[nagdu] Noticing medical issues?

rhonda cruz rhondaprincess at gmail.com
Thu Apr 10 16:04:52 UTC 2014 

 hello roxy. i'm getting to know my first dog.
 she is a german sheppard.
 and a awesome worker.

On Apr 7, 2014, at 1:11 PM, Star Gazer wrote:

> This is excellent Rox. 
> My question is (and you know my story because we talked at great length about it) is what happens if the baseline is an unhealthy dog? 
> My first dog shed like there was no tomorrow. I could have brushed her all day every day and she'd have kept on shedding. I got to where I'd cringe whenever anybody said "You need to brush that dog". 
> She also had some unpredictable behavior. 
> That dog is long dead. I knew something was wrong but could not get anybody to listen to me. The vet kept insisting that "the school wouldn't issue an unhealthy dog". 
> I was in my late teens to early twenties. The internet wasn't what it was today. I had no idea what to tell the vet or what to tell another vet. 
> It was Rox who suggested (and she's probably right) that that dog had a thyroid problem. I didn't even know what a thyroid was until I had my first child, and they were checking on mine.  Of course this was well after that dog had been retired. 
> My second dog had incredibly low energy. I remember addressing it with the school and I was blown off. I never figured out what was going on with her.  That dog went to go live with my folks who noticed rapid breathing seemingly at random. I had noticed it too, but nobody with the power i.e. a hard solution would pay attention to me. 
> My point is that Rox's post assumes that the dog you get is healthy both physically and mentally. 
> How should folks handle a situation where they suspect the dog's baseline is unhealthy? 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of The Pawpower Pack
> Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2014 8:36 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Noticing medical issues?
> 
> This is all really great info.  I would give an example of why knowing your dog is important.  In September I noticed Laveau was more tired than usualand that she kept making small work mistakes.  Don't get me wrong, I didn't feel unsafe with her, but she did things like brush me against objects— clearing them 99% of the time, but I am used to 100% from her.  She does have some retinal abnormalities, so I first took her to the eyevet who had seen her since she came to live with me— but he noticed no change.  People kept poopooing my worry— saying that Laveau was getting older and that we just recently lost Brissy, her longtime friend.  
> But I just knew something was wrong.  Honestly I thought it was thyroid disease because Dobermans do tend to have it in middle age.  So I took her into my vet and just told him to run her blood, because she seemed tired and kept making small guidework errors.  2 days later she was in the hospital getting fluids to try and halt the progress of kidney disease.  He said that most people would not have noticed before it went into kidney failure.  She is in early stage and if I would not have taken her in when I did, it may have been much worse.  
> So I guess my message is, get to know your dog, and if you think something is wrong, take her in and do what needs to be done and don't let anyone talk you out of it. 
> 
> 
> Rox'E and the Kitchen Bitches
> Mill'E, Laveau, Soleil
> “America has only three cities:  New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans.  Everywhere else is Cleveland.” –Tennessee Williams pawpower4me at gmail.com Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Mar 25, 2014, at 10:22 PM, "Darla Rogers" <djrogers0628 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> 
>> Right, and never ever let your vet talk you out of it.  While they do 
>> examine--and very well, most of them--you do know your dog best, and 
>> as Raven said, get to  know every inch of your dog with your hands; 
>> know what your dog smells like; what their stools are like; if the 
>> urine has a smell different than you are used to.
>> Darla & Huck the Hunk
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Raven 
>> Tolliver
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2014 9:39 PM
>> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Noticing medical issues?
>> 
>> Signs of an outer ear infection include scratching or pawing at the 
>> infected ear, rubbing the ear on the carpet, an odor, discharge, and 
>> constant or repetitive head-shaking.
>> An If Jenny had an eye malady, the gunk would return. Sometimes, dogs 
>> get stuff like hair, dirt, and such in their eyes just like we do. It 
>> is possible that Jenny got something stuck in her eye, and was doing 
>> what she could to get it out.
>> You notice something is wrong with your dog by getting to know your 
>> dog's body. By playing with, massaging, and doing regular home exams 
>> of your dog, you get to know her body, and you will especially know 
>> when something isn't right.
>> 
>>> On 3/25/14, Jewel <herekittykat2 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> I noticed Faye's ear infection because she kept scratching it all the 
>>> time and her ear smelled wrong. Also, I cleaned her ears and the 
>>> infected one gave off dark stuff, while the other ear didn't and 
>>> smelled fine, like a dog should.
>>> Infected eyes give off discolored junk and the dog is constantly 
>>> rubbing their face on the floor.
>>> I think I got it right... Please correct me if I am wrong!
>>> Jewel
>>> 
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>> 
>>>> On Mar 25, 2014, at 5:08 PM, Daryl Marie <crazymusician at shaw.ca> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Hi!
>>>> 
>>>> I have noticed several posts fairly recently regarding noticing ear 
>>>> infections in dogs.  How do you notice such things?
>>>> I am just curious.
>>>> Jenny will occasionally scratch an ear after a good long nap... I am 
>>>> assuming this is fairly normal, as her ears are not hot and there is 
>>>> no discharge, and the scratch does not happen a lot.
>>>> Also, a coworker who's allowed to say hi to jenny (off-harness, of
>>>> course) mentioned that she was covering her face while she was 
>>>> rolling over, and perhaps may have pawed at an eye because there was 
>>>> a small amount of water near the corner of her eye.  I lightly wiped 
>>>> her face and the water is gone, did not return.
>>>> I will keep monitoring this, and will ask Hubby regarding the eye, 
>>>> but was wondering how you guys figure out if something is wrong or 
>>>> if it's just the way it is.
>>>> 
>>>> Daryl and the sleepy Jenny
>>>> 
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>> 
>> 
>> --
>> Raven
>> 
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