Vaccination Concerns and Potential Side Effects

by Lorie Huston, DVM   

In the past, dogs were routinely vaccinated against just about anything we could think of, on the off chance that they might be exposed to that disease, in which case the vaccine should protect the dog.

Today, we recognize that vaccines can sometimes have a downside as well. 

There can be side effects with any medication and vaccines are no exception.

Anaphylactic/Allergic Reactions

By far the most common adverse reaction to vaccinations in dogs is an allergic reaction.

• A normal reaction to vaccines includes mild lethargy and soreness. A mild fever may also occur and these symptoms are generally not serious.
• Vaccine reactions can occur directly after the administration of a vaccine or within 48 hours later.
• Hives, swelling of the face, muzzle and ears and sometimes nausea are symptoms seen with an allergic reaction.
• In more severe cases, the dog may go into shock and may also die suddenly. Fortunately, this complication is extremely rare. 

Which Dogs are Most Likely to Have Adverse Reactions to Vaccines?

Puppies and young dogs are most likely to suffer adverse reactions to a vaccination. Small breeds of dogs are more likely to be affected than larger breeds.

Administering multiple vaccinations at the same time is more likely to elicit an adverse reaction. 

However, interestingly, multi-valent vaccines (vaccines which protect against more than one disease in the same vaccine) do not appear to cause an increase in the incidence of adverse reactions.

Immune-Mediated Disease Linked to Vaccines

At this time, the link between immune-mediated disease and vaccinations administered to dogs is unclear. However, there is some evidence that vaccinations can at least predispose a pet to developing immune-mediated disease.

More research is needed in this area but there is some concern that vaccination could have a long-term effect on the immune system, making it important to minimize unnecessary vaccinations.

Vaccine Preservatives, Mercury and Thiomerosal

Some vaccinations contain various preservatives, including mercury and thiomerosal (a compound containing 49.6% mercury by weight).

Preservatives are added to vaccines in order to reduce the potential for growth of micro-organisms such as bacteria or fungi in the event of an accidental contamination of the vaccine vial. It should be noted that not all vaccines contain mercury or thiomerosal however.

In human medicine, there have been concerns raised about the safety of mercury and thiomerosal in vaccinations.

It was believed that these substances may be linked to the development of the development of autism or other neurodevelopmental disease. However, studies performed to investigate this causal relationship have failed to prove there is a positive correlation, according to the FDA publication Questions About Vaccines. Similar studies in animals have also failed to show a link between adverse reactions in pets and mercury or thiomerosal-containing vaccines to date.

This continues to be a controversial and widely debated topic, however.

Adjuvants

Adjuvants are substances that are added to vaccines to increase the body’s response to the vaccine and lead to better protection with smaller quantities of the biological portion of the vaccine.

Adjuvants have been implicated in causing cancer in pets. 

This is another reason that unnecessary vaccinations should be eliminated from the vaccination protocol for individual animals. Currently, some vaccinations are manufactured that are free of adjuvants and many veterinarians consider these safer than adjuvanted vaccines.

Why Administer Vaccines to Dogs and Cats with the Risks Involved?

Despite the risks involved with vaccinating dogs and cats, vaccines still provide documented benefits which in most cases outweigh any risks involved with their administration.

However, vaccines protocols for an individual animal must assess the relative risk for that animal and only vaccines which can claim the potential for more benefit than risk should be administered.

***

Lorie Huston has been practicing veterinary medicine for over 20 years. Besides a successful career in a busy small animal hospital in Providence, RI, Lorie is also a successful freelance writer specializing in pet care and pet health topics. 

Currently, she is the feature writer for the Pet Care section at Suite101.com and the National Pet Health Examiner at Examiner.com. Lorie also publishes her own blog, The Pet Health Care Gazette and manages an increasingly popular facebook page, The Voice of Pet Care. 

Articles by Dr. Huston:
Lyme Is Lame (Pun Intended)
The Ticking Bomb
Don't Let Heartworm Become A Heartbreak!
Summer Perils: Blue-green Algae
Your Dog And Leptospirosis
Canine Parvovirus
Canine Distemper Virus
Why Is My Dog So Itchy? Top 5 Causes Of Itching In Dogs

Further reading:
The truth about vaccines: Dog and cat owners be warned
Dog Vaccines: Are You Over-Vaccinating?
To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate Your Dog or Cat: Which is Safest?
Vaccination Concerns and Potential Side Effects for Dogs and Cats
Vaccinations for Your Dog: A Complex Issue

Related articles:
To Booster Or Not To Booster

How Dogs Think (Well, Jasmine Anyway)

Jasmine is one smart girl, always has been.

She is the puppy that was house-trained in one week! And not because of my outstanding training skills—I was a dog training virgin then. Jasmine had to teach me everything. I learned more from her then she did from me.

Jasmine is also very observant and she forgets nothing. 

It took only one encounter with the thermometer for her to glue her rump to the ground the moment a vet approaches his drawer.

When we first took her for her underwater treadmill therapy, she wasn't very impressed having to get into that weird fish tank with no water and no fish.

It was to her relief that at least the water started to pour in. Kind of too warm to anybody's liking, but one can't rely on the bipeds to do anything right.


Then the ground started moving, now, that was really weird. Who came up with that idea? 

Gotta work pretty hard keeping up with it—all that walking while getting nowhere. Hm, ok then.

Are we there yet?

Finally the ground stopped moving, the water went away and they opened the door—I'm outta here!

But Jasmine is also very good at accepting the inevitable. 

So the next time she came in she hopped right into the tank.

Once the door closed behind her, she started pawing at the edge where the water came in last time—let's get this over with.

This became a routine. Hop in, get the water going by pawing at that edge and when it's all done get the door open by pawing at that.

The vet likes Jasmine very much and always marvels at how smart she is that she knows how to get things working.

