Bluzinnias

The hospital where I work now does some incredible stuff with stem cells and PRP therapy. I've seen dogs with partially torn cruciates be treated with stem cells and go on to compete in national level dog sports within 6 months. We are also doing quite a few studies on stem cell therapies. I'll have to find out if any are specifically for joints. Michelle

Hi, My dog Bob had a severely herniated disk in his L/S region. To someone who didn't know him,you may not have even noticed any outward signs - I noticed he was resistant to jumping up in the car and was all of the sudden much more compliant about counter surfing But then at night, I noticed him whimper when he switched positions in his crate. Bob seemed to have a slight limp but it was very hard to determine where it was coming from and it was intermittent at best. This all started during the thick of winter and we had so much snow and ice, I figured he slipped. I am very fortunate to work at a specialized veterinary hospital for ortho and neuro and had him looked pretty quickly. Initially, the doctors thought muscle strain or groin pull and we tried some rehab and conservative therapy including pain meds and muscle relaxers. Even our gait analysis mat didn't show any obvious source of lameness. After this conservative approach, he didn't seem to get any worse, but not really any better either. After about a week or two I got impatient - I had one of doctors who excels at muscular skeletal ultrasound anesthetized him and really examined the groin. She found nothing inconsistent with a working dog so while he was under, we threw him in the MRI. He was only in there about 5 minutes when the neurosurgeon came into my office proclaiming he knew exactly what was wrong! The MRI showed a severely compressed disk that was herniated. Everyone says it, but it was unbelievable how stoic these dogs are even with such a severe case. Here is a screen shot of his MRI showing the affected area: The white line between the bone is the spinal cord and you can see about 2/3 of the way to the right where the disk has herniated. This would have knocked a human on their ass! I eventually opted for surgery after seeing this. I work with some of the best rehab vets in the country and even they all agreed that surgery was the best route. Our neuro surgeon is awesome - he is board certified and does laminectomies about three - five times a week. I don't think my experience is unique because I work with him. As soon as he was done, he came to my office (still in scrubs) to tell me that it was one of the worst he's seen but was very happy with the procedure. Bob came out of surgery between 3pm and 4pm and was awake and standing by 7pm. At 10pm, the techs took him out to pee and he was not a compliant patient with the sling and was lifting his leg to pee only 6 hours post surgical. When I got to work the next day, other than the shaved patch on his back, there was no way to know he had surgery! Bob's recovery has been unbelievable! He had leash walks and crate rest for about the first month but as it is with border collies, I had to reign him in. At 6 weeks postsurgical, I was told I could start ramping up his routine and then just yesterday (a couple days shy of 7 weeks postsurgical) he was able to go back to very light stock work. That made both of us so happy! So much went right for me. First, the access I have to care is great - I am very, very lucky that way. Not many people have this luxury (great job perk!). Second, getting into the MRI and seeing the actual image is a godsend. Had the doctors and I not have seen the images, we may have continued with conservative care. The doctor that operated on Bob was board certified, well qualified with a ton of experience and our staff is pretty awesome. Add to that, Bob is a young (almost 5 years old), fit, working dog and I was able to catch this really early. I just hope that we continue on this positive path as he returns to full work and trialing. Michelle

Debbie Collison will be hosting a Jack Knox Clinic May 24-26, 2014 at her farm in Davidsonville, MD. Davidsonville is close to Annapolis and is convenient to DC, MD and VA. This clinic is open to all levels of dogs and features a round pen, medium sized field and big field. This clinic fills quickly. If you need a registration form, feel free to PM me. Michelle

We have a few spots open in the Kathy Knox Sheepherding Clinic here on Victory Farm in Chestertown, MD (Eastern Shore) November 23, 24, 25. All levels are welcome, we have a nice round pen, a medium field, and a big field...If you are interested, please contact me asap. No experience necessary, We'd love to have you join us!! Feel free to share! Contact: Sarah Ruckelshaus: sarah@ruckelshaus.com

Sorry, this study is for dogs that have no history of orthopedic injuries or lameness. If they run another study for affected dogs, I'll be sure to let you know. Michelle Dobbs

If you were at the finals and missed the opportunity to participate in the VOSM Gait4 Analysis demo, here is another chance! On Sunday, October 20 and Sunday, October 27 you can bring your dog to be part of a study that is running. Follow the link to get the details on how to sign up. http://www.vosm.com/racereadyoctober Michelle Dobbs

I am posting results on the Finals Facebook page. Michelle

If you are going to be at the finals, Dr. Sherman Canapp will be there to speak about common injuries and treatment in working dogs on Thursday night. I'm sure he'd be happy to answer questions about stem cell therapy. Michelle

Help spread the word about the finals that are only a little over a week away! Michelle

Adequan is another Novartis product going on long term back order. If you can find it, get it while you can. Michelle

Jack Knox will be in Davidsonville, MD (just outside of Annapolis, MD) May 25, 26, and 27, 2013. Working spots are available, unlimited auditors. For more information, email debbiecollison@verizon.net Michelle Dobbs

I can totally sympathize. Right before a weekend of trials in VA, my dog had broken into my vegetable garden and had herself a nice buffet. She pooped a bunch before the trial, so much so you would have thought she was empty so I decided to run her. Needless to say, she had to stop about 3 times on the fetch for potty breaks. Yes, I am that person. At least the trial host should have a nice garden of zucchini, tomatoes and cucumbers on her field this year. I swear by Endosorb. I take a bottle when I'm on the road and if I see loose stool, I give them a couple and they are fine the next day. Might just be dumb luck. I think I've lent out twice as many as I've had to use and always gotten good results. Michelle

What strikes me is that whenever anyone mentions meeting Dan King they express how connected they felt to him. He did that. He made you feel like a friend instantly. His kindness and caring overflowed into everyone he met and everything he did. When Dan King's name came up in the running order this weekend, Donald McCaig gave the most moving and touching tribute that I've ever been witness to. It was perfect. He highlighted a man that was a friend to many and a fine steward of this sheepdog community. In front of a crowd of hundreds, Don narrated Dan's last run with his dog, Fann and it was perfect. No one beat Dan's score last weekend. This photo has been passed around and it's always been one of my favorites because you can *feel* the type of person Dan was just by looking at it. I took it two years ago and while not the best photographer in the world, I'm proud that I could do this very special person justice.

