essentialdog

I have a background in science, psychology & neurology and from what you describe, I would suspect her depression was a result of her lifestyle and environment with her previous owners. Like humans, if we are alone, isolated and unloved, we are likely to develop symptoms of depression amongst other things. I suspect the behaviour she is displaying with you is not the Prozac, but that she is happy because she has you and feels loved. I would suggest if you feel comfortable with the idea, to follow your vets advice in weaning her off the Prozac. So glad she's found you and try not to give up on her just yet!

You mentioned 'mouth seizures'. These 'mouth seizures' could be anxiety related ticks/tremours and very common in GAD (generalised anxiety disorder) which is exceptionally debilitating. Those with GAD experience daily hyper vigilance as opposed to one or two phobias. These ticks/tremours are also very commonly mistaken as epileptic seizures. Anxiety can stem from traumatic events, however some have a genetic predisposition. Regardless of the cause for the anxiety,the anxiety itself disrupts normal neurological pathways which can explain abnormal behaviour. Obviously you are seeking your vets advice, but you may like to think about getting a referral to a neurological specialist or psychiatrist. We can only hypothesise what may be wrong with your poor dog but I guess it's a case of investigating different options until you find the cause.

That's what I'm hoping - that it's a side effect of the anti depressants. It seems her dog wasn't displaying any symptoms before her other dog died. I hope it is a case of depression from the loss of her friend and a bad side effect to the anti deps and not a brain tumour. Anti depressants can also bring on psychosis, twitching, body tremors and depression.

I guess the first sentence of the eggs post says only raw egg whites shouldn't be giving to your dog but the end statement says raw eggs shouldn't be given so I was being over cautious. There are alot of myths out there and my vet has never mentioned raw eggs being harmful.

I read about not feeding your dog raw eggs on this forum: http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/81686-general-heath-information/ Eggs (Raw) Raw egg whites contain a protein called avidin, which can deplete your dog of biotin, one of the B vitamins. Biotin is essential to your dog’s growth and coat health. Additionally, raw eggs are often contaminated with bacteria, such as salmonella, and you could end up giving your dog food poisoning in addition to biotin deficiency. Symptoms of biotin depletion are hair loss, weakness, growth retardation and skeleton deformity. If your dog is suffering from these symptoms the situation is urgent, and veterinary treatment is needed. Cooked eggs are high in protein and make an excellent treat. It is only the raw eggs that should not be given to your dog

I'm not sure where I heard it from but I thought raw eggs were supposed to be bad for dogs and stopped feeding them to my girl. Any ideas?

This post is making me cry. I wish you all the best for you and your dog IggyZ and cannot begin to imagine what you have all been through. Could you speak to the vet about taking her off the anti depressants? I am seriously hoping her behaviour is a side effect of the anti depressants. It may be worth a try.

Sorry to hear about your dog. The only way to really know if it's a brain tumour is through an MRI scan. If she does has a brain tumour, another thing you will want to find out is if it is benign or malignant. Brain tumours are often diagnosed after having a seizure and it is common at the onset of a brain tumour for it to reside on one side of the brain. If the tumour is on the left hand side of the brain, you may find impaired function (depending on what part of the brain the tumour is in) on the right hand side of the body or vice versa. If the tumour is in the occipital lobe, you may find vision is impaired. I know for humans, those that have cancer of the brain, 95% die in the first year and although operable, the surgery is only to increase lifespan and not a cure. If the tumour is not cancerous, it can be removed and your dog may live a fairly good quality of life. I'm sorry for sounding all "science-y" about this, but I've studied neuroscience and wanted to give you as much information about your options if your dog does in fact have a tumour. Another possibility is your dog may be having adverse neurological side effects from the antidepressants, or the antidepressants are interacting with another medication. Side effects can include tremors, seizures and believe it or not - increased depression! If you decide it is the anti deps and you want to take your dog off it you'll need to speak to your vet and come up with a plan to wean your dog off them. I really hope your dog is ok and let us know how you go!

Making this one as I go as well, using other patterns as guides. I'm just writing it down as I go. Will post a pic once it's done Awesome - look forward to seeing it! I'm sure you will do alot better job than I did - ha ha.

