Jazz, Mini Australian Shepherd for adoption

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This is Jazz, my foster dog. (Bradley got adopted into the best family ever!)

Jazz is a 3-4 year old Miniature Australian Shepherd. I think she looks both sad and shell shocked.

Jazz is from MARS, Mini Aussie Rescue Society. It is believed that she was kenneled for so long she has lost her faith that she can have a loving family. Jazz doesn't bite or bark, but has a difficult time looking humans in the eye. She reacts equally well, which is shyly, to men & women. She is great with other dogs.

Jazz'll be with me until a retired family or someone working at home can give her the stability she needs. As her foster mom, I love her dearly, but recognize that it's hard for her to enjoy spending her days at the clinic. When I am treating a difficult or aggressive dog, Jazz can't stay in the treatment room; she thinks she's being punished when she is asked to stay in the massage room.

Let's find her a home where she'll never be alone. She'd be fine in a home with another dog or with cats. Not sure how she'd be with children. She's not an ideal dog for anyone who is not nimble because she weaves in front of her person when she walks and could easily trip them.

Jazz weighs about 35 lb and is spayed. She has a happy time swimming at WaterWorkz. She loves hiking in the woods and rolling on the ground like a little tumbleweed.

Let me (vetpollen at yahoo.com) or MARS know if you're interested in this delightful little girl.

Treating Skin Infections in Dogs, Herbs, Oils, & Extracts

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Bacteria & yeast are common causes of skin infections in dogs. The first step is determining whether it’s bacteria or yeast that is the problem, or if both bacteria & yeast infect your pet.

Diagnosing & treating yeasty skin infections
In general, yeasty skin infections have a strong odour and develop in moist skin folds, such as the armpit (axilla), deep face wrinkles, around the tail. If yeast infections include the nails, a brown material develops at the junction of the nail and the toe. If yeast infections include the external ear canals, a waxy brown (not black) cerumen debris collects in the external canals.

Many shampoos help control yeasts, including Miconazole & Nizoral. They are used twice a week and left on for 10 min before being rinsed off. Then, a very dilute vinegar & water solution can be used as a rinse and allowed to dry on the skin. To help prevent yeast from developing between shampoos, products containing tea tree oil or lavender oil can be applied twice a day.

Diagnosing & treating bacterial skin infections
If the problem is bacterial, often there are tiny red swellings like little pimples that develop at hair follicles. These can increase in size and become large and bright red or remain tiny and faintly pink. Some skin bacteria cause moist circular red areas surrounded by a ring of flaking or peeling skin. These are called collarets. Because bacteria loves moisture, skin folds are often the first places to show bacterial infections: areas around the vulva and anus, axilla, lip folds. The belly and lower abdomen are also good place to look for bacterial skin infections.

If your pet has a bacterial skin infection, bathing with an antibacterial shampoos or solutions, such as Pyoben and Chlorhexadine, will physically remove the organisms so that the immune system can come in and clean up the infection. We can help the immune system by applying herbs & oils to the skin, such as yucca, dilute lavender oil, and yucca.

Herbs, extracts, oils that help the skin
• Aloe vera
• Arnica
• Bromelain
• Calendula
• Curcumin (turmeric)
• German chamomile
• Grape seed extract
• Lanolin
• Lavender oil
• Green tea
• Pomegranate
• Rosemary
• Tea tree oil

Back Pain, Acupuncture Significantly More Effective Than Other Therapies

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A Canadian study from Ottawa Hospital Research Institute at the Univ of Ottawa examined efficacy of acupuncture, massage and spinal manipulation on back pain. The authors reviewed over 150 trials and found that acupuncture was significantly more effective in reducing pain and disability than usual treatments, including physical therapy (exercise and electrotherapy).

Although the studies were done on humans, similar results would be expected in other animals, including dogs & cats. What does this mean? It means when your pet hurts its back, request acupuncture. In over 150 studies acupuncture significantly reduced the pain and disability compared with other modalities.

