Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Absolutely hilarious..Diamond playing in sandbox 3-27-13

Friday, September 5, 2014


WEATHER AND JOINT ISSUES
 
Did you know that 90% of ALL dogs will get arthritis in their lifetime?
If your dog is over 1 year old, please start them on a very good preservative free supplement. Your pocket book and dog will love you for it later.


If your dog has had any type of trauma or injury, does any type of agility or repetitive exercises, your dog should be on a joint supplement. When playing with your dog, don't tug on any part of the body too hard. For example, playing tug a war with your dog will put some stress on the neck and possibly pull the spinal bones out of line causing injury. Don't forget to make sure you have studied the breed of dog you have and know the genetic history concerning hip dysplasia, degenerative joint disease and alike. If your breed is susceptible to diseases of the joints, take action now. There is so much to do to keep your dog moving way into his/her teen years. And again, don't forget the diet. Remove kibble from the diet. Reduce all vaccines, medications, change to organic all natural yard fertilizers, use all natural flea and tick repellants and shampoo's. Do not apply topical flea and tick killers. They ARE Killers to your dog.
   
Now what I would like to discuss today is, what makes our dogs go from bouncy and pain free to all of a sudden in pain and can't move. Well if you haven't pin pointed what causes a flare up, take a look at everything you have done for your dog. If you haven't missed anything mentioned above, then consider other things, for example the weather. The weather wreaks havoc on us humans and it affects our pets the same.
 Alot of the time the barometric pressure can drop causing the body to react and the joints will start to ache. Damp days of humidity followed by cold fronts is a big aggravator. It can start a few days earlier, so if you know it's coming, give a little extra joint supplement, therapy, and/or massage a day or two before this arrives.
If your dog has some type of infection going on, say the ear or tooth., expect the joints to become inflamed and cause pain and swelling in the arthritic joints. Any time you have an infection, it causes bacteria to travel through the body and affect the weakest parts of the body. If your dog has itchy skin with lesions or is inflamed and red, expect the joints to be hurting as well. EVERYTHING that happens to the body, affects the rest of the body. Bacteria attacks weak points in the body's system. The best thing you can do for your dog is keep his system strong. Vaccines, medications (including NSAID's) and poor diet breaks down the immune system and cause illness and disease. And these disease's can be serious like diabetes, seizures, loss of use in hind legs. Even skin allergies. SO it is best to build the immune system up, keep it strong and always be prepared for when/if your dog starts hurting in his/her joints. Medications like NSAID's actually break down the cartilage in joints causing more joint problems. These medications are nothing more than a band-aid to the problem. To fix the problem or lesson it, you need a strong system. You can't do it if your feeding a poor diet, giving vaccines yearly, and using highly toxic chemicals on your dog and yard. (Don't forget filtered water). Your dog will only become sicker. Is it worth all the pain, suffering and needless to say the expense of vet bills of a sick dog?
   
So have a list of what is specific to your dog as how to care for your dog daily...and then prepare for the worst days when something goes wrong.  If your dog has a heart problem, giving herbs for the heart problem can also work for the arthritis. Herbs are good for many different uses and you will find that when you're helping the heart, you're helping the joints.
As I said, the body works in sync and you have to treat every issue so not to affect the other. Speaking of heart issues, I have a list of supplements to help a dog with heart problems. I have actually seen living proof of a drastic change in dogs that were coughing their heads off..even on heart meds. After giving a cocktail of herbs and supplements, this cough was reduced drastically or eliminated all together. Again these supplements can and do benefit an older dog and one with joint issues. Every dog is different and everything out there that helps one dog, may not help another. So it is a constant job of trying to find that right mixture that helps. And as you know, once you find that mixture, it stops working and so here you are looking for a different solution. This is why it is important to learn EVERYTHING you can so that you have options when that day comes.
I feel Acupuncture, some sort of Physical Therapy, Adequan injections, a good diet, reducing/eliminating all but rabies vaccines (every 3 years on rabies) along with reduction of pain meds and adding supplements is a terrific treatment for your dog. Don't forget your added supplements of fish/krill oil, organic extra virgin coconut oil, probiotics and digestive enzymes, & Vit C (sodium ascorbate).

