Dog Cartoon Of The Week: Canine Food Pyramid

***

Dog Cartoon of the Week is brought to you by Andertoons. Check out the website for more great cartoons.


Cartoonist Mark Anderson lives in the Chicago area with his wife, their children, two cats, a dog and several dust bunnies. You might have seen his cartoons in a number of publications including Reader's Digest, The Wall Street Journal, Good Housekeeping, Forbes, Barrons, Woman's World, Harvard Business Review, Saturday Evening Post, American Legion Magazine, Funny Times.

Read More

From The Case Files: Hunter's Hip Dysplasia Was Nearly A Death Sentence

by Mark D Newkirk VMD

Hunter, a one year old yellow Laborador Retriever, first came to to Newkirk Family Veterinarians for a second opinion on his hips in July of 2010. He was barely able to walk.

Radiographs indicated a full luxation of the right hip with a very shallow socket.

The left hip was subluxated and had a shallow socket also, but not as severely so. The owners had been told that a total hip replacement needed to be done on both hips, at a cost of about $4000 per hip. They could not afford that, and had heard of Dr Newkirks' alternative methods for hip dysplasia and chose to come.

I advised that the right hip did need surgery but we could do the 'old standby' procedure of a femoral head excision (FHE), which is what we used to use before the hardware and knowledge for total hip replacement was known.

I suggested prolotherapy (injecting the tendons and fascia) around the left hip would probably help that side. Hip laxity (or looseness) is due in part to the stretching of the tendons and ligaments surrounding the joint. If stretched chronically enough due to the deformity in the joint from the dysplasia, these structures become loose as well, kind of like a rubber band that has lost its' elasticity. Thus these structures can no longer 'hold' the joint in place.

Prolotherapy involves injecting the tendons so that tiny cells called fibroblasts are stimulated to multiply and grow. 

We use homeopathic tendon remedy and procaine (a local anesthetic drug). These fibroblasts grow into new, strong tendon fibers that heal and strengthen the 'rubber band', and make it elastic and strong again. This then literally pulls the joint together.

In dysplasia you must have some semblance of a joint for this to work, which is why we could do prolo in the left, but not the right hip.

In short, we did the FHE and the prolotherapy and then proceeded to rehabilitation in the under water treadmill.  Hunter recovered well began to run and jump and play, something the owners had said he could not do at all before the therapy and surgery.

After the initial rehab period, he would come in once every 4 to 6 weeks for a treadmill session so we could keep an eye on the left hip.  Prolotherapy can be repeated, if the joint becomes "loose" again.

Hunter did well until November of 2010 when he started limping on his left rear leg.  

We realized that the tendons were loose again and repeated the prolotherapy treatment.  This was necessitated due to the moderate hip dysplasia that remained in the left hip.  (we can't alter genetic dysplasia).

We repeated the rehab and Hunter again did well.

Hunter again was his usual Bull in the China Shop Lab until January of 2012 when he ruptured his patellar tendon (the tendon that holds the knee cap in place). X rays also showed some degenerative arthritis in the left hip, caused by the genetic dysplasia.

By this time we had started to work with stem cells and advised that a combination of stem cell therapy, surgery on the knee would be helpful.

The advantages of stem cells treatment are that they have the power to differentiate themselves into any tissue you inject them into.  In a joint for example, there is cartilage, bone, tendon, (and menisci in the knee).  If in fact all were damaged (and they usually are to some degree) the stem cells will go to that tissue and heal them all. We did follow up Hunter again with treadmill therapy and rehab and that is where we are today. 

Hunter will continue to have some problems with the left hip, but he is alive and well and playing nearly 2 years after he first came to us.  

Had there been nothing else but total hip replacement available, Hunter would have been put down due to the expense. 

Don't hesitate to seek a second or even a third opinions, and consider alternative therapies, before giving up.

