toofarnorth

Ive recently had big problems with 2 staffies around the corner from me that are continually out the front of their house....and would you believe the owner is a vet! It ended up getting nasty. After repeatedly asking them to keep their dogs inside, I complained to the council and they ended up being charged with having unregistered dogs and their dogs being declared dangerous after they attacked one of mine. How a vet can be so ignorant and irresponsible is just beyond me. Big to Geelong city council for their immediate action.

Kimzy, I hear what you are saying. My girl is currently at the pet cremation service, and I phoned yesterday to tell them what box I wanted. I was told in a rather stern voice 'you dont have to ring us, ring your vet'. I was a bit taken aback as well. I have to admit if I were you, I would consider getting her back and exploring other options. That element of doubt would play on my mind for a long time. I noted on the back of my brocher that you can attend the service if you like, that maybe be one way of ensuring your Princess comes rightly home to you. So sorry that they are making this difficult for you.

Bundy, I am in the process of toilet training too....we started off really well but alas seem to have the same problems as you..Ughh...situation made worse because I am in a wheelchair and cant quickly pick him up and take him straight outside, it takes me a while to pick him up, manouvre to the door, go out, take him down the ramp and on the grass, set him back down. I feel so disheartened and cant remember it being this hard 13 yo with my Georgie. This little fella goes sometimes every 15 minutes..I am watching for signs of a UTI, but dont think that is the case here.

Aww TS, I am so sorry for you and your family. Run free Bruce....

She probably enjoyed her outing because she was with you and felt safe, everyday is a new adventure for her at the moment.

Aww, I love the pics. This would have to be one of the best threads I have read on DOL, just beautiful.

rosie..just by posting you are helping to boost my spirits a bit. She still seems happy most of the time, as long as I stick to her routine. She tried to play with me a bit tonight, lol, that made me laugh. The spirit is still there, its just the body that cant keep up.

Thanks all for the support and words of encouragement....she has been such a beautiful dog to have, never given me any trouble whatsoever. She has never so much as even dug a hole in the backyard! Staffyluv: The vet came out a couple of weeks ago, and she didnt seem to think its her time. I dont think its her time just yet...but seeing her body changing so much is hard to take. I hope she isnt in too much pain with her teeth, I might have to stop the necks and wings altogether now if I can see signs of pain. Edbear & flash, i am sorry that you had to make the same decision, its totally heartbreaking.

Tonight I cant help but feel so sad looking at Gemma. Some of you might know that she was diagnosed with haemangiosarcoma (tumour attached to her heart that was 9cm x 10cm at diagnosis)) and dialeted cardiomyopathy back in April. The prognosis wasnt good, between 2 weeks and 2 months. Her hair is coming out in clumps that are 2 inches square and she has lost so much weight even though I have been feeding her up with all her favourite things. Her breath is just rancid, she still gets chicken wings and necks. I had a look at her teeth yesterday, it appears a couple are rotting. There is no way a dental will do any good at this stage, I think the tooth decay is probably caused by the fact her body is trying so hard to fight off the cancer, and everywhere else is falling down. I wish I had a clearer idea of when enough is enough..i am grieving so much already that I am hoping it will be almost a relief when its over.

Kiahma, Just wanted to say I am sorry you had to find this forum, although a compassionate ear is a great thing when it comes to our poor old doggies. I am sure that Dogmad is about, I have seen her name quite often. You should be able to use the Search feature to find her to see if the medication is still available. Anna.

Just gorgeous! I would LOVE a kelpie, my bro has a choc kelpie and she is adorable. The intelligence those dogs pack blows me away.

Thanks for the tip on the ham..my old girl is going through heart failure at the moment and I had no idea about the ham. I confess to have actually rolled up her medication in half a slice of ham to give to her. Chinaplate, good luck with May, those gorgeous eyes certainly tug at the ole heart strings.

Hi Rish..hope you dont mind me asking, how did your dog get the name Kreepy? I am just being a bit nosy at such an unusual name!

I interpreted Divas comments to mean that one still has to do quite a bit of research, even with a registered breeder and not to assume anything.

RIP Anzac, I am so sorry. I have a soft spot for Kelpies, and Anzac looks like he was a mighty fine fella. Run free boy.

No, no medication was prescribed... but the vet did mention at one point about steroids having some success but she didnt sound optimistic so I didnt ask more. I probably should of. Tomorrow I will give her a call and check again on the steroids. I am so worried, as I have both my dogs booked in at Kennels whilst I go on a holiday overseas in January. I cant imagine her going into a kennel at all in this state, no way. ty puggy

A quick update, I took Gemma to the Vet this morning, same practice different vet. It was heart breaking, when I went to get her out of the car she was so disorientated and fell a few times in the car so it took a while to be able to coax her out slowly. The vet checked her ears, they appeared ok. Her eyes were doing the rapid back and forth motion, but only slightly. She couldnt find an obvious reason but said that it did appear to be Vestibular. So, at the moment I am still monitoring her, hoping that it will go away in time. I guess this could be good news, for now anyhow as the vet has said that she wouldnt put her under a general due to an erratic heart beat experienced last time.

Thank you so much all, your info and experience is much appreciated! She doesnt have the head tilt happening, but she has been pacing on and off for some time now. Thank goodness if it is vestibular it doesnt seem to be nearly as bad as Storms (thanks for link persephone). I will do some more research on it and prioritise finding a vet who I have a little more confidence in.

Hi all....my 12/13 yo lab x, Gemma, is starting to have some balance issues and I am just wondering if anyone else has experienced this. It first started a couple of months back, I took her to the vet, vet was unable to give any prognosis other than the usual start doing tests. I decided to take her home and monitor her, and she seemed ok up until a few days back. Now she is having episodes where she appears drunk, swaggering around, and seems slightly disorientated and confused. I talk with her and sit her down, and she seems to come good for a bit. I thougth it may have been a bit of dementia, but the balance part has thrown me. I am relatively new to this area, and unfortunately I dont have a lot of faith in my vet. (nice enough vet, but just doesnt seem that knowledgeable) So I am reluctuant to take her back until it seems obvious that she might need medication to help settle her. She still has her appetite, and seems happy. Is this normal aging behaviour? I dont want to appear naive, just after some reassurance or reality. I have two dogs, both around the same age, and they are my first, so I dont have any experience with older dogs. thanks. Anna

I use dog rocks, initially they seemed to work well but Ive noticed that there still seems to be some brown spots. I think they are meant to last 2 months I am lucky getting 6 weeks out of them.

I was also going to suggest feeding him earlier...i feed my dogs at 5pm, and their last toilet run is at 9pm. Between dinner and bed, they are put outside at least twice....just in case they 'forget' to go the first time.

I hope I am not breaking any forum rules, but I was doing a search and found a special on where you recieve a $20 Coles voucher and thought it may be of interest to those who feed Eagle Pack. The supplier is in Melboune, called Pookinuk.

Thanks arty....the apple cider was just the kinda tip i was looking for. Anyone out there tried this?

Hi, Ive been using Dog Rocks for some time now, and they work, but just wondering if anyone knows of any cheaper home remedies that i can try instead. A friend has said that mashed spuds are meant to do the same, but i cant find anything backing up this claim. Dog Rocks are around $12 and they work for 6 weeks for me...not a great expense, but it all adds up. thanks Anna.

Thankyou both, Ive checked her mouth and cant see any damage, but will make sure to keep a good eye on her and her poops. Fingers crossed that this passes through her with no complications.