doodles on schnoodles
Fantasy Pups
Itchy skin is the most common ailment that vet's see, but not all itchy skin is reason for concern. Think how often you nonchalantly scratch an itch in the course of a day. Dogs also get such non-consequential itches, and so one should not assume that a dog with a scratch is suffering. But persistent scratching, licking or chewing is another thing. There are eight main causes for such compulsive behavior: boredom or anxiety, pain from a foreign object such as a thorn in the skin or hair, a joint problem (such as arthritis), parasites, hormonal imbalances, allergies, dry skin, or yeast infections. We will consider this last cause of persistent scratching: yeast..
Yeast is a fungus that lives on almost every animal’s skin, but normally the body’s immune system keeps it under control. Certain situations, however, can alter the balance in favor of the fungus, and microorganism can over multiply, commonly infecting skin, paws, and ears. Thick growths of hair in your dog’s ears will provide a warm, humid environment for the yeast to grow. A constantly wet beard from drool or the water bowl will also provide an ideal environment for yeast to grow on the chin. Commonly, yeast will make a home between your dog’s paw pads (dogs have sweat glands in the paws), and then progresses up its legs. Generally, skin folds will provide a warm humid environment so yeast overgrowth in armpits, jowls, and anal areas are also typical. Here is what to look for: Usually yeast infections will be itchy. If the infection is in the ears (the most common place for such overgrowth), the dog will incessantly scratch its ears, or tilt and shake its head. (But first rule out parasites such as ear mites: look for the black specks of mite droppings.) Itchy skin will cause your dog to scratch or lick the infected area. Pink or red skin in early stages can turn grey and leathery in later stages of the infections, imagine elephant hide. Often the skin will become excessively oily. Crusty or flaky skin is another common sign. Infected skin will frequently get warm with inflammation. As the yeast advances, your dog may even lose hair in the infected spot. Although there are many causes of odor which have nothing to do with yeast infections, yeast infections commonly produce an odor as well, which some liken to the odor of Cheetohs corn chips. Treatment: First eliminate the cause where possible. Antibiotics kill the bacteria that displace yeast so limit antibiotic use as possible. Steroids suppress the immune system, which kills invasive fungal growth, so limit steroid use as possible. It is common for yeast to proliferate in the summer months, especially in humid environments. Yeast thrives in moist environments, so keep your dog dry when possible. Keep the hair in problem areas dry and trimmed close. Ask your groomer to remove thick ear hair at the roots. (You can also do this yourself if it is twisted together and rapidly pulled out. Your dog may yelp from the surprise and the momentary discomfort – think of the feeling when a band aid is removed -- but it is unlikely that it is genuinely hurt by this process. You can get quite a bit of hair out at once, but don’t overdue it: if your dog still “favors” the ear several minutes after the hair removal, you have pulled too much hair out at once.) In rare cases, a dog will be allergic to yeast. In such cases, one does not have a true yeast infection since there is not overgrowth, and yet your dog will scratch as if he did. Consult your vet if you suspect your dog may be suffering yeast allergies. Treating your dog’s yeast infection: One of our dogs has chronic yeast infections in her ear. It seems to be caused by hormonal changes because every time we cure it, it erupts again during her next estrus. But we have learned through experience and research effect ways to treat it. First, starve the yeast! Eliminate sugar and starch from your dog’s diet. The dog’s saliva turns starch into sugar, and yeast feeds on sugar. Make sure your dog food is free of sugar and starch (carbohydrates). Make sure your dog’s treats are also free of carbs. NO TABLE SCRAPS! I cannot recommend any commercial treats since I have not studied this area, but I can say what we do. We buy beef liver at the grocery store, cook it up, dice it into small cubes, which we freeze on a cookie sheet, and store in a jar in the freezer. These make excellent treats and we know exactly what’s in it. Put a few in a zip lock bag when you take your dog for a walk. Second, we recommend that during a yeast infection, consider feeding your dog salmon, such as “WholeHearted Grain Free Small Breed Salmon and Pea Recipe Dry Dog Food”. Why a salmon recipe? Principally, it is for the fatty