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seeh2o

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Posts posted by seeh2o

    Nutritional Yeast

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Yes, it should be fine for every day, but probably not necessary in the bigger amounts. Think sprinkling for every day, rather than cheese-sauce. But, hey! What the heck, if your dog is not well, every day larger amounts (couple tablespoons) should be good. Watch your hound and see how s/he does, I'd say. Your watchful eye is your best indicator of your hound's health. :nod:

     

    I think it keeps pretty well, but I can't swear to how long. It doesn't last long in my house! :D Keep it dry, for sure.

     

    Thanks! I just checked out Red Star's website and this is what they say about storage, "Nutritional yeast is best kept stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator or in a cool dry place.".

     

    It sounds like I can keep it on hand "just in case" without a problem!

    Nutritional Yeast

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    I don't need the yeast at this point as I have two dogs with voracious appetites, but I feel like I should have some on hand "in case". Does anyone know how it keeps? Can, or should, it be frozen or refrigerated? I'd like to have it around in case one of them needs it.

    Medication For Seperation Anxiety

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted · Edited by ckruzan

    Carl had a nasty case of SA and all the alone training in the world didn't make a dent until he was put on Clomipramine Hydrochloride (the human name for Clomicalm...the human version is super cheap, the Clomicalm is expensive because you are paying for a brand name, it is not available as a veterinary generic yet). I was fortunate to have a vet that was open to it. I think he was open to it because I made it clear to him when I brought it up that I only wanted to use it as a time limited tool. He also realized that I'd tried everything else (short of a behavioralist because I couldn't afford that either). I tried DAP (a waste of money), Rescue Remedy, Kava Kava, Stress Free Calmplex, all different types of music, etc. I also took him hiking through the hills for a 2.5 mile hike every morning before work to wear him out. Nothing made a difference until he was on medication.

     

    It took about 2 weeks for it to get up to therapeutic strength in his blood stream. I also had to give him a small amount of Valium when I left for work. We did more intensive alone training while on the Clomipramine and it finally took. He was on it for about 4 months when I weaned him off of it. He still has some SA, but nothing like it was. The Clomipramine was a godsend. I didn't hate using it as I had faith that he would only be on it for a short time, what I did hate was using the Valium, but I literallly couldn't get out the door without giving it to him. Fortunately, he did not need the Valium for that long, it was the first medication I stopped using.

     

    Bouncing Carl was not an option, I've never "given up" on a dog, but I have to admit there were some dark times when it crossed my mind. I got some good advice here and even better advice from a woman from a local group. She was AMAZING, she talked to me for over an hour, gave me a great pep talk and some super tips and things to try. She also contacted me weekly to check on our progress. I owe her a debt of gratitude.

     

    The final "tool" I credit for him turning the corner was using my cell phone as a baby monitor. I'd call my cell phone while I was at home, turn the home handsets onto speaker, put my cell phone on mute and listen as I drove to work, as soon as I'd hear him howl I'd unmute the cell phone and firmly yell, "NO" into the phone, remute the phone and listen...and it would work - every time...100%! He'd be quiet. At first he'd only be quiet for a minute or two, then 5 - 10 minutes, then 30 minutes. It was a HUGE breakthrough for both of us. He started coming off the medication as soon as I heard real progress over the cell phone baby monitor, when he got up to about 2 - 3 hours I knew we were heading over the hump. I have the T-Mobile Fav 5 plan, so I just set my land line as a favorite and I could leave the line open for as long as the phone's battery would last.

     

    Now, as long as I follow the routine I've set up for leaving it's ok, but when I stray from that the SA is back in flash, but not nearly as bad as it was (crying and howling only, no destruction). For example, the electrician came today, so I went outside with him and closed the front door. Carl immediately started crying and running around the house, at least he wasn't body slamming windows and doors! I'm hoping that will eventually go away, too. FYI, Carl has been with me now for a year and a week! He also wears a plastic basket muzzle while I'm at work, it seems to have a real calming effect on him.

     

    Best of luck to you. Please don't be discouraged, if you are open to using medication as a time limited tool and your vet won't accept that it might be time to look for a new vet who will work with you. If you feel that medication is the way to go, don't let judgmental attitudes influence you, do what you think is best for you and your dog. Medication can be a very helpful tool, but that's not the end of it, there is lots and lots of work to be done, too.

    I Need Some Advice

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Come on Emmy....it's Spaghetti O's, girl!

     

    I agree with one of the earlier posts, in addition to her feeling puny she may well be picking up on your anxiety. too. I know how hard that is to mask, you can't really make it go away, but maybe during meal times you can pretend all is well.

     

    I'm so sorry you're still going through this.

    Our Experience With Bloat

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Thanks so much for sharing this. What is extremely frightening about this is the fact that everything that went on that night was so normal. No exercise, nothing in particular to point to.

     

    I read that you have a raised feeder, that's what I use for Carl. I've read both pro and con for raised feeders - some say they help prevent bloat, others say they help cause bloat. Did you vet say anything about it?

    Toxic Toads

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Wow, I never knew this. My beloved lab found a toad one evening, put her mouth on it (no bite) and as she turned away from it to look at me she had a foam face. She looked like she'd gotten into the shaving cream. She was fine and lived to tell the tale, I now realize how lucky she was.

