Spondylosis stinks

Mr. Bailey has been on Deramaxx (NSAID) for over a year now and I've felt like it didn't seem to help him as much as I thought it should.  His hip x-rays at only a year old showed that he had shallow hip sockets so I always knew that would be something we had to contend with as he aged.  Given the way he played - no holds barred, wild and free - when he was young (and even not so young), I also knew that one day he'd likely pay for it.  It's who he is and what he has always loved so I don't regret letting him go wild for even a minute.

I'm not sure if I have mentioned it here before, but I wasn't particularly happy with the vet we had been going to.  We decided to start going to that clinic largely b/c they accepted Care Credit and it gave me piece-of-mind knowing that when I was out of town for a dog show, etc that whoever he was staying with could take him there and he would be taken care of with no worry about payment. 
I missed my holistic vet.  I missed her terribly.  Then, out of frustration with a visit for Mendel's second puppy vaccines I decided to call the old holistic vet.  My world got a whole lot brighter when I found out they had recently begun accepting Care Credit!

Why I love the Holistic Vet:
She asks me what I want for my pets instead of telling me what to do.  I can't even express how big a deal this is to me.  When Mendel and I went in for a distemper vaccine she asked me what I was thinking I wanted to do for other vaccines, if any.  When I told her I was definitely not going to do more than the distemper combo at that time b/c I don't think it's in his best interest to have multiple vaccines at once, she breathed a sigh of relief and said she was happy to hear that.  When I asked her what she recommended as far as his first Rabies vaccine she said she likes to see people wait until 6 month of age to make sure we're not throwing too much at them too young, at which point I breathed a sigh of relief and had to resist the urge to hug her.  She answered every question I had about the other vaccines completely honestly and without the usual "spin" vets tend to give.  (I don't have a problem with a vet recommending things, but I want the whole truth, not just the data that supports their recommendation.)  I truly trust her to give me her opinion based on what *I* want for my pets rather than what the "standard protocol" dictates.  I am so very grateful to have her back in my dogs' lives! 

Today Bailey and I went to the holistic vet for a check up and to talk about some different treatment options.  I wasn't planning on having x-rays done because long ago I decided that I would not consider surgical options for him.  As the one human who knows him better than anyone else, I feel I am most qualified to determine that it's just not what he would want.  Fortunately, I trust the holistic vet completely and she suggested that we might have a better idea of what the best drug options are for him if we knew what was going on with his bones.  I will freely admit that had another "by the book" vet suggested the same thing, I might not have opted for the x-rays, but because I trust her to recommend them for the right reasons I decided to go ahead and get them.  I am so glad I did.

As I said, I knew Bailey had some issues with his hips themselves, but I hadn't seen them in black and white since I worked at a vet clinic nearly 10 years ago.  I was pleasantly surprised to see this:

If these were Mendel's hips I would be concerned, but for Bailey I'm ecstatic to see that the hips are in the sockets where they should be and there aren't a lot in the way of boney changes.  For a 13 year old train wreck, these look pretty great.  You can see that his femoral heads are quite flat and his hip sockets are a bit on the shallow side, but over all they're a relief. 

So what's the problem?  Why does he hurt?

Here we're looking at his spine.  Starting from his head, things are looking pretty good... until we get close to his hips.  Notice they get a bit closer together, and then there's this:

Spondylosis.  Not good.

What is happening is that he has developed bony projections on his lumbar vertebra and they are forming a bridge.  For Bailey this is particularly problematic because the location of the problem is also the location of major nerve bundles that service his rear.  I have noticed that he seems less "aware" of when he needs to defecate lately, and this is an issue that may continue to be a problem, but there are solutions for that problem and it's certainly not going to slow us down.

Here is a really great (and sad) x-ray I found on Flickr of another dog.  It shows a number of the spurs and bridge formations I am talking about so you can see the different stages of their development.  At only 7 years old, x-rays like that are just heartbreaking, but it's wonderful to see that her owners are doing everything they can to keep her happy and healthy. 

So what's in store for Bailey?

Once the Deramaxx is gone, I don't think we're going to continue it.  His liver and kidney functions look great, but I see no reason to tax his organs when it's not really bringing him all that much benefit.  Right now, Tramadol is what really seems to be helping him.  My next step is looking into acupuncture.  I have heard a great number of stories from people who swear by it, so it might be a good option for him as long as it doesn't stress him out.

For right now, the main goal is to keep him happy and pain free so he can be as naughty as he wants to be.  :)

The more we know...

In my last post about my new puppy, I mentioned that my dogs do not play "fetch".  At the time I considered explaining my decision regarding "dodge and dart games", but decided to wait for another post.  Here's that post.

