After Lace was spayed back in February 2009,she was fine with the VCA staff(Dr Kaya & the vet techs) but after her dental cleaning back in January 2011,the next time she saw Dr Kaya she was fearful to go the staff.She either remembers something from the dental cleaning or something because she was never fearful of the staff til the dental cleaning.I do not want her to be fearful every time she sees a vet.It breaks my heart to see her fearful.Not to mention that Dr Kaya does promote a lot more pharmacy meds after Lacey almost always has a reaction to even the lowest dosage(if you look through her blogs you will see there have been several times she’s had reaction to pharmacy meds & very few she can tolerate without any significant side effects.)
Category Archives: dr john kaya dvm
After much debating we decided although Lacey has had her Rabies..
My family & I debated after calling Hawaii Dept of Agriculture on the quarantine who told us that 5 day or less is pretty much the same as Direct Airport Release.Direct Airport Release just means you pay $165.00 and your dog is released right then & there.Of course,there’s the paperwork:health certificate,rabies vaccines,titer results etc…send in the cashier’s check…
Once I asked the DOA staff about Frontline or Only Natural Pet All in One Flea Remedy(The requirement is that the owners use something with the poison Firpronil(sp?)on their dog 14 days prior to departure from the state(Hawaii) along with everything above…)the staff said it has to be Frontline..I guess not many owners ask about natural alternatives for ticks as she had had no clue what I was talking about and that it was okay for ticks! Now,once I heard that,I became very very skeptical…simply being,one..Lacey never had Frontline..Two…when you google it…there is frontline for smaller dogs but the question is how small is small we’re talking for the dog’s weight???!Google more and you will find the frontline for small dogs if you look very closely at the picture will say 11-22 pounds…Lacey is about 7 pounds so we were debating saying that we could use 1/3 of the amount or just say yea,we put it on…put the lot # and all BUT looking at the paperwork..it says the Vet MUST apply Firpronil(sp?) aka Frontline on the dog 14 days prior to departure…so that means Dr Kaya would apply the whole application for whatever size dog the sample(that we had gotten when Lacey went to VCA for her first puppy check up)is…The reason I am so concerned is that when you google frontline maltipoo there is/was in fact a owner whose maltipoo is just about the same size as Lace who seems to have appeared a seizure after application…Lacey’s health has been so good since she turned 2 I’d really hate to mess that up & have her suffer a seizure based on one bad judgment that we made…Thinking of ourselves before considering health risks/sufferings…
Reality is,no matter what size dog you have whether you vaccinate/or use anything a typical vet prescribes you are as a matter of fact placing the dog at risk so owners just have to use their best judgment…I don’t think I could’ve made a better decision for Lacey about not vaccinating her & have such a sound/peaceful mind about it…Although there are dogs whose immune systems who have not vaccinated they CAN still contract Parvo/and or autoimmune problems but in a few dogs’ cases they were way beyond the years of the time they spent on earth.You’re talking dogs past 15 and up to as old as ~18 years old for a dog.
So,we decided Lacey’s health was not risking & although we got her titer we won’t be going to California…There’s way too much at risk to put ourselves in that position..Of course,things can change over the years like maybe in the future the DOA will know about natural tick products but if we ever consider it again with any future dogs we’ll definatly keep the qurantine paperwork & call the DOA first about the tick requirement(using natural tick prevention).So..Lacey & the family will be going to Maui instead!
Quarantine Info with Dr Kaya April 5 2011 at 2pm
When my mom called up VCA this morning(Saturday) one of the first questions the staff asked her is”Lacey ok?” because usually when we call VCA it’s a health issue..This is probably one of the few times when we called and it wasn’t about a health concern!On April 5,Lacey has a appointment with Dr Kaya to get a tither done to see if her tither levels are adequate for the trip to California on May 4-9th.It will take up to 4 weeks to get the results back.Once she gets her tither results that means she is good to go to & from Hawaii up to 3 years without quarantine.And the health certificate we MUST get it NO GREATER than 10 days before the scheduled departure.It can be the day of the departure or the day before but no greater than 10 days prior to leaving the island.I am guessing that holds true in other states too.Other than that I think that’s about it for this post.
Making an appointment with Dr Kaya for Lacey…
Not that anything is wrong..She’s as healthy as she possibly could be..Probably the best she’s been in about 18 months since we had her….after spending more than 2,000.00 on vet bills….
We’re just going to make an appt with Dr Kaya so we can figure out this quarantine from California to Hawaii & what we have to do before we leave…One thing we noticed is when we checked on the Department of Agriculture site for the microchip # I noticed that her microchip # was not on there..It should be..She had had her Rabies in December 8 2010 and January 8 2011 and her mircochip was renewed for another year back in February 2011…That’s another question for Dr Kaya…No flea meds for Lacey.I will only say something on this if Dr Kaya or the vet staff at VCA ask.
Lacey finally takes a bowel
So,since Lace came back from VCA on January 25th we’ve seen very pastely like bowels then the evening was good.However though her appetite is good,and drinking water on the 26th she made no bowels.Today,the 27th she did make some,pastey like but has been straining to make.So we called VCA who said Dr Kaya is not in today so Dr Lee Loy(another dr at VCA Lacey has seen before)will call us back.One of the common side effects Lacey has on most meds are diarrhea and so it’s difficult to put her on meds.
Lacey’s Emergency
On the weekend of October 2-3 Lacey was sleeping on the bed in her owners room where it was dark with no light.About 2am(HST)she jumped down and started scruffing by the door.Eventually it awoke her owner and so I clapped my hands together a few times to tell her stop.She stopped and I brought her on the bed.Later she jumped off again and started scruffing by the door.Later that morning(October 3)about 7am my dad awoke and found her laying there by the door when he opened it.She didn’t jump at him or run to him like she always done then he noticed her left eye was swollen shut.So I told him what happened and so we figured she must have bumped her eye on the door stop in the back of the door.We called up Dr Kaya and took her in for emergency.Lucky for us Dr Kaya decided to meet us at the usual VCA to check her out.As always,Lacey TRIED to put on a happy “brave” face for the staff where she wagged her tail while I carried her with the econe around her head so she wouldn’t paw at her eye.Dr Kaya explained that she had scratched the cornea of her eye and the options we had.So we are giving her antibiotics Tobramycin every 12 hrs ,atropine sulfate every 4 hrs ,artificial tears every 4 hrs.We switch out every 2 hrs for the atropine sulfate & artificial tears
The first day she was very lethargic.She wouldn’t accept water on her own so forced water in her through a syringe and didn’t want to play .She wouldn’t eat dry food but accepted people food and can food.For the first half of the day she had the cone on.The next day(October 4) she was a different dog.She started opening up her eye nice & wide three times in a row!,she wants to play,run,she took a walk,ate her dry food like a good girl,pawing to go on laps/bed,moving around more..When we give her meds she starts wagging her tail.So she’s doing great!We have a check up with Dr Kaya on Wednesday at 8am.
Update October 6 2010:Lacey’s doing well and got a good prognosis so we stopped her Atropine Sulfate and now she gets the Artificial Tears & Tobramycin 3 times a day til the 13th.After we can stop all meds.
Lacey’s Annual August 7 2010
Lacey’s annual went very well.Today there was no heart murmur!Yea!!!!Best news ever!No vaginitis and no licking.Only thing was there’s some tarter build up so we’re going to get her the PetzLife Oral Spray..Many owners swear by it and we’ve been looking into it but since we didn’t need it I didn’t say anything about it.Dr Kaya recommended Leba III but I try to get her items that’s all natural.We mentioned that we found fleas on Lacey and got her flea & tick spray along with flea shampoo.Dr Kaya mentioned really there’s no need for flea shampoo as it’s medicated…Also that fleas are supposed to be killed within 36 hours.Also took a fecal exam.In December Lacey will get her rabies shot with a 2 month time frame which will allow her to go to the mainland for three years.After 2 rabies shots she gets a rabies test which will take a month before we get results.All in all it was an excellent visit!!
Grain free dry food for Lacey
Considering that Lacey can’t handle grainy dry food anything more than 3 grains in dry food is too much resulting in uti’s and more licking her vulva,she can only handle 2 grains or less which in most dry foods is pretty grain heavy we have no other option but to place her back on Halo’s putting the issues w/the company aside.She can eat almost any grain free dry food as long as there is no regurgitation.i’m thinking of trying before grain or solid gold barking at the moon or blue buffalo wilderness for her.If we can find more grain free dry food closer in town we won’t have to go to petco for blue wilderness.All the formulas we will be looking at now will be grain free now that i know what works for.the only other time there will be a switch in grains ie 3 grains will be if dr kaya recommends it when she gets older or health issues come up that we’ll HAVE TO switch from a mostly grain free diet.
currently her dry food consists of
halo
taste of the wild high prairie(will consider pacific stream once they don’t use euthoxyquin in june)
earthborn holistic primitive natural
can’t use canidae brand/als grain free or wellness brand/wellness core
Looking back at Lacey’s first year:Health and all
Name:Lacey Princess Maltipoo Akamine
Current Weight at one year old:7.11 pounds according to vet records,7.6 according to home weight
Birth Date:March 13 2009
Born:Kailua,HI
Breed:Maltese/Toy Poodle
Mom:Poodle
Dad:Maltese
Adopted:july 17 2009
Age of adoption:16 weeks old
Found on:Kijiji.com
Price:$600
Name of Vet:Dr John Kaya
Vet Hospital:VCA Animal Hospital aka VCA University Hospital
Weight at first vet visit:4.5 pounds
Dog Food:Science Diet & IAMS,Beneful Prepared Meals till December 2009
Puppy Pad Training:9 weeks
Health Issues:Yeast infection in ear,worms,UTI,Spaying(February 2010)
First Heat:November 2009
First Treats:Nutro Dog Biscuits,Pupperoni,The Goodlife Recipe treats
First Walk:November 2009
Shortest Walk:<<<than 5 minutes
Longest Walk:62 minutes on her birthday
First Time Out: December 2009
First Thanksgiving:Thanksgiving 2009:Family Dinner
First Christmas:Christmas 2009:A new top,Waggin Train
Brands of dog food we tried:Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit,Chicken Soup for the Pet lover's Soul,Wellness Super5Mix Small Breed/Super5Mix Complete Health Chicken,Halo's Spot's Stew
Current Dry Food Brands:Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit,Halo's Spot's Stew(Wholesome Chicken & Wild Salmon flavors),Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural
Brands of Can Food we tried:Natural Balance,NV Instinct & Prairie can food,Wellness Can Food then lost interest,Halo's Spot's Stew Can Food,Merricks
Current Brands of Can Food:Merricks
First introduced to Raw(Freeze Dried):January 2010
Started accepting Freeze Dried Raw:Feburary 2010
Brands we tried:Stella & Chewy till APril 2010 then we'll be switching to Nature's variety Freeze Dried
First Freeze Dried Raw Treat:Primal Pet Turkey Liver(A birthday present)
Organic Treats she's tried:Trader Joe's,Waggin' Train,No Grainers
First Boarding Facilities we considered:Di Ventus Dog Hotel & Spa
First Boarding Facilities we looked at:The Ohana Doggie Day Care,Pets in the city
First Starts understanding people conversations:7-8 months old
First Command:SIT
Commands she knows:sit,stay,don't move,time out,sit & stay,shake paw/hand,"eat",hi5,shake your tail,down aka sit,lay down,kiss,learning roll over,"wait",inside,outside,table manners at the table
Uses Common Sense while walking:About 8-9 months old
Checks for cars like a human(right,left,right,left,center,then walk)about 10 months-1 year old
Goes outside for afternoon poop:December 2009-learned by example of aunty's dogs
Vaccinations:Distemper,Parvo,Lepto
First Carrier:casual Canine
First Crate:Pet Mate Kennel Cab
Characteristics:A definite mix of Maltese/Toy Poodle.Brains of the poodle.Looks of a maltese.eyes are poodle.Loves to play.Loves to sample food
Types of food she tried:Mexican,Italian,Japanese,Chinese
Favorite Fast Food:KFC chicken skin
Shops we shop at:Naturally Pet,Halo’s Purely for Pets,The Pet Spot,Kalihi Pet Store
Misc:Also tried Hartz Oinkies
Able to climb steps:10-11 months old
First Shampoo;Sergent’s Puppy Shampoo
Current Shampoo:Halo’s Cloud Nine Herbal Shampoo/Earthbath Shampoo
Grooming:Cardinal Pet Gold Metal Pets Unicoat Professional Spray
Lacey tries her crate at night
Initially she was doing good in her crate.She didn’t whimper or really cry except a few times but started to scratch her crate with her paws.I placed her favorite toy inside her crate & she sort of calmed down for a while then started scratching her crate again.She was in there for about 2 hours.She laid down,drank water,chewed on chew toys,relaxed,ate some of her food though I found it’s easier for her to eat it with her crate door open.She’ll eat anything(dog food & stella & chewy’s)that I put in her crate dish even Primal Pet treats.I tried to give it to her by itself and she’d lick it,spit,lick it,spit but when I placed in her crate tray she gulped it up along with her Halo’s!After some cries & scratches I let her out for the night(inside the house not outside).
So,we’re trying to bring Lacey to hilo with us and the airline(Hwn Airlines) told us we don’t need a health certificate from Dr Kaya for her.That she should be under 20 pounds,the hXlXw(see previous blogs)but others are telling me that we need to follow the Animal Quarantine Law for Hawaii.I emailed the links to my mom & I will let her make the call.Although we did cancel with Pets In The City our last option depending what Dr Kaya says is the criteria & from whatever my mom decides we may end up leaving her at VCA even though that’s not what I initially wanted.I might try to schedule her at Pets In the City again.I am sure she can easily pass the socializing with other dogs and with a little practice the crate part as well.Look for an update later as we have Dr Kaya at 5pm(HST) to get her distemper shot.
