Dear Readers:
Due to many responses we have decided to continue our Spring Newsletter. Here you have it - Issue #4 of our Spring Newsletter series - Not a regular newsletter! This special edition will include per first aid tips, pet emergency management information as well as dog training advice from trainingyourlab.com.

Spring is a wonderful season. It gets us all out of the house. Time for hikes, more doggy park hours, longer horseback rides, kayaking trips, terrace lunches and dinners and so forth.

* Flies are more prevalent in the warmer months, and any injury to the skin, even something as small as an abrasion, can be a perfect place for flies to lay eggs. In a short time, these eggs hatch and become maggots. Keeping your pet clean and treating any skin injuries is crucial in avoiding maggot infestations.

* Another outdoor threat is antifreeze. As spring/summer approaches, many people change their antifreeze/water mixture. Antifreeze tastes sweet to pets and is highly toxic.

* Spring & Summer heat speeds up decay and decomposition, especially in the trash. Keep your dog away from garbage areas. Pets that have access to garbage or compost can ingest molds that cause significant nervous system abnormalities including severe tremors or seizures.


* At picnics and parties we use a variety of disposable items, such as Styrofoam and plastic utensils. Unfortunately, pets may ingest some of these items, leading to gastrointestinal obstruction. Another concern is playing with small balls such as SuperBalls or racquetballs. Many dogs love to play fetch with these but if they are too small, the ball can become lodged in the throat and obstruct the airway. Make sure the toys you use are too big to be swallowed or stuck in the throat.

How can you tell there is a problem if you don’t know how things are supposed to be? Knowing that the human normal body temperature ranges from 98.2 °F ±1.3 °F (common oral measurement) will help you determine fever if you find a temp outside of that range - sounds pretty logical right? Well same applies to your pets. Knowing what their mucous membrane looks like, what they capillary refill time is, heart rate at rest, after exercise and body temp are on normal days will help you determine that there might be a problem should you find anything out of that range.

To put together your pet first aid health chart you'll be taking baseline readings in several key areas, you'll want to do this when your pet is healthy and happy.

Keep these baseline readings written down in your pets file or with your pet first aid kit, that way you'll have them if you need to go back and check your pet’s normal range. Several readings maybe necessary in order to create your pet’s normal range, anything outside of that range will alert you to a problem. Areas to include in your pet first aid health chart are:

Weight
If your pet is small you can weigh yourself and then weigh yourself holding your pet and subtract. Larger dogs I would take to the veterinary clinic and ask to use their scales, there is generally no charge to do this. Weight loss can alert you to a problem internally with your pet, for example kidney disease, diabetes, and hyperthyroidism all list weight loss as a symptom. If you have noticed weight loss call your veterinarian immediately.

Temperature
Your pet probably has a range of what is normal, its temperature is not going to be the same every day, I would take several readings to give yourself an idea of what is normal. Your pet’s temperature will be abnormally high if taken after exercise or play, so I would give your pet a chance to settle down before taking its baseline readings.

Lift your pets tail, this will help keep your pet from sitting down, it is also easier if you have someone holding the pretty end for you, using a rectal thermometer, lubricate the end with KY Jelly or petroleum jelly and insert the thermometer into the rectum of your pet about halfway. After 3 minutes you can remove the thermometer and write down the readings.

Normal ranges from 99 degrees F to 102 degrees F. Anything below 95 degrees F is an emergency, call your veterinarian and begin to warm your pet immediately. Anything above 106 degrees F is an emergency you need to call your veterinarian and begin to cool your pet immediately. If your pet's temperature is moderately high or low you still should call your veterinarian and alert them that something maybe wrong, it may not be an emergency now but it may become one if care is not given.

Heart Rate
To measure your pet’s heart rate place your hand on the left side of your pet’s chest behind the elbow, you should be able to feel the beats of the heart. Count the number of beats for 15 seconds and multiply by 4, this will give you the number of beats per minute. Try to take several readings to give you an average heart rate, and it’s good practice.

Also, try to find your pets pulse using the femoral artery, it is located in the groin area where the hind leg meets the body, press firmly with two fingers, you should easily feel the beats. In an emergency you may need to find a pulse on your pet, the best place is the femoral artery.

Normal heart rate for a dog can be 70 - 180 beats per minute, smaller dogs have a faster heart rate then larger breeds; puppies can be 220 beats per minute. Normal heart rate for a cat can be 120 - 240 beats per minute, kittens can be 200 - 300 beats per minute.

