If you read my previous post, I talked about Roxie and her pancreatitis. Well, Gypsy had her own problems this week.
The same day Roxie had her attack of pancreatitis, we noticed Gypsy had a swollen and extremely tender spot on her left side. It was so tender I could barely even run my hand over it without her flinching. Not knowing what to do, thinking it would just heal, and because Gypsy would not tolerate any sort of treatment, we left it alone for a couple of days. Since we saw no improvement, we started flushing it with 2.5 pH strong acidic water to disinfect it. After a couple of flushes, the wound spewed out blood and pus. It was nasty. Rick started to flush it, apply antibiotic ointment, and wrap it at least a couple of times per day. We actually had to muzzle Gypsy because she did not want us messing with her side at all, and let us know in no uncertain terms.
However, it just didn’t seem to be doing any better, so she had a visit to our vet, Dr. Maria Williams. She took one look at Gypsy and said, “that is an abscess”. She shaved Gypsy’s side, gave her a shot of penicillin, expelled whatever pus she could (I didn’t watch that part) and treated it with hydrogen peroxide and betadine. Gypsy, of course, was none too happy with any of this, but now her side looks a lot better. She actually had some bruising and three puncture marks. Dr. Maria said we should continue to flush it with water, leave it open, continue to apply the antibiotic ointment, and administer seven days of antibiotics. Rick fashioned a “collar” out of a paper plate for Gypsy so she can’t get to the injured area. As of today, her wound is still oozing some, but it looks so much better.
We can only speculate what caused the injury in the first place, whether it was a bite (scorpion, spider) or Gypsy ran into a sharp stick or whatever.
Other than pouting about her custom-made paper plate collar, Gypsy is none the worse for wear. On the first picture you can see where her wound is:
Our little family had a pretty intense week last week. This post will be about Roxie’s pancreatitis attack, but Gypsy also had a rough few days. I’ll cover that in another post.
Early morning last Wednesday Roxie woke us up multiple times to go outside, and when we finally got up, we figured out why. She had been throwing up. She went on a walk with us that morning as usual, but didn’t have her normal spunk, threw up during our walk, and her throwup looked slightly bloody. She drank some water when we got home, but refused to eat anything, even though Rick cooked her a scrambled egg. This is a dog that NEVER turns down food. She was also whining quietly. Rick said she threw up again a couple of more times and it was still slightly bloody. By that time I was freaking out, thinking maybe she had an obstruction.
We called our regular vet, but she was booked, so in desparation we called one right down the street. He was able to look at her that morning, so Rick took her in. This particular vet apparently has very traditional beliefs, because he spent considerable time berating Rick for having Roxie on a homemade diet. Plus Rick’s comment was it seemed like he was right out of vet school and wanted to pay off his student loans with Roxie’s visit. Anyway, they took blood and urine from Roxie, gave Rick a prescription for five days of Sucralfate to help heal her digestive system, and sent Rick and Roxie on their way.
We got the blood results the next day, and Roxie was diagnosed with pancreatitis. We were advised to give her nothing but white rice for about 24 hours, and then slowly transition her to a normal diet. By that time, Roxie was ready to scarf down anything, so she ate the rice with gusto, and looked at me like “is that all there is?” We also picked up some low fat cottage cheese, and started adding that in to the rice.
Rick and I both spend a lot of time researching canine pancreatitis, and found out that Schnauzers (Roxie is half-Schnauzer) have a predisposition to pancreatitis. Although we found a lot of conflicting information, especially regarding feeding raw food or eggs, a couple of things were clear: we needed to get her started on digestive enzymes, and modify her diet to be less fatty.
Of course, I was feeling horribly guilty since I am the one who did all the research on homemade diets for dogs. So, what we are going to change: boil any ground meat instead of sauteeing, cut way back on the amount of raw organ meat we give them, and hold off on feeding eggs, pork, beef, or anything raw for at least a couple of weeks. Plus add some digestive enzymes and probiotics. I also found several recommendations for a product called Standard Process Pancreatrophin, which is actually a supplement for humans, so I am on the hunt for that.
So far, other than acting like we are starving her to death, Roxie is recovering nicely:
If anyone has had a dog with pancreatitis, I would really like to hear about your experience.
Last week we had our third session with Val Heart, so here is an update.
If you have not seen my first two posts about working with Val, if you read them first, this post will make more sense. Here are the links: April 29th - Session 1, and May 17th - Session 2.
