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Charla

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Posts posted by Charla

    Hug Your Hounds

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Hug your hounds ... That reminds me of my kids. They said they could always tell when a kid came into the ER as a bad trauma ... I would come home and HUG the heck out of them. I will indeed hug mine and love them as much as I can.

     

    I hope you and yours enjoy every day and you have lots of smiles and good times when you can

    Odd Ear Vibration

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    I thought Gracie had never chattered and was envious in a way of those whose dogs did. Day before yesterday I was loving on her and had my head on hers ... I felt a vibration and couldn't figure it out. I was finally able to see/hear that she was chattering. It's not a big chatter like a human out in the cold shivering & freezing, it's a really small fine sound that I couldn't really hear but could feel.

    Silver Sulfadiazine Cream

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Used it on human wound patients, silver is am antimicrobial and really helps in healing. You really should keep it covered, a moist wound usually heals faster ... notice I said moist, not slimy, gunky. Clean the wound with normal saline, apply cream and cover. Probably needs to be cleaned at least once a day unless it's yucky. If you're using a guaze cover wet the gauze with the saline to remove it ... it will help cleanse the wound by lifting off wound debris when you lift the gauze to change it.

    Pressure Sores

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    You could also use Adaptic , a non-stick dressing by Johnson and Johnson, drug stores carry it. It's a petroleum coated gauze that won't stick to wounds and helps keep them clean & moist enough to heal. Please don't use Betadine on healing sores , it and peroxide are cytotoxic & undo newly granulating tissue. Normal saline is a much better cleanser ... you can buy it or make your own.

     

    To make your own saline, stir about 90g of table salt into one liter of boiled water. Let it cool before use !

     

    Non medically sterile homemade saline is useful for such things as washing eyes out and cleaning wounds - it hurts less than tap water as the osmolality is close to that of plasma.

     

    Medication Question

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted · Edited by Charla

    Metronidazole is Flagyl an antibiotic and Previcox is a veterinary prescription non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used to control pain and inflammation due to osteoarthritis in dogs.

     

    I'm not a vet but I would give the meds together, the antibiotic is for infection and the NSAID for pain and inflamation. Like one of us taking an antibotic for an infection and an ibuprofin for pain and swelling.

    Melatonin

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted · Edited by Charla

    OK, I think this is very informative and gives dosage info you need

     

    http://lists.envirolink.org/pipermail/ar-n...630/002814.html

     

    Here's another from a Veterinary Journal

    http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/melatonin.htm

     

    MELATONIN

     

     

     

     

     

    Melatonin has been found to be helpful when used with dogs who have "thunder-phobia," other noise-related reactions and other stressful situations. Melatonin has been used effectively to reduce seizures in dogs that seize between 11:00 PM and 6:00 AM. Quite a few members of our Canine Epilepsy community have also discovered that it seems to lessen the frequency and/or severity of seizures at other times of the day.

     

    Melatonin is a naturally occurring substance produced by the pineal gland located in the brains of mammals. It is, by definition, a hormone and has been found to be involved in circadian rhythms - those inner cycles that tell all mammals when to sleep and when to wake. In recent years, synthetic melatonin has been marketed for people as a "natural" aid to sleeping.

     

    In the May 2000 issue (Volume 3, Number 5) of The Whole Dog Journal is an article on melatonin and the positive results with noise and thunder-phobic dogs. The article begins on page 3 and is titled "Bring in Da Noise." The article has comments by Dr. Dodman and Dr. Linda Aronson. It does not discuss melatonin and canine epilepsy, but does discuss some of the concerns people might have with use of melatonin and their feelings on it.

     

    Another article with references to the use of melatonin in dogs can be found in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Volume 215, No. 1, July 1999. "Vet Med Today: Animal Behavior Case of the Month" was written by Linda Aronson, DVM, MA; from the Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, MA.

     

    The following is an excerpt from an email sent by Dr. Aronson to one of our Guardian Angels, Rich Brady: "To treat thunderstorm phobia, I use a dose of 3mg for a 35-100 lb dog. Smaller dogs get 1.5 mg, and larger dogs may get 6mg. The dose is given either at first evidence of thunderstorm - dog becomes agitated, distant rumbling of thunder, etc. or prophylactically before the owner leaves the house when thunderstorms are predicted. Dose may be repeated up to 3 times daily. The latter may be used as a dose for animals with more generalized stress related disorders."

