Penny tries a special diet

It's been a long, long two weeks...

Penny first became ill on the day before the Very Important Football Grand Final, the long-awaited day when our team contested the last Aussie Rules match of the year. (And won!)

That was Thursday 2 November. It seems such a long time ago...

Then there were days of watching her, after she came back from the Animal Emergency Hospital, checking she wasn't vomiting and that her bowels were once again in action. It seemed as if she had settled, and Gastroenteritis was diagnosed.

But she continued to be unwell, and it's been a tiring couple of weeks, observing her and hoping for the best. She must have been getting well and truly tired of a diet of boiled chicken and rice. The problem for me was knowing whether I was giving her sufficient nutrition, because dogs aren't meant to be on this diet for so long.

When we reintroduced some of her usual foods, she began to vomit again, and the diarrhoea started up again.

A fecal test and a blood test have produced good results - not pancreatitis, as we thought it might be. No little baddies in her gut or her blood.

So, our own vet has concluded that it was Gastroenteritis, as the Animal Emergency vets thought.

Now we're trying a bland diet - Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal Low Fat diet. I don't like the idea of feeding the same thing every day, but after many a cold wait in the dark yard before dawn while Penny circles and vomits, I'm more than happy to stick to this for a while.

Penny looked rather sad in this photo, with a frothy mouth. I hated to see her feeling so bad.

But she's much better now. So far so good..

Two days and she seems well...

BTW, Penny thinks it's delicious, so much so that I'm feeding it in a variety of toys to get her to slow down the eating. She's still getting half of her diet as boiled chicken and rice, but I think we'll gradually take that out and trust the nutritionists at Royal Canin have done their job in formulating the food.

Here she is, enjoying the meal that I think looks so boring. (BTW, the clip is infinitely boring to watch, but Human Number Two is not at home at the moment and might enjoy seeing that Penny's health has improved so much.)



I must pop up to the vet tomorrow and see if there are canned varieties available, because I'd like to try roasting some slices for treats, and also using the soft food to stuff a Kong for her. I learned the trick of baking slices of canned food back in 2011 when we were trying to stick to a non-allergenic diet.

dogs and aloe vera

After my recent post about using aloe vera on Penny's feet, Lassiter Chase's mum posted a comment saying she was glad to read that licking off aloe vera won't hurt a dog.

I started to worry that I hadn't done enough research for my last post. I did read that aloe vera is safe, and I'm trying it on Penny's feet, but I only looked at the one site I mentioned. So I've looked around further and this is what I've found:

eHow says the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals lists it as a poison, if eaten. The article concludes that it could be used on coat and skin, but with care.

This is the ASPCA page on aloe vera.

Marvista Vet says:

ALOE VERA GEL - If possible, obtain 100% aloe vera gel from a health food store. Products "containing aloe" are much more available but are generally not as effective and not meant to be licked away by a pet. Aloe vera gel comes from the aloe vera succulent and contains enzymes which break down inflammatory proteins and enhance healing. Pure aloe vera gel is not harmful for pets who want to lick it off.

WebMD gives an overview of the aloe vera in relation to humans and points out the the middle of the leaf is a gel and that just under the skin there is latex. It continues:

But taking aloe latex by mouth is likely unsafe, especially at high doses. There is some concern that some of the chemicals found in aloe latex might cause cancer. Additionally, aloe latex is hard on the kidneys and could lead to serious kidney disease and even death.

However, the aloe vera latex that is mentioned is taken by humans as a laxative, so I presume they would be eating larger amounts than Penny would get by licking at her paw.
The article conludes with an overview of how aloe vera is thought to work.

The useful parts of aloe are the gel and latex. The gel is obtained from the cells in the center of the leaf; and the latex is obtained from the cells just beneath the leaf skin.

Aloe gel might cause changes in the skin that might help diseases like psoriasis.

Aloe seems to be able to speed wound healing by improving blood circulation through the area and preventing cell death around a wound.

It also appears that aloe gel has properties that are harmful to certain types of bacteria and fungi.

Aloe latex contains chemicals that work as a laxative.

Burke's Backyard says:

Cuts and abrasions - aloe vera is a useful, naturally occurring antiseptic derived from the succulent Aloe vera. It can be safely applied to a pet to help the healing of minor cuts or abrasions. Any thing major, particularly a burn or severe laceration, should be examined by a vet.

