When you move to a new place, how do you find a good vet? Ask other pet owners. That’s the best way. Ask them who NOT to go to as well, and ask “why?” since you may not agree with their attitude or philosophy.

 Also, call around with a set of 2-3 questions, such as:

• Where do you give immunizations? They should say in the leg – especially for cats. If they give it in the shoulder, they aren’t up on current practices.
• Do you have after hours care? If not, who do you use for after-hours care?
• What types of surgeries can you do at your facility?
• What does the vet specialize in? Just good to know. Might be dental, cancer, end-of-life care, general practice, trauma, surgeon – it’s all okay, but jump on anyone that has a specialty you need for your situation.
• What approach do you take for terminal conditions? It can vary from aggressive treatments to non-invasive care. Both are okay as long as it’s fits your attitude.

And visit the vet’s office before making an appointment. It’s good to see if they are taking care of the place – it’s okay if it’s old as long as it’s kept up. I went into a vet’s office once that smelled like dirty cat litter – yuck!

Most importantly, find someone you like. It’s important to go to someone who communicates in a style that works for you, and has a manner or demeanor you find comforting.

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In early December 2010, we noticed that Shiner was becoming more lethargic and withdrawn.  This wasn’t totally out of the ordinary as Shiner is 11 years old and a very independent Carolina Dog.  Plus he had suffered from back pain so we thought maybe it was time for another acupuncture session.

On Wednesday December 8^th, I came home from work and noticed that Shiner’s belly was extremely bloated.  We immediately took him to the vet only to discover that Shiner was bleeding internally.  Unfortunately, x-rays are not terribly informative when the abdominal cavity is full of blood but our veterinarian was fairly certain we were dealing with a ruptured spleen caused by a tumor.  Our veterinarian provided the statistics of surviving a splenectomy at his age (20%) with a 50% chance that the tumor would be benign.

After some discussion we decided to go for the surgery.  Shiner recovered from the surgery beautifully and returned home on Friday December 10^th.  After the surgery, he was more energetic and playful than he had been in months.  Likely, Shiner had been suffering from minor bleeds as the tumor was growing which was causing him to be lethargic.

Results from the biopsy came back the following week and we were devastated to hear that Shiner has Hemangiosarcoma.  Hemangiosarcoma is a rapidly growing, highly invasive blood born cancer.  Hermangiosarcoma attempts to build its own blood vessel network making blood blister like formations that disrupt normal organ function.

Needless to say, Shiner is only expected to be with us for another 2 to 4 months.  Chemotherapy was offered as a treatment option but it is expensive and not very effective in battling Hermangiosarcoma; however, our veterinarian prescribed a Chinese herb to help slow the growth called Yunnan Baiyao.  Yunnan Baiyao is a hemostatic powdered medicine famous for being carried by the Vietcong to stop bleeding during the Vietnam War.  It is used to normalize blood flow, enhance poor circulation and heal internal bleeding.

My first reaction was “yeah right, this is going to help, but what can we lose”.  So we were faithfully giving Shiner the capsules every morning and night until about two weeks ago when we ran out for 4 days waiting for a shipment from Amazon.com ($6 per box versus $10 per box at the vet).  By the 4^th day, Shiner’s condition had deteriorated from energetic to lethargic and unwilling to eat.  One evening I went to bed praying that he would still be with us in the morning.  The next day, the Yunnan Baiyao shipment arrived and I was busy enticing Shiner to eat a piece of peanut butter bread with Yunnan Baiyao.  Within 3-days, his appetite recovered and his energy started to return.  While I am certainly not an expert nor do I have scientific evidence, I think we will continue treating Shiner with Yunnan Baiyao and hope for the best outcome.

Shiner is a founding member of Online Dog Coach.  He is featured in the Buja Board lesson.  Shiner’s favorite thing about agility was the view from the A-Frame.

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How many dinners does your dog get? When 2 or more people are responsible for feeding the dog, it’s hard to know if those puppy eyes are true hunger, or tricking you into a second or third dinner! An easy way to make sure your dog gets the correct number of suppers and breakfasts is with plastic food storage containers. Here’s how…

This works well when your dog is fed twice a day. In the evening, feed your dog dinner and place breakfast in a clear plastic container. Keep it up where Fido can’t reach it. Now the whole family knows, “Fido had dinner tonight” when they see the filled container.

In the morning, feed Fido the food in the container and leave the empty container in the same spot. Now the next person who wakes knows, “Fido had breakfast” because of the empty container.

You can use the same container for up to a week with dry kibble. With wet, or when it needs cleaning, simply place a clean empty in the morning, or place dinner in a clean container.

Now Fido can’t lie when you get home and the kids have already fed him/her dinner!

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If you feed your pet multiple flavors of pet food, it’s easy to forget which flavors or brands you’ve already tried. To easily track your pet’s likes and dislikes, use a photo journal. Here’s how it works…

Get a 4×6 photo book with clear photo protection pages – not the ones with white dividers. Every third page or so, place the following notes:

• eats all food
• eats most food
• eats about half
• eats less than half

When you feed your pet a new flavor, just remove the label from the can and place it in the appropriate spot. Each page can hold 2-3 labels, and you can easily move labels when your pet changes his or her mind. When you go to the store, stock up on the likes, get a few that fall in the middle, and once every couple of months try one of the dislikes in case he/she begins eating it again.

Reminders:

Choose high-quality foods, and make major changes slowly – especially between brands or main ingredients.

This works well for sick or finicky pets. Always check with your veterinarian about your feeding practices.

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Well, it’s Black Friday and the holiday shopping season has officially started!  By now you are probably exhausted from scoping out the early bird deals and as you sit enjoying a leftover turkey sandwich (with fido pleading for just a small morsel), you realize that your shopping frenzy did not include gifts for your favorite canine friend!  No to worry, Online Dog Coach has you covered with a great article on selecting toys and treats.  And, if you are still in the baking mood, you can even try baking up a batch of vegetarian dog treats with Chef Judy.  May this be the start to a cheerful holiday season!

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