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Trixie's Tips
With Trixie, we had learned over the years quite a lot of do's and don'ts. Especially
with health concerns, and having the most accident prone pup around!
I do not profess to be an expert in any way shape
or form. These tips are what we found to be the right choices for Trixie through all the years we have had her and are just
guidelines. Speak with your veterinarian first before you try anything and go with your instincts.
My first recommendation
is to get pet health insurance when you first acquire your new addition to your family. As they age, as with humans too, things
start happening and it helps when you have insurance to help pay for those bills that will crop up. We unfortunately did not
have it and now wish we had investigated a little more on it instead of ignoring it. Insurers won't cover pre-existing health
issues so we are unable to qualify. Ask your vet which insurance they accept and go from there, most insurances for pets start
out at about $20.00 a month. Now when you face either a health concern or accident, a vet visit can run hundreds to thousands
of dollars. $20.00 doesn't seem like very much now does it? Especially when just a typical visit alone runs $30-40.
Also
be sure to invest in a pet medical/name tag with your veterinarians phone number on it and yours especially if your
pet is diagnosed with Diabetes. It also would be good to invest in a medical/name tag that labels other life threatening diseases
or allergies. If your pet is found, you don't want a good Samaritan to accidentally harm your pet. (For instance, Trixie was
allergic to peanuts, amongst other things and some treats carry these ingredients in them.)
On Trixie's tag, I had put the type of insulin down and that she receives two shots twice daily, one at 8am and 8pm along
with emergency contact information. If anything should happen to your beloved pet, at least you know help will be available.
It could just mean the difference between life and death for your pet.
Especially for a diabetic, it is mandatory to
get a journal to write down dosages given, but I would also recommend a journal for even a healthy dog to have on hand for
any other prescriptions or notes to be written down, (even jot down this information on the calendar) for instance on a certain
day your dog threw up, or fell, or had an accident, all this information is very helpful when you do need to take your dog
to a vet, it does help eliminate a lot of needless guessing and frustrations for yourself and your veterinarian.
Do
your homework on the health ailments of your breed of dog. Some are well known for certain ailments, and if you are aware
of what they are, there is a good chance you might be able to prevent any major problems before they happen. Miniature Schnauzers
are susceptible to diabetes, skin, eye, and ear problems, for example.
If you know the signs, your pet will tell you
what is going on by using body language.
Trixie's ears going flat is a good indication that she was not feeling well and
there is a high chance she would vomit.
Even being lethargic could mean either her sugar levels are too high, or too low.
It could also possibly mean that she is extremely sore and just doesn't want to go for a walk.
If you are tuned into
your dog's body language, and habits, it does help when something goes amiss and you might just be able to fix any health
problems before they get too bad and are not reversible or before things get too expensive too. It can be the simplest things
as they are not as alert one day as they were the previous or seem aloof where they are normally cuddly, shading or wincing
their eyes are a good indication something is amiss. Little signs make a big difference.
Trixie never would whimper, growl
or bite when she is in pain, so we have had to rely on body language to determine that something was amiss with her.
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Trixie weighed between 15-16 pounds and this is what was suggested to us by our veterinarian:
Aches
and Pains- Baby aspirin contains sugar, so if for some reason you had to give your dog a baby aspirin and they are
diabetic, well needless to say, sugar levels go way up. Most veterinarians do not recommend aspirin in any form, but on rare
occasions ours told us it was okay. As long as it is not given all the time. I've given her 1/4 of an adult aspirin on those
occasions that she needed it. Aspirin also seemed to help when her eyes would swell from her glaucoma. Consult your veterinarian
before you consider trying this.
Acid reducing- 1/4 tablet of crushed Cimetidine also known as Tagamet
acid reducer, will help with any acid in the stomach. On most occasions, I usually mix this with her food, instead of sticking
the tablet down her throat. Although it was brought to my attention that crushing the pill is not such a good idea, because
if the tablet is coated it protects the lining of the stomach.
For allergies- we gave her 1 Benedryl
capsule, tablets take too long to dissolve, especially if she had hives.
**For signs of allergies, excessive licking
of the paws, or rubbing the eyes. Check the stomach for hives, don't hesitate to take your dog to the vet if there is hives.
We almost lost Trixie on several occasions when she got stung by a bee and she had horrible hives. We also found out with
hives she was allergic to peanuts and rye. Unfortunately, most over the counter food or treats have these ingredients! Benedryl
will make a small dog sleepy.
