Hypothyroidism For Dogs



My dogs, Mia on the left and Oso on the right.



So today, I'm doing my post on hypothyroidism in dogs. About a year ago,my family noticed that my older dog, Oso, had become very quiet, less active, and had gained a lot of weight. He just seemed really depressed. At first, because my dog is on the older side, my family thought he was like that from old age. But then, one day when we took him to the veterinarian for his yearly check-up. After telling the vet about all his symptoms, she ran some test on him. When we got the results back, we found out that he had a problem with his thyroid gland, which, just like in humans, regulates metabolic rate.

Hypothyroidism occurs when the thyroid gland becomes under active and not enough hormones are produced. It can be caused by an auto-immune response, that is when the body will not recognized its own cells and will created antibodies to destroy the cells. This disease can be easily diagnosed with a blood test that checks the thyroid hormone levels in a dog.

Hypothyroidism developes in mostly medium to large dog breeds, ages four to ten years old. Some of the symptoms are lethargy, hair loss, weight gain, dry skin, bacterial skin infections, ear infections, skin discoloration, and depression.
To treat this disease, the dog will be placed on a daily dose of a synthetic thyroid hormone called thyroxine, which will be taken for the rest of the dogs life. Periodic blood samples will be drawn to check the dosage and be corrected if necessary. After the treatment is started, symptoms should go away.

ASPCA

One of the most well known, and probably the most famous animal organizations in the U.S. is the ASPCA, or the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. This is a non-profit organization, that is dedicated to preventing cruelty towards animals and informing the public of the inportance of spaying/neutering, and properly caring for all animals.
This organization was started on April 10, 1866, by Henry Bergh. On his way to America, was the first time Bergh took action against the cruelty towards animals. In London, he took notes on Earl of Harrowby, president of England's Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Because of him, about nine days later an anti-cruelty law was passed, and the ASPCA was granted the right to enforce the law.
Although the ASPCA originally focused mainly on horses and livestock, it has spread to focusing on all other animlas as well. Since it was first started, the ASPCA has been very successful in educating the public on the proper ways of caring for all animals, as well as traing all types of animals. They have also been successful in preventing cruelty to animals, by informing people about the horrors of dog fighting, puppy mills, dog racing, animal neglect, and more. It is definitely safe to say that the ASPCA will be here for a long time, defending all animals.
For more information about the ASPCA, visit their site: http://www.aspca.org/

Hollydogs

About two weeks ago, I decided to volunteer on Saturday, when I usually volunteer on Sundays. Well, as I arrived, I found out that on Saturdays another organization is there. They are called HollyDogs. They are an organization that specializes in adoptions for greyhounds. Although they have a variety of ages, many of their dogs are retired racing dogs.

Hollydogs is a non-profit organization relying soley on volunteers and donations. They are dedicated to saving greyhounds that would otherwise be euthanized because they are no longer fit for racing and educating the public on caring for greyhounds, as well as the importance of spayinng and neutering animals, to prevent over population. They have a greyhound sanctuary, located in Bonita springs, FL, and their main adoption center is located in Hollywood, FL.

Hollydogs' dedication for their dogs is shown in the adoption process. To make sure that their animals will be in a safe and loving home, all future adopters must fill out an application, agree to a home visit, and have their applications approved. As I was looking through the Hollydogs website, I could definately tell how dedicated they were to finding loving homes for their dogs and educating the public about the breed.

4 Weeks Since WISE Started

So it has already been about four weeks since WISE started and I'm really happy that I've been able to volunteer so much. Unfortunately, I still haven't found a place to intern, but I haven't stopped looking. I'm going to collect some email addresses from different animal clinics and send them an email asking if they have any internships available, or if they would be willing to let me shadow an employee for a day.
I was able to find some different places to volunteer, but for most of them, I have to go to an orientation first. So, since the orientations for these places aren't going to be held until next month, I'll have to keep going to volunteer at the same place that I have been going for the past few weeks.
Volunteering has been really fun. Every time I go, I get to meet new people, so that's cool. I've also learned a lot more about caring for cats, and recognizing their behavior and what it means. I've been trying to go to the organization's main adoption center, where they also have dogs and an animal clinic, but it's about forty minutes away, and no one ever wants to drive me all the way there. But I can't wait until next month, when I can attend the orientations for other volunteer organizations!

