Revisiting the Dermatologist

Due to various reasons, we decided to give the dermatologist another try. The one we went to 3 years ago is the only one in this area, so we didn't have much choose, but we did pick a different doctor this time.

Before we headed over, I have two plans in mind. One is to put Maya on Apoquel, a new drug that seems to have helped many itchy dogs, but was out of stock due to high demand as soon as it came out in 2013. Two is to start Maya on RESPIT, a sublingual immunotherapy that targets common regional allergens and doesn't require allergy tests.

Well, of course nothing went as I planned. Apoquel is still out of stock till April, and even then, they are not guaranteed to have enough supply for new patients. As for RESPIT, the doctor thinks the success rate is low by just targeting random allergens. She suggested us to do a blood test or skin test first to identify the causes and customize the immunotherapy to Maya's needs. Since we've already done a pretty useless blood test, I wanted to go straight for a skin test.

Unfortunately, unlike blood test that can be done right away, Maya can't do the skin test now. We have to get Maya's itchiness and infections under control, or the result will not be accurate. So we were sent home with steroids and antibiotics again. Great! To make things even more interesting, she can't do her skin test while she's on the steroids either, so we need to put her on the meds for 2 weeks, take her off for another 2, then do the tests. Nothing can be done till a month later, and whether she'll be itchy again when she's off the meds is unknown. Uhh!!

Oh well, at least for now, the meds did stop the itch and she's out of her Thundershirt. It is kind of nice that we can all sleep through the night.

Bad Behaviors

A few days ago, when we were in the elevator, Maya stuck her head in the grocery bag, smelling the meat, the fruit, the yummy Cheese cake. For a split second, I thought about stopping her. This is not a behavior I normally allow. Then I questioned myself. Spring allergies has been brutal and she has been so uncomfortable in the past two weeks. Why take away this little happiness?

I noticed I have been letting her get away with some mischief lately, especially when she's sick. When she's pulling on leash, she won't be sitting in the middle of the street scratching. When she's begging for food, she won't be noticing the tingling sensation on her butt. When she's chewing on my blanket, she won't be licking her own feet. I believe a dog deserves all the happiness in the world. If only I can figure out how.

We will be going to the dermatologist again next week. Hopefully, we will find better solutions this time. Wish us luck.

Happy Chinese New Year

No, I haven't forgot about this blog. :)

It's just that the longer I haven't posted, the more I want to say, and the harder I can finish my writing. Believe me, I tired many times and have lots of half-finished drafts queued up.

So for now, I decided to keep things short and sweet.

Wish you all a happy Chinese New Year! 恭喜發財!!

Upgrading the Homemade Flea Repellent

I have been making my own flea repellent for quite a while, using rosemary tea, lavender oil, and eucalyptus oil. So far, it seems to be effective, and I was actually able to stop giving Maya Comfortis for a few months. I was never a big fan of the prevention meds, whether it's edible or topical, as they are all some sort of poison to me. Especially with Maya's out-of-whack immune system, the less burden the better. (This is my educated decision. Please do your research before following any advice read online.)

Recently, I read about the product Tripe Sure Flea Control and the benefit of peppermint oil and cedar oil, so I decided to do some upgrading. Hopefully, this can continue to keep Maya flea and tick free without using any harsh products.

Upgraded Homemade Natural Flea Repellent:

• Rosemary Tea: add 2 cups of hot water to 1 hand full of rosemary leaf. Wait till it cools to room temperature and filter out the leaves.
• Lavender Oil: 10 drops
• Eucalyptus Oil: 10 drops
• Cedarwood Oil: 10 drops
• Peppermint Oil: 10 drops
• Graveolens Oil: 10 drops (Edit: 11/2/2016. New addition to the recipe. Recommended by a fellow dog owner to repel ticks.)

I put it in a spray bottle and spray on Maya's back and legs before going out. Sometimes I had to explain to people why she's all wet when they pet her, but it makes her smell nice too. It is also a much cheaper option as opposed to the prevention meds. The rosemary leaves and essential oils could probably last us many years.

Cone Head

Just when I thought things are getting better... She actually took it better than I did. I was the one throwing a tantrum. Sigh.

Doggie Social

Over the past few months, we've been having fun going on walks, meetups, and parties. I started to learn what type of meetings works for her, what kind of dogs she likes, and what environment makes her feel more comfortable. Here are some highlights of her busy social life.

Weekly walks with Maya's BFF Tachi. Since we live close to each other, sometimes the moms will go out for an early evening walk during the weekdays.

Taking over Stanford University with Shiba Inu and Akita friends.

Zuko and Autumn also need some space on-leash, so we kept our distance and enjoyed the walk together.

Once in a while we go into the dog park when it's less crowded. However, she rarely plays in there.

She likes Caspian's company. He may be small in size, but he knows how to play rough!

Maya has a weird relationship with 12 years old DonDon. The first time they met, Maya was still an annoying 4 month old puppy. She tried to jump on DonDon, and he gave her a firm "NO". Ever since then, Maya somehow just adores him and tried all her tricks to get him to play, but he pretty much just ignores her.

We also started to participate in a weekly Fort Funston Shiba walk group. This is a magical place for Maya.

During one of our walks with Tachi, we also met Coconut. Coconut is a bit younger and too jumpy for Maya's liking, so she was growling at Coconut when they first met. After a long walk, they were doing great next to each other.

We were also happy to see another fluffy Shiba, Tira, at one of the meetups.

Occasionally, we run into another neighborhood Shiba, Musashi. I was a bit reluctant to let them meet on leash, but he was a good boy and left Maya alone when she growled. While I was talking to Musashi's owner, Maya started to sniff around with him, peacefully in the same space. Ever since then, Maya's always excited and happy when we run into each other. I jokingly say that she has a secret crush on him!

A very special meetup was with Actaeas and the Ti Family. Their owners live in Southern California, but also came from Taiwan. We "met" each other online via social media. They came to the Bay Area for a weekend road trip, and we got to meet them at the beach. More awesome shots of the meetup can be found here and here.

Another awesome meet, was with my junior high school friend, who brought her two dogs, Tumi and Poggi, from LA. We knew each other for a long long time, and I followed her doggie posts since they joined the family, but this was the first time I met them.

At the end of spring, Tachi also came to stay with us for a whole week while her owners went on a vacation. (More photos here.)

We took Maya and Tachi to the annual Shiba Party. To be honest, it's more of an event for the humans than for the dogs. I'm glad I got a nice playpen for Maya, so she could have her own space while I chatted with other owners. (More photos here.)

Last but not least, we had a "long coat meetup" with 5 fluffy Shibas and 2 fluffy Akitas. Long coat in both breeds are due to recessive gene and a fault in the breed standards. Nevertheless, they are great pets and super duper cute! There were groups of people taking pictures of them everywhere we went that day.

I am a shy person in general. I usually feel uncomfortable meeting strangers, or hanging out with a big group of people I don't know well. I would never have imagined myself actively doing any of this. Because of Maya, I was able to meet lots of wonderful dogs and their humans. I hope she enjoyed the events as much as I did.

Monthly Expenses: January - March 2014

Starting this year I decided to make some changes to my expenses report. Since I've already been tracking my spending in a spreadsheet, copying out the data directly would be a much easier task than re-typing everything. Presenting the numbers in a table format also helps with viewing and comparison. Hopefully, this will be informative to my readers as well.

	JAN	FEB	MAR	2014 TOTAL
Food		$124	$163	$287
Vet & Medical			$133	$133
Supplements	$26		$34	$60
Treats & Chews	$30	$14	$17	$61
Grooming		$13	$11	$24
Accessories				$0
Toys				$0
Daycare & Boarding	$35	$450		$485
Travel				$0
Training			$203	$203
Miscellaneous			$4	$4
Total	$91	$601	$565	$1,257
YTD Total	$91	$692	$1,257

Food

In the food category, most of the expenses went to the Honest Kitchen, including 2 boxes of 10 lbs Zeal and 1 box of 3 lbs Preference. We also got some frozen fish fillets, fresh vegetables, juice, beans, and a can of fermented veggies. 

I wasn't really planning to purchase from the Honest Kitchen in March, but because I left a few items in my shopping cart, they started to send me coupons. At first it was 5% off, then they offered 10% off. I was a sucker and fell for it. 

Vet & Medical

Despite her face healed up nicely, Maya still continued to chew on her feet, lick her vulva, and was troubled by ear infection through winter. As spring approaches, we noticed that she started to scratch her face more often as well, so we had another appointment with Dr. M.

Besides the vet visit, we also purchased a bottle of Zymox Otic ear solution and a tube of Zymox topical cream. So far, I've been pleased with the result. She stopped shaking her head in a day, and it smells/looks much better in a few days. The frequency of her licking her feet and vulva has greatly reduced as well. (Read more about them in the Ear Infection and Itchiness posts.)

Supplements

For supplements, we got Maya a few different types of probiotics and digestive enzymes, as well as a bottle of THK Perfect Form. Keeping her digestive system healthy has been an important part of combating her infections, and the supplements definitely helped.

Treats & Chews

I got Maya a box of Salmon Skin Bones. I wish I have known about this sooner! It lasts much longer than a bully stick, and is made from Maya's very few "safe" ingredients. I do have to be careful and leave her alone (while supervising in range). One time I was brushing her when she was chewing on it, and my hand got too close to her mouth. She was afraid I would take it from her and chocked herself by swallowing the whole end piece. Luckily I remembered the first aid video I watched and helped her puke it out, but it was really really scary! 

I noticed Maya's teeth starting to have tartar built up since we switched her off raw. I got a bag of C.E.T. Enzymatic Oral Hygiene Chews in hope that it can help with the situation. However, I still haven't been giving it to her as frequent enough to tell the difference. 

Besides the chews, we also got a bag of Wellness Pure Rewards and a bag of Real Meat treats.

Grooming

For grooming, because Maya's "little white skirt" was touching the floor and getting in the way of her poop, I had to trim it down again. Last time I used regular scissors and was bothered how there seems to be a straight line through her butt. For my own satisfaction, I got a pair of thinning scissors. Looks better?

I also took Maya to the groomer for a nail trim. I used to take her to Petsmart for nail trims when she was a puppy, but after a few visits, she got so scared of the place and even peed out of fear when I tried to get her into the room. Ever since then, I've been doing her nails myself. However, I am afraid to hit her quick, so I always only cut off a little bit, and trimming her dew claws is super hard. After hearing good reviews of this place, I decided to take her in for some professional help. Well, the groomer said her nails were short, so she didn't take much off, so I guess I was doing it right and probably won't need to come back for another few years. Since I heard her whining and crying and being a drama queen while I waited outside, I gave an extra dollar tip to the groomer for not complaining. (After being in the US for so long, I'm still not sure when tipping is necessary... Is it for this type of service? Is one dollar enough?)

Daycare & Boarding

The biggest expense thus far is for the 8 nights Maya stayed with the doggie daycare while we were in Asia for Chinese New Year. We paid for a 10 nights package, so we still have 2 more remaining for future use.

Training 

While we faced some challenges with agility training, we are not giving up. We went back to Agility 2 and worked our way back to Agility 4 again. She is doing much better after I decided to take it easy. She still walks "elegantly" through the courses and occasionally embarrasses me in front of the whole class (such as refusing to move till another owner offered a different treat), but I still enjoy going to class once a week to have some bonding time with her. A gift card I got helped reduce some of the cost for the classes.

Miscellaneous 

As for the Misc category, I got two Squeeze Dispensing Bottles to bring aloe gel with me on the go for Maya's hotspots. I had been using small travel jars, but often found myself contaminating the remainder by my dirty fingers. Squeeze bottles work much better.