Vomiting and Anxiety in Dogs, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Vicious Dog Attack
When Mac, a Cairn Terrier, was attacked by the neighbor’s two dogs, we gave emergency first aid and took Mac to a vet clinic for X-rays and further treatment. We also called the local Humane Society and asked what to do under the circumstances. We were told it was essential to file a report within 24 hours, which we did. The folks we spoke with at the Humane Society said they would decide how to proceed and would send a person out that day. We also phoned our neighbor at work. She’s a truly wonderful person who was appalled that her dogs had acted aggressively. She assumed cost of veterinary care.

Regular Veterinary Care for Dog Attack
At the clinic, Mac's wounds were cleaned and X-rays were taken. Mac was given antibiotics to prevent bite-wound infection and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) for pain. Shortly after returning home, Mac began vomiting, so the family stopped using the NSAID, Metacam. NSAIDs commonly cause upset stomachs and vomiting. The family continued to give cephalosporin, the antibiotic, and Mac continued to vomit occasionally. Yesterday, the referring vet gave permission to stop the antibiotic. This morning Mac came to visit and while here vomited a small amount of food. Because the referring vet has assured the family that vomitng is not likely to be caused by esophageal damage, we suspect the continued vomiting is due to a combination of gastritis due to NSAID and antibiotic and to post traumatic stress disorder.

Holistic Veterinary Care
In addition to treating Mac as his regular veterinarian has, a holistic veterinarian would take the following approach to stress gastritis caused by post traumatic stress disorder:
1. Acupuncture
2. Flower Essence Remedies
3. Homeopathic Medication
4. Diet Changes

1. Acupuncture
Acupuncture points used to address the gastritis and stress could include:
· BL 20
· ST 36
· CV 12
· PC 6
· GB 20
· Ba hui,
· HT 7
· LV 3
· LI 4

2. Flower Essences
Flower essences for stress-induced gastritis could include a combination of Star of Bethlehem, Impatiens, Rock Rose, Clematis, Cherry Plum, Aspen, and Mimulus.
· Star of Bethlehem helps with physical and emotional stress.
· Impatiens helps calm anxiety.
· Rock Rose is for courage, especially helpful for pets that have been terrified.
· Clematis helps dogs focus on the present.
· Cherry Plum also pets focus and feel control of the situation.
· Aspen helps pets with vague fears.
· Mimulus helps pets who are afraid of specific events, such as being attached again.

3. Homeopathic Medication
Homeopathics for stress and gastritis can include Traumeel, which is a combination of several remedies that address physical and emotional damage. However, the most affective homeopathic would take into account Mac’s personality as well as his current symptoms. For example:
· Arsenicum is for restlessness, the need for reassurance and companionship, vomiting and acute gastrointestinal signs.
· Rhus tox is used for depressed, listless pets that prefer to be alone.
· Nat mur or staphysagria help if the attacks have made Mac irritable as well as anxious.

4. Diet Changes
Diet changes to help control stress vomiting involve resting the gut. The easiest foods for the gut to absorb are simple carbohydrates rather than fats or proteins, such as
· mashed potatoes,
· mashed sweet potatoes,
· rice that has been run through a blender, and
· chicken broth without fat.
Kibble, fish, meat, and vegetables, such as broccoli and peas, are actually difficult to digest compared with carbohydrates. Mac would continue eating easily digested foods for several days. During this time, holistic remedies would encourage the psyche and stomach to heal.

Post traumatic stress disorder
Our returning soldiers could explain to Mac that overcoming trauma of a nearly lethal attack can take time. Often, Western medications alone are not helpful. Holistic medications that address the psychologic problems in addition to physical problems are most effective. It is also intensely healing to have the love and support of his family. As Mac improves, his stomach will become less irritable and vomiting will cease completely. Normal foods can be reintroduced. Mac will re-emerge as the jaunty Cairn terrier we've always known him to be.

Humane Society's Response to Attack
In a coming blog we’ll talk about the Humane Society’s response to the attack. You can judge whether it was appropriate or inappropriate.

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Mac Attack, from a song to a dog fight

A little Peruvian boy, Abraham, visits us because he loves playing with dogs and his family cannot afford one. Abe chants Mac Attack Mac Attack whenever he’s around the Cairn Terrier, Mac, who visits us twice a week. We’ve gotten used to thinking of “Mac Attack” as the song a boy sings to a fury little pal.