***

The doctors and staff of Newkirk Family Veterinarians are a premier healthcare facility, offering genuine care, comfort, and the highest quality of veterinary medicine. Newkirk Family Veterinarians offer individualized therapies and treatment options to meet individual needs of their patients.

You can watch a video of Hunter's procedure here.

Related articles:
Indy’s Struggle with Dysplasia
Hip Dysplasia Prevention And Treatment Options
Hip And Elbow Dysplasia: Are They The Same Thing?
Stem Cells for Dogs? Oh yeah, baby. 
A Word On Second Opinions


Other case files:
From A Swelling To Necrosis In Days
What The Prostate Exam Revealed

Read More

Adoption Monday: Breakfast, Rottweiler/Labrador Mix, Fresno, CA

Breakfast is a very sweet guy with a heart of gold.

His family is moving and unable to take Breakfast with them when they relocate. They are looking for a good home for Breakfast.

Breakfastt is a wonderful, loving companion dog who adores children as well as adults.

He is about a 1.5 years old, very loyal and fully house-trained. He has calm and mellow nature but knows how to enjoy a good game of ball.

He gets along with other dogs of all shapes and sizes.

If Breakfast sounds like your next family member please contact Westside Rescue at jepartain@comcast.net.

Read More

Shaping A Dog's Recall: Check In

This awesome video was discovered by a friend of mine and it is too good not to share. Ever wondered how to train a reliable recall?

Read More

When It's Looks Too Good To Be True … The Lameness Returns

Last week Jasmine suddenly started limping on her front left leg terribly. It was such a shock. She was doing so poorly that I was worried that she was going to hurt something else in the process. A physical exam led to a decision to do a stem cell treatment as soon as possible.

That was Thursday of the last week. The treatment was planned for Wednesday of this week.

Then, as suddenly as it came, the lameness disappeared.

It already looked better on Friday, and during the weekend the lameness was completely gone. Could it be that it was just something minor and two days of rest were enough for it to resolve? It surely didn't look minor when it happened. It didn't look minor to her vet the next morning either. On the other hand, there was no sign of a problem any more. Should we cancel the treatment?

After a long discussion with Jasmine's vet it was decided to put the treatment on hold.

I was very conflicted about this. I certainly didn't want to put Jasmine through anesthesia when I didn't need to, but I was worried that if we cancel the treatment the problem will come back with a vengeance. You know, it was one of those things that just looked too good to be true … Plus this was Jasmine—Jasmine doesn't do simple problems that quickly resolve on their own. It was very baffling to me.

Either way, the decision has been made and I was just sitting there, waiting for disaster to strike.

Through  Monday, things still looked good. Perhaps I was just being too paranoid?

Surely enough, on Tuesday night, the night before the day of the now canceled treatment, the lameness returned. Figures! It wasn't anywhere near as bad as originally, but it was back.

We had canceled the treatment by kept the appointment, because I wanted her vet to check her out to see what he makes of such sudden recovery.

But now we were some place else again.

He was checking her out thoroughly, and for a long time. He felt that the character of the lameness had changed. There was more resistance to flexion and this time he felt a grind. This was also confusing, since the first time it looked really bad, while this time it felt much worse.

It was time to get x-rays to get a better picture and rule out bone fragment(s), as now that seemed to be the likely root of the problem.

The radiology appointment was made for Friday. We were prepared for the possibility that Jasmine might need arthroscopy to get that fixed.

Jasmine, as always, was very excited to go to see her vet again. She just loves the guy. She wasn't, however, very impressed when hubby handed her leash over to him and turned to leave the room. “Hey, wait, where are you going? This is not how it's done! We come here, visit, and go home. You don't leave me here (again)!”

I was on pins and needles.

It didn't help that I knew that my worry was not rational. The last time we just took her for x-rays it ended up in the biggest medical disaster Jasmine had to face. Yes, it was a coincidence. Yes, it didn't have a whole lot to do with the procedure itself. Yes, it likely saved her life. Yes, she had other procedures that required anesthesia since. But she almost died!