As with the previous session, we started by giving Val an update. Unfortunately, Roxie and Gypsy did get into a fight since our last session, so we had to work through that. An errant ball hit Gypsy on the side while Rick and Roxie were playing fetch, which caused Gypsy to attack Roxie. Gypsy thought Roxie was to blame, even though Rick is the one (obviously) who threw the ball.
We also talked through the flea problem we’ve been having. Rick and I subscribe to a natural method of handling fleas, but they have gotten the best of us this season. Roxie is terribly allergic, and scratches incessantly despite our best efforts. Val recommended some homeopathic remedies to help de-tox her blood, including silicea and arsinicum. We are newbies to homeopathy, so we are still doing research and looking for a place to purchase them. If anyone has had experience with these products, I would very much appreciate hearing from you.
In the mean time, Rick found Best Yet by Cedarcide, which is a topical spray of Texas red cedar oil. We ordered some, and Rick has been spraying the dogs, and their bedding. Other than they both smell like freshly cut cedar, we haven’t noticed any bad effects, and it does seem to keep the fleas away. Rick also sprays it on himself when he goes outside to keep mosquitos at bay. So far, the product is working as promised.
Anyway, back to Val. After we talked about the flea issue, we moved on to some healing work. Val has extensive experience and is heavily credentialed in the art and science of healing. She uses, among other modalities, The Body Talk Healing System. Rick and I have experienced energy medicine from another practitioner, but Val looks at balancing the entire family (Rick, myself, Roxie, and Gypsy) as a connected energy matrix. I don’t purport to understand much of how this works, but it is just one of those things I take on faith. I do believe the body has all it needs to heal itself, if you give it what it requires and remove the stresses and toxins that get in the way.
We are contemplating continuing our work with Val, to focus more on the healing aspect, not only for Roxie and Gypsy, but also for Rick and myself.
We had our second session with Val Heart recently, so I wanted to tell you all how that went.
But first, I really should give you an update of what we’ve noticed since our last session (see my last post for a summary). Roxie and Gypsy have not once gotten into a fight, and our whole household seems calmer and more at peace. We have made a concerted effort to be as firm with Roxie as we are with Gypsy, and we are more consistent when enforcing the rules. I was gone to the Seattle area for a week, so it was up to Rick to keep up the work with them while I was gone. He specifically worked on the “place” command, where we have Gypsy and then Roxie go to their blankets when someone comes to the door. We still have work to do, but progress is being made.
Another interesting thing we noticed is when we took them to our vet to get their periodic chiropractic adjustments. In the past, Roxie has been a real mess, just anxious and yippy and tense. Dr. Maria made a comment that Roxie was calmer than she had ever been for an adjustment, which of course makes the adjustment easier and more effective. I was also working on my own energy, to be mindful and remain calm, instead of being worried about Roxie and Gypsy’s behavior.
With our second session, we gave Val an update, and then Val focused in on some specific questions we had for Roxie and Gypsy. As I mentioned in my previous post, this part takes a bit of faith, but what Val told us made sense.
Gypsy has a broken tail and scars on her lips. We know she was homeless for a while before she was rescued, and we’ve always wondered what that was like, and whether her broken tail caused her any problems. According to Val, Gypsy does not have any concern about her broken tail, but being homeless was a scary thing. Val told us that Gypsy seems to have a lighter energy and is more at peace than the last time. Apparently, Gypsy is more than happy to relinquish the job of pack leader to Rick and myself. (We just had to laugh at this, but the good news is Gypsy thinks we are doing our job now!)
For Roxie, we were concerned her vision may be failing, because of some difficulties she has in jumping in our vehicle and going in and out of the doggie door at night. It seems she does have an issue with night blindness and she also has pain in her back and hips. Val suggested we get her a ramp or some stairs to help her get into the truck, and to provide more light for the doggie door.
Also for Roxie, we wanted to know why she feels the need to bark at anything and everything. Val’s answer: it is mostly anxiety, but it’s also fun and Gypsy has given Roxie the task of being the pack “alerter”. So, Val gave us some suggestions in dealing with the barking. For example, during meal times when they hear something and tear off, Val suggested we make a point of leaving the table to check out what they are hearing, acknowledge them doing their job in alerting us, and then ask them to go back to their “place” and settle down. She did say we should remain calm and assertive, and not “bark back” at them.
The last thing Val discussed with us was some nutritional suggestions. Roxie and Gypsy get quite the variety in their diet, and they both eat their food with gusto. The only things she felt were lacking were trace minerals for both Roxie and Gypsy, and blue-green algae for Roxie.
We will have a third session with Val in three weeks, so I’ll sign off until then. I appreciate hearing from you, so feel free to comment on this.
Rick and I took a leap of faith this week, and had a session with an animal communicator. We have had an issue in our household that has escalated over the last couple of months where Roxie and Gypsy were getting into fights every couple of days. They have had their infrequent spats over the years, but lately it had become a serious problem. I am sure that any of you with a multi-dog household can agree it is extremely distressing when they fight each other. Plus, Roxie was getting some bad wounds, and Rick was getting bites on his hands when he would break them up.
I have known about and been interested in animal communication for awhile, and because Rick and I really did not know what to do to resolve the fighting, this seemed like the right time to give it a try. We contacted Val Heart, who had been recommended by a friend.
We first had a 10 minute consultation with her, to come to a mutual understanding of the problem, her expectations of us, and our expectations of her.
The next step was the first of three hour-long sessions with her. She taught us several things, and I had quite a few light-bulb moments. She identified the reason Gypsy was attacking Roxie: Gypsy, our alpha dog, felt Roxie was weak, anxious, timid, and unstable, and therefore a threat to the pack. Of course, a big part of the problem was our behavior. We tended to treat Roxie more gently and more protectively, and give her more affection because we viewed her as needing our protection. Also, because we were so on edge about their fighting, that translated into weakness and unstable energy. So, Gypsy felt it was her job to correct Roxie to strengthen the pack.
Val gave us some homework, including a visualization/communication exercise to “tell the story” of what we want to happen, for example, when someone comes to the door, and to remain in a calm, centered, but assertive place. The calm, assertiveness is right out of Cesar Millan’s playbook, so I was familiar with the idea, but not very good at practicing it.
We were also taught to spend more time training them, both to improve Roxie’s confidence, and to give Gypsy a clear signal of who is actually in charge.
Something else I want to mention, is Rick and I decided to no longer allow them to sleep on the bed with us. We came to that conclusion on our own, after they woke us up about a week ago at 4:30 a.m. going at each other. We thought it would be more difficult than it was, but they both caught on quickly that their sleeping spots were on the floor and not on the bed. Val told us that would have been her first suggestion, so she was glad to hear we figured it out ourselves.
We have another session scheduled in two weeks, and it is up to us to implement the ideas she gave us. I’ll give you an update after our next session.
In the meantime, if anyone has had their own experience with an animal communicator, I’d love to hear about it.
It is a gorgeous day here in San Antonio, and the bluebonnets are spectacular!
I just finished a book that I thoroughly enjoyed: Amazing Gracie by Dan Dye and Mark Beckloff, who are the co-founders of Three Dog Bakery. The book is a quick and compelling read. It tells the story of Dan’s adoption of Gracie, a deaf, blue-eyed, albino, Great Dane puppy they named Grace Dane, or Gracie for short, and how she inspired them to start baking healthy dog treats. This need to get some nutrition into Gracie eventually parlayed into what is now an international business and a successful online presence. The story grabbed me with its intimacy and insight into Dan’s thought process, plus the illustrations are sweet and whimsical. It is a good idea to have a tissue at the ready when you near the end of Gracie’s story.
In full disclosure, if you choose to purchase Amazing Gracie through any of the links I have provided, I will receive an affiliate commission from Amazon.com.
Rick and I recently got a pocket video camera, and the first video is Gypsy and Roxie getting their nails filed with a dremel tool.
We were using the standard dog nail clipper but we could never get Roxie to cooperate, plus we didn’t like that afterwards their nails were razor sharp and ragged.
So, Rick trained them to accept the dremel. Gypsy was a breeze, as all she cares about is getting the snacks at the end. It cracks me up when she lifts up her paws, like she is about to get a manicure!
Roxie, not so much. She was terrified. But, over about six weeks, Rick conditioned her to the dremel. First, he would just hold up the dremel without turning it on and give her a snack. Next step was to turn it on, and give her a snack. Then, he would bring the turned on dremel close to her and give her a snack. Then, he tapped her nail and gave her a snack. I think you get the idea. Now she tolerates getting her nails trimmed but she is still all about the snacks.
Check out Gypsy and Roxie starring in their first video!
Hooray! We finally have gotten some relief from the horrible heat wave and drought we’ve had in San Antonio since June. It is such a pleasure to be about to walk Roxie and Gypsy in the morning without coming home drenched in sweat!
