Wine trail weekend

We had great weather for our wine trail weekend in Hermann. The views at the wineries were great. The theme this weekend was berries and BBQ so we had lots of good BBQ and some of the wines were berry themed. 

 

    

 

 

We stayed at a great bed and breakfast. The bed was comfortable, the grounds were beautiful, peaceful and private, plus there was a hot tub and cat for petting!

 

    

Perception vs reality

Clients frequently have the same interpretation of their pet's condition or illness that makes sense to them in some way, but in reality is probably totally inaccurate.  Here are things we hear all the time.

Presentation: Pet is coughing or hacking

Client interpretation: Pet is choking/has something stuck in throat

Reality: This is extremely rare (espeically if the animal is eating, drinking, and breathing normally).  In 13 years I think I have pulled approximately 2 things out of a dog's throat. 

Presentation: Limping

Client interpretation: Broken leg

Reality: Fracture is one of the least common causes of lameness, particularly without a known significant trauma.

Presentation: Adult or geriatric animal with significant illness or weight loss

Client interpretation: Might be worms

Reality: Relatively uncommon.  I have seen about 3 cases of intestinal parasites causing significant illness and/or death.  Always whipworms FYI.  And one of those dogs also had renal failure so the worms may not have been a big factor in the end.  

Presentation: Circular skin lesions

Client interpretation: Ringworm

Reality:  Ringworm is  not actually that common and there are several things that can cause circular skin lesions. 

Presentation: Healthy dog not on heartworm prevention

Client interpretation: My dog does not have Heartworms/need a Heartworm test because

     A) We have never had a problem with Heartworms/he's acting fine/he's eating normal

     B) He doesn't go outside

     C) He's not around other dogs

Reality: A) Dogs can be asymptomatic for a long time.  When you know you have a problem, you really have a problem

              B) Mosquitos can get in your house.  Also your dog didn't arrive here in a bubble, so he must go outside at least a little

              C) Heatworms are spread by mosquitoes. Not directly by other dogs. 

Presentation: Mass on or under the skin

Client interpretation: It's not bothering him so it's not a problem

Reality.  Maybe yes, maybe no. "Not bothering" the dog is not a good way to assess possible neoplasia.

Presentation: Unexplained swelling, abscess, or puncture wounds 

Client interpretation: Bit by spider, snake, or wild animal

Reality: Maybe.  Most of the time no one actually saw what happened.  If it's a dog, and he has lesions on his face, head or neck he may have been bit or stung by sniffing around somewhere.  If it 's a cat, he probably got in a fight with another cat.  I think altercations with or attacks by wild mammals are rare. But, you never know, most of the time the only witness isn't talking.  

Presentation: Swelling plus/minus draining tract between toes 

Client interpretation: Something stuck in foot 

Reality: Not that common. Only a few times have I actually removed something from a foot. May vary with your local geography. Also there may have been something there at one time, but is gone by the time you get to the vet and just an abscess or cyst is left. 

The Unusual: Part 13

Wow, 13 of these posts!  I guess in a way that's not surprising.  Here ya go...

1.  Client wanted to know if we sold or knew of a flea shampoo he could use on himself.  Kudos for being proactive, but...gross.  

2.  Owner asked if the flea, tick, and heartworm preventatives he was using was making his dog 'big."  Um no, they don't really increase natural growth potential.  

3.  I had a client FaceTime a euthanasia.  Creepy. 

4.  Client had a bleeding steer that they wanted treated, but couldn't catch. 

5.  Borrowed this one from a friend's clinic-client wanted to know how long it took for a dog to cool after death because they thought their dog was dead but were concerned that it was still warm.  They thought it should be cold by now. 

6.  After being told to use Benadryl for their dog's swollen face they still asked if they should put baking soda on the hives. 

7.  During a routine post surgical follow up call for a neuter the owner indicated the dog was doing fine but asked why we left the penis. 

8.  Caller had concerns about her dog ingesting Monistat and gave way too many personal details.  Don't ask. 

Hello. Goodbye.

I picked up this amazingly handsome dog Wednesday afternoon.  He's a ball playing fool and and pretty fun boy.  His name is Rhett.  At least for now.

Yesterday, my local friend and fellow border collie loving veterinarian came and adopted him.  Fastest adoption ever!  I'm a little sad I didn't get to enjoy him longer but kind of relieved to not have two fosters in the house!

Happy birthday Slick!

The pasture princess turned 25 today.  These pics are a few weeks old.  Today she is covered in tree sap and sweat, and had her teeth worked on.  I'm not sure she appreciated that gift.  But in a few days she will!

Sweet sixteen

In the midst of the crazy weekend we had a sixteenth wedding anniversary. I'm an awfully lucky girl to have a man that spends our anniversary setting up for agility trials without complaints, letting a friend tag along to dinner (which I'm sure involved more talk about dogs than he planned), giving up part of his day off to tear down the agility trial, driving all over creation with me for Nosework trials, and of course tolerating my never ending quest to save all the homeless Border Collies. 

I can never say thank you enough babe. I love you, happy anniversary. 

 

 

Nike!

