y^k ^^ 1^/1 /^L MAY/JUNE 1975 THE ANIMAL HEALTH MAGAZINE BE ON THE ALERT: IT'S FLEA SEASON! ACUPUNCTURE GIVES NEW AID TO ANIMALS WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT THE SURPLUS ANIMAL POPULATION? < cXWJiAm: Official Journal of the Animal Health Foundation on animal care and health. EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK MAY/JUNE 1975 VOLUME 6 NUMBER 3 THE INVASION ARTICLES As summer approaches, so do the Know Your Enemy 8 bugs. Whether you have a choice Be on the Alert: It's Flea Season 10 plant or animal, you are almost sure Fleas in the House 11 to have it invaded by some sort of Surplus Pet Population Conference, bugs before fall. Some of these ene­ Lois Stevenson 12 mies can be prevented, but most of Fleas and the Importance of their them have to be dealt with after they Control on your Pet, Grover D. Cloyd, D.V.M. 14 appear. Acupuncture Gives New Aid to Animals, Bobby Klein 16 This issue of Animal Cavalcade, Beware: Flea Allergy Dermatitis! 20 which some like to call "The flea Tiny Miracle Jumper is a Menace, Duane Valentry 20 issue," has been devoted primarily to Traveling With Fido, Bea Boynton 24 control of external parasites of ani­ Time to Sow Your Oats - For Your Cat, June McLean 25 mals. Mr. Fritz: An Open Letter on Acupuncture, Some external parasites are also Don Harrington 27 the cause of severe internal parasite Survival Training for City Dogs, Paul Stevick 28 problems, i.e., the Bot Flies of horses, dog and cat fleas, and many DEPARTMENTS others. The control of parasites requires Editor's Notebook 3 continuing research to find more ef­ Doctor's Advice 4 fective, safe chemicals and methods In The News 6 of application. It is the aim of ANI­ Children's Page MAL CAVALCADE to keep its read­ Bushranger's Curious Allergy, Grover Brinkman 22 ers informed on new developments. It Letters to the Editor 31 is the aim of the Cavalcade's parent, the ANIMAL HEALTH FOUNDA­ C. M Baxter, D.V.M Editorial Director TION, to help in the research for Norene Harris Associate Editor more and better products. Millwood A. Custer, D.V.M Small Animals Editor As the reader goes through this Charles H. Reid, D.V.M Equine Editor issue of Animal Cavalcade, I hope Robert J. Schroeder, D.V.M Ecology & Public Health Editor that some questions will be answered Oscar W. Schalm, D.V.M Research Editor and that questions will be asked. Wesley A. Young, D.V.M Exotic Animals Editor Don't forget that the advertisers like to have questions asked of them Bill Williams Art Director too. They are very helpful to their Laura Tracy Advertising Director readers. Harry Maiden Circulation Manager C. M. Baxter, D. V.M. Editorial Director Address all advertising and editorial communications to ANIMAL CAVALCADE. H 338 Rosemead Blvd.. Pico Rivera. Calif. 90660. All editorial correspondence and manuscripts must be accompanied by a stamped self-addressed envelope. URGENT!!! COVER: Eight-month old Sheep dog named Woodrow belonging to Please notify Animal Cavalcade Barbara and Manny Vesa of Malibu, California. when you move! Failure to do this costs the Animal Health SUBSCRIPTIONS AND CHANGE OF ADDRESS Foundation funds which should Send subscriptions and change of address to ANIMAL HEALTH FOUNDATION, 8338 be spent on caring for sick ani­ Rosemead Boulevard, Pico Rivera, Calif. 90660. Be sure to notify us of your change of mals or for veterinary medical address at least six weeks before the change is made, including an address label clipped research. from your latest copy. Give both your old and new address and include your ZIP CODE. Send change of address informa­ tion to Animal Cavalcade, 8338 ANIMAL CAVALCADE is published bi-monthly by the Animal Health Foundation, Rosemead Blvd., Pico Rivera, 8338 Rosemead Blvd., Pico Rivera, Calif. 90660. Single copies $.60. 12-issue Calif. 90660. subscription, $6.00; additional gift subscriptions (if ordered at the same time), $4.00 each. Copyright, 1972, Animal Health Foundation. 3 stable flies — but be sure to follow directions carefully. Keep IS YOUR PET the stable clean and if possible pile the manure some distance away. If the flies come from STARVING TO DEATH? next door, put screens on your No matter how much you feed your pet, he may be stable door and windows. starving to death right in front of your eyes. What can Q. What do bot flies look like? How you do? Serve Sergeant's® Vitapet® Tablets regularly. do they produce the bots that Vitapet Tablets contain vitamins and minerals essen­ horses get? tial to good health and good looks. And they taste like treats! Get Sergeant's Vitapet Tablets for your dog A. The adult bot fly is brown and or cat. From Sergeant's line of 200 carefully tested hairy and resembles a bee, but has only one pair of wings, each of which has a dark band across pet products ASergeants it. They lay eggs on the hair 1974 Millei Motion Compiny i mbvdury of A H Robin Company the pet care people around the fetlocks or the mane and are licked off by the horse. The larvae, which hatch in the mouth, penetrate the tissues and shampoo will help control fleas, eventually reach the stomach, 1 and your veterinarian might rec­ where they attach to the lining I HE* ommend such for some skin con­ and grow into full-sized bots. ditions. Later they drop off and are passed in the feces, where they Q. Are dogs allergic to fleas? form pupae and transform into A. Dogs and other animals as well as adult flies. people may become allergic to Q. What is ringworm? secretions produced by fleas, in some cases to such an extent A. Ringworm is caused by a fungus that medical treatment is neces­ (mold) that grows in concentric sary. For such animals in particu­ circles, hence the name. The lar a regular program of flea con­ lesions have lines in them that to trol is necessary — and it will some people suggest a worm, but Readers with health and other pet make you a hero to your pet. 'tain't so. The disease can be problems are invited to send in their passed from animals to persons. questions to ANIMAL CAVALCADE. Q. Do all breeds of cats and dogs Those with the greatest reader interest get fleas? Q. Is it bad to pull ticks off the skin? will be handled on this page by Dr. A. Yes, although some individuals of J.F. Smithcors, D.V.M., Ph.D., who is any breed might appear to be A. Ticks should not be pulled off technical editor of American Veter­ "immume" — perhaps because because this usually leaves some inary Publications, Inc. they tolerate a certain number of of their mouth parts in the fleas better than others. animal's skin* and abscesses Q. Where do fleas come from? might form. Touch them with Q. How long will fleas live in the cotton soaked in alcohol and use A. Out of the woodwork, in a man­ house? tweezers to pick them off when ner of speaking. They lay their A. Under most conditions fleas will they loosen hold. If they are eggs in cracks in the floor or live from one to four months,but very numerous, a medicated recesses of furniture in the ani­ with moderate temperatures and shampoo may be necessary. mal's surroundings. After hatch­ high humidity they have lived as ing they jump on and off the long as two years. Dear Dr. Smithcors, nearest animal periodically to In a recent issue of Animal Caval­ Q. If I take my dog on a trip, will it feed. cade, you stated in "Dr. Advice" that get different kinds of fleas? Q. Are flea collars dangerous to the oldest living dog on record was a A. Possibly, and sometimes it cats? Labrador Retriever who lived to be needn't be to far off places. Dogs 27 years old. Fact is that a Lhasa A. No, not if used according to di­ can get cat, rat, chicken (stick- Apso named Ch. Hamilton La Pung, rections on the box. In a recent tight) and human fleas, although owned by Mrs. Elizabeth Finn, of study they were 90 to 100% these "foreigners" won't stay on Cedar Grove, New Jersey, passed effective against cat fleas for 2 to dogs if they can find a happier away on July 4, 1964, at the age of 3 months. Make certain you use home. 29. Thought you might appreciate the proper size, and on a young Q. Do horses get chicken mites and the information. Sincerely, cat check every few weeks to see lice? that it hasn't gotten too tight. John Weidl A. Yes, and sometimes they can be Q. How often should I bathe my Manager, Puppy Palace quite bothersome for a while — dog? Will that control fleas? Oak Lawn, 111. as when a horse is put into an A. As often as you wish — or only old chicken house that is not P.S. You can check this through when it's necessary — once or properly cleaned and disinfected. T.F.H. Publications, Inc. 211 twice a year is often enough for W. Sylvania Ave., Neptune City, many dogs if they are brushed Q. What do you recommend to con­ N.J. They published How to occasionally. Obviously, if he trol stable flies? Raise and Train a Lhasa Apso. Infor­ rolls in grease or garbage it's A. Most feed stores carry various mation on Mrs.