Senior Wellness ~ Nellie’s Health Series Part 2: Vaginitis

Today’s Monday Mischief post is the second in the six part series on Nellie’s Health Series. This post should of come after the urinalysis post since this is how I found out Nellie has vaginitis but I thought this made for a mischief post so bear with me on the order.

Monday: Senior Wellness ~ Nellie’s Health Series Part 2: Vaginitis (when your male dog sticks his face where it doesn’t belong may mean there is a problem).

What you mean this is a problem? I don’t think it’s a problem at all!

Yes, yes you recognized the culprit, it’s the Gman to the rescue to tell you there might be a problem with Nellie. Gambler is constantly sticking his face where it doesn’t belong.

A frequent scene at out house.

After we got the results of the bloodwork the doctor wanted a urinalysis done on Nellie’s urine (more on that this Thursday). I got a urine sample, ran the urinalysis and the results were “are the white cells coming from the bladder or from the vaginal tract”, we needed to rule out a “bladder infection” vs a “vaginitis”.

I’m telling ya “Dr. G” says there is a problem Houston!

In order to find out where the white cells were originating from (bladder vs vagina) we needed to collect a sterile urine sample that came right from the bladder (more on that Wednesday). The sterile urine sample had no white blood cells in it so it ruled out a bladder infection in which I didn’t think she had a bladder infection because she wasn’t showing any signs of an infection which are: frequent urination, blood in urine, accidents in the house.

The supplies needed to check for a vaginitis.

To find out if the white blood cells were coming from the vaginal tract we needed to a vaginal cytology. In order to do this you take a sterile long q-tip wet it with water and then insert it into the vagina and roll to pick up the cells. You then put that sample on a microscope slide, stain it then read it.

View from the microscope.

The big round purple cells are epithelial cells which are normal in the vagina, all skin contains epithelial cells. All the other small purple structures are bacteria which ranged from cocci to rods. Some bacteria is normal as it isn’t a sterile environment but this slide contains too numerous of bacteria which means there is a problem. There were a few white cells but not like what was seen in the urine sample. The urine sample I ran was the first morning catch (which is the one the doctor wants to interpret the results correctly) so the white blood cells had time to collect in the vaginal tract and then be flushed out with the first urine sample. My boss wanted another urine sample from later in the day and there were a few white blood cells in that one so if not flushed out there is more white blood cells. Now why are these white cells present? It can be a normal vaginitis or it could mean there is a mass in the vaginal canal that is causing it. Nellie’s diagnosis is a vaginitis but after research on other cases like hers we decided not to treat the vaginitis because again she isn’t showing any symptoms of a problem so we are going to leave it alone until a problem arises. Why, well because if we start treating with antibiotics to get rid of the white cells and bacteria it may disrupt the balance and then she will show signs in the future and have to be continually treated. I am going to start her on a probiotic to see if we can’t get the bacteria balance back to normal.

Can Gambler stay out of my backend now?

ahhhhh NO!

I will check Nellie in a few weeks and if we get the same results we will look further as to why the white cells are present but for now we will leave her alone, well at least I will leave her alone. Gambler has other ideas.

Stop back tomorrow for:
Tuesday: Senior Wellness ~ Nellie’s Health Series Part 3: Bloodwork, why routine bloodwork is a good idea.

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This is a Blog Hop. Thanks to Alfie’s BlogSnoopy’s Dog Blog , Luna, a Dog’s Life , and My Brown Newfies for setting up this hop. Please go to any of the sponsoring blogs to find out who else has been mischievous.

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Senior Wellness ~ Nellie’s Health Series Part 1: Radiographs

This Black And White Sunday starts off the first out of a  six part series on Senior Wellness. Since it is Black And White Sunday I start my series with Radiographs. Nellie is a senior at 10 years old. Her annual physical exam and vaccinations were coming due this month. A couple other issues cropped up that I wanted to discuss with the doctor so I compiled my list and brought Nellie with me to work last Monday. To talk about everything she had done and why Senior Wellness is important I broke it down into six parts.

