Our Dogs' Health Issues

Arthritis ~Pixie was diagnosed with arthritis (at 6yrs old) after she was displaying a limp, an avoidance of putting weight on her front right paw; Her arthritis is most obvious after playing ball and in cold weather. However, she will continue to play ball limping if we don't stop her. ~Our Vet recommended (1) a small dose of buffered aspirin which seems to work well and (2)forcing Pixie to stop chasing balls when limping is evident! ~More Info. @  www.peteducation.com/dogs/dogarthritis.htm

Bladder Stones and Crystals in Urine ~Both Ashley and Brandee are/were prone to developing crystals in their urine. Brandee eventually developed stones (at around 8 yrs.old) which had to be surgically removed. Their  symptoms were  frequent urination, straining to urinate and indoor accidents. ~Our vet perscribed a special food and restricted diet. (Hill's c/d) ~More Info. @ www.mscc.ca/urolithiasis

Pixie with two incisions from mast cell tumor removal;   Feb. 2000

Helpful Links: for General Health Issues: www.peteducation.com www.petview.com/pc/pcindex.html for Schnauzer-Specific Health Issues: www.mscc.ca/issues.html Message Boards for animal health questions: acmepet.petsmart.com/club/bboard

Car-sickness ~ 95% of carsickness in dogs is due to stress rather than motion.* ~ Ashley developed car sickness only after we got an SUV  (thinking it would be a great vehicle to transport dogs in). The high center of gravity and less than smooth ride made Ashley very sick. ~Our vet recommended a different car ;) Now we fold the seats back so Ashley can sit on the floor and take extra special care when turning and stopping, etc.. We also found crating her as to restrict her standing and moving around to be helpful. And most importantly, we try not to feed her just before a car ride.  Some vets recommend OTC drugs and tranquilizers. More info. & tips @ www.libertynet.org/spca/articles/spca10a.html

Hypothyroidism ~ In October 1999, Pixie, then 8 yrs. old, was panting a lot, often in the middle of the night, thirsty & drinking a lot, and had lost her tolerance to play hard. At first, I chalked it up to "old age settling in." But after mentioning it to my vet, she ran some tests and found it to be hypothyroidism. ~ This disease, for me anyway, is complicated and a lot of reading was neccessary to understand it. It is easily treatable with the synthetic hormone replacement drug Thyroxine. However, she will have to take it for the rest of her life, and the tricky part is, her needs may change over time and testing periodically for proper dosage is necessary. This should not discourage you, should you find yourself in the same postion. The drug is very inexpensive and the monitoring of your dog is simple. Two excellent sources of info on hypothyroidism: acmepet.petsmart.com/content/health/thyroid.html www.peteducation.com/dogs/hypothyroid.htm

Depression is often a sign of illness in a dog.

Mast Cell Tumors and Sebaceous Cysts ~ I 'm grouping these two together because I can never tell them apart. Since she was about 7, Pixie had been developing "bumps" under her skin that her vet called cysts, or harmless fatty deposits and said they were common in Schnauzers. (Brandee had them too) But in 1998, she developed a "wart-like" tumor on her skin, rather than under like the ones previous. Our vet aspirated this mass, along with the 1/2 dozen under-the-skin tumors. The "wart" was the only one that showed cause for concern. (The tumor wasn't looked at by a vet until Aprill 1999 and surgery was postponed until Feb 2000 as Pixie's was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and the vet thought it best to get that under control before surgery) ~ The surgery went well and the biopsy showed that the tumor was a Grade II and that the margins were clean, meaning there was less chance of it reoccuring and that it was contained to the "wart" and had not metastasized (spread) to other areas and organs. update:Pixie has developed three new "wart-like" tumors just in the past few months. They will be aspirated (as soon as the pancreatitus thing is under control) and I will post the results soon. I have been unable to find any good info. on the net about sebaceous cysts; if anyone has any good links, please email them to me! ebetharoo@yahoo.com Here is more info. on Mast Cell Tumors: www.oncolink.upenn.edu/specialty/vet_onc/treat/dog_mct.html

It's easy to mistake a bladder infection for a behavioral problem and Schnauzer Bumps for fleas.

Pancreatitis and Hyperlipidimia ~ Our most recent diagnosis: (10/15/00) Pixie was throwing up for 24 hours straight - couldn't even hold water down. But her bowel movements had been normal. I did notice she was lathergic and depressed. And for the first time ever, Pixie had lost her appetite.I called her vet (an awesome  vet who knows & remembers Pixie's history and has a vast familiarity with the MS breed).  Right away she suspected pancreatitis. Last year, on a blood test for thyroid, she noticed Pixie's Lipid levels were slightly elevated. "Something to keep an eye on" she said. Sure enough when the bloodwork came back on this one - she had hyperlipidimia. The normal range was under 250 - Pixie's lipids were over 4000. Considering the danger she was in, Pixie was doing very well. Once we stopped trying to get her to eat & drink, she stopped throwing up and had more energy. ~ During an attack of pancreatitis, it is imortant to withhold all food and water to let the pacreas "rest". It is also important that the patient does not become dehydrated. Pixie was given subcutaneous (under the skin) fluids. ~ This was probably something that Pixie was prediposed to and will reoccur without attentive care and a restricted diet. The vet has prescribed a low fat/high fiber diet (Hill's w/d). More info @ www.peteducation.com/cats_dogs/pancreatitis.htm

"95% of carsickness in dogs is due to stress rather than motion."*

Schnauzer Bumps ~ For a long time I thought that the little black bumps on Ashley's back were flea poop! Then I met a vet who knew a lot about Schnauzers and she said they were "Schnauzer Bumps," little acne-like black heads from oily skin. ~ The vet recommended a Sebalyt shampoo bath every two weeks ~ I haven't seen them since!

Ticks and Fleas ~ Fleas haven't been much of an issue since we left Florida, but from May through November the dogs are on Sentinel, a heartworm and flea infestation  preventative taken oraly once a month. The drug keeps the fleas that bite the dogs from reproducing. I think that their regular baths help a lot too. ~ Ticks on the other hand, have been a major problem this season. Here's a great article on removing ticks the right way: www.petview.com/bugs/bugindex.html

A good vet is the only insurance policy you can have for your pets.

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