Cleaning- We used Baby wipes to cleanse when a bath couldn't be done (specifically
when she had been sick or had to stay overnight in the pet hospital), or you can find a no-rinse wash for pets at the pet
store or even Walmart in their pet section.
Diabetes- To test for Trixie's sugar levels, I tested her
urine with Diastix© Glucose Urine Strips. The strips turn color with the amount of sugar/glucose in her urine. For this you
will need a stop watch. You match the urine covered stick to the bottle after 30 seconds and that will tell you approximately
what her glucose reading is. It will be awkward at first, but if you really love your pet, you will go to great lengths to
know what is going on. I found it easier to achieve the urine by placing a flat plastic storage container, no bigger then
4 inches by 4 inches and no higher than 1 ½ in height under her rear end and then putting the stick in the urine. It was tricky
and Trixie was sneaky enough she would try anything to avoid having me achieve any readings. Male dogs, will be trickier yet!
Also have your veterinarian test their blood for sugar levels periodically. Each vet is different and some swear by the strips,
while others say they are not accurate. I used them to get a rough idea on what is going on with her health.
Many things
can happen on any given day, there are a few of those occasions that when I have given her insulin shot it has either gone
on through the other side and squirted out, or I accidentally got a "bad spot", which is one that has either a fatty tumor
or scarring from the years of diabetes and the insulin just did not get absorbed like it was supposed to and she will read
higher. Do not give another injection if you are uncertain as to what dosage was given! Just wait till the next scheduled
time and be more careful.
Always double check the dosage on the syringe before you give the injection, an overdose
will harm and even kill your pet, while too little will make their glucose levels skyrocket.
With Trixie, I had left
her fur slightly longer around her injection sites, for better control on where the shot goes, meaning I gripped the fur gently
and looked for a good spot. This does take practice, so consult your veterinarian on the best practices for your pet. As time
goes by it does get easier.
Make sure your pet eats their food when the injection is due. Standard rule of thumb with
diabetics is: No food, No insulin. The insulin works in conjunction with the food so it is necessary that they are given at
the same time. I used to feed her 1/3 before the shot, 1/3 during the shot, and gave her the rest after the injection.
Syringes-
I personally found out that some syringe brands have better suction to remove the bubbles then others. Over the years, you
will find that out too.
A few great links that I found when Trixie was first diagnosed with diabetes are:
www.petdiabetes.com
and
www.caninediabetes.org/pdorg
There are many sites out there to help with this scary situation. And I can not profess enough to talk with your vet or other
owners out there to answer any questions.
There is a lot of information out there on diabetes and pets nowadays, so please do your homework first, and consult your
veterinarian and don't be afraid to talk to your vet, ask as many questions as you can and write down the answers so you don't
forget on the way home and second guess yourself.
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Diarrhea and/or vomiting- Pepto Bismol tablet is good for vomiting, and diarrhea. But will darken and harden
stools and might keep them "backed up" for a day. A new study came out that this was not recommended for use on dogs. Ask
your veterinarian first before you try anything!
We used potatoes with no skin or rice as a mild substitute when she has been really vomiting as a mild food to soak up the
acid or even homemade broth will do. Canned broth usually contains sugar and other additives and is not advisable.
Dry eyes- Diabetics, are prone to dry eyes. I kept eye ointment in her eyes constantly especially if she was
going outside in the wind, and at night before bed. I used "Puralube" ointment (bought at Walmarts) Petrolatum Ophthalmic
ointment, sterile ocular lubricant which contains light mineral oil USP (150mg) and white Petrolatum USP (850 mg). Both are
lubricants. And I even used throughout the day, artificial tears by Equate (also from Walmarts). It seemed to help with any
dryness and to help clean out any fur or fuzzies that might have gotten in her eyes.
***Do not use any redness reducing products in their eyes! If you try eye drops, just use the artificial tears, soothing relief
drops.
I would also clean around her eyes with the round cotton swabs you can find in the cosmetic section in the store with water,
to clean away any crustiness, or oily stuff from the ointment that would accumulate in her eyebrows. Trixie really enjoyed
on those days when her eyes bothered her, a cotton round soaked in water and just held over her eyes (make sure eye is closed!),
for as long as she would sit still. She had always been very good about me working with her eyes, but beware not all pets
will allow this and you need to be careful not to poke them in the eyes if you try this!
