[nagdu] Noticing medical issues?

Wed Mar 26 14:50:07 UTC 2014

I think it's something we all go through. When I first got the Golden
Guy, I fretted about a lot of things and had my puppy-raisers on speed
dial. It's better to be a worry wort than not care at all. Eventually,
you'll come to shrug off some of the little things as you get to know
what's normal for Jenny.
And just a note, dog's sleep just as much as babies do. They need
something around 14 hours daily.
Sometimes, dogs do get depressed or sleep more than usual, even when
you attempt to play with them or excite them. If you notice something
like this, I would give it a couple days, given there are no other
signs of something wrong.

On 3/26/14, Daryl Marie <crazymusician at shaw.ca> wrote:
> Thank you all for your great advice.
> I asked my husband to take a quick look at her eye last night and he said it
> looked fine, and it is very dusty out here (or it was until this morning
> when it snowed 4 inches).
> Thank you all so much!  I guess I'm being a worrywart; she is not exhibiting
> anything that causes me to think that something is wrong... she sleeps a lot
> but is always willing to work, loves her playtime, will do anything for
> snuggles and has not changed habits unrelated to stress (hers or mine).
>
> Daryl and the happy healthy Jenny, who did pretty darn good guide work in
> the snow
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: The Pawpower Pack <pawpower4me at gmail.com>
> To: NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 06:36:22 -0600 (MDT)
> 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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-- 
Raven