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Thursday, April 17, 2014

What Vets Don't Know Or Won't Tell You




I had a few things this past year happen that I was unsure if I was onto something or just thinking crazy things.
The first time that was the worst is when Diamond (my pit mix) went down (in severe pain and couldn't walk). I took her into the vet and nothing was discovered from the vet. Needless to say not much was done either on that visit.  We came back home and she was fine a day or two..then back down again. A week later I took her back in for x-rays..thinking possibly she may have hip dysplasia. The x-rays confirmed she had Lumbosacral Spondylosis. A few days before I took her in on the first visit, I had started giving her some cephalexin for a UTI. When I discovered how bad she was in pain, I stopped everything. After she was back up and walking a day or two later, I started the antibiotics up again. That's when she went back down again and I took her for x-rays. This was in March.
In November I took her in for a teeth cleaning, a rabies shot, and blood work. Little did I know at that time, you don't give rabies on the same day you do surgery. (Things vets don't tell you) Three days after her teeth cleaning she went down again and she went down hard. This was November 2012.  Since that day it's been nothing but a daily struggle to keep her pain free. I took her back to the vet when she went down and I told them it had something to do with the surgery. I told them I thought she had had a reaction to antibiotics previously. They looked at me really funny. Since then I have spoken with many Drs about this. The only thing that was thought that possibly could have caused it was the bacteria release from the teeth cleaning, or possibly the anesthesia but we just really didn't know. In the back of my mind I have wondered if the connection was the antibiotics. The vets looked at me crazy when I kept mentioning my thoughts on this.

So when I met the new Dr on her Stem Cell Surgery, I told him all of this and how it has put her down since the teeth cleaning. So he WAS concerned about the anesthesia and would make sure he didn't give any antibiotics etc. SO, she had the surgery and it didn't put her down at all. So now I know it wasn't the anesthesia.

Last night I was reading a book on Canine Arthritis (that was written by a DVM) and BINGO...there it was..my answer.

A N T I B I O T I C S !

It states: While RARE, many Drs feel that drug induced joint problems are becoming more common. Your dogs immune system can react to ANY drug, and drugs are usually considered foreign substances. A hypersensitivity or allergic reaction occurs when antibodies form chemical complexes with the administered drug, these drug-antibody complexes are then deposited into the joints of the body. The drugs most commonly associated with drug-induced lameness are antibiotics, especially sulfa drugs, erythromycin, penicillin's, and cephalosporins.

It further states genetics can play a role also especially with Doberman Pinchers when sulfa drugs are administered.

SO, when I read this, my jaw dropped and my thoughts were..I WAS RIGHT! I WASNT CRAZY! and why didn't these Drs NOT put this together or even possibly think it was drug related? They have this knowledge right? hhhmmm....

I can give Diamond doxycycline without any issues but cephalexin puts her down. Looking back in her records on the day she had her teeth cleaning, she was given an injection of penicillin and sent home with amoxicaps. SO OBVIOUSLY she has a sensitivity to these as well. The bad part about this is, it put her down from November till the day of her stem cell therapy (Sept 12th). Ten months of pain.

And not only am I speaking of drugs but also vaccines can do this. Even vaccines can make a dog go lame that never had any issues before, although it seems more common in puppies. I am NOT ruling out adults as well. Vaccines are very harmful in adult stages and titer testing should be done instead. Titers cost a little more money but..if you have a dog that gets ill, goes lame or acquires a disease, which one then will be expensive? So weigh the costs. Have titer testing done instead. I am aware rabies is a law but every 3 years this should be the most that it gets done. And if your dog has an illness, weakened immune system or auto-immune disease, they CAN and should be exempted from rabies. Speak with your vet on this.

The bottom line here is, always be aware of what goes in the body and don't think your suspicions are crazy or a little over the top. Always trust your instincts, ask a lot of questions, research a lot before you have any surgery done or vaccines or medications given. And always feed your dog a species appropriate diet.
 Anytime the body is fighting any disease or illness, inflammation can flow threw the body causing inflamed joints.


To also make a note: During winter time this is a time for our dogs to start having achy joints. So get ready before. Prepare. Have your medicine cabinet stocked with RX meds, herbs (start the herbs now if you haven't), vitamins and don't forget the ADEQUAN. It's wonderful stuff and can make miracles when you have lost all hope. It did for me and has helped MANY MANY animals stay upright and walking. Ask your vet for a vial to take home with you to give the injections. It's more cost effective that way. Have your vet show you how to give them.
Have on hand some moist heat packs, funds saved up for chiropractic and acupuncture visits. Give daily massages and take short walks. Watch your dogs weight and if your not already, consider a raw diet. You will be totally amazed how much your dog will be so much healthier.

To learn more on raw diets, read here or join us on facebook in our group on raw diets and over all holistic health care. Also I have a group for Canine Arthritis. Here you can get immediate answers in time of need or you can email me.

Note.- Pets allergic to antibiotic class of penicillin will naturally be allergic to amoxicillin as well. Please make sure your pet's veterinarian is aware of this.

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