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Oh Julie,
I sure hope you dont get this warm front because now our yard is a wet, slimy mess- must be great for Zoe's paws!!!:eek::eek::eek: and Hannah will not be happy either. I hope you do not have to deal with it. Yuck.
I found I have to wipe Zoe's privates once to twice a day with the baby wipes to keep that licking at bay.
The paw thing is weird. With Zoe it just escalated so. She never chews the back ones.
Hang in there sweetie!!!!
love,
addy
Welcome as a Forum Host, Julie! :) We are all so glad you accepted and are proud to have you on board. :)
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang
whootwhoot!!!!! way to go Julie!!!!!!!! your passion and compassion will reach many.
high paw fives from the girls and hugs from me!!!!!
Thank you to those of you who have congratulated me or welcomed me as a forum host. I haven't really lived up to my "job" this week, as I have been feeling horrible (sick) and having a terrible week at work. I hope to return to the rest of my life and the forum this weekend.
Julie
Hope you get to feeling better soon and Congrats. :D
Julie
Hope you feel better very soon and hope work gets better also!!!!!
hugssssss xoxo
Taking care of yourself should be your first and foremost priority! Although we will miss you, come back when you are feeling up to it. ;):)
Sending lots of healing energy, hugs, and love...Lori
Jean Donaldson's Culture Clash opened my eyes to a new way of looking at Zoe. I read all her books. Pat Miller's too. I think "training" has to fit the dog. What works for one may not work for another.
Zoe is fearful. She also is very smart and wants to be a higher rank female.
I learned clicker training and free shaping- rewarding good behavior with food. She works for food and I don't apologize for it. My weakness is probably I do not cut back and pay her a reward as intermittenly as soon as I should. But she is always sick.:rolleyes:
I got both pups happy to go in the kitchen by happily calling them to the kitchen and spreading treats around the floor and then closing the door for short periods of time. Almost like a giant crate.
They now love being locked up in the kitchen. The have toys, a blanket and they pretty much settle on their blanket together and go to sleep. Sometimes they wait for us to leave because they want to go into the kitchen:rolleyes::)
The biting she is doing now is because she does not feel well. When she is well, she does not bite me like this.
The muzzle is going really well. Thank goodness I introduced it as a game. I have no problems putting it on her while I swab her feet. I am amazed at her willingness to put it on.
I can't trust Zoe with children unless she is supervised closely. When my youngest grand child comes over, I remind her to not go close, to ignore Zoe and never put her face near Zoe. I never leave them together alone. I know it is hard. But I need to protect both of them.
Not sure if any of this helps. It is what helped me.
love,
addy
P.S. I was typing this at lunch and ran out of time, Julie, did not mean to sound short but wanted to finish before boss came back :)
Hi all,
Here's an update on Hannah. Last Friday we went to my vet for a laser treatment on her back. (It has been fine since the shaking incident from the black lab, thank God!). She is walking fine and doing well, but I wanted to see if I would notice any difference from doing this treatment, or if it would perhaps relieve some pain I don't even know is there. It was only $60 for one treatment and it only lasted 4 1/2 minutes, as opposed to the acupuncture for $80 which lasts about 20 min. It is hard to know if anything changed, as she was already walking well and I no longer let her do steps or any jumping. She seemed much more relaxed with this treatment than with the acupuncture, however. The laser does a better job treating inflammation according to what I have read and to what they say. This vet actually said there is great benefit to using both, which I probably would if she has another issue. I know some vets combine the two. The laser can also be done a few days in a row, which is nice. The acupuncture vet had suggested doing some "tune ups" periodically over the winter, so I tried the laser as the first one. I'm glad it went well.
We have about a week left on the Denamarin before we need to check her liver values again. I'm hoping the ALKP comes down and we can continue on this, rather than going back to Anipryl, just because I like the idea of a supplement so much better. Then I don't have to worry about any interactions with other meds. She is also on Cosequin DS. I just ordered more, which also has MSM.
