ACUPUNCTURE AND PREGNANCY

Usually with our Neapolitan Mastiffs hoping to be as accurate in possible in mating and birthing we Progesterone test to establish the correct time.

Not only does this give us the right time to mate but also a due date for the puppies. We have found that usually day 61 is the time and certainly no later than day 63.

We had one female who simply never started contractions and a caesarian was necessary early on day 63. Whilst it did result in live puppies all of which were successfully raised our aim is for natural matings and natural births.

Our Veterinarian has done quite a bit of training with acupuncture and after discussion we agreed to try this on our next litters.

The first bitch (Strega) was due and nothing was happing well into day 62. So off to the surgery we went. The surgery had a lovely soft doonah ready for her and the vet and myself settled her on the floor and when she was ready the needles were inserted into the pads on her feel.

She was very relaxed and ended up laying with her head in my lap with 4 feet in the air with 3 needles in each foot. There we left her for 30 minutes. During that time she slept happily snoring. So relaxed the point when another Vet looked in the door he thought the dog had been anaesthetized. Not so, just comfortable and relaxed. Which was more than I was – I had pins and needles as my legs had gone to sleep with her weight.

Sharon (the vet) had advised me if the treatment was successful within 24 hours labour would begin. So after the treatment it was off home to await the results.

24 hours exactly after treatment I rang Sharon to give her an update – nothing – but as I was talking on the phone heard a whimper from the whelping box and before I could put the phone down and take the three steps to the whelping box, the first puppy was on the ground. Three more puppies followed in the next three hours – all healthy and vigorous.

The next bitch was due only one week later. This was Arielle who had previously need a caesarian for a five puppy litter. The acupuncture was easily done and this time Sharon and I had cushions to sit on. Arielle also slept and snored through the process. Again we were on day 62 with the deadline being 24 hours. Arielle did not come into labor and we performed a caesarian 25 hours later. It was just in time as the placentas were separating – a few more hours and we would have had dead puppies.

So does acupuncture on pregnant bitches work? I don’t know.

Strega may well have gone into labour herself. Could the Acupuncuture have cause the placenta to separate on Arielles litter?

It certainly is difficult to know. The dogs certainly had no problem coping with the procedure. I will try this again – but only if I have my vets on standby for a caesarian the following day.

Nancy Keck

ACUPRESSURE ON DOGS.

I attended an education course at our Royal Australia New South Wales Canine Council (In Australia each state has a Canine Council and is governed by the Australian Kennel Control.)which covered many subjects one of which was acupressure.

This is very similar to acupuncture but instead of needles pressure is applied with the fingers and thumbs.

It is something that can be done by anyone, anywhere.

The two things I have found useful and continue to practices is acupressure to the ears and to the rear of the spine.

The ears have lots of senses in them and many dog owners naturally caress and rub the ears almost automatically. The effect of this is very calming for the dog.

If I have a dog who is apprehensive of say the show ring. I will take the dog to where it is comfortable – usually where we are sitting and when the dog is calm face it towards me and whilst talking to it firmly rub and circle the ears with fingers. Often after a few minutes the dog is almost sleeping and very relaxed. I believe it is important to pick the time and place carefully as if the dog is ringside and acting nervously a caress can reinforce that nervousness.

Anyway, try it and see if it works for you. It possibly is something you already do instinctively.

The second method is done with fingers and thumb for three to four inches forward of the tail along the spine. A firm pressure can be applied up and down. This is good for dogs that are acting aggressively. It has a calming effect on them – again if done in the correct circumstances. Again I would move the dog to where it feels safe and comfortable, spend a good ten minutes with this acupressure and when they are relaxed try them again in the situation. Again with this the dogs reaction will show you that it has relaxed. The dog will usually wriggle with pleasure and push into your hand.

So yes acupressure works for me and my dogs. If you get the opportunity to do some training on this method it is worthwhile.

