Some questions and some pictures!

[Bailey&Me]

Okay team, Bailey and I need your advice on several things that have been going on with us in the past few days. I tried looking through old threads and did find some helpful stuff, but still have some questions. Please let me know if I overlooked any relevant threads that I should go back and read.

I am posting this in the health section even though Bailey is not a maltese (and neither is my cat haha) but I figured most of this stuff would apply to malts too. If I need to move it to another section, please let me know.

Okay, here goes:

1. Bailey went in for his comprehensive exam on Monday and all was well! He got a Bordatella booster (intranasal) though and a couple of days later, he started having some major coughing/sneezing/wheezing episodes. I did some research and found that these are common side effects of the Bordatella shot Last night I was up with him almost all night because he kept coughing...I felt awful and I don't think I'll ever be giving him this vaccine again! The only reason he got the shot is because his doggie daycare requires it. I took him back in to the vet today and she put him on some cough medicine. Hopefully he'll get better soon! Are there any other, more natural things I could do to make him feel better...he looks pretty miserable right now

2. As I've mentioned before, Bailey is my first dog. When I first got him, and before I read up on holistic dog care and became a regular on SM, I was pretty clueless on a lot of dog-related things, especially when it came to health care. So I didn't know the dangers of vaccinations and trusted that the vet would know what's best for my dog. Well...as a result, Bailey was EXTREMELY over-vaccinated. I CRINGE every time I look at his medical records and think of what I let happen to my poor baby. Now I know better than to ever let that happen again to him or any other dog I own in the future. BUT I worry all the time that the over-vaccinating during the first year of his life might have caused some permanent damage that may show up sometime in the future. What do you think...? If he didn't have any reactions to those shots within the first few months of getting them, is he out of the woods or still at risk of developing issues at some point?

3. I have been struggling with trying to figure out the right nutritional balance for him...between food and supplements. I've got a lot of fantastic info here on SM about food. But I've been trying to find out if I should be adding any specific vitamins or supplements to his diet. Right now, he is on Canine Caviar Lamb and Pearl Millet adult dog food (kibble) and a variety of canned food mixed in (mainly Weruva, Merrick and Halo)...and he also eats Grandma Lucy's Artisan about half the time. I've been trying out different flavors of Artisan to find the one he does best on and working towards making Artisan his main food. I also mix in some Grizzly Salmon Oil and Animal Essentials Probiotics daily. Are there any other supplements I should be giving him? I've been thinking about getting this one from the Only Natural Pet site: Only Natural Pet Super Daily Canine Multi-Vitamin Mineral Supplement for Dogs What do you think? Would I be over-doing it with the supplements??

4. That's it for Bailey for now...but I do have one last question that maybe you guys could help me with. I also have a 12 year old cat who I love dearly and have had since he was ten weeks old. He has been pretty healthy thus far but at his last comprehensive exam, his blood work showed a VERY low platelet count and a low white blood cell count too. His vet was thinking he has some sort of cancer so of course I am devastated. He has been going through a lot of different tests to diagnose him but no answers yet, although an ultrasound did show he has Inflammatory Bowel Disease. We are still in the process of figuring out what else is wrong with him that he had such a low platelet count though. As you can imagine, it has been EXTREMELY difficult on me to see my beloved cat go through all of this. He was my first pet and is very, very dear to me. I was wondering if any of you have had experience with senior cats...if so, maybe I could post details about his condition in the "Anything Goes" section to ask for advice. OR maybe you could point me to a good cat forum? Any help would be much appreciated!!!

Sorry for the long post...but thank you for reading it and thanks in advance for any advice you can give me!!! I am also attaching some recent pictures of Bailey, and one of my cat too

Thanks!!!

[Starsmom]

I don't know much about this site, it looks very similar to this one, but is for cat lovers. Post your puss puss questions here - http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/

[Canada]

You sound like a great puppy Mom!
Bailey is very cute!
He looks so soft.

[suzimalteselover]

I do the titer testing now, instead of just giving the vaccines. So far, all three fluffs have not needed to update with any more vaccines. By law, I still am required to do the rabies vaccines. Josey got very sick from the bordatella vaccine. My vet agreed that she should not have it again. We don't board nor take any of them to daycare, and I use a mobile groomer that comes to the house. (If you wish, your vet can write you a letter stating Bailey can't have the bordatella and the daycare should accept it.)

Bailey is such a cutie pie! I love your siggy pic! He looks like a stuffed teddy bear....so cute and squeezeable!!!

[Bailey&Me]

Originally Posted by Starsmom

I don't know much about this site, it looks very similar to this one, but is for cat lovers. Post your puss puss questions here - http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/

Thank you! I'll go look at that site. I've been trying to find a good cat forum, but so far the ones I looked at weren't as easy to navigate and figure out as SM has been for me. But I'll look at the link you posted...THANKS!!

[Bailey&Me]

Originally Posted by Canada

You sound like a great puppy Mom!
Bailey is very cute!
He looks so soft.

Thank you...I try to be the best puppy mommy I can be. I feel bad that I was so clueless for the first couple of months I had Bailey. Hopefully I didn't cause him any long term damage!!!

[Bailey&Me]

Originally Posted by suzimalteselover

I do the titer testing now, instead of just giving the vaccines. So far, all three fluffs have not needed to update with any more vaccines. By law, I still am required to do the rabies vaccines. Josey got very sick from the bordatella vaccine. My vet agreed that she should not have it again. We don't board nor take any of them to daycare, and I use a mobile groomer that comes to the house. (If you wish, your vet can write you a letter stating Bailey can't have the bordatella and the daycare should accept it.)

Bailey is such a cutie pie! I love your siggy pic! He looks like a stuffed teddy bear....so cute and squeezeable!!!

Thanks for the advice. Sorry to hear that your Josey got sick from the Bordatella too!! I looked through past threads and found a few people had posted that their pups had gotten sick from this vaccine too. Wish I had seen that before he got the shot. Bailey does go out a lot though...and he goes to daycare, obedience classes, the groomers and a lot of pet events, so I thought the Bordatella would be a good idea. But seems like the symptoms he got from the vaccine are similar to what he would have if he actually got the disease...so what was the point of that, I don't know!

I LOVE your pups too...your siggy pic of Josey is just too precious!

[michellerobison]

It's so hard to know what to do for our fluffs canine and feline. We hear vaccinations pushed and think we're protecting our babies.
Asking questions is being a good doggie mommy.
Cats are suseptible to feline leukemia so that may explain the labs he got back.

I hope they can help him,he looks just like my Harry....
Bailey is so adorable,I love seeing pictures of his cute little face,so expressive,just so cute.

[Bailey&Me]

Originally Posted by michellerobison

It's so hard to know what to do for our fluffs canine and feline. We hear vaccinations pushed and think we're protecting our babies.
Asking questions is being a good doggie mommy.
Cats are suseptible to feline leukemia so that may explain the labs he got back.

I hope they can help him,he looks just like my Harry....
Bailey is so adorable,I love seeing pictures of his cute little face,so expressive,just so cute.

Thanks Michelle! The vet's first thought was feline leukemia but she did the test and it came out negative. Also he is strictly an indoor cat. I'm not sure what he has...but I do hope the vet can figure it out and make him better soon!

And thank you for your comments on Bailey. I can't get enough of his cuteness either

[Bailey&Me]

Does anyone have any advice regarding supplements (# 3 in my original post)? I am trying to order them online soon but would love to hear your thoughts...Thanks.