Feline AIDS

This weekend I went to go volunteer again. While I was there a woman who had adopted a cat from the organization, began talking to Lee, the one in charge of the cat section of the organization. The woman came to let us know that the cat that she had recently adopted had died, due to a sudden illness. They talked about what had happened to the cat, and during their conversation, Lee mentioned how every cat they recieve is tested for different diseases. One of the diseases she mentioned was feline AIDS and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV). I knew that many animals can get the same diseases and viruses as we do, but I never thought of animals getting AIDS. So this week I did a little research on Feline AIDS and FIV.
FIV is often reffered to as Feline AIDS because of the many similarities they have in common. FIV can be undetected for years, and can be triggered by any infection or illness. About 3% of healthy cats are affected by this, and rates rise to about 15% for unhealthy cats. The virus is usually spread through bite wounds, and may be spread to newborn kittens in birthing or when injesting infected milk. Cats that are kept in households will be less likely to be infected by the virus.
Some symptoms of FIV are loss of appetite, poor coat and skin, constant fever, inflamation of the gums or mouth, reoccurring infections and wieght loss.
It is very important to test your cat for FIV, as well as any other harmful diseases. It is also very important todo research and properly take care of your cat if it has been infected with this disease.

Dog Food

Last week, while I was having a meeting with my mentor, Mrs. Stoklosa, she gave me the idea of learning about ingredients in dog food. She told me that she was planning on changing her dog's diet to all human food, because there are many dog food brands that are not as healthy for dogs as you may think. Well I have heard about dog food not being too healthy for dogs, but I never really looked into it. So this week I thought I would do some research on it, and what I found was that the dog food we buy at the grocery store isn't always as good for our dogs as we think.
There are two types of dog food, kibble and wet dog food. Wet dog food is the more natural of  the two, consisting of fresher ingredients which are then steralized and packaged. Dry dog food is made of a mixture of  animal by products (scraps left over in slaughter houses) and fillers, such as corn and grains, then dried through a process, sort of like baking. It is then sprayed with essential nutrients and fats before being packaged and shipped off to be sold. Although the wet food would seem to be the healthier choice, price plays a factor on what type or brand of food would be healthier for a dog. In most cases the more expensive the dog food the better quality it will be...but in reality, nothing beats a homemade meal.
There are many animal by products put into dog food, that are deamed unsuitable for human consumption, and there are many dog food brands that contain high volumes of protein and sodium, along with fillers that are unable to be digested by dogs and have no real nutritional value, but just give your pet a feeling of being full.
The best choice of food for your dog is real human food, but in order to give your dog this type of diet, you should first make sure you have done research. There are many types of food that are healthy for dogs to eat, such as mangos, watermelon, oatmeal, and beef. But there are also many foods that are very unhealthy and possibly life-threatening for dogs such as grapes, chocolate, coffee, and bread. Now I know most people are going to continue to give their dogs store bought dog food, but it is important to look at the ingredients of your dog's food and know exactly what your dog is eating.

To learn more about switching your dog to an all human diet and what types of food are healthy or not for your dog, check out these sites:
http://www.thedogbowl.com/PPF/category_ID/54/dogbowl.asp
http://www.moderndogmagazine.com/articles/10-people-foods-dogs/1896
http://dogtime.com/giving-people-food-to-dogs.html

My Dog's Unusual Habit

Well, this post doesn't really have anything to do with what has happened this week, but of a thought that randomly popped into my head. One of my dogs, a miniature Pinscher named Mia, has an unusual habit. she likes to rub her body on dead animals ( yea I know, EWW!). When I first saw her do this, I thought she was just a weird dog with a disgusting habit. Then, one day, my sister's boyfriend went online and looked up my dog's unusual habit, and found that it really wasn't that unusual.
Turns out, that many scientist believe that dogs will rub their bodies on anything with a strong scent, such as dead animals, manure, and garbage, as a way to cover up their scent. This instinct comes from their wolf origins, to be able to sneak up on their prey without being noticed. Another theory many scientist believe is that dogs will do this to show their pack that they have found something. After rubbing their bodies on something, dogs may run back to their pack where they can all together, return to the object. The third theory to dogs rubbing themselves on dead animals is that they are trying to leave their scent on the object or cover up the previous scent.

