Minutus

Dear All,

I have a sweet little doggie under my care with several health problems due to over-vaccination. I'm repping her case, step-by-step. Now I've reached the rectum and stool chapters and my question is about her feces and defecation. I have still have (so many) difficulties with understanding the repertory.

When she eats dry food, raw organ meat, or raw meat, she develops dark diarrhea (looks like dark to black tomato sauce) with drips of blood. When eating raw meaty bones, such as crushed pork rib, chicken wings or drum sticks her feces harden up (still soft but with clear form); the color changes to brown and there's no (visible) blood anymore.
She has difficulties with defecating. There's lots of straining with walking around. When she starts defecating there's first the dark tomato sauce or the soft feces with form, depending on what she has eaten. This is followed by drips of dark tomato sauce, blood or dark watery feces.

I use (am practicing with) Kent's repertory.

The feces and defecation have repped as:

RECTUM, CONSTIPATION. Difficult stool:
RECTUM, CONSTIPATION. Difficult stool, soft stool:
RECTUM, CONSTIPATION, insufficient, incomplete, unsatisfactory stools:

Any suggestions on this?

The stool itself gives me problems. What would you rep here: the feces as a result of eating dry food or the (improved) feces from the raw meaty bones?

What do I take, black, dark, brown, or even tarry-looking?
STOOL, Black
STOOL, Dark (as it is not totally black, more very very dark brown)
STOOL, Brown
STOOL, Tarry-looking (but not sticky as tar)
a week ago it was even brown on the outside and yellowish on the inside (she has elevated liver enzymes)

STOOL, Bloody (Dark/black stool indicates blood, right?)
or
STOOL, Bloody, streaks, in

STOOL, Changeable?

STOOL, Soft (but not all is soft, some is liquid and it depends strongly on what she eats)
STOOL, Thin
STOOL, Thin, liquid (although the first part isn't liquid)
STOOL, Thin, liquid, black (or dark).

I really would appreciate your thoughts on this.

Nienke

I think you may have a dietary problem. First, why give her kibble at all. It is never
good for dogs. Second, the organ meats may be too rich when given alone and the bones
are too constipating when given alone. Why not give a mix of these two types of food.
Stool color can/does change with different diet. Kibble is the most over processed
garbage there is.
Also, she may need some probiotics in her diet. There may be other nutrients missing.
Dogs seem to need a small amount of veggies in their diet. There is some very good
raw food diet information available.
for some recommended raw food feeding info see if you can open this site: http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/wLI8UEoGaJ ... 0Hagel.htm
You also say nothing about vaccine history which could be a significant factor.
Once the diet has been corrected, you can proceed with the case homeopathically.
tanya
From: nienke
Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2012 4:25 AM
To: minutus@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Minutus] poo-poo question

Dear All,

I have a sweet little doggie under my care with several health problems due to over-vaccination. I'm repping her case, step-by-step. Now I've reached the rectum and stool chapters and my question is about her feces and defecation. I have still have (so many) difficulties with understanding the repertory.

When she eats dry food, raw organ meat, or raw meat, she develops dark diarrhea (looks like dark to black tomato sauce) with drips of blood. When eating raw meaty bones, such as crushed pork rib, chicken wings or drum sticks her feces harden up (still soft but with clear form); the color changes to brown and there's no (visible) blood anymore.
She has difficulties with defecating. There's lots of straining with walking around. When she starts defecating there's first the dark tomato sauce or the soft feces with form, depending on what she has eaten. This is followed by drips of dark tomato sauce, blood or dark watery feces.

I use (am practicing with) Kent's repertory.

The feces and defecation have repped as:

RECTUM, CONSTIPATION. Difficult stool:
RECTUM, CONSTIPATION. Difficult stool, soft stool:
RECTUM, CONSTIPATION, insufficient, incomplete, unsatisfactory stools:

Any suggestions on this?

The stool itself gives me problems. What would you rep here: the feces as a result of eating dry food or the (improved) feces from the raw meaty bones?

What do I take, black, dark, brown, or even tarry-looking?
STOOL, Black
STOOL, Dark (as it is not totally black, more very very dark brown)
STOOL, Brown
STOOL, Tarry-looking (but not sticky as tar)
a week ago it was even brown on the outside and yellowish on the inside (she has elevated liver enzymes)

STOOL, Bloody (Dark/black stool indicates blood, right?)
or
STOOL, Bloody, streaks, in

STOOL, Changeable?

STOOL, Soft (but not all is soft, some is liquid and it depends strongly on what she eats)
STOOL, Thin
STOOL, Thin, liquid (although the first part isn't liquid)
STOOL, Thin, liquid, black (or dark).

I really would appreciate your thoughts on this.

Nienke

Dear Tanya,

Thank you for your reply.

When I wrote this post I first added the other sx she had, which all seem to be vaccine side-effects as well. Then I thought, let's keep it simple and take one thing at the time. So I deleted that part. Probably this way of thinking was not correct.

So, here's her history as I know it. She came to me in boarding approximately 2 to 2 1/2 months ago. The purpose was that she would stay for 8 days. She was fed one of the worst dry dog foods that you can get here. Skin and bones, literally, ongoing diarrhea with blood drops, dirty looking coat and very thin, no hair on all her feet up to just over her pasterns and hocks, and an odor out of her mouth that you can smell from 5 meter distance.
The usual way here with small breed dogs: weaned around 3 weeks of age and sold at 4 weeks. First 4-in-1 vaccine at 6 weeks of age (if not earlier as many new dog owner will go from the breeder or pet shop straight to the vet). Repeat at 8 weeks and at 10-12 weeks a 5-in-1.

The first 2 weeks with me (still in boarding) she was on (a better)dry food. The red skin on her feet went away and her hair started to grow back. First her feces improved a little, but then the problem came back. That's when I switched her over on a raw food diet (prey model, hardly ever veggies, they get tripe in stead), due to the diarrhea problems and because she didn't gained weight. She loves the raw food and dislikes the dry food (logic), and gained at least half a kilo. She is now almost 3 kilo's and well-filled.
After about a month it became clear that the owner wasn't planning to collect her dog. So, now she's mine for the time being, until she is cured then she will go up for adoption.
I give raw food to my dogs since 2001. And yes, on a rare occasion I come across a dog that can't handle a whole meal of only organ meats. Most dogs do not have that problem. She is obviously one of those rare occasions.

Sx she has now:

Mouth: sores on her cheeks and on her gums in back of mouth with inflamed skin, increased salivation, a little bit of pus, and that horrific odor from her mouth. Left is much worse than right. Lymph nodes very swollen in her throat.

Ears: first yellowish discharge, which I thought was excessive wax. Now it's brown. Again left is worse than right.

Abdomen: liver enzymes (SGPT) elevated.

Stool: as described before

Extremities: patella luxation, also left.

Skin: some yellow-light brown scaling here and there. Dirty looking coat. Although, the skin and coat have considerably improved since the change of diet.
Ticks just LOVE her. They come marching in from 1 km radius, just to party on her. Body temperature normal.

Behavior: not totally sure, as I do not know her in a healthy state. She loves attention and cuddling. Loves to lie next to you or at your feet. Is sensitive and insecure, but not overly submissive. Smiles when you talk to her (is very cute!). Goes very well with the other dogs (pugs, GSDs, Pyrenees Mountain, lab/rottie mix, poodle teenager, husky, Golden mix pup). When she first came she was scared due to no socialization. Now, she is fine (which is quite something as many dogs with lack of socialization do not bounce back that easily). Is a good auntie to the puppies. And she even helped a very fearful Pomeranian mix while in boarding in my house, and that was rescued from a box where she spend her first 2 years of her life, in over-coming her fear. At a certain point the Pomx even tried to play with her. She didn't play, but she clearly liked the Pom's company.

