Hoping for long term sucess

[annelb]

KC is my 10 year old Cairn Terrier. My husband and I noted a long time ago that she was slowing down in her run but thought it was just age. Then a few months ago she became lame in her back legs. This lameness progressed to a weakness so bad she could barely get up from a sit. She was unable to get over a curb and could only walk a few feet before sitting or lying down. She lost all interest in barking and that is serious for a terrier.

I have gluten sensitivity (wheat, barley, rye). Gluten sensitivity is known to cause neurological problems such as peripheral neuropathy, ataxia, seizures and dementia to name a few. Getting on a gluten free(GF) diet 4 years ago greatly helped my peripheral neuropathy and completely relieved my fatigue. I figured if gluten caused my health problems, it could be the cause of my dog's problems.

My husband went out of town for a week and that was my chance to put KC on a GF diet. I reduced her diet to a lamb and rice formula and little homemade hamburgers for a treat. Within days there was improvement in her strentgh and alertness. My husband was amazed when he got home.

We live in the country and KC has always been allowed to run free. The problem is that she runs to the neighbors and gets food. Three times she has felt good enough to go wandering and all three times she disappeared from sight, her health deteriorated the next day. As long as we keep her close, she gets stronger.

She has been on a GF diet for a few weeks and is now able to run up steps and hills. Barking is fun again. She is more alert. She still has a long way to go to get back all her strength, but we have hope. A few weeks ago we were talking about putting her to sleep and now we are joyful watching her improve every day.

Other positive changes we have noticed is that the skin on her belly no longer looks reddish. Little fatty tumors that were appearing here and there are gone - the vet had told us her serum was very fatty.

Her problems do not have anything to do with the melamine/gluten recall. The food she was on was not recalled but it did have wheat in it as most dogfoods do. Her kidney function was normal. Dogs are not supposed to eat wheat http://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?p_prodid=1445

For more information on gluten, check out the Gluten Sensitivity/Celiac Disease forum here on BT.

Anne

[Buttons2]

Thanks for sharing this Anne! And your KC is sooooo cute! Hope there's more improvement & you have several more years to enjoy the fun of having a Cairn terrier. No idea how to deal with the neighbor situation,perhaps ask them all to NOT feed your doggie cause of allergies? Or keep a treat with them that is OK to feed?Good luck,Buttons

[annelb]

The only way we can keep her from eating at other people's homes is to not let her run free. People seem to throw food out on the ground - at least they do in Arkansas. Maybe it is for the birds or the raccoons.

Anne

[annelb]

Here is an update on KC. She continues to improve on her strict gluten free diet. Neighbors and friends are amazed. Two people saw her this weekend for the first time in weeks and said they thought she would be dead by now.

This weekend she chased some squirrels, used her back legs to scratch her ears, ran up 8 steps and was able to lie down with her back legs stretched out(her favorite position). She also went on long walks and we did not have to carry her home and she never even sat down.

We are getting our KC back :cool:

If you want more information on living gluten free, there is a Gluten Sensitivity/Celiac Disease forum here on Braintalk.
Anne

[Buttons2]

I sure hope more people will read this & take note. Dogs used to eat nothing but table scraps & seemed to stay away from the vet & lived long lives......now seems they have all kinds of problems with mobility & even "human diseases" such as diabetes,cancer,epilepsy,thyroid,etc.

I've often wondered about the prepared dog food as a possible culprit for many of this ailments.

Thanks for sharing the good news, what a huge relief eh? What did your vet have to say about this?

Buttons

[annelb]

I have not taken her back to the vets' yet, but I plan to do that so they can see how well she is doing. Another perk from this strict diet is that she has less doggie odor.

I am afraid that table scraps are not a balanced diet for a dog especially in this world of highly processed foods.

Anne

[Buttons2]

By table scraps what I had in mind was not processed junk. Fresh veggies,meat,chicken,eggs-that kind of thing,what I eat myself. The little terrier mix,Pepper won't even eat dry dog food unless mixed with people food. She's 15 yrs old & spoiled to get whatever she wants at this time. Still full of energy & heart works well, only health problem is back hip makes jumping up difficult these days & stairs are getting harder for her.

I leave off the spices/herbs on food I share with the dogs. My biggest problem/concern is that my housemate gives out far too many dog biscuits when he's home-he refuses to admit these are not a good thing!

Hope your vet will take notice of how you changed things around with your doggie & did it without drugs......

Buttons

[annelb]

KC continues to improve. She is now able to jump up on the couch. The "tickle spots" on her belly have reappeared - you know, her back leg gets moving when she is scratched. She is always ready to play. It is great to see her back up and running. The only time there is a problem is if she gets something to eat with gluten. My husband is now convinced we can no longer let her run freely.

Anne

[Buttons2]

Well since I've been pretty much gluten-free myself I've noticed I feel better. Have less of the horrific fatique. Problem now is when I have energy I tend to overdue it! Yard work....haha,all those slack muscles are screaming out now! I even managed to complete a project I'd put off the past 3 1/2 years!

What exactly is your Cairn eating? Both dogs here are still eating Kirkland brand dry dog food,but it's running out & would like to try something different. I've stopped feeding them carbs because I'm not eating them (rice,potatoes,etc.) they get lean chicken breasts,steak,hamburger-cooked.

The dog biscuits are what's driving me nutso-I never feed them this stuff but whenever housemate walks inside the door the terrier goes into her little dance & yip for one & of course he feeds them to my dog also!:mad:

Glad to hear of the continued improvement in your doggie! Let us know what the vet has to say about this......maybe we can educate them even if we fail with our doctor's!

[annelb]

I am feeding her Nutro Lamb and rice. I am not sure I want her eating rice, but she seems to be doing well and rice is probably the least bad of the grains. I can find this easily.

Her treats are little hamburgers. We make up a bunch in the oven and freeze them. I can't find a dog bisquit that lookds as good as the hamburger treat.
Anne

[Buttons2]

You have an oven that freezes?? Hehe-couldn't resist that one!

All the pets here are getting flea meds today!

[joy]

that is one cute dog and I'm happy KC is doing better. We would be lost without our pets for sure!

[Buttons2]

The groomer was out of stock on meds so my housemate got some Advantage @ the local farm supply place,it only kills fleas. I called them to get prices on flea & tick stuff,now I'm throughly confused! She insisted only Frontline Plus has both. (thinking maybe she has Lyme disease),my research on the internet says there's an Advantage Plus.

then I asked which one she uses-she said she never uses either on her pets!

So my question is this: what type do you use,do you buy it online,if you don't use this stuff what do you use? B vitamins is one thing that came up,I used to try to sneak brewer's yeast into pet food but have no idea if that kills ticks?

this stuff is way too expensive! and I'm wondering if Pepper should have anything on her,she's so old (15+). Any thoughts?

It's so hot here right now I figure all the little beasties will be out in force,both dogs walk in high grass to get to the woods which of course have deer. If either had a flea I would know it cause fleas bite me everytime. It's the ticks I'm most concerned about.

Thanks for any suggestions,if I'd bothered to save the empy packages I'd know what we used in the past.......:rolleyes:

[annelb]

We use Frontline for fleas and ticks. Yeah, it is a poison and I would rather not use it on the dog but fleas and ticks can cause disease. I have heard that using a flea spray will shorten a dog's life. I don't know if that is true. I would think that a bad flea and tick infestation would also shorten a dog's life.

Everything we tried before Frontline did not work.
Anne

[Cry Tears]

I've got to jump in here...Sure wish I knew about this gluten stuff when my precious scrappy stinky Scotties were alive...we've had many scotties in our household...hubby is Scottish...even lived in Scotland...so we've got to have a Scotty around here! But sadly...we no longer have any these days.
Waiting for the right day...hey...hubbys BD is the 22nd...should I????
I want a full bred Scotty, Black....we've had a Wheaton and several Black Scotties.
Scotties are "holy Terriors!"...we loved them!
They have horrid skin problems...terribly allergic to flea bites...would end up on steriods for just a few flea bites.
I too didn't want to "poisen" my fur babies wtih that stuff...but
...after years of their suffering these horrid flea bites...we started with Frontline.
END OF FLEAS!...in fact...we used it only twice a year, not the amount they advised...didn't need to.
As it wiped out every flea around...and its been years we've had fleas.
My 3 cats...all indoor kitties...have never been treated AND they are totally flea'less!
But...I've got a package of Frontline and will USE it IF I see even ONE flea!
I'd rather take the chance with this stuff than have them suffer a flea bite which carries who knows what sort of diseases to them AND us!
Maybe could carry some horrid disease like Black plague that caused so many deaths way back when....was flea bites on RATS! Scary thoughts people!
Here's a story you may be interested in...my mom had a Pekinese dog...small smashed faced doggies with long hair...cute!
One day she had nuerulogical problems...she was unable to use her rear legs and became incontinant...she nearly died...ened up having to spend few days in the vet hospital hooked up to IV's when she magically got better.
Came home and within hours began having problems again!
This time the vet asked questions...What are you using around the house such as bug spray or such...was spring time in San Diego...always buggy there.
My mom had put up one of those "Pest Strips"...
SHE PUT THIS ABOVE THE KITCHEN TABLE...where everyone ate!:eek:
Talk about toxic!
As soon as she removed this, the little doggie stopped having problems!
She was deathly allergic to the toxins that this pest strip contained.
Vet had lots of sick doggies that year till they took it off the market, here in the US, but not abroad!
Now imagine what it did for a small baby?
I fed my new born baby son his applesauce less than 2 feet above his jumpy seat where I fed him!!! O M G!!!!!!!!!!!

[Buttons2]

Wow, that's interesting about the toxic bug strip! thanks for sharing the info. I ended up gettin K9Advantix from the vet,it's what he uses & he has 2 Cairn terriers by the way! He also insists Pepper is part Cairn.....I wish we could get her cloned before she goes to doggie heaven,she's such a doll! Who knows,she might outlive us all!

[joy]

Hi everyone. Cheryl I could not have read this post at a better time. Hubby was just talking about those pests strips. He usually keeps one of those hard kinds in our trash can to keep the flies away. But we have also been know to have one of those sticky kinds in our camper. Just leave it all the time. Now I'll have to mention that it might be the best thing to do for in the camper. We have enough troubles without any more.

[annelb]

Pests strips above the kitchen table :eek:

Glad that you mom figured it out for the benefit of everyone's health.
Anne

[annelb]

It has been a few months since I reported on KC. She is doing wonderfully on her gluten free diet. She is again full of energy and ready to play - just like a Cairn terrier should be. She is not back to 100% but she had a long way to go. I wanted to let you know the improvements continue.

Anne

[joy]

Anne I am glad for the improvement in your doggie's energy. Now I'm hoping for good news about Buttons dog Rags.

[annelb]

I did not think it possible, but KC is doing better than ever. I changed her diet again. She was on Nutro Lamb and Rice. I decided to remove ALL grains and use Call of the Wild Salmon. The binder is potato. I made this change because she was scratching and her belly always looked red. The vet gave her an antibiotic, but that did not help.

On the new food her energy level is even greater. She is 11 years old and running up and down the hills around the home without any difficulty. She has lost much of her doggy odor. Her belly is not red and she hardly scratches at all.

My husband and I are amazed how well she is doing. This was a dog who was about to be put to sleep because she could barely walk. It is wonderful seeing how full of life she is now.

Anne

[Buttons2]

Anne, this is great news! Rags is due for a new bag of food,he's been on 2 different no grain foods. Redness has recently come back (I agree the anti-biotics are worthless on this),however not much scratching. I'm gonna try to find this Nutro stuff-hoping it won't cost $38-58. per bag too! When a dog eats 4 cups per day that gets kinda pricey.

Sadly we had to have the little dog Pepper put down last month,she lived a long life & was loved by everyone she encountered.

Thanks for the update!

[joy]

Anne it is good to hear of the improvement in your dog. More energy and acting better, all good news. Lost a lot of doggy odor, sign me up, lol. My dog can use all of the improvments. I think I'll hunt to see if we can get that particular brand of food for our dog as well. He is a large dog, not as big as Rags but he likes to eat a lot. But if it does not break the bank, I think I'd like to try him on it to see how he does.

At 11 years of age and all the improvements maybe you will get to enjoy your dog for several more years to come. I hope so. :)

[annelb]

Hi Buttons, Nutro contains rice. Right not we are using Call of the Wild that does not contain any grains. It is more expensive than the Nutro, but it is less expensive than the vet bills for red, itchy skin.

Thanks for the well wishes Joy. It is wonderful having our KC back at a full run.

Anne

[annelb]

I don't post as often now, but I wanted to drop by and let you all know that KC is still doing great on her gluten free diet. I gave you the wrong name for the food she is eating. It is Taste of the Wild - she likes the salmon/potato.

She still has some fatty tumors here and there, but they don't seem to be growing or increasing.
Anne

[joy]

I am glad for you Ann. Our dog is getting old and I tell everyone that will listen that we let him enter the house first now. LOL In fact I am noticing him having more difficulty in walking and laying down. If I didn't know better I'd think he is losing his mind just like I'm sorta doing with mine. He listens and if he hears me enter the kitchen he'll show up just about every time. I have to open the back door and say outside? Sometimes he will exit the house and other times he will and then turn around and come right back inside. It's weird.

I may have to start trying very hard to paying attention to what we're feeding him and the same time etc anything I an do to help him. Someone we know that has an old dog mentioned a product called Dr. Frank or something like that. I keep meaning to look it up on the internet but keep forgetting, of course. I know how sad it is to l0ose a pet & I'm just like everyone else, dreading it. I just hope it's not a long, drawn out one.

I sure took the good news and turned it into a drag fast. I didn't mean too. :o . I just like talking about animals