That's how phobias are born.

Before the examination, and taking the radiographs, the vet spent half an hour observing Jasmine's gait as she walked and trotted. Her weight-bearing has now shifted towards the back end.

Typical weight distribution in a healthy dog is 60% on the front limbs and 40% on the hind limbs.

In a dog who suffered knee injuries it is likely to change to 70 : 30, in compensation for the weaker rear end. Before the knee surgeries, Jasmine was compensating with her front even more than that, which resulted in arthritis in her shoulders. Her shoulders were visibly broader than they would normally be.

After the surgeries and stem cell treatment it shifted more towards normal, and her shoulders slimmed down again.

Now, though, it seems to be the elbows that were paying the price and the distribution is changing once again, exerting more stress on the rear end—hence her sore iliopsoas.

The good news is, that the x-rays didn't reveal any surprises.

The bad news is that her joints are more of a mess than she was letting on. That doesn't really shock me so much. She has a spirit on a two-year old, and she expects her body to keep up with that. You can try explaining to her how to behave like a senior dog, she'll have none of that. She lives by a rule “live full throttle, or die.”

Taking that away from her would mean killing her spirit.

As she came home today, still groggy from the sedation, we got a glimpse of that. That is not something we can allow to happen as long as we can help it.

So now we need to help her body to be able to keep up with her spirit. This means going back to the original plan of the stem cell treatment, except now we'll be injecting all four joints (the elbows and the knees). Hopefully we can set it up for Friday.

Our other options for her would be cartrophen injections or getting her back on the gabapentin. I can't tell we've seen the gabapentin ever done much good to her, and it wouldn't deal with the problem. The injections are great, but she doesn't respond to them as well as some other dogs do.

Acupuncture would be an option also, but with the travel, and with Jasmine still having four doses of stem cells banked, by the time all would be said and done, it would not end up any cheaper. She is already receiving cold laser therapy after her physio sessions. She also already is on joint supplements.

NSAIDs are out of the question for Jasmine, as when she was put on them in the past, it was the first time she almost died. Steroids is something that we're keeping as a last resort option.

Stem cell therapy is our best bet.

Related articles:
Jasmine's Acute Lameness
Jasmine Doesn't Like "Doing Time"
Our Of Jail Free Pass
When It's Looks Too Good To Be True … The Lameness Returns
The Day Of The Treatment
 First Time For Everything: A Healing Crisis(?)


***

Meet Jasmine
I'm Still Standing! (Happy Birthday, Jasmine)
How Dogs Think (Well, Jasmine Anyway)
How The Oddysey Started: Jasmine's ACL Injury
Jasmine is Vet-Stem's poster child!
Rant About Quality Of Life Versus Quantity, And Differential Diagnoses
Jasmine Is Headed For Her Next Stem Cell Treatment
Jasmine's Stem Cells Are In
Arthritis? What Arthritis? 
Guess Who Is An Ever-Ready Bunny And Really Liking The Bit Of Snow We Got? 
Don't Knock It Until You Tried It: Animal Chiropractic 
Jasmine's Fur Analysis
Back At Chiropractic Care

Further reading:
Jasmine’s Story: Can Chronic Diarrhea and Soft Tissue Injuries be Normal?
Jasmine’s Story: An ACL Injury and a Cancer Scare
Jasmine’s Condition Deteriorates: Another ACL Injury and an Abdominal Abscess
Jasmine Recovers from Surgery and Jana Discovers TCVM
Who’s Minding Your Pet’s Health?
Pet Owner Perspective On Stem Cell Therapy
Difficult to Manage Lameness Treated with Physical Therapy
Our Journey to Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine

Read More

Veterinary Highlights: Laparoscopy, Thoracoscopy, And Endoscopic-Assisted Procedures

Some of my favorite terms in English language would definitely include the words minimally invasive.