Dogs Life has some sensible advice:

“Allergies to natural substances are still possible, and dogs can have series reactions, especially if they are they are allergic types,” Fougère warns. “Before using a natural remedy, it’s always a good idea to do a patch test. This means applying a very small dab to a less hairy part of the body (like the groin area), then waiting 24 hours to see if there is a reaction. If there is, you’ll need to avoid that substance.”

Penny's feet

Two days ago, when we were bathing Penny's feet in cool water - as we currently do after every outing - we noticed the skin of one pad was peeling back.

Of course we didn't freak out and wonder if our current regimen of cleaning twice daily for ten days with Malacetic wipes and applying Elocon once a day for three days has wrecked her skin completely, or given her some dreadful skin-destroying disease - of course we didn't...

But, just in case, we thought a re-visit to the vet might clarify things.

He said the peeling skin is a sign that something was wrong with it and it is peeling back to healthy skin. Phew! When I think about it, she's had a horrible hard patch on her paw (it looked like callus) since last November. And that's the paw that is causing the limp. BTW, he found a similar development on the other front foot, and suggested something in her gait may be causing this.

He once again checked her limbs completely, trying out every joint and reassured us that this latest limp is not likely to be joint-related. (Always a relief, given her previous cruciate repair.) He suggested we continue to work on getting rid of the hard, peeling skin, and gave us some chlorhexidine to use. We're to wipe the two paws every couple of days, working deeply to wipe or pull the loose skin off. When he did it she didn't seem to find it painful. But I do know that, like other dogs, she doesn't readily admit to pain.

PetPlace says of this medication:

Overview

Chlorhexidine is classified as a disinfectant or cleanser. It is used both to treat environmental surfaces, and in less concentrated forms, to treat the skin, ears and oral cavity. It is effective against bacteria, fungus, yeast and viruses.
Chlorhexidine is an OTC (over the counter drug) but should not be administered unless under the supervision and guidance of a veterinarian.
Chlorhexidine is used in veterinary medicine for the treatment and prevention of dermatological (skin) conditions and for the management of ear infections (otitis externa) and gum disease.

And

This drug can be used in the treatment of superficial skin infections, irrigation (cleansing) of wounds and as a medicated shampoo for the treatment of certain skin conditions (hot spots or acute moist dermatitis).
Chlorhexidine is not effective against infections caused by parasites (such as worms and mites).

Okay, that sounds like a good plan.

But then I remembered I hadn't told the vet I've been wiping Penny's paws with aloe vera gel. I simply break off a piece of leaf and gently rub it into the underneath of her foot. She didn't seem to mind this at all, even when the paw was quite sore.





PLEASE NOTE: Saturday 10th March 2012 - I have a subsequent post that looks at the pros and cons of use of aloe vera in terms of its possible toxicity.

I'm going to continue with the aloe vera, as well as the chlorhexidine, as I don't see that they should counter each other. In looking around to check this, I came across this informative answer at AllExperts to a query about paw problems. I like this answer because although it talks about alternative therapies, it doesn't dismiss modern veterinary medicine. I thought it had a good balance.

The query was about an akita who was licking her paws. Here's part of the answer:

Allergies can cause constant licking and swelling of the paws and accumulation of debris, creating a moist, warm environment that can cause an overgrowth of bacteria, yeasts, fungi and demodectic mites. Chewing and superficial infection allow deeper penetration of these organisms into the skin, creating a very itchy, and hard to break cycle.

The problem is really two fold: If the suspected allergy is treated but not the skin infection, it is unlikely that your dog would have complete or lasting results.

So you see, because your dog is chewing at her paws, she's at risk for developing secondary infections on her skin, which can quickly get out of hand. That is why your vet told you to keep your dog's feet clean, and why you should strictly follow that advice.

Gently wash your dog's feet with peroxide, at least once a day. Dry your dog's feet very well. If your dog will allow it, a hair drier on the low setting would work well. If it's possible, wash your dog's feet when she comes in from outside too, since grass or pollens might be aggravating or causing the itch.