Last time, however, there was an apprentice vet there doing the session. As usually, Jasmine hops in and goes to get the water going.

“Jasmine, don't do that,” the apprentice vet says.
“Well, she does that to get the water to come in,” hubby smiles.
“But Jasmine, that does not work,” the vet starts to explain … but at that moment the water starts pouring in!

“See, it is working!” hubby says.

How do you argue with that? IT IS working, it always has.

***

Last two weekends we were helping out vet move to his new clinic.

It's a very nice place and he decided to get some new stuff also, including new lift exam tables.

In the old place he had hydraulic lift exam tables. 

They were there since the first time Jasmine came to see him. She didn't really like them so much, but since she figured out that they want her on that table, she'd just hop on as she entered the exam room.

Then the vet would come in, raise the table, poke and probe her—that's how that is done before they can express the joy of seeing each other again.

Because the vet has these new exam tables now, he gave two of the old ones to hubby—you know, hubby is one of those guys who finds use for everything …

So he loaded it onto his trailer and took it to the shop at the friend's farm where he and the dogs spend most of the weekends working on other stuff somebody found use for.

As he was unloading it, Jasmine was very puzzled.

What is this doing here?

But as he moved it into the shop, she figured—ok, that's where we'll do this now I guess.

In order to get with the program she hops on. 

But nobody else seems to be doing this right!

Jasmine gets off again and, making sure that hubby can see her getting on, she hops back on. She tried this several times.

"Ok, is nobody else going to get on with the program?”

Hm, I guess that's why it's here now – cause it's broken.

Why Is My Dog So Itchy? Top 5 Causes Of Itching In Dogs

by Lorie Huston, DVM  

Dogs can become itchy and begin to scratch for many different reasons. However, allergies of various types are among the most common causes.

Canine Flea Allergy Dermatitis

An allergy to fleas is one of the most common reasons dogs become itchy. When a flea bites a dog, it injects a substance into the dog’s skin which causes the allergic response.

For a sensitive dog, one flea bite can make the dog extremely itchy. 

One of the most difficult things to understand is that often no overt evidence of fleas is present even though a flea allergy is the reason for the dog’s discomfort. This inability to find evidence of fleas stems from the fact that only one flea need be present and bite the dog in order for the allergic reaction to occur.

In addition, dogs frequently groom themselves and remove the evidence of the fleas through their grooming behavior. Therefore, not being able to find fleas does not rule out a flea allergy as a cause of itching in a dog.

Canine Atopy

Canine atopy is a type of allergy that causes a hypersensitivity reaction to environmental stimuli, such as dust mites or pollens. It is a common disorder in dogs and typically causes scratching and itching. Finding the source of the allergy in these cases can be challenging.

Food Allergies in Dogs

Food allergies are another common cause of itching in the dog. Food allergies can result from reactions to any ingredient within the food but beef, chicken and wheat are some of the most common culprits.

Bacterial Skin Infections in Dogs

Bacterial infections in the skin, commonly called bacterial dermatitis, are another common cause of itchiness in dogs. Bacterial skin infections frequently occur as complications to canine allergic skin disease and are usually a secondary disease.

Bacterial dermatitis must be successfully treated with antibiotics in order to evaluate and control the underlying allergic skin condition.

Canine Yeast (Malassezia) Skin Infections

Yeast skin infections most commonly involve a specific type of yeast known as Malassezia. Like bacterial skin infections, yeast infections are generally secondary to another underlying disease, often allergic in origin. Antifungal medications, such as ketoconazole, are needed to treat canine yeast infections.

Most Common Causes of Itching in Dogs

The three most common causes of itching in dogs are flea dermatitis, atopy and food allergies.

Any of these three types of allergies can be complicated with secondary bacterial or yeast invaders resulting in bacterial and/or yeast skin infections in affected dogs. These skin infections can become quite itchy in their own right and cause extreme discomfort and distress for the infected dog.

Less commonly, other causes, such as canine ringworm (dermatophytosis) or sarcoptic mange may cause itchiness and discomfort as well.

***

Lorie Huston has been practicing veterinary medicine for over 20 years. Besides a successful career in a busy small animal hospital in Providence, RI, Lorie is also a successful freelance writer specializing in pet care and pet health topics. 

Currently, she is the feature writer for the Pet Care section at Suite101.com and the National Pet Health Examiner at Examiner.com. Lorie also publishes her own blog, The Pet Health Care Gazette and manages an increasingly popular facebook page, The Voice of Pet Care. 

Articles by Dr. Huston:
Lyme Is Lame (Pun Intended)
The Ticking Bomb
Don't Let Heartworm Become A Heartbreak!
Summer Perils: Blue-green Algae
Your Dog And Leptospirosis
Canine Parvovirus
Canine Distemper Virus

What Does Organ Meat Have That A Good Ol' Steak Does Not?

Liver, kidneys, heart, lungs … how do you feel about these things? Yuck, right?

Well, where I come from, nothing got wasted. Very little of a slaughtered animal didn't make it onto the plate. Lung chowder, stewed brains, kidney stew, tripe soup, boiled tongue (smoked or plain), can't even count liver dishes … are you hungry yet? :-)

To you, of course, this probably sounds like menu from the Fear Factor.

How does it sound to your dog? Yummy!

Beef kidney

Even the picky eater that Jasmine is, she loves her organ meats. 

Tongue is her favorite, followed by kidneys. Heart and liver she likes best as jerky. And I can't forget the special treat – green tripe.

Because I ate them all, I can tell you that organ meats offer a broad range of flavors. But how about nutritional value?

Organ meats are actually highly nutritious. 

They are an affordable source of quality protein and they are rich vitamins.

Compared with muscle meats, organ meats are richer in just about every nutrient, including vitamin A, B vitamins (B1, B2, B6, folic acid and especially vitamin B12), minerals such as iron, phosphorus, copper, magnesium and more.