Ears- Trixie never had her ears cropped like a lot of Schnauzers do, so they flap over, and she tended to sweat,
which causes bacteria and ear infections. I usually tried to keep the ear flap pretty trimmed, which is two-fold because the
fur won't go in her eyes and it helped the air circulate so there is a good chance bacteria won't have a chance to make a
home. I also had my mother help with holding Trixie while I took tweezers and pulled the long hairs out to also help keep
the ears dry. If you do try this, Please be extremely careful!! For one, the ear drum can be damaged if you put the tweezers
in to far, and two, most dogs won't allow things in their ears and might move the wrong way and will pull away from you and
you might just poke them in the eye.
I used a cotton ball with mineral oil to help cleanse her ear flaps, and did this several times a week, especially when it
got hot and she would sweat.
We also used 1 drop (using a eyedropper) of vinegar in an affected ear. We were careful to make sure she did not have a sore
or scratch mark in her ear, as this can be extremely sensitive and painful. To ensure she didn't move the wrong way and get
a drop in her eyes, I usually would have had someone gently hold her head for me.
Extras- I made boots with non skid material on the bottom when we were in Hawaii and had Trixie wear these because
the neighbors were dumping coolant and oil in the medium strip where she walked. After we moved to Montana and had hardwood
floors, I made socks with non skid material so Trixie wouldn't slide and fall and aggravate her arthritis.
My dad had made Trixie a water/food dish holder out of wood, so she didn't have to bend down to eat or drink and aggravate
her arthritis that way either. This does come in handy for older pets, who have a hard time bending their neck down to reach
their bowls.
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Flax oil versus Fish oil For arthritis, I used to give Trixie fish oil daily mixed in her meals. Unfortunately
with her diabetic condition, the fish oil raised her glucose levels. I then came across the great properties of flax oil.
Flax is good for arthritis, lowering blood sugar, helps with the skin, and is an overall good supplement to even have in our
own diet. I used the lowest milligram capsules I could find, punctured the capsule, then squeezed the oil out of the capsule
and mixed the oil in her food, once daily. Flax is to be kept refrigerated and can be found in any vitamin section of your
store. You can buy the bottle of Flax oil also, but for us I found out it is easier (albeit messier!) to just puncture the
capsule and not worry about spoilage versus measuring the correct doses with the bottle and measuring spoons. Also, some Flax
oil companies have a strong odor in their oil, whilst some do not. For more information on Flax oil check these links
out: Flax oil benefits
or Flax oil
*Always ask your veterinarian or physician about correct dosages and if this is the right supplement for you
or your pet.
When starting out with Flax oil, you must start out with smaller doses, whether you are taking it for yourself or giving it
to your pet.
Flax oil will cause a gassy, and/or upset stomach, until your body gets used to taking it. Also, I read somewhere that if
you are allergic to certain nuts (not the human kind!) you might have a reaction to the oil, since it belongs to the same
family as nuts. Trixie wss allergic to peanuts (amongst other things) but she had been lucky in not having any reactions to
it so far and she had been on flax oil for over 2 years.
Food and treats- We made Trixie's food at home with a combination of vegetables, and chicken, etc. Equal parts
fed twice daily. Honestly I can't figure out how she could get so excited over the same meal every time! But it does taste
good, and we've had it for dinner too and it is very filling.
For Treats she got Iams© Original Formula Small bisquits (in the green box). It helped with tarter on her teeth and does not
contain any sugar. Most treats, or food contain sugar and if you have a diabetic it does take a lot of time to read the ingredients,
but it is worth it if you do take the time to do this. It really makes a difference when you are trying to regulate her insulin.
And I also gave her Nutri-dent mini-chews, which helped with her tartar on her teeth. After she passed on, I had so many treats
I didn't know what to do with, so I threw them out side broken in half and the deer have been enjoying them, along with the
rabbits and birds.
Hives- Benedryl is good for this, but if they were too bad, she needed prednisone and a rush to the veterinarian.
Regardless, contact the vets office and inform them that your pet has hives, it could just mean their life.
