mygirlruby

She is a gem! She is a great dog - with some spunk too! I think she will be easy to train - we start puppy school next week! I am interested to see how she grows up, as the few people we have come across that have heard of the breed, say that they grow into "ugly" dogs! (their words - not mine!) The ones I have seen at the breeder, were gorgeous - kinda a cross between a dog, and a sheep, and a wooly bear!! I will try to upload a piccie - but I'm not that computer clever!

I spoke with the breeder - who wasn't at all concerned. I have been cleaning them, and applying the ointment 1Xday, and it's keeping it under control! Will run it by the vet again next visit! Thanks for the replies!

I have tried salt water on cotton wool - and it helps remove the gunk....but doesn't solve the problem - I will try the tea! I am back at the vet this week with her - so will see what he has to say! She did have the goo in her eyes (one in partic) when I got her - and I mentioned it to the vet the following day, when I took her in for the once-over. He said as she came from the breeder, it may have been an accumulation over time - so to clean it up, and see if it returned. Well....it did, and that was when I was back at the vet, and got the ointment. I haven't rung the breeder yet - but plan to in just a moment! Thanks for the replies!

Was wondering if anyone knows of any specific eye issues in Lagottos?? (other than cataracts) I have a 14 week old Lagotto pup (Rosie), and she has had gooey eyes since we got her. I had the vet look at them, and he prescribed some Ilium Chloroint (containing chloramphenicol, and hydrocortisone acetate) for conjunctivitis - to be put in her eyes twice daily for 5 days. This seemed to help, but a couple of days after the treatment stopped, the gooey eyes started again! I was thinking it could be from her adventures in the garden (she loves to dig, and eat our garden!), but the ooze seems too much for that. She doesn't seem bothered - other than when the goo glues her eye shut! Hope someone has some answers!!! Thanks!

Thanks everyone for the support. There is no such thing as too much information! Ruby was lucky to have us, but we were blessed to have her for 5 years - she was truly the perfect dog - if it hadn't been for damn genetics and her hind quarters!!

That's funny - I love poodles.....just have to get rid of the hubby to get another one!!! The breeders weren't registered with Dogs Vic, and so, once again, you are right - there was nothing they could do. Interesting to me that u are aware of the breeders I am talking about! I asked the labradoodle assoc if they were aware why they closed, and I was told it was divorce, and illness - I reckon the illness was in their dogs!! At the time, I looked at the pics on the net of the "farm" lifestyle the pups were raised in, and thought how nice that would be!!!! OMG - now I realise that a family environment in the real world is the best place to raise a pup. Ruby was so timid , and scared of walls, and reflections, and car noises, and city life really!! Thanks for all your replies over the years! You are a wise poodle lover! ;)

Hi there! Recently i had to make the most difficult decision of my life....and that was to put my much loved 5 year old girl to sleep. I have been reading some topics here, and thought a quick explanation of her life and the decisions I made may help others (as I regret some decisions with hindsight). When purchasing Ruby, I thought I'd done my homework - I wanted a non-shedding small/medium sized dog, that wasn't a pure poodle (as I had had them in the past). Silly me decided on my gorgeous girl Ruby, a miniature 5th generation(apparently) australian labradoodle. I bought her from breeders in Vic - who were well known as one of the 2 leading breeders of labradoodles in Australia (now I wonder if it was really a puppy farm??) They have since closed their doors - go figure! Anyway, at around 6 mths old, we noticed she would yelp and flick her back legs from time to time. This was diagnosed as severe luxating patellas, and we were referred to an orthopaedic vet who recommended operating on 1 leg, and then the other 6 weeks later. Ruby had her 1st surgery at 9 mths old, and 5 days later when the bandages were removed and I was lead walking her, she collapsed, and we rushed her back to the vet, and the surgery had failed - back in for more surgery - he took a more aggressive approach this time , and it was successful. (at a cost of $4000 all up!)sked for hip Xrays, as I wanted to claim on my "genetic disease" refund from the breeders - these Xrays showed severe bilateral hip dysplasia, with there being no ball and socket at all on her left, and a poor resemblance of one on the right. We decided to put off the other knee surgery, and had a few great years with our beautiful girl, until we noticed she was having more episodes of flicking her right leg while running. We took her to a more wholistic vet , with a great reputation here in Perth - for hips, elbows, knees, and also for recommending more conservative treatment options. He recommended she needed surgery on the right knee for the luxating patella, which she had at 4 1/2 yrs old. (at a cost of $1300) Ruby had been on jointguard, and fishoil all her life really, and was now having cartrophen injections, and taking metacam also! ($$$ - ouch!) This vet recommended physio, which we did weekly - doing hydrotherapy and massage mainly. I feel that 6 weeks post op, during hydrotherapy, she damaged her cruciate ligament on the leg that was operated on at 9 mths. Back to the vet - who diagnosed cruciate ligament disease, and recommended cruciate surgery - at a cost of $3800. We had booked her in for the surgery, and the week before she was due for it, she snapped the other cruciate!! So we were up for 2 more knee surgeries (which apparently can affect the patellas too), and then staring down the barrel of 2 hip surgeries in the future. The vet said that Ruby had the worst knees he had seen in his 30 year career, and the worst hips too, and that she really had a poor quality of life, and so we made the decision to put her to sleep. ;) In hindsight, I wish I had known about crossbreeding, for one, but also I wish I had known about the more conservative treatment options too! Perhaps if Ruby never had any surgeries, and we worked on building up her muscle mass, she would be lying next to me here in my study, rather than me being here alone, researching dog breeds for our next pet!! I don't want this to seem "poor me", I have just been reading many posts here about HD and elbow and patella issues, and thought my experience may help others! I hope so! I did complain to the Victorian canane Assoc, and the Labradoodle Association - but none of it brings Ruby back, or stops this irresponsible breeding of dogs with genetic diseases.

