Roll of 28, Day Twenty: Caught in the open

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roll of 28

Roll of 28, Day Ten: Unsafe at any speed

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roll of 28

The Dog parks we don’t go to anymore

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aggression, bay area, belgian tervuren, canine body language, dog bites, dog parks, dog play, food aggression, pit bulls, san francisco bay area, shiba inu, socialization, stupid pet owners

I’m addicted to dog parks.

Does one admit “addiction” to anything other than ill habits? I’ve often felt defensive about this dangerous love if only because discussions about dog parks tend to focus on their negatives — you could get yourselves killed at these places, for God’s sake! The way I see it, every dog park is beholden to specific contexts, moments, and patrons, because they are, by definition, spaces carved out of some kind of community. Rejection of dog parks is not so much a pronouncement of their inherent evilness, but more a rejection of the types of sociality that accompany them — which is fine, as neither human nor dog can be expected to socialize in the same ways. But unlike some more extreme critics of dog parks, I’m less likely to blame the park itself than the people who designed it and established patterns of antisocial use in the first place.

Now, what I call a “dog park” includes many different arrangements. For me, it’s any public space that permits the presence of dogs, ideally off leash. Some are fenced, some are designed with dogs specifically in mind and thus equipped, some are multi-functional areas that just happen to allow dogs, perhaps in designated or segregated spaces. At any rate, we have many to choose from here in the San Francisco Bay Area:

Dog parks in the East Bay (from DogGoes.com)

How do you choose, when not all options are created equal? Experiences will vary according to you, your dog, the time of day, the way the air smells at the moment… point is, I don’t know that I can generalize. I just have stories and experiences and a handful of lessons learned through repetition and observation.

Stories behind a jump for length and pictures of bruises and punctures and pain.

LINKS: Bay Area Shiba Blogs

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bay area, northern california, san francisco bay area, shiba blogs, shiba inu

While things are “slow” here at the House of Two Bows (still got enough shorter, pre-drafted posts to maintain our M-W-F schedule!), I thought I’d spread some link love by sharing other Bay Area and Northern California Shiba Inu blogs. For whatever reason, we are a strangely cohesive, social networking-oriented breed community.

In no particular order…

Eat, Play, Love: Maya the (Long-haired) Shiba (above! and at the very bottom of this post)

Sinjin the Shiba Wanderer, with Sienna

Demon Dog: Prince Zuko’s blog

Suki, canine sidekick of professional photographer Jonathan Fleming

He’s Ichigo! (pictured below)

Life with Kai the Shiba (bonus: potent adorability on this entry with puppy Shiba and two Basenjis!)

Severus the Super Shiba (hasn’t been updated in a while, but we hope our fellow allergic Shiba is doing well!)

My Shiba is a Diva

Maggie the Mini Shiba (whose photos are actually in focus, as opposed to mine, below)

And let’s not forget all the Shibas spotted by The Dogs of San Francisco. No, it’s not every day that one spots a Shiba… but around here, you do see them with some frequency.

Did I miss any local Shiba blogs? Let me know!

Companion tags

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attica, attica riot dog, graffiti, pit bulls, street culture

Graffiti art from two Bay Area taggers:

Stylings on the left by GATS, on the right by Attica.

According to Bay Area graffiti culture blog Endless Canvas, Attica’s various dog-centric tags pay tribute to the spirit of the Greek riot dog. Attica’s feature tag seems to be a pit bull, and favors bully breeds in general.

Holistic treatments for pet allergies

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allergies, bovine colostrum, digestive enzymes, essential fatty acids, holistic veterinary care, nettle, skin and coat supplements, supplements, vitamin C

Last year during April, we initiated some preemptive measures to stave off the onset of spring and summer allergies. March showers bring a profusion of April floral activity here in the Bay Area. Even I have been sniffling more than usual, indicating that something is already in the air. So last year around this time, we started giving Bowdu a Benadryl tablet every other day to block those histamine receptors before things really had a chance to go nuts. During the peak of summer, he was still getting Benadryl just about every day, though he was on no prescription meds. We got through last summer rather smoothly, but as a complex and chronic concern, I’m always looking to find out more about allergy treatment options.

A preliminary disclosure: I’m no expert; I’m just presenting the notes I collected from a talk I attended. I think I maintain reasonable skepticism of veterinary practices in general, though my own background and experiences have made me far more sympathetic to holistic care. I grew up with two scientist parents who have been employed for decades by a major pharmaceuticals company (mom works in their animal health department — there are many clinical trial reports floating about the internal document library that were edited by said employee’s teenaged daughter). Yet our entire family has frequently turned to traditional Chinese medicine than manufactured drugs to alleviate our own chronic ailments.

Which just goes to say that I don’t necessarily advocate any one “school” or type of medicine over another. As long as one is willing to counterbalance the information they receive from professionals with their own research, I think there is merit in exploring new ideas.

Dr. Anne Reed addresses the crowd at her allergy talk.

At the end of last month, I attended a talk on “Holistic treatments for pet allergies” hosted by a local pet boutique and headed by a well-respected local holistic veterinarian, Dr. Anne Reed. You can check her website for her credentials, as I did before I signed up for the event. The talk was booked to capacity, and the crowd consisted primarily of women, age 30 and older. Many attendees were already familiar with Dr. Reed’s services. I was not. Despite rave reviews and a decent network of resources in our area, we have not yet made the costly plunge into holistic veterinary care (for example, Dr. Reed’s current rates are $210 for a first intake, or $265 for a first house call). The $10 entrance fee to this event seemed a mere pittance in comparison.

Dr. Reed began by laying out the differences between Western medicine and holistic medicine (a term which she used interchangeably with “Chinese medicine”). As she explained it, the default position with Western medicine regards the allergen — the pollen, dander, food in rare cases of true food allergies as opposed to intolerances, etc. — as the problem. Treatment options are thus focused on eliminating the offending allergen by figuring out what to avoid (hence, the costly tests that still often register false positives), or eliminating the body’s response to allergens through specialized diets of “food-like substances” (hydrolyzed protein prescription diets), immune suppressing drugs (Prednisone and prednisolone, antihistamines, cyclosporin), or complex immunotherapy (which remains prohibitively costly and time consuming for most pet owners).

The problem is that the immune system, when suppressed for such long periods of time, relishes the opportunity to get back to “work,” so allergic reactions frequently tend to get worse over time. When your pet is taken off those drugs, the immune system kicks back in overdrive mode, so future allergic responses tend to get more extreme, or last longer, or branch out to new allergens that were never a problem before. Dr. Reed confessed to dreading the patients who come to her as a last resort because the drugs that have been prescribed to them for years no longer work; it takes a significantly longer time to undo the damage than the temporary relief of prescription drugs, and for this reason, she recommends that pet owners do everything in their power to stay away from these drugs in the first place.

Holistic medicine, on the other hand, is not concerned with identifying specific allergens, because it takes the body as the foundation for all improvements, not external factors. If the body is healthy and balanced and everything is working properly, it should be well equipped to handle the stressors of living and functioning as natural beings in a normal environment. Not so much to expect our bodies to behave, right? Well, as dog people know, ideal behaviors come through consistent and steady training, and our bodies can be conditioned in a similar way.

As a holistic practitioner, she doesn’t really look at or consider allergy tests. In her experience, the results frequently have a demoralizing effect — how is it fair, after all, that a household pet can or should be allergic to human dander or grass? The best that the tests can do, in her experience, is buy some time as she works to strengthen the body’s immune response through holistic means.

To that end, food is her essential starting block. She briefly debunked the idea rehashed by many pet owners that some common proteins are inherently evil (chicken, beef, and lamb are oft-named culprits) or that any specific breed typically does not do well with any particular protein. If certain breeds seem predisposed to reject specific types of proteins, she’s more likely to ascribe the problems to genetic factors and how the pets were bred, not necessarily what breed they are. She did not spend much time on this point, but she did allude to grave concerns that generations of kibble-fed dogs have resulted in generations of modern dogs that are ill-equipped to adapt as nature intended.

At the same time, Dr. Reed was very pragmatic about acknowledging that a fully home-cooked or raw diet is not possible for many homes. To that end, we can only do the best that we can, but there is nothing like a good diet of fresh and balanced food to start your pet off on the right foot. She spent some time talking about the differences between home cooking and raw food. One note that I jotted down which resonated with past knowledge is that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners actually don’t advocate a diet of exclusively raw meat, because too much “cold” food (and “cold” means more than temperature here) can be damaging to the spleen and other vital organs. If your pet tends to be energetically “hot,” and allergies are symptomatic of such a state, then a raw diet can certainly help. However, bodies and metabolism do not remain stable over a lifetime, so you should be prepared to adjust as necessary. If nothing else, TCM reminds us that natural systems are constantly in flux. We may strive for perfect balance, though we cannot assume permanence!

There is much more to be said on the intricacies of traditional Chinese medicine, but rather than stray too far from her main topic, Dr. Reed recommended that interested parties do their own research. She recommended Four Paws, Five Directions: A Guide to Chinese Medicine for Cats and Dogs by Cheryl Schwartz as a good starting point for pet owners. Personally, I’ve had a look at this title in the past and found it problematic in many ways, but that’s a post for another time. Dr. Reed praises the book for giving a broad, if someone dizzying overview of TCM in current practice.

Next, she turned to specific allergy treatments that pet owners can work with. I’ve tried to organize and represent the information based on notes to the best of my ability. If I have made any transcription or factual errors, I will follow up and correct the information.

