Hence, it is a good idea to discuss a pet's body weight and condition during the general physical exam.
Using weight (pounds or kilograms) as a unit measure to monitor healthy body weights is not practical. Being 5 pounds over the ideal body weight for a 95 pound Shepherd Mix is not as bad as it is for a 20 pound Terrier Mix. Body condition score (BCS) is a measure often used to assess, compare, and track a pet's body weight and body condition. Unfortunately, there are several body condition scales, so a BCS of 4 may be overweight on the 1 to 5 scale of one system, yet thin or ideal on the 1 to 9 scale of another.
At The Family Vet, we use the 1 to 9 system from Purina where a score of 4 and 5 are ideal in the dogs and 5 is ideal in cats.
For dogs
For cats
BCS is not perfect but it is an effective way for us to assess and monitor our pets' healthy weights. Just be consistent and use the same scoring system so you can track progress.Once it is decided that a pet is overweight, the next step is to determine the target weight. The target weight may not be the ideal weight. We use target weights as steps to reach the ideal weight. At each target weight, we re-evaluate the body condition score to see if that is the healthy weight for the pet and adjust as needed.
With the target weight in sight, we then determine the plan based on the pet's lifestyle and the client's ability and resources. If there is no underlying medical condition, the health plan varies but often includes the same basic prescription as for people: Less calories, more physical activities.
Follow-ups are critical to success. Timely weight checks motivate us when we are nearing the target weight and/or encourage us to work harder on our plan. Even more importantly, follow-ups allow us to detect serious problems, such as drastic weight loss (not a good thing, especially in cats), that may require changes to our plan.
So the general steps to a healthy body weight for our pets include:
1) Find the pet's weight and determine the body condition score.
2) If the pet is overweight (or underweight), check with the veterinarian to rule out any underlying medical problems. Based on the pet's age and physical exam, blood and urine tests may be needed to assess health condition.
3) Determine a realistic target weight for the pet.
4) Design a practical health plan to include diet changes and appropriate activity levels.
5) Follow-ups to monitor progress and modify plans as needed.
In the coming weeks, we will look at some of the above steps in more details, including tips to implement the health plan and make it more enjoyable for both you and your pets. We will also look at whether or not pharmaceutical products, such as Slentrol, have any role in our pet's health plan.
Coming up: Determining the Body Condition Score: Dogs.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Lead in Pet Toys II
More pet toys are being randomly tested from different pet stores around the nation as various media groups join the growing investigation on lead levels in pet toys.
Risks of lead toxicosis from pet toys are still lower than other medical conditions currently facing our pets. More pets are likely to suffer (and possibly die) from systemic disease (i.e. kidney disease) and oral pain caused by dental infection than lead toxicosis from pet toys. However, as higher lead contents are found in pet toys, it is only prudent that we exercise a little more caution shopping this holiday season.
The lead levels reported in earlier investigations were very low (see our earlier post below). However, a recent test of the paint used for the logo on a Paws 'N Claws tennis ball for dogs listed the lead level to be 27,200 ppm. Keep in mind, Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) prohibits paint with levels in excess of 600 ppm on children's toys. This becomes a valid concern for families that may have children handling these pet toys.
Admittedly, the lead is in the painted logo, not on the whole tennis ball. If you apply similar equations used in our previous calculations, the amount of paint used for the logo is unlikely to cause problems for a 22 pound dog --- unless that dog eats this particular type of tennis ball (or the paint from the logo) every day for a month. Of course, if your 2 pound Chihuahua is very sensitive to lead, eating the paint from one ball may be enough to cause critical toxicity.
As lead levels get higher in these tests, things are less clear-cut as to how worried we should be. There is still no cause for panic. But we should definitely be more selective of our pet toys.
Since the most frequent culprit seems to be the shiny lead-containing paint, you can minimize the risk by avoiding toys with painted designs. Some advocates not buying toys "Made in China." But it is not clear how much safer toys made outside of China are, considering some may still contain paint made in China.
As you research and read about tests and lead levels, remember to keep things in perspective:
* There is a difference between the lead content and the amount available or accessible to the pets (consumers). The lead content in the paint is available to pets from ingestion (peeling paint or paint chips). The lead content in the ceramic dish is NOT the same as the level exposed to pets. A different test is needed to determine the amount of lead in the dish that is leached into the food or water and ingested by pets. That leached amount is a lot lower than the lead level found in the dish itself.
