KENNEL COUGH NASAL/SHOT: I sold a puppy once to a great lady that sent her dog out to be groomed every month. the dog inheritated an extrememly thick coat and I did understand the need for month and professional grooming since this lady was up in age and not capable of brushin out a collie from the skin out. Well she called me once and said how many kennel cough shots/ nasal should a dog have in one year. I said it was not necessary to have more than two - and most only for the show people that inact with dogs often. She said the groomer told her that the dog needed a shot each time it came in and was just given and attached to the bill.
NOW, since even kennel cough nasal takes 72 hours to be effective do you think this was necesary or just another way to prevent the dog shop owner from being BLAME for one or two dogs getting kennel cough while she was OVER VACCINATING all the others ? She later told me, "I think people do not have the sense they were born with, including herself. She would not allow a human child to be given a cough preventative shot each month just to attend school. Now couldn't understand why she was allowing this with her dog." Derue
  Disclaimer: Earthstar Collies Mary Catoir, does not warrant and shall have no liability for information provided in this newsletter or on www.angelfire.com/la3/Earthstar. Each individual needs to evaluate and decide if the information provided is what they wish to use or believe. Think intelligently.

FOXTAIL / SPEAR GRASS / PLANT STICKERS (checked 6-28-04) SWEELING LIKE BEE STINGS

For those of you, like myself that seem to need immediate veterinary help AFTER HOURS, you may find several of these books helpful. For those of you that understand and or would like to understand homeopathic treatments etc. You may find these books helpful. But READ the whole book. The intro. Etc. NO SKIPPING! We have one homeopathic vet in Metairie, Louisiana Dr. A. Sergeria. Natural Pet Care

**AS many of you know Audrey had two animals effected and I myself, Mary had two animals effected by this. 5-2002** ***And going back in time, I now can blame one other collie problems on this (unknown to three vets, including LSU Small Animal Hospital – May 1993. even with xrays, ultrasounds taken. Only after the pus pocket erupted dog returned to perfect condition)*** See photo attachment of what we have here Spear Grass.

From personal experience this is what I found out; I am NOT A VET. I am not a Homeopathic Consultant, seek your vet or homeopathic doctor for PERFECT PROCEDUCE.

Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats By Richard H. Pitcairn, DVM., PHD. and Susan Hubble Pitcairn 383 pages Copyright 1995 St. Martin’s Press Rodale Pet Care

Listed under Foxtails: pages 115, 263-64, 274-75 p.115 My work as a vet has often led me to ponder these issues. For instance, one day someone brought in a lost miniature poodle to a clinic where I use to work. The poor dog was covered from head to foot with burrs, foxtails and tangled hair. One eye was closed and discharging pus, and the area between his toes were red and swollen. Clearly, he was a victim of the “foxtail season.”

Foxtails, or plant awns, are those sticky little things that attach to your socks when you walk across a field. They latch onto dogs, too. And because of their pointed ends, these burrs work their way not only into the coat but sometimes right through the skin, burrowing also into the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, vagina, rectum and between the toes. Because our patient was so badly affected, we had to give him a general anesthetic before beginning the long process of removing the stickers. (chapter nine Pitcairn’s book)

“The coat acts like velrco. Once the stickers brush against it, there’s almost no place else for them to go but deeper in.” I will not go into the fact that the Dr. thinks we breeders are cause for part of the problem due to the type of coats we breed for. So many of us will find parts of the book not acceptable or have a different opinion. A Case in Point The Poodle. He blames the floppy ears that encourage infections and foxtails etc.

P. 263-264 Pitcairn’s book: Trapped Foxtails: Floppy ears are much likelier to trap foxtails and other plant stickers. The flap is like a a hinged trapdoor that directs the stickers right into the ear canal. Though you can do little to prevent Stickers (other than cutting down your weeds and controlling where your animal runs), here is how to deal with them if they get trapped in your dog’s ears.

After the dog has an excursion, immediately check the ears and between the toes. If you see one Pull it out. If you can’t see any but think there is one deep down in the ear, don’t try to remove it yourself. The ear can easily be damaged or the foxtail pushed right through the canal, which feels like a small plastic tube under the ear. If the dog cries out in pain, there is a good chance a foxtail is trapped inside.

If you cannot get immediate vet care, put some warm oil (almond or olive) into the ear to soften the sticker and make it less irritating. There’s also a slight chance that your dog can shake the foxtail out after this procedure, but don’t count on it. As soon as possible seek veterinarian help.

p.274-275 Pictcairn’s book Foxtails:
The number-one enemy of dogs and cats could well be the numerous foxtails, plant awns and wild oat seeds that get caught in the hair and crevices of their bodies. Because of the way these stickers are constructed, they will not easily dislodge. Instead, they tend to migrate through the skin or into body openings (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, anus, vagina, sheath) where they cause tremendous problems. If a foxtail works through the skin, the body cannot digest it; even years later it will look fresh on removal.

Thus, although the body makes every effect to eliminate the stickers, it clings tenaciously to the tissue. The result is constantly inflamed tract that drains pus and never heals completely. The plant material can migrate a foot or more into the body, making it difficult, if not impossible, to find. Toes are a favorite lodging place, as are the ears and eyes, where they can get behind the “third eyelid” and cause a lot of irritation.

Prevention: check over your animal after it has runs in fields, vacant lots, or other weedy places. Check between toes etc. See chapter on Abscesses:

Treatment: (p275)
If your animal already has a foxtail under the skin with chronic discharge from a small opening, and your veterinarian is not able to find and remove it, the following treatment may help as a last resort, only if surgery fails.

Tissue Salt: Silicea 6c (silicon dioxide): Use Homeopathic Schedule 6 (a). page 349.

If the sticker does not work its way out, your veterinarian must keep trying to remove it surgically. Remember, in the case of foxtails an ounce of prevention is worth at least a pound of cure. (his words.)

Once every day for four weeks, one pellet or tablet on the tongue; no food or water for ten minutes before or after. The timing for treatment every two day or every three days is determined by counting forward from the day of treatment. ** YOUR NEED TO READ HIS WORDS FROM THE BOOK to be 100% accurate. ** Ex. Good signs could be seeing the pus or diarrhea, eruption and discharge from the skin.

Many health problems are complex and difficult to treat.