If you can't wash your dog's feet each time she comes in from being outside, simply soaking her feet for 5 or 10 minutes, four times a day, in cool water can help control licking. For additional relief, add a sprinkling of Epsom salts to the water (1 teaspoon in 2 cups of warm water). Again, it's really important that you dry the dog's feet well after a soak.

Your vet asked that you get back to her in a week, you need to do that if you haven't done so. Treatment for an allergy is a long term and complicated thing, it might take months to get it under control, and the first course of treatment might not work, so other medications would be needed.

Since the problem is continuing, your vet may want to run tests for fungus, bacteria, or parasites, or take a skin scraping sample. In addition, she may prescribe medications such as steroids (Prednisone) which quickly relieve irritation and break the "lick cycle."
These drugs have the added benefit of putting the brakes on the immune system, which produces the allergy symptoms. Finally, pets with severe allergies may undergo a series of shots to help desensitize them to whatever they are allergic to.
In some cases, the vet simply isn't able to find anything physically wrong, but can still treat for the symptoms.

And

Aside from the medication your vet prescribes, the following suggestions might help control the itching, but these are not a substitute for vet care, and you should tell your vet exactly what supplements or over the counter remedies you are using on your dog.

Along with washing your dog's feet with peroxide (which is important that you do), also try this:
Brew a cup of tea as you normally would (regular black tea, that you can drink), then soak a clean towel in the cooled tea to make a compress and apply it directly to your dog's paw for three to five minutes, up to five times a day. Tea can discolor fur, so don't be surprised if your pet seems to be wearing socks when you are done. Tea contains chemicals called "Tannins", which help dry rashes and ease irritated skin. Dry the paws well when you're done- with a hair drier if possible.


100% pure Aloe Vera gel (not a blend!) can be applied directly on the paws. Aloe Vera gel comes from the Aloe Vera succulent plant and contains enzymes which break down inflammatory proteins and enhance healing. It really stops itching, and you can use it on yourself too. If you happen to own a plant, just crack off a piece and rub it onto your dog's paws. You can use Aloe Vera gel 4-5 times a day and after cleaning or soaking the paws, or whenever you see your dog chewing at her feet. It's safe if your dog licks it.

There's lots more advice in the post, and I'm saving the whole thing to my computer, because it's one of the best overviews of paw licking that I've seen.

We're going back to the vet in ten days, so here's hoping that the problem will be resolved by then.

yet more about kennel cough in dogs

Penny seems to feel a bit better today from her current bout of kennel cough, well enough to do her door-guarding duty, but her barking is not up to scratch, because she has to pause to cough and sneeze.



I've been told to get her out in warm sunshine, if possible, but wouldn't you know it, after months of unseasonably dry and warm weather we've been gifted with proper wet, cold autumn weather. Wait a minute. The sun just came out...



Okay, back inside after ten minutes in a the sun. An informative site at Lowchensaustralia says that if the infection runs a normal, uncomplicated course, there's no need for antitbiotics. (That's what the vet at the animal clinic told me the other night.) A couple of points that surprised me, however, were that it is actually possible for this bronchitis-related disease to pass to humans, and that dogs can shed the virus, ie pass it on, for up to fourteen weeks.

The vet who treated Penny at the emergency clinic said an intranasal spray is a more effective preventative than the annual vaccination, but the site at Lowchensaustralia says:

This vaccine is not without its problems. It is a very effective vaccine, but it must be used carefully and is generally only recommended for dogs that are at high risk. If your dog is not shown, boarded, or comes into contact with stray dogs, your dog is considered low risk.

Hmm... Penny spends lots of time in contact with other dogs, through canine freestyle, flyball and pet dog training with Cindy.

However, when I rang my own vet, he said he prefers the vaccination, as the nasal spray is not necessarily that much more effective as to warrant the trouble in administering it to dogs who hate having something sprayed up their nose.

pesky kennel cough again!

On Tuesday evening, when I was pet-sitting for a friend and Penny was helping me, she started coughing up froth all over my friend's loungeroom and kitchen. Quite dramatic, actually. I decided to take her off immediately to the after-hours clinic near my friend's house - humungously expensive, but worth the peace of mind.

(I did stop to disinfect the house as much as I could before we went, by the way, and my friend was philosophical when she returned, given that kennel cough is passed by an airborne virus and no amount of cleaning the floor was going to do much good.)