She will sometimes (not often) take a sunbath, and mind you, it's HOT! However, since the last week she is mostly lying in a corner in the feeding room during the day, but is not hiding or in hiding. Twice I saw her acting out with a too pushy young German Shepherd Dog, making me wonder if there her real self was surfacing.

I went to the vet with her, but since my interest in homeopathy, I have lost trust there. The vet prescribed ab's for her mouth sores and told me to wipe Gentian violet on the sores and gums 2 to 3 times a day. He doesn't think the sores and the diarrhea are related, let alone the patella luxation.
The ab's I do not give (afraid that it will make the problem worse), the GV I do. The GV helps a bit; it keeps the inflammation down but doesn't make the sores go away. So, it is suppressing.

Her diet is definitely very important, but I have the feeling that her problems are deeper than that, and diet alone will not solve the problem. For example, her mouth sores have not improved since I switched to the raw food diet.
I've been thinking about the pro-biotics, but are doubting. I've not too much experience and knowledge on this, and I'm afraid of over-doing it. As for other extra nutrients, i have no idea which ones she possibly could use extra.

You said: > Once the diet has been corrected, you can proceed with the case homeopathically.

So basically, what you say here is: rep the feces as they look like when she is on a raw food diet (for a while)?

Nienke
--- In minutus@yahoogroups.com, "tamarque" wrote:

Hi, Nienke
I'm disturbed by your description of her stools. A tarry stool signals blood in the stomach or GI tract that is being digested -- for example, if she had stomach ulcers (or cancer). I think what you mean is a bloody stool, which means bleeding most likely from the rectum (understandable if she's having difficult stools).
You might look at Arsenicum (mouth ulcers, bloody stool, craving heat) and see if it fits. My Lab had similar problems with a raw diet and he also liked to commit dietary indiscretions (I'll spare you the details), resulting in nasty diarrhea. Arsenicum worked beautifully for him.
The dog's other problems, such as being a tick magnet, suggest a lowered immune system. Have you tried giving nutritional yeast? What about probiotics, which the dog may well need if vets have dosed her with A/B in the past?
Peace,
Dale

I have several roundish brown keritinized skin lesions mainly on my trunk and temples. As they age they become harder and thicker. They seem to be in areas that were sun damaged many uears ago when I tanned in a bikini. Is there some way to get rid of them safely? Would sure appreciate help. Thanks, Deede
--- In minutus@yahoogroups.com, "nienke" wrote:

Dear Dale,

Thank you for your reply. Yours and Tanya's have been quite helpful in getting a better picture of what is going on with this little Maltese concerning her stool etc.

In her case it's the dry food diet that gives a problem, and when I give (organ) meat without bones. The latter may just be too rich for her to handle for now, as Tanya already indicated.
When she eats raw bones with lots of meat, then the feces get back to normal and no blood drips.

Thank you for pointing out Arsenicum album. During repping it did come up in the top 10 remedies. And when reading up on Ars. much fits. Still need to do more repping and reading up on the remedies, though.

As far it goes for being a tick magnet vs. lowered immune system. I'm very aware of that and it always alerts me when dealing with a guest dog, as a lowered immune system means that the dog is more prone to becoming sick. Not all dog-owners understand this.

I'll go and have look for the probiotics. There seems to be one health shop that has it in liquid form. Otherwise, raw goat milk, unsweetened yoghurt, or waterkefir.
The (former)owner told me, that the Maltese has been 'treated' for her skin problems and the diarrhea, which definitely includes ab's and most probably cortico-steroids. But how often, how long and when, I do not know.

Ah well, back to the drawing table. This whole case is very helpful in learning to rep and understanding the repertory. And I'm confident that the dog will be fine soon, either directly thru me or with the help of a homeopath. If the latter, my own treatment has to go on a hold a little longer as I can afford only one treatment at the time.

Thank you again.

Nienke
--- In minutus@yahoogroups.com, "Dale Moss" wrote: