Tara and Sam

totally agree , even the air was stifling Sorry guys, you must never have had to deal with a double brick no air-con house in a heatwave I got home yesterday about 6pm - which is only 2 hours after the temperature peaks - and the house was hotter than outside, I just simply don't agree that leaving a dog in a small hallway in that environment would be better for them. Each to their own I guess - hope you're all managing to stay cool - I play in the clamshell to keep myself cool Oh yes a weatherboard house , no aircon hot as anything and only way to keep cool was jumping in bathtub full of water or under the hose , which was allowed those days even the pet dog came in the tub with us sleeping with wet towels on us and nights sleeping under the stars when cooler

totally agree , even the air was stifling mine have clam shell full of water under pergola with blinds down to keep shaded and cooler water bowl outside air con in the house , but afterawhile that struggles with the outside heat 12 1/2 yr old and 13 yr old dogs but feeling it more as get older cocker spaniel will be clipped right back in 2 weeks BC x would prefer to be outside but will bring him in when at its hottest part of day they stretch out in laundry ,kitchen or spare room or right under the fan or aircon 3 buckets of cold water around the house for them they have some holes around the yard , so might try the water in there also this heat and temps are comeing in so bad and so quick hate to think what this summer is going to bring :D

I currently have a rescue in that has had stones removed twice now through surgery. Thats what I am tryig to avoid he did think she might have stones although he couldnt feel them , as she did move and squirm around alot obviously it was hurting her as she normally not that bad , in fact I "think" she gave a small squeal he did mention that if back again in a months time he wants a urine sample and "might" need a op not keen on that as she getting older she is takeing Acidurin tabs 3 tabs twice a day , these apparently are they one to breakup or dissolve the crystals and Tribrissen 80 mg 1 and half tab once a day she was given Dexadresseon injection for the pain when he was here she seems abit happy today and has been passing good amounts of urine , slight specks of blood in it will try the paper trick also yes I was going to wait until of these meds before starting the Cranberry Vet did mention a test if it continues , he mentioned she would be slightly sedated to do test , so that may be the Ultrasound ? Rappie I tried to get urine sample for the in house vet to check , but after her first wee I missed that chance , it was only after she kept "trying" that I realised something wasnt right poor girl just kept walking around and around looking for a spot to wee I rang when I realised a problem , but in the hour or so waiting for vet I counted well over 40 times she tried :D now I have the little container ready at the back door and follow her around and can catch the flow RAppie last year she had a full blood work done , as they are getting older I wanted to know if anything was starting ,kidney problems , sugar levels etc Senior blood test I call it the only thing that showed was her Calcium level , so was tested a week later and all was fine so I was told ( both my dogs had full blood works done ) interesting Rappie , he mentioned she may have had this right from a puppy , because her vagina area is brown colouring , we were told by our older vet that was just normal colouring could she have had this all these years and never had signs of this before now ? Thanks

well she seems to be more comfortable now and not wanting to go outside to squat all the time I have been following her with ice cream container to see if blood still there , but so far it isnt Yes cranberry has been mentioned a few times so will check into that yes the vet mentioned about 3-4 days , but if it starts again in about 3 weeks to get her checked again as she "might" have stones formed I am so glad I did ring vet as soon as saw the blood , especially after reading other threads about the non output of urine :D I will be certainly rechecking her again with the vet Thanks for the replies , as I mentioned before he didnt seem concerned about the blood but I was Cranberry sounds good as I certainly dont want her to get stones and then a op one of the tabs he has given is to break up any crystals that "may" be there

Had to call the vet out for my girl today as she was bleeding when trying to wee she had allready been outside to wee and a few minutes later she whinged to go out again she squatted to do a wee then moved to another spot and did another one this continued on for about 15 minutes , she squatted about 15 times after the first 5 or 6 times I started to realise something wasnt right so I followed her around when she whent to squat again i then placed my hand under her and then noticed blood on my hands came back inside to make sure it wasnt my blood then followed her again and did the same thing and she did have fresh blood I turned her over and she had blood on her groin area so I rang the vet and he came about hour or so later she has cystitis or crystal stones ? she had a injection for the pain in her groin area , ( she was very uncomfortable when he was trying to feel her and wouldnt keep still ,) vet didnt appear to be concerned about the blood but I have reead the threads on cystitis and no one else has mentioned blood is the blood normal for this ? she also on 2 other medications for this she didnt eat all her dinner as she normally does , but has since passed a nice amount of urine , and sleeping next to me at the moment Thanks forgot to say she is 12 and half years old , and never had this problem before so was a bit freaked when saw the blood