Oh that hat looks really cute - Happy Birthday Scout! I tried knitting my friends dog a jumper years ago without a pattern. The jumper looked quite weird and he walked in that lopsided way they do when they're not used to something. Can you post a pic of the jumper when you're done? Would love to see it.

and another... Dogs Day Out When: 1st June, 2014 Where: Boronia Park Oval, Epping Time: 10:30-2:30 Event Link

Another Event: Dogs Day Out St Ives 2014 March When: Sunday 30th March 2014 Where: St Ives Showground, 450 Mona Vale Road, St Ives Time: 10am to 3pm

I actually just gave Bonnie a bath yesterday with Aloveen shampoo and made sure she was thoroughly rinsed and 90% of the flakes are gone. I'm still going to get some calendula tea, I've done a lot of reading up on it, and its useful for lots of things, as well as the dogs. Yes rinsing properly makes a huge difference. I had a groomer approach me as to why white flakes were appearing after a hydrobath and they use natural shampoos. This was happening to otherwise healthy dogs and I did some research and found that it was the owners who weren't rinsing their dogs properly which created a build up of white flakes that the hydrobath was dislodging.

Hitting his dog? That is horrible, horrible, horrible!! Hearing that kind of stuff makes me feel sick to the stomach. I'm glad you said something to him. The guy sounds like he's got a severe case of denial.

As a sideline to this conversation, it also may be useful to know that sometimes white flakes can be a build up from shampoos, conditioners and shiny coat sprays that contain silicone as well as not rinsing your dog properly after a wash.

I have a poodle cross and she is quite fussy and won't eat her dry food. I get the meat and mix it juice and all with the dry food so she'll eat it. It helps.

I'd also like to add to this conversation by saying that I've had nothing but good experiences flying my dog domestically with Virgin. I watched her on the tarmac and the staff were saying hello to her and very gentle with the crate.

Funny you mention this. A friend exporting from Hungary got told not to do that. 1st issue was turbulence might cause the contents to bounce around & hit the dog ( whilst bottle was still frozen.) 2nd was the dog chewing the bottle open & choking on its covering (plastic). That's interesting as I was told by the freight dept to do the frozen bottle of water thing. I did think of the bottle hitting her when there was turbulence but took my chances on that one for fear of her getting dehydrated. She's not a big chewer so that was not an issue for me - I guess it depends on the dog.

I know on domestic flights they don't let you put water in the crate. I'm not sure if the same applies for international (and wouldn't hope not), however a good tip in case they don't allow water on any leg of the journey is to get a bottle of water, freeze it and put it in the crate so your dog can lick the condensation.

I have scheduled this post for tomorrow morning so more people will see it - hopefully he is found.

I can imagine how daunting it must be for you. I flew my dog domestically and was terrified - but it's the anticipation which is the nerve wrecking thing. Your dog will be absolutely fine. A tip for getting your dog used to the crate is to buy the crate at least a month before you leave and put a treat in there daily, then twice daily the week before leaving. My dog was apprehensive to get in the crate to retrieve the treat at first but by the end would jump into the crate to get the treat. Also put your dogs bedding in and an article of your unwashed clothing that you've recently worn before boarding her so your dog will feel more secure.

I wouldn't risk it either. It probably wouldn't get past quarantine with the amount of cultures and plant extracts in it.

I've used many different flea bombs in the past and found none of them worked - a sheer waste of money. I bit the bullet and got the house professionally done (pet safe) and it worked perfectly. Spoke to the pest control guy and he said the bombs were a waste of money and did nothing. Mind you he was biased, however getting it done by a pro was the only thing that worked.

That's a really good point actually. I know adding any extracts including calendula extract to any type of formula the extracts must be added under 40 degrees celsius in order to gain all the benefits. I suspect the sample principle applies to calendula flowers in that you may lose some of its benefits if placed in boiling water. I'll do a bit of research on that one and let you know. I'm sure I read (but can't recall where) that the water should not be "boiling". I don't believe it said what the temperature should be at. I tend to boil the kettle and because I'm usually busy doing something else whilst I'm waiting, the water is usually hot, but considerably off the boil. I tend not to add cold water from the tap either, because I like boiled water for the fact of killing off any inherent contaminants that might be in the water. I do this all the more so conscientiously if I'm using the tea for bathing my dog's eyes, but I generally make it standard practice anyway. Boiling water will kill of some contaminants but not all and if your dog has serious skin issues I would be careful as you could be spraying fungus, spores and bacteria on your dog without knowing. If you want to completely remove bacteria, fungus, spores & prions the water has to be heated to at least 120 degrees for about an hour which is simply not practical in a domestic kitchen unless you invest in a good water distiller. The whole sterilisation issue can be quite difficult to achieve in a domestic kitchen so i'd just buy some distilled water which can be found at auto shops and kmart for about $4 for 5L. I would suggest only making the tea when you need it and adding it to distilled water.

Formulators/chemists don't use dried herbs in their formulas because they spoil which is why only standardised extracts are used, and they are much more stable. This why I couldn't find any scientific literature on the topic. I couldn't say if boiling it would negate some of its medicinal properties, but I suspect it would still be helpful considering all the positive feedback on this post.