Ask questions and share about your pet's health to help others.
Back in December my dog Beagle/Bulldog who is very persistent started not being able to jump on our bed from the floor. I thought he was just getting old. Then he really couldn’t so we would lift him but he would jump off and he has done this his whole life. Then it got worse where his legs were giving out on him in the back. I took him to the vet who sent us to the neurologist who told us he needed an MRI and possible surgery. No x-rays or bloodwork was done. I cried and was so stressed out I wanted to move forward but it could be 8-10 thousand dollars. My husband said no we cannot afford that. So I then asked the neurologist are there other options she said steroids and gave me a bottle and sent me on my way. In three days he was like a new dog. He was walking almost perfectly, and acting normally. This went on for about 2 months. He then started to have a little trouble with the back leg. It’s impossible to keep him off the bed. He follows me everywhere. I did get stairs for the couch and bed. I called the regular vet and she gave me another RX for the steroid after I told her it worked so well. She said she cannot give him anymore he would need the surgery. He just had another episode of the leg going out and this time it seems to effect his front leg. I gave him 3 steroid pills I had left and he is a million times better. I also put a gait in front of the stairs but he still goes on the couch. I want him to have a great quality of life. He seems ok other than the leg going out. We feel it’s almost like my back. I have a herniated disc and here and there it will go out. How do they make a proper diagnosis without doing a 2300 MRI? Please help with any advice. Is this IVDD
Thanks Krista for taking the mystery out of this procedure. Having worked for our local tnrv organization, Ive wondered how sedating such a wild animal trapped in a metal cage was accomplished, short of a blow dart?! The ferals I’ve trapped are surprisingly ferocious, completely unlike the typical domesticated pet. I applaud you for performing spay/neuter on ferals; we have difficulty finding vets who will perform this in Tulsa. Thank you!
My male approx. 8 yr old cat’s blood and urinalysis came back with some abnormal results. He has a little blood (+1 according to vet’s scale) and protein (+2) in his urine. However, we ruled out kidney failure/issues. He has passed a stone in the past and had noticeable blood then, but the vet is saying he doesn’t know if that’s the cause now and wants to treat it as idiopathic cystitis, thus no known cause = no set treatment.
For various reasons, I have had suspicions that my vet is not acting honestly in all regards (from severe misdiagnosis, offering unnecessary treatments as only options, and charging me for services that I wasn’t asked/ told about) but will be moving in a month so will see a new vet anyway.
For now though, I want to address any possible issue before the move seeing as stress may worsen it. So this vet is saying since they don’t know what the cause of the test results is but want to give me various antibiotics and meds to treat all possible causes. But he himself said that the medicine he’d put me on (Orbax, 10 day supply) has less expensive alternative options but “they don’t have flavoring so it’s harder to get cats to take them” and I’d have to potentially give it 2x a day instead of 1x. But I don’t care how often and I honestly don’t care how much it costs, but I really care that my vet is acting in the best interest of my cat NOT prescribing just because he can. What’s more, Feline idiopathic cystitis seems to be diagnosed by things he didn’t do as he didn’t culture the urine (and said he doesn’t want to because it’s only 50% accurate), didn’t x-ray, and didn’t ultrasound (source:
https://icatcare.org/advice/cat-health/feline-idiopathic-cystitis-fic).
Based on the urinalysis results and clean blood work, has anyone had any similar experiences that could be a cause? I’d rather not put my cat on antibiotics he doesn’t need and potentially mess him up more… especially if proper steps of diagnosis haven’t occurred. Any advice would be very, very appreciated!
If he’s passed a stone before it’s likely he may have another. Male cats have a really hard time passing stones or crystals since their opening it very small. Was the cat showing signs of a uti, or was this routine labs? Do you know if they looked at the urine to check for crystals? Sometimes it could be an infection and a round of antibiotics clear it up, but id be weary of that diagnosis if they didn’t look at it under a microscope.