Sadly 3 days ago I had to make a hard decision for you It was a decision that did not come lightly , but had it be made It broke my heart missing your owner or fretting I am not sure what caused the fight I am so sorry Nugget , it has devestated me May you run free with your father who passed away 3 weeks ago in his sleep R.I.P father and son

I bought one of the Bed Buddy Wrap today from PriceLine it looks great only trouble is it says to lay flat on microwave but my microwave wont allow that so tried it slightly folded over and so far it it good warmth to it Sam's paw ( to me ) didnt appear to take more than a few seconds to go back to normal , but the other paw did spring back almost straight away I got quiet upset the night the Vet told me it was his spine ( on top of the HD and arthritis ) I had some tears then , as I felt that down the track it was now in our hands to make that decision for him I did a search the other night on the different medications that were mentioned here and what vet gave me , and I was not happy with the side affects of them especially for long time use apparently can cause liver problems , and need regular blood test twice a year to test for toxicity I still want to discuss this with the vet I know Sam is nearly 13 but dont want to add further problems but if it happens then we tackle that Since Sam has had his 4 days of tablets ( twice a day , now only need once a day ) there has been no puddles inside , no foul smells he even wanted to rough play with TAra ( the cocker ) Yes I was also told Sam was in good health , so beign told it was his spine threw me I did have my suspisions , as he would never turn his body in the laundry , he just backed out of it , but our regular vet anout 2 months ago never suggested the spine ( maybe my gut feeling was right ) the slippery surface in the laundry I also noticed when he tried to get up his back legs slipped under him , so I bought a non slip mat from Bunnings 2 weeks ago and that helps him alot Sam seemed to flinch when the vet tested his left back , and in between the centre back area , sort of high hip area ( if that makes sense ) we have discussed surgery if it is advised , and we both think we will not have it done , as we dont think Sam would cope with it very well and we have realised now that Sam's fate will be in our hands to make a decision when the time comes hopefully not for awhile yet I appreciate the tips on the tell tale signs I am getting the heads up of what to look for and be more aware off Sam's front legs so far still seem to appear good I am going to call the vet back out when these tablets are finished and speak to him more , asking about scans / xrays etc another novel from me but great to have advice from those who have similar with their own and seen with other dogs fingers crossed they all have pain free and have quality time now

OOOOOh that does look nice , even for my back I havent noticed them before but will be checking them out Thanks

Thank you for the replies my OH was away when I had to call mobile vet , and we were just talking when Sam whent to regular vet about 2 months ago , that vet didnt mention spine at all , only said arthritis yet this vet mentioned spine , and I know when he pressed and felt around his lower back Sam did move as if in pain he also tested his paw , he placed paw downward and if takes awhile to put his foot right it can mean spine also he told me this before he did it and one paw didnt come back quicker , he also said that indicates spine he mentioned disc in spine and like it is pinching rommimum that would break my heart to hear what you have with your boy ( as I'm sure it has you ) so far Sam hasnt given any noises of in pain , so aprt from some stiffness I had no indication it was his spine we had Cartophen injections over the years that did help him and the Rimadyl the ones he on now apparently are similar to Rimadyl but another company makes them since Sam started these tabs so far no accidents inside He does have some problems getting in the car , and I help lift him up , then he can get out and run the fence line with dog next door hope your boy has good results with the tablets rommi will look up Bowen settrlvr may I ask where you purchased the heat wrap from also will take note of pain no more Quoll - you mentioned scans , may I ask what sort of scans and roughly the cost I myself have had pinched nerves and they can be painfull Sam is 13 and I dont think I would like to put him through surgery , as I have read where it is invasive as you said no lameness as such at the moment showing ( he just whent and jumped on our bed ) according to vets his is in good health , not overweight I beleive his HD came from his parents , ( so the vet told me years ago , as he was young when first diaganosed ) we dont know his parents as he came from pound , he is a 3 times cross Rommi I am also the same , I want quality for him I knew I could count on DOLer's for advice and for what to try and things I can also ask the vet next visit much appreciated P.S , sorry for the novel again

I hadnt thought of accupuncture , will look into it well I am on a pension , but my dogs will get what is needed , even if I go without I'm in S.A I asked about X-rays , and he didnt think needed as risky when getting older because of the anasethic he knew we had x-ray's to confirm HD , his manually testing of Sam's back legs and spine area he could feel the problem and discomfort he had talking to me listening to the way Sam does things like will back out of laundry rather than turn around in laundry , has trouble getting in car , stiff or limping when gtting up he seemed to think as this was happening more at night and early morning , because his body was more relaxed that is why he was weeing and flatulance more ( almost as if he couldnt control it ) Sam can sleep on the floor next to me , then when I get out of bed he gets up and goes to his pillow when I come back in room the pillow is wet I have never caught him doing it , so cant work out if he knows he is doing it or is asleep sometimes the carpet has a small damp patch when I get up , so I think leaking when asleep but at the moment we cant confirm this until I catch him doing it the weeing itself on coverings is not a big problem for me as it can be cleaned , it is more what he is going through