Ivory Poaching

This week for homework, I had to find an econ-related article that related to my WISE project. So as I was walking through my house the other day, I found a National Geographic magazine with a picture of some elephants. So I began reading the article and found that it was about African elephants that were being hunted for their tusks. Elephant tusks are made of ivory, which is used for jewelry, piano keys, billiard balls, and more.
An elephants tusks are very valuable to them. They are elongated incisors, embedded deep into an elephants head, which contains a pulp cavity made of tissue, blood, and nerves. Elephants use their tusks for a variety of tasks, such as for battling against other elephants, for pretection from predators, to aid in digging, stripping bark off trees, moving things out of the way, and more.
Since hunting elephants is illegal, poachers will secretly hunt these elephants and sell their tusks on the black market. Recently, tusks have even been found being sold on the internet, where thery are being shipped to all parts around the world.
To find out more information about ways elephants are being helped, or to find a way to help these elephants visit: wcs.org/savingelephants and fws.gov/international/afecf/afacf.htm.

Second Week of Volunteering

So this is going to be my second week of volunteering. I'm going to go to animal Aid Inc. again, because I know that they can always use some volunteers. I also want to visit their main adoption center and clinic. I know their main adoption center has dogs and cats, so I want to volunteer there. I also want to try and see if there are any internships or volunteer opportunities offered at their clinic. Hopefully I will be able to volunteer there, I think it would be a great opportunity. But I am also looking for other places to volunteer, such as wildlife sanctuaries, zoos, and other adoption centers. Hopefully I will find one soon, I really want to gain more  experience with cats and dogs, as well as other types of animals.

By the way, if anyone is interested in a puppy Chihauhua (purebred), let me know!

Interview

So this week our homework for WISE was to interview a person who is involved in our WISE experience. I chose to interview, Tamera, the founder of Animal Aid Inc. Since I volunteer at the cat location, and Tamera is ironically allergic to cats, I had to send her my questions through email. I had talked to her mom, Lee, who is in charge of all the cats in Animal Aid Inc., and she told me that she would tell her daughter about my interview questions. So when I went home and sent the email, I figured she would answer me back by the end of the week. Unfortunately, I didn't really think of when my homework was due. For some reason I thought I had a week until the interview was due, when in reality, I only had about two days.
So there I was, Wednesday night, stressing over what I was going to do. I hadn't gotten a response to the email yet, so I was starting to panic. It was already almost 7:30, and most animal places would be closed. I was getting really frustrated, trying to think of who I was going to have to interview, when suddenly, for absolutely no reason at all, i looked at my phone... and what did I see? A tiny, little envelope at the top of the screen. So I then opened the email and saw that Tamera had responded to my email. I was so relieved to see that email! Now I could turn in my interview and not get an "F" for the assignment. Next time, I definitely need to make sure I know how much time I have before something is due.

Animal Behavior College

So this week I've been working on finding some places to intern. Unfortunately, I haven't found a place yet, but I have certainly gotten closer. Some places gave me a number to call, while others said they were not offering any internships  at the moment. But I did find out some information that could possibly help me learn about careers involving animals.
When I went to one of the animal clinics to ask about internships, I began talking to one of the people who worked there, and she told me about a college where she took a course on animal behavior, and they sent her a lot of informative books, which she got to keep. She said it was a good course to take and that it helped her a lot when working with animals.
She took the course online at animalbehaviorcollege.com. I looked at the website and found it very interesting. They had courses for becoming a dog trainer, on how to groom animals, and to be a veterinary assistant. This will definitely be something I will consider in the future. I think it could be a great opportunity to learning how to work with animals.