ahicks51

I've never seen one listed on AAGI's website, but have you consulted them?

I missed this thread until now. Can anyone advise as to if their dog is epileptic but has been fed an *entirely* raw diet- as in no added carbs? The reason I ask is that a ketogenic diet has been known to work in stopping epilepsy in humans. The mechanism is very different than that of drugs used to control the condition. I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has used a raw meat and bone diet to manage epilepsy- or, on the other hand, anyone who feeds an epileptic hound a raw diet. Thanks!

I used to have a great deal of skepticism over the reduction of carbohydrates in the management of cancer. I'm still skeptical, but you can bet I'd try it; I've done a lot of reading on the subject recently and the arguments are starting to sway me. Best wishes for you and your pup.

1.9 is a bit on the high side; Dr. Feeman sometimes hangs out on here, and he wrote this article which may be of interest (although it's unlikely to be directly helpful): http://cvm.osu.edu/assets/pdf/hospital/blo...atGreytsOSU.pdf

I sent you a PM, but to anyone else who might be reading this: For seven months I struggled with protein-losing enteropathy, dropping a pound a week like clockwork. Once I found the solution (and informed my gastroenterologist that not only would I not be taking the nasty tumor necrosis factor inhibitors he wanted me on, but that I was ditching every other medication he prescribed for me), the weight came back at a pound per week. Now, 9 months later, I'm doing hour-long, high-intensity workouts (plus abdominal exercises three times a week- something that is supposedly impossible with this malady). Protein and fat is where it's at- feed the boy well, and hope the damage can be un-done!

Any chance he's been in some stream water or at a dog park where he could have acquired giardia?

We have them all over the back yard. Never been bit myself, nor has Lisa. None of the dogs have ever shown signs of getting bit. When I find them, I remove them. They just don't seem to be that big of a threat in my experience.

There are two or three things you could conceivably do, all of which are controversial and lack good data to support. The first is to feed your dogs water that is free of fluoridation. If your water supply isn't fluoridated, you're set. If it is, get a reverse osmosis unit. Of course, there's a very good chance that since your dogs have been provided water all their lives- quite probably with fluoride in it- any damage would already have been done. Still, the body constantly turns over its molecular composition- even bone, as we know from anti-osteoporosis drugs- and it is conceivable that fluorine is leached from the body when fed water that has been depleted of fluoride. Search the forum for "fluorine" or "fluoride" to see some of the comments that have been made in the past. The second is to reduce the concentration of carbohydrates in the diet. There are some weak assertions that have been made, indicating there is some suspicion that tumors may be caused- or encouraged- due to insulin-like hormones that are released with ingestion of carbohydrates. Bagged food that is high in starchy carbohydrates (corn, wheat, potato, etc.) cause an insulin surge, and (it has been proposed) may encourage the formation or growth of malignant cells. This assertion is entirely unsupported (to the best of my knowledge) in the literature, so YMMV. Magnesium has also been proposed as an anti-cancer agent in the wacko community. Most diets are deficient in magnesium; it is unclear as to the requirement of magnesium in the canine, and whether deficiency may promote the formation and/or growth of tumors. So- three very fringe concepts. It is possible none of the three may have any positive influence. I do feed ours water from the RO tap, although not specifically for the purpose of reducing dietary fluoride although I am happy that component is all but eliminated via that route. We also feed our two "regular" greyhounds raw food, although (again) not specifically to ward off cancer. They simply do better on raw food- no more "pudding poo," among other things. I do not supplement with magnesium as I have not finished my research on the topic.

Risk of cancer versus risk of recovery (or lack thereof). I'll take the modest cancer risk. The body reacts to anything that is injected into it; this reaction is usually not to form aggressive malignancies. It's not something intrinsic to the chip (i.e., chemicals, radiation, radio waves- which the chip cannot emit on its own), but just to... being there, and being treated as a foreign body.

What are you feeding?

What if we came up with a GreyTalk First Aid Kit? If we could condense the individual products into one standard kit, it might be possible to economically purchase the individual components and make a nice, compact collection of... stuff.

When you can hear them beat from across the room- when their ears twitch slightly as the mitral valves snap shut- when you can see the heart beating through the walls of the thorax- you know you have one heck of a chunk of heart in that rib cage!

Nope; went to Juniata for a while, and I volunteered at Shaver's Creek, doing raptor rehab there. There's a picture of me there somewhere, but that was almost 20 years ago- sure wish I had a copy of it!

Nonstick pads (that may be the same as Telfa pads, as per JarBear) are important. I also like Kerlix; when we had a dogfight and the foster lost, I was able to throw down a nonstick pad (may have been an Adaptic dressing, come to think of it), bind it in place with a gentleman's dressing and a full roll of 4" Kerlix. I also keep on hand a 12-pack of kid's socks. They're good for covering the entire paw, or if the toe is cut out of the sock it can be used as a "sleeve" for leg injuries. Also on hand: Betadine and a squirt bottle. Coco once ripped open his foot, in this area right between the toes. I irrigated it with dilute Betadine every day, and changed the dressing every 8 hours, padding between the knuckles with nonstick padding and 1/4" waterproof tape. It healed well enough on its own that after 3-4 days I didn't need to cover it with a sock anymore. Honestly, someone on here should just buy a huge case of 3M Vetrap and dole it out by mail- it'd be cheaper than buying it at the store! I don't have a business license to get the REALLY good pricing, unfortunately.

Okay- after reading back through Miles' issues, I have a recommendation: cut out the carbohydrates. Here's my line of thought. After reading the Glanemann paper that came out in July, I have become very suspicious of mycobacterial infections in dogs. Glanemann et al. found a number of dogs with IBD were infected with MAP (Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis). MAP is an organism that is found in ruminants, causing Johne's disease. It's well-known, and is eventually fatal- or at least cause to destroy the host. One of the primary symptoms of MAP infection in ruminants is PLE- protein-losing enteropathy, where the muscles waste away. I know this for a fact as I have Crohn's disease, which is thought (by some) to be the human manifestation of MAP. Note that prednisone is commonly applied in the management of Crohn's, as are B12 injections; they are two modalities proven to improve patient outlook. Unfortunately, neither leads to a cure. Crohn's is treated as a "manageable" disease in the United States; in Austria, it has been treated as a disease that can be cured 85% of the time through rigorous carbohydrate restriction. The resolution is very simple and straightforward: cut out the carbohydrates. This means getting rid of the grains, particularly corn, wheat, potatoes, rice, and other starchy material. The bacterial overgrowth in the gut is due to too many carbohydrates in the diet; too many carbs results in an acceleration of the digestive process as ingesting carbs leads to production of insulin, which then results in pushing undigested material into the colon faster. As the digestive tract of the canine is much shorter than in true omnivores and herbivores, it results in undesirable fermentation. This is where your bacterial overgrowth is coming from. Bacterial overgrowth then allows nastiness like ulceration and malabsorption in the intestines, which is where your protein-wasting comes from. (BTW- if you have blood values, particularly those involving iron and red blood cells, PLEASE post them.) PM me if you need additional information. I can provide literature citations for the above information. Feeding either very low-carb kibble or feeding raw foods (excluding sugary vegetables like carrots and peas, as well as starchy material like rice and corn) could be very productive in terms of reversing the disease course in your pup. Everything else is just a band-aid. Good luck.

There is always a chance it has metastasized, and has yet to be detected. In many cases, chemo in combination with amputation will substantially increase the chances of long-term survival. Consult with Dr. Cuoto at OSU to determine which protocols are most effective is highly recommended.

Frontline is fipronil, which is both effective and safe. BTW- you don't have enough messages for me to PM you. Does your handle mean you work with wildlife through Penn State?

With the exception of the longer-lasting effects, it sounds a little like a petit mal seizure in humans.

We've had one or two of those as well. During the day, it's usually because they get a leg tangled in a blanket or whatever, but there have been a couple without clear cause. Perhaps a dream, maybe a charley horse, who knows.

Plus- I should emphasize this- he's young. With a few months comes maturity, and with a fixed schedule and knowing what comes next, day after day, may come stability. It took about two months for Jake to stop waking us up to get fed. Six months into it (yeah, we've been fostering him for a while!), he's vastly improved. Still very young and eager, but he has some manners. Just don't get between him and his food bowl come feeding time!

We had the same thing with a foster (which we still have)- he was very eager to get fed, and would wake everyone up to get food. That's why he bounced from his first home, in fact. How long has he been off the track? I suspect he's still on Track Time, although the midnight "I want fed" thing is a bit odd. I would suggest reading more about "NILIF," or "nothing in life is free" training. He sounds like he's on his way to training you to respond to his desires, if he hasn't already. Gregarious males at that age can be very demanding animals, and it is important not to cater to their whims. When they get fed, they get fed- that's it. No amount of begging or cajoling you should be able to change this. It may even be important to get to the point where you mix up the feeding times- no fixed time for dinner, for example, and if you have any rituals before you feed them, then repeat the ritual WITHOUT feeding them. For example, around here we evict all the dogs to the back yard, then fill the food bowls. After this, all four dogs come charging in and go immediately to their respective bowls (and don't think that's a task that doesn't require some sorting out!). In our case, we'd evict the dogs and go through the motions of feeding- including filling the bowls, as they can hear that- and then put the bowls somewhere else. Let the dogs in, and there's no food. Wait 15 minutes, evict them again, and either "false feed" them or, heck- actually feed them. Routine is good- don't get me wrong- but with a demanding animal, a routine can lead to increased demands upon you to cater to them. Don't let it get out of hand. I suspect the foster home gave you that note in the event you had other hounds. "Feed [Max] first" implies he will get aggressive about eating the food of other dogs unless he is being fed, or has already been fed. Presumably they may have had fights in the house over this issue. He sounds very food-intensive, and you can use that to your advantage in terms of training. Specifically, small treats may be much more valuable when it comes to getting him to respond to commands.

Edited- nevermind. I didn't see the bit about doxy. Chicken broth can perk up an appetite. Also raw beef blood; the liquid left over from the bag in which we get beef heart is particularly good and nutritious.

Necropsy rarely gives us all the answers we want, but there are times like this where they give you the answers you need. That's good to hear you were able to make the correct choice.

Valley Fever is coccidiomycosis. What part of the country do you live in, and where was the hound from- original kennel and places raced, if known. The disease is local to some parts of the American Southwest- and probably northwestern Mexico. With cryptic, weird stuff- always suspect TBDs.

Oddly, the word "nutrition" appears nowhere on the main page in the Merck Veterinary Manual addressing "the weird things dogs eat," including pica (consumption of dirt): http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.js...m&word=pica We had this one spot in the yard where the dogs would continuously eat the mud there. No apparent reason why. Nothing dropped there, nothing placed there, nothing spilled there. So I fenced it in. That would have been last winter. I removed the fence maybe 2-3 weeks ago, thinking the problem had surely gone away by now. I looked out the back door a day or two later... to find one of the dogs eating the dried dirt in that same spot. D'OH!