Nancy Obernier is about 1/2 hour north of the Paxton-Hill's. She's an open handler and a great instructor. Michelle

Having lost a young dog to Lyme Disease related nephritis, I am a nut about ticks. I don't have any problem with fleas (touch wood) but the ticks can be awful. I've used Preventic for years (probably 9 years) and have not had any problems with my cats. I'm very compliant with the collars and mark them with the date with a sharpie when I put them on. Miraculously, I've not had a dog test positive since I started using them (I really need to not say these things out loud). And this is in an area where ticks are so bad that at the vet hospital where I work, we test positive dogs EVERY DAY. I think all these products are based on a personal decision as to what works for your lifestyle. Certifect is the new Merial topical that is a combination of Frontline Plus and Amitraz. I've not tried this yet but do have a couple samples. We sell a lot of Vectra 3D but do not sell the cat for fear that owners may confuse the dog and cat product and mistakenly apply the dog product to the cat. The active ingredient for both Vectra 3D and K9 Advantix is the same (permethrin) and are both very dangerous for cats. We still recommend Frontline Plus for cats. Just a heads up, in the past, Entirely Pets has sold foreign sourced product. A friend ordered Frontline or Advantix that was manufactured in Australia. When I asked my rep about it, she said that there are different standards and safety approval required for different countries. Foreign product does not carry FDA or USDA approvals. Just buyer beware. Preventic collars seem to be available again. I've been able to order them the last couple weeks (Lynn, if your vet didn't have both sizes of the collar on the shelf, that's because they suck at restocking in a timely fashion I will check into that. Michelle

And I forgot to add, this treatment is much less than 6 figures!

I can't imagine and hope to never have to make a decision but at the hospital where I work we have seen some great results with chemo. A good friend brought her working border collie to us that had bone cancer. After amputation, she started chemo therapy and had treatments every other week. About 10 weeks post op and during the course of her treatment, she entered her in a small AHBA trial and won the class and high in trial among 60 or so other runs. People watching her run were misty eyed. While she'll never be the Open dog that she was, she is still working and happy as ever. Her initial chemo treatment was over about 3 months ago and she looks great and is a happy dog. Fingers crossed she has a few more years. We also do a very unique treatment for cancer at our hospital. Currently, I believe we are the only veterinary facility performing this treatment in the US, but it is very promising. The cancer tumor is surgically removed from the dog and the tumor antigens are isolated. Then we take a blood draw from the pet and isolate the dentritic cells. These cells are loaded with the tumor antigen and are "educated" to attack the cancer. Then we "vaccinate" the pet with these cells. Using the pet's own tumor, blood and dendritic cells, the treatment is totally autogenous to the pet. Not being a scientist, my explanation leaves a lot to be desired. Here's the website with more info if anyone is interested. http://lifevax.com/ This treatment is in phase 3 clinic trials in humans with various types of cancer. Results are especially impressive with deadly glioblastoma's. One anecdotal case we have had is with a dog that had reoccuring skin cancer. She would come in to have the tumor removed and then be back within months with another one. She was one of our first cases and after treatment, it's been 3 years and still no more tumors. We are just beginning to treat some lymphoma cases. While this science is new and might not be the be all, end all answer, I do believe it is where we are headed. It's exciting that it's being done in the hospital where I work and there is a long and funny story how we got this going with the company. Michelle

I actually get frustrated when my dogs are "good". Big waste of money if you can't bring out the problems so you can get help with them. Michelle

I'll see you there! Bring a chair, a crate for your dog when not working (some of mine can't watch - they get too excited), and jackets/clothes for most conditions. Looks like it will be nice Friday but may get some rain on Sat/Sun. Clinic goes on like usual even in the rain. It will be a lot of fun. It's always a nice time at Walt's. You will learn a lot and your head might spin after your first clinic, but it's a good spin. Michelle

Get it while it's hot! Effective this month, there is only one supplier of Metronidazole in this country and the prices have gone up 700%+!!! I manage a large veterinary hospital and the pills that used to cost less than 4 cents are going up to .55cents a pill! Michelle

Yeah Duncan!!! I know he'll love it. The treats are free flowing! Michelle

I had wondered if they would be interested in setting up a booth at the finals. Don't know if they could do a donation center as they have to screen the blood but at least it would get the word out there. I might ask them when they are here on Monday. Michelle

Dr. Ann will be at the hospital on Monday. I'll ask her! It's a great idea. I wish my other dogs could donate. Bill isn't good with being poked and prodded and they won't accept any dog that isn't in for it 100%. My pup is finally of age and he loves to cuddle. He's being evaluated this week. My little girl is too small - donors have to weigh 35#. She's just under. I'll let you know what she says! It would be worth it I would think if they could do a couple of full days. Michelle

A little while ago there was a post about blood bank donation. This organization travels around MD, DC, VA, DE at maybe more. Dr. Ann and her staff are the best and they really love these dogs. Consider having your pet volunteer for this lifesaving organization. They really need the help. Michelle