* Reports tend to highlight the high lead level in several toys. Hundreds of other toys are usually also tested and found to be within the acceptable safe limits.
There will likely be on-going independent investigations for a while. Official recalls, if any, are usually announced in the news and/or at the pet stores themselves. However, some of you may want to be informed of every development. Below are two links to sites we found to be quick with any news stories in pet care:
http://www.stevedalepetworld.com
http://www.itchmo.com
Risks of lead toxicosis from pet toys are still lower than other medical conditions currently facing our pets. More pets are likely to suffer (and possibly die) from systemic disease (i.e. kidney disease) and oral pain caused by dental infection than lead toxicosis from pet toys. However, as higher lead contents are found in pet toys, it is only prudent that we exercise a little more caution shopping this holiday season.
The lead levels reported in earlier investigations were very low (see our earlier post below). However, a recent test of the paint used for the logo on a Paws 'N Claws tennis ball for dogs listed the lead level to be 27,200 ppm. Keep in mind, Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) prohibits paint with levels in excess of 600 ppm on children's toys. This becomes a valid concern for families that may have children handling these pet toys.
Admittedly, the lead is in the painted logo, not on the whole tennis ball. If you apply similar equations used in our previous calculations, the amount of paint used for the logo is unlikely to cause problems for a 22 pound dog --- unless that dog eats this particular type of tennis ball (or the paint from the logo) every day for a month. Of course, if your 2 pound Chihuahua is very sensitive to lead, eating the paint from one ball may be enough to cause critical toxicity.
As lead levels get higher in these tests, things are less clear-cut as to how worried we should be. There is still no cause for panic. But we should definitely be more selective of our pet toys.
Since the most frequent culprit seems to be the shiny lead-containing paint, you can minimize the risk by avoiding toys with painted designs. Some advocates not buying toys "Made in China." But it is not clear how much safer toys made outside of China are, considering some may still contain paint made in China.
As you research and read about tests and lead levels, remember to keep things in perspective:
* There is a difference between the lead content and the amount available or accessible to the pets (consumers). The lead content in the paint is available to pets from ingestion (peeling paint or paint chips). The lead content in the ceramic dish is NOT the same as the level exposed to pets. A different test is needed to determine the amount of lead in the dish that is leached into the food or water and ingested by pets. That leached amount is a lot lower than the lead level found in the dish itself.
* Reports tend to highlight the high lead level in several toys. Hundreds of other toys are usually also tested and found to be within the acceptable safe limits.
There will likely be on-going independent investigations for a while. Official recalls, if any, are usually announced in the news and/or at the pet stores themselves. However, some of you may want to be informed of every development. Below are two links to sites we found to be quick with any news stories in pet care:
http://www.stevedalepetworld.com
http://www.itchmo.com
Monday, December 3, 2007
In The News...Lead in Pet Toys
The holiday season means toys not only for our human kids, but also for our dogs and cats. Following the recalls on certain products from China (pet food, toothpaste, children's toys, etc.), news of high levels of lead found in pet toys was reported in September by ConsumerAffairs.com. Off-shoots of that reports are resurfacing in the news. You may hear or read about it in the local news or online.
Should we worry? Not really, or at least not at the panic level that these news reports can sometimes cause in the pet-loving populace. The two veterinarians in the ConsumerAffairs.com article stated that the lead levels found in the toys do not pose a health risk to dogs and cats. Unless other tests have since been done showing higher levels of lead, those toys are not dangerous to our dogs and cats. (Unless the dog swallows the toy --- in which case the danger becomes the choking hazard and intestinal obstruction, not necessarily lead poison.)
But what about dogs licking / chewing the toys? Or eating from the same bowls (that may contain lead) every day? What about chronic exposure and lead building up in the body over time? At the reported lead levels in those toys and the current life span of most dogs, it is still not a concern.
First, some data and terminology:
* ppm is parts per million. This is also expressed as milligram (mg) per kilogram (kg).
* Federal law prohibits painting toys (for children) with any solution (i.e. paint) that contains more than 0.06 percent lead. 0.06 percent is equivalent to 600 ppm. The risk is from children ingesting the chipped or peeling paint. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalls children's products if they contain more than 600 ppm lead.