The itching is still bad at times. We ran out of Hydroxyzine and I am trying Benadryl for a few days to see if there is a difference. At this point, I do think the Hydroxyzine may be better. I would love to get the itching/licking under control, but at this point I am just glad we have gone about 6 weeks without any sort of infection.
The vet that did the laser treatment also does rehab. She said we could consider doing something to build up the muscle in Hannah's back legs. I mentioned that sometimes she seems to readjust as she is urinating (but not all the time) and that she sort of "marches" with her back legs when she poops. This has been going on for several months, so I have no idea if it is related to Cushing's or her back, or if she just does it. Her legs don't shake, and she trots around just fine, but I worry that they may be getting weaker. I watch her like a hawk, of course, so I may just be noticing things she has always done.
She did jump up on a couch with no problem at my parents' house a couple of weeks ago, even though I don't want her to. The vet said it is much worse for her to jump down, but that I am right to discourage both. We keep our throw pillows across the couches at all times, and the ottoman on our chair unless we are using it, just to prevent her jumping.
She still loves to eat and does bark at me at night until I give her a bone of some sort to chew on, but she seems content with that. Her drinking is not too bad; I notice she drinks more when she is licking or chewing a bone, but otherwise it is not out of control, and neither is the urinating. She has no problem holding it while we are at work all day or overnight. I leave potty pads out and they are always dry and I checked the rug for accidents and there are none.
So, all in all, I feel like Hannah is doing pretty well. She definitely is showing her age a bit, as she doesn't hear or see well, and we are obviously dealing with lots of health issues, but I am happy she is still with me and that she is happy. I'm hoping she will be stable for a while, and that we'll get some good news on the liver values.
Julie & Hannah
Forum Host now... so you've joined ranks with the angels... Cool! My Kira might get laser treatments too. Glad to hear that went well.
((((((((hugs)))))))))
Another Hannah update:
She had her NSAID monitoring this week to see if her ALKP dropped from the month on Denamarin. It went from 826 to 437, so almost dropped in half. We are going to continue and recheck in a few months. Her BUN was normal too, after being just slightly elevated on the last two, so that is also good. She was a little low on MCV and MCH, but just barely, and a little high on BASO, but the vet said it is rare to get a completely normal result with an older dog and that he isn't concerned about any of this. Everything major looks good.
One thing made me a little sad though, and I'll have to ask him about it because maybe I was just interpreting wrong. I said something about maybe the blood work would coincide with her dental, depending on how she is doing. He just kind of went, "Eeehhh." I wasn't sure what that meant. I of course thought, "Does he think she doesn't even need a dental and won't be around long?" I realize that maybe it meant we don't want to hold on that long, or let's not worry about a dental now, etc.
I feel like she is doing pretty well: back is okay, blood work looks pretty good, very minor Cushing's symptoms, if any. She can't see or hear well at all and she licks/itches like a crazy lately, but she is happy as can be. Wags her tail, follows me around, enjoys a short walk, and chewing on her bones (and yes, I watch her like a hawk while she chews). She is almost 13 (in a few weeks), and not problem-free, but I feel like it could be much worse. I'm hoping that she might have a decent amount of time left...
Julie & Hannah
LOL! My guess is the "Eeehhh" meant don't worry about it. My Kira is almost 12 and the vets never flinch at her teeth and they look terrible. The assistant said I could even just wipe some doggie toothpaste on them three times a week and that would help. I guess there is stuff in the paste that eats up the stuff on their teeth. As far as the blood test goes it sounds a lot like my Kira too. Not perfect but hey she's not young, she's been thru a lot. I was thrilled with her less then prefect result, it had improved. That means she is responding. I would not be suprized if I lost Kira in the next three months but she could live three more years too. This a good time to be happy. And greatful and give lots of specail attention because you never know.
It sounds like she is feeling pretty good. I've been trying to get Jenny's teeth cleaned since her diabetes diagnosis last May. My vet always pushes it back while we deal with the bigger issues.
I hope that is what your vet meant too. You sound like me. I'm always trying to read into what they are saying.
Hope the warm weather isn't making her itchy! Judi
Hello All-
I just wanted to share that today is my sweet little Hannah's 13th birthday!
