Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Mastitis also

Antibiotics for mom........
probiocin immediately for mom and pups (as the antibiotics will cause diarrhea for pups)
Lots of warm compresses......as hot as you can stand it.
Tape the nipple off so pups can't nurse on it (unlike human breastfeeding where they want us to pump to extract the infection and throw away the milk......or even let child nurse through the excruciatingly painful infection).

Mastitis

From Dan Campeau...
When you milk it out,,, if it still looks white I would continue to let largest pup milk it out every 4 hours to make sure you are releasing pressure and it will usually work itself out.

If the milk looks yellow or green or has blood in it then I would get a breast pump, milk the teat out several (4-5) times per day, put your bitch on amoxycilline for 2 weeks and tape it so pups cannot nurse from it. While bitch is on antibiotics I give pups 1-2 cc of vanilla yogurt everyday so they do not loose their beneficial gut bacteria.

*** When the milk goes back to white with no signs of blood then I would put bigger pups on it to to keep it milked out.

I usually feel the bitches underline every 4-6 hours when I bring mom back in from being outside to exercise,,, and if one teat starts feeling hard or hot I get the biggest pups to milk it out for next couple of feeding cycles and it usually will clear up on its own.

UTIs in Swissy Girls

From Pamela Kalupa

Our first Swissy bitch have bladder infections/uti's. She was on a regimen of antibiotics (amoxi, cephalexin, clavamox, and finally primor). Her uti's consisted of a lot of blood. We even did a cytocentesis. Which showed e-coli.


I'll bet that's what they're see if they send it out for a culture, if they did the cytocentesis. I've had pups (girls) that I placed, that had uti's as they were older. Our recommendation that was given by one of our vets that worked at my clinic was cranberry extract 325 mg. and wiping the vulva everytime she urinated with unscented/non alcohol baby wipes. Instead of cranberry extract, I like Solid Gold Berry Balance. Needless to say, it's a pain the butt. It did work. We also did this until she came into her first heat and haven't had a problem since and she'll be 8 yrs. old in October.


The other choice would be to find the bacteria. Give the antibiotic (remember certain ones sh ould NOT be given to growing pups). Add the cranberries/extract , o r something on that order. Do the baby wipes. And possibly continue on a low grade antibiotic (amoxicillin) until she comes into season which we have done with one of our pups with no ill side affects.


If it's just leaking urine, but no bladder infections -- HomeoPet "Leaks No More" has worked on one of our other bitches who would just run through the house urinating when she was pup. She came into season and was fine. Hasn't leaked yet.


Pam






On Sep 8, 2008, at 9:04 PM, Susan McClintick wrote:


I have a puppy owner that has a female puppy that is having a re-occurring UTI.

She told me that she had her potty trained for the most part and then notice she was dribbling while walking and licking herself. She took her to the vet, they gave her Clavamox for 10 days. Toward the end of the treatment she seemed better and was again not having any accidents in the house. Three days after the antibiotics was completed she started dribbling again. This time they did a clean sample and told her the infection was only in the bladder and gave her 3 weeks worth of Clavamox. Again she seemed well with the treatment and stopped dribbling. Three days after the antibiotics she started licking again and started to dribble. She did say she also threw up that day. It was just dog food, but has no t gotten sick again and seems to otherwise act normal. Today is the 5th day after the last treatment.

She is taking her back to the vet. I told her to ask if they did a culture to find out what was causing the infection. What kind of bacteria is it? I also told her to ask about maybe it being a kidney infection and possibly changing the antibiotic to something stronger incase the bacteria is resistant to the Clavamox.

Any suggestions? I've never had a bitch with a UTI so this is unknown territory to me. The puppy turned 5 months old on the 3rd of September. None of the other females in this litter seem to be having any issues of this sort.

About Pano in Young Swissys

From Sharyl Mayhew...
In this order: 1. Cage rest, 2. LEASH WALK ONLY and 3. minimal use of pain relievers. Rimadyl is your best bet because unlike previcox and derramax and some of the others it helps keep the joint fluid constant better than the rest. Please don't use bute in a young growing dog.

Use the NSAID to make them comfortable, NOT to make them sound for competition or play. Cage rest, Rimadyl, leash walk only. Repeat again and again and no dog classes, no shows, no playing with the neighbor's dog. Cage rest, rimadyl, leash walk only maybe for a month or so!!!

Pano is a growing dog problem, keep them still, feed them light and let them grow out of it. The ortho specialists lately (last 10 years or so) suggest feeding a low protein/fat food such as....get this... PEDIGREE:) Go figure. Get her off of puppy or any high-end diet immediately, feed reduced portions and keep her a lean as possible until she's past this. Pedigree regular, not puppy or lamb or any other variety, just the plain jane, Costco yellow bag.

Cage rest, leash walking only and strongly Consider Adequan injections to protect the growing joints while the dog is intermittently lame. Adequan equine only (has no preservatives-the canine version does and can cause reactions in some dogs). Call Dr. Jackson 703-385-1054 and he can talk to another vet for them. We give Adequan 2cc IM every 4 days for 8 injections and sometimes monthly boosters of it thereafter until the dog is out of the age frame for pano.

****This does not help with pano in any way***. BUT, it does absolutely protect and strengthen the actual synovial joints (i.e. ball and socket joints like hip, elbow, shoulder, hocks, jaw etc.) so that the intermittant limping doesn't cause permanent damage in a young, growing, goofy, crash and burn, giant breed dog.

Bicepital tendinitis is also common in large/giant breeds, all of the above will help with that too. The most important course of treatment is CAGE REST, LEASH WALK ONLY and let them heal. No packing, no carting, no showing, no training. Work instead on quiet activities, kong chewing olympics, "quiet" time in the crate or on a leash, calm behavior on command and don't try to get back into competition too soon, the shows will still be there for her when she's sound and painfree and more mature and more competitive.


Sharyl

Leaking Pups

From Dan Campeau...
When I have a leaking pup, First thing I rule out is a Bladder or Kidney infection. If yes, then treat with Antibiotics and then follow up with Dried Cranberry leaf extract to stop recuring infections. Once infection is gone, leaking usually stops.
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If it is NOT an infection, I assume it is a hormonal issue that will resolve itself when the bitch goes through her first heat cycle. I have never had a pup that did not get better on their own when they went through first heat cycle.

The only thing I would do as a prophlactic measure on a bitch that shows negative on an infection is to give her Cranberry leaf extract so they do not develop an infection.

I do not treat these girls with any other drugs or supplements,,, I just manage the issue judisciously and know that it is a temporary condition. Put pup in an area that is easily cleaned, wash more blankets, keep them outside during the day if possible.
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I NEVER spay my girls before their first heat cycle , If you spay a swissy pup that is NOT leaking presently, they will start as you throw their systems into a state of instant menopause.

In most cases of girls that do NOT have a history of leaking, you will avoid many leaking issues if you wait until your girl has gone through at least one heat cycle.

Most of the leaking issues not attributed to infections are hormonal in nature and will get better with age and going through at least ONE heat cycle.


I recently had a leaking pup that I did a surgery on that is common in humans but not common in dogs and that was a hysterectomy only taking out the Uterus. I left the ovaries in so she would not have to be on replacement hormone therapy or major drugs to control leaking the rest of her life. I will continue to monitor her and let you know how it goes. She is making a wonderful pet and companion and is NOT leaking now.