For The Son of my Great Love Zuni

Update 1.30.2013  (sorry i dont know how this blog works….) :

On October the 27th and 28th of 2012 my energy was gone,  I actually went to the stick mom threw, but then turned around, out of breath, and got back in my favorite spot.  The car, a minivan made into a rolling dog car.    I LOVEd that car.   I’m exhausted and couldn’t do no more.   On Monday morning mom drove me to the vet to make sure there wasn’t anything else without putting me through anything else unnecessary.  The vets (all three including the oncologist) concurred.   And mom was kind, courageous enough to explain to me how much I meant to her and those who were lucky enough to have gotten to know me as a superb ambassador of my breed.   That we’d meet again, and time and true love are infinite out there were we’d meet again.   That the Great Zuni, my dad, my hero would be joining with my energy again and so would many other greats that had been part of my life.  My mother Hummel, my buddy Falco and I laid down my head and peaceful surrendered to the next level of existence without the burden of my sickly body.  My siser Zaoa was with me, sniffed me to say goodbye and I watched as I saw mom cry.

When I was being taken to the cremation mom was lucky enough to be able to put me in there and added my amputated leg, because she said, you came into this world whole, as you shall leave whole.   When the attendant turned on the knob, i got the digital readout stuck at our home address nr, just so to say, “goodbye, I’m here, I’m happy now”   Mom stood there in amazement, but she understood immediately what I was signaling.

Remember me for what I represented, always happy, always loving

Here I’m at left with my great Pappa Zuni at right

Here I’m doing the running of the Blinds, a Schutzhund routine, which you taught me in 3 twenty minute session!!! record time for superb intelligence!

Here I am at left, leading and teaching the pack of young dogs!  My dad Zuni at far right

And here is looking at you !  ♥

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Previous updates:   Two months post op updated

So my mom is surprised I’m chasing rabbits again.   Surprised my sis Zaoa treats me the same way, ie: biting my behind all the time.  My nieces bounce and pounce on me like always.  What is she fuzzing about anyway? huh, i’m sure eating well lately.  Nothing but raw food.  What did i do to deserve that?  and the yummie canned food treats jeeeeehhhhhhh

Car rides – yes the car rides continue!  i’m feeling good, i’m playing fetch, im playing bouncy ball, i’m still biting the bite sleeve and if she only let me, i’d run the blinds !!!  (its a Schutzhund sport thing)

My sis Zaoa left with me Zuess and stick 😉

10.8.12      well it all LOOKED good, but mom needed to go somewhere and ‘just to be sure’ took me to the vet for an xray.

And that was not so good, at all….   i’d been coughing for a few days and though some folks write that it doesn’t mean anything, it does with me.   the OS had spread through my chest substantially.   So I received my first carboplatin chemo session yesterday (10.9.12) and bloody hell, i can’t eat raw???!!!

My energy had gone down a bit too, and my breathing was shallowing, well, so mom said “listen trooper, we’ve got to do this chemo thing”   You never know how much quality time we can gain but if we don’t, we for sure won’t gain much.

Listen, I never had a sick day in my nearly 10 years of life. (Until that rabies shot in January and four months later THIS!!!)   Yes,   I’ll turn TEN on 11.13.12,  I had it made in every way you can imagine, so since I’m not in pain, just a bit slower than what i’m used to, I’ll try right along with ya mom!    As long as you take me on those car rides and throw stick with me, I’ll fight!

C Ya!!!

Wow, Lori!!!!  thanks for putting it out there!!!  Its going on my website too!

http://vdilab.vdxinstitute.com/news_detail.php?id=15

I called the DVI and the screening test is $79 to the vet.  The test has been available since 2010
however, they are having a slow start getting the word out, so here we go folks!!!!

The vet needs to sign ‘some contract’ and then can order test kits

This is very worth it to those of us who have geriatric dogs who probably should be
screened every yr at minimum starting age 6-7
this IS important because it could act as a preventative depending on the enzyme
levels showing in the blood which can then be immediately counter acted by
preventative measures, instead of hindsight treatment we face now.

Gina, Zuess and the gang

question that came to me:  I wonder why spaying affects hormones.  Doesn’t the dog still have the ovaries?  I know peoples hormone levels are not affected by hysterectomy because the ovaries are still there (unless removed) and.that is what controls hormone levels in people, therefore it does not impact hormones at all.  Why would it be different for dogs?
For male dogs, I understand because neutering is invasive, and not like vasectomy. 

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The ovaries are removed because they could present another future problem if left,  and even if they are/were not, where would the hormones go to distribute themselves via a cut off channel.    Spaying is a very invasive surgery.  People completely underestimate the dangers of it because its done so much.