     

    Rich has written the following about his use of melatonin with his "pack" of Golden Retrievers: "I have posted a great deal in the past about my successes with melatonin as an adjunct therapy with Jake who had severe cluster seizures every 3 to 4 weeks which we were not able to gain control of until melatonin was added. We have been using melatonin since early 1997. We started with Jake and had good success and give 3mg nightly to our dogs, both the epis and non-epis. We have 6 dogs, currently ranging in weight from 35 lbs to about 90lbs, and 5 of the 6 get 3mg melatonin nightly. Dusty, who we adopted in July 1999, as a special needs Golden Retriever with epilepsy, did get melatonin for a number of months, but it did not seem to be helping him, so I stopped with him. He is a tough case to get control of, but we are slowly making headway. Zay on the other hand who we adopted January 1999, as a special needs Golden with epilepsy is doing great and has not had a seizure since we brought him home over 2 1/2 years ago. Zay was given his first melatonin on the way home in the car 1/99 and has been given 3mg nightly since. We give the melatonin anytime late evening. It seems to take about 30 minutes to start to take effect and help them get to sleep."

     

    Rich recently (May 2002) contacted Dr. Aronson to ask if she had done any further studies with melatonin and/or published any other papers. As Rich says, "It does not benefit all dogs, but it has provided positive results for many, and as always, certainly everyone needs to make their own decisions with what they are comfortable with and what works."

     

    Dr. Aronson's response to Rich follows:

    "No, I continue to gather data and continue to find new uses for melatonin, but without research financing, publishing is low on my list of priorities. More and more owners and vets are using melatonin and it is gratifying to know that so many dogs have been helped. No one has done any research to show whether melatonin is safe in pregnant humans, hence the statement on the label, and I have therefore cautioned against its use in pregnant bitches, except in one case where the bitch was absolutely terrified by fireworks being released at the pub next door. Sadly she only had one (very healthy) puppy and he had to be delivered by C-section. However, the owner contacted me after having already gone through a wretched night with a terrified bitch, she feels the fear caused problems with the pregnancy not the melatonin she gave the bitch the next night.

     

    With regard to the other cautions on the melatonin bottle, I have used it, carefully, in dogs with autoimmune disease and also those on MAOIs; none had a problem. To date out of 1000s of dogs taking melatonin (some taking it daily for months and even years) this is the sum of reported side effects: 3 dogs were reported to be hyper. However, two of these belonged to the same owner, who said melatonin had the same effect on her. One dog seemed to become disoriented. He drank copiously and peed in the house (something he'd not done in nine years). The description sounded as if the dog might be mildly Cushingoid, and I recommended this be explored. The owner really just wanted to go ahead and use melatonin but maybe at half the dose, as he was very thunderstorm phobic and on melatonin totally unreactive. All signs of disorientation, and increased drinking and peeing had resolved within 4 hours. One owner reported that her dominant aggressive, dog-aggressive cocker spaniel lay down between obedience exercises, she thought this indicated sleepiness, I think it just meant he was a lot less reactive around the other dogs.

     

    I have had search and rescue dogs successfully given melatonin to combat their fears of flying in turbo prop planes. It was the only treatment that allowed most of them to relax and yet let them perform their duties at the end of the flight.

     

    Success is still running about 80%. Most useful for noise phobias, including thunderstorms, fireworks, gun shot, planes, helicopters, hot air balloons, show site noises, bird song, truck and other road noises. It also seems to help some cases of lick granuloma and separation anxiety.

     

    Please feel free to cross post this information. It seems that melatonin is one of the safest products. Some of the failures I believe result from phobia induced seizure behavior. Others I'm not sure of the reason. Some dogs need to be dosed before the fear is established, others respond even if they are already reacting fearfully to the noise." -- Linda Aronson, DVM

    Melatonin

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    I did a Google search on veterinary Melatonin I'll try to find it again and post it.

     

    I have been giving Gracie Rose (70 lbs) 3 - 6 mg , takes about 1/2 an hour to kick in and seems to have helped take the edge of without sedating her. She still pants a little but is not quivering or stressed out. The 4th lasts for about a week around here so I've been using it for a few evenings now.

    My Girl'sboo Boo Again..

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    The "flap" has turned white (). Is this the normal color? I'm assuming yes because it's the color of skin with no blood in but I just want to make sure.

     

    No blood supply means usually dead skin, just hasn't turned black yet. Gracie Rose had the same problem a few weeks ago, a three corner skin tear from a dog bite. I trimmed the area cleaned it a couple of times a day with saline , used Polysporin, numbed and trimmed the skin flap. It's all healed and fur is starting to grow over the area. You may have to trim the skin flap as it dies or earlier iif you have some Lidocain gel or something to numb it with.

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