Check out this comparison of ground beef, beef liver and beef kidney. 

(values for 1oz of raw product, source: SELF Nutrition Data)

	Ground Beef	Liver	Kidney
PROTEIN	5.4 g	5.7 g	4.9 g
VITAMINS
Vit A	0.0	4732 IU	395 IU
Vit D	0.0	4.5 IU	9 IU
Vit E	0.1 mg	0.1 mg	0.05 mg
Thiamin	0.0	0.1 mg	0.1 mg
Riboflavin	0.0	0.8 mg	0.8 mg
Niacin	1.3 mg	3.7 mg	2.3 mg
Pantothenic acid	0.2 mg	2.0 mg	1.12 mg
B6	0.1 mg	0.3 mg	0.2 mg
Folic Acid	1.7 mcg	81.2 mcg	27.75 mcg
Choline	18.9 mg	93.3 mg	0.0
B12	0.6 mcg	16.6 mcg	7.8 mcg
MINERALS
Calcium	3.4 mg	1.4 mg	3.8 mg
Phosphorus	49.0 mg	108 mg	72.5 mg
Potassium	80.9 mg	87.6 mg	73.5 mg
Sodium	19.0 mg	19.3 mg	51.5 mg
Chloride	-	-	-
Magnesium	5.3 mg	5.0 mg	4.8 mg
Iron	0.6 mg	1.4 mg	1.3 mg
Copper	0.0	2.7 mg	0.1 mg
Manganese	0.0	0.1 mg	0.05 mg
Zinc	1.3 mg	1.1 mg	0.55 mg
Iodine	-	-	-
Selenium	4.0 mcg	11.1 mcg	38.8 mcg

Liver is not just an excellent source of protein but also a source of Vitamin A, several B vitamins, iron, folic acid, copper and even CoQ10.
(source: The skinny on organ meats)

Heart is high in vitamin B12, iron and potassium and is a source of selenium, phosphorus and zinc. Heart is also a concentrated source of  CoQ10.

Kidneys are  rich in vitamin B12, riboflavin and iron, and a source of B6, folic acid and niacin.

Tongue is a good source of B-complex vitamins, particularly B12.

Would a dog in a wild eat organ meats? You betcha!

Be aware of nutritional values when incorporating organ meats into your dog's diet.  It is easy to create an imbalanced diet if you rely too heavily on any one organ meat.

Take a look at liver, for example. It is extremely high is phosphorous but quite a poor source of calcium. Given enough time, a diet that is too rich in liver will cause significant health problems in part because of this unhealthy calcium to phosphorous ratio, in part because of the high levels of vitamin A.

Does your dog get to feast on organ meats?

It's your dog's health,
Jana

Related articles:
Feeding Your Dog: Commercial or Home-cooked?
Dog Nutrition And Proteins: The Building Blocks of Life
Dog Nutrition and Carbohydrates: The Essential Non-Essentials 
I Want Some Bacon! Fat In Dog Nutrition
Nothing Fishy About Omega-3 Fatty Acids 
Do I Have To Eat My Vegetables? Vitamins In Dog Nutrition 
Rock Foundation: Minerals In Dog Nutrition
Nutrition and Dog Arthritis

Digging Deeper: The Science Behind Adipose Derived Stem Cell Therapy

by Jennifer Febel of Avivagen Animal Health Inc.

If you’ve been paying attention to the news these days you’ve no doubt heard about stem cell therapy and adult stem cells.   

When most people think about stem cells they generally think that there are only two types in existence: Embryonic stem cells and Adult stem cells; however, the term “Embryonic” or “Adult” refers more to where the stem cells come from than what they are. 

In reality, there are many different kinds of stem cells, each with their own set of capabilities and limitations. 

BACK TO THE BASICS

In the beginning there is a sperm and there is an egg.

Once joined, this fertilized egg, now known as a zygote, begins a two-week period of rapid cell division in which each cell doubles by dividing into two cells in a process known as mitosis. 

This two-week stage, known as the germinal period of development, is closely followed by the embryonic phase where the newly divided cells begin to differentiate into three distinct (germ) layers:

• endoderm
• mesoderm
• ectoderm

The endoderm layer will eventually form the internal organs including the stomach, pancreas, liver, lungs and intestines. The ectoderm layer will develop into parts of the central nervous system, the epidermis, hair, and mammary glands.

And the mesoderm layer will develop into skeletal muscle, bones, connective tissue, the heart, and blood (lymph cells).

It is here, in the mesoderm, where the current stem cell story begins.

WHAT’S POTENCY GOT TO DO WITH IT?

The potency of a cell specifies its potential to differentiate into different cell types

There are three types of cell potency:

• totipotency
• pluripotency
• multipotency.

Totipotency is the ability of a single cell to divide and produce all of the differentiated cells in an organism. 

The zygote is an example of a totipotent cell. 

The problem with these types of stem cells is that they are meant to develop into whole beings and when taken out of this environment they have a tendency to form teratomas, an encapsulated tumor that contains components of all three germ layers.

Pluripotency refers to a stem cell that has the ability to differentiate into any of the three germ layers.  

They can develop into any fetal or adult cell type; however, they cannot develop into a fetal or adult animal due to a lack of potential to contribute to extraembryonic tissue such as the placenta.

Multipotent stem cells have the potential to differentiate as well, but only into a limited number of lineages.

For example, a hematopoietic cell is a blood stem cell that can differentiate into several types of blood cells, but cannot develop into brain cells or other types of cells.

MESENCHYM-WHO?

Mesenchymal stem cells, also known as MSCs, are multipotent cells that have the ability to differentiate into a variety of cell types including bone and tendon.   

It is these types of stem cells that reside in adipose tissue and that are responsible for all the positive press fat has been getting these days.