I am happy to report that she is currently happy and healthy! We are supposed to have a warm day today-in the 50's-so I am excited to enjoy a nice short walk with her when I get home, and then hopefully a special treat tonight. It's been a year since she was diagnosed with Cushing's, and I am happy to report that she seems to be about the same in terms of any signs. We are still medicine-free and doing well.
Thanks to all of you for your support and encouragement for the past year, as well. You have no idea how much I appreciate it!
Julie & Hannah
Happy 13th Birthday, sweet Hannah!!!
OH YOU SAY ITS YOUR BIRTHDAY!!!!!!! WHOOTWHOOT LETS GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!!!!!! YOUR SEXY AND YOUR KNOW IT!!!!!!! WORK IT ON OUT GIRL ON THAT WALK! Happy Birthday!!!!!!
Happy 13th Birthday, Hannah!!
Happy Birthday toooooooo youuuuuuuuuuu
Happy Birthday toooooooo youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR, SWEET, MOST BEAUTIFUL HANNAH
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOOOOOOO YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
Enjoy your day, your walk and the beautiful weather we have in your honor!!!!!
Love,
Addy
BARK, BARK, WOOFFF WOOOFFFF
BARK, BARK, WOOOF, WOOFFFFFF
WOOOF, WOOOF AND YIPEEEEE
BARK, BARK, WOOOOF, WOOOF WOOFF
Love,
zoe and koko
Happy 13th you sweet thing.... major treats and belly rubs. Kim
Happy 13th Birthday, sweet Hannah.
:D:D:D Happy Birthday Hanna :D:D:D
Happy happpy birthday, Hannah!
Happy 13th sweetie!
Oh no, I'm a day late :(, but there's still time to join the party, right????
:D :) :p :o :) :p :o :) :p :D :) :p :D
Happy Birthday WEEK, sweet Hannah!!!!!!!!
Marianne
Hi Julie,
Sorry you had such a scare. I hope Hannah is okay. The lazer treatments sound promising. Thank you for the link. MAybe they can zap Zoe's paws.;);) I'm glad they help Hannah.
Sure hope today is calmer and Hannah can have a birthday week celebration to make up for yesterday!!!!!!
love,
addy
HAPPY BELATED 13 th BIRTHDAY HANNAH!!!ll:):):)
Love ya!
Cindy and Penny :D xoxoxoxoxoxoxo:D
Hi Everyone-
I have a question I have been meaning to ask before we get to early April when Hannah is due for her annual exam and vaccines. I have some anxiety about whether or not she should be getting vaccines. I have a feeling my regular vet would just give them without any discussion if I didn't ask, but I guess I don't know that for sure. When she had her exam/vaccines last year, the vet who worked part-time there was the one who saw her, and she was the one who talked with me about possibly opting out of some vaccines at some point in time, depending on Hannah's age and health. She is now the vet that does the laser treatment and rehab work, so I can still consult her prior to this appointment, and she is good about giving info. and pros and cons, but I don't know if she will steer me one way or the other.
First, she is due for DHPP-CV (it says it is a 2 yr. vaccine,. Is this one even negotiable?
She is also due for Bordatella. Do you think she needs this if I don't board her, and we go to an in-home groomer? The only place they come into contact with other dogs would be the vet, or the occasional trip the pet store. I adopted a dog with kennel cough and it was terrible, so we started vaccinating then.
I don't believe we got the Lyme vaccine last year, but I don't remember why that was (I'm not sure if she didn't think we should or if we didn't do it because Hannah is not outside for long).
She is not due for rabies until Nov. so I don't need to worry about that yet.
She will get her heart worm test then as well. We used Interceptor last year (switched from Sentinel and I think that was recommended by this vet because of something to do with the raccoons we frequently have in our back yard and the foxes and coyote we have seen in our neighborhood the past couple of years--and I live in a large suburb!) We use Frontline for tick prevention. I liked the Sentinel because I didn't have to do the Frontline, but I think she wanted my dogs to have some other parasite protection from the Interceptor.