* CPSC recalls ceramic flatware (for human adults) that leaches more than 3 ppm lead (http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/fdaact.html#lead)
Now, here are some numbers from the ConsumerAffairs.com article:
* The lead amount in the green monster was 907.4 micrograms (NOT milligrams) per kilogram. That's 0.9074 milligrams per kilogram, which is less than 1 ppm. And this amount was detected after soaking part of the toy in an acidic solution. Acidic solution increases the leaching potential of lead --- which is why storing acidic food in decorative lead-containing bowls is not recommended. So the green monster, after soaking in an acidic solution, contains less than one-third of the amount allowed to leach from lead-containing bowls deemed safe for human use. Is that not safe enough for you?
But what happens to the dogs after years of chewing and licking these toys? More numbers for you:
* Dogs can get chronic lead toxicosis (poison) if they ingest 3 to 30 milligram (mg) of lead per kilogram (kg) of body weight per day (d) over several weeks. Twelve-weeks or 90-days is often the time period used in studies for chronic exposure. To make it easier, we will use 5 mg/kg/d as the toxic dose in our calculation.
* For a 22 pound dog, the toxic amount is: 22 pounds body weight (BW) = 10 kg BW
10 kg BW x 5 mg lead / kg BW / d = 50 mg lead / d x 90 d = 4500 mg of lead. A 10 kg dog can have lead toxicosis after ingesting 4500 mg lead over a period of time. How long will that take?
* Some of the earlier reports claimed paint with lead levels of 30 to 40 ppm. For easy calculation again, let's use a higher concentration of 50 ppm (that's 50 mg of lead per kilogram of paint). Assuming a dog will consume 1/2 oz or 15 gram of paint per day (by the way, the amount varies with the size of the toy, but it seems very unlikely that a toy would contain that much paint), here's the math:
15 gram paint / d = 0.015 kg paint / d x 50 mg lead / kg paint = 0.75 mg lead / d
From the above calculation, the accumulated toxic amount for the 10 kg dog is 4500 mg of lead. 4500 mg lead divided by 0.75 mg lead (per day) = 6000 days divided by 365 days = 16.4 years. So if your 10 kg (or 22 pounds) dog licks and chews 1/2 ounce of 50 ppm lead-containing paint from her toys every day for 16 years, she may end up with lead toxicosis.
There you have it.
So why did I say "Not really" instead of a resounding "No?" In veterinary medicine, we deal with complex living biological system (pets) that not only have varied sensitivities (my dog may be more sensitive to lead than your dog), but also have families (you and I) with different risk tolerances. Knowing that it is very unlikely for my dog to ingest enough lead-containing paint from her toys to poison her may be enough reassurance for me. It may not be for you. You may rather there be NO lead at all in her toys. In that case, there are lead testing kits you can purchase to check all the toys and products in your home and discard any suspects.
There is no need for panic, but there is cause for concerned interest. We should be aware of what we bring into our homes. ConsumerAffairs.com and similar consumer protection agency do their job by bringing these findings to light. We, as intelligent consumers, then need to look at the reports, interpret it along with all the other information at our disposal, and come to our own conclusion. And that conclusion may change as more information is revealed. The lead levels in toys tested so far are low compared to the accepted safe levels established for human use. There’s probably greater exposure to lead from certain cages, carriers, or housing for pets than from their toys.
So what toys do I have for my own Elaine? A Kong and a couple thick rope ties that look like these. Not because of lead toxicosis but because of foreign body obstruction --- she would destroy and eat most any other toys.
If you worry that your pets have lead toxicosis, discuss it with your veterinarian regardless of how unlikely it seems after reading this post. Lead toxicosis is dependent on many factors, not just what were discussed here. Here's an article on signs of lead poisoning.
Follow-up: Lead in Pet Toys II
Should we worry? Not really, or at least not at the panic level that these news reports can sometimes cause in the pet-loving populace. The two veterinarians in the ConsumerAffairs.com article stated that the lead levels found in the toys do not pose a health risk to dogs and cats. Unless other tests have since been done showing higher levels of lead, those toys are not dangerous to our dogs and cats. (Unless the dog swallows the toy --- in which case the danger becomes the choking hazard and intestinal obstruction, not necessarily lead poison.)
