Hello!?

26 September 2013

Milo hit a bit of a rough patch this week.

Earlier in the week:

He had some yeast like dirt/smell in there so I used Otomax that I had on hand for about a week - standard stuff - in both ears.  His chiropractor is the one who really notice it.  

Since then he's been difficult to wake seems like he can't hear the normal goings on which would cause him to come to dinner or line up to go out the door with the other dogs.  I'm a bit concerned as this seems to have had a sudden onset.  The infection seemed to be located on the side where his original ear infection/abscess was. 

I'd like to have Dr. Ryan take a peek at his inner ear and make sure everything is okay.

Tuesday following vet visit: 

Dr. Ryan Speltz thinks that the Otomax (gentamicin) is the culprit for Milo's deafness.  Here is some info I found: 

From Medi-Vet, http://www.medi-vet.com/detail.aspx?ID=2965 (http://www.medi-vet.com/detail.aspx?ID=2965):

Each gram of OTOMAX® contains gentamicin sulfate veterinary equivalent to 3 mg gentamicin base; betamethasone valerate, USP equivalent to 1 mg betamethasone; and 10 mg clotrimazole, USP in a mineral oil-based system containing a plasticized hydrocarbon gel. . . .

The use of OTOMAX® has been associated with deafness or partial hearing loss in a small number of sensitive dogs (eg, geriatric). The hearing deficit is usually temporary. If hearing or vestibular dysfunction is noted during the course of treatment, discontinue use of OTOMAX® immediately and flush the ear canal thoroughly with a non-ototoxic solution.

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Dr. Speltz did have Milo's ears flushed and called Merck (parent company of Otomax) to notify them of this side effect.  He said he felt it was very important to have them to make an official report.  Ryan said that in his 13 years of practice Milo is the 3rd or 4th dog he's come across to have this condition.   It is possible that his eardrum may have had a tiny perforation which allowed the gentamicin to seep through.  

Milo had gentamicin in the form of Mometamax when he first arrived at Skyline to combat the terrible ear infection he had at that time with no problems.  And... gentamicin is in other meds - not just Otomax and Mometamax.  However, he will never have it again!    Otomax is a very common med for ear infections and I've used it successfully in the other dogs - and cats! 

So... we wait a few weeks and hope that Milo's hearing returns.  

Grooming - an unusual bath

23 September 2013

Milo seems to enjoy being groomed by the cat.  Ramon (the cat) couldn't be more pleased with the opportunity.  

The Journey of Milo - a video

4 September 2013

A video to tell the story of Milo.

I recommend taking this full screen.  (Click in the lower right hand corner before it begins to play)

The magic of Milo!

3 September 2013

Milo working his magic. He "herded" this little boy all over the park - taking this job quite seriously. The boy would run and then stop - Milo on his heels, then patiently waiting until he moved again. The boy's mother thought it was hysterical and Milo never frightened the boy. Cute!

Many faces of Milo

21 August 2013

A note from Nancy - Milo's biggest fan and one of his benefactors that I had to share:

"I took Milo's collection of photos in frame to the spay/neuter clinic today (in Red Lake) so Karen (RLRR) could see my treasure.   She was so pleased, and had me set the photo in the area where all the medical staff (MN-SNAP) and volunteers take breaks, and the story of Milo was the topic of discussion.   He's a miracle dog and Karen is very proud to see how handsome he has become!

Thank you, Andi.   Hugs for Milo today and always.

 

Nancy/Bemidji "

Nancy performs many kind works for animals.  Thank YOU Nancy! 

Visiting

13 August 2013

Milo stopped in at the local pet store to visit with a couple of his favorite friends. 

Training people for dog training success

9 August 2013

This evening we went to one of our favorite dog parks and, as usual, Milo greeted old friends and new - the two legged variety.  He got scratches and pats from all and made sure that no one had an idle hand for too long nudging them into action on giving him love.

After about an hour of walking the trails it was time to head out and get home for some dinner.  However, it was about this time that several new groups of people and dogs entered the park.   Milo was intent on greeting and charming them into getting some love from them too.

So... here is the scene.  I am walking towards the exit gate with Leo and Sabrina.  Milo is about 40 feet away fully focused on his new groups of people.  I call to him and he ignores me because these new people are petting him and falling under his polite, but relentless charm and he is being full on rewarded right where he is so there is no value for him to leave this heavenly situation.

I call to the people to stop petting Milo.  Then I call to him again.  Milo, intent on getting his new people to pet him again moves from person to person nudging their hands.  The well meaning people touch his head, talk to him, pointing to me saying, "Your mom is calling you".  As if  a) he will understand and b) that pointing at me will help - as if he just doesn't speak English so pointing will help.  What they don't know is that they are still rewarding him for not listening because they are giving him attention.  

Subversive that I am, I see this as a training opportunity for human and canine.  I ask the people to ignore Milo - no touching, no eye contact.  Several of them confess to finding this difficult as he is pretty hard to resist, but are nice enough to play this game.  And... voila!  No reward for Milo with the new people and he willingly trots to me for big hugs and great exclamations of what a good boy he is.  Huge, exciting dog party reward ensues!

I thank the people for their help and explain to them how they had been contributing to Milo's "bad" behavior by rewarding him for not listening by giving him attention.

I hope this was a good lesson for both human and canine.