How could I forget!

The pigmy of the group, and the 'latest' addition. Chippewa is the little Silky Terrier (no, he is not a Yorkie on steriods). A Silky Terrier was developed by crossing a Yorkshire Terrier with a Australian Terrier, to get a larger, more aggressive & hardier Terrier, that still had a soft coat.

He's a monster and a wild man, but cute. Chip is also a rescue (notice a theme here??). He is what I used to call (when I worked at a shelter) a "Petland reject". He was purchased at Petland for over $1,000 as a pet for a 6 year old. They kept him for about 3 months, during which time the child dislocated his shoulder and broke his foot, & the puppy started biting anything that touched him, so they then dumped at the shelter. He started out with me with the typical terrier reaction, if it scares you - bite it, if it excites you - bite it, if it startles you - bite it! It's been a while (3 years now) and I've been working with him a lot. He now has his CGC (Canine Good Citizen) and we're working on a Rally title - hopefully soon a CD obedience title. He's also been introduced to Agility, didn't care much for the whole Earthdog/ratting thing though. He'll be busy, and I think he likes/needs that the most.

He is, however, amazing comic relief and truly adorable. He still has a dislike of children, if they're too excited/loud, but generally, if I have kids over, he will only greet them with a toy in his mouth, as I've taught him that's a guaranteed way to stay out of trouble. He can't bite with a mouth that's already full! He is also jealous of the other dogs, the phone and even the computer. When I finish typing this, there will be EVERY toy in the house lying at my feet, as he tries to entice me to stop whatever it is I'm doing and play with him. He also 'talks' when he wants attention - which is whenever he's not getting it LOL!!

Apache has learned not to pick him up and shake him (which was a close call the first time I tried to cut Chip's nails and he tried to bite me). When Apache tires of him, he picks him up by his collar, carries him into the kitchen, & unceremoniously dumps him right on his butt and walks away!

C H

Cutaneous Histiocytosis is often abbreviated as CH - no it doesn't stand for Champion LOL! It's a vile & insidious Auto Immune Disease. It's also referred to as the 'button disease', as it manefests as small 'button' like lumps just under the skin. It is not breed specific, or age specific - although when some get it under 4 years old it often goes into remission never to return, the older the dog is when diagnosed, the less likely the remission will be very permanent. It's a hyper or hypo (sorry I forget which) response to an allergic reaction, and it can sort of build on itself. It is triggered by stress, allergies, etc.. It is a recessive gene so breeders can't really screen for it, because breeding to a different dog will often not produce puppies with this problem. It occurs in mixed breeds too, there is little rhyme or reason as far as figuring out who/what will likely end up with it. Most people assume it's cancer and euthanize immediately. Others do the biopsy, get the results and run into a brick wall as far as vets or are daunted by the fact that it can't be cured and euthanize. A few follow vet recommendations to treat with steriods by massive doses, & I only found 1 person on the web who's dog went into remission, the other 4 listing I found stated the dogs died of organ failure due to the steroids... I did not chose that route...

I can only speak for myself (which I do often), but vaccines/medications tend to make it much much worse - so.........Apache is being seen by a holistic vet and has not had ANY shots in the past 3 years no, and will not be getting any (refer to your states guidelines regarding Rabies vaccines). Also, to combat the food allergies (he's allergic to beef, pork, chicken, turkey, venison - so far), he eats Solid Gold dog food on his good days (when his inhallent allergies aren't likely to be triggered - i.e. winter in Western PA), and raw rabbit and/or lamb on his not so good days. I suppliment with brown rice, raw carrots, occasionally yams and sweet potatoes (yep, he eats better than I do), along with 2 Chinese Herbs I can't remember the name of right this second, and 1/3 of a capsule of Red Rasberry Leaf, Eyebright, Pau D'Arco, Milk Thistle, Cat's Claw, & Echinacea... I have it down to a pretty good science now, it takes me about 10 minutes to get the food together for his 2x day feedings. He appears the picture of health, does demonstrations with me & is one of the happiest/self assured dogs you would ever have the pleasure of meeting. No one would know he was not well spending time with him.

I'm trying to give you a reference point, at least a little, so you can maybe help you vet if your dog is diagnosed, or at least make a more informed decision in his treatment. REPEAT AFTER ME - My Vet is not GOD, He DOES NOT know EVERYTHING! It is MY job to make an informed/intelligent decision on my dog's health!! Most vet's HAVE NEVER seen this disease first hand (ask them if they've ever actually treated a dog with this exact disease), but are highly willing to TRY and treat your dog based on limited research. I honestly think some are just looking to get published somewhere/anywhere. Do all of your homework FIRST and stick to your guns - even when your vet is telling you that they don't recommend something - if you truly believe/know it's the right choice, stick with it - even it you have to dump your vet.... Like I warned you, just my honest opinion....scary thought!

Apache

Well, one of the primary reasons for me trying this whole blog thing is this dog. Apache is my best/worst/most expensive dog by far. He's the large male black with white Belgian Sheepdog in the trio picture... (Sorry, I haven't figured out how to put pictures in the middle of my posts yet..)

Apache is a rescue too, all of mine are. He was returned to the shelter on 3 occasions by the time he was 7 months old, labeled untrainable, too big, & needs a farm. A LOT of work and time and effort later and he now has his AKC CD. He has never let me down, I didn't exactly take him to classes to prepare (bad idea if thinking about competing), with only 1 match (pretend competition), training him primarily on my own, but when I asked him to 'work' for me, he always did/does. He got qualifying scores 3x, under 3 different judges, which is what is required to get a CD on a dog.. He's a big entension of me, often in motion before I can give him a hand signal. As WILD as he was, is as amazing as he is..

He's a rough one though, he has cost me a fortune!! He ate the entire contents of my bathroom garbage once, and ended up with a 3 day stay at an emergency clinic. He has terrible food & inhallent allergies, that cause strange bouts of diahrrea and refusing to eat. And he also has a bizarre disease called Cutaneous Histiocytosis (that's a mouth full!). He was diagnosed a couple of years ago now, after he broke out in lumps everywhere, and they just spread and multiplied. He was truly breaking my heart, and we ran from vet's office to vet's office, until one decided to biopsy the lumps. The biopsy results took WEEKS, and came in around Thanksgiving. That's when we got the diagnosis, and mass confusion. No one had ever seen the disease first hand and a lot of vet's had never even heard of it. In the mean time, the lumps kept spreading all over his body. They were like tiny M&M candies just under the skin, but they were rapidly covering everything. The only 'approved' treatment is very high doses of seriods...ridiculously high doses. I poured over the minor information available on the web, and everything I found said the steriods would likely kill him...this was not an option. The cure shouldn't be worse than the disease. I found one person who switched the diet to all raw foods and some suppliments and her dog improved/went into remission. Around Christmas time, he began to get lumps/lesions on his eyes and actually couldn't see one night! I couldn't take it anymore, and he was confused/scared. I thought about putting him to sleep, but just couldn't. He was only 5 at the time... I was selfish, called family crying and begging for any input possible. My sister (a herb fanatic in her own right) told me to make tea out of Eyebright herb, soak a cotton ball, and put it over his eyes as a warm compress. I didn't think anything would work, but figured it couldn't hurt, so I tried it. The next morning his eyes were starting to clear, it was unbelievable.

After that terrible night, I figured I was running out of options. I was still thinking of putting him to sleep as the lumps kept spreading, and I couldn't get an appointment with a holistic vet for another month.. I opted to run to a local wholesale meat type outlet and buy him rabbit. Did I mention he also has terrible allergies?? He had eaten it before and enjoyed it, and more importantly, had not had any (bad) reaction to it & he would eat it. I started giving it to him cooked, along with yams, and some herbs my sister recommended. After about 2 weeks, the lumps were not only not spreading, but some were being reabsorbed!! It was amazing.

This is the primary reason I am trying to blog.. So that someone searching for Cutaneous Histiocytosis, might stumble upon this blog and find some hope. I'll try to keep it light, and post about the silliness that I deal with every day with these guys, but I'm also trying to journal somewhere Apache's cures/treatments and all...