But what about dogs licking / chewing the toys? Or eating from the same bowls (that may contain lead) every day? What about chronic exposure and lead building up in the body over time? At the reported lead levels in those toys and the current life span of most dogs, it is still not a concern.
First, some data and terminology:
* ppm is parts per million. This is also expressed as milligram (mg) per kilogram (kg).
* Federal law prohibits painting toys (for children) with any solution (i.e. paint) that contains more than 0.06 percent lead. 0.06 percent is equivalent to 600 ppm. The risk is from children ingesting the chipped or peeling paint. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalls children's products if they contain more than 600 ppm lead.
* CPSC recalls ceramic flatware (for human adults) that leaches more than 3 ppm lead (http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/fdaact.html#lead)
Now, here are some numbers from the ConsumerAffairs.com article:
* The lead amount in the green monster was 907.4 micrograms (NOT milligrams) per kilogram. That's 0.9074 milligrams per kilogram, which is less than 1 ppm. And this amount was detected after soaking part of the toy in an acidic solution. Acidic solution increases the leaching potential of lead --- which is why storing acidic food in decorative lead-containing bowls is not recommended. So the green monster, after soaking in an acidic solution, contains less than one-third of the amount allowed to leach from lead-containing bowls deemed safe for human use. Is that not safe enough for you?
But what happens to the dogs after years of chewing and licking these toys? More numbers for you:
* Dogs can get chronic lead toxicosis (poison) if they ingest 3 to 30 milligram (mg) of lead per kilogram (kg) of body weight per day (d) over several weeks. Twelve-weeks or 90-days is often the time period used in studies for chronic exposure. To make it easier, we will use 5 mg/kg/d as the toxic dose in our calculation.
* For a 22 pound dog, the toxic amount is: 22 pounds body weight (BW) = 10 kg BW
10 kg BW x 5 mg lead / kg BW / d = 50 mg lead / d x 90 d = 4500 mg of lead. A 10 kg dog can have lead toxicosis after ingesting 4500 mg lead over a period of time. How long will that take?
* Some of the earlier reports claimed paint with lead levels of 30 to 40 ppm. For easy calculation again, let's use a higher concentration of 50 ppm (that's 50 mg of lead per kilogram of paint). Assuming a dog will consume 1/2 oz or 15 gram of paint per day (by the way, the amount varies with the size of the toy, but it seems very unlikely that a toy would contain that much paint), here's the math:
15 gram paint / d = 0.015 kg paint / d x 50 mg lead / kg paint = 0.75 mg lead / d
From the above calculation, the accumulated toxic amount for the 10 kg dog is 4500 mg of lead. 4500 mg lead divided by 0.75 mg lead (per day) = 6000 days divided by 365 days = 16.4 years. So if your 10 kg (or 22 pounds) dog licks and chews 1/2 ounce of 50 ppm lead-containing paint from her toys every day for 16 years, she may end up with lead toxicosis.
There you have it.
So why did I say "Not really" instead of a resounding "No?" In veterinary medicine, we deal with complex living biological system (pets) that not only have varied sensitivities (my dog may be more sensitive to lead than your dog), but also have families (you and I) with different risk tolerances. Knowing that it is very unlikely for my dog to ingest enough lead-containing paint from her toys to poison her may be enough reassurance for me. It may not be for you. You may rather there be NO lead at all in her toys. In that case, there are lead testing kits you can purchase to check all the toys and products in your home and discard any suspects.
There is no need for panic, but there is cause for concerned interest. We should be aware of what we bring into our homes. ConsumerAffairs.com and similar consumer protection agency do their job by bringing these findings to light. We, as intelligent consumers, then need to look at the reports, interpret it along with all the other information at our disposal, and come to our own conclusion. And that conclusion may change as more information is revealed. The lead levels in toys tested so far are low compared to the accepted safe levels established for human use. There’s probably greater exposure to lead from certain cages, carriers, or housing for pets than from their toys.
So what toys do I have for my own Elaine? A Kong and a couple thick rope ties that look like these. Not because of lead toxicosis but because of foreign body obstruction --- she would destroy and eat most any other toys.
If you worry that your pets have lead toxicosis, discuss it with your veterinarian regardless of how unlikely it seems after reading this post. Lead toxicosis is dependent on many factors, not just what were discussed here. Here's an article on signs of lead poisoning.
