Tag Archives: kidney disease

The hardest goodbye

Posted on January 2, 2022 | 7 comments

Over the last few days I have thought a lot about what to write about Izzy, my best friend who joined my life in October 2014 and sadly had to leave it on 27 December 2021.

When I first met Izzy, she didn’t pay me much attention. She was staying at the kennel base of Greyhounds as Pets and, because she was in season, she was unable to come home with me straight away on a foster-to-adopt arrangement. I would drive out to the kennels every couple of days to walk with her and she plodded along by my side with a confident indifference.

I would soon realise that her seeming aloofness was from her independent nature – which was an asset in a dog that would need to spend periods of time alone while I was out working and to be confident at public and social events.

(She would also assert her independence at inopportune moments such as when I needed us to take a shorter walk and she wanted to go the long way. I would remind myself that she was matched with me because of that independence; it was unfair for me to be upset with her simply because she was being herself.)

Izzy was by my side as I expanded my dog massage and rehab practice, leaving full-time employment to pursue my passion to help other dogs and their families with an exclusively in-home practice. A constant presence, she was happy to settle for the day after her walk and breakfast – with an activity toy of some sort to reward her.

She benefited from a number of modalities to treat her corns and developing arthritis over the years, including massage, laser, PEMF, swimming, water treadmill and the use of a pram. This made her a great advertisement for multi-modal health care.

One of my best investments was her pram, which I purchased in 2019 when Izzy started to be troubled by painful corns – that pram would see her achieve mobility and support engagement through to her last days, including one last greyhound Christmas walk just 8 days before her passing.

Izzy was also an ambassador for her breed – meeting the public at numerous events such as the Riccarton Sunday Market, organised greyhound walks, our charity garage sale for Greyhounds as Pets in 2017 and our Greyt Fashions fundraiser in 2018, where she strutted down the runway with her friends in numerous greyhound outfits (raising almost $5,000 in the process).

On the runway, in her favourite colour – purple

In early 2020, before the pandemic took hold, Izzy also led a doga class with some of her fellow greyhounds and this featured on Newshub. It was a shame we couldn’t continue these classes after lockdown, but business priorities had changed.

During our lengthy lockdown in March and April 2020, Izzy hosted Word of the Day on our Facebook page to keep our clients and followers entertained.

In 2021, since I sponsor the 4 Paws Marathon, her photo was featured on the 5 km finishers medal and we were also filmed by accounting software company Xero in a customer story about the business.

I will forever be grateful for the professional photos and video that resulted from the Xero campaign because they show Izzy at her finest – at home, in her pram and at her beloved beach.

Izzy was the demo-dog at my Learn to Massage Your Dog and Greyhound Massage and Stretching classes; she taught countless dogs and their owners the benefits of regular massage including in the online version of Greyhound Massage and Stretching, which we filmed just prior to the 2020 lockdown.

Her friend Spot will now teach class with me starting later this month – plans we put in place in earnest when her health started to decline.

Her last contribution to her kind was to welcome deaf foster greyhound, Rosie, into our home – something that was planned from early November. We decided to proceed with fostering in the hope that another dog in the house would provide a diversion and, possibly, some competition for food to encourage her to eat. Izzy was a capable mentor to Rosie for only 10 days before she passed – but I would often find Rosie laying next to Izzy and in the same body position.

As a dog parent, you are never ready for your life’s journey to end. Yet, when we sign onto the lifetime commitment to a dog, we are in the privileged position of being able to end suffering (something that in most places around the world we are unable to do easily or legally for our human loved-ones).

Izzy was diagnosed in August with chronic kidney disease as part of an annual check-up. She was not showing any outward signs of disease at the time and, through diet changes, medication and herbal supplements, we did our best to preserve the kidney function that she had remaining. In November, she suffered an attack of canine vestibular disease and had two more of these in the weeks that followed. Looking back on the last five weeks of her life, I would have to say that her health was in a steady decline starting with that first episode of vestibular.

