Wellness check exam/lab work

[AngelaM]

Hello,
My 3 year old intact springer spaniel, Murphy, is coming upon his yearly wellness check. He has always been on the lean side at 35lbs. His appetite has always been good, not picky. He tends to have good, consistent energy, sometimes hard to figure out how to get him enough exercise, but he goes on 2 good walks a day, has sniff activities in house, etc. I'm learning more about his mood and behavior. He tends to get easily hyper aroused, he is noise sensitive, does not like driving in or being left in the car. He tends towards anxiety. He also in past year has become particular about how much affection he wants, so we don't give him as much affection as we used to. And I just read on the Adored Beast website, that dog's don't particularly like hugs - I totally see that in Murphy. He is also sensitive to touch when we put on his harness, so we recently decided to stop using his harness - because his reaction to it was getting worse. He had a stressful incident at doggie daycare(9months old) with someone not doing a good job with putting his harness back on. Maybe it's time to get him a different type of harness.

He has been overvaccinated. A VDI mineral and fur test done in Feb 2023, high levels of Boron were found in his system(unknown how, unless coming from Just Food For Dogs and the kibble we had been feeding him). A followup VDI wellness report (March 2024), blood test, showed con't high levels of B12 in his blood but regular levels of Folate. Also has high levels of hyaluronic acid - been giving him Trixsyn. Three months ago we changed to a raw/fresh diet - use Viva. This has helped with a lot of digestion/stool and intermittent vomitting issues. We have tried a little homeopathy - so far only Thuja 10M - 3 doses (1-3 drops dose) 3 days in a row at beginning of Dec. But then did a lot of traveling and events related to Christmas has been overwhelming for him - even though we've tried our best to help him relax. We've tried two homeopathic vets but they are not a good fit for us. Last week we implemented iCalm music, adaptil diffuser, CBD and some more things for him to chew on(these don't last long though). This might be helping...

Anxiety issues have been slowly getting worse over past year, related around touch and some resource guarding. We are getting better at recognzing his anxiety/fear and starting to learn how to help him. He tends to get easily excited when out and about, especially new places - like sensory overload. So we are trying to be more wise about where we take him, until we can work on being more calm in different types of enviroments. He is super nose driven, so he does get to sniff on our walks. But he can get overly focused on urine, and licking dog's crotches - sometimes when not welcomed. He can be overstimulated/focused on urine spots on the ground and he loses his ability to hear and it's hard to get his attention.

He shows no signs of obvious illness or lameness.

My questions:
After watching/participating in some of the Dog Anxiety Summit. I am wanting to make sure there are no underlying pain issues/diseases. I see that Dr. Ava Frick does some really good Fur/Mineral testing. Murphy does not like going to our local vet and it is over an hour drive to get there.

1. Can a Mineral/Fur test be a good place to help assess any possible underlying disease or pain issues?
* With the higher levels of Boron and Hyaluronic acid would it be also good to get a blood test done or is the Mineral/Fur test going to help cover those issues?
2. How important is a physical exam at this time, when I don't want to add more stress to his life right now?
3. He will be due for a Nobivac DAPP Edge 0.5mil vacinnation in March, I don't want to have this done. Would it be worth getting a titer test?
4. I'd like to try and find a local behavioral trainer, there is only one where I live. She will except titer tests. Which might be helpful if we take him to her place... but that's probably too much for him at this time. So the trainer coming to our house might be better in which I don't think vaccinnation records would be required - not sure. Or can you recommended a really good long distance behavioral trainer?

@Dr. Jeff
@Dr. Christina

 

[Dr. Christina]

So glad you are exploring all your options, Angela. Murphy is very blessed to have you in his life. Hopefully you have been listening to the webinars, have taken the 101 course, have searched the forum for some of your questions , downloaded the Healthy Dog Journal and utilized the resource library!

Having a holistic healing team is critical. You said you worked with two homeopaths. Could you say what did not work and who they were? Then we can help you more in finding one. Read the article on finding and working with holistic vets for some more guidance.

Most important is using the HMDM when you are faced with all these decisions.
step 1 is to set a goal. Are any of the issues serious enough that you need veterinary care? Does not sound like it. The major goal, then, is super high quality of life, with few or no symptoms for as long as Murphy can live. Since rebalancing the underlying energy field (and keeping it balanced) is the main way to achieve this goal (homeopathy, Chinese Medicine, Ayurvedic, Chiropractic). And you can work to soothe symptoms while the deep cure is happening.
Step 2 is to research.

• Key are Murphy's symptoms. In the Journal you are prompted to make a timeline of all his illnesses, including any of the Early Warning Signs of Internal Imbalance that were in past or now. While doing this, think of the context of the symptoms - what was happening each time a symptom worsened, or appeared? And how did Murphy respond to each treatment. You seem to have done much of this already, so creating a good timeline should be easy. Then you make a Master symptom list, carefully quantified, of all past and present symptoms.
• Next, research (mostly here at HA!) possible ways to soothe each of the different symptoms.
• Then, as you are doing here, ask questions about different approaches you are considering along with doing the deep energy healing needed.

Step 3 is to carefully consider you next plan of action. Implement the plan (this may be a homeopathic or chinese medicine prescribed for deep healing along with your next attempt (like the iCalm music, adaptil diffuser, CBD and some more things for him to chew on that you recently started.
You constantly evaluate your choice by evaluating all the symptoms on the master symptom list. If things are not going well, you start again with the HMDM.

Ok - to answer and comment on a few of your questions. Others will chime in for ones I am not familiar with or have a different opinion.