  First, let me tell you about Bailey.  When I adopted Bailey I was working at a training/breeding field Lab kennel.  He quickly learned from the other dogs that the orange retrieving bumpers (used to train bird dogs) were extremely cool.  Bailey became positively crazy for the things.  When we lived across the street from a park, we went over and played fetch with them nearly every day.  When we went over to my parents' house, my dad would throw bumpers as far as his arm could fling them and Bailey would run after it at break-neck speed.  The running wasn't so much the problem - it was the stopping that worried me.  I loved that Bailey was having such a great time, but I was always afraid he would blow a knee.  I find we are exceptionally lucky all he ever really ended up with was a limp that lasted 1/2 a day here and there.  Unfortunately, in my opinion, we still did do some joint damage.

Bailey with his bumper

As of late, I have seen a fair amount of research about Unilateral Hip Dysplasia.  All this means is that only one hip is displaced from the socket while the other is normal.  There are many opinions on the topic, but one of them is that unilateral hip dysplasia doesn't just "happen", it is made - usually by injury.  The idea is that if hip dysplasia is genetic, both hips will be effected, but if only one hip is displaced it likely is the result of an outside cause.  Some studies have been done showing that better hip health is achieved in puppies who are exercised freely (under their own power and motivation) for greater portions of the day as opposed to puppies who are crated and then encouraged  to burn off their excess energy quickly via things such as dodge and dart games.  The pounding caused by games like "fetch" and the stress on joints from sudden stopping can have a lasting effect on joint health.  I find that to be a pretty substantial cause for concern.  I also think it makes perfect sense.

I can't tell you how much of it is a result of our games of fetch, but I can tell you that Bailey suffers from joint pain. I certainly have to wonder if the times he was so out-of-his-mind-excited to get the bumper that he launched himself of my parents deck from the top step, or even just the regular games of fetch, didn't have something to do with the way he hobbles around today. It's a terrible feeling, wondering if something you did lead to your dog's pain, even if you had no idea you were doing anything wrong at the time.

As Bailey got older, and I got more afraid he would hurt his knees, we began playing our game a little differently.  I would take him out in my parents' back yard and hand him the bumper instead of throwing it, and play chase with him at a more moderate speed.  He would run "victory laps" around the yard while I pretended to stalk him.  (he had a pretty good recall and would come if I asked him to so this wasn't really the bad form of keep away where I wasn't in control and he thought he was getting away with something)  Another thing we did is play fetch in the water - I would stand at the edge of the water and toss it back in for him to fetch.  If anything, water retrieving is some of the best exercise you can give your dog, you just have to be very attentive to his limitations if you have a dog who will keep trying to go after the ball even if he is totally exhausted.  These alternate forms of the game were significantly better for his hips and seemed to be just as fun for him.

I can't help but wonder what might have been if I had always played this way.  I don't wallow in guilt about it - what's done is done - but I absolutely have changed the way I handle my dogs as a result of my experiences with him and with the information I have gathered.

Mendel enjoys Bailey's bumpers, only more for the rope than for the fetching.

Lilly does enjoy tennis balls, but she doesn't care to use them when she engages in play with me - she doesn't get anything out of it.  (the only time I will ever even touch one at the dog park is to kick it across the ground to show her I found one she can play with)  You see, Little Miss has figured out that OTHER dogs like them - which is a very good way to get them to chase her.  Occasionally, she gets so wrapped up in the excitement of a chase that she actually drops the tennis ball from her mouth and gets frustrated because the dog stopped chasing her and went for the ball instead.  Lilly never got into the habit of playing dodge and dart games with me, so she doesn't even see me as a source of that type of play.  

This sort of relates to the reason I am on the fence about having Lilly do agility, as well.  Her front end is very straight and that means that every time she jumps those front joints take a beating (a well angulated front can cushion the blow and take stress off the joints).  It is my hope that I will be able to find a place where we can use agility equipment without being criticized and I can either remove the bars for the jumps or put them on "chihuahua height" so she doesn't pound her front and hurt herself.  I likely will never compete with her because the pounding she would take during practice simply wouldn't justify it.  I do, however, think that we might be able to do some slowpoke agility where she practices on mostly lower jumps and just does her jump height for competition, I guess we'll see when the time comes.  Read more about structure and why it's important here.

Lilly loves to instigate a good game of chase.  I love that she engages in self paced play.