My bunny has been acting very strangely lately. We put her harness and leash on her and took her to the park. We spent a lot of time with her. Then, people were watching her (family) and I wasn’t there so I don’t know what happened. When we brought her back, she looked really scared. My family said that when I left, she just sat there staring at everyone. At home, she hasn’t been eating as much as she used to. She would practically snatch the food from my hand. Now, she sniffed, took a bite and walked away. We tried again with her favorite food, but she didn’t eat it. She’s been laying and sleeping way more than usual (practically all the time). During training sessions with me, she used to care and loved it. Now, she just sat there staring me for a while. She’s also been super scared. Every time I walked in the room, she’d jump up to me, now she runs away at the slightest noise. She’s also been pretty aggressive. She was laying and I reached over to pet her. She let me pet her for two seconds before she reared back on her hind legs and tried to scratch me. Hard. She’s also pretty stressed (her breathing is really fast). What is going on with her?
I would first and foremost make an appointment with the vet to make sure she is healthy. It may be the stress of the situation (you not being there for a bit) and will take time to get things back to the way they were. I would also ask my family who were watching her if anything happened while you were away. Hope everything is ok.
We adopted a 15 month old Akita mix recently. In the past couple of days we’ve noticed a “Hairy water balloon” on the back of her neck. We took her to the vet and the doctor said it was a Seroma nd drained it. It has since returned days later and now he wants to install a drain. I am not comfortable with that I feel that it should be able to go away on its own, after reading an article that agreed with my thought. He is eating, playing and it is not hot to the touch, just squishy. We want to do the right thing but don’t want any unnecessary stress or infection.
Hello,
Can you please confirm that the photo of the crusted nose is your dog? This looks like an older dogs nose?
As far as the fluid filled mass goes is it on the top of the body, like top of the neck? If so why would it have occurred?
Of the mass is the chin area, especially bottom neck, I would ask about a mucocele or sialocele.
The only picture I added was of the back of the neck, you cannot see her nose. We aren’t sure why it happened. We thought possibly it is where her chip is placed. I attached a photo of her face.
I’ve had a kitten for almost 2 months and have adopted a friends older cat. My kitten tries to be friendly but the adult cat hisses and tries to attack. I have put them in separate rooms with the doors between them slightly open and each has their own food, water and litter box. Should they get along better over time? I feel sorry for the older cat because she seems stressed out and won’t leave her hiding spot, even though the kitten is being friendly.
Just like with anything else, the will take time. Giving them each their own space is a great start. A perch and a play tree might be a good idea to look into for both cats. The older cat may just need more time to adjust. Best of luck and congrats on your new cats!
I just recently rescued a male parakeet. He was found cageless, in a driveway! The pet store said they asked around for about 2 months and nobody said they were missing a parakeet. Anyways, his claws are extremely long. We got this perch cover that would file them down, but his back claws are bent outward. We know how to trim them safely, but we don’t want to stress him out. Should we bring him to the vet or are there any tips on how to keep your parakeet calm while trimming their claws?
Thanks. 🙂
We would take our childhood parakeets to the Vet to have their nails trimmed. You may be able to find a veterinarian near you who will trim parakeet nails. They are so skilled they are usually able to do it quickly causing little stress. Good luck!
As this is your first time, I’d let the vet do it first and show you how he/she does it, so that you could do it at home next time. Good luck 🙂
Our Dog recently started showing stiffness in her rear right leg. It seemed to happen after playing but didn’t notice anything out of normal while playing. We have taken her in twice, first time they gave her “vitamins”, glucoseamin. Second time, nonsterodial anitinflamatory and mild pain reliever. It seemed to bother her less but has done nothing for longterm, she is sore after 2-5mins of any exercise (very limited exercise to take it easy but keep mobility). She is a 6yr old Weimaraner. I’m not sure I trust this Vet (banfield) and I know without a full scan hard to answer. Any advice for treating the symptom with an understanding of the breed too would be greatly appreciated. Looking online for answers really has only added more confusion and stress. Either she’s dying or has a strain/sprain, is the scope of possibilities online…so not much help. Thank you for your time.