In regards to surgery this means involving as little incision into the body as possible to get the job done. This means less stress on the body and easier recovery. Sounds good? Hell yeah.

Surgery is sometimes the best treatment option for your dog.

The lesser the overall impact of the procedure, the better.

Laparoscopy, thoracoscopy, and endoscopic-assisted procedures are becoming more common in veterinary medicine. These procedures involve access to a cavity via a small incisions through which an endoscope is inserted.

An endoscope is a thin optical instrument used to examine inner parts of the body, with an attachment that allows to perform a biopsy or surgery.



The different words used, such as arthroscopy, laparoscopy, thoracoscopy and so on, really just indicate which part of the body is being worked on (joint, abdomen, chest).

The incision needed for such procedures is markedly smaller compared with traditional open techniques.



These techniques decrease stresses on the body during the post-operative period because incisions are significantly smaller, causing less tissue damage and post-operative pain. There is also lower risk of post-operative complications, such as seromas and infections, and hospitalization time is shorter.



Source article: Minimally Invasive Abdominal and Thoracic Surgery: Principles and Instrumentation

Further reading:
Endoscopy in Veterinary Medicine
Endoscopy to Remove Foreign Objects in Dogs
Endoscopy, Part 1: Billy vs. the chew toy
Endoscopy, Part 2: The ins and outs of Endoscopy
Laparoscopy In Veterinary Medicine

Read More

The Essentials Of Canine Injury Prevention: 7 Tips For Keeping Your Dog Safer

by Susan E. Davis, PT 

Loving dog parents everywhere share a common concern in keeping their pets healthy, happy and safe. We go to great lengths to provide proper nutrition, medical care, fun activity and shelter. When problems occur, we spend the necessary resources to insure our dog’s needs are met.

Wouldn’t it feel great to also provide safeguards to actually prevent injury from occurring? 

Imagine the ability to have more control in helping your dog stay healthier, reducing financial costs of treatment and care, and overall peace of mind!  All it takes is a bit of knowledge, a few modifications and some helpful insight from a friend (me!) who has been on the frontlines treating injured dogs.

Here are my best suggestions for injury prevention:

Know thy Breed

If you have a pure-breed dog you need to research the details of the normal traits and conformation as well as medical conditions typical for that breed. For example, Dachshunds and other short-limb canines are susceptible to spinal injuries. Great Danes and Weimaraners tend to develop neck instabilities such as Wobbler’s Syndrome. Toy breeds often have difficulty with luxating patella. Shepherds, St. Bernard’s, Rottweiler’s and others tend to develop hip dysplasia.

Good sources of information are your veterinarian, breeder,  books and the internet.  If your dog is a mixed breed you can still be guided by the general characteristics of the primary breeds that are apparent visually or by DNA testing.  You can also take some measure of comfort that mixed breeds offer in terms of genetic diversity, being less likely to express some of the above disorders or in lesser degree than a pure-bred dog.    

1. Maintain a reasonable weight 

Your dog does not have to be thin, just within a fairly normal range for their breed and size. Let your veterinarian guide you accordingly. Along with body weight, keeping good muscle tone is important. A physical therapist can show you some simple exercises and activities to maximize strength.

See prior articles on Paring Down to the Canine Core and Functional Exercises for suggestions. Keeping excess body weight off the joints, ligaments and tendons will help avoid arthritis, sprains and strains, and aggravation of hip or elbow dysplasia. Good muscle strength and tone also de-loads and supports joints.

2. Hard wood, tile or other slippery floors and surfaces are the enemy!  

I cannot stress enough how dangerous slippery surfaces are for causing cruciate ligament tears and soft tissue strains.

Many families love the look of hard wood floors and have it throughout their homes. They also feel wood floors are cleaner and don’t absorb stains and odor. These “positives” are outweighed by the negatives in terms of potential canine injury.

The solution is to use area rugs over the hard wood in large rooms, carpet runners in hallways and on stairs.  

