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| Blogs > kzoopair > Take two- they're small |
Medical issues
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Medical issues Gracie has Lyme disease. She started getting tired easily on our hikes, but the weather had turned quite warm and although it seemed odd that a not yet two year old Lab was tired so quickly, I kept my eye on her and waited to see if she'd acclimate. Instead she got more lethargic over the next couple of walks. The final straw was the last hike, when she got balky early in the hike. We took her to the vet next day and he confirmed what we had suspected- it's Lyme disease. We began seeing deer ticks here last year in large numbers. They're a bitch because they are so small and hard to find. They aren't as hard to spot on my own skin but it can get next to impossible on a hairy dog. I've had dogs all my life and I'm used to patting them down for ticks and pulling them with tweezers, but the deer tick is a challenge. I have also started to see ticks in winter. In the old days this was pretty much unheard of, but there has been a huge increase in ticks around here. I found and pulled a tick from Rocky in February, in cold weather. Deer ticks have to be attached- biting- for a good twenty four hours to transmit the disease. Most other tick borne illnesses work the same way- a simple bite is not enough to cause infection- it takes some time, usually twenty four to forty eight hours. Gracie will be on a thirty day antibiotic treatment- we found it early and it's a relatively easy cure. We're switching her to a new tick prevention method, an oral medication that offers protection against fleas. Fleas have been showing up that have resistance to the topical treatment we used to use, Frontline. I've never seen a flea on Gracie, but the Nexguard should be a more effective treatment. She can't go hiking for three or four days, and then I can ease her back into it as she gets feeling better. There is joint pain with Lyme disease along with the lethargy so she'll have to be restrained for a while. Most dogs are pretty stoic and Gracie is a ball of fire ordinarily- she won't slow down unless she's really hurting. She seems to feel a little better today, but she's still sleeping a lot. She does like taking her meds though. I bury them in a glob of peanut butter and she takes them easily. Rocky used to lick the peanut butter off and spit out the pill, so I had to stick them down his throat. Gracie is a peanut butter junky and she doesn't care what you hide inside it!  Become a member now and get a free tote bag. |
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Poor Gracie... but at least she has some of the best medical care available to her! Chunky or smooth? Stop in, read, and offer comments at my "swinging as seen in the media" blog, "Confessions of a Lifestyle Man" humorlife, which is also the home of the monthly virtual symposium. New post: The Virtual Symposium Returns Lets Pick A Topic
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Yeah...she's feeling under the weather. But she ought to perk up pretty quickly. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Awwwww hope she gets better, she is beautiful!!! Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Poor Gracie... but at least she has some of the best medical care available to her! Chunky or smooth? Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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I could see she was a bit off, but the first day she showed slow was on a five and a half mile trek, so I chalked it up to the extra yardage. But she did seem to be getting tired more quickly, and she began wanting to rest, and that isn't normal for her. Lyme disease was the first thing I thought of, but I couldn't say it out loud to Princess Panic (PD). She gets to fretting and turns a suspected hangnail into pancreatic cancer in a matter of minutes. We laugh about that, but she admits she tends to go into worry mode at lightspeed. I tried the bread technique with Rocky too, but it was a point of honor with him to outsmart me with pills. I have shoved a pill down his gullet with a finger- I could feel the pill on the tip of my finger- and then hold his mouth shut and wait for him to swallow. He'd swallow and a while later I'd find that pill on the floor. I can't figure out how he could do it. I cussed him one day and threatened to shove it up his ass with a broom handle and I swear he smirked at me. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Well, thank you! I feel bad for her lying around feeling punk. She's usually interested in anything and everything. She should be cured in thirty days, and by Monday she ought to be up for a short walk, a half mile or so. We'll have to play it by ear- she loves the hikes! Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Poor Baby! I trust she'll start feeling better soon, KZ!  ***********If you have a yen to get" Up-a-Tree," Then it's just a hop-and-a-skip to get down with Meeee !
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Lyme disease wasn't recognized until mid 80's. I lost a my favorite newfie to mysterious illness caused by ticks in late 70's. It's even harder to hunt ticks on a newfie than on a lab, and apparently I missed one. When you find a tick, don't pull right away but put some oil around it. Oil gets absorbed and tick loosens the grip. Now it's easiest to pull entire body out and there's no danger to leave tick's head inside which may cause another problem. Gracie is a sweetheart. She's young and viable. Hope, she recovers nicely and soon. Visit my blog It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World of NaughtyInSO, leave a comment, become a watcher. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LIVE AND LET LIVE Be happy! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Poor Baby! I trust she'll start feeling better soon, KZ! Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Lyme disease wasn't recognized until mid 80's. I lost a my favorite newfie to mysterious illness caused by ticks in late 70's. It's even harder to hunt ticks on a newfie than on a lab, and apparently I missed one. When you find a tick, don't pull right away but put some oil around it. Oil gets absorbed and tick loosens the grip. Now it's easiest to pull entire body out and there's no danger to leave tick's head inside which may cause another problem. Gracie is a sweetheart. She's young and viable. Hope, she recovers nicely and soon. It took a long time for the deer tick to show up here, but now that it's here it isn't going away, so we'll have to deal with it. But this is a whole different ball game than the wood ticks w always had- they're hard to find and they do carry disease. I had a hell of a time finding ticks on my Malemute, but at least he had a white undercoat. Gracie's all black. Thanks for the oil tip. It sounds like a good idea. Do you suppose mint oil might make them back out without tweezers? I've used concentrated mint oil for wasp and hornet killer to avoid spraying poisons and it's VERY effective. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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I've never used oil- that's a new one to me! I think I might just give it a try. On the farm we used to use a lit cigarette to get the tick to back out. It burned a little, but everybody smoked and we didn't have tweezers lying around. You could do the same thing with a heated nail or a coal. It took a long time for the deer tick to show up here, but now that it's here it isn't going away, so we'll have to deal with it. But this is a whole different ball game than the wood ticks w always had- they're hard to find and they do carry disease. I had a hell of a time finding ticks on my Malemute, but at least he had a white undercoat. Gracie's all black. Thanks for the oil tip. It sounds like a good idea. Do you suppose mint oil might make them back out without tweezers? I've used concentrated mint oil for wasp and hornet killer to avoid spraying poisons and it's VERY effective. Visit my blog It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World of NaughtyInSO, leave a comment, become a watcher. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LIVE AND LET LIVE Be happy! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Thanks Pearl. I'm very fond of that dog. She seemed a bit better earlier today, but now she's dragging a bit again. Sigh. It will just take some time. We have a very good clinic to treat her. This vet has seen our animals and not charged for it on occasion. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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I used the heated nail file a few times when no oil or lotion was around, but really prefered not to burn dog's skin. Haven't tried mint oil in particular. As far as my experience, any oil or thick lotion would loosen tick's grasp but you'd still need the twisers. Maybe mint oil will work and make them back out, I just don't know. Mint oil has a special appeal for me- we use far too many poisons without thinking about the consequences. I know people who spray their entire yards with insecticide every year to kill ticks and mosquitos. But that stuff lingers and kills virtually everything, including bees. I'd like to use chickens and guinea fowl to control ticks, but the city says I have to keep yardbirds in coops. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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I'm sad to hear this news but heartened she'll pull through. Your adventures with your dog are the stuff of movies - sorry, I meant films!  
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I always felt bad for the dogs too with the heat treatment. Once I got a bit older I quit doing it. I learned that if you're careful you can get 'em out with tweezers and made sure I kept tweezers around. Mint oil has a special appeal for me- we use far too many poisons without thinking about the consequences. I know people who spray their entire yards with insecticide every year to kill ticks and mosquitos. But that stuff lingers and kills virtually everything, including bees. I'd like to use chickens and guinea fowl to control ticks, but the city says I have to keep yardbirds in coops. I've heard from some people that loose natural tobacco, the cheapest kind, is a good insect repellent. They claim that it works on fleas and ticks. Visit my blog It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World of NaughtyInSO, leave a comment, become a watcher. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LIVE AND LET LIVE Be happy! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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I'm sad to hear this news but heartened she'll pull through. Your adventures with your dog are the stuff of movies - sorry, I meant films! Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Poor beautiful Gracie. I hope she is feeling better and soon so she can enjoy your beautiful hikes hugssssssssss V Become a blog watcher sweet_vm
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Thanks! We'll take all the help we can get. We got burgers from Wendy's tonight and she was miraculously healed for about thirty minutes. Now she's feeling a bit faint again. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Thanks Leo. Yeah- ticks are a dirty word here lately. We've always had 'em and never liked them, but nobody ever got sick before. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Poor beautiful Gracie. I hope she is feeling better and soon so she can enjoy your beautiful hikes hugssssssssss V Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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We started getting ticks early this year so I nuked the backyard with some kind of lawn poison. After I laid it on I double checked the instructions. I gave the yard a triple dose. I didn't see any geckos for a week after. Oooops! But No Ticks! Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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You are good pet owners as you noticed and caught it early... good job Sounds like she is on the mend... sorry she got it but glad she is getting better!!! I put enough off on myself to make my eyes water when I go in the woods these days lol. I am not sure which is worse the ticks or the smell of the bug spray lol. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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Thanks, honey. She's sitting next to me drooling on my leg right now. I'll give her a big smooch from you. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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4/17/2015 7:04 pm |
We started getting ticks early this year so I nuked the backyard with some kind of lawn poison. After I laid it on I double checked the instructions. I gave the yard a triple dose. I didn't see any geckos for a week after. Oooops! But No Ticks! Measure twice -- cut once. Remember? Kzoo, my friend, you can buy a tool that safely and painlessly removes ticks ( from humans anyway ) at most camping stores/outfitters. Sending good thoughts Gracie's way. BTW, reading your title made me think you or PD were having some kinda trouble. I gasped. Have a good weekend.
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When you are President, please read the instructions TWICE. Measure twice -- cut once. Remember? Kzoo, my friend, you can buy a tool that safely and painlessly removes ticks ( from humans anyway ) at most camping stores/outfitters. Sending good thoughts Gracie's way. BTW, reading your title made me think you or PD were having some kinda trouble. I gasped. Have a good weekend. I have a lighted pair of tweezers that I use for pulling ticks- the vet uses a hemostat like clamp. I'm gonna have to look for that tool. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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