We call ‘em “alligators”, the little feisty dogs that try to snap off the tips of your fingers. Since most veterinarians have something scheduled the rest of their day, we resist these efforts at dismemberment as skillfully as possible. With a smile on our face. But Tucker was pretty charming, despite his snapping teeth. Weighing in at 7 pounds, 3 ounces, I had known this little Pomeranian since he was a puppy and they don’t come any more beautiful. Half his weight was surely hair, luxuriant deep black with gold highlights. He and his red-headed Pomeranian sisters looked like real stuffed toys and we loved to see them come in. I didn’t hold it against Tucker that he didn’t like needles. It happens.

 

So when the little guy showed up and didn’t make an effort to protest my ministrations I was worried. He didn’t look good. Most obviously, his coat was dull, with big round patches falling out over both shoulders. His weight hadn’t changed any and my exam didn’t reveal anything particularly wrong, except his balding. So I ordered a batch of blood tests and we waited for the results.

 

And it was easy! Have you guessed? A thyroid disorder! Classic, text book case of low functioning hypo-thyroidism. Now the thyroid is a gland in the body that regulates “metabolism” – energy levels, if you feel warm or cold, hair growth, even some effects on the way your heart beats. In dogs, the most obvious outward sign is symmetrical hair loss on the body and lethargy – and Tucker was all that to a “T”! Just reading the lab report I glowed. It was good news for my patient, because the thyroid replacement hormone treatment that Tucker needed was as easy as a pill, and very affordable. Just give twice a day and Presto! magic hair regrowth! I called his owners with the good news and we began treatment right away. Bonus: I had recently joined my clinic in on-line Blogs, and thought this would be the perfect case to follow on-line.

 

That was in April of last year. I followed up with Tucker in May and was disappointed not to see much improvement. By June he was still bald, but his blood test was low, indicating lack of response to the medication. I conferred with my colleagues. We increased his doseage, but saw no response judging by his baldness; however the blood test read normal T4 levels by now. As the months passed I consulted an endocrinologist (hormone disease specialist) and tried a different form of thyroid replacement. Tucker remained apathetic during his exams, and worse, began to lose even more hair. It just kinda fell out – he never scratched and his skin was smooth underneath. Through all of this his owners were patient and kind to me, which only made me more frantic. This was my EASY case, the “give him a pill and I can make miracles happen” case. Please note the word “I” in there. Forgotten was the idea to showcase him in my blog.

 

By October it was clear that he was losing a lot more hair. I decided maybe he liked me after all, he was so passive on exam. Desperate, I consulted yet another endocrinologist. This good doctor suggested the possibility of “Alopecia X” (alopecia is fancy doctor speak for “bald”), a poorly understood disease that mimics other hormonal disorders but responds to neutering, and after rambling on about this or that faint possibility, suggested we neuter Tucker. Many dogs with Alopecia X respond to this “treatment” – but no guarantees.

 

So we did. Now, several weeks post-operatively, Tucker has regrown hair over 75% of his body. His glorious mane has yet to return, but by golly, his spirit has certainly perked up! The little guy growled at me through his whole exam today and I must say that I am most grateful!

 

Christine McFadden, DVM

drmc@mcmenagerie.com

 

 

I have followed with some interest the newspaper stories on the invasive fungus, coccidiodomycosis, that causes Valley Fever in people here, up and down the Central Valley. Coming from Arizona years ago, another dry, warm climate where the Fungal infection is extremely common, I learned a lot about Valley Fever, if for no other reason than you won’t pass the Arizona State Boards to practice there if you don’t. It’s just that common in Arizona, the fungal spores picked up in the dry winds blowing off the mountains and desert, settling in the lungs and bodies of two especially susceptible species : Man and his best friend, the dog.

This is not your everyday little athlete’s foot fungus or swimmers ear kind of yeast that creates mildly aggravating rashes and inspires odd TV commercials. While most fungi like a moist environment, they have trouble getting past the body’s great defense : skin. Coccidiodomycosis (we’re going to shorten that to “VF” for Valley Fever pretty quick here) is a “systemic” fungi, meaning the fungal spores invade deep inside the bodies’ systems and organs. I know of 3 different systemic fungi common to the United States, each found primarily in its own region of the country. For us in the Central Valley desert and arid parts of the West, we have to deal with Valley Fever.

It was July of 2011 when Mr. Cardwell brought his dog in. Named “Tick”, she was a hound of mixed pedigree (a bit of a mystery, but every girl needs that) going into her 11^th year of age. “Tick” had been coughing for a couple days, just a little tickle in her throat but rather persistent. The common stuff we were looking for ran the gamut from Kennel Cough to Heartworm disease to Congestive Heart Failure to Cancer and then some. Every veterinarian’s mind has a ticker tape running through a list of disease possibilities that rivals any Wall Street machine.

We noted she had a high fever. Her weight was good, even plump. We took a set of chest x-rays, and there on the images that captured the outlines of her heart and lungs we could see a fuzzy white shadow lurking low in the right lung. Hmmm. Unfortunately, indistinct shadows are not enough to make a diagnosis (choices, always other possibilities!) and Tick didn’t seem so very sick to Mr. Cardwell. Reasonably enough he asked to treat her for something like Kennel Cough ( a story on that disease complex later, please), so we complied with a course of antibiotics and cough suppressants.