A mesenchymal stem cell is just a cell that is derived from the mesoderm.  

While these stem cells are capable of differentiation, they can only differentiate into cells that the mesoderm is meant to develop into. They cannot develop into tissue such as nerves or internal organs because these tissues originate from a different embryonic germ layer. 

It is because of their multipotency that adipose derived stem cells are perfect for treating diseased muscle, bone and tendons but cannot be used to generate other tissue types. 

While scientists have successfully manipulated stem cells to turn multipotent cells into pluripotent cells, this type of stem cell therapy is still in its infancy and studies on the effects of the manipulated cells are underway.

As you can see, stem cells are a varied group of cells that exhibit a wide range of characteristics and therefore have great potential and application in current veterinary medical therapy. 

We are just starting out on this stem cell journey and we have so much to learn but one thing is clear: stem cell therapy offers the medical world a unique way to use the body’s own cells to heal itself.

And that’s a wonderful thing.

Do you have a dog or cat that suffers from a musculoskeletal issue?  Would you consider stem cell therapy if your veterinarian offered it?

***

Avivagen Animal Health is a new Canadian company dedicated to developing science-based, natural health products for companion animals and offering veterinarians alternatives to traditional treatments.

Their aim is to increase an animal’s protection against disease by helping it attain optimal health by supporting its own physiological defenses, including immune function. Based on strong scientific fundamentals, we are developing innovative products and therapies that harness nature’s inherent ability to maintain and promote animal health and well-being.

To stay up to date with Avivagen news, check out their blog.

Related articles:

Stem Cells for Dogs? Oh yeah, baby!
Interview with Dr. Robert J. Harman, D.V.M., M.P.V.M. - CEO and founder of Vet-Stem
Jasmine is Vet-Stem's poster child! 
Zeus Gets Stem Cell Treatment 
Jasmine Is Headed For Her Next Stem Cell Treatment 
Jasmine's Stem Cells Are In 
Running With The Wind: Trago's Elbow Dysplasia Surgery And Stem Cell Treatment

Beaner Has Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency: Beaner's Story (Part II)

Beaner's story is shared by Angie Falcsik of  Pawsitive K-9 Obedience. You can also follow her on Twitter or Facebook. If you haven't yet, don't forget to read the first part of the story first.

Check out my earlier article to learn more about Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency and what pancreas does.

Everything Beaner ate was going right through her and that she was likely suffering from EPI; Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency.

I said, “exocrine, what?” The vet explained that there are certain cells (acinar cells) found in the pancreas that are needed to produce and secrete enzymes needed to digest food. They are:

1. Amylase for digestion of carbohydrates (sugars & starches in grains, fruits & vegetables);
2. Lipases for digestion of fats and oils; and,
3. Trypsin and Proteases for digestion of proteins.

Beaner can no longer produce what is necessary to digest her food and allow her body to absorb and utilize the nutrients – basically, she was literally starving and without treatment, would not live!  

EPI is not curable, only treatable with specific enzymes. I made another appointment to go in as soon as the other tests were completed.

After hanging up with the vet, I sat down and cried!  

How could I not have known it was this serious? What kind of mom am I?  Why didn’t I take her in sooner?  I decided to do some research.  I read more about the enzymes that were needed to digest food, about how this disease can affect other parts of a dog’s body; organs, immune, nervous system, and mental status. Dogs suffering from exocrine pancreatic insufficiency can become depressed, aggressive and/or fearful.

I also found out that this disease is very hard to diagnose and that many times the obvious symptoms do not reveal themselves until 80-90% of the exocrine pancreas acinar cells are destroyed.  

While that did not change anything, it at least eased my mind a little in that I was not beating myself up – as much. I pride myself on being very aware of my dog’s health and daily routines and now this is the second dog that something serious has happened and I didn’t realize it immediately. First Indy with his dysplasia and now Beaner with EPI.

A few days later we were back at the vet.

Beaner’s urine test was perfect and her blood work was as well. No protein loss and no cancer.  

The vet discussed a more specific test where blood would be drawn again and sent down to Texas, the only lab in the US that conducts this particular test and runs approximately $200.00. This test, called a cTLI test, is the only test that can confirm EPI. One is looking for a range between 5.0-35.0.

Now I had to decide what to do.

Her blood work was normal, her urine was normal, her stool was grey, slimy, running, she was loosing weight, bony frame, losing hair, fur turning brittle, mental status changes, tummy gurgling/gas – classic EPI symptoms. The enzymes she would be started on is $150.00 a bottle which lasts approximately 6-8 weeks.

I made the decision to start Beaner on the pancreatic enzymes without having the cTLI test as I completely trust my vet and he has seen this many times before and has patients suffering from this disease.  

Of course, we could perform the cTLI at any time if I chose to do so but for now, I chose to get her started on the enzymes right away.

There are a few ways of treating this, but the recommended treatment is powdered porcine pancreatic enzyme, which, by the way, does not smell very good.  

The vet warned me it smells like vomit and I asked if Beaner will even eat it if it smells that bad. His response, “she eats poo doesn’t she?”.

Touché. As it turns out, it is not as bad as they made it out, but you definitely do not want to get your nose too close!  I picked up a few cans of pumpkin and canned dog food on our way home with enzymes in tote.

The directions state that the enzymes must “incubate” for a minimum of 10-15 mts so I measured 1 tsp with a good size spoonful of canned food, mixed it really well and let it sit for the appropriate time. Meanwhile, the dogs are going crazy because they know it’s dinner time, they see me preparing the food and then they have to wait! Not happy campers I tell you! 

I continued this regimen for a few days.

I got Beaner’s food ready in the morning after my work out and while I was getting ready for work which worked out well, but it was the dinner time regimen that was a nightmare for everyone.