Avoid small “throw” rugs as they can be slippery as well.  Garage and outdoor deck wood steps should be equipped with nonskid pads.  In terms of the outdoors, be mindful to keep your dog off slippery wet grass unless they are on leash.  Avoid having your dog run or walk on ice or slush.  Snow and sand are usually safe for dogs to walk, run and play in, but use common sense on the duration of activity.

3. Minimize the jumping on/off furniture

Do whatever you can to minimize or restrict this (such as blocking with large pillows, depending on your particular dog.  Larger dogs can easily climb on and off of furniture without danger of injury.

The act of jumping, particularly “down” rather than “up”, causes shearing force on the knee ligaments, and jarring to the forelimb elbow and wrist joints, and the spine.  In my experience, most dogs don’t use those “little steps” you can buy to climb up and down from the bed.  The best solution is a ramp, preferably lined with carpet or a non-stick pad and built-up sides.

Use a leash to train your dog to use the ramp.  If the dog senses the ramp is sturdy, they should have no problem using it.  Sometimes a little ingenuity is needed and if you are handy, consider building one yourself.  My engineer husband built one for our Dachshund, complete with a hinge to fold it up and store under the couch when company comes!  Use gaits or other ways to block staircases.

4. Keep up the grooming

Keeping your dog’s nails trimmed, pads moisturized, and hair between the paw “toes” clipped, allows proper weight bearing and distribution during walking, play and standing.  This is one of the easiest and most effective ways of avoiding injury.

5. Take it easy

Avoid heavy play with other dogs, or with the dog’s parents! Ball play doesn’t need to be a high intensity activity.  If your dog loves to lunge and play hard, just moderate the duration and frequency of such activity.

6. Variety is the spice of life

Exuberance can cause excessive running around in circles, sudden twists and turns that can cause acute strains.  The best way to avoid this is by keeping your dog stimulated and not bored, by rotating toys, varying activity or environment, and taking them for regular controlled leash walks.

Simply letting out in yard does not provide variety or stimulation. Leash walking in the neighborhood or parks and trails allows them to sniff and explore, receive mail signals, and provides mental and physical stimulation.  Exuberance is wonderful but it is much safer to “spread out” the happiness through a variety of activity, to   lessen those over the top spurts.

7. Encourage spay/neuter

Readers of this fine blog are already fully aware of the reasons for spay and neutering, from prevention of certain diseases to the dangers of “close” breeding practices resulting in unnecessary deformities.  I am currently working with an adorable dog, obtained from a retail pet store, who has already endured 3 orthopedic surgeries by the time he reached 1.5 yrs. old. He is the product of careless, for-profit breeding and is at risk for future arthritis and pain, hopefully minimized by having PT. 

Please utilize this information to give you a leg-up in helping  your dog stay active and healthy.

Is prevention of injury important? It’s essential!

***
Susan E. Davis (Sue) is a licensed Physical Therapist with over 30 years of practice in the human field, who transitioned into the animal world after taking courses at the UT Canine Rehabilitation program.  She is located in Red Bank, New Jersey.

She has been providing PT services to dogs and other animals through her entity Joycare Onsite, LLC in pet’s homes and in vet clinics since 2008.

She also provides pro bono services each week to a shelter and sanctuary for neglected and abused animals.  Sue is the proud “dog mommy” to Penelope, a miniature Dachshund with “attitude”.  For more information see her website www.joycareonsite.com , or follow on Twitter @animalPTsue.


Articles by Susan E. Davis:
Functional Strengthening Exercises: the What, Why and How
One Thing Leads To Another: Why The Second ACL Often Goes Too
Compensation: An Attempt To Restore Harmony
Paring Down to the Canine Core
Canine Massage: Every Dog ‘Kneads’ It”
Photon Power: Can Laser Therapy Help Your Dog?  
Physical Therapy in the Veterinary World  
Reiki: Is it real? 
Dog Lessons: Cooper 

Read More