There is a fine line between allowing our dogs to be dogs (which I think is exceptionally important), making sure they have fun in play, and keeping them safe and healthy.  It's a line that, unfortunately, I don't think can always be effectively walked.  Sometimes we just have to do the best we can and spend equal amounts of time on each side.  A reasonable argument for the purchase of healthy, well bred, purebred dogs can certainly be made.  I won't have to be nearly as careful about what I do with Mendel as I do with Lilly (or probably should have with Bailey).  Mendel is put together correctly, his body is built for work and athleticism, and he will have the proper nature-given growth hormones he should have throughout his entire life.  (This certainly doesn't mean I don't have to be smart about things such as not allowing him to jump off beds and couches while his joints are still just developing)  I love my rescue dogs with all my heart and a piece of me would like to always have one in my home, it's just something to think about when we make these decisions.

 Fact is, now that I have an intact dog in the house, I'm pretty much out of the running for most rescues anyway.  THIS is something I find to be terribly sad.  Let me explain why:     

I will absolutely never spay or neuter a dog before 2 years of age ever again.  More likely, I will never spay or neuter one of my dogs at all if I don't have to in the future.  Just as injury can lead to potential joint damage, so can removal of important growth hormones.  An astounding number of studies are coming to light completely refuting much of what we thought we knew about neutering.  When important growth hormones are removed at a young age, strange things start to happen - bones grow longer (because those missing hormones were responsible for closing growth plates at the appropriate times), parts of the body never fully develop, and the risk of some cancers are actually increased (instead of decreased as we once thought).  When bones grow longer, proportions change and risk of torn knee ligaments can be increased (among other things).  This is something to keep in mind especially for canine athletes - it is important that their bodies fully develop as nature intended in order for them to perform at a high level without injuring themselves.  Often people think that since they are only going to do agility with their dogs, they don't need one of those "fancy show dogs".  The fact is, those fancy show dogs are quite often bred specifically for correct proportions (this is certainly not always the case, you MUST do your research) and that means the well bred ones are going to be your best bet for a performance sports - as long as you commit to allowing them to develop as their breeder intended.  Many of the show breeders *I* work with have a requirement written right into their contracts that the dog is not to be spayed or neutered until 2 years of age.  On the other hand, the "working dog" breeders *I* know personally don't know a damn thing about correct proportions, joint angulation,  or about the physiology of a canine athlete, which I find is terribly unfortunate.  Find out more (and check out some of the studies on the health effects of spay/neuter) here and here and especially here. 

Certainly, pet owners need to decide for themselves whether they are truly capable of handling an intact dog. There is no doubt many are not. I do find it very interesting how different the "norm" is in the US vs Europe (I really don't know for sure what the climate is like as far as neutering in Canada).

If you asked people who have lost a dog to bone cancer, would they say they would have chosen not to neuter their dog if they had been given all the facts? I don't know. I don't know if we really can know. I do think that most people would say they at least wish they had been given ALL the facts... told the truth.

I am not against neutering. I think it's necessary in the case of shelter pets (with a few exceptions) upon sale to new owners. I do, however, have a very big problem with the effort to push mandatory spay/neuter laws, and I also generally have a problem with spay/neuter campaigns because they do not offer up ALL the facts. If you're trying to educate people, you owe them the whole truth - not just what you want them to hear.

I think it is also very important to recognize that often times many of the problems associated with spay/neuter can be prevented simply by waiting until a dog is sexually mature to do it. 

I'm not writing this to make anybody feel guilty or to suggest that my way is the right way.  It's simply the conclusions I have come to as far as the care of my dogs and hopefully an encouragement for people to do their own research that will inform their own decisions.  Just as the title says, The more we know...

Raw Feeding MY Way

Ok, so I've promised a post like this to a couple people and have now finally gotten to it.  So... here it is.

As those who know me may be aware, I feed my dogs a prey model raw diet.  This post is not here to convince anyone to feed raw, it's not here to diagnose problems, it's not even here to say this is what I think every dog owner should be doing - it's simply to show how *I* do it.  I'm always happy to further discuss raw feeding with anyone interested.  This is just here to give people an idea of one way it can be done.

Some important factors to note:  I am a college student.  I work.  I have homework.  I have two dogs, one of which will NOT tolerate a lack of exercise.  I don't always have extra time to spend on feeding my dogs every day.  I say this simply because one of the most common excuses people give me for not raw feeding is a lack of time.  This is the way *I* have found to make it work for me and my dogs, even with time constraints.

Let's get started!

A few days ago, I took all the meat I would need for meals out of the freezer and put them in the fridge to thaw.  This morning I bought any of the fresh meat I needed to buy at the grocery store.  (I'm always sure to buy when I see meat on sale and toss it in the freezer for when I need it, so usually everything just comes from the freezer)  It takes a little time to get the hang of just exactly how much of everything to thaw, but sooner or later you get the hang of it.

