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Worthy's toenail condition has affected every nail now, and it seems that the vitamin changes did the trick. It will take a long time for strong new nails to become established, but they are coming along. The boy is feeling good!
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

Kathy that is great news. Worthy is a real trooper and with you to look after him will soon be back to good health. Any idea just how long for full recovery? I'll have to read up on his condition.
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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

>>Kathy that is great news. Worthy is a real trooper and with you to look after him will soon be back to good health. Any idea just how long for full recovery? I'll have to read up on his condition.
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I have read that it takes 9 or 10 months for nails to regrow. I assume that would be from the time they start to regrow normally. At this point, there is not enough on any of them to clip or grind.

I suspect this condition is more common than is realized. After all, a lot of people really don't pay any attention to their dogs' toenails.

Hypothyroidism can cause SLO, as can other things. And it's never really cured, only in remission. But, it's not exactly a disease, either. One of the many health mysteries in dogs--and of course people have many, too!
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

Good to hear! Keep up the great work with him.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles www.freewebs.com/performanceshibas

Great news, KD. Hope the healing keeps on coming.

Cheryl
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I have an update on Worthy, my black Standard Poodle assistance/service dog. He will be 3 years old on April 2nd!

His toenails seem to be in remission, but he will always need the vitamins. He never required antibiotics or pain medication. He had about three periods of limping, and now is fully active again. His toenails have surface over all the quicks, but they are very short and some of the outer shell is still there. We figured out it was best to let them come off when they are ready, without doing anything to increase soreness by pulling them off too soon.

We had thyroid bloodwork done on Worthy a week or so ago: Total T4, Free T4, and TSH. All the values were normal, hooray! So his SLO was probably not caused by low thyroid. We will check his blood again in the future, though, because he is still pretty young.

We have a great groomer, and are so pleased with the schedule and the way he looks. He dances in and out of there, and behaves well. I don't think he has barked even one time in 4 grooming sessions--that's saying a lot for a Standard Poodle!

It's a very well-run shop, and we are really happy with it. They let hubby hold Worthy steady and me sit by while she grooms him. We go at 7 a.m., and then hubby goes on to work. I scissor his feet and tummy at home, and we do his ears and take him in there clean and combed. So she gets done with him in about 40 minutes! That is amazing for a Standard Poodle!

But it is a different hairstyle from most Standard Poodle cuts. It's in the Kalstone Poodle Grooming book, the teddy bear/Panda cut. Very low stress, and prevents risk of clipper burns. It's great for Worthy. Requires more combing by me, but that is good for my rheumatoid arthritis.

We are crazy about the boy!
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47