Ironically, the vestibular disease presented on the evening following a beach walk and birthday party for two of her greyhound friends, Spot and Luke. Izzy’s happy place was at the beach and we were able to get in a few more beach walks, including on Christmas morning and again on Boxing Day (her last walk). I had hoped we would have one final summer together this year and celebrate her 13th birthday with a princess-themed cake.

As they say, man plans and God laughs.

Izzy left in me in no doubt that she was ready to go – refusing to eat and drink with a stubborn turn of her head. As the day went on, it was clear she was in end-stage kidney failure and in pain. Thanks to in-home euthanasia service Our Pet’s Goodbye, we were able to be together to the final second in the comfort of our home where she was surrounded by her loved ones – me and her beloved Mr Caterpillar.

She is now over the Rainbow Bridge, at the beach, where it will always be a breezy and warm summer day so she can splash in the waves to her heart’s content.

I will join her there someday.

*“You were my favourite hello and my hardest goodbye”*

Kathleen Crisley, Fear-Free certified professional and specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, The Balanced Dog, Christchurch, New Zealand

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Posted in Dogs

Tagged dog massage, euthanasia, Greyhound, greyhounds as pets, in-home care, Izzy, kidney disease, memorials

Beyond Izzy’s pram (managing dogs through to old age) Part 4 – Food

Posted on February 20, 2020 | Leave a comment

We’re going higher up the ladder this week to the third rung: Food & Supplements.

In many resources, food and supplements are talked about together because food is eaten and most supplements are, too. I’m going to write about Food now, however, and save Supplements for the next post to keep the length of the post manageable and easier to read. There’s still a lot I want to cover.

Arthritis management diagram 3rd rung

So in my last post about weight management, I mentioned that sometimes I ask my clients to simply reduce the food they are feeding by up to 1/3 per meal because a diet food is not always needed if the diet is balanced. That advice was specifically addressing the need to lose weight.

In Part 3, I also included a diagram about body condition. Dogs of all ages should be fed to body condition; the labels on dog food are a guide and not the Bible. So, if a dog is gaining weight, then we may cut back on food a bit and help them reach an ideal weight again. Sometimes, we end up cutting back too much and then we have to feed a little more.

This is where the ladder analogy helps us. We can go up and down a ladder fairly easily. And when managing our dog’s health, we have to be prepared to re-visit issues and change approaches accordingly.

Sometimes we go up the ladder and sometimes we go down.

Older dogs generally have a slower metabolism and combined with less physical activity because they are slowing down (with or without arthritis) – they require less calories.

There are also other considerations for diets when your dog is older.

For example, if your dog has been diagnosed with kidney disease, then a diet lower in protein is recommended because the kidneys process extra protein for removal in the urine. If the kidneys aren’t working well, we need to lessen the pressure on them. If this is the case, your vet will probably recommend a commercial diet to meet those needs.

Protein is important for muscles – keeping them strong and helping them to repair themselves. Proteins are a source of energy; they help keep the immune system strong, and have a role in creating enzymes and hormones. They’re an essential part of the diet.

(When I started making my own dog treats for sale, I remember talking with a Board-certified veterinarian at the Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in Boston. She was of the view then that all older dogs should have reduced protein diets. But in the intervening years, more research has shown that this is not the case. A lesson for all of us. As we gather more information through study and research, professional advice may change.)

In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), we understand that older animals don’t have the digestive energy that younger dogs do. Therefore, protein sources should be highly digestible when you are managing an older dog. This is a main reason why I like the homemade and topper approach to foods. I use a good quality dry dog food, but I enhance it with many fresh ingredients.

A few sources of good protein toppers are:

Eggs (whole) – I like to hard boil eggs and then slice the over the kibble before adding warm water
Cottage cheese
Sardines

I also cook my own toppers.

Toppers add palatability (taste) and because the dog’s sense of smell is much better than our own, I think the toppers add appeal through smell, too.

If a dog has an arthritis diagnosis, then “Joint Diet” foods are readily available and companies like Hill’s have undertaken feeding trials to prove their diets are balanced. As part of the research into the product, the veterinary team observed a reduction in the clinical signs of arthritis with a subsequent reduction in the dosages of anti-inflammatory drugs that were required to manage the dog’s pain and arthritis symptoms.

