Research Questionairre

Medical Conditions in Carolina Dogs - Survey

Introduction 

In the past, it had been established that the Carolina Dog has no known inherited conditions or diseases. But, I have recently become aware that several different people with Carolina Dogs are reporting that their CD has some type of medical condition, such as skin irritations/allergies, IMHA, strokes(at a young age) and seizures, to name a few.  I am interested in finding out if this new trend is being caused by outside environmental influences, such as foods, vaccinations or topical medications or is new inherited genetic conditions. 

Symptoms may include, but are not limited to, excessive itching and scratching, chewing, hair loss, yeasty ears and/or feet, diarrhea and other digestive system upsets, IMHA, seizures, kidney problems, lumps, cancers, diabetes,  fearful behaviors, new or unusual aggression, or other problems. 

I am not a Veterinarian or any type of “expert”, just a concerned owner/breeder. It is my intention to collect and keep track of data from  reported cases in Carolina Dogs and analyze each case to determine if any of these preventable factors are affecting CDs and eventually, with the input of Veterinarians, Homeopaths, and CD experts, determine what steps and precautions, can be taken to prevent our wonderful type/breed of dogs from becoming like many other breeds of dog in which "allergies" and "un-health" are a major concern.  

  If you or someone you know, has a Carolina Dog/American Dingo/Dixie Dingo that has any manifestation of allergies, disorders or reaction to any of the above mentioned environmental factors or any other factor, please message me, or email me, with as specific as possible answers to my following questions, additional description of the CD being discussed, it's origins, physical or mental problems, and the dog's vaccination record/food description/other environmental factors. If you do not know the information requested in a question, please note that, but fill in what you do know or suspect. 

If you would like to keep your name/information private, please remind me of that in the message. Your privacy will be respected. Thank You! 

*Please include information only about Carolina Dogs (any registered, confirmed, suspected, feral/wild caught, LTPM dog from the USA)

**If you have multiple dogs and do the survey for them all at once,  please note when discussing a particular dog.

*** Please copy/paste the questionnaire portion into your email, then fill in the answers. If this does not work, please email me for other suggestions.  

****Please read through the whole survey before starting to answer, to familiarize yourself what sections to discuss any medical problems, treatments, etc. Thank You! 

Survey 

 General Information

1. Owner’s name & contact information

2. Origins of CD (breeder/wild caught/shelter dog/etc)

3. What area/region of the USA is your CD from?

4. Age, sex, size of your CD

5. Do you have any other pets? (dogs, cats, birds, hamsters, snakes, etc)

Description Of Care

6. Describe what you feed your CD, and what it was fed in the past, including treats. 

7. Vaccination record of your CD. 

(for example: Fluffy was vaccinated as a puppy with the complete set (3 times) of 5-way shot plus Rabies at “X” age, then YEARLY for Rabies + 5-way booster + Lyme’s Disease Vaccine. * exact dates are not necessary unless you have them handy. * the more specific you can be about the Names of the shots & age given, the better,  especially if your dog has had a reaction. *List reactions later in the survey please.) 

8. Describe any topical or internal flea & tick preventatives, wormers, and medications you have used with this CD now or in the past.

9. Describe any shampoos, powders, dips, or sprays used on your CD by you or that you suspect someone in the past has used on your CD.

10. Describe what types of cleaning & household products &/ or yard/pest products you use around the dog and in areas that the dog is allowed. 

11. Describe how much & what type of activity and/or exercise you CD gets. 

12. Does your CD live in the home with you or outside(the majority of time)?

Problems/Medical Conditions  

(diagnosed or suspected/unconfirmed)

13. Describe any medical diagnoses (diabetes, cancer, etc), how it started  and how it became diagnosed(blood tests, x-rays, etc) This can be Physical or Mental/Behavioral problems in the dog.

14. Describe any un-diagnosed or suspected conditions. (this could be physical or mental/behavioral and/or may be seemingly unrelated to anything else or any know cause)

15. Please relate any confirmed (or unconfirmed) reactions to vaccinations that your dog has had.

16. Please describe any (diagnosed or suspected) reactions to food or treats your CD has had. 

17. Please describe any (diagnosed or suspected) reactions to heartworm preventatives, flea/tick preventatives, or wormers, etc that your CD has had. 

18. Describe any treatments of these conditions & the results, short term & long term.

19. Are there any known members of your CD’s family (offspring, parents, siblings, etc) that have the same health conditions as yours or similar symptoms?

20. Please list any other details you think may be helpful. 

My email is: susanlewelling@yahoo.com. You should be able to copy/paste these questions from here into an email.

My phone # is 865-293-2858. EST. 

Thank You for your participation! :)-   (^^> 

** After a only a few weeks of running this survey the first time, I could see a cause & effect pattern emerge, with the largest correlation directly to VACCINATION events. I need more data to confirm this. Please continue to answer &  spread the word to other CD owners! 

***Even if your CD has never had a problem, or it's problems are seemingly unrelated, please answer the survey. If you have not previously answered this survey fully, please consider doing so now.   A reliable study can be done only when we have a broad range of truthful information. 

IF ANYONE HASN'T ANSWERED THE SURVEY, PLEASE DO. I WILL KEEP YOUR NAME PRIVATE AND I WANT TRUTHFUL INFO FROM ALL TYPES OF CD OWNERS, RESCUERS AND BREEDERS.

-This is not about who believes what---I am not doing this to debate with anyone, this is for my personal information, although I will share general statistics & symptoms & methods (i will not reveal your name or your dog's name) as revealed from this research. I would like to have a Veterinarian(s) look at this when I am done and give me their insight & recommendations. 

As of right now, the top 2 problems I am seeing is vaccine reactions and sensitivity to low quality, GRAIN based kibble especially those with dyes and low quality "meat/protein" sources... I have been surprised at the number of CD owners that are reporting problems like seizures, as well as several other complex health problems! 

Yes, the CD has always been known as a breed with NO Known Health Conditions! 

I need more CD owners to answer!!!!!

My Opinion

My suspicion is that our CD’s main problem is the assault on the immune system from all the chemicals used on, in and around the dogs. It has been a long held theory of Holistic or Natural Rearing proponents that environmental factors such as non-biologically-appropriate kibble, repeated unnecessary vaccines, and topical & internal pest preventatives may be a huge contributing factor in the development of conditions that are commonly misdiagnosed as "allergies". 

Many assume that the majority of modern-day, wild CD's diet is garbage & scavenged people food & in past centuries, the majority was comprised of scavenged food from the trash heaps of the local Indian tribe. I agree that this may be so for some of the dogs, ones that are being pushed out of their habitat and into suburban neighborhoods, my gut & common sense(from watching my & other's CDs & conversations with other CD owners) tell me that the largest portion of a healthy, isolated, wild CD's food is bugs, small rodents, small prey animals, snakes & other scavenged carcasses, of course they will scavenge human trash if they have the opportunity, but that don’t mean it is the majority of their diet or that garbage is good for them. Also another thing to keep in mind is that CDs have only been getting vaccines for the past 20-30 years. This is why I would like to include breeder's dogs, shelter dogs, as well as wild caught dogs. 

I don’t understand why some people are so resistant to the idea of pooling information and figuring out why our formerly-known-to-be-healthy CD‘s are having all these health problems.... Many have stated repeatedly (that from the beginning) that CDs (from the wild & generations later) were extremely sensitive to chemicals such as flea or mite dips. I guess it is convenience... we are a society too rushed and too lazy to care if what we are doing is having short or long term affects... if a spokesperson (or a commercial) from a big company says "this" is safe & good, plus it is convenient... then we go along like lambs... meekly accepting & following... I too have been guilty of it.

Another puzzling thing to me is why so many people are willing to accept UN-health in their dogs. I have heard people say “I feed “kibble X” and my dogs are perfectly healthy… except for, the dog has allergies/a few tumors/is hyperactive/diabetes/dry skin/seizures/whatever medical condition. Chronic medical problems is NOT health! Your dog should NOT have to be on daily medications, and you should NOT have to have a medical insurance plan on your pet to help defray the costs of continual veterinarian visits!!! 

 I personally care too much about my dogs, to do something to them that I can see will be detrimental to them, I took on the responsibility to care for these dogs, and like my children, to do my best for them... inconvenience, extra expense or not....

 I do not mean to demean anyone or their dogs. I am not saying that anyone is breeding bad dogs or is intentionally mistreating their dog. (So everyone get your feelings off your shoulders!) As I have read & learned more & more, it has hurt me too at times. Sometimes the truth hurts. 

In my opinion, it is NOT ALLERGIES, I (and many others, many Vets as well) think that usually vets *MIS*diagnose many of these problems as allergies, or mis-diagnose the cause (I have many accounts of this from CD owners and other breed’s owners).  I think it is the OVER vaccination, non-biologically appropriate foods, and exposure to chemicals(IMO in that order) especially of CD dogs that are so un-evolved/less time fully domesticated(compared to a modern AKC breed). What a shock to the bodily systems, to suddenly be injected with so many drugs and toxins!

This is my opinion, what I fear will grow worse in the future. I am not out to put anyone down, just to find and present the facts and try to raise awareness to head off what has been proven to happen to other breeds, the causes of which is only now being discovered. I would rather discuss it now and find out ways we can all PREVENT chronic illness in our beloved Carolina Dogs. 

I understand that not everyone, for whatever reason, can feed a completely Prey Model Raw diet, especially families and breeders with larger numbers of dogs.

By raising awareness of the problem and education about nutrition and vaccination, each owner can do the best they can by their dogs, whether it be feeding some type of raw meal plan or some type of kibble that is closer to Biologically Appropriate, or just someone learning to read/comprehend the ingredients on the dog food bags, in order to choose the best that person can afford, or going to a 3 year vaccination schedule and using more natural products versus harsh chemical ones. 

I realize that everyone is not going to agree with what I believe is happening. That is fine, this is still a FREE country. If you don’t agree and you have researched what you feed and administer to your dogs and you feel confident that what you are doing is the best for them then good for you, at least you care enough to have thought about it! I still would like you to fill out my survey, I want EVERYONE to participate, objectively and honestly. 

God Bless:)-