Chloe's orthopedic surgeon said supplements like that have not generally been scientifically tested to show proven results as to how effective they are, so it's a bit like flossing teeth.... ie, you do it because you believe it MAY help and you want to do whatever is possible... but if you don't floss your teeth they hardly fall out of your gums!!! Hehehehe, I had to laugh when he told me this... I can relate cause I have no time to floss and never have, and I have perfectly healthy teeth, not even one filling!!! But still we do it cause we believe it may help our little ones, even if it's only a little bit... A floss a day, keeps the dentist away!! Flossing IS proven to reduce the incidence of decay and particularly gum disease. He, he, he..... a little off the subject, but had to be said!!

I hope his bill reflects that statement... I was advised to have patellas corrected while the dog is young.. otherwise arthritis sets in. In your shoes I'd have done the same. I'd be more cautious about her hips though. Yes I hope so too! He said he would check with the university (he works out of the vet teaching uni here in Perth), and hopefully they will just charge for the extra part, not the entire procedure again. Well, I hope so too, coz we've already spent over $2000, and she needs the other leg done aswell. I'm sure we will still have to pay again for the inhalational anaesthesia, the epidural, the theatre fee, more xrays and the time in ICU. I hope the hips can get by with more conservative modes of treatment(not just because of the $, but also so Ruby doesn't have to go thru this again and again...)

As I'm new to this I'm replying to all: Thanks for the support and good wishes. I will be restricting her activity alot more this time, and hope for the best. Ruby had her luxating patella corrected the first time with tibial tuberosity transposition and lateral retinacular overlap, but the 2nd time the vet also had to recontour the groove the patella sits in (don't know the correct terminology), and completely remove the tibial tuberosity and move it down the tibia, aswell as the other stuff. The vet is a specialist orthopaedic vet. He said it failed as he made an incorrect clinical decision, not to recontour the groove. I feel she was excercised too much aswell - and I only walked her once a day, not the recommended 2-3 times!! These are tough times for our family, but most of all for Ruby. Hope we are doing the right thing for her. Genevieve.

Well things have gone from bad to worse. we took Ruby home last Thurs evening, and she definately wasn't herself, but was OK. We were told that she needed 2-3 short 5-10min lead walks a day. She seemed OK over the weekend, and on Sun evening we were told to take the bandages off. We did, and she seemed less confidant on the leg. On her 1st walk with the bandage off on Mon, she all of a sudden yelped and couldnt walk on it. This was very traumatic, and difficult to get her home, me hysterical, and her in pain. We rested her and contacted the vet who advised complete rest and only walk outside to wee. Well Tues, she wouldn't move from her bed, not to drink or go out for wee. At about 4pm I thought she must need to wee, so I convinced her to get up. She was scared, and cautiously walked out the door. Once outside, she seemed to injure the left leg(the not operated one) , and then the right while trying to run back inside, so she was dragging her hind quarters, and couldn't walk at all - very upsetting. We rushed her to the vet (1hr away), and was told her operation had failed, and it was redone yesterday(we thought we were taking her to the vet to say goodbye ). She is still in ICU - we pick her up tomorrow(FRI), but I am concerned that she has injured the non-operated side, and we will end up with an unhappy dog who cant walk at all. This is all very difficult - made more so by us having a 5mth old baby to look after aswell!! Hoping we did the right thing by re-operating?? Genevieve.

As mentioned earlier, I feel misinformed on the whole "crossbreed" thing from the breeders of Ruby. Their site, and their staff make it sound like in the 70s they "invented" a new breed called "the Australian Labradoodle". (not to be mistaken for the labradoodle, or lab X poodle) they say! Well I have found things out the hard way!! And so has poor Ruby!

Hi, I have always had poodles, and had just lost my 17 yr old(who I had since I was 12 yrs old)poodle , Molly. I was heartbroken and swore I wouldn't get another dog. As all dog lovers know, this doesn't last long - so I looked on the net for "allergy friendly dogs" and found a labradoodle site, and thought they sounded great. Then I met someone with one , and it was GORGEOUS, so that's the road I took. Well I now feel I was fed alot of misinformation. But I relally don't regret it as Ruby is a lovely dog, with a shoddy skeleton unfortunately!!

Thanks for that - it is almost exactly the same as cosequin - but with added Zinc, Copper and Vitamin E. Cheaper too I think! Looking at the label it also has MSM, which with a quick google search is methyl sulfonyl methane, a natural ingredient which helps treat arthritis and also acts as an anti-inflammatory and pain reliever. The scoop comes with the tub, it says it is 5g of Joint Guard powder, so if your dog only needs half a scoop a day that is 160 days of treatment. Thanks 4 that - seems jointguard is the way to go!!

I had heard that they do not use lab x poodles any more because they were finding they could not guarantee them to be hypoallergenic and they did in fact shed! Well, Ruby may have knee and hip troubles, but she does not shed at all!

PS I don't think Genevieve was implying that you had insulted her - she was just asking that people not. At least that's how I read it , anyway Thankyou. This is all about the health and happiness of a beautiful, well natured little dog - it doesn't matter what shape,size or colour she is.

So let me get this straight. You've had this traumatic and disastrous experience after buying from an unregistered breeder so now you want to go back to an unregistered breeder for another cross breed? I wanted a poodle cross as I was after an allergy friendly dog, that wasn't a full poodle (I had poodles growing up, and wanted something different). I thought I was getting Ruby from one of the 2 most reputable breeders of labradoodles in Australia. Can breeders of crossbreeds be registered? Inform me , don't insult me.

So let me get this straight. You've had this traumatic and disastrous experience after buying from an unregistered breeder so now you want to go back to an unregistered breeder for another cross breed? The breeders I got Ruby from are registered with the labradoodle association of Australia (whatever that is??). I thought I had done all I could to buy from the best - I did look into it as there are no labradoodle breeders here in WA. It was my 1st purchase of a pup since moving out of home - beginners unluck?? It is Ruby I am worried about - she is the one who has to go through this, not me. I am just glad that she has me as a parent, to try to give her everything she needs, and the best treatment possible...

Thanks for that - it is almost exactly the same as cosequin - but with added Zinc, Copper and Vitamin E. Cheaper too I think!

Hi Linny - where did you get your gorgeous dogs from?? I am considering spoodle next time - haven't had much luck with my miniature labradoodle! Love her to bits but!!

Hi Malleerr - we are going to see how she pulls up from this surgery (at the moment we wonder if we are doing the right thing putting her thru these surgeries). If this goes OK, then the 2nd knee will be done in approx 10 wks. Once she is fully recovered from the knee surgeries, then we need to assess if the hips are causing signs and symptoms (at the moment can't tell if its hips and knees or just knees or just hips). If hips are problematic, then she will need 2Xfull hip replacements?? Hope the Cosequin is a miracle drug!!

If anyone is interested I will post the ingredient list in Joint Guard. That would be a great help if you could, coz on the sites I've looked at so far they don't say what's in it - but it is cheaper I think! It says for my dogs size to give half a scoop daily, but how big is the scoop?? It comes in 400g tubs. Cheers, Genevieve.

My 20 mth old 14 kg labradoodle, Ruby , has just had a surgery for one of her luxating patellas, and will need further surgeries to treat her other knee, and then probab her bilateral hip dysplasia aswell. The vet has placed her on Cosequin DS for the long term and rimadyl for the short term. The Cosequin is expensive. I want to know if this is the best for her, and can I get the same thing from healthfood stores, or online any cheaper?? Would appreciate any advice. Genevieve (rubys Mum)

Just got Ruby home from the vet after her luxating patella surgery. Poor love is a bit sad and sorry at the moment. Makes you wonder if you are doing the right thing - she will need her other knee done, and both hips aswell! The vet has placed her on Cosequin DS capsules. Does anyone know nuch about these?? These will be long term, and the rimadyl she is alredy on is for the short term.