1. I have not found fur and mineral analyses to be super useful in resolving problems, though maybe once a year to tweak the diet or search for toxins.
2. Physical exams are needed yearly especially if you can find (within a sort drive) a vet trained in chiro or chinese medicine to add those evaluations. If you feel it best to work for another month nor so on the anxiety, you could wait.
I also recommend having an intuitive/animal communicator do a virtual exam yearly or more. They may be able to help with his anxiety over the vet visit & drive, as well.
3. There is NO need for further vaccines - only the legally recommended Rabies. Titer are not needed, unless for training.
4. Never heard of requiring vaccines for house call. Before you decide on a trainer, please watch all of our behavior webinars. We have had great experts, some of whom do work virtually. One I really respect who has not yet spoken for us is Marilyn Mele - Program - who has great info on her site and a remote program.

Keep up with the happiness protocol you are doing and respecting Murphy's preferences (not to be hugged, etc) which you are doing so well. Once the energy field is re-balanced he may, in addition to physical health, he may become cuddly again. There are many other possible soothing approaches, but I have probably overwhelmed you. Be very patient, look for small improvements, keep loving him.

Dr. christina

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hi Angela!

I'm sorry to hear about Murphy's challenges with anxiety.

He sounds like a milder version of my super scared new rescue pup Maya. She had 3 sets of vax, rabies, was spayed, had giardia, antibiotics etc. all by 12 weeks of age!

She came to us a big bundle of nerves

really good long distance behavioral trainer?

(she couldn't even walk into a room without melting down) but we are gradually working through them. With the goal of her having the best life possible full of freedom and flexibility.

Can a Mineral/Fur test be a good place to help assess any possible underlying disease or pain issues?

Not in my experience. However other vets may differ about this

How important is a physical exam at this time

When was his last one? I agree 100% about avoiding stressors when possible.

Would it be worth getting a titer test?

Yes.

really good long distance behavioral trainer?

I am working with the wonderful Aubrey Sancho but am not sure if she does exclusively virtual.

Click With Your Canine

Dog training and behavior consulting services offered by a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (IAABC-CDBC)

clickwithyourcanine.com

.

 

[AngelaM]

Thank you both for your replies/support. It is nice to have this forum and a place to be seen and heard. My heart goes out to Maya. I'm glad she has you for family Jeff.

I'm finding this anxiety behavior too be very challenging. And my eyes are being opened to new things. I'm having to relearn a lot about affection and trust with dogs. I never imagined I'd find myself here.

Also, noticing that the things that make Murphy happy can cause overstimulation/hyper arousal... so we are working on finding the balance. Also challenging when he's the type of dog that needs lots of exercise, which we are able to give him. But he is so nose driven that he becomes obsessed with it. I think he may also use his nose as much as he does because he can be easily overwhelmed by his other senses (sight, sound, touch). Smell might be his way of coping in the outside world. We are sticking to areas he is most familiar with and walking in the middle of street - since we live in a small town. He is also able to be off-leash in the forested area next to our house. For the most part he is relaxed at home - which is nice!

Most of the recommendations Christina mentioned in research/journaling/time line tracking, goal setting, etc are being done. I'm constantly looking up information to learn more, sometimes too much is overwhelming.

In terms of our homeopathy experiences, this unfortunately isn't the forum to share things in great detail. But appreciate the followup questions. For now, this is on hold for us. I've read much of Dr. Hamilton's book and looked at items in holistic actions section related to homeopathy. The first homeopath gave us 3 different remedies at 10M, give first remedy (3 drops day for 3 days), if no improvement in 1 to 2 weeks give next remedy. I thought this might be overdosing and not giving enough time between remedies. We started with Thuja 10M and went to further, given at beginning of December 2024. Decided to consult with another homeopath in January of this year, that experience was not a good fit for us personality wise.

We are also working with an animal communicator, so far for us, this has been the most helpful.

Murphy's last wellness check was done Feb 2024... and he get's super stressed at the vet... So waiting a bit while we work with music, phermones, and hopefully a good behaviorist- if we can find one. Thank you for your recommnedations! What would you say are the most important things to check for at a vet visit - to make sure the anxiety isn't stemming from a physical pain issue?

Thank you all again so much!
These things take a lot of time and patience and it can be very hard when you want your furry friend to be at ease and you feel like your having a hard time knowing how to help them.
Blessings,
Angela

 

[GinnyW]

Well - since I am NOT a homeopath, I can stick my neck out and say that the prescriptions/remedies prescribed seem a bit inappropriate, and also perhaps a bit, well, unsubtle: too much, too many, too soon. That said, I do believe that appropriate homeopathy has an important place in his treatment and upbringing.
In the meantime, realize that his nose IS his primary way of experiencing his world and learning from it. I'd advise letting him sniff to his heart's content; repressing this would be akin to blindfolding a young child. But I would be very circumspect about letting him offlead at this point; too much can go wrong, and/or any anxiety you feel about his actions or whereabouts will be a negative influence on his development, not to mention a risk of encountering trouble.

Help him by being there, sharing his experiences with loving calm, being very consistent about rewarding good choices. It sounds as though he's just a dog: happy, curious, thinking and moving at appropriate puppy-warp speed. Enjoy this part, back it up with homeopathy if and when necessary, and don't hover, physically or mentally.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

What would you say are the most important things to check for at a vet visit - to make sure the anxiety isn't stemming from a physical pain issue?

For hours anxiety, you may want to do a general profile, urinalysis and full thyroid screen.

Also, VDI lab does HA (hyaluronic acid) screening which may be helpful.