That said, I have never fed a joint diet because I really dislike the ingredient panel in these highly processed foods. I’ve always felt that if we are told to keep fresh things in our diet, then the same should go for our dogs. I can still use supplements and other modalities to manage arthritis and inflammatory pain. I just don’t need to have a ‘complete solution in a bag.’ (This post is getting long – see why I chose to leave Supplements to their own post?)

Because digestion in an older dog is slower, if they have less physical activity such as recovery from a surgery or advancing arthritis, they can also become constipated from time to time. Drugs like Tramadol are also constipating. (This happens in rest homes with older people, too. An older person who lives their life in a wheelchair and unable to walk around much and on medication often finds that it is harder to get the bowels moving.)

More fibre combined with good hydration helps keep the bowels doing what they need to do (rid the body of wastes and toxins) and the best addition to food for fibre is steamed pumpkin. I know that tinned or canned pumpkin is also very popular in the USA as well.

Parents need to watch what they are giving as treats, too. Treats are food and add calories to the diet – but they also add variety and variety is the spice of life! If an older dog has lost some teeth over the years, for example, harder treats may need to be avoided in favor of softer ones. If we are focusing on hydration to help manage constipation, softer texture treats or those that can be soaked in water are a good idea.

Izzy the greyhound with a pigs ear. These help to clean her teeth to some extent (although we brush her teeth every night, too). Treats add variety to the diet and because I source my pigs ears locally, I am more confident in their quality.

Got questions about this post? Please feel free to post a message or contact me through my practice, The Balanced Dog.

Kathleen Crisley, Fear-Free certified professional and specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, The Balanced Dog, Christchurch, New Zealand

Muscle loss and wasting

Posted on August 6, 2018 | Leave a comment

I encounter dogs in my practice who are experiencing muscle loss and wasting fairly often.

Since owners must submit veterinary records to me for review as part of my intake process as well as update me on any subsequent vet visits, if there’s a diagnosis of chronic illness – such as kidney disease or cancer – then this muscle loss is understandable and classified as cachexia.

In the absence of a diagnosis of disease, and working with an aging dog, then the muscle loss is classified as sarcopenia.

Muscle loss results in a change of appearance, which owners often notice first around the shoulder blades, top of the head, and around the pelvis. Muscle wastage can be graded as noted below:

Muscle condition score

Exercise and good nutrition can be interventions with muscle loss. Chronically ill dogs need a high quality diet that is appropriate for their disease, for example. And aging dogs do need exercise that is targeted to their needs and abilities.

Owners should always be on the watch for signs of muscle loss – so early interventions that are medical and non-medical can be considered.

Kathleen Crisley, Fear-Free certified professional and specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, The Balanced Dog, Christchurch, New Zealand

Fairy dog mother?

Posted on July 14, 2014 | Leave a comment

I have found that most ‘dog people’ I meet support various charities that show their love of dogs. I am no exception. Today, however, I stumbled across a special charity that would allow me to become a Fairy Dog Mother.

They are Fairy DogParents, a non-profit in the state of Massachusetts. The founder’s dog, Ladybug, was the inspiration behind the initiative. Ladybug was already a senior dog when she was adopted from a shelter and her adoptive family considered themselves lucky that they could afford Ladybug’s medications for kidney disease, dementia and other ailments. When Ladybug had to be put to sleep, her owner asked that the vet’s office re-distribute Ladybug’s un-used medication to someone who could use it.

Ladybug, in whose memory Fairy DogParents was founded

And from there, the idea grew. There are many dogs who are surrendered to shelters because of economics. Their families simply can’t afford their care, particularly as they age or develop special health conditions.

Fairy DogParents has a simple application process for owners in need. They serve Massachusetts residents only but hope to expand. As with most non-profits, they are always in need of donations of goods, money and time. Want to be a Fairy Dog Mother? Follow the link below: