Max- Canine tetanus

Critter Chat Pet Profile Max the Labrador
Name: WAGLETT YOUNG MAX - (aka. Max to owners Garry, Kay and Kelly Rapley)

Star sign: Aquarius. Max is energetic, friendly and a leader not a follower!

Interests: sniffing grass (the kind you mow) eating, all ball sports, walks in the bush, and swimming swimming and more swimming

Best features: his very sweet nature, he loves everyone and doesn’t have a bad thing to say about anybody

Worst features: willful damage of all of his balls, and very food orientated like a true Labrador!

Size: 30kgs, Max has trimmed down as a result of the illness, and is currently trying his best to get his abs back in shape!

This week we would like to introduce Max, we were seeing more of Max than he liked at the clinic not so long ago(although he WAS always glad to see us)! The first signs that Max was not quite right were very mild, he was simply holding one of his ears strangely and his eyes were starting to take on a squinting appearance. He also was starting to sound a little like Barry Humprhreys with a real throaty sounding pant. These turned out to be the first signs of tetanus.

Tetanus is a disease caused by a specific bacteria (Clostridium Tetani) that produces a toxin, which binds to nerves and causes muscle spasm. This bacteria is commonly found in the soil and the gut of mammals where it causes no problems. This bacteria prefers an environment without oxygen, so commonly flourishes in deep puncture wounds, dental infections and wounds that are not tended properly. Symptoms can first occur anytime from a few days to a few months after first infection. In Max's case the offending wound was healed by the time symptoms occurred, but we think it was probably just a minor mouth wound or similar from a stick or one of his adventures, that he was unfortunate enough to have contaminated with one of these offending bacteria!

Signs to look for if you think your pet has Tetanus include: lips drawn back in a permanent smile ('sardonic grin'), stiffness of the limbs or tail, over reaction to noise, difficulty or clumsy eating (used to be called lockjaw because of the jaw muscle spasm), and abnormally noisy breathing.

Thankfully tetanus is a relatively uncommon disease, but our animals here are at a higher than normal risk here due to our semi-rural lifestyle and warm environment (although not so tropical at the moment!).Tetanus bacteria is commonly found in wildlife droppings and horse manure.-, and there are plenty of both around here.

Max is now back in top form and enjoying life to the fullest, but the treatment for tetanus is prolonged, and if his owners hadn't been so vigilant, then Max's story may have been a sadder one. Tetanus can be really difficult to treat, but is so simple to prevent with the very effective vaccine available. Please feel free to talk to one of us at the clinic if you would like more information on the symptoms or vaccinating against Tetanus.