Bradd, this is where, when I only had my conventional veterinary training, I would
often be very frustrated because even expensive tests led me no closer to ways to heal deeply as I had limited options. The holistic
philosophy has taught me that there is an underlying vibrational imbalance that
causes most problems and the healing goal is to resolve that imbalance with
treatments selected for that individual animal. Your dog should be able to walk completely normally for the rest of his life, maybe with some continuing treatments. To better understand this
perspective, read the first few chapters of Don Hamilton’s Homeopathic Care of
Cats and Dogs, the few pages in my book, the Healthy Animal’s Journal or Wendy
Jensen’s Practical Handbook of Veterinary Homeopathy: Healing Our Companion
Animals from the Inside Out,
While you may be able to help as home, especially If you were trained in different healing modalities (see below – YOU BE THE
HEALER) by using Reiki,
T-Touch, HTA, flower essences, acupressure, herbs, essential oils, supplements,
homeopathy and more. I am giving multiple suggestions because only some may be
available in your area, and each animal is unique, so what works with one does
not work with all. This is the joy of holistic approaches – we have dozens of
things to try, while conventional has merely a few.
1. Even before you are trained in Reiki, you can ask for this energy healing
that cannot hurt and may help (See REIKI, below, for web sites to request
healing). Once you are attuned, offer it daily to the whole house. This will not cure, but may help and will never harm.
2. Flower essences are totally safe, so select one or more to try. These
flower essence companies have combinations for animals : SpiritEssences.com,
Anaflora.com; GreenHopeEssences.com; petessence.com Many other companies like
Bach with single remedies can help you select essences. At your local pharmacy (maybe) or health food
store (for sure) you can buy rescue remedy. This combination of Bach flowers can
help especially when the pain seems worse, or if there is a healing crisis when working with a holistic vet. Put 4 drops in one ounce of water and
use it: in the mouth, rubbed on more hairless areas of the skin, on the paws,
in a bowl of water in a room not near the drinking water. It can be given
topically or orally as often as it seems to help.
3. Most importantly, change to a raw (or lightly cooked) meaty bone diet as
this it is more digestible than any processed foods so builds up the immune
system allowing her body to self heal.
FIND AN INTEGRATIVE VETERINARIAN
I strongly recommend finding an integrative veterinarian with whom to work.
This is a person trained in many different approaches, including using
conventional drugs only when absolutely needed. Working with one can increase
the chance that your cherished companion can live a long and healthy life after
recovering from this current problem. There are good ones and great ones, and a
few homeopathic veterinarians will consult by phone or email. You can go to the
web sites for each type of holistic practice and use their referral list to find
one near to you. Many practitioners are members of only one or two of the
organizations, so you do need to go to every site to find who is near you. http://christinachambreau.com/learn-more/links-to-healing-resources has all the organizations (chiropractic, homeopathic, acupuncture and chinese herbs, osteopathy, postural work, western herbs) listed.
If you are interested in better health in general, please read the following. I hope you are too overwhelmed by all this information but your Weimaraner is so young (I have ones liveing over 15 years) that I would love to help her recover from this and live a lot longer.
7 KEYS TO HEALTHY ANIMALS
1. Know the current level of health. Most health problems are the result of an
underlying energy imbalance. As we cure animals of “disease”,
we find that other things we thought were normal go away, so we can use these
clues to know that animals are not healthy yet. Your goal is for your
animal to have great energy, no doggy odor, no hairball vomiting, little
shedding, a glowing coat and many more. Below is a complete list of these signs
(Early Warning Signs of Illness). In young animals, these apparently
“normal” problems may be the only indications to start exploring new
options for lifestyle or treatment. Buy the Healthy Animal’s Journal
(www.HealthyAnimalsJournal.com) so you can see how these early warning symptoms
and obvious ill symptoms change over time.
2. Feed the best. What are the best diets for people or animals — the most
processed or the freshest, most organic? The best ingredients should be
the most consciously raised – local, organic vegetables, free ranging protein
sources. Dogs and cats have ripping and tearing teeth, bone crunching teeth, no
digestive juices in the mouth, jaws that do not chew, a stomach full of acid
where the food sits for 4-12 hours and a very short transit time in the intestines.
