Winnie

by Elizabeth Sky
(Myrtle Creek, OR)

Hi! I'm Elizabeth, a two legged and here to tell you a little about some of my four legged friends. Winnie is one of them and I would like to start with her. She has shared my home for a few years now, and I would like to start with her. She and I have also shared some trials and more than a few of her health challenges. The others will come later.

When Winnie first came to me she had many health issues that I believe were passed down from her mother who probably didn't have a good diet while being made to produce way too many puppies, way too often. Some of the health challenges Winnie faced were, discharge from her eyes, yeasty feet and ears, allergies, asthma, mites, and poop eating also known as coprophagia. Apparently, when a puppy, or adult dog, is lacking essential nutrients in their diet they look for those nutrients in the strangest places. As all dogs, Winnie can smell undigested food (nutrients)in waste products, e.g., dog, cat or human poop (even her own), and so she would eat it because of her dietary need. YUK! YUK!! YUK!!!

Needless to say, she wasn't the most pleasant dog to be around and had to be watched constantly when out at a park or on a walk, for concern of what she might find. She was so sorryful, she would have done my job of yard clean up all by herself if left alone in the yard to do it. Being a Lhasa Apsos with long hair didn't make things any easier or sweeter smelling, either.

Now, I have had employees at pet stores say coprophagia is normal for dogs and puppies. This tells me how very little they actually know about the animals in their charge. It is most definitely NOT NORMAL for any living thing to eat it's poop!! That is just not the way we, or they, were made to be.

So what did we do about it? First, we went to a dog nutritionist to evaluate her dietary needs...basically to determine what she was lacking so we could make up the difference. Her poor little system wasn't strong enough to handle raw meat yet, so we started with Wysong, Evanger and Ziwi Peak canned and dry dog foods (more on these later), probiotics to build up her ability to assimilate food, amino acids (sorry, I can't recall which ones), canned tripe, pumpkin, whole raw eggs, grain fed without antibiotics, and healthy, nutrient dense treats. She was also given an oral deterrent so poop would no longer be as appealing while she made the transition to better health. She was taken off all vaccinations (with the exception of rabies), pharmacy medications and stopped going to the veterinarian for 'control' of her symptoms. Instead, we used homoeopathy, nutrition and as natural means as possible as we worked for, and found, a cure for the coprophagia and eventually, her other maladies.

I wish I could tell you she was 'fixed' in a short time when actually it took about a year before she would 'make a face' and side step droppings. I believe, if I had known about this site or all the good information and products on the rottie rescue site, she would have recovered much sooner. We all have smiles about knowing of them now. :~>

Now, three years later, she devours with gusto the raw meat and poultry added to her meals, loves her raw meaty bones, still gets eggs, tripe and pumpkin.

Winnie will occasionally have some eye discharge, and not long ago, had a serious case of what looked like pink eye. We use cucumber juice to clear up these issues when they arise. Here is the How To if you ever wish to try it: The cucumber is best from your own garden or a vender you trust to be free of pollutants in their farming practices. Wash your hands well and the cucumber, cut a one inch piece off and peel and seed it. You can score it with a knife to help the juice flow more readily. Anchor your patient in a way that allows you to squeeze 1-3 drops of the fresh juice directly into the affected eye. Repeat as necessary; up to two or three times a day until the eye returns to clear and bright. You will be amazed how quickly this homely little remedy works...and it works on us humans and horses as well. It is very soothing, too.

About 'high end' and other commercial dog foods: Of late I have found many of the high end dog food manufacturers using Canola Oil as one of their ingredients. Canola oil is a modified rapeseed oil. Rapeseed oil is irritating to the myalin sheath covering the nerves in the body. It is not good for animals or people. Unfortunately, the majority of the commercial dog foods I have looked at are now using canola oil so be sure to read your labels.

If you are interested you can read about some of the ways we resolved Winnies other challenges another day.

Thank you for reading!!