    Cancer... Hoe Do I Know?

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    I adopted my beautiful girl Sibylla 2 years ago, she was 5 when we got her and will be 7 in November of this year 2008. A few weeks ago she just tumbled in our living room and we were so concerned. But she got up, we called the vet and brushed it off to just a fall. A few days ago she woke up with an aweful limp, we took her to the vet they checked out both her front legs and found nothing, we figured maybe our male grey Walter stepped on her (he always does!) or she slept on her foot wrong (she sleeps oddly).

     

    But now, we're reading all these blogs about cancer in Greys and I am so scared! I love my greys theyre my children, Sibylla is also my Therapy dog as I suffer from PTSD, I know one day all little animals must leave to the rainbow bridge, but we're not ready to part yet.

     

    How do we know if our dogs get cancer? Are there tests we can do each year or every 6 months so we can know if they get it? I read 44% of Greys get cancer, is this true?

     

    Im so sad right now... the thought of this is devastating and the fact that she is not being as peppy as she normally is and that she is limping is sad :(

     

    Welcome to the website! I don't know where you are going to the vet, but I use Berkeley Pet Hospital in North Hollywood. Dr. Krivoy seems to know a lot about greyhounds (one of his vet techs even had two of them) and I've been very satisfied with him and his care for Carl. I've been using him for years with my other dogs and with Carl in the past year (Carl has been with me since Aug. 17, 2007). The number there is 818.763.6221. If he doesn't suggest xrays, I would mention it to him - he's good with suggestions.

    Bailey Bloated Last Night

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    ****Update August 11****

    Hi everyone,

    Bailey is doing well. She had a good sleep on Friday night and Saturday was a quiet day. On Sat evening our friends from Virginia came for a visit. They have 4 greyhounds (that were at home) so they were very aware of the fact that Bailey needed her rest and we happy to just hang out. We had a quiet dinner and just sat around for the night (with some wine :P )

     

    Bailey decided that she wanted to sleep on the couch that night and quickly went into a roach. She slept like that for the entire night and woke up well rested. On Sunday she even played with her pink piggy and was acting like her ol' self. However, last night she seemed off and this morning as well, so her vet came by to see her and he said that everything was fine... so more than likely she over did it yesterday. Of course after the vet left, she was fine and slept most of the day. She is sleeping so soundly that she is going into REM - so she is healing well too.

     

    She is eating really well - cooked chicken, with some pumpkin or squash and tonight even had an egg with dinner. Her back foot that was swollen is looking much better too.

     

    The pathology report hasn't come in yet - but the vet is pretty sure that it's not a cancer, since her spleen did look pretty normal, aside from it's massive size... but he knows and we know that there is still a chance. Will let you know when we get the report - hopefully tomorrow

     

    Very good news for you and Bailey! Thanks for the updates, please keep them coming.

    A Limping Sadie

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Poor baby. It's no fun to have a painful foot. Would it help to soak it or wrap it in a warm cloth soaked in Epsom salt?

     

    Not meaning to hijack, but I have to ask a question pertinent to the discussion here, what is the difference between a callous and a corn? I thought they were the same thing, but that corn was slang for callous.

    Misty Stumps The Vet

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    We're back from the vet. And Carolyn, thank you the info on tripe being okay for a kidney dog! According to my vet, he really feels that Misty's nail problems are a result of her low thyroid.Despite his belief, there is still a possibility of SLO but he wants to rule out the thyroid being the cause first. He wants her on EicosaDerm which I had already started as I give it to Wayne and I can swear by the results. She'll be on Soloxine, and also an immune system suppliment which they've had very good results with. As for the viral infection, he said all that's done for that is supportive care. He feels that with her thyroid as low as it is, I could see a difference in 2 weeks and worst case, 30 days. We will also revisit with another thyroid check in 30 days. As for the not eating, Misty did eat at 3:00 and she ate as if she was starving. My vet thinks her not wanting to eat could have been the results of the antibiotic or the viral infection. I need to call him every day and let him know if she's eating. I really would like to thank everyone for caring about Misty, and the suggestions and offers. I can't even explain how much that means to me, I really can't. And I will let you in on a secret, this is the first time in my life anyone has ever offered help or cared about my dogs. And that is no lie

     

    What a relief, you must feel so much better (cautiously optimistic!). It sounds like your vet is very thorough and thoughtful. It's great that he wants you to call him every day. I had a vet that did that once, she even called me every day, it meant so much to me, I knew that she really cared and took an interest in Sheila's health and well-being.

     

    Your last two lines break my heart. There are people out there who just don't get it. You've got a good community of caring people here.

     

    xo to Misty and you.

    Foster Dog Licking Herself Raw-- Help Please

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    I can't really tell by the picture, but I'm wondering if she doesn't have some necrotic (dead) tissue there-the black area. That might account for the bad smell. If she does, she may need to get it debrided so that the healthy tissue can grow back. I think she needs a second opinion for sure.........ASAP.

     

    My thoughts, too. If there is black dead tissue, I think it would be worth giving the E vet a call now. You can't play with that stuff, if that's what it is things can go south FAST.

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