So are heart transplants, we don’t take them lightly either.
Dog goes home same nite.  The times I’ve heard people say “oh she was playing the next day like crazy” is beyond belief.  I shiver as they don’t realize that they are cutting thru the skin then the muscle tissue and are cutting off FOUR major arteries.   Sure, practice makes it ‘quicker’.  A vet can do a spay in 20 minutes they boast.  SO?

Because its routinely done, doesn’t make it less dangerous.  
Most times in people they are put on HRT.  Hormone Replacement Therapies, as they do with women in meno pause.  Because that is what it does, puts a person or dog or cat in early meno pause.

The best safer option for securing unwanted pregnancies is TUBAL LIGATION.   

ie:   “tying of the tubes” on both male and female dogs,  which is much less invasive and yes your dog will still have her cycles – no big deal – I’ve dealt with this for years,  and we should stop being squeamish about the natural process.

WE THE CARE GIVERS, need to start demanding this option from our vets.  NOT one of the 26 vet schools in the USA is teaching this !!!   ck out Dr. Becker on this and many subjects regarding integrative pet care http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/dr-karen-becker.aspx

Well, I finally started my blog here on Tripawds regards Zeuss and will be posting a lot of my
experiences as a breeder for more people to learn.   I guess its my destiny to do this
AND i have to get my website back on page one of google to help put out the word.

TITER testing by Dr. Jean Dodds Hemopet company,   instead of re-vaccinating.

It will return levels such as INadequate, sufficient, or excellent.

The vet will draw about 5 ml of blood and send it in to Hemopet.   You can do this for
parvo  – distemper – rabies and a couple more.
Should it be IN-adequate you can use Parvo-K homeopathic pellets which work,

Parvo is actually MORE active in winter…  This is why i have such little respect for vets,
for NINE years I pay thru the nose and got nothing but 99% inadequate services.

I had to inform my vets  of the Degenerative Myelopathy test being available in 08.  With of course, disdain and         resistance of said vets “AS IF” i knew what was going on…

So the above info solves the problem since parvo is not mandatory like rabies, which
I don’t do either any more either, never again.   I in my heart KNOW   Zuess’ cancer is
directly related to the rabies shot in January.   He was geriatric at age 9 and his immunity too low to fight it.

The http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/ has a lot of info why they  are challenging the validity of mandatory rabies vaccinations.   Even though some states allow for 3 year shots, the older the dog, the less their resistance, just as in older people,    so its very dangerous.   So ask your vet to Titer your dogs!

This may also be of interest:   All Volunteer Effort called the Rabies Challenge Fund

The SAFEST parvo vaccine is made by Neotech LLC which is  what i used with the rescued a Dachsi Chihuahua mixes pups started at 5 weeks.  Check out their vaccine protocol.

NO VET but the holistic DVM  here in SFe I now use had told me of them in over 9 years!  (i’m convinced the large companies are giving  stipends to the vet clinics for using their products and many small clinics are being bought up by corporations)
   PS & BEWARE:  Chihuahuas are known NOT to react well to vaccines, and this is the product
one very well known breeder of Chihuahuas uses.  Sue Sunnenberg of LaVidaChihuahuas in KS.  But NO rabies!

NeoTech has been around for a long time but they don’t advertise, their protocol
is quite  different from the norm too.      Their research vet didn’t want to admit to it, but
my vet kind of hinted that this vaccines is IMMEDIATELY available in the dogs’ system,
thus provides faster (if not immediate) protection and will fight off  parvo in an infected pup.  Again, rumor/hearsay.      Any other vaccine is 10 to 14 days  until effective.

Here is my story,

My name is Zuess, son of Zuni ♥

I’m a nine and a half year old German Shepherd living in a home that can’t be much better for a dog.  Lots of buddies to play with, lots of acres, on time meals, hunting is for fun only, and training is THE BEST fun.

I was born here, my Mom is Hummel and my Dad is Zuni.   Mom is still alive at 11 and a half.  My great sire, who i take after so much has left us.  He too was 11 and 5 weeks when he left us.  The saddest day of all our lives, as not only he passed, but the great Dian also left.  Except Dian his time had come as Degenerative Myelopathy had eaten up his body.  My Sire Zuni, he went unexpectedly, as if he felt his ‘buddy’ Dian needed him,  some 10 hours later or torsion of his intestines.   That was the suckiest day ever.

I have felt great all my life,  never a sick day, always on duty, going places with mom.   And suddenly, after a good fence fight with an ‘on the loose dog’ i started limping.   Mom checked it out, wrapped it with a tumuric wrap and kept it cold to minimize the pain.   It seemed to work but after two weeks of not going away, the inevitable vet visit came, with me being on my best behavior, despite the throbbing pain in my wrist.

Clearly mom was trying to hide her fear and shock from me, but I’m not no dummy.  I knew something was bad and soon i was on some nasty tasting stuff called Neoplasene.   Mom gave me the fattiest best tasting diet to eat EVER, but i was gaining weight.  Ten days of this and I heard her saying “enough is enough” and we were back at the vet again.

More of those Xrays and I guess good news of something called cancer not visible in my chest.  Well, little did I know, next day we’re back there AGAIN, but this time after settling me in for about 20 minutes she said she had to leave but she’d be back.  She’d left me in a strange place once and I left without my nuts, what the ????

Anyway, she did of course come back, but I was too out of it to care.  We went home,  we sat in the mini van until 8:30 pm where she let me get rid of that slumber i was in.   finally I was carefully coached into the house, into the area set up for me, but something was missing.  Just too stoned to figure out what it was.

in the next updates you can read more – today its exactly a week ago from my surgery, and I m doing ok.  Rest is the best I can do for myself.   But i know now what’s missing.  My right front leg with that excruciating pain is what missing!  Of course, i’m missing my leg, that’s a given.   That sucks, but mom assures me, i’m gonna be ok hopping on three is better than limping on four.

Well I’d like to be convinced, but its only been one week and I’m much more aware and alert and ready. Mom says there are some special toys coming my way to keep my from being bored!

More later!

“amputation? i’m not mutilating my dog!“ until i realized by another vets’ explanation HOW invasive and extremely painful this cancer is…
A day later his leg was removed. I wrote this post to the owner of Carver who reacted just like us in hopes to give you some support. Had the first vet explained it better, the amputation would have been immediate, as shocking as that news and idea sounds. There is no time like “the present” in a dogs’ life.
Zuess’ surgery was the Tuesday the 17th of July, he’s doing pretty good at 9.5 yrs old. and below is the rest of the story. I put up a photo album of Zuess as well, so you can see some pictures of him as well. pre and post op.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/artemisinin_and_cancer/photos/album/1717032393/pic/list
A big cyber hug for both of you.
Gina

PS: Zuess blessed me with his first post op KISS and a tiny Tail Wave this morning, which after a month of sadness  IS a HUGE deal! 

My GSD Zuess is 9.5 yrs old and just had his leg amputated for the same reason as your bernese Carver at 9.5 I could not see him in pain after three weeks andgabapantin and tramadol does not cut it. for sure.

My Zuess started using his good leg while in pain with the other leg. He is in top condition, as we are out a lot and have 10 acres of up and down land and 5 buddies to play with. On Neoplasene and its high fat diet, he gained too much weight laying around and I can’t go there with his life style. His normal weight is 73-76.

so ONCE the biopsy confirms it is OSA or hopefully the lesser more manageable form of cancer I’ll start off on a protocol that I hope will keep the spread at bay.

The tumor is extremely painful because its pushing the cartelidge out and the stretching of that is really painful. Hence my heart couldn’t take it any longer.

His surgery was Tuesday and he’s doing well. He didnt eat the first evening, he’s big, so i had a hard time getting him out of the car, well then i decided, we stay in the car till more of the anestetic wears off. 9;30pm I mustered the courage and pulled him out carefully and walked him to his bed.
He didn’t pee until 36 hrs afterwards, THAT freaked me out. Apparantly is ‘normal’. But, he ate and he drank water wednesday am and was enjoying the food right away. (I feed raw and want his weight to drop asap) He has not pooped yet, but no doubt that metabolism slows down due to meds. (he pooped Friday the 20th in the am finally)

The surgical scar is not pretty, more like Hannibal Lector ugly, but the skin looks pink and is in good enough shape. The hair shaving job area is huge, but necessary and will grow back. Its itching him like a guys beard growing back no doubt.

Don’t think that your boy can not learn to live on three legs, he can. He won’t know the difference as they live in the moment, don’t think backwards nor forward. I ordered the Ruff Wear Harness to help him slow down because knowing him, the couple of times he’s gone to pee, he already shoots over to the nearest tree, and of course, we’ll do phys ED soon. I’m working on massaging his back legs now and the shoulder once he’s healed.

I’m a stay at home person, that is a luxury, and I”m not going anywhere till he is standing up without me asking him. don’t know how long that will be.

I’m hoping i’ve given you something to consider being Carver and Zuess are both large breeds and of the same age.

Best of Luck a big hug,
Gina & Zuess and the gang

Well I don’t know IF it was my post on the early spaying and neutering that stirred up this conversation, but as usual i can’t figure out how this forum works, even though I maintain several websites…

I am a former breeder of TOP IMPORT show line German Shepherds and have pups across the nation.  2002- jan of 2012  with a website that was on page one of google for 5 years.  I bred 3 litters a year. Have NO kennels and didn’t sell to breeders, nor people who would not sign a contract that they would NOT breed my dogs unless the dogs were proven through some guidelines that they were breed worthy, yet they were not allowed to spay or neuter my dogs until AFTER the 14 months of age.  (AKC offers a LIMITED registration for that purpose)
I’m used to contraversy about spaying and neutering, but I’ll try my best to explain my point of view.
And you don’t have to agree.  And I don’t want an argument either…

I am the FIRST breeder in the World, yes World, to start testing for Degenerative Myelopathy, a neurological hereditary disease like ALS in people.  This was in 2008 when the test became available after many yrs of research.   I bred OUT the DM in my dogs from that moment forward making for very happy pup owners.   I also only bred dogs who’s hips and elbows were rated by the German Shepherd club of GERMANY – the SV.

Health comes first – Happiness will follow

in my book, thus my dogs live in a pack and were / are happy campers, healthy, vaccinated very lightly and fed the best foods.   Yes, I did not make money, this was my labor of love but because my dogs lived they way they do, does not make me a back yard breeder.  Their back yard is 10 fully fenced treed acres to hunt and play on.  And sleeping indoors, all of them.

At the first litter, of which Zuess is one, the affected dog with cancer, i noticed differences between the conformation of Zuess and his gorgeous sister Zaoa which i kept also,  and their spayed and neutered siblings.    IF you see exterior differences, then also the interior IS affected.  DNA is DNA inside and out.   I immediately started looking on the internet and found quite a bit of supporting data that it affects dogs health long term.

Let me put it this way:  Would you sterilize your 3 1/2 your old child???
no…
because you KNOW that can’t be healthy but why?
you’re putting them in EARLY MENO PAUSE

Most times dogs are spayed is between 8 – 14 months
WRONG MOVE
as that is when they are in PUBERTY (so they are a bit more difficult – duhhh)
when the hormones testosterone estrogen etc they NEED are going nuts
we jank it out of them ?
only to make matters worse as we do not give them hormone replacement
as we do with human hysterectomy cases…
hmmm – does that sound right?

Zuess was given a rabies shot in Jan of 2012, neutered at age 5 as he was too tall for breeding, and
he was around females all the time and smart so I wanted ‘piece of mind’ and look what we got now,
six months after the rabies shot. Of course, we’ll never know, but I have seen inexplicable forms of
illness happen shortly after vaccinations and spaying and neutering.

If you need more info on how to find a good any breeder its all on my website
http://Kerschberger.com   ck out the “how to ID a good Breeder” and the
“Buyer Beware” links – also ck out the DM link and help spread the word 🙂

Though I fully believe in rescueing dogs/cats etc, and I always will do that as well, you can’t blame
people for wanting a dog that comes with a history and a character manual.   Many of my buyers
had rescues and in addition wanted a dog that didn’t have issues.  Not that all rescues have issues,
most do not, which I rescued at least.   But I know several do.

Its not good breeders or large breeders that charge a fair amount for their pups that create the pet over
population problem, because the ones I know, will take a dog back under most circumstances.
Breeders run into a fair share of shitty owners too that want to return a dog for no good reason
and more than once have ruined the dog, then want to dump it back.  which is why my interview
protocol was strict without them knowing.   BUT volume breeders can often not afford to be picky,
thus risking the dogs’ future, which I didn’t have to do, as I didn’t breed for the money.

So who are the problem makers?
The breeders across the world, who sell pups for next to nothing, who don’t know their breed, didn’t
do what is necessary for the betterment of their breed, (ie: spend money on them) and more often
breed mixed breeds which are given away after an accidental (yeah) breeding.
To my opinion, its those ‘buyers’ who buy from such breeders who don’t do their homework.

I waited till i was 40 to buy my first German Shepherd (Zuni) at age 3 because I knew it was going to be expensive
time consuming as its a high maintenance breed.  I had to make time for him.
Until then I had only easy going rescues.  Zuni clearly made his mark and I was right to wait for  The greatest dog that ever lived
I hope everyone one day can have the dog of their dreams.   http://noltevonderwienerau.com  is his site

If you have questions email me directly because I spend a lot of time with my dogs and particularly
with “Zuess, son of Zuni”, as I always say.
I m reading myself silly on ‘how to’ make things easier on him so he can live a full live with his buddies and myself.
Take Care!
Gina ,  Zuess and the gang
raw4k9@…