Anyway, I just want to know what you think about all of this...it stresses me out. Hannah is doing well overall. We are not treating Cushing's and her symptoms are not terrible. Really, I would say that it is a desire to eat more, but she is not pushing into Izzy's dish or inhaling her food. She will just beg and bug me during the evening (while we watch t.v., etc.) and I assume she wants food. If I give her a bone to chew on, she'll be fine. She drinks more than normal probably, but she isn't emptying a water bowl in 24 hours. She can hold her urine all day while we are at work and all night. She has no pot belly, no panting, no weight gain, no hair loss. She has had some infections over the past year that may be related to Cushing's (ear and skin), but we have been able to treat them. She seems to have some rear-end weakness, but would go up steps if I would let her. I don't because of her back. She is also doing really well after the back problems. She happily trots around with a bounce in her step. Overall, her blood work looks good. The ALKP is elevated (was around 400 last time), but we are monitoring it and it has been higher in the past.
I don't want to give her something that will hurt her, but I don't want to leave her vulnerable with all of the wild animals we seem to have wandering around here. They have never encountered one, but we see the raccoons a lot in the summer by our mulberry tree, and they leave "presents" around the yard, which I hate. I'm ready to chop the dumb tree down.
Anyway, sorry for the long email. I just want some input and some time to think it over.
Thanks!
Julie & Hannah
Hi Julie,
Vaccines are hard, every pup has a different risk. Does your vet do titers?
I stopped bortella, Zoe and Koko have no need for it. They only go out on leash with me attached to the other end, I got Zoe a rabies waiver as I felt her risk was small. If I rememeber right, I thought I titered Koko's DHPP so he did not get another one. Zoe- well, it is just me, I refuse to give her any vaccine. She just has too many problems.
With Koko, I plan to limit vaccines as much as possible and titer when I can.
It is a hard call, Julie, depends what your pup is all exposed to.
Sorry I was no help:o:o:o
love
addy
Since Jenny is only around her brother and dogs at the groomer, my vet was fine with no rabies last year. Because of the groomer he gave her the nasal spray bordatella, gave my other dog the same spray (in the past they always had the shot), they both got kennel cough from the stupid spray vaccine.
Took Jenny at least a month of antibiotics to get over it.
So, I have no firm answer except avoid the nasal spray! Judi
We live the big city in Orange County California. Our vet stopped all of Kira's shots about a year ago. (She is 12 yrs old.) He said they have been over vacinating pets for years and it was time to put a stop to it. He was certain Kira would be fine.
My niece has worked as a vets reseptionist for over twenty years. I asked her if we really needed to dash to the vets the minute a shot is due. She said no!!! The vaccines actualy last a lot longer. Who would know better then she which dogs are getting these dreadful things and who isn't and what their history is... My vet gave me the impression that they could easily stay in effect for years. Surely for the length of time Kira has left. Rabies is the only one that we have to do.
Check out this web page:
http://www.healthyhappydogs.com/Article.PetVaccination
I have had multiple dogs for 34 years and I have long suspected that many of these vaccines have effected them badly......Check your records. If they have had even one shot of something it maybe enough. ]It's a risk of course. I love my dogs to peices, if I am wrong I'll never forgive myself.... but my Kira will get no more vaccines. That includes flee and tick prevention. Frontline and Andvantix are no better. Maybe I'll do that once or twice a year but no way will I do it every month! I never have. Please keep in mind that we do not live in a high risk area.
We also have a one and a half year old dog. She will get the basic shots now and then as seems reasonable and needed, becasue I think it makes a differance if they have never been vaccinaed for some of this stuff.... You are very wise to be stressed out over this... But as I said, I was told by my vet himself that pets are in fact being over vaccinated!!!
I too would like to know what others thoughts are on this....
Hi Julie,
Since you are asking for thoughts about vaccination, here's a few more to add to the hopper :).
I think is sounds like a very good idea to consult with the vet with whom you had previously talked, in order to get her input and feedback about selecting the vaccination protocol that would be most appropriate for Hannah. My personal belief is that there is no single answer that is correct for all dogs, including our Cushpups. I think that a vaccination program should be tailored to the health and risk factors for each individual dog.
I do think there is general agreement that vaccines should not be administered to dogs who are acutely ill. Vaccine manufacturers include specific warnings about that. But as is the case for humans, I believe that dogs suffering from chronic conditions and compromised immune systems may actually be at a greater risk for contracting certain serious illnesses, and thus may genuinely benefit from certain vaccinations. However, for both humans and pets, the vaccines must be considered carefully in light of the underlying health status of the patient -- for instance, only vaccines prepared from "killed" viruses may be suitable for patients with compromised immune systems. And it certainly makes no sense to routinely administer vaccinations for illnesses that may not pose any risk to your pet due to geographic or lifestyle factors (such as bordetella vaccinations for a dog who is seldom exposed to others). Checking blood titers to explore the level of current immunity is also an option to be considered prior to automatically going forward with certain revaccinations. However, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, checking titers does not yet offer a perfect solution, either: "Theoretically...serologic titers may help veterinarians determine the need for revaccination in some cases. Unfortunately, veterinarians cannot be certain that a specific concentration of antibody is always protective or that a lower concentration leaves an animal unprotected."
Since vaccination is a complicated issue, I do encourage people to discuss it thoroughly with their vets. If my own dog had just been diagnosed with Cushing's and had not yet been stabilized on treatment, I too would be very leery about moving forward with vaccination at that time. However, further down the road, if my dog's cortisol level had been lowered to a therapeutic level and his/her appearance and behavior had normalized, I would want to discuss selective vaccination with my vet. I would want to weigh relative risks and benefits based on my pet's lifestyle and risks of exposure.
I think it's true there is growing realization that certain vaccines confer immunity for a longer time than was previously known or documented. Ongoing research in that vein is helping to shape vaccination recommendations that are better informed. To aid in your decision-making, here's a link that may be helpful. It is a summary of the current vaccination recommendations of the vet school at U.C. Davis. The Davis recommendations are based on the combined input from a variety of current academic and clinical sources:
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vmth/s..._protocols.cfm
Marianne
Now that I've given you my long-winded "philosophical" answer on the preceding page :o, here's a couple additional long-winded personal thoughts about the specific vaccinations you're wondering about :o :o. I think the DHPP-CV is a combination vaccination that includes "Corona virus" (that's the CV). You'll see that UC Davis is not big on vaccinating for Corona. And the remainder of the combination is now available in a 3-year version should you choose to revaccinate. Whether or not that's necessary or advisable at Hannah's age and given her health history -- I'd discuss that with the vet.
UC Davis is also not big on Lyme unless you live in an area where it's common. Bordetella, I would not worry about if Hannah is not routinely exposed to other dogs. I'm stuck with giving it to my dogs because our boarding kennel requires it on the very rare occasions when we leave the girls. But in December, I'm convinced Peg contracted an overt case of kennel cough from the intranasal version of the vaccination, which she promptly passed to Luna (who was supposedly already protected through vaccination). So neither girl could go to the kennel and I had to enlist my mom to stay with them while hubby and I were gone for a few days. I'm going to look into the bordetella shot next time around (I think it's killed virus instead of some form of live).
Rabies vaccines are killed viruses and are now available as a 3-year vaccine in many states. What you decide about rabies may depend upon a combination of factors: your state law, whether or not medical waivers/titers are accepted in place of vaccination, and also the incidence of rabies in your area. As I recently wrote on another member's thread, I live in a part of the country where rabies is knowon to be harbored among foxes, raccoons, coyotes, bats, etc. Within the last month, there have been three documented cases of rabies within 20 miles of me, including a stray kitten. So living where I do, until there's more conclusive research about the duration of rabies immunity, I would think long and hard before opting out of revaccinating my own dogs with the 3-year vaccine, even it was not required by law. All these factors are things that I'd discuss further with your own vet, though, to decide what's best for Hannah.
And one last thing, even though it's really fun to take dogs into the big pet shops, my vet cautioned me that it's one of the single worst places to take your animal if you're concerned about disease transmission. You have a million animals of unknown health history traipsing in and out and "meeting and greeting," with no genuine sterilization of floors and surfaces. So if you have a dog with a compromised immune system, that's probably not a good place to go :(.
Marianne
Marianne
Good suggestion about the pet shops......never thought about that.....you are so right:) thanks!
I'm glad that Marianne has provided you with UC Davis' Vaccine Guidelines and I highly recommend that you bookmark them for future reference. I think it is so important that we be the best advocates possible for our dogs, whether they are healthy or suffering with chronic conditions.....and how can we act in their best interest if we don't educate ourselves?
I personally have chosen to follow the advice of my cushdogs' specialist and not give any more vaccines to Jojo or Lulu. None of my dogs are healthy and because they have received multiple boosters throughout most of their lives and are total couch potatoes, I am comfortable with also opting out of any further rabies vaccines for my two Maltese boys, who have CHF. I do feel fortunate that I don't have the risk of rabies in my area.
These vaccine guidelines were not developed by UC Davis, based on their own studies, but rather they were adopted. based on guidelines established by the AAHA Canine and AAFP Feline Vaccine Task Forces. Dr. Ronald Schultz is the world's premier expert on vaccines and it was he who headed up these task forces and it was his years of research on vaccines that served as the scientific basis for these guidelines.
For anybody who would like to learn more about vaccines, I highly recommend that you 1) watch Dr. Karen Becker's interview with Dr. Ronald Schultz and 2) read Dr. Schultz' paper entitled What Everyone Needs to Know About Canine Vaccine and Vaccination Programs. The youtube video is almost an hour but it's worth the time invested. I've included links to both below:
Dr. Karen Becker interview with Dr. Ronald Schultz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1Xd5ghnlJ4
Attachment 652
It is Dr. Schultz' work that has also been instrumental in getting various states to change their mandated rabies vaccine from one year to three years, as well as to accept medical waivers and/or titers. This is an ongoing campaign and hopefully most, if not all, states will eventually get on board. If your vet is insisting on annual vaccines, I would suggest you provide him/her with a copy of the UC Davis guidelines and ask for an explanation.
Dang Julie,
I had to go all the way to page 3 to find you!!!!!!!
Did the cold weather come your way? It is freezing today.
How's school? Do you have spring break soon? IF you do, I sure hope the warmer weather returns. Do you know what Hannah is allergic to? Derm vet said he found pollen bewteen Zoe's pads but he did not say what kind of pollen.
IMS has been sick -thats the offical story:rolleyes::rolleyes:
I think about you and Hannah a lot. My MN neighbors. We should really check on Judy amd Jenny too. More MN neighbors:):):)
I sure hope they aren't on page thirty-five:eek::eek::eek:
love,
addy
love,
addy
So where do things stand as of now?
Hi Addy and Janis & everyone else, of course!
Sorry I have not been posting much lately. It has been a really busy couple of weeks. This is a busy time of year in schools and I am also planning a family literacy night later on this month. I am also in the process of thinking about a possible change in my job (from my current position as a 3rd grade teacher to more of a reading intervention teacher/reading coordinator for my school). It is a tough decision for me to make, so it has been consuming a lot of my free time lately.
Thanks for checking in on me. Addy, we have our spring break this week. I am excited for a break and hoping we will see the sun and have some nice weather! I don't know what Hannah is allergic to and we have not ever taken her to a derm vet. My parents had a dog that they did an allergy test on and then gave her injections, but I am not too keen on that at this point in Hannah's life.
We did go to the vet for the girls' yearly check ups. (The woman who does the laser treatment also does some weekend work at my vet and we happened to have her, which was nice). We got the heart worm tests done and got their preventatives. Since there is a limited supply of Interceptor I got the whole year for Izzy because she is really picky about what she will eat. Hannah is on Heart guard for now. They gave us a sample of Heart guard (without meds) in it to see if they would eat it. Hannah thought it was wonderful and Izzy wanted no part of it. She is a strange one! But of course I was not surprised.
I also got the Frontline and went ahead and put it on. She said that with all of the ticks we have around here that we really need to do it. She also said she felt it was very safe as long as my dogs have not had a reaction. It went fine.
We talked more about vaccines and I also got a message from the vet's office earlier that week after one of them had gotten back from a conference where there was a lot of talk about vaccinating. They said that they felt strongly that the distemper vaccine (or at my vet DHPP-CV) would last 3 years or more, so they said Hannah probably does not need it. They also said that many vets feel that it is not necessary to run titers and that I could probably assume she is fine at this stage of her life and after being vaccinated so often.
I talked to the vet we saw that day (laser vet) about it and she explained that titers are interesting because they can tell us whether or not a vaccine ever worked for a dog-she said they can run titers on some dogs who got a vaccine and it will show they are not protected, but yet the dog will never get that disease even though it was probably exposed at some point. She said that at this point with Hannah, she agreed, save the money and spend it on something else. She is only at the 2-year point for DHPP-CV, which is what my vet was recommending, but it sounds like they will change to 3. I am still unclear if that means the one Hannah got previously should last for another year or if it was only set up for 2 years, etc., but I don't think I will have her vaccinated.
I am going to have them both vaccinated for Bordetella. They are due on 4/9 so we'll go in that week. They do go to a groomer where there will be exposure to other dogs' germs and both vets feel that there may be more risk in Hannah getting kennel cough, both with Cushing's and because she is old, than if she was young and healthy. I think Hannah got the intranasal form in the past, and Izzy got the injection. I think I want them to get the injection this time, but I have an email to my vet to ask and get their opinion.
Both dogs will be groomed this week and it will be the first time Hannah returns to my "regular" groomer since she was groomed at my vet for a few months after her back injuries. That woman had to stop grooming because of her back, so now we're back to the other one.
I hope she'll do okay with the breaks my groomer will give her. (She'll rotate between Hannah and Izzy). She has been doing really well, so I'm sure she will. At this point I am just worried about her cut. The groomer recommends going short so she can use mostly the clippers if Hannah does have a hard time, and because she grows so fast and has a bushier, coarser coat, but I am worried that if Cushing's kicks in more she won't have any hair. We're going to hopefully start out trying the normal cut (about an inch) and if Hannah is having a hard time she can go short.
Thanks again for checking in!:)
Julie & Hannah
Dear Julie
You have been so kind to me. I have been so wrapped up in my own worries that I have selfishly not supported others. Please forgive me.
You go with your heart on your decision about your career.
I stopped vaccinating Apollo a while back because of his weaken
Immune system. He is more of an inside dog, never did care for long walks,etc. There is a lot of controversy about vaccines. Between the overuse of vaccines and medications ,I have my own opinion. All I know is Apollo felt sick after some of the combination one he got.
A very belated happy birthday to Hannah. Every birthday with a Cushing baby is a gift.
Hug Sonja and warrior Apollo
I am so pleased vets are taking a better look at this vaccine thing. And a specail test that checks to make sure the vaccine took. Did i understand that correctly? "Titters?" That's a blood test? I don't know the vaccine it was testing for but the idea of checking on vaccines this way is so cool!!! Thank you for telling us about it all. Makes me hopeful. Vet medicine has come along way. Kira's Adrinalectomy was unheard of not so long ago.
Now we just need to get someone working on handling Cushings better and save so many from this nightmare!
Sounds like you have a good handle on what's really needed. Our senior doggies may have been vaccinated to death but they are high now too. Good job mom!!! And my praises to your vet too.
Julie, I think your decisions about Hannah's vaccinations make good sense. FWIW, my vet and I have also decided to stick with the bordetella injections ("killed" virus) rather than the intranasal spray with both my girls from now on. Peg's immune system does not seem to be the greatest, so I want to try to limit "live" virus forms around her as much as is reasonable.
Marianne
Hey Julie,
Don't let my experience sway your decision to take Hannah to a derm vet. We have few choices here in Nohereville, oops, I mean Milwaukee:p:p:p:p
I hope you and Hannah have a wonderful Spring Break!!!!!
love,
addy