Sunday: Senior Wellness ~ Nellie’s Health Series Part 1: Radiographs

Monday: Senior Wellness ~ Nellie’s Health Series Part 2: Vaginitis

Tuesday: Senior Wellness ~ Nellie’s Health Series Part 3: Bloodwork

Wednesday: Senior Wellness ~ Nellie’s Health Series Part 4: Cystocentesis

Thursday: Senior Wellness ~ Nellie’s Health Series Part 5: Urinalysis

Friday: Senior Wellness ~ Nellie’s Health Series Part 6: Pulled Tendon

Where we going mom?

Since I am a Veterinary Technician I am hyper vigilant on noticing things with my animals. I am constantly looking at them, feeling them over and sometimes making myself think there is a problem. For sometime when Nellie lays next to me her belly looks funny. Funny you ask, yup funny my technical term for it. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what I thought I was seeing. She has been sneaking off and eating deer carcass’s so she has been coming back all bloated and looking like a engorged wood tick. I thought A: she might just be getting fat, B: she is older does she have cushing’s disease, C:  do I see a lump in her belly. All of the above needs addressing hence the car ride with me to work.

Nellie started out with a full physical exam this is important for every animal at least once a year and for seniors it’s a good idea to have a physical exam twice a year as things can change just like that. It’s better to “catch” things earlier than later.

What is a full physical exam? It is a head to tail exam of each part of the animals body.

1. Checking for changes in the eyes.

2. Checking for changes/infections in the ears.

3. Checking teeth for broken teeth/tarter/gingivitis/tumors.

4. Checking lymph nodes below lower jaw, pre scapular, poplitial, ingunial.

5. Checking heart and lungs for murmurs and respiratory problems.

6. Checking abdominal cavity for masses.

7. Checking rectum for masses, temperature, parasites.

8. Checking whole body for any masses and abnormalities.

Nellie’s physical exam went great, she is looking and doing well for a senior pet. Her liver felt slightly larger (which can be normal in older animals) and what about the funny thing I was seeing with her belly?

When I lay on my left side you can see a alien in my belly.

While relaxing over the lunch hour the alien appeared so I had the doctor look and feel it. It was right about where her hair is thin (white) on the picture right in front of her back legs. The doctor thought it was her spleen. The dogs spleen is very long and the “tail” of it can “poke out”. But why is it “poking out”? It could be normal or it could be enlarged because of a mass on it. So to find out you start with abdominal radiographs to see how things look inside.

Right lateral is the most preferred position.

A ventral/dorsal (on the back) is second preferred.

After the two radiographs are taken they are developed so the doctor can read them.

Right lateral

Ventral dorsal view.

There was something suspicious on the right lateral view so we did another radiograph and did a left lateral this time to see if they could see the same thing.

left lateral

The suspicious area wasn’t on the left lateral so not to much of a concern. The radiographs can’t rule out a mass there was nothing obvious so the next step would be a abdominal ultrasound which will be done at a later date.

Nellie’s liver wasn’t a concern either after looking at the radiographs.

She was such a good patient for her radiographs, she didn’t move a muscle. Nellie did receive her annual vaccinations this day as there were no concerns not to give them.

Stop back tomorrow for: Monday: Senior Wellness ~ Nellie’s Health Series Part 2: Vaginitis

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We are joining Dachshund Nola & Sugar The Golden Retriever for the Black and White Sunday Blog Hop.

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Black & White Sunday~Christmas Week

Have a great Holiday week.

Gambler

 

Glory

 

Nellie

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We are joining Dachshund Nola & Sugar The Golden Retriever for the Black and White Sunday Blog Hop.

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Black And White Sunday~Hurricane Nellie

She didn’t get her name HRCH Sand Spring Hurricane Nellie SH for nothing, at 10 she is still causing a hurricane.

