Mya's Life: January 2006

Friday, January 27, 2006

Allergies

What symptoms should you be looking for to check if your dog has a wheat allergy:

I have indicated what symptoms Mya has had.

Itchy skin (yes)
Shaking of the head (yes)
Ear inflammation (yes)
Licking front paws (yes)
Rubbing face on carpet (no)
Vomiting (yes, bile sometimes)
Diarrhoea (no)
Flatulence (yes)
Sneezing (yes)
Asthma like symptoms (no)
Anal itching (no)
Behavioural changes (no)
Seizures (no)

I know this isn't scientific but I had to figure out what Mya was reacting to. First I took out chicken from her diet, no big change noticed. Then I removed wheat from her diet, within weeks, she was doing so much better. No more green guck coming from her eyes, ear infection gone, no more yeast infection or discharge and the itching stopped, well, until she got fleas.

So, after going through so many different foods, I found that Solid Gold lamb and rice works well. In between that I tried Salmon food, beef etc, but those didn't work well. Also, you have to watch out that the food doesn't contain chicken fat or chicken liver. Right now, I'm trying Holistic Blend, lamb and rice. It's only been a week so I can't really notice a big change yet, but I'll let you know. It's a little cheaper than some of the other holistic blends, so I thought I would give it a try.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Schnauzer Slam

These are some people on a trail with Mya and Bullet

Mya and Bullet and Tracy and a bit of Kevin

There is a cute short haired pointer hiding in there somewhere

Mya and Bullet. They got along great.

Tracy meeting another dog. No, you can't take him home too.

Lee, his son, Tracy and the Giants

Can't tell which Giants these are.

Tracy, Kevin and Bullet

Lee and his family, with Nitro and Mya.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Those Squirels

Mya's first duty when she goes outside is to make sure that there are no squirels in her yard. This picture was taken in the summer, but she checks Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.
The other day she was outside and I decided to check on her. She was sitting pretty under a tree while a squirel screamed at her. Yes, screamed. I thought it was going to attack Mya. Maybe Mya was too close to it's nest or something. But Mya just sat there, looking like she hoped this thing would come and play with her. The squirel ran away when I went outside to take a picture.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Wow did she grow!

I forgot how small Mya was when we brought her home! That's her in the leaves in Oct 2004. The bigger Mya was taken when she was about 1 year old.

Monday, January 09, 2006

To Crop or Not to Crop?

When I picked up Mya, her tail was already docked and her ears were cropped. I brought her home and her ears were perfect...for about a week. Then came ear taping hell! What an experience for someone who had no idea how to tape properly. A visit to the vet and a lot of help from people on the Giant Yahoo site helped, and thankfully, her ears are perfectly straight!!!!

(But they weren't always that way!!!!)

Heat

I have been told to let a dog go through their first heat in order to avoid spay incontinence. Also, I was thinking about showing Mya, so I held off on the spay until I was sure about what I wanted to do. I just thought it would be a good idea for me to record when it happened.

First heat - April 2005

Second heat - Sept 2005

Third heat - Feb 22, 2006

Sunday, January 08, 2006

Nail Clipping

I have never had a problem clipping Mya's nails or Jasper's nails before. Today, for the first time, I cut Mya's nail on the back paw too short. I only noticed it after I came home from Petsmart and took her out of ther crate. I couldn't remember if the homemade solution was baking soda and water or baking powder and water. I tried both and it just made it worse. So, back in the crate she went, I raced to the pet store and bought the good stuff. The hardest part was trying to get her to stand still or lay still while I tried to dip her toe into this stuff. Ahhhhh, it finally stopped!