Now, it's time to get down to business.

First, turn on the radio and pour a glass of wine.  (use a long stemmed wine glass so you can take a drink without putting your bloody hands anywhere near the drinking area of the glass)  :)

I always set out all of my available containers so that I can best plan out how I'm going to divide everything among them and I know what I'm working with.

Once they're all spread out, I add my "bone in" meats to each container.  Usually this is in the form of chicken necks, wings, legs, thighs, ribs etc.  Other things can be used, but this is usually what I end up using.  Bone should make up about 10% of your dog's diet.  This doesn't necessarily have to be precise in each container, but it should average out in the end.

As you can see, I use two different sized containers.  This is because I have a 65lb dog and a 40lb dog.  An adult dog should eat somewhere around 2-3% of his body weight in meat per day.  This means Bailey should eat about 1.5lbs a day and Lilly about 1lb a day.  They probably eat slightly less than this for meals because they get other things to eat here and there, but this is a beginning guideline.

Next, I add eggs to some of the containers if I have some around.  I could leave the eggs unbroken and the dogs would get them down just fine, but I whack them each with a knife just to get them started.

As you can see, I do NOT put an egg in every container.  Eggs are great for the dogs, but one every day would be too much.

Now it's time for the real fun.  It all starts with a few pounds of ground meat.  I usually use turkey because my local grocery store sells nice big tubes of it for a pretty reasonable price.

This is the part where I manage to get rid of whatever suitable foods might be lingering in my fridge such as recently expired yogurt, etc.

 

If you happen to be delicate in the olfactory department, you might want to give yourself a little pep talk at this point.  You can do it.  Deep breath.  Now... it's time for the green tripe. 

I also add some powdered supplements to this mixture.  This is not absolutely necessary.  If I don't have the extra cash for them, I don't include them.  I recently bought this one because it has kelp powder in it, and it was on sale.  Just plain kelp powder would work just fine as well.

Alright, unplug your nose and get stirring!

I then put a little of the mixture into each container.

If I didn't want to, I really wouldn't have to include this ground mix, but it makes it easier for me to add yogurt, or supplements, or whatever else I might need to.  It also makes it MUCH easier for me to add the things that are a necessity.  Things such as fish oil.

Because many commercially raised meats lack the omega 3 fatty acids that good naturally raised meats would have, adding fish oil is the one supplement I consider mandatory.  By using the ground mixture, I have a great spot for sticking the fish oil capsules and tricking the dogs into eating them.

Also, since I have an old man with sore hips, glucosamine and chondroitin supplements are at the top of my list of things to include.  Unfortunately, the old man's delicate sensibilities are offended by tablets.  So, out of pure ridiculousness, I break up these supplements for his meals.  (I still can't even believe I do it)

(when this bottle is gone, we will be going back to using Joint Strong - which I like MUCH better)

The next necessity is organ meat.  On average, meals should consist of 10%-15% organ meat.  (5% should be in the form of liver)   Kidney has been one of the easiest organ meats for me to get locally.  Chicken and turkey giblets are also usually easy to get.

Beef liver grosses me out about as much as the tripe, but I still use it.

Last, but not least, I add whatever muscle meat I have to complete the 80% that an average meal should contain.  A huge portion of this stuff I get for free from hunters with venison they don't want or people who forgot about the steaks in their freezers.  Every once in a while I will find beef on a great deal at the store, and I know a few people who have cattle and I can get good deals on the "less desirable" meat when they butcher.  Lastly, I can buy beef heart for around $1 a pound special order from my local grocery store.  (yes, I know heart is physiologically considered an organ, but it's pretty much all muscle so it's counted as muscle meat)

This summer I'll be getting myself a fishing license to see how much of this I can catch for myself.  These were free from a driver at work.

And there you have it folks.  A solid month's worth of meals.  

All I have to do now is pull it out of the freezer, run water over the outside of the container, pop it out onto the dogs' mat, and let them chow down.  

(I like feeding it frozen because it slows the dogs down, doesn't smell at all, and is good for gnawing)

Total elapsed time:  1 hour 35 minutes
(and 10 of this was wasted fighting with those god-forsaken Glad containers with the green lids on the left - never buy those, they will make you want to rip your hair out!)

Now, all that's left to do is sanitize EVERYTHING!  Healthy dogs can handle e.coli and salmonella, humans cannot.  Make sure you're using something that will kill these bacteria and give it a minute to do it's job before you wipe it down.  Also, be sure to get the handle of the freezer well, remember you'll be touching that every time you feed your dogs!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go figure out how in the world I'm going to sanitize my camera.  :)

~Lioness