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We are joining Dachshund Nola & Sugar The Golden Retriever for the Black and White Sunday Blog Hop.

 

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Monday Mischief~Foam Pad

It seems most mischief happens on Wednesday. This is due to the account that I am out of town for two days and the dogs are locked up during the day while we are away at work. Even know Grandma comes over several times a day to let them out and run a bit they still seem to take it out on me on Wednesday mornings. After getting up early two days in a row I like to sleep in a bit on my day off. The other Wednesday this is what I woke up too……

Miss Glory what are you doing wrecking Norman's pad?

Miss Glory what are you doing wrecking Norman’s pad?

It wasn't me, look it was Gman.

It wasn’t me, look it was Gman.

Really,,,,I don't have a piece of foam between my toes it was Nellie.

Really,,,,I don’t have a piece of foam between my toes it was Nellie.

I can’t catch a break and sleep in with these three mischief makers.

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This is a Blog Hop. Thanks to Alfie’s BlogSnoopy’s Dog Blog , Luna, a Dog’s Life , and My Brown Newfies for setting up this hop. Please go to any of the sponsoring blogs to find out who else has been mischievous.

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Black And White Sunday~American Chesapeake Club WI Day

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Yesterday we went to the American Chesapeake Club WI Chessie day and had a ton of fun and saw some great people with their beautiful Chessies. My friend Irene took this picture of Nellie and I waiting to have our turn on some watermarks.

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We are joining Dachshund Nola & Sugar The Golden Retriever for the Black and White Sunday Blog Hop.

 

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Wordless Wednesday~Nellie

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Wordless Wednesday is a community linkup of bloggers. Visit our host, BlogPaws, and you can use the icons below the post to hop from site to site. It is a great way to discover new blogs…..or even just a convenient way to find all of your favorites in one place. When you visit each site, be sure to leave a comment and let them know you found them through Wordless Wednesday.

 

 

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Walk Your Dog With Mischief Monday Hop

What??? Mischief while walking your dog??? No Way!!!

Yes way when it comes to the Sand Spring Gang!

Last week we finally got off our butts, hooked up the leashes, three to be exact and headed off for a walk. We headed down the road on a nice walk to the river…..

 

 

Off on a leisurely walk, minding our own business.

Off on a leisurely walk, minding our own business.

When we turn the corner and come upon our brother-in-laws house we see this on the side of the road that we had to pass by…..

3 cat's eating by the burn pile.

3 cat’s eating by the burn pile.

I did all I could do to drag the dogs past and then we ran into this……

Rosco (niece's dog) the yellow lab visiting the neighbors house.

Rosco (niece’s dog) the yellow lab visiting the neighbors house.

Nellie was telling big stories to Rosco as I dragged her by, Gambler and Glory thought it was a playmate. We finished our walk to the river where…..

We saw the river was open.

We saw the river was open.

Glory tried to sink Gambler.

Glory tried to sink Gambler.

Played in the the waterway.

Played in the the waterway.

Jumped from bank to bank.

Jumped from bank to bank.

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Gambler found something to roll in at the river, all of them found a carcass to eat on and carry the bones back with them. They thought it was a great walk.

A couple days later we grabbed the leashes again and headed off in a different direction. This direction consisted of walking up one big hill through the woods. It was a damp dreary day but be braved it and off we went.

Up the hill to the mischief.

Up the hill to the mischief.

When all of a sudden out of no where’s this appeared…..

A squirrel crossed the road getting the dogs all excited.

A squirrel crossed the road getting the dogs all excited.

All the dogs were pulling and trying to run to chase the squirrel I thought to myself with all the weight of three dogs I (130#) was trying to hold back 210# of dogs. That is a whole lot of weight if you ask me!

We continued on our walk and then on the way back home we stopped at the creek and had a little fun under the bridge.

Gambler having fun in the water.

