Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Smiley McSmiley

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Back in September I made an appointment for Sampson to have his teeth cleaned.  It’s scheduled for December 10th.  And yes, my vet is booked that far in advance.  I know right?

I think a professional dental cleaning is a good thing to have done before your pet gets too old.  I’ve been told it has something to do with age and anesthesia (just like people.)

Brushing your dog’s teeth

Back when Sampson was a puppy I wanted to give him the very best of everything.   Sadly I did not know about brushing your pet’s teeth.  By the time I learned, I was too lazy to acclimate him to the tooth brush, although I do on occasion brush his teeth.

Choosing the right brush

I bought two of those little finger brushes, but last year I won a dental kit from My Brown Newfies.  Included with the kit was a really nice dog tooth brush.  I’ve used both and I like the brush better.  It fits better in the dog’s mouth and saves your finger, just in case you have a pup that doesn’t tolerate the brushing.

Here’s where the raw diet helps

Dog breakfasts at Stone Manor consists of raw chicken necks.  It may not be the best diet for those of you on the squeamish side, but like anything else, if you do it long enough, you get used to it. (Besides sometimes you can make a blog post out of a chicken head.)

Feeding Sampson and Delilah breakfast bones has made a huge difference in the cleanliness of their teeth.  I mean look at this smile.

SMILE-Pic That right there could be a Pepsodent smile!

As good as those teeth look, some of the chompers in the back have a little tartar at the base, and this needs to be removed.

Delilah’s teeth look good thus far, (she was a bit younger than Sampson when we started the raw diet) but we will address this with Dr. Soutter at Delilah’s next wellness exam which is scheduled for June of next year.

Heart Like a Dog Lesson

Sampson spends his day in the now, he does not project what’s to come, he doesn’t worry about tomorrow.  When tomorrow comes he will roll with whatever comes at him.

Not me.   December 10th is fine when you’re looking at it from the far side of September but it’s a lot scarier for me now.

I’m terrified.  Terrified that something bad will happen while he’s under anesthesia.

What if he has a bad reaction and doesn’t come home?  How will I live with that guilt?

How do I learn to live in the now and NOT project what scary things might come my way on December 10th?

How do I learn to live my life with a Heart Like a Dog?

Veterans Meme Don’t forget to thank a Veteran today and remember, it’s not just two-leggers who serve.

It’s Not a Toomah!

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In Monday’s post I shared about my cautious approach to vaccinating my dogs.  One of the big reasons I’m super careful is I’ve heard stories of dogs having lumps at their vaccine sites and eventually those lumps becoming cancerous.

Do I have documentation? NO.  No I do not, but I prefer to air on the side of caution.  One of Sampson’s first set of vaccines left a lump just below the base of his tail.

For years.

It really freaked me out.

Which is why whenever I find a lump on my dog, I have it aspirated.  It’s a simple procedure that requires inserting a needle into the lump, removing some cells and looking at them under the microscope.  The vet does this procedure right in the office with little to no discomfort to your dog.

You on the other hand, if you are anything at all like me, will be squirming like a worm on the end of a hook.

Thankfully, the vets can tell immediately whether the lump is simply a fatty tumor or something more sinister.

Sampson currently has two fatty tumors.  One on his side and one just to the left of his right paw pit. (Pawpit.  It sounds like something a preaching dog would use.  **giggles**)

The one on his side is innocuous and we will probably never have anything done with that, but the one near his paw pit needs to be removed.  And the reason for that, is if you’ve ever seen a lumpy lab, you know that some of these fatty tumors can be quite large.  Our vet is concerned if the tumor begins to grow, it will impeded his mobility.

And that would not be a good thing.

Sadly so many of the dogs I hear about today are dealing with far more than fatty tumors.  In fact, Blogville has lost some of our own to the dreaded “C” word.

Cancer.

Give Cancer the Paw

So today we’re joining Jackie from Pooch Smooches and Peggy from Peggy’s Pet Place in a blog hop that we hope will spread awareness, support and hope for all those whose lives are or have been affected by cancer.

Sampson-1

It’s not a TOOMAH!

Well actually Sampson, it is a tumor, but thankfully it’s a fatty tumor.

I’m a Lepto Maniac

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I got that tee-shirt at the Blog Paws Conference this past May and I absolutely love it!!

Siriusly you guys, Leptos is the only vaccine I voluntarily give my dogs.

I’m not anti-vaccine by any means, but I do question certain ‘protocols.’

Vaccine Doses

I’m uncomfortable that an 8 pound Maltese would get the same amount of vaccine as a 90 pound lab and that a 90 pound lab gets the same dose as a 130 pound Newfoundland.

Frequency

I also question the frequency of vaccines and if our pets (and we) are protected longer than we think we are as well as what immunities are passed down through parents who have been vaccinated.

Combination vaccines

Merriam Webster defines a vaccine as such, “a preparation of killed microorganisms, living attenuated organisms, or living fully virulent organisms that is administered to produce or artificially increase immunity to a particular disease.”

These organisms work with your immune system to develop antibodies to help fight off that particular disease. Personally, I think combination vaccines are too much for one little immune system to handle.  And if my dog is already working their immune system fighting off an infection, I pass on the vaccine until (s)he is feeling better.

And next year, when both of my dogs are scheduled for Leptos and Rabies, I will space their shots about two weeks apart.  It may seem radical to some people, but I feel very strongly that their immune system should be able to focus on one thing and one thing only.

Leptospirosis is a Zoonotic Disease

Washington State Department of Health defines Zoonotic, “A zoonotic disease or zoonosis (plural is zoonoses) is any disease of animals that can be transmitted to people.”  And Leptos qualifies as a zoonotic disease.

Newer vaccines vs established ones

Leptospirosis is a fairly new vaccine, at least in my area. Relatively new as compared to say Rabies.  I had read an article written by a vet who felt the vaccine didn’t last for a year and that the vaccine might in fact lessen symptoms so I wanted to be sure I mentioned this to my vet.

Dr. Soutter says the vaccine covers four strands of the Leptos virus and two of the strands are the ones we see in this area.  She feels the vaccine may last a little less than a year or perhaps even a little longer than a year, but she is very comfortable giving the vaccine.

It’s been a bad year for ticks

I always ask about Lyme.  We have a lot of ticks and although we use a natural tick preventive, we still get the occasional dog tick.  Normally I find and remove them before too long, but the little deer ticks that traditionally spread the Lyme are very hard to find.

Dr. Soutter said the Lyme vaccine has gotten better in terms of protection, but she still sees a lot of reactions to it, reactions such as lumps, painful injection sites, etc.  We passed on the Lyme vaccine.

We did have blood drawn for the Four Way Snap Test, which tests for Heartworm Disease, Lyme Disease, Ehrlichiosis, and Anaplasmosis.  Dr. Soutter says with this test, no news is good news.  Fingers and paws crossed we don’t get a call.

Heart Like a Dog

So what was Sampson doing while he was being poked, prodded and pricked?

9-15-13 002

He was getting rubbies, lovies and treats from Chris.

Sampson lives in the now.  He is not worried about what he did yesterday or what will happen tomorrow. He embraces each moment for what it is.

In my opinion, that’s a great attitude to have and something I’m striving for in my life.  What about you?

 

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