Yesterday, while Mac was visiting, the neighbor’s 60-lb dogs, Sammy & Sarah, broke through the fence and ravaged him. When I stopped the fight, their mouths were full of bloody tufts of fur, which one dog tore from his head and the other tore from his belly.

Sammy & Sarah aren’t bloodthirsty dogs with aggressive genetics. In fact, both mutts are extraordinarily sweet and eager for approval, but the most fun they have in life is running along the fence barking at dogs on the other side. Yesterday, they burst through the fence.

Now, Mac has multiple puncture wounds, serious muscle and internal organ bruising, spinal torsion, and frightening memories. He’s on antibiotics that destroy good bacteria along with the bad, increasing the likelihood of problems created by “leaky gut” syndrome. He’s on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), increasing the likelihood of gastric ulcers and liver disease. His tissues are turning the color of punk cosmetic red blue green & black. His joy with just being alive has been displaced, and he would not be the model dog to trot alongside Dorothy on the yellow brick road.

Should Sammy & Sarah be punished for robbing a dog of jeu de vive? Should the family who owns Sammy & Sarah be punished? No. Punishment doesn’t help--not Mac, or Sammy, or Sara. We are not in favor of punishment. What we are in favor of is prevention and keeping dogs active and engaged. Alas, this has not happened. Sammy & Sara’s family accepted the veterinary bill, but they haven’t changed the lives of their dogs except to lock them in the backroom.

Other than the carpenter who repaired the fence, no lives have changed for the better. All Mac's suffering is for naught and what used to be a boy’s sing song chant Mac Attack has become a two-word headline in our list of life’s bad memories.

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Dog Shock Collars and the AVMA

Shock collars are legal in the US, but they soon may be illegal in some countries. For example, Wales is considering banning their sale and use. We applaud the Welsh, and the British Veterinary Association and British Small Animal Veterinary Association who do not support the use of shock collars. Would that we had their wisdom.

Unfortunately, judging by the actions of the equivalent American associations, here in the United States, we do not have the gumption to oppose shock collars. Veterinary associations accept the concept that shock collars are training aids. I suggest that if you think shock collars are a good training aid, put one on and ask a spouse who “loves you” to use it as a training tool. Watch how quickly you realize it promotes fear and distrust rather than learning and cooperation.

Although veterinary associations should be taking the lead against shock collars, vet associations appear to be an extraordinarily gutless groups. Why would I think this given that most veterinarians are extraordinary individuals? Vet associations are gutless because although many Americans have made it clear they are opposed to ear clipping, tail docking, declawing and force feeding of ducks, veterinary associations have not come out against their use. In fact, in California the veterinary association used association money to actively fight against laws that prohibited cat declaws.

At the national level, veterinary associations also actively support inhumane treatment of animals. For example, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) supports laws allowing the forced feeding of ducks and the slaughtering of horses for meat. How shocking.

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Pet Store Salaries

Salaries & Benefits Received By Pet Store Employees
You’ve probably met lots of wonderful people in pet stores when you're picking up toys and food for your dogs and cats. In the past, I've written about employees and good & bad service. Looking at the latest information on salaries for pet store employees from the Pet Age Retailer Report of 2007-2008, it's easy to see why there are so few providing stellar service.

The average store has 4 full time and 4 part time employees. The average pay for full-timers is about $11/hr. The average pay for part-timers is $8.20/hr. Not only are these wonderful folks paid little, here are numbers indicating that few employees receive benefits:

• Employee discounts—55%


• Paid vacation—34%


• Health insurance—23%


• Sick/personal days—21%


• Disability insurance—6%


• Life insurance—6%


• Pension plan—5%


• Bonuses—5%


• No benefits—34%

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Spending Money on Pets

It’s always fun to see where money is being spent for pets. The Pet Age Retailer Report of 2007-2008 shows how much markup is associated with different products. The following is a list of things sold by pet stores and after each item is the percentage markup on the item:
• Dog food—33%
• Cat food—30%
• Bird food & supplies—80%
• Gifts and specialty items—88%
• Live animals—112%

Now, how much does the average pet sore customer spend? The following is a list of consumers with the average purchase price.
• Dog owners—$41
• Cat owners—$23
• Bird owners—$35
• Gift buyers—$17

So, how do you compare with the average shopper?

In tomorrow’s blog we’ll look at the salaries and benefits received by pet store employees.

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Worming Medicine for Dogs & Cats

Although most puppies and kittens have worms, and worms harm and kill pets, worms are overwhelmingly beneficial for us, for pets, and for the world. Of the 80,000 different nematodes that have been identified, only 15,000 are harmful. This is wonderful news because nematodes are the most abundant multicellular organism on earth.