Respiratory Rate
To measure your pets respiratory rate count the number of breaths for 15 seconds and multiply by 4, this gives you the number of breaths per minute. Dogs usually breathe 10 - 30 times a minute, cats 10 - 40 times a minute. A panting dog will breathe much faster, up to 200 times per minute, open mouth breathing or panting in cats should be considered an emergency.

Gum Color (mucous membranes)
Checking your pets gum color is one way to alert you when something is wrong. The gum tissue should be nice and pink, if your pets gums are pigmented try to find a spot that is non-pigmented or use the mucous membrane tissue in the groin area. If your pets mucous membranes are anything other than pink, something is wrong and you should call your veterinarian.

Pale pink or white mucous membranes could spell shock or anemia, blue generally means your pet is having trouble breathing and not getting oxygen, yellow mucous membranes generally means your pet is jaundice and having liver problems and bright red mucous membranes could mean heat stroke for your pet or carbon monoxide poisoning.

Capillary Refill Time
This test helps to judge your pet’s blood circulation. Use the non-pigmented area of your pets gum tissue, press your finger against the tissue and release, there should be a white spot where your finger was, time how quickly the white spot becomes pink again. Normal ranges from 1 - 2 seconds, 2 - 4 seconds generally means shock or dehydration, more than 4 seconds is an emergency.

Hydration
To check your pets hydration grasp the skin at the back of the neck and pull up, the skin should snap back rather quickly, the longer it takes to retract the more dehydrated your pet is. If the skin remains standing up you should call your veterinarian immediately.

You can also check hydration by pressing a finger to your pets gums, if they are sticky or tacky then your pet is dehydrated and your veterinarian should be called. Senior cats will generally be a little dehydrated; you may want to check with your veterinarian for what is considered normal for your senior cat.

Putting together your pets first aid health chart does not replace an exam done by a veterinarian, it is meant to be used to learn what is normal for your pet so your are better equipped during an emergency or if you think your pet is not feeling well. If you take your pets vital signs at home you can relay more information to your pet’s veterinarian and help them to be ready when you arrive with your pet during an emergency.

Read more: "Pet First Aid Health Chart: Keep track of your animal's weight, temperature, heart and respiratory rate, gum colour and other vital signs"

It may be tempting to give your pet all those picnic or barbeque leftovers, but try to resist his soulful begging. Instead of including him in your festivities, you may cause gastrointestinal upset, which can result in vomiting and diarrhea. Pets are not used to the high fat foods that are commonly associated with picnics and parties. Mayonnaise and other dairy based items can be particularly bad; dogs do not have the necessary enzymes to digest dairy products and spoilage can cause food poisoning.

Even if you feed your pet non-dairy items like fried chicken or hamburgers, their pancreas may not be prepared for those foods. The pancreas can become inflamed, leading to pancreatitis and abdominal pain, anorexia and vomiting.

Not only do table scraps pose a threat but so does the charcoal and lighter fluid used to barbeque. Ingesting ash or charcoal can result in significant stomach irritation.

I just wanted to show you an email I got from Lauren this morning about the Response Revolution courses.

"Hi Ines. I just wanted to let you know that I've decided to produce step-by-step videos of ALL the core pillars.

Good news: Everyone who gets access to these videos can watch over my shoulder as I complete the 5 Pillars Response Revolution course with one of my dogs -- the next best thing to having a dog trainer work with your dog personally. (Think about it-- the average cost to see a dog trainer for a half-hour a day for five weeks would be about $1350 at a $70/hour rate, which is pretty typical for a dog trainer.)

Bad news: I can only let a limited number of people in on these videos-- I simply don't have the bandwidth to let everyone who buys Response Revolution watch these videos every day. Unfortunately, I think I only have room for about 100 people to get in on these videos. I wish I could let everyone who purchases the Response Revolution course in, but I don't think that will be possible. I don't want people getting into a frenzy about this, so maybe just tell your subscribers that there's a special bonus for the first 100 people?

-Lauren"

Lauren figured there might be some trouble if everyone knew this part of the deal, but I told her that you could handle it and I want you guys to know exactly what you're going to be getting access to if you're one of the first 100 people who buy the course on Tuesday. So to make a long story short, if you want to get your hands on this video course as well as the main Response Revolution package, you need to buy it earlier in the day rather than later. There will be at least 3,000 people notified about this, so if you're interested, be ready.