For details on the study, look in the Nov 24, 2011 issue of Evidence Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine. The authors are Furla, AD, Yazdi F, et al. The title of the study was A systematic review and meta-analysis of efficacy, cost-effectiveness, and safety of selected complementary and alternative medicine for neck and low-back pain.

Harley, the Dachshund with Inter-vertebral disc disease (IVDD)

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Handsome Harley Receiving Acupuncture
Here is little Harley who is as tough and as handsome as the motorcycle he was named for. Two weeks ago, Harley ruptured discs in his back and was paralyzed. When his discs ruptured, nerves making it possible for Harley to urinate and defecate were also damaged; in addition to losing control of his legs, Harley lost control of bowls and bladder.

Two weeks on the road to recovery
Today, with the help of acupuncture, laser therapy, and conventional medical care, Harley is recovering. Harley can walk 8 steps without having his rear legs buckle; he and can urinate and defecate on his own. To help Harley recover maximum use of his nerves, his family is using moxa to treat two special acupuncture points, Small Intestine 3 and Bladder 62. His family is limiting his activity and keeping him on non-skid surfaces so his little feet have traction they need to stay under him.

It will be several weeks before Harley’s engines are fully revving, but he is headed in the right direction. He is receiving dark green & orange vegetables to provide antioxidants, Adequan to help lubricate his joints, and controlled exercise.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Herbal Formulas for Disc Disease
While Charlie is in the acute phase of IVDD (intervertebral disc disease), we may start him on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) herbal formula Invigorate the Collaterals or Huo luo xiao ling dan). Invigorate the Collaterals helps relieve stasis (phlegm), treat pain & spasm, move & tonify. In a few weeks, when Harley has passed from acute to chronic disc disease, the TCM herbal formula that would be most helpful is Supple Spine or Du Huo Ji Sheng Tang. These herbal formulas, along with acupuncture and laser therapy, remove pain, return function, and help prevent disease in the future.

Harley's Family
As important as holistic medicine has been in Harley’s recovery, Harley’s family has been even more important. Harley’s family provides him with the love and security that promote a healing state of mind. Harley's family is the key to his happiness, and happiness is key to health.

Dogs Make Good Listeners, Get Yourself a Border Collie

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Research shows what all dog lovers know:
dogs understand when we want to communicate with them.

Researchers used cameras and computers to prove what we see all the time in the dog park: dogs listen to human voice and look at us when we speak.

Most Dogs look the human directly in the eye and follow their hand gestures to see what is being communicated. I’ll bet you’ve seen many dogs cock an ear toward you and look you in the eye when you’re speaking with them. Then, if your gaze goes toward an object, the dog will turn to look where you’re looking. This is precisely what József Topál of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences described in an article in the Jan 5th issue of Current Biology showed: dogs look up and make eye contact when spoken to, and follow human hand or eye signals to observe what the human is indicating.

Topal states that his research proved that humans and dogs share the same social skills.

In my experience, herding dogs are especially good at picking up the human desire to communicate, and my advice for any woman who ever says, “Honey, you’re not listening to me.” Is to go out and get herself a border collie.

Choosing a Puppy

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Choosing a puppy is one of the most joyful experiences we have whether getting a pup from a breeder or from a rescue organization. You’ll decide how active a dog would be ideal, how long and thick a coat it should have, and what sex would be best. You’ll consider whether the pup should be genetically inclined to love any particular activitiy, such as swimming or herding, or doing tricks. All this is a lot to decide, but don’t stop there.

Here are 6 more points to consider when you look for your new puppy:

1. Genetics contribute to calmness and anxiety, which means if the parents are calm it increases the likelihood the pups will be calm.

2. Dogs with erect ears (Border Collies, German Shepherds, Shelties etc) have more “yang” energy forward than dogs with drop ears (Bloodhounds, Labradors) and require different behavioural approaches than dogs with drop ears.

3. Dogs that have been bred to be smaller than their ancestors, such as the minis and toys, may lack confidence and be more anxious than dogs of a standard size.

4. The smallest dog of the litter may be more anxious than the large dogs in the litter. Size is in part determined by growth hormone: the more growth hormone released, the larger the dog; the less growth hormone, the smaller the dog. How much growth hormone is released is partially regulated by the stress hormone, cortisol. The more cortisol is released, the less growth hormone. Thus, the smallest in the litter, with the least amount of growth hormone are often the dogs with the highest cortisol levels, the dogs that have experienced the most stress. These stressed dogs may perceive their world as being more dangerous or it actually may be more dangerous for them.

5. Stressed puppies have permanently different brain chemistry than unstressed puppies, thus they tend toward having more anxiety their entire life. The stress hormone cortisol released when the pup is in utero and during the first few weeks of life signals the developing brain to make more receptors for stress hormones. The more stress receptors a brain has, the easier and the faster the brain picks up on stress.

6. In dogs, as in many species (foxes, cats, rats, & horses) research has shown there is a correlation between coat color and trainability. In dogs, white patches, such as found on belly and feet, are associated with domestication and the ability to be tamed. In contrast, many believe that a red coat is associated with animal that is more intense, flighty, and less trainable.

To prove the correlation between coat color and temperament, researchers showed that shown behaviour is linked to pigment production, and pigment production is linked to hormones & neurotransmitters. Researchers found that the neurotransmitters released when stressed (dopamine, adrenalin and noradrenalin) have the same biochemical precursor as melanin. Melanin is found in the skin and the brain, including brain areas affecting mood.

Treating Cats with Kidney Disease, the Importance of Blood and Urine tests

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About one-third of our pet cats will develop kidney disease. With odds like these, if you’ve had three cats in your life, you’ve probably had one with kidney disease.

You may already know that holistic & conventional veterinary medicine are a big help for kidney cats, but if you’re not aware of how much help there is, let me give you some good news.

We help cats with kidney disease by changing the diet to decrease phosphorus, provide moderate protein. We select drugs that don’t damage the kidneys, and use our drugs in smaller dosages or give them less often as drugs aren’t cleared from the body efficiently, so have longer benefit. We give herbs, such as Rehmannia Eight, which is also called Si Wu Xiao Feng Yin. We use SQ fluids and can put water-soluble Vitamin B 12 in those fluids. We can use a human product (EPO) to stimulate the bone marrow when cats become anemic. Of course, we can use acupuncture to stimulate the bone marrow (GB 39), benefit the kidney (BL 23), help the body conserve fluids and stay warm (K 3 & K 7). Homeopathic meds can help, too.

There are several other conventional drugs that some families want to use. For example, aluminum hydroxide helps lower phosphorus. Calcitriol helps prevent calcium from being pulled from the bones and reaching abnormally high levels in the blood. When we use these meds, though, we need blood tests to assess that they are safe for the particular pet, and that the dose is correct.

While we can do minimal blood and urine tests, they don’t provide the depth of information needed to tell how severe kidney disease is, and whether it is safe to use conventional medications. The minimum database needed to use the meds we have available to help cats with kidney disease include:

• Red Blood Cells (PCV or HMT)
• Reticulocytes
• Total protein
• Calcium, (ionized calcium if total calcium elevated)
• Phosphorus
• Potassium
• Sodium
• Urine specific gravity
• Urine protein

When we have less information than this, it’s like trying to predict the outcome of a chess game with most of the pieces on the board covered—there isn’t enough data to tell what’s happening. Without knowing, for example, what the phosphorus level is, it’s not possible to say whether the cat should be on aluminum hydroxide. Without knowing what the calcium level is, it’s not possible to say whether the cat can be given calcitriol or whether the dose should be adjusted.

When clients who live far away from our office request a telephone consult, I cannot offer them all the medical help that is available if we don’t have complete blood & urine data on their pet. That’s why I request Idexx geriatriac panel, which includes a urine test, before providing a consult. With this level of information, we’re able to use all the approaches we have to keep kidney cats healthy for as long as possible.