• Omega-3s.
  Functions: to decrease inflammation, build cell membranes, help joints, etc. Omega-3s and Essential Fatty Acids are widely touted, so you can look up the benefits with little problem.
  Use: Look for a DHA/EPA number between 50 ~ 100 mg/kg, a capsule of about 1000 mg / day is a good maintenance dose.
  Issues: In the past, vets could solve lots of problems fairly efficiently by giving pets just Omega-3s, but this no longer seems to be as effective because commercial pet foods are now supplementing with their own essential fatty acids. Consequently, pets need more Omega-3s in order to counterbalance the Omega-6s in commercial diets. Also, just because everyone sings the praises of fish oils and because this is a “holistic” approach doesn’t mean that there are no side effects. Too much Omega-3, for example, has been associated with increased clotting time (so animals may bleed easier and keep bleeding) — a concern if your pet is going in for surgery. Clean and sustainable sourcing of fish oils is an ongoing concern as well, so make sure to monitor the quality of your product.
• Digestive enzymes.
  Functions: to help “rest” the digestive tract and allow associated organs some relief while promoting nutritional absorption and decreasing intestinal inflammation
  Use: Pick a simple, plant-based enzyme (she likes Standard Process Multizyme and Prozyme), typically added at about 1/4 teaspoon per cup of food.
  Issues: Digestive and skin health are closely related in holistic medicine. You want your pet’s skin looking and feeling as healthy as possible. Paw pads shouldn’t be crusty, but rather, feel “like a pair of fine driving gloves,” even though they meet concrete and ground every single day. The best way to improve skin is through digestion, and if your pet’s skin and coat are looking good, everything else is probably reasonably in balance.
• Vitamin C
  Functions: to serve as a natural antihistamine, to strengthen cellular bonds, to serve as a “cooling” agent
  Use: about 500 ~ 1000 mg per day, once a day, for a 50 pound dog
  Issues: I didn’t get a chance to ask whether this was a temporary measure or a more permanent supplement, as I’d read conflicting information about whether or not this is necessary, or potentially harmful for pets. If i get a chance to follow up, I will update here.
• Bovine colostrum
  Functions: to promote digestive health by “sealing up” the cellular walls of the intestinal tract, aiding in better digestion, among other functions
  Use: look for it in powdered form, follow recommended dosing information
  Issues: She didn’t get much time to talk about this one, so I may be missing some details. This is a “quick” and more short-term fix that she seemed enthusiastic to endorse, though she doesn’t use it over the long run.
• Freeze-dried nettle
  Function: as a homeopathic remedy particularly useful for inhaled allergies
  Use: about 1/4 tsp per 50 pounds of dog
  Issues: It may cause several days to a week of itchiness or irritation until you see improvement. However, she has found this particularly effective to ward off seasonal allergies just as they are appearing. She did not say how long one should keep feeding the nettles (over a whole season?). This is also meant to be a short term remedy.

At this point, Dr. Reed started running out of time, so she blitzed through the potential uses of apple cider vinegar (messing with pH is controversial, but she recommends 1 Tbsp/50 pounds of dog in certain situations), green tripe (a “miracle food” loaded with enzymes), and green leafy vegetables (good for the liver). On Vitamin E, she has not found it absolutely necessary to add this in combination with fish oil, as some years she has recommended it, and some years she has not, yet has seen no difference either way. She thinks that pets are compensating for the supposed depletion of Vitamin E in other ways, particularly if they get a good mix of organs in their balanced meal.

IN CONCLUSION: patience and perseverance, and staying away from prescription allergy meds, puts your pet on the right track to long-term health. You may not see immediate results with the approaches that she outlined, but in the best cases, you will be able to look back after some time and account for significant differences. I know that has certainly been the case for us here at the House of Two Bows.

Roll of 28+1, day 23: Groove is in the park(ing lot)

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art car, roll of 28

Ever seen a car wear a tiara?

I just did, at the dog park — this vehicle named the Groovemobile.

Would’ve loved to take more detail shots, but the Bows were in tow and it was inconvenient to maneuver around a busy parking lot. Maybe we’ll see the car again, along with its driver and her Sheltie/Corgi/something mix!

Roll of 28+1, day seven: Campus blowhard

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berzerkeley, roll of 28

7 February 2012

I bet the dude with the green hair has been preaching for decades and still, nobody really hears him…

(Because of Roll of 28, you’re actually going to get photo posts that have nothing to do with dogs a few times this month!)

Roll of 28+1, day two: Dojo Dog

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dojo dog, food trucks, hot dogs, roll of 28, shiba inu

2 February 2012

In case you can’t read it: DOJO DOG, Hot Dogs with an Asian Kick.

Haven’t tried out their menu yet, but with a mascot like that, I sure will!

Strange warning

I’m dying to meet the dog that lives at this residence.