acids found in salmon. These essential fatty acids boost the immune system, aids in the reduction of skin inflammation, protects the skin from allergens, and sooths skin irritations due to dryness and dandruff. Third, we recommend adding an omega-3 fatty acid supplement to your dog’s diet. We use “PAWSOME NATURALS WILD ALASKAN SALMON OIL FOR DOGS” which is sold on Amazon.com. Omega-3 fatty acids are heat-sensitive and often breaks down in the manufacturing process of dog food. For this reason, a supplement is recommended. Fourth, bath your dog regularly. A build up of oil and dirt can have negative effects on your dog’s skin and its ability to resist allergens. Make sure, however, that you are using a shampoo formulated for the pH needs of a dog’s skin. Some shampoos made for irritated skin contain colloidal oatmeal, which sooths dry, flakey skin, but also FEEDS the yeast. DO NOT USE SHAMPOOS WHICH CONTAIN CARBOHYDRATES. “Nature's Specialties Quick Relief Neem Shampoo” contains Neem Oil which is a natural antifungal agent. Wait ten minutes before rinsing. (Daily baths may be necessary until the yeast infection is under control, though local baths of the affected area will suffice.) Fifth, always use a conditioner after shampooing your dog. Shampoo strips oils for your dog’s skin and so they need a conditioner to moisturize and sooth the skin. Sixth, brush your dog regularly. This will remove dirt between baths and distribute the skins natural oils through your dog’s coat. Seventh, consider using a humidifier. Although high humidity encourages the growth of yeast, very dry air can lead to dry, cracked skin. In the winter, forced hot air dries out a dog’s skin and makes it susceptible to disease. Air conditioning can also dry out a dog’s skin in the summer. Eighth, I apply tea tree oil to the affect spot. You may prefer to buy “Wham Anti-Itch Spray” which contains tea tree oil and aloe vera, but I make my own ointment from coconut oil and tree oil. (The coconut oil is simply to dilute the tea tree oil, which in concentrated form will burn the dog’s skin.) I rub the tea tree oil on the affected spot. This does two things: the bitter taste of the oil discourages your dog from licking the infected skin (which only spreads and feeds the yeast) and it acts as a fungicide. I also place drops of this concoction in the dog’s affected ear (after it has been thoroughly washed), and then massage the oil into the ear. Ninth, for ear infections, make sure you thoroughly clean the ear daily. I use “Zymox Ear Cleanser”. Tenth, for ear infections, I use two different treatments: first, 14 days of daily application of “Zynox Otic Enzymatic Solution,” following the directions on the bottle; I then follow this up with 14 days of my tea tree oil drops massaged into the ears after cleaning, using my own tea tree drop recipe. Eleventh, finally for ear infections, make sure you keep water out of your dog’s ear. Dry well with a clean clothe after baths, or swimming, or rain, and check the ears regularly for any moisture or foreign bodies. Twelfth, for stubborn infections, we sprinkle a dosage of Tylosin powder in the dog food of our infected dog daily for six weeks. You know the Tylosin is eliminating all the yeast from the dog’s system because the yeast-stained hair around the mouth, and near the tear ducts clears up quickly. Tylosin used to be available over the counter, but the FDA now requires a veterinarian’s prescription. For stubborn yeast infections, your veterinarian may prefer to prescribe an oral antifungal medication such as ketoconazole, fluconazole, or terbinafine, but because these are hard on the liver, we prefer Tylosin which can be purchased online.
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The puppies enjoy a beautiful, windy, autumn day by wrestling on the volleyball court, eating fallen leaves, and chasing their mothers and aunts. Today my son took all Marshmellow's puppies to the Veterinary Hospital and they received a full physical and their first immunizations.. We are happy to report that everyone had a clean bill of health. Eyes clear and responsive, ears clean and operating, healthy mouth and teeth, heart strong and regular, good lungs, no umbilical hernias, intestinal tract healthy. I found myself holding my breath while each puppy was on the examination table,m like a mother at the pediatrician for the first time. As is becoming common place, the vet commented on how well adjusted and socialized the puppies are at such an early age. Only George gave them any problem -- he kept wanting to play with the assistent -- but the girls all stood reverentially, fascinated by all the vets instruments and distracted by the many treats the vet's assistant had to offer.