Fenbendazole, a good deworming medicine
For dealing with harmful worms, fenbendazole, a prescription medication, is one of the best dewormers. Fenbendazole is the generic name, and trade names are Panacur and Safe-Guard. Panacur granules are approved for dogs, and Panacur and Safe-Guard, which are available as liquids and pastes, are approved for farm animals, birds, cats, and horses. Although some farmers want to use the farm animal medication for dogs and cats, it’s easy to get the dose wrong and overmedicate a pet. Using the medication specifically for dogs and cats is generally safer.

How Fenbendazole is used
Fenbendazole (Panacur) for dogs comes as fine white granules that are easily mixed in food, and given once a day. The dewormer is given for different lengths of time according to the type of parasite that affecting the pet. For example, for roundworms, hookworms, whipworms and Taenia tapeworms, fenbendazole is given once a day for three days. In two weeks, the three-day series is repeated. For lungworm (Capillaria or Filaroides) and liver flukes (Paragonimus), fenbendazole is given for 10-14 days. There are other rather resistant parasites for which fenbendazole is given for 3-4 weeks.

Effects of deworming with fenbendazole
Although fenbendazole can cause side effects of nausea and vomiting, dogs and cats tend to react more to the dead worms than the medication. When worms die in lungs, liver, intestines and other organs, they leave dead toxic material that must be removed by the immune system. Immune system digestion of these dead worms can cause hypersensitivity reactions.

Support when using deworming medications
To help pets sail through the deworming period with no adverse effects, give dewormers as prescribed and use liver-supporting foods. The liver is the major organ of detoxification, and it has the most work to do when worms die and are removed from the body. To nourish the liver, feed artichoke and chicken or beef liver. Use herbs and vitamins to support the liver, such as milk thistle (silymarin or Silybum) and vitamin E. Help prevent the immune system from over-reacting by providing Omega 3 fatty acids that are in fish.

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Puppies and worms

Puppies born with worms
Puppies are often infected with worms, and many of these worms can also infect humans. When the puppies are born to dams that did not receive deworming medication before or during pregnancy, the odds of their having worms is nearly 100%. This is because worms resting within the dam’s body are stimulated to grow by hormones secreted during pregnancy. The hormone-stimulated worms within the dam pass through the placenta (transplacental) and into the puppies before they are born. In addition, worms are passed through the dam’s milk (transmammary) to the young.

Puppies acquire worms after birth
During the first few months of life, puppies also pick up worms from sidewalks, pet parks, and soil. Although we cannot see the worm eggs, they’re scattered over these areas and are easily picked up by puppy feet. When the pups lick their feet, or lick the soil, they ingest parasite eggs and larvae.

Some worm eggs, such as the roundworm Toxocara and the whipworm Trichuris, survive for years on sidewalks and in soil. Because a single Toxocara worm can produce over 20,000 worm eggs in a single day, and the eggs are not affected by most weather conditions, areas that have had dogs travelling over them have high concentrations of worm eggs.

Puppies also pick up worms from eating fleas, catching prey, such as mice and snails, and eating feces of other pets and farm animals.

Puppy worms infect humans causing zoonotic infections
The common worms that infect puppies are roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, and tapeworms. Humans are easily infected by rounds and hooks, and less commonly infected by tapeworms. These are called a zoonotic infection, which means infections transmitted to humans from animals.

What do worms look like?
Although worms are usually not visible in the dog’s stool, we occasionally see them passed in the stool. Roundworms and hookworms look like spaghetti. Whipworms are small and round with long, thin tails. Tapeworms are flat and can be very long or can be single short segments called proglottids. Proglottids contain tapeworm eggs. If the proglottid segments dry out, they resemble rice or sesame seeds.

We’ll cover more on puppy worms in future blogs.

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Worming Puppies and the Rescued Alexander Pope

Angela & Duncan rescued a little dog living under a truck in Mexico, had it treated by a veterinarian and brought it with them into the U.S. The puppy is named Alexander Pope after the witty, deformed British poet who lived from 1688-1744. The poet Pope is credited for the line on a dog’s collar: I am his Highness’ dog at Kew; Pray tell me, sir, whose dog are you?

As with many rescued dogs, Pope needs medical care to ensure he is parasite free. Over the next few blogs, let’s discuss intestinal parasites commonly found in puppies and how they are treated, including:
Round worms
Hook worms
Whip worms
Tape worms

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