News & Pet Health

PUPPY KINDERGARTEN AT CORAL SPRINGS ANIMAL HOSPITAL

Classes Are Limited!

Contact A Dog’s Best Friend For Scheduling And Registration Information

954-791-2717 · www.adogsbestfriend.com

Monday Nights · 7:30-8:30pm

Coral Springs Animal Hospital is proud to recommend A Dog’s Best Friend for all of your dog training needs. A Dog’s Best Friend offers puppy training (Puppy Kindergarten), In-Home Training and Group Classes. Their training team has years of experience, training all breeds, specializing in positive and innovative methods. They focus on fun, humane, and effective training methods for dogs and owners, and specializes in solving behavior problems. Their goal is to ensure the best possible dog-owner relationship, building a bond of love, trust and understanding.

Puppy Kindergarten – Why go to Puppy Kindergarten? Puppies are learning all the time, from the moment you bring them home. The first few weeks you spend with your new best friend will set the tone of the rest of your relationship. It’s easy to set up good habits in the beginning, but harder to change bad habits later. Getting your puppy out to see the world while he is still young is very important.

The primary and most important time for puppy socialization is the first three months of life. During this time puppies should be exposed to as many new people, animals, stimuli and environments as can be achieved safely and without causing over­stimulation manifested as excessive fear, with­drawal or avoidance behavior. For this reason, the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior believes that it should be the standard of care for puppies to receive such socialization before they are fully vaccinated.

Because the first three months are the period when sociability outweighs fear, this is the primary window of opportunity for puppies to adapt to new people, animals, and experiences. Incomplete or im­proper socialization during this important time can increase the risk of behavioral problems later in life including fear, avoidance, and/or aggression. Behavioral problems are the greatest threat to the owner-dog bond. In fact, behavioral problems are the num­ber one cause of relin­quishment to shelters. Behavioral issues, not infectious diseases, are the number one cause of death for dogs under three years of age.

Puppy Kindergarten is a great place for you and your puppy to socialize with other people and puppies in a safe environment.

Classes are limited to 8 puppies and owners per week. Puppies ages 8-16 weeks are invited to Puppy Kindergarten. All puppies are required to be current on vaccines and will not be allowed in class without a Health Verification.

Puppies will be taught the following during the six-week program:

·         Early Learning and Motivation

·         Management, Exercise and Enrichment

·         House Manners (Housetraining, Chewing, Jumping, Play Biting, etc.)

·         Socialization, including supervised play for all puppies

·         Touch Therapy (Handling, Quiet Time, Nail Trimming, etc.)

·         Puppy Training (Name Recognition, Controlled Leash Walking, Leave It, Sit, Wait and Come)

In-Home Training: Personal instruction is convenient, quick and effective. In-home training will cover the following areas:

·         Housebreaking

·         Chewing

·         Jumping

·         Play Biting

·         General Unruliness

·         Problem Solving

·         Separation Anxiety

·         Aggression

·         Fears/Phobias

Group Classes: Group classes are a cost effective way to have a better behaved dog. Classes are kept small so you don’t get lost in a crowd!

Basic Group Class Training includes:

·         Sit/Stay

·         Down/Stay

·         Come

·         Heel

·         Distraction Work

·         Socialization

Beyond Basic Group Class Training includes:

·         Sharpening Basic Skills

·         Further Distances

·         More Distractions

·         Off Leash Control

·         Socialization

Boarding Training: Our boarding training program is very popular. What makes it unique is that we do not have a kennel. Each dog goes home with his/her trainer at night. They are given the personal attention that the trainers give their own pets.

In addition to going on regular field trips for socialization and to learn to follow commands in a distracting setting, in the boarding training program your dog will learn:

·         To come, sit, down and stay

·         To wait at doors

·         To play with his toys

·         To walk on leash-on your left and sit when you stop

·         To ring a pet chime to let you know he needs to go out to potty

·         To sit for attention and stay off of the furniture

Puppies in our Boarding Training program also attend puppy kindergarten to socialize with puppies their age. We specialize in housebreaking puppies and have been doing it for 12 years.

Upon completion of the program we bring your pup home to you and conduct a lesson to begin the process of teaching you how to work with your pup and to get him working for you.  This is followed up with two additional lessons to provide your family with continued support to teach you how to get the most out of your dog and his training. 

Top-notch education in canine rehabilitation right here at Coral Springs Animal Hospital

Coral Springs Animal Hospital is collaborating with the Canine Rehabilitation Institute (CRI) to offer both certification and CE courses here at our facility. Veterinary and physical therapy professionals will learn how their patients can benefit from the exciting and rapidly growing field of canine rehabilitation.

CRI Courses at Coral Springs Animal Hospital

Introduction to Canine Rehabilitation: November 9-14

The Canine Rehabilitation Therapist: December 5-10

Canine Neurological Rehabilitation: December 12-14

Introduction to Canine Rehabilitation: February 1-6

The Canine Rehabilitation Therapist: March 6-11

Pain Management in Canine Rehabilitation: March 12-13

To register or learn more about these courses, visit the CRI website at www.caninerehabinstitute.com.