Nike rocked her "adopt me" photos.  I think they turned out super cute.  So, here she is!

 I has some fun with this one :)

Nike is a 10-12 month old female Border collie found as a stray.  She was pulled from a kill shelter where she was too stressed to be adopted.  Nike can be very shy when she meets new people but warms up quickly with a few cookies and a little encouragement.  Within 24 hours of arriving in her foster home she was acting like a normal, happy dog. 

Nike is a sweet girl, but a very rambunctious puppy!  She is working on general manners such as not jumping on people or things (countertops, doors, etc), being quiet in her crate and also basic obedience.  She also tends to play bite/nip at her people when she gets excited.  Nike is crate trained but it can take a  little encouragement to get her in and a little while for her to quiet down.  She is mostly housebroken.

She likes other dogs once she gets to know them and plays all kinds of games with her foster brother.  She is pretty good about not bothering dogs who don't want to play as well at the cats. 

Nike enjoys rawhide chews, is very food motivated and playing with toys more and more the longer she has been here.  She recently attended and agility trial which was a great socialization experience for her and she made a lot of progress on learning that strangers don't have to be scary.  She rides quietly in the car but should have a seatbelt or crate so she doesn't try to get in the front seat with you!

Nike will require a fenced yard and a patient family that is willing to continue her socialization and training.  Willingness to take and obedience class, or , a very experienced family will be required.  At this time we are not adopting Nike to families with children under 10 but this may change as her training progresses.  Nike has sport dog potential and will be a fabulous dog with a little time and training!  She currently weighs about 35 lbs and has a medium length coat. 

Agility, for a change

This weekend was our local NADAC trial.  Despite not having done much agility in a year the girls did great.  Lyric ran perfectly in all her runs yesterday except for her weave poles.  Today she was perfect again and Q'd in all four runs to earn her Superior elite tunnelers title.

Legend picked up a regular and a tunnelers Q.  And, are you ready?  She finally finished her Elite Touch and Go title!  Plus she had two really nice almost chances runs.

Epic went Saturday and was a very good boy.  He played with new friends and got to meet a lot of people.  Nike went today and did a good job of learning that not everyone needs to be scary.

The raffle was a bit hit again and I even won something!  Pretty good weekend seeing friends and playing with dogs!

Duty calls

We had hoped to have a little time with no foster dogs but...

 

 

These sweet girls were abandoned at the local shelter so we kept them a few days before sending them to their new foster homes. 

We dropped them off in KS this morning and came home with this girl. 

 

  

"Nike" is about 10 months old and was a stray in the Wichita area. She's very shy at first but has been warming up nicely since getting here. More info to come!

Dog sports, potential, and passing judgement

I recently came across a thread on Facebook that essentially bashed the sport of nosework for a few disturbing reasons.  One, they expressed concerns over the use of essential oils saying that they were damaging to the dog and only used to make it easier for the dog because the person could also smell them.  Clearly these people have no idea how the sport actually works.  Because if I could walk in a search area and find the odor, I probably would have not failed my last eight NW3s! Then there were people who decscribed doing nosework as a "waste" because we could be training the dogs for search and rescue or police work, etc.  Apparently they never even consider that not everyone has an interest in or lifestyle that allows for the commitment that these activities call for.  Meanwhile they are signing their dog up for trick classes or competing in agility with dogs that were bred to herd.  I'm sure there are plenty of farmers who think they are wasting the ability of these dogs.  In fact there are millions and millions of dogs out there living perfectly happy lives doing something other than what they were bred for.  And most are also not performing any function that directly serves the community or impacts society.  Quite frankly, most dogs are "just' pets and that's a totally worthy activity.  The bottom line is that as long as you and your dog are happy, that's all that matters.  If a person is so worried about a dog's potential being wasted they should go adopt one from a shelter and give it a life and chance to do something.  Those are the dogs whose potential is being wasted.  They are not even getting the chance to bring joy to someone's life.  

There is also of plenty of inter-venue bashing going in within sports.  Which one is more prestigious, harder, safer, etc.  Everyone has their own opinion but that doesn't make it ok to trash talk someone else's choice.  You have to choose what is best for you and your dog and realize that it won't be the same for everyone.  So if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. 

Holiday weekend

These are a collection of pics I took while the animals were not freaking out about the fireworks.

 She's wet and dirty from the pool.  So her typical summer look.

 This is really the perfect pose, but I need the rope removed.  It was too much work based on the way it crosses all her legs.

 Socks and Squirt were too excited about the grass to pick up their heads, but they still look cute.

And he's one!

Today is Epic's computer-generated, estimated birthday.  Although he's still very much a puppy!  His new crate came today and he's all signed up for obedience and nosework classes!

He's doing really well with the cats and in general making a good transition to the house and having some freedom.  He will chew on things that are not his and isn't totally housebroken, but overall I'm happy with how he is settling in.  He very much likes not having to live in a crate anymore.  He was neutered last week and the pin pulled out of his leg.  I think having the pin out has made him use the leg better.  Hopefully he continues to improve but he may need some PT if not.

I got out the good camera for a few birthday shots.