Here are some tips from Dr. Andrew Jones, a holistic vet from Canada, for taking care of a sick pet at home:
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If your pet is sick, there are several reasons why you should care for him at home. Your home is comfortable for your pet, and free of the stress and anxiety of being in a veterinary clinic. Barking dogs, strange people, and unusual smells are not conducive to healing.
You can provide superior nursing care to what is offered in most veterinary clinics. They are busy places, and your veterinarian can only spend so much time with your pet. You can offer a range of treatments not usually available at a veterinarian. You can give natural and alternate forms of treatment.
You will often save money - in most cases this can mean hundreds or even thousands of dollars. And perhaps most importantly, you can avoid the serious side effects of many of the traditional medications.
You and your pet both win. You will heal your pet at home, and in doing so you will greatly increase the bond you have with your pet. This deeper emotional connection will make your life more enjoyable and help keep your pet healthy.
The following sections describe basic at-home care, with a few simple solutions for general problems.
Nursing Care
Comfortable Bedding
Every sick pet needs to be comfortable. Ensure that big dogs have lots of padding, especially if they have difficulty moving.
Quiet environment, but not TOO quiet
All sick pets need a quiet area. Place their bed out of the main traffic area, but not so far away that they are isolated. They need regular contact.
Keep the area clean
Your pet may have difficulty getting up and going to the bathroom, and may soil himself. Change the blankets or towels frequently.
Eating problems
Most sick pets will not eat for 24 hours, and that should not be a concern. If your pet has still not eaten after 24 hours, that is a serious cause for concern - especially in cats. There are many simple things that you can do to stimulate your pet’s appetite.
Hand feeding
The simple act of feeding with your hand - this will often work.
Warm up the food
When the food is warmer, it is more appetizing, and it is easier for your dog or cat to smell it. If it smells good, they will often eat.
Pet your pet
The simple act of stroking your pet will stimulate positive feelings in your pet and often cause them to begin eating.
If your pet has gone more than 48 hours without eating, he may need force feeding, and you have a few options. You can pick up high calorie liquid nutrition such as ‘Hills Prescription Diet a/d’ or ‘Eukanuba Maximum-Calorie’. You can also make your own high calorie food. I have included an example of a diet below.
Home Pet Nutrition Booster
1/2 cup cooked turkey or chicken
1/4 cup of whole milk
1/4 cup of rice
400 mg calcium
1 One-A-Day Multivitamin
1 tbsp flax oil
Mix this well in a blender or food processor.
Feed 1/2 to 1 cup per day to small pets, and increase
proportionally. In some cases you will have to syringe feed -give frequent, small amounts.
Bathing and Cleaning
Bathing
You do not want to subject a very ill pet to unnecessary baths, but when they become fouled with vomit or diarrhea, they will feel much better after a bath. I would advise using a mild oatmeal-based shampoo, drying well with a towel to ensure that he does not get cold, and a blow dryer.
Cleaning
Many diseases will cause discharge from the various body openings:
The Nose
Keep the nose clear of plugs or secretions. Compress the end of the nose with a warm cloth to loosen up the secretions before you try and wipe them. It helps to keep the secretions off by covering the end of the nose with Vaseline.
The Eyes
Crusts and secretions often form in the corner of the eyes. Apply a warm cloth compress to loosen the secretions and make it easier to remove. Often this is secondary to eye infections, and you may find the best result using infusions of ‘Eyebright’.
The Ears
They are often infected in dogs, less commonly in cats. The easiest way to keep debris from building up is to clean the ears once weekly - one way is a homemade vinegar solution. Instill it directly into the ear canal, massage the base of the ear to allow the solution to work its way in, then wipe the excess out with a cotton ball (see: Ear Infections). Gently pull the ear flap over the head and drop the vinegar solution into the lowest opening of the ear canal. Gently massage the ear area to help work the solution deeper into the ear canal. If there is enough medication in the ear, you will just begin to hear ’squishing’ noise as you massage.
If the ears are very inflamed, then it’s best to apply a soothing topical lotion first. Calendula and Aloe Vera are both effective in decreasing the inflammation.
My June 16th post was about the health issues that can occur when a dog (or cat) is over-vaccinated. The Rabies Challenge Fund addresses the overuse of the rabies vaccine in dogs.
Rick and I made a donation to this cause upon hearing about it from Jan Rasmussen, who is the award-winning author of Scared Poopless.