Having relieved my mind of the fear that Penny might have a cooked chicken bone stuck in her oesophagus - oh, why didn't we ever successfully train her not to scoff everything she sees in the street? - the vet told me she was ninety percent sure Penny had kennel cough. Okay, not so bad...

We were given a BIG bottle of prescription cough linctus and told to give it two to three times a day for a while. I asked what the point was, given that kennel cough is a virus and basically has to run its course, and the vet said the cough linctus eases coughing and prevents secondary infections developing as a result of damage from constant coughing. (I think that's what she said.)

I was surprised at how easy it is to administer the cough syrup. I just sit behind Penny, hold my hand over her muzzle and lift the corner of her upper lip, revealing a conveninetly placed gap behind her big tooth, and squeeze the stuff in. Penny is a saint of a dog, fortunately, and only squirms around a little. I was proud of her at the vet's where she had to suffer a thermometer up the backside, a lung check with the stethoscope and squeezing of her throat. (As I posted last time she had kennel cough, if you press lightly on the dog's throat just under the jaw and above the collar, she will cough immediately if she has this virus.)

Surprisingly, she didn't cough when the vet did that, but seeing she was spluttering froth around the vet clinic floor, I guess it wasn't necessary to see her cough right then.

Here she is the next day, all tuckered out, and perhaps a bit sleepy from the cough medicine.



The vet was insistent that we do other dogs a favor and stay on our own property for two weeks. Two weeks!!

However, I think it would be two weeks from the time she first showed symptoms - I'll have to check that - and if we hadn't been so silly we would have kept her away from other dogs as soon as we noticed her sneezing and coughing.

when your dog is overweight

I took Penny to a local physiotherapist who deals with dogs, because I suspected she was limping - just before our first-ever big day at a flyball event next Sunday! (The races at the Royal Melbourne Show recently were just a 'taster' for us, as there were only teams from our own club.)

I'm ashamed to say the physio said the main problem is that Penny is overweight.

I asked how much, and he said TWO KILOS. When you only weight 16 kilos, that's 12.5% of your weight, and I calculate she's about 14% overweight. I'm feeling really bad.

But of course we can't just start massively dieting. A friend advised me to cut her food gradually.

So, today is the beginning of the fitness and dieting programmme!

Penny, fortunately, doesn't know the bad news..

KraMar chicken treats recalled - made in China

On the ABC news tonight there was a report that KraMar dried chicken treats are being recalled because of a suspicion that they are poisoning dogs.There is also a report on the AdelaideNow site.
Dogs who are affected may be drinking and urinating a lot, be unusually lethargic or vomiting.

I'm glad now that I'm a worrier. A couple of months ago I stopped feeding these great-looking treats because I like to read the fine print on things and I noticed they are made in China. Nowadays I don't feed anything to Penny unless I know all ingredients were sourced in Australia or New Zealand or unless the packet specifies no ingredients come from China.

I actually have a packet of these KraMar treats in the cupboard. I didn't want to feed them to her, but the treats appeared so healthy that it seemed a pity to throw them out.

Now I will throw them out!

dogs are in danger if they eat Xylitol sugar substitute

Reading Dolittler's blog today I was surprised to learn the extent of the danger the sugar-substitute Xylitol presents to dogs.

Since I read her previous posts on the danger of this product I've been been warning my friends not to feed anything with artificial sweeteners - but I didn't realise that Xylitol is used now in Rescue Remedy and in some multivitamins.

Dolittler (a practising vet in the US) says that more dogs are poisoned by TicTacs than by any other product, partly because they have such a high level of Xylitol and partly because they are so ubiquitous.

An online article by Sherrill Sellman says that the Finns rediscovered Xylitol during a sugar shortage in World War Two, making it from birch bark. It had been first manufactured in 1891 by a German chemist.

Snopes.com has an account of a nearly fatal accidnet where a dog ate a couple of pieces of chewing gum.

I guess the message is, don't feed your dog anything produced for humans, unless you research the ingredients first.

lumps, bowels and doggy illnesses

Penny's been keeping us on our toes lately. She had her annual vaccinations last week, one of which which should protect her from distemper, infectious hepatitus and parvovirus; the other from bordetella brontiseptica and canine parainfluenza.