Coral Springs Animal Hospital Receives AAHA Referral Accreditation

[CORAL SPRINGS, FL] —Coral Springs Animal Hospital has received referral accreditation in surgery as well as Internal Medicine – Oncology, Cardiology and Small Animal following a comprehensive evaluation by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA). Clients and their pets benefit from having both an accredited primary veterinarian and specialist(s) working together to ensure optimal care.

An AAHA-accredited referral practice is required to have a board-certified veterinary specialist for each accredited specialty. The evaluation includes a quality assessment review of the hospital’s facility, medical equipment, practice methods, and standards of patient care. In order to maintain accredited status, Coral Springs Animal Hospital must continue to be evaluated regularly by the association’s trained consultants.

“Coral Springs Animal Hospital belongs to a select group of practices that are committed to meeting the highest standards in veterinary medicine,” says John Tait, DVM, AAHA president. “AAHA hospitals pass a stringent evaluation of standards covering patient care, client service, pain management, and medical protocols. By attaining accreditation, Coral Springs Animal Hospital is demonstrating its dedication to offering the best care to its patients and clients.”

The American Animal Hospital Association is an international organization of more than 40,000 veterinary care providers who treat companion animals. Established in 1933, the association is well known among veterinarians for its high standards for hospitals and pet health care. For pet care information or a referral to an AAHA hospital, pet owners can visit the AAHA website at www.healthypet.com.

Coral Springs Animal Hospital, located at 2160 N University Drive, Coral Springs, FL can be reached online at www.coralspringsanimalhosp.com.

Vacuum Assisted Closure, A New Treatment Option For Large Infected Skin Wounds in Dogs and Cats.

By: Carl T. Jehn, DVM, MS, DACVS

Exceedingly large, contaminated, traumatic skin wounds can be very challenging cases to deal with. Patients who suffer massive injuries to large areas of their skin often face a long road to recovery, requiring intense case management and prolonged hospitalization. Fortunately, there are new techniques available to veterinarians that allow these cases to be managed faster, easier, and often with better results than ever before. Vacuum assisted closure (VAC) is a technique involving the placement of an open-cell foam into a large contaminated wound bed. The dressing is then placed under negative pressure which provides numerous benefits to the patient and wound healing.

The controlled levels of negative pressure in the wound accelerate debridement and promotes healing. The VAC is able to pull wound fluid and necrotic tissue from the site. Consequently, re-epithelialization is enhanced due to removal of edema, cellular debris, and osmotically active molecules that contribute to cessation of blood flow. Compared to conventional wet-to-dry bandages VAC allows increases in local blood flow of up to 400% and accelerates wound closure by nearly 3 fold. Granulation tissue forms 60-100% faster under negative pressure and bacterial counts are significantly decreased within the wound. The VAC also significantly improves flap and graft survival when used in conjunction with reconstructive techniques.

Vacuum assisted closure is indicated for acute and traumatic wounds such as burns and degloving injuries, or sub-acute wounds like dehisced incisions and infected wounds. Chronic wounds such as open, non-healing sores in immune-compromised patients are also treatable with VAC. Contraindications for VAC include fistulas to organs or body cavities, patients with impaired coagulation or active hemorrhage, or malignancy within the wound.

The boarded surgeons at the Coral Springs Animal Hospital are trained in the use of vacuum assisted closure and we would be happy to discuss any potential cases you feel may benefit from this procedure. Please call us at 954-753-1800 and ask to speak with one of our board certified surgeons to find out more.

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To better serve our clientele; on Tuesday November 4, 2008 the Coral Springs Animal Hospital will have relocated four blocks north of our current location at 1730 University Drive to an entirely renovated 39,000 square foot facility (formerly the Quadrangle Athletic Club) at 2160 University Drive. We have outgrown our current building thanks to the support of the pet owning public and the more than 650 referring veterinarians in Florida and the Caribbean who send their patients to our specialty and emergency services.

Our new hospital meets all current hurricane building standards, has a fire sprinkler system throughout, and has a backup generator that will supply power to the entire building in case of a power failure (as one would expect in a human hospital).

The hospital was designed by a specialized professional veterinary architect. There will be five state of the art surgery rooms, eighteen examination rooms, enhanced and enlarged treatment, diagnostic and laboratory facilities. We are adding a physical therapy ward with an underwater treadmill to speed the postoperative recovery of pets with orthopedic and neurological problems.

The animal housing areas for hospitalized and boarding pets will be the most modern, comfortable, and sanitary facilities you will find anywhere.

In early 2009, Dr. Susan Kelleher, renowned avian and exotic animal veterinarian, will relocate her Broward Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital into the Coral Springs Animal Hospital building.

The staff of Coral Springs Animal Hospital is excited about our new building. It will be one of the finest animal care facilities anywhere, and it will allow us to enhance our delivery of quality veterinary care to your pet(s).

In our new facility, we will be equipped and staffed to provide physical therapy/rehabilitation for your pets. Licensed technicians under supervision of veterinarians will work with your pets to improve their health and mobility. An underwater treadmill, ground treadmill, balance boards, exercise balls, and other therapeutic modalities will be available.

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What is cruciate disease? Although the injury is similar to ACL injuries in people, the process by which the tear occurs is different. Unlike in people, who primarily suffer from traumatic ACL injuries, the canine cruciate tears from a degenerative, inflammatory process which weakens the ligament. Tearing of the weakened ligament may or may not be proceeded by a mild traumatic event (e.g. jumping off the couch).

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