Posted on by suzanne

Super Senior Project-Kiefer

 

Kiefer’s challenges

Having recently turned 14,  Kiefer strolled into my house and made himself at home. I could see his skeleton through his thinning hair. Large patches of his coat were missing from his legs and hips, and what hair he did have was very greasy. No one wanted to touch him because their  hands would end up with a thick layer of  yeasty smelling grease.

“BOOF, BOOF, BOOF”. He barks at me to make sure he knows where I am. He barks at me if he needs something or even if he doesn’t know what he needs…he barks at me all day and evening,

His challenges are now my challenges. What makes him comfortable, what makes him happy, can he get healthier, how to get people to want to touch him? What helps with the barking, can his diet improve, will supplements and bodywork help him feel better?

He is such a sweet soul. This is his journey.

Posted on by suzanne

Super Senior- Kiefer

Addressing Kiefer’s Needs

 

Kiefer looked at his lard covered prescription kibble and took a small bite. He gave me a look, like, “omg, not this again.” He ate about half a cup, not enough to sustain him.

Sadly, he went down the typical allergy rabbit hole when he was young. He was put on a prescription kibble and immune suppressing allergy pills for all of his life. The previous owner said that none of this helped his allergies. Well, I thought, if they aren’t working, why give them? So I stopped giving him Apoquel.

He looked up with sad puppy eyes when he smelled the real food I gave my dogs.  He’s starving, I thought, what’s the worse that can happen if I give him organic raw beef, chicken and duck with offal and ground bones?  I figured if the kibble wasn’t helping him thrive anyway, why not at least give him a delicious taste pleasure? I wasn’t expecting any miracles, I just wanted him to enjoy what time he has.

To my surprise, he didn’t have any allergic reaction to raw meat. The itching stopped, his coat became less greasy, and he had more energy. Is it possible he could have been eating real food all along?

 

Posted on by suzanne

Super Senior- Kiefer

Kiefer has elevated liver enzymes and an enlarged liver, as well as anemia. His back legs tremble and slip, his eye sight and hearing are also beginning to fail. But cognitively he’s all there.

For his sight, I make sure I turn the light on when he’s walking down the stairs. You can see that he has no idea where his paws will land when the stairway is darker. For hearing, I find a higher pitched voice seems to work better. For his slipping, we have rubber bottomed booties, but I want to make sure the yeast is under control before I cover his paws. I tried putting Dr. Buzby’s toe grips on his toenails, but had a hard time getting them positioned right. He still slipped. So yoga mats are the go-to for now.

As far as his “boofing” at me, well, it was me who had to adjust. I just make sure he knows where I am.

I checked with his vet to see if there were any supplements or herbs that were contraindicated with his liver issues, and they said not that they knew of. What about painkillers? With his liver in bad shape they ruled out Carprofen, perhaps Gabapentin. Besides going to specialists and doing further diagnosis procedures, they were out of suggestions.

So we’re on our own.

One of our Berkshire Hills pet parent, Kristen Hough is a professional energy healer. She read Kiefer’s “Emotion Code” and felt his liver was in pain. She suggested milk thistle.

He eats twice a day. For now his daily treatment is given in his breakfast (8 oz of raw):

  • a milk thistle tincture -3-4 drops for liver healing
  • a spoonful of pumpkin for some initial constipation
  • a probiotic for good bacteria in the gut, and digestive enzymes to help break down his food. As we age digestive enzymes decrease.

For a dog who is dealing with health issues or is older, it’s a good idea, in my experience, to go slow and give the smaller dose of things. It takes energy to process supplements even if they are natural.

I noticed that Kiefer seemed to be a bit more wobbly the following day of his first milk thistle dosage. I think he’s adjusting to a lot, so I started to reduce the milk thistle a little going forward. His spirits are up. He even tried to mount a girl in heat!

I have a little background in shiatsu and acupressure, so I started working along his spine. I stopped to watch if this was painful for him. Kiefer got up slowly, turned in a circle and then returned to place himself with his back right up against me so I could do it more. He looked up at me with eyes full of gratitude. My heart went, “ooohhh, buddy.”