Dogs and cats do not pull out a knife to de-bone their prey and do not pull out
matches to light a fire to cook their meat and vegetables. Therefore the best
diet for dogs and cats is raw meat including raw bones, pureed raw and cooked
vegetables and a few supplements (Calcium if no bones are eaten is critical).
Grains are not good for most animals, but if there are none of the early
warning signs (see below) and no illnesses, you can feed some grains,
preferably the higher protein ones. Start as young kittens and puppies or at
whatever age you read this (Brighthaven.org, a cat sanctuary switches 16 years
old and older cats to raw meat diet and some have lived to 27 and 30, and now
one to 35). Second best is same quality, but cooked. Even grocery store
quality meat and vegetables are much better than most processed foods.
Processed foods are an effort for the food industry to use up its waste
products except for a few companies with great motives (and even they sometimes
get bad or inferior ingredients). Processed foods are also a problem for the
environment – they are not sustainable. Many dogs and cats need probiotics,
especially if fed processed, dead foods. My current favorite is Mitomax. I have
had many animals’ minor health problems clear up while using this. Unlike other
probiotics, it is very stable and is ok at the low stomach pH. Every animal
needs and wants a different combination of foods and supplements at different
times in their lives depending on different stressors and health challenges,
just as we do. With any food, observe each of your animals for the effect that
food has on them and change if decreased energy or poor coat or other Early
Warning Signs. NEVER feed DRY food to cats – even as treats. It causes most
cats to drink more water resulting in stress to the kidneys and also can
trigger bladder problems in cats. You can now buy many commercial raw meat
diets. You must research them as well. Ask where the ingredients are raised?
Are chemicals used? Are the chickens, beef, pork, etc raised in humane ways,
out in the sun to get the Vitamin D in the meat, etc? My favorite newest books
to guide you are: Steve Brown’s Unlocking the Canine Ancestral Diet; Hofve and
Yarnall’s the Paleodog; Becker and Taylor’s Dr. Becker’s real food for healthy
dogs and cats; Taylor and Brown’s See spot Live Longer; and Basko’s Fresh food
and Ancient Wisdom.
3. Vaccinate the least. In my opinion, vaccines have caused more harm to
animals than anything else we have done. Do you get measles and mumps vaccines
every year of your life? Researchers in conventional veterinary medicine agree
that we vaccinate too often, in too many combinations, and that this level of
vaccination, while preventing epidemics, is harmful to the health of
susceptible animals. On-going studies show that antibodies are high 10
and 16 years later for dog and cat distemper and dog Parvo so I recommend just
a few baby shots and NO more. While Rabies is also a viral disease, you must
follow the law, which is every 3 years.
To help prevent damage from the Rabies vaccine, or any others that are
accidentally given, do the following. First, learn Reiki (see below) and hold
the vaccine syringe in your hand until the “draw” is gone, then Reiki
the injection site once you are in the car, then Reiki the whole animal daily
until they do not “draw”. If you have not yet learned Reiki, use the
contacts below to have it done for your animal after the vaccine. For two weeks
before and two weeks after, give the totally safe Vaccine Detox, a flower
essence from http://www.SpiritEssences.com. Give triple the dose of calcium (or add
some calcium) for 3 days before and 5 days after the vaccines. Dr. Peck is
finding a drop in calcium at vaccination time. Then use the Early Warning
signs, below, to see if further holistic treatment is needed if any of them
appear or worsen. A wonderful list serve on vaccines, their harm and
alternatives is at yahoo groups. To register, go to
novaxk9s-subscribe@yahoogroups.com A great web site ishttp://vaccines.dogsadversereactions.com/
