Last weekend I made that ‘Healthy Ear Recipe’ to treat K’Ehleyr’s very irritated, goopy ear.   It was expensive (around $20 total) as I couldn’t find a small tube of Monistat, but compared to prescription ear medication is probably still a lot cheaper plus there is a lot more of it.              I followed the directions, treating her ears twice a day.  After a day there was already noticeable improvement, and after 3 days at 2x/day, then 2 days at 1x/day, her ear is looking perfectly healthy.   Needless to say, I like the formula and it is in my “keeper” file.

I’m posting this partially for my own records, but this is what I use for an ear cleaner, called The Blue Power Ear Treatment.  Here is a link to the website with the original article. I omit the Gentian Violet, but it is supposed to be a good anti-fungal so I may do the real recipe next time.

INGREDIENTS:                

16 Oz. bottle of Isopropyl Alcohol (standard 70%) 
4 Tablespoons of Boric Acid Powder 
16 Drops of Gentian Violet Solution 1% 
Mix together in alcohol bottle and shake well.   

You will need to shake solution every time you use it to disperse the Boric Acid Powder.  

Purchase a flexible plastic bottle with the opening at the top so that the solution may be gently squeezed out and dispense solution to affected ears.  The ideal is a hair-dye bottle available at a pharmacy, Wal-Mart, Target, etc, or a beauty supply store. 

TREATMENT PROCEDURE:   

 1)  Evaluate condition of ears before treating and if very inflamed and sore: do not attempt to  pull hair or clean out ear at all.  Just flush and then wait until inflammation has subsided, which will be about two days. 
2)  Warm the solution (as instructed above) and shake the bottle each time before using it for treatment,.   
3)  Flood the ear with solution (gently squirt bottle).  
4)  Massage gently to the count of 60, wipe with a tissue.  
5)  On first treatment: flood the ear twice, wipe with a tissue, and leave alone without massage.   
6)  The dog will shake out the excess, which can be wiped with a tissue. 

Note: the Gentian Violet does stain fabrics, etc. so you may want to wear gloves.

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Here is another recipe that is supposed to be better if starting with ears that are already gunky.   I’m going to make this for the first time tomorrow for K’Ehleyr since she is having some ear issues right now.

Interesting notice from the EPA:

http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/health/flea-tick-control.html

It’s hard to know the right thing to do regarding flea/tick control products.  On the one hand, ticks can transmit serious disease so one wants to use these products to kill any rogue ticks.  Also, some dogs are allergic to flea bites so it behooves them to have a preventative.  On the other hand,  putting chemicals on ones pet that *could* potentially harm them in the long run is not a great option either!   

Fortunately our tick problem in California isn’t as bad as other parts of the country.   I try not to use flea/tick products.  Haven’t had a problem with fleas, and use spray repellents for ticks.

I recently found out about a natural tick repellent recipe one can make to use before going hiking (or other tick-infested areas).  Supposedly it works really well.  For those that want to get something ready-made, Avon makes a skin-so-soft Bug Guard repellent that seems to work too.  I just sprayed the last of my supply liberally on Sport when hiking the other day and so far I haven’t seen a tick on her.   Hoping one doesn’t show up now that I’ve said that.

Here’s the tick spray recipe (which I haven’t tried yet).  

Tick Spray – 4 ounces

3 ounces of distilled water
1 tsp vegetable glycerine
1/2 ounce of grain alchohol (like vodka)
7 to 10 drops of geranium oil 

I’m planning to look for geranium oil at Whole Foods and make this spray.

Handsome Jackson showing his shaved patch from his trip to the emergency vet

Carry Benadryl tablets.  For dogs, the dosage is 1-2mg per pound of body weight (for adult Goldens usually 50-75 mg), and give immediately as a precaution after suspecting an insect bite, such as spider or yellowjacket.   Call the vet for advice.  In the case of severe facial swelling/itching, in addition to the Benadryl go to the vet immediately for steroids to halt the immune response.  Always have your vet and emergency vet contact info/location handy.

A week and a half ago, we had quite a scare because Jackson (Sport/Travis puppy) suddenly exhibited extreme facial swelling one evening.  His face was itching to the point that he rubbed part of his nose raw from scratching it against the floor.   Corina had discovered a hard pink lump on his chest that afternoon, but this reaction didn’t happen until they were returning from their walk several hours later.

Corina and I spoke on the phone, and she subsequently gave Jackson Benadryl but it wasn’t until after his face had been severely swollen for (I believe) about an hour.  This did calm the itching whereupon he fell asleep.  She knew to watch for signs of changed breathing, and when she suspected this about an hour later she rushed him to the emergency vet.   They suspected he may have been having an anaphylactic reaction so they gave him epinephrine, steroids, and put him on an IV for observation overnight.  Corina got him back the following morning, and he was very groggy that day, but by evening he was back to his happy-go-lucky self.

We strongly suspect that he had a reaction to a spider bite, especially since he had the large, hard, pink lump (with a small crater in the middle) on his chest that afternoon.  I’ve since found out that spider bites can be very bad for dogs and the reaction can be delayed by several hours.  Giving Benadryl in the cases of severe facial swelling is typically not enough– the dog should be taken to the vet to receive steroids which stops the immune response and takes the swelling down very quickly (thus hopefully avoiding the heavy-duty stuff like the epinephrine).

If I suspect that my dog has gotten an insect bite such as a yellowjacket sting, I give Benadryl immediately as a precaution, in an attempt to head off any reaction, rather than waiting for signs of a reaction to occur.  (I take Benadryl myself if I get stung, too.)   Then I’ll watch carefully over the next several hours for any signs of a reaction or signs of difficulty (pale gums, shallow breathing, inability to walk properly, blue gums (a dire emergency!!), etc..).   Check the eyes for a normal, alert expression– you want that!  If there is any doubt as to your dogs condition, please call the vet for advice.

Fortunately Jackson and Corina’s ordeal ended up fine, but I’m posting this so everyone can be prepared and learn from their experience– and be very wary of spider bites!

Cooper had his 5th and final IV chemo last Wednesday.  In another couple weeks he will start a course of oral chemotherapy.  He continues to do very well in attitude, though his endurance has suffered a bit.   He can still do things like agility, but instead of jumping regular height he does a lower height (typically 12″).

I sent a sample of his blood to the Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard (Dog Genome Sequencing Project).  They are being funded by the AKC Canine Health Foundation to study hemangiosarcoma.  This cancer of the blood vessel lining is very aggressive and affects as many as 1 in 5 Goldens.   The hope is not only to find better treatments, but also to potentially identify genes that could cause the cancer to be expressed.   If a genetic test can be found, then it would have a profound, presumably positive effect on breeding decisions.   Also, a huge benefit of cancer research in dogs is that the findings often advance human cancer research.

Here’s an update from the Broad Institute, posted by someone last month:

“Update: Hemangiosarcomas are rapidly growing and highly invasive, blood-fed tumors. Blood vessels grow from the tumor and often cause death through excessive blood loss due to rupturing of the tumor. After comparing the genomes of ~100 healthy dogs with ~100 dogs with HSA we were able to identify several areas of the genome that were possible associated to inherited HSA risk factors. Currently, five genes found to be associated with the disease are being searched for mutations. Once the mutations have been identified and their presence in different breeds assessed, this will allow for rapid development of genetic tests for carriers of HSA.”

This is incredibly exciting news!

Puppies get antibodies (passive immunity) through their mom on the first day after birth from drinking her colostrum. Vaccinating the puppy while the maternal antibodies are high can prevent the virus in the vaccine from triggering immunity in the puppy, because those antibodies may be strong enough to just kill off the virus in the vaccine. What this means is if the puppy gets their first vaccination too early and the follow-up vaccine in the series comes after they have lost their maternal antibodies, there could be a period of time where the puppy is actually unprotected.

The best way to handle this situation is scientifically. I will be having a nomograph run on Mama Sport’s distemper-parvo titers to determine the actual date at which these puppies will lose their passive immunity. The puppies will be sent to their new homes with the recommended resulting vaccination schedule.

Here is a very informative article about vaccinations written by Dr. Jean Dodds, DVM, and includes a chart showing her 2007 recommended minimal vaccine protocol. Please note that the top part of the following web page contains a confusing excerpt about an email floating around the internet not being from Dr. Dodds which makes it look like the article and chart on the page is not hers. I have personally verified with Dr. Dodds that the protocol on the rest of the page is by her. I wish they would fix the first part of the page about the email so it would be less confusing.

http://itsfortheanimals.com/DODDS-CHG-VACC-PROTOCOLS.HTM

Sport’s puppies all have their dewclaws intact.  Fewer breeders are removing dewclaws, especially now that there is research to show that dogs actually use their front dewclaws. Since my dogs are fed raw meat, I’ve seen the ones with dewclaws use them to grip the meat/bone if it is particularly large. They also use them to clean their face sometimes. There is also evidence that the dewclaw is on an acupressure point.

Even more compelling, check out the first of part of this article by Chris Zink, Ph.D. (canine sports medicine consultant):

DEW CLAWS, With A Flick of the Wrist by Chris Zink, DVM, PhD (as seen in Dogs In Canada – September 2003)

In the hundreds of agility trials I have attended over the years, only rarely have I seen a dog suffer an acute, serious injury. An exception happened in early May this year. I was relaxing at ringside, enjoying one of the rare rain free moments this spring offered, watching a bi-black Sheltie named ‘Shadow’ negotiate the Open Jumpers course with smooth abandon. Suddenly the dog took a misstep, completely misjudged where he should take off, and crashed into the jump. As he fell, his front legs landed on the fallen jump bars, and he immediately let out an agonized scream. He was still crying as he was carried out of the ring. I ran over to help and examined the dog in a shady area some distance from the ring.

Shadow’s left front leg was extremely painful and he held it stiffly away from his body. In a few minutes he had relaxed enough for me to determine that there were no major bone breaks. In fact, the main problem appeared to be a severe sprain of the carpus (wrist). Later X-rays not only confirmed my finding, but interestingly showed that the dog had preexisting arthritic changes in the carpal joints of both front legs. Thus, although this dog did have an acute agility injury, he had chronic problems, too. In fact, it is possible that the arthritis contributed to his lack of coordination in approaching the jump.

Once Shadow was on the mend, his human teammate had many questions for me. How common is carpal arthritis in performance dogs? How painful is carpal arthritis and what can be done to relieve the pain? Will Shadow still be able to play agility, obedience and other fun doggie games? Since carpal arthritis is quite common, I thought I would share the answers in this column.

In the last several years, while doing sports-medicine consultations for performance dogs across Canada and the United States, I have seen many canine athletes with carpal arthritis. Interestingly, this condition is much more common in dogs that have had their front dewclaws removed. To understand why, it is helpful to understand the structure of the carpus. This joint consists of seven bones that fit together like fieldstones that are used to build the walls of a house

The carpus joins to the radia and ulnar bones (equivalent to our lower arm), and to the metacarpal bones (equivalent to our hand). Each bone of the carpus has a convex or concave side that matches a curve on the adjacent bone. Unlike the bones of the elbow, for example.

The elbow bones have ridges that slide into interlocking grooves the bones of the carpus do not have ridges that slide into interlocking grooves on the adjacent bone. The relatively loose fit of the carpal bones is supported by ligaments that join each of the carpal bones to the adjacent bones.

With so many carpal bones that don’t tightly interlock with the adjacent bones, the ligaments of this joint can be easily stretched and even torn when torque (twisting) is applied to the leg. The dewclaws have the important function of reducing the torque that is applied to the front legs, especially when dogs are turning at a canter (the main gait used in agility).

In the canter, there is a moment during each stride when the dog’s accessory carpal pad (on the back of the carpus) of the lead front leg touches the ground and the rear legs and other front leg swing forward to prepare for the next stride. At this point, the dewclaw is in contact with the ground and if the dog turns, the dewclaw can dig in for extra traction to prevent unnecessary torque on the front leg. Without the gripping action of the dog’s ‘thumbs’ there is more stress on the ligaments of the carpus. This may cause the ligaments to stretch and tear over time, resulting in joint laxity and ultimately, arthritis.

The full article with illustrations may be found here as a PDF file.

Our dog Cooper who is 11 years old has arthritis in his left front “wrist”, which causes him problems when he tries to land and turn on that foot. He injured it when he was a puppy, probably 6 months old at the time, when we went hiking and he jumped off a big rock and landed incorrectly on that foot. Thinking back, I’m willing to bet if he had the dewclaw support he may have avoided the injury.

Both Sport and Lola have their dewclaws, and Lola’s were the first I’d ever seen. I was shocked when I realized it was basically a full toe with a pad and everything, and after that I could never imagine having it removed especially with all the good reasons to keep it on.

So– yes, there are two more nails that require cutting/grinding, but more than worth it as far as I’m concerned.

Speaking of grinding nails, here is a great website on how to use a Dremel to grind your dog’s nails. These puppies will have had a gentle introduction to nail grinding before they go to their new homes.

How to Dremel your Dog’s Nails

Poor Lola– she fractured her upper molar very badly last week on a marrow bone that I had given the dogs for a treat, and we ended up taking her to the Animal Dental Clinic in San Carlos for a (very expensive) tooth extraction. The tooth was too damaged to save via root canal. They did a good job with the extraction, though.

Some people might be a bit squeamish about seeing a picture of the broken tooth, but here’s a link to it for those interested in seeing more.

Lesson learned: beef marrow/knuckle bones are harder than teeth for good reason. They are weight-bearing bones that support a very large animal. If you want to give marrow bones for recreation, then monitor it carefully and take away the bone after the dog has finished licking the marrow out of the ends. After that, many dogs will start chewing the bone in an attempt to get more marrow out of the middle and that is bad news for teeth.

I’ve been feeding my dogs a home-prepared raw diet for years, and they thrive on it. It’s not that much more expensive than feeding good kibble, and the health benefits are tremendous.

This article floated around cyberspace today, and it’s worth reading:

Real food for dogs is easier than you think

- By Christie Keith, Special to SF Gate; Wednesday, February 7, 2007