I remembered a Yahoo Group that I found and joined for owners of EPI dogs and posted my dilemma. 

I received a number of really great responses! Many people had to same situation I did. They worked late, multiple jobs and didn’t want their dogs to have to wait to eat after a long day.

It was also recommended that depending on the level of the disease, feeding small amounts multiple times a day was the best thing to do until it was under control.

The idea that worked best for me was place her dry kibble in containers along with the enzymes and shake really well so all the kibble is coated. I have about 5-6 containers in the fridge at all times. When I feed the dogs at night, I add just enough water to barely coat the kibble and let it sit over night for her morning feeding.  In the morning, I do the same thing for her evening feed.

This is a great idea if one is going on vacation and either has a pet sitter coming in or wants to make sure the boarding facility has the appropriately mixed food/meds.  It was even suggested to mix food, meds and meds, let it incubate a few hours and then freeze it! 

With my schedule, working 3 jobs, and crazy hours, this formula works great for Beaner.  If I’m going to be running late, I can have a neighbor come over and feed the dogs and know she is getting exactly what she needs.

Okay, so back to our story.

The first week was difficult as I was not seeing any changes in her behavior, appetite, poo eating regimen, attitude, weight – nothing!  

I called the vet and he said we needed to give it a bit more time. If I was still not seeing any changes in another 4-5 days, we would move forward with cTLI test.

A few days later I was looking out the window and saw Indy outside doing his duty and Beaner right next to him waiting for him to finish. I was just about to tell her to leave it so I could pick it up when much to my surprise, she sniffed it and walked away!  I knew that this meant progress was occurring and she was feeling better!  The enzymes were working!

Each day I noticed more and more signs that she was doing better.  

She was not as ravenous at the food bowl, her fur started to feel less brittle and after about a week, actually started feeling soft again! She began to get that spark back in her eyes and spunk in her attitude!  She even began to smile and wink at me again!

She was able to play and walk longer without getting so tired she could barely stand up and her mental status became more stable.  

She became tolerant of the little things again and her depression was going away. I knew she was really feeling better when her nosework started going from hunting for the food box because she was starving to hunting because she loved the game!  My girl was back!

It has now been about almost a month and she has gained 5 pounds!  

Her fur is really soft again, she plays, throws her toys at me, runs and has that sparkle in her eyes again!  We still have a ways to go to put another 12-15 pounds but we are well on our way to better health.  Although her normal weight when she was younger and healthier (developing some hip/joint issues), the vet and I decided not to bring her weight back to her 76-80 pound weight but to keep her at about 70-72 so as not to put too much pressure on her joints. 

Beaner will need to have her enzymes for the rest of her life, but now that we have finally gotten the right diagnosis, she is getting healthier day by day!  

I do of course, continue to read and converse with my Yahoo EPI group as  there is always something that comes up in someone’s life that we can learn from to help Beaner in her recovery. They have been a wonderful support group and wealth of information.

***

For nearly 10 years, Angie Falcsik has been professionally dedicated to the training, rehabilitation, and rescue of dogs. But the roles of trainer, rescuer, and rehabilitator have been a large part of her life since she was a child. Angie's life-long passion and the goal of her professional career is to educate people regarding responsible dog ownership and the realities involved in being a responsible dog owner. Angie has been working with Animal Control agencies and shelters for many years and has offered expert advice and testimony in animal abuse and neglect cases. Angie has been professionally training dogs since 2002 and is an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator. Through her classes, private in-home training, and rescue work, she has trained hundreds of dogs. In her own home alone, she has fostered and trained over 350 dogs!

Angie's unique obedience class (Language and Leadership) focuses on pack leadership, body language, and positive reinforcement. Her classes involve training the owner and family members and rehabilitating the dog. Angie's method uses body language as well as voice commands to develop and establish an appropriate relationship between owner and dog. If your dog is not listening to you, chances are, your dog does not have sufficient respect for you. Angie will teach you how to become a pack leader and earn the necessary respect so that following your lead becomes second nature to your dog.

In Angie's class, you will learn the importance of pack leadership, establishing rules and boundaries, along with an exercise regimen, and how to implement these essential aspects of responsible dog ownership into your lives. You and your dog will also learn basic obedience such as heel, sit, wait, down, and come, as well as additional training/rehabilitation measures that are specific to your dog and family. While some basic training is essential for all dogs, Angie believes that not every technique works or is appropriate for every dog and family. Each dog and family is unique and Angie's training philosophy and methods are designed to address and work with different family/dog situations and living styles.

Related articles:
Weight Loss, Brittle Fur, Starving All The Time ... Beaner's Story (Part I)
Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (Maldigestion)


Further reading:
Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (Maldigestion Disorder) in Dogs
Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency at Veterinary Partner
EPI – Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency
Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency Forum for dog owners

Weight Loss, Brittle Fur, Starving All The Time ... Beaner's Story (Part I)

Beaner's story is shared by Angie Falcsik of  Pawsitive K-9 Obedience. You can also follow her on Twitter or Facebook. Thank you, Angie, for sharing your story with us!

These are just some of the symptoms I was noticing with Beaner, my 10 year old German Shepherd/Greyhound. 

It started out with the weight loss but as she was a little on the pudgy side, and was reducing her food a bit, I didn’t think much of it. 

However, then other symptoms started to appear.

When I was brushing her I noticed that she was losing more fur than normal and her skin was very dry and flaky. 

Yes, I know, GSD’s don’t have a shedding season (she is predominately GSD) – they shed all year long; but this was in the fall and not the time of year she should be shedding this much. I also noticed that her fur was not as soft; but again, explained this away knowing she needed a bath and the fact that it was getting colder outside and maybe her skin was just getting dry. 

I thought maybe the food the dogs eat had changed formula, but after doing some research, learned that was not the case. 