Well, I think that's what they were - the teensy tiny stickers on her health record are hard to read, even with my glasses on!

That evening she threw up five times. I rang the local animal hospital and the vet said to keep an eye on her and gave me the phone number of a local all-night clinic. However, she slept through the night okay.

We didn't, though.

In the morning my own vet examined her and he thought she was more likely to have vomited because she had a bowel inflammation. (She had been having jelly-like material in her poos on and off over the last few weeks.)

He put her on antibiotics for a week, which are nearly finished now.

It's hard to know what to do for the best for our beloved animals. There are lots of internet sites with scary stories of pets' reactions to vaccinations, and I did check out lots of such sites when I posted last year about the concern that we over-vaccinate in Australia.

I thought Dog Owners' Guide seemed to have a reasonable overview of the question. Basically they referred to vomiting as a severe reaction, but said we should still have the vaccinations with the proviso that the dog might need to take antihistamines or the leptospirosis part could be omitted.

They discuss (but not in detail) recent research that suggests we should vaccinate less frequently.

As I write this, Penny is frantically licking her paws. She tends to have a problem with her paws, so it's not a new issue, but I feel sure she's doing it more these last couple of days. So I'm interested in a site that suggests paw licking can be a reaction to vaccinations.

And to top off our worries, when I got home from the vet after the vaccination, I noticed Penny had another lump - this time on the top of her head. It's not long since she had one removed from her chest.

The vet said it would be safer to remove it, but not to worry about rushing into it. I'm fairly sure it is getting smaller every day. At first it was as big as a pea, but I think it's only pin-head size now. Here's hoping!

a war on dogs?

During the weekend I read a feature in The Age newspaper's Good Weekend magazine. It was by Frank Robson, who with his partner is sailing Australian waters, accompanied by their dog, Lucky. I've previously posted about the book he wrote about Lucky. I enjoyed it and recommended it as a light-hearted read for any dog lover.

In this feature article he's mainly recounting the misadventures they had while sailing, but Lucky gets a mention once again; I was struck by the following section:

Twice a day, whatever the weather, we take Lucky ashore for toilet breaks. We always clean up after him, but refuse to be cowed by Australia's official war on dogs: if all the no-go zones were observed, dogs wouldn't be seen anywhere except sulking in backyards, which is crazy.

I'd say, from reading blogs from around the world, that the question of no-go zones for dogs isn't just an Australian issue. It seems as if the whole world has begun to believe that the only safe dog is one on a leash, walking at most half a metre from her owner's leg.

I think this is partly due to the increase in motor traffic, but to me it's also a result of the culture of over-protection.

When I was growing up, it was usual for dogs to ramble around the streets with groups of children, all having fun together. Nowadays, you're not likely to see either the children or the dogs. The kids are 'safe' inside their houses, cocooned in a sedentary lifestyle that is probably going to cause massive health issues in the decades to come. The dogs are lying around waiting for the magic moment when their people take them on an outing, all too often a boring promenade over hard street surfaces in a haze of car exhaust fumes

There seem to be two issues: one, keep the dog on lead to save her from danger; two, a dog on lead will be less of a danger to passing humans.

Vilmos Csanyi, in If Dogs Could Talk, says,

Dogs are very conscious of having a leash, and for them this is not a form of restraint or a symbol of slavery as is believed by enthusiastic liberals who know nothing about animals.

To a certain extent I can see what he means: Penny loves her lead and seems to think it's her way of making sure she's got her person coming along behind her.

But I also see how she quivers with joy when we reach the part of the park where she knows she can go off-lead.

Terry Ryan and Kirsten Mortensen, in Outwitting Dogs, discuss the leash from a dog's perspective:

To a human, a leash is a device to manage a dog - to keep a dog nearby; to prevent a dog from running off after (or away from) a car, bike, or critter...for a dog a leash is a sensory experience - it's what causes pressure on the dog's collar or harness...this leash sensation doesn't mean anything inherently.

One thing I'm sure of - I get more exercise if Penny is walking off-lead beside me, because she races to keep up with me. But if she's on lead she wants to investigate everything we pass.

I don't think she's deliberately being contrary, because dogs just don't think that way. But it sure seems like it at times.