Yesterday, I received the following from Kris Christine, co-trustee of the Rabies Challenge Fund:
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Greetings:
The goal of The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust is to extend the legally required interval for rabies boosters to 5 and then 7 years, based on the findings of the rabies challenge studies currently underway at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. If the studies’ results demonstrate that the rabies vaccine confers 5, and possibly 7, years of immunity, there would be a significant impact on controlling rabies and reducing adverse reactions associated with the vaccine.
Today I am writing to ask for your help. The Rabies Challenge Fund relies on donations to finance the multi-year challenge studies that began in November 2007. Due to the economic downturn, the Fund has a $125,000 shortfall for the third year of the studies, scheduled for this fall. This deficit threatens the future of the research.
Costs for the studies’ third year are $175,000. Since January, we have raised nearly $50,000 of that amount. We need to have eighty percent of the total funding for the year’s budget in hand to begin the third year of the studies. Please contribute what you can, as soon as you can. All donations received will be used to finance the direct research costs of the rabies challenge studies.
With your help, we can raise the $125,000 necessary to complete the third year of the 5 and 7-year rabies challenge studies. Tax-exempt donations can be mailed to The Rabies Challenge Fund, c/o Hemopet, 11330 Markon Drive, Garden Grove, CA 92841. Credit card donations can be phoned in to Hemopet (specify they are for The Rabies Challenge Fund) by calling (714) 891-2022, ext. 13.
Thank you for your support of this important work.
Sincerely,
Kris L. Christine
Founder, Co-Trustee
The Rabies Challenge Fund
www.RabiesChallengeFund.org
Successful efforts by The Rabies Challenge Fund over the past year leading to changes in state rabies laws/municipal ordinances to the 3 year national standard:
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Wichita, Kansas
State of Alabama
State of Arkansas
State of Rhode Island
The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization [Fed. EIN # 84-6390682].
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On a lighter note, please wish Roxie, our little sheltie/schnauzer mix, a Happy Birthday! She turns 10 years old this Saturday. Rick thinks we should make her a liver cake to celebrate.
I love a great massage, and it’s no surprise that our doggies also can enjoy and benefit from massage. Our vet, Dr. Maria, who treats Roxie with chiropractic adjustments recommended massage as a supplemental form of therapy for Roxie’s back. So, both Roxie and Gypsy get a weekly massage. They know it is massage time when a certain blanket gets pulled out to the middle of the living room floor. Gypsy always goes first, and she has been known to ask for a second session after Roxie is done, by plopping herself down on the blanket again and giving me that sad, puppy-dog look.
Dr. Andrew Jones, a holistic vet from Canada I’ve mentioned in other posts, published some massage techniques to use on dogs.
—————————————————————————————————————————— Dr. Jones massage regimen:
HEALING TOUCH. Massage can be a great way to relieve some of the discomfort of arthritis. Using your fingertips, rub firm circles into the muscle. Then progress to using the palm of your hand. Doing this daily will increase blood flow and help ease your pet’s pain.
Daily Head to Toe Massage:
1.Use oil - sesame or baby oil.
2.Start at the tail. Firmly squeeze from base of the tail to the tip.
3.Rub the back of the neck, behind the ears with your forefingers.
4.With your pet facing you, hold your pets head in your hands, holding them by the cheeks under the ears and rock their head from side to side.
5.Move to an ear massage, starting at the base, finish by using your thumb and forefinger to massage the tip.
6.Massage the tissue around your pet’s eyes with your thumb, and stroke your forefinger down the nose.
7.Gently pinch your dog’s cheeks and lips several times and finally stroke the throat and chin.
8.Straddle your pet facing forward (standing over him): move your hands under the armpits and rub gently. Allow your hands to slide from the armpits to the forelegs.
9.Slide your hands down the forelegs (like you did for the tail) with a soft but firm grip all the way down to the paws.
10.Gently hold the paws (one at a time) and squeeze gently for a few seconds. Repeat this procedure, starting with the chest, 2 - 3 times.
11.Still standing over your pet (facing forward), massage the length of your pet’s back from the his neck all along his spine to his tail.
12.Turn the opposite direction and massage your pet’s rear, sliding your hands down the hind legs and massaging down to the paws. (Just as you did for the forelegs.)
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Here is a link to a series of youtube videos demonstrating dog massage.
If you want more info regarding dog massage, this is a reference that I use: The Healing Touch for Dogs by Dr. Michael W. Fox.
If you decide to try massage on your dog, I’d love to hear about it.