Which was all well and fine, but no one consulted Tick, and she wasn’t having any of this medicine stuff. No way, no how. After a couple of trips back to our hospital  to discuss new ways to get a pill into her, we weren’t sure if her failure to improve was because she wasn’t getting her meds or if it was time to go further in our diagnostic tests. Ten days after we’d first examined her, Tick’s fever was down, but so was her weight. She’d lost 4 pounds (she started at 28) and her lungs sounded dry and crackly. The coughing was persistent, though still more of a wheeze. Mr. Cardwell gave the ok for a battery of general blood and urine tests, which revealed that she did not have heartworm and that most of her organs were functioning well but she had a terrible infection driving her white cell count up over 36,000 (normal’s probably around 8,000).  I liken the white cells of the body to Soldiers marching off to battle disease and infection : 36,000 soldiers is a huge army. What WAS that white stuff in her lungs? We sent out a blood test checking for Valley Fever. Tick’s tests were positive on 2 out of 3 run for coccidiodomycosis. Bingo! Definitive diagnosis!

With this information, and knowing that her other tests and body organs were normal, we could recommend a treatment plan, one where she would take a powerful anti-fungal pill for a minimum of 6 months (such a long time!), and knowing that some dogs immune systems never can quite fight it off and either require medication the rest of their life or, worse, may not tolerate the strong pill necessary to save them.

Tick started her pills the next day. They had to be hidden in home cooked chicken smushed in a cheese ball. We didn’t mind. Five days later she had lost another 1 ½ pounds and was sleeping a lot, but her owner reported the cough had slowed considerably. Within 2 weeks she was jumping onto the bed at home ( it’s the little things you don’t notice fading away sometimes), had no cough, and was firmly addicted to Velveeta cheese.

Listening to her lungs through my stethoscope wasn’t quite as great an experience – that raspiness was to remain for a long time – but over the ensuing months Tick’s blood counts slowly normalized and she regained her weight. One year later she was finished with medication and deemed fully recovered, as do approximately 80% of treated dog cases. ( You may find more information at The Valley Fever Center For Excellence at the University of Arizona). Only her daily Velveeta cheese serves as a reminder of Ticks’ terrible near death experience with Valley Fever.

Christine McFadden, DVM

drmc@mcmenagerie.com

 

Ahhh, man loves obedience. He loves it in his wife (remember those wedding vows?), he loves it in the laws, and most of all, he loves it in his dog.

An obedience trained dog does not grow on trees, however. It is amazing for me to listen to people complain about their dogs behavior when they allow him or her into the house after leaving them outside alone all day! To be a part of your family your dog must SPEND TIME with the family!

An endorsement for the value of obedience training was once graphically enacted out in my waiting room. I watched one afternoon while an elegantly dressed woman, complete in velvet jumpsuit and heavy diamonds, was positively muddied by her large collie as it alternately jumped on her, strained away from her, caught it’s chain around her ankle – by the time she reached the exam room the woman was disheveled, exhausted and quite frankly didn’t give a darn about her pet’s health. She hated that dog.

There’s a lot to be said for the value of signing your dog up for an obedience course. Yes, you can probably teach your dog to sit on command very easily – especially in the kitchen with a treat. But a good obedience class takes you both so much further. It will teach you how to communicate with your dog and train you in leash etiquette and social manners so that your dog will listen and behave even with the distraction of other dogs around. This is invaluable – your pet will be under control on walks, at no risk of running away or being hit by a car. You will both be confident of your bond and can enjoy trips, camping, travels to beaches and picnics – your dog will be welcome everywhere as “family”. That is the magic which obedience lessons confer upon you.

I must insert a small disclaimer here, a bit of “fine print” that not every dog is a cookie cutter success in obedience work. Each breed has strengths to build from, each pet will introduce their own personality into the mix. Sometimes even veterinarians who have trained and shown their dogs in obedience trials (me) can encounter challenges. Years ago we had taken in two puppies simultaneously, very different breeds : a Bouvier des Flanders and an Irish Wolfhound. Now Bouviers are often used in police work, and are widely recognized for their intelligence and agility. Irish Wolfhounds are a “giant” breed, with a great history and “backstory” – hunting down wolves and all that – but the modern dog is docile and frankly, are snooze hounds. 180 pound snoozers, that is. The afternoon their basic training commenced I had my older son, Stan, assisting. I demonstrated the basics of initiating “heel” and “sit”, then turned the Bouvier over to him and was pleased to see immediate results. Eager to please and loving the attention, the Bouvier managed about 20 sits in 5 minutes. I turned my attention to the Irish Wolfhound. It was a warm afternoon. We started off with a slow walk, and then I asked for a “sit”. My dog stared at me. Confidently, I corrected him while gently pushing down over his hindquarters. Nothing moved. His tongue lolled out as he began to pant and looked longingly back at the house. I pulled up on his leash harder and pushed down on his back, repeating my command ( Rule #1 : Never repeat yourself or the dog won’t learn to respond the first time you give a command. Every rule has its exception, right?). Again, those big brown eyes searched my face wonderingly. I placed both hands firmly on his hindquarters and pushed with all my might, yelling “Sit!”. Ever so slowly, he lowered his elegant backside to the ground. Phew! Elated with this progress, I circled back to position ( the dog is supposed to do that, but never mind), took up the slack in the leash and firmly commanded, “Heel”, stepping forward. I was jerked back because the dog never moved. I turned to face him and there, plain as day, his face reproved me for not being able to make up my mind! First I wanted him to sit and now that he was sitting I wanted him to get up, well, wasn’t that the silliest thing ever.

We stared at each other for several moments. He refused to move until I turned his head towards the house and said fine, let’s call it a day. Eventually that Bouvier learned to heel and spin on a dime off leash……but the Irish Wolfhound only learned how to swing himself on the back porch.

I always recommend obedience training to my clients. What you and your dog get out of the classes may not result in military precision obedience maneuvers but you’ll definitely bond over the experience. If you are truly interested in trialing your dog at obedience shows there are some breeds you are unlikely to consider. But if you’re looking for a great lap dog for a football team, have I got the dog for you!

Christine McFadden, DVM
drmc@mcmenagerie.com