Idiopathic Vestibular Disease- Early in the month of May, 2008, Trixie was diagnosed with Idiopathic Vestibular
Disease. It started with her constantly walking in circles, and being off balance, and her eyes were very erratic, then she
vomited all day, a frothy yellow acidic stuff. That was a scary day for us, but with research and a talk with the vet (luckily
he knew about this syndrome, since a lot of vets out there are not familiar with it) we were able to control it. To help her
keep her balance, we put her harness and leash on her when she would go out for her walk and we also had used an old neck
brace to help keep her from twisting her neck around when she got really off balance. We also found that if we wrapped
a towel around her to swaddle her and just steadied her until she regained her balance, she was better off. The towel seemed
to comfort her and she realized we were trying to help her. For a larger dog, I would suggest using your body to steady your
pet until the dizziness subsides a little. We also found out that it made matters worse if we picked her up to hold on to
her. Evidently, ones who suffer through this, need all four feet planted firmly on the ground to regain balance. Sometimes
it may take quite awhile for the dizziness to subside. For Trixie, it was hard to keep her down and at times she fought the
dizziness by trying to move around constantly, and with her poor eyesight, it just made things worse. But she seemed to appreciate
the attempt to help her through these types of troubles that crop up and it built a stronger bond with her in the long run.
The stronger the bond, the sooner you can catch little (or big) problems that come up, and fix them before they get to the
point of not being able to be reversed.
She was prescribed Baytril antibiotic to control the yeast infection in her ear and Rimadyl to help with any inflammation.
Being idiopathic, meaning nobody knows the cause, it was suspected that the yeast infection in her ear contributed to the
condition.
For more information on this, go here:
www.vetinfo.com/dencyclopedia/devestib.html
Seizures-yep, our girl had them too, and they were very scary when they occurred. Luckily, it only
happened in her early years and we had been lucky she hadn't had anymore until Christmas Eve of 2008. She had several seizures
which was her kidneys shutting down. What a horrible thing to go through. Always contact your veterinarian if any seizures
are present. Vaginal discharge- She developed a vaginal discharge several years ago, and until recently
I couldn't find any information on it. This discharge would be clear, turning to yellow, then a greenish tint. Antibiotics
didn't help and the vet had no idea what the problem was. Recently while researching this problem, I came across several articles
relating to her issues. In Trixie's case, when she was younger, she had been spade and evidently the vet did not remove all
of the tissue in her uterus and hence she gets a discharge every once in a while. Nowadays, you can find this sort of thing
as being quite common! *For vaginal discharge I used, 1/4 of a capsule of cranberry extract twice a day with food (again
she was only 15-16 pounds), for about 2-3 days or until it cleared up and it had worked for her so far. I tried to find the
smallest milligrams available on the market. Cranberry extract causes the urine to be more acidic and eliminates any bacteria
to collect along the urinary tract. Too much acid is not good either, for it will cause crystals or bladder stones to develop,
so please use caution and consult a vet before you try this, every pet is different. Dogs are like humans, they have allergies
and weak stomachs too. Cranberry extract is acidic and might cause stomach irritation. I usually give Trixie 1/4 of a tablet
crushed of Cimetidine (Tagmet) along with the cranberry extract in her food. *We also filled a tiny spray bottle with
equal parts white vinegar and water and sprayed it on her urethra and wiped it with a clean paper towel. This helped kill
off any bacteria. This also helped with any crustiness that formed from her discharge. Vitamins- Vitamin
C is supposed to be a very good immune booster, but with Trixie she ended up vomiting for a whole day, and it took Tagamet
(Cimetidine-acid reducer) 2 times a day for 2 days to relieve her acid in her stomach. I also had on hand a stomach tablet
(Sucralfate) the veterinarian had prescribed for her long ago when she was very sick, and I crushed that up and gave that
to her also. I didn't give her any supplements other than Flax oil, because most of the over the counter ones contain
sugar, and the one's from the veterinarians office are very expensive. Don't get me wrong, because I would go to great lengths
to make sure my little one got what she needed. Our vet told us that Trixie was getting what she needed from the diet my mother
invented, so for Trix, any extra nutrients weren't really needed. That made us feel better! Be it noted:
***All information presented here is intended for educational purposes only. It is not provided in order to diagnose,
prescribe or treat any disease, illness or injured condition of the body or pets and the author, publisher, and contributors
accept no responsibility for such use. Responsibility nor liability will be incurred to any person or entity with respect
to any loss, damage, or injury caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained above. Anyone
suffering or their pets from any disease, illness or injury should consult with their physician or veterinarian. Back to Top
Well, baby girl...I think this about covers it. I will always love you Trixie.
You are one in a million!
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