Mika’s first chiro adjustment

On Wednesday Mika had her first chiropractic adjustment (as recommended by our regular vet when I brought her in for very slight lameness).

I literally just copied/pasted these rough notes I made on a word document on my computer, so they're just random/unedited jot notes:

-          Muscle spasms on left side (shoulder area and rear leg area)

-          Out of 32 possible adjustments, did 18, had 8 concerned about

-          Right pelvis higher than left

-          Above caused pelvis (?) to rotate/tilt toward the left (left is tilted more forward)

-          This caused the front to tilt/rotate toward the right (left is tilted more forward) to compensate

-          This caused everything in between to be affected

-          Compensating with left side for the right side (where lameness was initially noticed)

-          Main area of concern is middle/back (more middle)

-          This is where she appeared most uncomfortable (especially back-middle – more back)

-          Recommended aspirin

-          Give Traumeel right after we get home, then before we go to bed, then in the middle of the night

Her body's been doing a lot of compensating, and rearranging as a result of compensating. The chiropractor adjusted 18 different areas, and he said eight of these areas are of concern. We'll be back in two weeks and see how it goes from there; she'll probably need 4-6 regular appointments over the coming weeks. The vet is great, though. Lol, I took to him right away when we walked into the exam room and he'd just finished loading an assortment of treats onto the exam table :) Next step for me is to research Robaxacet (the muscle relaxant he wants me to give her before our next appointment, because Mika had a couple areas of muscle spasms).

Oh, he also doesn't think Mika has any problems in her joints that I should be concerned about, unlike our regular vet who suspected possible minor arthritis. I didn't mention about Mika's joints cracking when she changes positions though (this is why our regular vet suspected arthritis). I myself am not sure that cracking is a sign of arthritis, as I've read articles that say it's something normal that can happen with aging but doesn't necessary mean that the individual is experiencing discomfort. I'll discuss this with our chiro vet next time though.

Yesterday Mika experienced a short period where she showed no lameness at all in her front legs. Woot! She went back to a very slight limp later, though (like she had before the adjustment).

And yesterday I brought Wall-e in to get his B12 injection (like I mentioned in a previous post, our regular vet thinks he has low B12). He'll be getting this 4 times a year.

Wall-e's routine bloodwork results -- B12 injections in his future

So Wall-e had routine bloodwork done a few weeks ago. It showed that he has a very low ALP, of 7! Because of this, our vet thinks that he has low B12, so he'll be getting B12 injections 4 times yearly, starting this week if we can get an appointment. As well as health reasons, it'll be interesting to see if this affects his behaviour, since B12 is supposed to increase energy.

Summary of 2012, and planning for 2013

My last post was in September? Well then!

First of all, Merry Christmas everyone! :)

It's been quite a while...a LONG while! I've been incredibly busy because of school, so I've only just now found the time to blog.

Quite a few things have happened this year. I'll start off with the most major event.

On November 14, Mika underwent surgery to have a mast cell tumor removed from the back of her left hind leg. She also had a lymph node and a chunk of muscle removed from that leg in order to make sure that all the cancer cells were taken out. The tumor was biopsied and found to be a Grade II tumor (there are 3 grades). Our vet says Mika has a great diagnosis, though, because all of the cancerous tissue was removed, and there were no cancer cells found in either the lymph node or the muscle. Mika's doing great now, and only has a scar (and a bit of a different shape to the back of her leg, due to the removed muscle) to show for her surgery!

Our vet found cataracts on Wall-e's right eye on November 22. She's not 100% certain of the diagnosis, since she doesn't specialize in eyes, but she's almost certain. They're too small to be removed right now, and they aren't affecting his vision, so we're going to keep an eye on them (pun not intended, ahaha!), and in May we'll bring him in again to get his eyes re-examined.

On a non-health related note, Wall-e got his first three titles this year. In CKC, he got his Ag.N.J. (Agility Novice Jumper) on July 15, and both his ADC (Agility Dog of Canada) and SGDC (Starters Games Dog of Canada) on July 28.

Mika didn't trial very much this year, but we had a great year together nonetheless in terms of running together as a team.

As for 2013, here are some things I have in mind:

- trying out a new indoor venue in February
- for Mika, focusing on Steeplechase and Masters Jumpers (her favourite classes) and Starters Snooker (we haven't Q'd in this yet, even though we've gotten really close!), with some Masters Gamblers mixed in (I find that running in Gamblers keeps me motivated to maintain my dogs' distance skills)
- focusing on Masters Jumpers for Wall-e (he hasn't tried it yet), but running in the rest of the classes as well
- most importantly, enjoying our time together! I've reached the point where honestly, if I stopped trialing, it wouldn't be a huge deal. Simply spending time with my dogs has become more precious because of two reasons: less time with them than I used to have, and the realization that neither of my dogs are young anymore. Trials are only a small part of making the most of my dogs' lives.

Mika's eyes are (mostly) in the clear!

Haven't posted in a LONG time; I've been doing a summer course that just ended a few days ago. But now I'm back, hopefully! :)

I've been worried these past couple of days because I noticed that Mika had white/hazy spots on her eyes. I'd noticed a tiny dot on her left eye a couple of weeks ago, but since it was only on that one eye I'd assumed it was a scratch. But over the weeks, that tiny dot got bigger, until it turned into this (taken two days ago):


Brought her to the vet today. The first thing she did was shining lights into her eyes to see where exactly the spots were located. Thankfully, the spots were on the cornea and not in the lenses, which would indicate something more serious (such as cataracts). PHEW!!

She then did two tests; first something called a "schirmer tear test," where she stuck a thin strip of paper into each of Mika's eyes and waited for tears to be produced; the tears were supposed to turn the paper blue, which they did. The second test was the fluorescence eye stain, where she put green dye into Mika's eyes and then shone lights on them to make sure that the dye didn't pool anywhere where the spots where (which would indicate holes, or ulcers). Mika passed that test with flying colours too.

So finally, the vet concluded that Mika either has corneal degeneration or corneal dystrophy. The difference between these two conditions is that corneal dystrophy is hereditary, while corneal degeneration is not. To my understanding, both diseases involve cholesterol or calcium deposits on the cornea of the eye. These usually do not impair the sight and so do not require treatment. Woohoo!!

But Mika had her blood panel done a few months ago, and her cholesterol and calcium levels were perfect, which is odd, considering that both of the conditions involve calcium or cholesterol deposits; so the vet referred us to an ophthalmologist for a second opinion.

Mika still had some green tears coming from her left eye when we got home, thanks to the tests! I still think she has the most beautiful eyes in the world, regardless of whether there are spots on them. (And the spot is hard to see in this photo anyway because of the reflection in her eye.)

Note the green tears:

On another note, I was very happy that Mika seemed more relaxed at this appointment and didn't refuse a single treat!

Mika's bloodwork results

Got Mika's results back today. Here are the most significant results:

Free T4: 22.9 (normal range 7.7-47.6), fine. This is the biggest reason that I got Mika tested, although I'm wondering if I should do the other tests in the thyroid panel (T3, T4, free T3, and TgAA).

ALT: 18 (normal range 24-141), vet recommended a homeopathic remedy called Genestra (Seroyal) for the adrenal glands.

Vitamin E: deficiency, vet recommended multi-vitamin by Rx Essentials.

Selenium: deficiency, multi-vitamin applies as well. Our vet said that it was interesting that I'd been concerned about Mika's thinning coat, since selenium is essential for coat and skin health, and Mika is deficient, so....Hmm.

All in all, the vet said that Mika is very very healthy for a Miniature Schnauzer of her age (6.5 years old, 7 in October), as she sees many schnauzers in her practice who have several health problems.

Mika's vet appointment

Mika had a routine vet appointment today. It was actually the first vet appointment I've had with Mika, over the past couple of years, that didn't make me leave the hospital worried about Mika's health! It was an odd feeling to be leaving with somewhat of a sense of calm....

Mika knew where we were going right after we got out of the car. I was carrying her, and as we started walking in the direction of the vet hospital, she started screaming/barking. Poor girl wouldn't take treats and I didn't know what to do. I regret not spraying her collar with DAP; I don't know if it would have helped, but it would have been worth a try.

Then I weighed her on the scale; 13.6 pounds. She weighed 12.4 pounds at our last exam; she has gained more muscle mass since then, but I think she also needs to lose a bit of extra "flabby weight" as well! She's not overweight at all, but I like to keep my dogs very slim for agility.

Mika finally took a few treats as we were waiting for the vet. She was shaking, though.

Then our vet arrived, and we went into the exam room. She checked Mika over and had no concerns at all. Then I mentioned how I've noticed that Mika's fur has been thinning (all over her body, not in patches), and that I'd like to have her thyroid tested. (Hypothyroidism is a hugely underdiagnosed problem, and thinning fur is one of the symptoms of it.) Our vet wasn't too concerned about her thyroid, but agreed to start with a free T4 test, which can also be included in a huge collection of tests including tests for the liver, kidneys, pancreas, etc. I kind of wanted the full thyroid panel, but agreed to go along with her suggestion because it included a lot of other tests that are very important for aging Miniature Schnauzers.

Mika was taken in the back to have her blood drawn, and I felt just terrible; she must have bee so stressed and wondering what was going on, why these "strange people" were taking her away. I'm sure she was extremely cooperative -- she always is -- but I couldn't help worrying. Of course, in a few minutes she was brought back, and all was well again. The vet told us that we'll be called about the test results in around two days.

Then our exam was done. Our vet let us know that there was a German Shepherd outside in the waiting room, and so I was prepared as I walked out of the exam room with Mika in my arms, turning my body to block her view of the other dog; but then I saw that it was a big BLACK German Shepherd, ugh oh. But Mika didn't see the GSD right away, until the owner walked into the exam room with it, and then she was just so eager and relieved to be leaving the vet that she didn't care at all.

*****

I'm resting Wall-e for two weeks because a few days ago, on Sunday, I noticed that he was slightly lame in his front right leg (was limping a bit). He's not limping at all anymore, but I'll still continue resting him, just in case. I'm glad that it's not his rear leg again, although I'd been hoping that he could go the full year without any lameness, no matter how slight, but at least it's nothing big. I find it's ironic that Wall-e's been lame three times in the past year because he is SO fit and slim, and has awesome muscle mass...I guess it's just his hard-driving way of living that he chooses that makes him more likely to be injured. Especially running along the fence in the backyard chasing cars, which I've been limiting, but he's so crazy about doing it that I suspect it's caused two of the three lamenesses he's experienced (one was caused by agility for sure, but the other two are unknown).

Awesome vet appointment

Wall-e had his vet appointment (routine exam) on Wednesday this week. I thought it was last week, but turns out that I was thinking a week early.

Every time I go with either Mika or Wall-e, I appreciate what a great vet we have! We're lucky to have a vet who really takes the time to explain things. We always have interesting discussions. Our vet has mostly a holistic approach; not fully holistic, but mostly. Being a holistic fan and follower myself, I think that's great.

The vet felt Wall-e's knees and hips and didn't see a problem; she said that they felt great, actually. He hasn't been limping or showing any other signs of lameness since I posted last week saying that he was sound again.

We had a long discussion on whether or not to give him a parvovirus vaccine. I take a more-is-not-always-better approach to vaccinations and am constantly reading about the alternatives, short-term and long-terms side effects, and pros and cons of vaccines. In the end, I was convinced that the vaccine would do more good than harm in the long run, so Wall-e was given a modified live parvo vaccine and received a dosage of a homeopathic detox afterward. I gave it to him again yesterday and he'll be getting more today, and then he's done. (Luckily for him! He hates the taste and makes a big face after it goes in his mouth!)

Finally, he got his heartworm test, which was definitely negative. He has the yellow wrap (with a heart on it!) around his leg because that's where they took the blood.


I wanted to say thanks to everyone for your encouragement when Wall-e was lame! I was really worried at the time. I'm so glad that it looks like it was only a soft-tissue injury and nothing serious!

Mika's vet visit

Mika had a routine veterinary exam today. This was a new vet's office, the one where we took Wall-e when we first got him. We really like this vet because she specializes in holistic practices. We discussed some things with the vet, including possible allergies (Mika has been licking her paw for the past week and a half). The vet thinks that Mika might be allergic to ragweed and/or other things in the environment...her symptoms aren't too bad, though, and the itchiness on her paw seems to have been decreasing, so she doesn't need treatment. Anyway, we aren't sure if it's really allergies -- it could be some kind of infection, or something else. I don't want to treat something if I don't know what it is.

We bought some digestive enzymes too (in a powder format) for adding to their meals.Then she got her heart worm test -- negative, that's always a relief!

~Nat

Wall-e got microchipped

Just a quick update: Wall-e got microchipped today. I was a bit concerned because I wasn't allowed to go in the room with him (thought he might be scared) but he came back completely happy and his normal self. He even wanted to go back in the room! (He probably saw other dogs -- he loves other dogs.)

~Nat

Wall-e's vet appointment

Wall-e posing!

We went to the vet today for the little man's rabies vaccination. (Which he didn't end up getting, the vet said that we could wait a bit until he's more mature.) We discussed his crooked tooth, she said we can wait and see how it does. It hasn't grown at all in about a week, so it might not grow at all anymore. If it does grow any more, it'll probably be pulled.

Also we'll most likely castrate him when he's 13 months, unless he starts being influenced a lot by his hormones, and sniffing and getting distracted constantly, etc. If he does start to do that, we'll consider castrating him before 13 months.

~Nat