Incorrect Liver Shunt Diagnosis?

Picture on Left: Prince Alvin The Patient Catching His Breath After Partying Too Hardy

In the last month, Alvin has visited the vet 3 times for blood work, and is about to go again this week.

Why are we putting the pup through numerous blood tests?
The vet's lab has returned 2/4 results so far that indicate he has a possible liver shunt condition. Since this condition can be fatal, we want to make sure the lab results are correct. Allegedly this lab had problems calibrating its centrifuge - and that's why more than one animal's blood tests returned with high liver enzymes.

Today I asked the vet to do one more test and send it to another lab for analysis. He agreed that before Alvin has neuter surgery on Monday, one more test would be wise.

Playing with an Animal's Health
As I'm writing this blog entry, I'm wondering if these labs are regulated or can they just not maintain their equipment and get away with it? Causing unnecessary pain for an animal and emotional pain (and additional costs) for owners is not the best way to stay in business.

I expect to learn the good news about this blood test on Saturday.

valmillsy

On another more positive note, I posted a Squidoo lens titled: The Best of the Designer Dogs - Cockapoos! Check out the Ten Reasons Why Cockapoos Are The Best Designer Dogs.

Do It Yourself Dog Grooming - Save Big Bucks!

One of the not-so-desirable Cockapoo characteristics is that they need to be groomed every six weeks or so. That's not a bad thing if you're rich. I'm not. At $65 -$75 dollars a dog, taking two dogs to a groomer is too costly. It would run about $565 - $650 a year.

So we bought a nail clipper and an electric trimmer. Then came the hard part - using them!

Prince Alvin, the Groomer's Dream
At 7 months, Alvin is (sometimes) calm AND he's been groomed by a professional. He does not seem to mind the clippers. As long as I hold his head, he's lulled into a trance by the sound of it.

These dog grooming clippers induce a hypnotic state for Alvin.


Sir Simon, the Groomer's Nightmare

This puppy may look innocent, but he's a little monster. Grooming Simon is not easy. Besides the fact that he has the attention span of a flea, the only way we can use the trimmer is if someone is feeding him treats at the same time.

The bad news is that during today's grooming session he ate a few too many treats mixed in with a few hair balls and barfed them up an hour later. He also has a few barer patches when he moved unexpectedly. He's good for about 2 minutes; then, he loses focus on the treats and starts moving.

The good news - over the last 3 times we've groomed him (once a week), we found out there was a puppy underneath all that hair. And he should associate grooming and the treats. Eventually, his grooming will get easier.

DIY Dog Grooming Tips
I can understand why you would not want to groom your dog on your own. But here's a plan that might work:

1. Get a cheap pair of clippers, scissors, brush, and a nail trimmer. Some dog grooming packages come with a DVD showing you how to groom. Note that the dogs in these DVDs are always perfectly calm!
2. Get your dog groomed professionally at least once. Take pictures so you know what he's supposed to look like.
3. Once you're ready to clip your dog (wait until he's at least 6 months old), get someone to help you . They can hold the dog's head so you can clip.
4. Feed the dog treats while you clip if he's not cooperating.
5. Clip in short increments of time - no more than a few minutes.

Best of luck with your DIY grooming!

valmillsy

Why Do People Keep Aggressive Dogs?

Today I was sitting on a park bench with a high school friend visiting from Texas. You know the scenario - beautiful September day; talking about high school, kids, and dogs; and resting Alvin, Simon, and me.

A young man asked us if his 3-year old daughter could pet the puppies. The man started talking about tennis. Then Alvin starting barking. He didn't move, but he was unhappy about something. I automatically shortened his leash in case he was barking at the little girl, but I was wrong.

There was a leashed (thank you god) Rottweiler walking toward us. Either his owner or the rot decided it would be fun to join the petting party.

The rot looked at Alvin and you could see the rot's aggression level rising. The hairs on his back were standing up. Apparently the owner saw the same thing, because he pulled the dog back - out of the group.

Now - this known aggressive dog is walking toward 2 small dogs and a young child. Would you let him try and join the group?

To owners of known aggressive dogs: Keep your big, ugly, nasty dog away from other dogs and children. You are crazy to even think about approaching a small child!

If Alvin was attacked by this rot, it would have been a nightmare - the little girl was between the rot and Alvin. The rot was big; Alvin is 15 pounds. Could have been quite a headline - Little Girl Injured in Fight Between David and Goliath!

Did Alvin provoke the attack - no - he was doing his job by warning us.

I'm not likely to take 2 small dogs to this park again. By the way, Simon slept through this incident - under the park bench.

valmillsy