4. Use the fewest chemicals, remembering that there are chemicals in vaccines.
Each animal is an individual and will respond differently to heartworm, flea
and tick preventatives. My kindle book, FLEAS BE GONE: a holistic
veterinarian’s guide to natural flea control will help you avoid these. Some
are very sensitive to chemicals used in the yard or the house and in vaccines –
they will become profoundly ill. Others will be triggered by these chemicals to
just not have full health. Chemicals in foods can cause allergic type reactions,
so again feeding a fresh diet from local ingredients will be best. Healthy
yards have lots of weeds. House cleaners can be made from foods and microfibril
cloths clean like a charm. Healthy animals never get fleas and ticks
5. Understand how animals become ill and how they heal. First there is an
energetic imbalance (they are just not right), then functional (the dog is
itchy), then inflamed (skin is red, infected, swollen and hot) and finally
tissue changes (thick, black skin). Results of any treatment can be no change,
amelioration (current symptoms disappear with no other improvements, then
return), suppression (current symptoms disappear and they become more ill) or a
cure (everything about the animal to begins to improve, especially the overall
energy level.)
Keeping a journal is critical to determine what treatments are helping problems
to become less frequent and less severe. You can stand firm with what you feel
is working even if your professional disagrees and change approaches when
needed. You can create your own using a three ring binder, a notebook, a
calendar. Be sure to have a master symptom list, pages where you list
treatments you have started or been given, and pages where you make daily or
frequent entries about every symptom on the master symptom list, especially
including the overall energy level, emotional state and new changes. Some
people have found my book makes it easier.
http://christinachambreau.com/bookstore/healthy-animal-journal/healthy-dog-journ is
a great one to use in print or e-version is available.
6. YOU BE THE HEALER. I strongly recommend getting some training in
understanding the wide range of approaches to health so you can be in charge of
what you choose for treatments for your animals. There are so many different
ways to stimulate healing that you never need to give up trying. From books,
on-line and in classes you can learn Reiki (which can take the “bad”
out of vaccines and any needed drugs, or even make food healthier), massage,
HTA, TTouch, acupressure, flower essence therapy, all of which are 100% safe to
use for any problems. There are many more approaches you can do to help heal
your animals with some training since they need to be used more carefully –
homeopathy, herbal medicine, Chinese herbs, aromatherapy. In addition to
classes there are many very good list serves filled with people experienced
with not vaccinating and feeding raw meat diets. Classes are found through your
health food store, by phone or on-line. As with human health approaches, there
are many different opinions, so you need to experiment and see what makes your
animals more or less healthy.
7. Select the best healers for each animal’s health team. Most people want a
veterinarian (preferably integrative) and an energy healer. You decide what
needs to be tried next for your animal. When you realize the animal is not
improving – seek different care. Use conventional veterinarians for diagnosis
and emergency treatment, or if other methods are not working. Again,
integrative veterinarians (see above) will be able to do both, and have the
philosophical understanding of the vibrational causes of illness.
Learn more and more
Every Thursday from 1-2 eastern Dr. Jeff Feinman and myself
host a talk at http://www.BLAB.IM
If you sign up here
you will get a weekly reminder – and know when we change the time to help
people come during lunch.
Books – I have books with comments listed –
(www.MyHealthyAnimal.com)
Classes – I teach many different classes. The best way to
find them is to subscribe to My RSS feed on my site (click on RSS on any page)
and the newsletter.
Email me if you wish to host a class in your town or on the
internet. HealthyAnimals@aol.com
Magazines – Animal Wellness Magazine – use ccdvm code when
you subscribe (and Feline and Equine Wellness, too).
Whole Dog Journal and Dogs Naturally Magazine (they have
webinars on raw feeding that are excellent), too.
Internet – over 50 shows archived–
http://www.homeopathyworldcommunity.com/page/drchristinachambreau
Search online for the many other classes and lectures
available for the
Most skills in classes about health approaches for people
can be extrapolated to animals. The acupressure points are the same, remedies
are used the same way, Reiki is good for everything, etc.
I also do Pet Health Coaching to help you learn about the
current health issues, what you can do at home to build health and save money,
and I match you up with the veterinarian we think would be best.
Good Health for your pet, Dr. Chambreau
REIKI:
Personally, I think every person who lives with or works with animals must know
at least Level I Reiki. The practitioner offers this energy and the animal
comes over to get it (or places her hands upon the animal), or it can be done
from a distance, even around the world with the intent for healing to occur.
The energy flows through the healer into the animal. This is based on directly
applying Chi (energy) to rebalance the energy field so it no longer needs to
produce the physical symptoms. It is a very good adjunct to any healing
modality, especially to relieve pain and inflammation. I have seen cats who
began to eat again when their food was treated with Reiki. It also “takes
the bad out of” things. By doing Reiki on smelly water in restaurants I
have been able to drink sweet tasting and smelling water. Use Reiki anytime
that you must give injections, vaccines, drugs, flea or heartworm drugs, or
other substances with potential toxicity. Reiki is great to calm animals,
relieve discomfort, and can deeply heal some problems in some animals.
1. Great information on Reiki – http://www.reikicourse.org.
2. Kathleen Prasad is a wonderful teacher and works with my favorite sanctuary
and holistic education center, BrightHaven http://www.brighthaven.org. Kathleen leads
a free monthly telechat for anyone trained in Reiki and using it with animals.http://www.animalreikisource.com/.
3. If you cannot find a Reiki Class near you (same class for people and animals
as it connects you through an “attunement” to the healing energy of
the universe, making you a channel of healing), the following groups offer long
distance, free, attunements.
a. http://theholisticcare.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=13,
b. http://freereikiattunement.com/
c. Christine at cbearse@earthlink.net, http://www.awakeningrainbows.com. To receive
free distance Reiki send her your first name only, city and state, and whether
or not you have had any Reiki training. She invites you to include your
pets as well. She uses a teddy bear and does a full body Reiki distance
treatment for one hour each Sunday evening from 9 p.m. until 10 p.m. EST.
d. And a team of over 100 healers will send free healing energy until you say
not to. Email Barbara at nancelot01@aol.com with your healing request, name of
animal, species, color & age. In the subject say request through Dr.
Chambreau
4. for a fee:
Excellent recommendation in 2015 – http://reikishamanic.com/
http://www.ReikiBlessings.com offers many types of energy healing
classes- search a bit to find the reiki ones or email them. Long distance
healing and training is at http://www.animalhealers.homestead.com.
5. Get a free treatment for yourself at http://www.interdimensionalhealing.com.
Another wonderful healer, Deena Spears works long distance with Sound Tuning.
http://www.Singingwoods.com. I have seen many animals and the people in a home be
healed by her work.
LISTS SERVES TO HELP YOU LEARN TO FEED THE BEST –
From the folks that brought us Jstsayno2vaccs is a new site for raw feeding –
excellent –http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawk9s/ Here
is what they say, “Lastly, we saw a need for a beginner’s raw feeding group.
Many of the raw feeding groups have grown very large and often new people are lost
in the shuffle. In addition, some raw feeding groups are specialized to one
type of feeding only. We believe that feeding raw is the first step in whole
health and have tried to create an environment of learning and support where
there are no dumb questions and everyone gets individual attention. With that
in mind Kathleen recently instituted a mentoring program where mentor’s sign up
to help individuals, and new folks can opt into the program and receive private
help in their journey. It has been a huge success.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aunaturelK9 –
the above groups breeding web site. Excellent.
EARLY WARNING SIGNS OF ILLNESS FOR DOGS AND CATS
1. Is your companion really healthy?
2. Can you tell if the treatment you selected is deeply curing?
3. Can your companion be healthier than you realize?
YES – read on and evaluate your animal for true health.
Most health problems are the result of an underlying energy imbalance, made
worse from poor diet and vaccination. They are rarely acute diseases
(except injuries). Therefore, you may find that the problem does not clear up
as you expect or it recurs. If so, you are dealing with an underlying
predisposition to illness, and these clues to underlying ill health will help
you select a remedy and monitor the results. As we cure animals of
“disease”, we find that certain other “NORMAL” things go
away, too. Do not be satisfied until most of the following symptoms are
gone. In young, apparently healthy animals, these apparently
“normal” problems may be the only indications to start treatment.
This is only the beginning of a list – as more animals are cured we will find
new levels of health. Tracking these is easy when you use the Healthy Animal’s
Journal by Dr. Christina Chambreau (www.HealthyAnimalsJournal.com)
SKIN: doggy smell; attracts fleas a lot; dry, oily, lack-luster coat;
excessive shedding; not grooming, ear problems – waxy, oily,
itchy, recurrent mites; eye discharge, tearing, or matter in corner of eyes;
raised third eyelid; spots appearing on iris; “freckles” appearing on
face; whiskers falling out; fragile, thickened, distorted claws that are
painful or sensitive to trim.
BEHAVIOR: Fears(of loud noises, thunder, wind, people, animals, life); too
timid; too rough or aggressive (even at play); too hard to train; barks too
much and too long; suspicious nature; biting when petted too
long; hysteria when restrained; clumsy; indolent; licking or sucking things or
people too much; not using litter box or not covering stool.
DIGESTIVE: Bad breath; tarter accumulation; loss of teeth; poor appetite;
craving weird things(rubber bands, plastic, dirt, cat litter,
paper, dogs eating dog or cat stools, rocks, sticks…); sensitivity to milk;
thirst – a super healthy cat on non dry food will drink at
most once a week; red gum line; vomiting often, even hairballs more than a few
times a year; mucous on stools; tendency to diarrhea with least change
of diet; obesity; anal gland problems; recurrent parasites.
STIFFNESS when getting up, early hip dysplasia; tires easily in hot or cold
weather; can no longer jump up on counters, or go up or down steps.
TEMPERATURE: Low grade fevers – Normal for healthy cats and dogs is
100-101.5.
AGE & REPRODUCTION: Should live a long life (Shepards 17 years, Danes 12,
cats 24). should be able conceive easily, deliver normally,
and not pass on “genetic breed” problems.
Bradd, I think you should seek a second opinion, and it would be best to find an orthopedic specialist. It can make a world of difference to find the doctor that sees this type of thing every day compared to one that has only read about what might be wrong (or sees these problems only once-in-a-while).
There are a lot of bad reviews out there about Banfield – and I had a bad experience at a Banfield facility myself (they advertised that they had a holistic vet, and I called and set up an appointment to see that vet, but once I was in the exam room I discovered that they had switched doctors and that the holistic vet hadn’t been working there for over a year. Can you say bait and switch!)
There are other options that you should explore – T Touch, Acupressure, Acupuncture, massage, etc.
And how about an MRI instead of an X-ray? Soft tissue injuries often show better in an MRI, but they do cost more.
Good luck.
Thank you very much for taking the time to respond. Our dog is a family member like most of us here I I’m assuming. It can be frustrating and not knowing professionally how to help her is even more frustrating. I really appreciate your advice. I agree with Banfield..it seems band-aiding a problem is there go to option first. If they don’t know what’s wrong they just give anitinflamatory and pain killers. Tough to see a young active dog all drugged up with no positive results. I was able to get an appointment with a veterinarian physical and mobility therapist. Hopefully we will have some better answers tomorrow. Thank you again
Thank you so much for all this great info. I am a culinary nutritionist and can’t agree more on healing humans and makes sense with animals through proper nutrition and the right vitamins and minerals. I really like the idea of taking a natural approach and I will most certainly read up on more homeopathic ways to help our little pooch. Again, I appreciate the time you put into supplying all this great info. I did have good luck and got an appointment with a physical and mobility therapist here locally that came highly recommended. I hope we will have some answers tomorrow. Thank you again,
Bradd
Thank you for responding to my question, I really appreciate the great advise. I did take X-rays but to your point maybe we try something more if we still can’t get answers. We were able to get her an appointment tomorrow with a physical and mobility therapist, so my figures are crossed. She’s too young and too happy to have any kind of mobility issues. Thanks again for taking the time to respond.
My husband and I run our own company, so can bring our puppy into the office with us every day. We can’t have the time off work to stay with him at home, while he adapts to his new surroundings, so planned on bringing him to the office with us each day, where we would of course give him lots of exercise and love and can potty train him in the grounds of our office. We thought this would also be good for socialisation. But we wondered whether this would be too stressful for him to spend one weekend with us at home, and then start coming to the office with us on the Monday? I know his paws won’t be able to touch the floor of public places until he’s had all his injections at around 12 weeks, so we thought we could take him in a puppy sling and have a crate at work he can occasionally use, as well as his toys, food, drink, treats etc. Any advice or tips would be gratefully received. I have ordered lots of books on it and we’ll be signing him up to dog school as well. Thank you x
Here’s my take on it.
Puppies need to walk, to be able to explore their environment. The best way to do this is tethered to you, rather than in a sling of some sort. Does your company frequently see dogs on the floors? If not, I don’t see why he can’t be on the floor.
Use the crate more than occasionally. If you cannot have him tethered to you, he should be crated. I would also consider picking up an xpen so he has a safe space to play outside of the crate from time to time.
Frankly, I like the idea of taking him in to work right away, especially if you’ll continue doing that when he’s an adult. If you don’t intend to continue taking him in when he’s an adult, I don’t think I’d do what you’re planning, simply because he’ll wonder why you’re suddenly leaving him home when he’s older.
Thanks so much, Laura.
The sling would just be to carry him to the office, as he could get tired walking there and I thought he might not be allowed to touch pavements etc, until he’s had all injections.
It’s a short walk and then a short train to our office, so we thought he might be happiest in a puppy sling for the journey there.
Once we’re inside the building and in our office yard, we would definitely have him on the floor.
So you think we should have him, perhaps on a leash attached to the arm of my office chair, with occasional time in his crate?
We plan on always having him with us in the office and taking him back home with us, into his adulthood.
Thanks again x
Oh, definitely NO walking on pavement frequented by dogs during the commute, at least until he’s 4 months old. Good luck. 😉
I think this could work! I also think you’ll have growing pains for a bit. Will you be able to hop up and take him out immediately after waking up, immediately before and after all meals (and he should be eating a lunch until he’s 6 months old), before/during/after all play, and every 30 minutes otherwise? I know that for the first week we had our bitch puppy home, that was life…I wasn’t productive at all. This is why utilizing the crate is so important. You can pop him in there for a 2 hour nap and get some work done while he’s sleeping.
Ah brilliant. Thank you. Sounds like we’ll have our work cut out. Is it best to exercise him indoors then, until he’s 4 months? We have a big garden at home he could run around in, on a leash, but we often get foxes, so I guess they’d be more diseased than other dogs. So much to learn! x
Well, when he’s out in the yard, so are you…and I’m not a fan of long walks for long-legged breeds like boxers. I think your garden should be fine. Get him vaccinated against rabies when the vet says it’s time.
Is this your first dog? You picked a particularly high energy breed!
I just got a new 9 week old kitten. I got him the night before last. The Kitten is perfectly healthy in every way but one. It is eating solid and canned food. Canned food once a day and dry food through the day. He is drinking water. He is playful and active. Has urinated about 4 times. His belly is not hard. And he is sleeping well.
BUT he has not pooped yet.
The old owners said he pooped the morning of the day I picked him up. But that was Thursday and this is Saturday. I am worried. I wonder if it may be the stress of a new home, no mother or litter mates and two new cats. The one cage of mine has not taken to the kitten yet but the other is coming around.
I do have a vet appointment booked but I have anxiety and I worry.
cat not cage*
Good morning ?? Dr. Magnifico has a lot of videos posted on IVDD, and I believe that she has written a few blogs on the subject as well. Look into those. Also, If I were you I would call my vet again, and have a serious conversation about what you want, what you can afford and come up with a plan together. Hope this helps.
Hello,
Tell your vet hat you would like another opinion and that you cannot afford surgery. If they still refuse to help find a vet who is willing to help you. Or call the neurologist again. There has to be some help for your dog that you can afford or else your veterinarians care is useless. There are always options. Even on a budget. Don’t take no for an answer.
Hi I have been watching your videos. I love them. You are a true champion for dogs and thier families. Thank you. I wish there were more like you. Do you do video consults? Or can I speak on the phone. I would pay you for a visit. Thank you so very much!