Gambler having fun in the water.

All three running up and down the creek.

All three running up and down the creek.

Glory having a blast.

Glory having a blast.

Under the bridge we go to the other side.

Under the bridge we go to the other side.

Time to play in the marsh.

Time to play in the marsh.

We had a great couple of days of walking, hopefully there will be more to come with no mischief attached.

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It’s the first Monday of the month so it’s Walk Your Dog Hop day. Brought to you by BoingyDog & FitDog101 (Paws And Pedals).

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monday mischief

This is a Blog Hop. Thanks to Alfie’s BlogSnoopy’s Dog Blog , Luna, a Dog’s Life , and My Brown Newfies for setting up this hop. Please go to any of the sponsoring blogs to find out who else has been mischievous.

 

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FitDog Friday~Not Your Normal Exercise Regimen

When it comes to Sand Spring Chesapeakes nothing is normal (if you haven’t figured that out already) so today for FitDog Friday we are doing Not Your Normal Exercise Regimen.

Normal? What's normal?

Normal? What’s normal?

What’s that you ask?

It’s where I decide to take Nellie, Gambler and Glory down to the creek for our exercise of the day. We have a bit of a walk/run to get to the creek so while we were on our way I look back and this is what I seen:

Jumping over the first ditch bank.

Jumping over the first ditch bank.

Glory decided to haul a chunk of firewood out with her on her run and Gman brought his stuffed elephant. Once we got to the creek I wondered what we were going to do and it dawned on me that the only thing I had to throw to get them some retrieving in was the elephant. So I chucked the elephant across the creek to the other side and they had to go get it.

Chuck the elephant over and they will follow.

Chuck the elephant over and they will follow.

Nellie and Glory climbing back out of the creek.

Nellie and Glory climbing back out of the creek.

Over again.

Over again.

Over again with Glory in the lead.

Over again with Glory in the lead.

Gambler trying to catch up.

Gambler trying to catch up.

Gambler the sly devil still beat her to the elephant and back across we come.

Gambler the sly devil still beat her to the elephant and back across we come.

Again in unison.

Again in unison.

Gambler a shy short so had to climb out.

Gambler was a little short so had to climb out.

The retrieve and back again.

The retrieve and back again.

In order to retrieve the elephant they had to go across to get it circle back and jump across the creek again then bring me the elephant to do it over and over again.

This is so much fun, I do it over and over again.

This is so much fun, I do it over and over again.

We take a break from jumping to work on our strength and play tug of war.

We take a break from jumping to work on our strength and play tug of war.

Mean while where is Miss Nellie when all this is going on? Miss Nellie is too smart in her old age to be jumping over the creek so many times so she was wondering around the creek bed and would climb out when she was finished.

This is one steep bank.

This is one steep bank.

I am strong, I can do it.

I am strong, I can do it.

I will run across the field for my exercise.

I will run across the field for my exercise.

Great fun was had by all.

Great fun was had by all.

So you can see Not Your Normal Exercise Regimen but hey we made do with what we had and the gang got there FitDog Friday in.

K9Kampbadge_250 The Sand Spring gang will be joining the K9 Kamp this year. This is a kamp for you and your dog showing the importance of staying fit with your dog. The first K9 Kamp challenge is Doggy Hide and Seek. You can read about the details from one of the K9 Kamp Counselors SlimDoggy. I’ll be joining the Blog Hop on Feb, 21 2014 and sharing how our challenge went and signing up for a great give away the K9 Kamp Counselors are doing. Check it out! Be sure to stop over to all of the fine host’s (kamp counselors) and thank them for a great challenge Peggy’s Pet Place, Slimdoggy, and To Dog With Love.

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Please enjoy our FitDog Friday Blog Hop brought to you by SlimDoggy and our co-hosts Peggy’s Pet Place and To Dog With Love. Join the Hop or just enjoy the links below – lots of fun fitness tips and advice!