Unfortunately, we were so occupied with making sure we kept track of each puppy, so that no one got a double shot, we forgot to take a picture! The sun and the puppies and my son all were available at the same time today, so I was able to get a video made for me of Marshmellow's growing litter. Can you pick out your own puppy? Eleven days now until Official Pick-Up Day! Video taping puppies can be a real trick! Either they are running in every direction, or they are sleeping! Each presents its challenges. Today, you get to see sleeping. Zzzzzzzzz! Normally, videos like this don;t make the cut, but we are anxious to get a video up and weather and puppies are not cooperating. We figure snoring is better than nothing, right? So here is five minutes of snoring puppies.... You can identify the puppies by the color of the collar: George = black, Faith = yellow (Martha), Toasty = orange (Abigail), Phoebe = purple (Dolly), and Goldie = red (Betsy). But we can do better. Puppy activity increases with each week of life, and a week from now the challenge will be herding puppies so that we can capture their faces on film. But at least that's more action, so look for another video of our five Revolutionary War heroes next week! For now, you can use this video to help you get to sleep at night. ;-) This week, families adopting from Marshmellow's litter should look for an email with your puppy invoice. I will be accepting checks postmarked by July 29th. Details will be in your email.
This weekend, I will have a photographer come to take individual puppy photos of Marshmellow's litter. I hope to have photos posted by Monday. The puppies are getting more playful and active, so also starting this weekend, I will be having my son look out for videotaping opportunities. Videos are a lot of fun so I hope we can get one of those up next week. Marshmellow's puppies have started on solid food - well, mush to be accurate - and with the solid food, along comes the puppy poop! Already, the pups are learning to use their puppy poop trays. That is not the sweetest aspect of this business, to be sure! We keep a box of Kleenex next to the puppy pen, however, so that whenever we notice the puppies have made "a deposit" - with all the pups going it is quite frequent! - we can whisk it away. Fortunately, my niece comes over every day to replace the tray with a clean one. Calliope "Sadi" Mercedes and "Jazz" Jasper are pleased to announce the birth of four puppies: a female and four males, all 7 ounces. The three males were born first and in quick succession, but the last came so long after the first three, everyone thought we were done and my Mercedes had already been moved from the whelping room and parked in the nursery before the last one entered the light of day. See the new litter page for important dates and Calli's New Litter photo page for new photos as they come in! Puppies from left to right: Elijah, Juan, Carmel, and Simon. Here is the data we have on the little tikes. All are ginger colored, though they vary in shade from light to dark; all are heavy birth weights: 7 ounces. These weights and colors will alter as they age, however.
Marshmellow's 2019 pups were born a week early, but made up for it by opening their eyes a week late! At long last, however, we have photos of them that show them starting to look more canine and less "rodentine". Abigail and George are beginning to show some curl to their coats, but in time, all will have the characteristically wavy Schnoodle locks . Check out the litter page to see these photos! We plan on having our photographer return in a week to photograph these pups again, and will be posting the next Marshmellow litter photos near the 27th. Then we will start picking!!!! We like to pick a "theme" for each litter based on some circumstance at the time of the birth or naming. These themes help us remember a puppy from one litter to the next by placing it in a particular context, but the names themselves are "disposable", since every family picks the best name for their puppy as they grow to love it. This time, we picked Revolutionary War figures, primarily because we live near the childhood homes of George and Martha Washington, but also because it was near the Fourth of July. I hope you enjoy these pictures!
Although Calliope is due to deliver her second litter tomorrow, today our thoughts are on her first litter, because Calliope's first litter turns half-a-year old today! Hurray!
To celebrate the occasion, I have posted all the recent photos that I have been receiving this past week from those happy and proud families who have adopted her little ones. You may recall that we named this litter after the planets - or was it Greek gods? - since their mother's name is the goddess of epic poetry. (Although my son points out we used the Latin names of these gods rather than the Greek for the puppies, but I say, "who but my son would notice such a detail?") But they all have new and improved names, and those are on the page as well. See how big and beautiful they have grown! Marshmellow gave birth yesterday, five days earlier than we expected. It was a quick delivery, with all puppies born between 8:20pm and 10:12pm. Marshmellow had five puppies: four girls and one boy! My son decided to go with an American Revolution theme and so we named the little boy "General George Washington". The girls are named "Martha Washington", "Abigail Adams", "Dolly Madison", and "Betsy Ross".
Here is the data we have on the little tikes. All are ginger colored, though they vary in shade from very light to dark; all are healthy birth weights, though they differ 2.3 oz. from the lightest to the heaviest. These weights and colors will alter as they age, however.
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BreederHello. My name is Marie, and I have three Schnauzers that fill my life with joy! With the help of my children and grandchildren, I am raising Schnoodle puppies and placing them in good homes. Feel free to browse through my website and enjoy the pictures! Archives
February 2020
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