All the dogs are on Fish Oil daily along with Osteo Bi-Flex so I knew she was getting enough Omega 3. I decided to give her just a little bit of EVOO in her food and give her a bath. I use Main & Tail shampoo and conditioner which has always worked very well for the dogs. 

However, even after her bath, her fur still didn’t feel right. She  was also depressed and irritable. 

She didn’t want to engage in play or even snuggling at times. She was less tolerant of her canine brothers and would snap and growl at them over the littlest things. Her eyes were sunken and she literally looked sad.

I also would catch her eating not only her poo, but her brothers’ as well. 

Not even waiting for it to hit the ground at times! I know – disgusting. She was ravenous when she would eat each meal and despite increasing her food from 1 ¼ cups twice a day slowly all the way to 2 cups twice a day, she continued to act as if she was starving and was still losing weight.

I also would hear very loud rumblings from her tummy all the time, regardless of how close to or after feeding her and she had really bad gas. 

I thought she just had a tummy ache and started to add pumpkin in her food to help settle her tummy. The rumbling and gas continued. I thought could I have been wrong about her food? Was this not the right brand for her? The boys were not losing weight. Then, I thought, worms? Parasite? But the boys weren’t losing weight. Their fur was still soft and had normal shedding. They were not acting as if they were starving.

I thought if Beaner had a parasite, the boys would have it too (they unfortunately are poo eaters at times as well). 

I figured if one had a parasite, it was likely the others would as well. At this point I decided to call the vet.

Although he agreed with my analysis, he still said it was possible and he wanted a stool sample; a fresh one – not frozen or refrigerated overnight. Yeah, right! I work 3 jobs; 85+ hours a week. How was I going to get a “fresh” sample during a time that the vet was open? I decided to wait for the weekend and try to get one in the morning before I went to go teach obedience class. 

During the week (called the vet on Monday), she deteriorated.

I watched her come inside one evening after playing ball, her muscles were quivering. She stood there for a bit and then basically collapsed to the floor. Her muscles had begun to atrophy already and she was not strong enough after 10-15 mts of playing to hold herself up. 

I was very scared at this point!

I examined her and could see that she had lost some muscle tone and knew at this point we were not dealing with a parasite; or at least not only a parasite.

I immediately looked at her fatty tumor on her chest that has now gotten to the size of a golf ball and thought, the vet has been wrong all this time – it was not a fatty tumor – it is cancer and I’m going to lose my girl!

I kept trying to remind myself of the times the vet had pulled fluid from this fatty tumor and over the years assured me that is all it was. He had given me the option of having her undergo surgery to remove it but I could not justify putting her under to remove something that was not bothering/hurting her; it bothered me. Selfish. She did not need to risk the possible risks of surgery because I didn’t like how it looked. 

Still, I thought, can a fatty tumor become cancerous? Research told me no.

Back to the drawing board. That whole week I watched her like a hawk. I decided not to over exert her and other than her ravenous eating, poo eating and brittle fur, she was walking/standing/jumping on/off the bed okay. 

Saturday finally came. 

I knew that the dogs’ poo schedule was right around 10 am so right after breakfast I locked them in the house for a couple of hours. I finally let them out and followed Beaner with a large baggie – 2 in fact. (Beaner’s poo is extra large!). I wasn’t sure what type of tests they were going to do or how much they needed so I was planning accordingly. 

She did not want to go with mom watching and knowing I wanted her to go. She tried to get me to play with her, she ran across the ¼ acre back yard to try and poo in private. No luck –I waited around the bush and as she was squatting ran up to her. It was gray! It was slimy and runny too! 

I expected soft, or even runny, but not gray and slime! Now I was very concerned.

With Beaner and poo bag in tow, we were off to the vet for her appointment. I handed the poo bag to the vet assistant and she assured me I had more than enough. I think she was being sarcastic 

The vet examined Beaner and weighed her. She was 56 pounds! 

Her normal weight about 80 pounds! I could not believe her weight was that low! The vet drew some blood and asked me to get a urine sample. Sure, now he tells me – could have done that at home. Good thing Beaner pees on command, even if she just went. He handed me a Styrofoam cup and I took her outside and told her to go potty. 

Of course, the good girl that she is, she started to pee but I got a little snow in the cup as I tried to get it under her and the vet said he needs a completely clean sample. Again –now he tells me. The vet assistant came in with another cup and suggested we cut the cup lengthwise so it was more like a scoop – good idea. This time I took her to the parking lot close to the snow but not in it. Hoping she still had something in her asked her to go potty again.

She looked at me as if to say, “I just went!” But again, the good girl she is, she peed again and this time we got a clean sample. Very carefully so as not to spill, I poured it into another cup and brought it back inside. 

Now it was a waiting game. 

Blood work would take a couple of days, urine would take a day as would the stool, unless more extensive tests were needed and then it would be couple of days. 

The vet had a couple of things he was thinking; protein loss, digestion issue, and of course, the “C” word – cancer.

We got home and after a bit of snuggling I decided not to let her see me so upset. Beaner and her brothers and I went to do some nosework to get our minds off things. 

Surprisingly, a couple of hours after leaving the vet, I got a phone call. The vet said, although the other tests still needed to be done, it was very clear from the initial stool test that

Beaner was not absorbing ANY nutrients from her food ...

Stay tuned for conclusion of the story.

***

For nearly 10 years, Angie Falcsik has been professionally dedicated to the training, rehabilitation, and rescue of dogs. But the roles of trainer, rescuer, and rehabilitator have been a large part of her life since she was a child. Angie's life-long passion and the goal of her professional career is to educate people regarding responsible dog ownership and the realities involved in being a responsible dog owner. Angie has been working with Animal Control agencies and shelters for many years and has offered expert advice and testimony in animal abuse and neglect cases. Angie has been professionally training dogs since 2002 and is an AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator. Through her classes, private in-home training, and rescue work, she has trained hundreds of dogs. In her own home alone, she has fostered and trained over 350 dogs!

Angie's unique obedience class (Language and Leadership) focuses on pack leadership, body language, and positive reinforcement. Her classes involve training the owner and family members and rehabilitating the dog. Angie's method uses body language as well as voice commands to develop and establish an appropriate relationship between owner and dog. If your dog is not listening to you, chances are, your dog does not have sufficient respect for you. Angie will teach you how to become a pack leader and earn the necessary respect so that following your lead becomes second nature to your dog.

In Angie's class, you will learn the importance of pack leadership, establishing rules and boundaries, along with an exercise regimen, and how to implement these essential aspects of responsible dog ownership into your lives. You and your dog will also learn basic obedience such as heel, sit, wait, down, and come, as well as additional training/rehabilitation measures that are specific to your dog and family. While some basic training is essential for all dogs, Angie believes that not every technique works or is appropriate for every dog and family. Each dog and family is unique and Angie's training philosophy and methods are designed to address and work with different family/dog situations and living styles.

Adopt The Internet Day

Our first Rottweiler, Roxy, was rescued at a gas station, hanging to life literally by a thread. You can read her story here.

She was such a sweet dog that she made us fall in love with the breed.

We adopted Bruin when he was about seven years old. He was looking for a new forever home for over a year, but nobody wanted to take on an old male Rottweiler of his size.

We didn't want a dog of his size either! He was huge!

Feeling we were his last chance though, we decided to take him in after all.

I still remember the first time he walked through our door. He laid down on the kitchen floor, as if trying to blend in with it.

"Maybe if they don't notice me here, I can stay."

I also still remember Jasmine, later that day when we all went to the bedroom, standing on our bed and looking at us. "Hey, can't anybody else see that this dog is still here? What's up with that?"

But as always, Jasmine was a lady about it and allowed him to remain in her house.

He spent three years with us before he passed. From the look on his face it was the best years of his life. And he never once forgot to show his gratitude for having been allowed to stay. He cherished every day because he knew how lucky he was to spend his last years in Casa Jasmine.

Are you thinking about getting a dog? Adopt! The rewards will be many!

Sparky
Hound/Doberman Pinscher Mix: An adoptable dog in Charleston, AR 

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year have come and gone and Sparky has celebrated at the shelter.

He is nearing a year old and is about 45 pounds. He is still happy and playful. 

Sparky is a good looking pup we think is 6-7 months old. He was abandoned at our shelter with Bella, the labradoodle, and a note with only their names written on it. So we are guessing at Sparky's breed and age, but not his sweet personality.

He is getting along with our other dogs, but is a bit intimidated by the numbers and can't wait to get out and be walked on leash and loved on by the volunteers. 

Sparky will be a great companion for an individual or family---he sure would like to be home for Thanksgiving!

Please save lives by adopting from shelters and rescues and by spaying and neutering your own pets!

Piper

Rottweiler/Airedale Terrier Mix: An adoptable dog in Coalhurst, AB

Piper is a three year old Rottweiler/Terrier cross.

She is an incredible dog who deserves an incredible home. 

Piper is a great dog that would make not only a great family pet, but an amazing athlete as well.

She is very well behaved at home - calm, obedient, and respectful. 

Outside she can run for miles. She LOVES to run the coulees, and is a great jogging partner. She also does well running alongside the bike.

Piper has a great temperament and is kind, gentle and loving towards people. 

She loves everyone she meets. She is very snuggly (often tries to sit in your lap) and loves to cuddle in the morning.

She is great with kids, and seems to really enjoy their attention. 

She has had a lot of obedience training and is well mannered. She can sit, down, stay, come, shake a paw, go to her bed, and more.

She is not without her issues though - Piper has issues with other dogs. 

This will need to be managed for the the rest of her life. She is reactive to them on leash, and is not predictable with them off leash.

The issue seems to be mostly her thinking that she needs to protect her owner. 

As long as her owner is not around she is fine - she even goes to doggy daycare! But on a walk it is a different story. She is used to walking on a halti and does really well, but she certainly needs work in this department.

Piper would do best as an only dog, but is great with cats. 

She would like to have her own family to love- kids included. She would also make an ideal companion for someone who likes to camp, hike, jog, or for someone wanting to do agility with their dog. She is certainly athletic enough! Really all she wants is someone to love her unconditionally. She is certainly deserving of it.

Find your new best friend on Petfinder today!

Emailing With Your Vet And The Miracle Of Web-based Medical Records

As a part of her Reasonable Expectations series Dr. Kay wrote a great post on using email to communicate with your vet. Do check out her article.

By the way, did you get Speaking for Spot yet? I am going to keep bugging you until you do, so you might as well just go and do it. I KNOW you will be glad you did, trust me on that.

Now, back to email communication.

All our vets in the past would allow some degree of email communication. Interestingly, the degree and usefulness of that was a reflection of how well they were willing to communicate in general.

Now, a love-and-hate relationship with the keyboard does not a bad vet make. 

General distaste for communication all together, however, does.

If your vet doesn't listen to you when you're trying to explain your dog's symptoms, how is he going to get the right diagnosis?

And if your vet won't discuss the diagnosis and treatment options with you, would do you know that your dog is getting the treatment that is the best for him? In fact, how would you know what the treatment is in the first place? We had vets just do things without saying a word about what they were doing and why!

"Here, give this to your dog twice a day."

"Wait a minute! What is it? What does it do? Why is he taking it? Does it have side effects? What are other options?"

Ever had a vet like that?

I believe that good communication is just as important as a state of the art equipment and diagnostic tools.

Of course the vet isn't always to blame. Good communication takes two parties, keep that in mind!

Our vet and I use email to communicate all the time. I love it for a number of reasons:

• we both can respond in our own time
• we both can keep track of the conversations and refer to them later without having to remember everything
• we both can do further research before answering

It is important to realize that email communication doesn't work in emergency situations and does not replace the vet physically examining your dog!

But it works great for us for everything else.

• lab results came back? We can discuss what we're looking at and where to go from there.
• started a new treatment? Our vet can be up to date on how well Jasmine is responding to it.
• there is a medical decision to be made? We can discuss our options.

What we discuss? Everything from vaccinations, Jasmine's progress, to new treatment ideas.

Our vet has taken this one step further. He is using web-based medical records system.

I don't know about you, but getting to see lab results or medical records from any of our past vets was like pulling teeth! I never understood why keeping patient records from the client was a matter of national security!

When we were changing vets, they charged us to forward the records to the new vet. That on its own would be reasonable.

But what our new vet got from the previous places was three pages worth of useless scribble!

Consider that in the light of the fact that Jasmine was at the vets with various issues at least once a month since she was a puppy!

So how could this be? 

Either their patient records were really that bad, or they didn't want anybody to see them. I'm not sure which I would consider worse.

When we started seeing Jasmine's new vet, I thought I died and went to heaven!

I can go online and access all her records any time I want. All of them! All her lab results, diagnoses, treatments, notes and email conversations we had from day one are right there at my fingertips.

What if we went on a trip and there was an emergency?

No problem, I can go into her records online and provide the emergency vet with any information they might need.

How well do you remember everything that was discussed during your vet visit?

We don't have to remember it! Jasmine's vet writes up a summary of each visit, which we can look up any time we need.

The list could go on.

For me, this web-based system became an indispensable tool in managing Jasmine's health care. It is yet another reason we are thankful for our new vet every day.

It's your dog's health,
Jana

Related articles:
Veterinarians Are People First
A Word On Second Opinions Finding Dr. Wonderful And Your Mutt's Mayo Clinic: Getting Started
Making Tough Medical Decisions For Your Dog
It's Your Dog's Health
Does Your Vet Listen To You?
Help! My Dog Is Purple!
Veterinary Drive-Thru: Coming Soon To A Veterinary Hospital Near You!

Viva Has Cushing's

Viva's story is shared with us by my good friend @Kenzo_HW. Check out his blog, it's got awesome information on Hovawarts, tracking, nose work and lot's of other great stuff.

Helping Viva to get better and improve health is a lot like peeling the layers of an onion. 

Just when we think all bases are covered and all issues addressed, we find out we are looking at yet another layer.

The warning signs have been around all the time. 

High liver numbers returned from her very first blood-work. Not as high to worry about, treat or investigate further. But high enough to keep on monitoring her regularly just in case.

The first external signs came about one month ago. Viva was slowing down on our daily work-out. 

We gave her some rest, an additional acupuncture session - maybe she was in pain ? - but to no avail. She rapidly became more lethargic, and stopped playing and ear-nibbling with Kenzo, her favorite past-time!

We did a round at our vets and found out her spondylosis had not gotten worse, but her liver numbers had exploded. 

High liver numbers could be caused by just about anything and further testing was needed. We were in for a couple of painstaking weeks of further testing, investigating, and discussing theories.

Our regular vet started suspecting Viva of having Cushing's disease after some additional testing. 

Although not all the signs have been adding up. She turned out to be spot on.

Cushing's disease, or hyperadrenocorticism, is an overproduction of cortisol hormone.

It can be caused by over-stimulation of the adrenal glands due to a tumor on the pituitary gland or a tumor on the adrenal gland itself.

Most dogs develop Cushing's because of a tumor on the pituitary gland, causing over production of ACTH hormones which in turn stimulates an overproduction of cortisol. 

While the tumor itself is usually benign, Cushing's is a life-threatening condition affecting inner organs like kidneys and liver.

Some of the most common signs are hair-loss, a pot-belly, lethargic behavior, incontinence, and being overly interested in food and water. Apart from being lethargic, Viva had none of those signs. Yet she always had been overly interested in food and water as a former obese dog.

Testing Viva for Cushing's sounded like a wild-goose chase, but I am happy to have followed our vet's gut feeling on this one.

To diagnose Cushing's we started with a urine test to measure cortisol levels. They were sky high. Next was an ACTH stimulation test, which was conclusive. Now it was final, Viva has Cushing's. The diagnosis was actually a huge relief, a month had already passed and I was so worried for Viva being in discomfort for so long and not being able to help her.

Treatment

We started treating Viva with Vetoryl (Trilostane). Already after 5 days Viva was feeling better! Kenzo got his first ear-nibble in a month, which we celebrated with the whole family that day. It was awesome to witness.

Vetoryl is a very aggressive medicine, that messes with the hormone level. Administering the correct doses is extremely important, as Viva can die if we administer either too much or too little.

Viva will need Vetoryl for the rest of her life. 

The doses can vary over time, and Viva has to be tested quarterly to ensure the doses is correct. Those quarterly tests include an ACTH stimulation test and 3 different blood-work tests.

The onion

We are three layers down: allergies, spondylosis and Cushing's. Maybe we are done, maybe we are not. Yet another lesson Kenzo and Viva taught me.

Health is not a shopping list with items you can check off and wrap up.

Related articles:
The Many Faces Of Arthritis: Viva Has Spondylosis
Alternative Treatment Of Arthritis: Viva's Update

Hypo- versus Hyperadrenocorticism

Further reading:
What Exactly is Cushing's Disease
Symptoms of Cushing's Syndrome
Testing: Laboratory Hints Suggesting Cushing's Syndrome
Testing: Confirming Cushing's Syndrome
Classifying Cushing's Syndrome: Pituitary vs Adrenal
Trilostane, New Drug Treatment for Dogs with Cushing's Syndrome