Follow-up: Lead in Pet Toys II
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Products We Like...Zoom Groom
Update 11/27/2009: All products were purchased by us and no compensation was received for this review. Please see our Disclaimers and Disclosures for details.
My cats love these soft rubber finger brushes. You can find them at the local pet stores for about $4 or online stores such as Amazon.com. Most cats (and dogs) love them, making routine grooming and brushing a treat, not a chore. I have seen and tried some of the other rubber brushes, but the Kong® Zoom Groom is still a favorite with my cats.
• Soft rubber teeth that gently massage the skin and stimulate the skin natural oil production.
• Get the undercoat without irritating the skin with stiff pointy steel extensions.
• Not hard or rough over the bony spines of old cats and dogs (big plus for our geriatric cats) or skinny pet. Also great for very short coat dogs.
• Brush nicely fits in the palm of your hand (may not be true if you have big hands).
• Flexible brush allows it to bend to the body contours i.e. necks, jaws, behind the knees.
• Easy to clean. Pull off the clump of hair. Wash brush with soap and dry. We have disinfected ours with diluted bleach without any problems.
Disadvantages of the Kong® Zoom Groom:
• Not a flea comb.
• Not good at getting matts out --- the rubber fingers are not firm enough. Routine brushing can minimize matts but once matts are there, use a different comb to get them out.
• Certain hair types will not stick to the brush as easily as others. May need to clean up / vacuum the loose hair after brushing. See below for tips to minimize this problem.
Kong® Zoom Groom Tips:
• To minimize hair flying all over the place, wet the brush before use. Run it quickly under the faucet and shake out the water. The wetness reduces the fly-a-ways and static shock. Also makes it easier to stick some of the hair back on the brush.
• Put some of the hair that flies off the brush in the beginning back on the brush. This may help the rest of the hair stick better to the brush.
I use the Zoom Groom on Elaine also, but it’s the biggest hit with my cats. I can tell you all the reasons why routine brushing is good for your cats. It’s supposed to be a pleasant experience for them (and you). Another big side benefit is the built-in frequent checks for lumps and bumps on their body. But if they hate the brushing, you are not going to do it. Enjoyable brushing experiences translate to frequent routine brushing which, among other things, can lead to better coats and less hairball.
Do you have any pet grooming tips to share?
My cats love these soft rubber finger brushes. You can find them at the local pet stores for about $4 or online stores such as Amazon.com. Most cats (and dogs) love them, making routine grooming and brushing a treat, not a chore. I have seen and tried some of the other rubber brushes, but the Kong® Zoom Groom is still a favorite with my cats.
• Soft rubber teeth that gently massage the skin and stimulate the skin natural oil production.
• Get the undercoat without irritating the skin with stiff pointy steel extensions.
• Not hard or rough over the bony spines of old cats and dogs (big plus for our geriatric cats) or skinny pet. Also great for very short coat dogs.
• Brush nicely fits in the palm of your hand (may not be true if you have big hands).
• Flexible brush allows it to bend to the body contours i.e. necks, jaws, behind the knees.
• Easy to clean. Pull off the clump of hair. Wash brush with soap and dry. We have disinfected ours with diluted bleach without any problems.
Disadvantages of the Kong® Zoom Groom:
• Not a flea comb.
• Not good at getting matts out --- the rubber fingers are not firm enough. Routine brushing can minimize matts but once matts are there, use a different comb to get them out.
• Certain hair types will not stick to the brush as easily as others. May need to clean up / vacuum the loose hair after brushing. See below for tips to minimize this problem.
Kong® Zoom Groom Tips:
• To minimize hair flying all over the place, wet the brush before use. Run it quickly under the faucet and shake out the water. The wetness reduces the fly-a-ways and static shock. Also makes it easier to stick some of the hair back on the brush.
• Put some of the hair that flies off the brush in the beginning back on the brush. This may help the rest of the hair stick better to the brush.
I use the Zoom Groom on Elaine also, but it’s the biggest hit with my cats. I can tell you all the reasons why routine brushing is good for your cats. It’s supposed to be a pleasant experience for them (and you). Another big side benefit is the built-in frequent checks for lumps and bumps on their body. But if they hate the brushing, you are not going to do it. Enjoyable brushing experiences translate to frequent routine brushing which, among other things, can lead to better coats and less hairball.
Do you have any pet grooming tips to share?
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