What I should have tried to incorporate in the original post was how I went into my vet’s office.

I’m a worry wart, I worry about everything.  If I hear/see/read about it, I’m worried about it.  I went in armed with a list of questions for my vet.

You know all of the scary things I’ve heard about on other blogs, the news or from different people.

Vaccine Induced Meningoencephalomyelitis/meningoencephalitis 

In the State of Connecticut, Rabies is a three-year vaccine.  Once the puppy has completed the initial series, the vaccine is given at three-year intervals.  Both Sampson and Delilah had their rabies booster last year, so neither one is due until 2014.

If you are a dog lover, you probably follow Roxanne Hawn and her dog Lilly over at Champion of my Heart, if you do, you know they have been going through hell in the last six months due to Vaccine Induced Meningoencephalomyelitis/meningoencephalitis.  I cry every time I read this blog and what they are going through.

I had to ask my vet about it. She told me, it’s rare, extremely rare.  Which makes me feel slightly better. But not much.

I said, “I just worry.”

She said, “I know.”

Laryngeal Paralysis in Dogs

My friend Ann lost her lab to this not very long ago.  I had never heard of it.  (Honestly, why didn’t I find all this out BEFORE I got dogs.  Jiminy Cricket, it’s as bad as having kids!)  The first sign of this disease is a change in bark.  Since I once rushed Sampson to the emergency clinic on Sunday for what turned out to be a scab, I’m pretty sure this would be diagnosed fairly quickly.

Siriusly, I will notice a change in bark.

My vet assured me the condition is manageable, it is not necessarily a death sentence for the dog.

I said, “I just worry.”

She said, “I know.”

Bloat

This is a scary disease, in most cases if it is caught early the dog can be saved.   Sadly, a lot of people are not aware there is something wrong until it’s too late.  I know of three people who have lost dogs to bloat.

The only dog I know of that has survived bloat is Thunder from the 2BrownDawgs blog, his owners weren’t entirely sure that Thunder was bloating but they erred on the side of caution, and he got the help he needed.

I am so freaked out about bloat that I printed off the symptoms and keep them in the notebook with Sampson’s medical records.

I asked the vet, does having them on raw food make a difference?  She said, not necessarily.  It can happen with any food and generally happens because the dog has gotten a lot of air in its stomach.

I said, “I just worry.”

She said, “I know.”

Parvo

Certain areas of the country have had bad outbreaks of Parvo.  I asked if she thought the dogs should be boostered for Parvo and she said,  as long as the puppy completes the initial series, and the dog is not being boarded she feels they do not need the additional booster.  The same goes for Distemper.

I said, “I just worry.”

She said, “I know.

Water Gulping

Delilah has a tendency right before and right after she eats dinner, of hogging the water bowl.  I asked my vet about it and she suggested removing the bowl or keeping smaller amounts of water in it.

To my way of thinking if she is gulping water, she is also gulping air.  I have been keeping smaller amounts of water in her bowl and picking it up if she’s a little too interested.

I said, “I just worry.”

She said, “I know.”

I told you I went armed with a list of questions.

Are you a worrier like me?  Do you go to your vet armed with a list of questions? Or do you just roll with the flow?

Post script, we use Interceptor for our heartworm prevention.  Unfortunately Interceptor is on back order indefinitely, so we had to go with the traditional Heart Guard.   If you follow me on facebook, you will know I put a link to a blogpost up there about Proheart 6, which is a new shot that is given instead of the monthly tablet.   Please take 5 minutes to read this post, if you are even considering using this protocol.  It could be the difference between life and death.