Nancy Keck

BLOAT.
This is a huge subject and whilst there are a lot of theories nobody really knows the cause or a method of prevention.
Some schools of thought advocate feeding in elevated bowls, some on the ground. Most agree that feeding shortly after exercise can exacerbate the condition. Some recommend oil on food as oil will “flatten” the “bubbles” often seen in bloat A new study is being done timing bloat episodes to the first week of a full moon. Bloat is a problem in most large breeds and sadly Neapolitan Mastiff are within the risk group.
Here is the story of Cardea who is a miraculous survivor of not one but two bloat episodes.
It all began on 12th November, 2006. Our three year old Aust Ch Maggiormente Cardea was being shown at Orange and had won Best Australian Bred in Group. It was exciting as it was a Canadian judge who was somewhat wary of Neapolitans. They have only recently been acknowledged in Canada and as usual with a new rare breed in the show ring are regarded with suspicion and fear. He had judged quite a few Neapolitans but was most impressed with our dogs temperament and in particular liked their style and movement. Cardea and was the first he had awarded in group.
I had been unexpectedly stewarding in another ring as the show was a bit short handed and was very pleased to see from a distance Cardea doing well – especially as Klaus was showing 4 Neapolitans and had to seek help from fellow exhibitors. Cardea is also somewhat spoilt and prefers to be handled by only me.
By the time she got into general specials I was free and able to watch – the judge just loved her and it was obvious she wanted to award her class in show – Cardea however had other ideas and refused to be touched – trotted correctly but would not obey Klaus when it came to being stacked or handled, despite the judge trying her again and again.
I put it down to her being a bit “miffed” that I had left her with Klaus as she believes I belong to her. However in the weeks that followed her behaviour was also different at home. Whilst not nearly due to come into season, she was behaving aggressively towards our other dogs – particularly the females – and including her own puppies.
Not usually a fussy eater, she was not finishing her meals even with favourite things. Thinking she was holding out to get that awful dog sausage she loves, but I am not too keen on I insisted she stick to her proper diet.
The 6th December was an extremely hot day – well over 40. Cardea had not eaten all of her night meal – so I removed it and did not give her breakfast. On days like this we find it best to finish walking, grooming and feeding by 8am and leave the dogs to sleep throughout the day. I quietly walk around and check them several times during the day and at about 5pm go up and spend time with each one. On the 5pm check all of the dogs emerged from their kennels to say hello – except Cardea.
When I called and walked around to her kennel it was a total shock to see her ballooned out on both sides. She was huge.
A quick dash to the shed kitchen to get the Gripe Water, pour half a bottle down her neck and get her in the car. A phone call to our Vet in Mudgee to tell them the problem and that we would be there in an hour, and a call to Klaus to meet us there.
We have found in the past the Gripe Water is often a huge help. I gave her a second dose half an hour into the trip – but got no result.
On arrival at the Church St Veterinary Clinic, Heather Glover was waiting ready with all of the equipment.
She tried the stomach drain first – and it went in easily and started moving fluid out immediately. It is often a good sign if the tube goes in easily and Heather could find no signs of torsion. The material drained was not the usual frothy and bubbly substance. Within half an hour Cardea was on her feet and another hour and it was judged she was well enough to return home – but needed to be watched carefully in case she bloated again as they often do within the first 24 hours..
The next day she was acting normally, very active, playful etc., However I thought it a good idea to try to eliminate anything in her diet that may be playing a part. An initial thought was that she had been digging a huge hole in her pen and the soil was very, very dry and almost powder. I wondered if she had ingested a lot of the soil – especially as her first motion seemed to have a quantity of soil in it.
Her diet was changed to exclude all dry and included, lamb, rice and pureed vegetables.
Then on 10th December she bloated again. This time she wasn’t as huge and was a different shape to the first – looked like she was heavily in pup with a dropped stomach and was showing some signs of pain. This involved a 3am visit to Heather in Mudgee. It was more difficult to get the tube down and took longer to get her stomach empty. It also took longer for her heart rate to slow back to normal and her recovery from the slight sedation was very slow. Again Heather couldn’t feel any torsion but felt that Cardea wasn’t “quite right”. She recommended that the next step would be to operate and assess any damage and stitch the stomach to the abdominal wall. As this operation can be tricky Heather recommended we go to the Veterinary Specialist Centre in Sydney as they are more able to deal with complications and have 24 hour nursing care.
We were able to get in for an immediate Ultrasound. I was not too impressed with that whole episode right from the start. The Vet came into the room wearing black trousers and a bright yellow top and immediately knelt straight in front of Cardea staring into her eyes (wearing glasses). Cardea of course immediately tensed up – wearing natures danger colours and confrontational eye contact is a big no no with Neapolitans. Things got a little better when the Vet retreated from the room and donned a white coat (black and yellow is one of natures danger signs – bees, wasps etc., are black and yellow and some Neapolitan Mastiffs will react strongly to those colours)– then returned and was properly introduced. However when it came time for the Ultrasound, the vet would not permit me to accompany her into the room – stating there were “x-rays”.
That went down like a lead balloon – I spent 7 years as the General Manager of the then largest Radiology practice in Australia and have very good knowledge of the equipment used. However despite my advice that there are no “rays” involved with Ultrasound I was kept out of the room. Cardea was very co-operative and I am told actually snored through the examination. The Vet had with her a visiting Vet who was looking over the practice and I can only imagine she was more interested in chatting to her than paying attention to Cardea or the Ultrasound. The result was – NORMAL. No need to hurry, just book her in with the Veterinary Specialist in Small Animal Surgery.
The first available date was 21st December – 10 long days.
So I took Cardea home and carefully fed her 5 or 6 small meals a day. She wasn’t drinking much water and it was very hot, so I included in her diet porridge and rice and lamb stews with lots of fluid. She slept in our bedroom and of course became even more spoilt.
I was rather pleased when we arrived back at the Specialist Centre to find that she had actually gained 3kgs since the last visit.
Imagine my surprise when I rang after the operation to be told “she had a full 360 degree torsion of her stomach, but fortunately there was no compromise to the blood supply (as happens in 99.9% of the time) so that the stomach was very healthy. In addition the spleen was very congested and appeared to have some damage to the blood supply”. Not in the written report, but Andrew Marchevsky who did the operation also stated that the spleen had been displaced by the intestines and was in the completely wrong place – and this was missed with the super duper ultrasound machine!
Anyway “the stomach was returned to its normal position and attached to the abdominal wall so that it is not able to twist again. The spleen was removed and biopsies were taken of the stomach and intestines.”

