The Articles:
1) Refining a weight control system for dachshunds; The value of urination and defecation schedules
(based on the Mosman Animal Health Logs)
2) Slippery Fat Cat Issues.
(also based on the Mosman Animal Health Logs)
Introduction:
These articles are based on anecdotal material and a longitudinal small n study that is rather crude and fairly flawed in terms of scientific method, but which hopefully are the initial crystallization of a self-correcting process that will regain scientific objectivity and propose a model and questions that will lead to valid scientific studies based on sound experimental methodologies in the future. It is especially hoped for that fields such as the study of feline diabetes and dachshund gastroenterology will benefit greatly from these studies.
About The Author:
The articles on this site are written by Jordan Hal Mosman, a former graduate student in NeuroBiology and former veterinary technician who plans on getting admitted to a school of Veterinary Medicine and who went through a 40 hour certification course for Animal Control Officers.
Article #1;
The Mosman household usually had an average of 3 or 4 dogs. The initial purpose of the Mosman Animal Health Log was to keep track of which dogs urinated or defecated and when. This was done so that changes in stool quality could be carefully correlated with changes in the dogs' diet. Usually a change in the dogs' diet was planned in order to put the dog on a food that would control the dogs' weight. I realized that there were a number of health issues that tied in with this and so I set out to make a "big deal science project" out of these logs in the hopes of impressing a veterinary school or graduate school admissions committee. I saw the logs as an excellent opportunity for collecting scientific data in what would be known as a small (n) longitudinal study. However, certain personal factors interfered with the proper and accurate collection of the data and "ate into" the objectivity of the study, rendering it unscientific. What can be reclaimed in terms of the scientific virtue of the project is the recognition and discussion of problems with the data and the concept of the logs as an experimental model suggesting a much needed area of study in veterinary medicine. The concept behind the study when treated objectively and the discussion within the study of what is lacking in that regard forms a self-correcting feature.
The subjects of the study have almost always been dachshunds.
A typical page in the log is organized as follows:
The day of the week and the date are noted at the top of the pagewith the day of the week in the center and the date at the upper right.Just below from left to right, is the word time as equally spaced as possible from and followed by the name of each animal. For dogs, the names appear in charted form. For a cat, notes are simply written without having to be charted. The dogs drink from a water container in the kitchen, which is changed at least daily to provide fresh filtered cool water. At night and when there are no humans in the house, the dogs go into their own respective kennels. The one exception is Hank Williams, a basset hound who slept in the kitchen.
Whenever a dog goes out in the backyard and a defecation or urination occurs, it is recorded in the log and the approximate time is recorded. Usually, the end-time, that is the soonest time noted immediately after the dogs have been brought back into the house, is used as the time. If a dog defecates in one complete pile in the yard and moves to a different location in the yard to defecate, the amount of each bowel movement will be noted.
The following is a key to the symbols used in the log:
P= a urination. X= a defecation. 2P=two separate instances of urination. This number doesn't have to be 2. It could be any number of separate instances of the behavior. Likewise, 2X=two separate instances of a defecation. At times, some of the dogs have been known to produce a 5X or more.
The quality of the stool is noted when it deviates from normal. An attempt was made to come up with subscripts which would describe the deviations from normal stool in levels that went from slightly soft to diarrhea. This becomes difficult to maintain as a consistent code for the log. Furthermore, the issue becomes more complicated by the appearance of mucous and fat in the stool.
Observation of the defecation can be made complicated by the fact that the defecation can be interpreted as one entry by units of feces ( and appear as say a P3X) or by smooth muscle contractions ( and appear as a P5x). An example of this occurs in the log and is mentioned on Saturday February 18th of 2006.
An instance of a vomit is noted as a "V" and it must be aded that nmore than one "V" uses the same coefficient that is used with defecations. Pools of vomit resulting from heaves from one attack of vomiting versus another constitute a "V" with a number in fromt of it that will be 2 or more. The color and clarity of the vomit and the presence of any solid particles should be noted.
The exact ages and weights of each dog or cat need to be recorded in every volume of the log.
Weight control in a pet is related to other major health issues. Flea and tick prevention goes by weight. Sometimes a change in diet is needed. Stool quality, vomiting, and diarrhea need to be taken into account. This can sometimes be caused by intestinal parasites. A sudden change in diet can cause loose stools.
The weight of a dachshund is particularly important to control. Dachshunds were bred to have very short legs that have difficulty supporting their body weight, thus they tend to have back problems. An excellent online article discussing the diseases of overweight dogs is "Overweight Health Risks" by Holly Nash D.V. M., MS>
In a future online article, I will discuss my own theory about vomiting in dachshunds who do excessive recreational chewing and how this might relate to the kinetics of digestive enzymes.
Every morning, each adult dog in the Mosman household is given a fish oil pill dipped in peanut butter. The household tradition of using the peanut butter may not be considered necessary but the pills are large and were expected to be difficult to place down a dogs' throat. In any case, dipped in peanut butter the fish oil pilsare gobble up avariciously and the dogs look forward to receiving them regularly.
When an instance of vomiting or soft stool is noted, the fish oil pill is not given to that dog until the condition clears up, despite the anti-inflammatory effects of fish oil.
Another symbol used in the log is to put a subscript "C" to the bottom right of a symbol. This means that a comment will be included on the bottom of the log page for the date in which that symbol occurs. This is written as if it were a footnote. For instance, on December 28th, 2004 one of the dogs had a second unit of stool that was very soft. She appeared to be tasting another dogs' stool. Her tongue was washed off after she was brought back into the house. All of this was noted to the right of the symbol Xc:
Another comment entry below that one and for a different dog, read as follows: Vc:
Rascal. Vomiting again. The second vomit had a larger amount and occurred after a defecation.
Some other behaviors which are noted in the log if and when they occur include nibbling on grass and attempting to eat another dogs' stool. Grass-eating is indicated by a "g" with an almost complete circle around it called "circle g", while copraphagia, or the eating of stool is indicated by a "c" with an almost complete circle around it . Perhaps a dog does this because they smell undigested food in the other dogs' stool and are looking to take in more protein. Although nibbling on grass is said to be a sign of "upset stomach" in a dogit it is troublesome because of the possible ingestion of intestinal parasites. Donna, a greyhound that was part of the Mosman dog pack was seen nibbling on grass while her stomach was heard to make loud "gurgling" sounds. This actually occurred on Saturday October 23, 2004.
Sometimes the presence of fat or mucous in the stool indicates a problem. On Saturday, August 7th of 2004, Rascal, one of the dachshunds, was reported to have a stool that was a yellow glop of mucous. The following day, Rascals' stool appeared to be very much improved. It was noted that some of the stool pipes were a yellowish-green, while others were brown. However, a slight jump back in time to Friday August 6th 2004 shows that Rascal at 1 PM had some blood in the stool. It was mentioned that this occurred twice consecutively that day. So Rascal had a visit to the vets' office. The veterinarian palpated his intestinal area and found no mass or pain. A fecal revealed the presence of non-motile rods but no white blood cells. There was no infection yet. Rascal was sent home with Flagyll and was to be given canned R/D. By Monday August 9th, his stool was fine.