Nothing unusual was found in the biopsies – a little Helio Bacteria – but not much is know of its effects in dogs. Her blood count was a little low – but is now improving.

On advice from our wonderful vet in Mudgee, Heather Glover she is now on 2 Zantac tablets a day. She also has two teaspoonful of spent yeast – porridge in the mornings to keep her fluids up, home made stews consisting of lamb, rice, pasta, pureed vegetables and sometimes a little people tinned soup. She also has raw lamb with rice and vegetables. She is on three meals a day, her coat is gleaming, she is full of energy, happy and playful and horribly spoilt. Our bank account is of course severely depleted – almost $7,000 in costs and still counting – but our hearts are full.

It is now January 2008 – many months after her operation and no signs of bloating. She sleeps in our bedroom and a huge no, no on the bed when Klaus is away. Her behaviour was very demanding for the first 2 months, now she is just loving and affectionate. At night before bedtime she gets on the bed when I get into it and snuggles up and gives kisses for a good five minutes. Then moves down to the bottom of the bed and snores the night away.

She is doing so well that we took her to Bathurst Royal Show in 2007 and she managed to win challenge bitch and was runner up best of breed to her brother George – Jupiter. She also attended the Sydney Royal 2007 Easter Show and won Champion bitch Class and runner up best of breed. Not that shows are the most important thing in her life or ours, but I like to have her with me always just in case.

Things do appear to be going very well for her – so much so that she is now spending time with her very best friend Drago everyday and even has some time in, a heaven forbid, dog pen.

How she survived those 10 days with a full rotation of her stomach we will never know. How it was missed in the Ultrasound is something we will never know.
But then she is a Mastino with the heart of a Lion and a great love for her family so she hung on. I am so glad she did.

Digital Rapid X-rays for Dogs

Two Mudgee Veterinarians are using state of the art digital technology to X-ray dogs for hip and elbow displasia.

Dr. David Parry-Okeden and Dr. Heather Glover have set up a Direct Radiography digital System at their Veterinary practice in Mudgee. David brought the system back from USA after a trip to Silicon Valley, California 2 ½ years ago. He said that the initial capital investment was significant but hardly a day has passed that the system has not added a new dimension to the practice. “It has repaid us in satisfaction alone, in allowing more accurate diagnosing through superior imaging. One of the most satisfying aspects is the ease with which the owners can view the X-Rays on the computer and really understand what is being explained about their animal.
David Parry-Okeden went on to say that the demand has been so great that they have recently purchased a second system. Horses, dogs, cats, alpacas, birds and more recently, goannas and lizards, are some of the different species that have been x-rayed using this remarkable system. Many animals are examined prior to export with the x-rays been sent by email to purchaser’s veterinarians overseas. Vets in Dubai for instance are able to arrive at their office in the morning and view x-rays over the internet that were taken later that day, their time. Previously we were posting x-rays of inferior quality and export sales were often falling through because the delivery was so slow and the resolution so poor.
We are still the only practice in Australia using the EKLIN rapid DR system on dogs
The system allows the viewing of the x-ray on a monitor 4 seconds after pressing the x-ray button. If the view is not a perfect position, another shot can be taken immediately, without having to wait several minutes for developing.

One breeder who is particularly taken with the system is Mrs. Nancy Keck of Maggiormente Neopolitan Mastiffs:
“The speed with which the shot is viewed on the monitor is truly awesome. It results in a much shorter anesthetic for the dog and the resolution of the x-rays is the best that I have seen in the ten years of association with this breed”.

Remember the old film cameras before the days of digital cameras.

The photo shows Dr. Heather Glover and nurse Cara Brennan preparing a dog for X-Ray.