Had the Mobile vet ( he was very good ) out to my male dog nearly 13 years of age he has had HD for many years ,,and onset of arthritis ( Fish oil caps and Joint Guard given ) I have noticed things happening last few weeks Very smelly flatulance ( was told by regular vet give yoghurt ) , was licking his penis a bit , and 4 out of 5 mornings huge patches of wee in the bedroom where he slept with us , and has been drinking lots of water ( most of these problems happened night / early morning times ) the licking and weeing and flatulance was all because of his spine problem ( I would never have thought this was to do with his spine ) I couldnt get him to regular vet so called mobile vet after a hours consult in home , urine was tested and nothing showed up there , no sugar, kidney or bladder infection tested his back legs and back , lower back it did look as though Sam was uncomfortable and has said has lower lumba DD and siaticia , along with HD and arthritis he was a great vet , he said to me just talk to me and tell me about Sam , the more I talked to him and told him things that were out of normal , gave him a better idea of narrowing things down he gave me a nice weatherbeeta coat for him to wear to keep his back warm , Sam at the moment doesnt appear to be comfortable in it , but am useing a double pola fleece coat I made for him , and lots of blankets at night for extra warmth ( I had considered a heat bed , but he moves and sleeps in differrent beds / rooms during the night , its a bit like musical beds between 2 dogs here ) he has tablets Carprofen 100mg twice a day for 4 days then 1 in the morning for rest of his life So , anyone have any extra tips of how I can help him , or even what I can expect as he gets older with this problem Thanks forgot to mention I have also raised his water bowl and food bowl , so he doesnt add extra strain on his back

Well after the last week of Sam haveing mornings of wet patches on his bed ( I mean huge patches ) which obviously wasnt just his licking the vet called around today and it is his spine causeing problems I had a urine sample ready for vet and everything tested fine there Vet was concerned with the amount of water he is drinking and it is always worse night / early morning times we knew Sam had HD and arthritis but it appears he might have Lower Lumbar Disc Disease , resulting in Sciatica hence when he is relaxed he wets and has BAD flatulance

Yes puggy puggy if he has to go I would try and collect a urine sample first he is pretty good if I say stop , he will stop the licking I am a great fan of tepid boiled salt water and have healed a few cut paw pads etc with it but wasnt sure if the salt water would sting him in that area Erny , yes that is what is happaning with the discharge no funny odd colour to it since I posted the thread he hasn't done it since , but also not as pink but will be keeping a watch over it Thanks

Have to 2nd that about Dion

Thanks Erny no it doesnt look sinister otherwise he would have been to vet by now he hasn't even doen it this morning I will try the Colloidal and see how that goes and see if that helps if not will ceratinly get him checked out Thanks

my male boy who is almost 13 years this September ( desexed when 6 months old ) have noticed the last week he has been licking his penis almost constant ( mainly in the morning ) yes he cleans himself over the years , but this seems more than normal after a closer look , it seems as though the tip seems to be slightly pinker than normal yet when I touch around the area he has no discomfort , ( none that he shows ) I can't see anything unusual other than slight pink and it appears to be only in mornings after he wakes up he appears to be OK when weeing and I cant notice any blood in his urine or doesnt appear to hurt when urinateing ( I was thinking maybe a urinary infection) sometimes the hair around penis has like a creamy colour I presume this is semen from his little hormone attacks he still has every so often ( he hasnt lost his urge to try ) I decide the night before to check with Vet , then he doesnt do it again for a day , then he starts licking agin Any ideas please Thanks ( known health issues are HD and Arthritis and nice and healthy blood test results last year ) which I doubt are not related to this licking

We have used Marion Animal Hospital for 13 years they had a great Vet called Allan he retired and new vets came in and have expanded their practice they also own / work with Southern Animal Hospital and Plymptom Vet Clinic we have only used the Marion one Dr Cole on Springbank road is also very good and Dr Derik McNair also on 5 AA on Mondays has a good following the Hills Vet Clinic at Blackwood is also a very good vets

A picture says a thousand words the love that shines through is adorable one lucky puppy and lucky girl

R.I.P Little one

I am also wondering about what to do with my 2 dogs as they are nearing the dates for the injection they have had C4 yearly for the last 11 yrs since pups last year ( new vets ) gave them C5 , without asking us first , they told us after that it was C 5 after reading threads here I am not sure I really want them again

I have also noticed that she wants to be inside more , she will sit at the door and whinge and scratch the back door , even if Sam is their with her outside ( Tara has never been by herself in all the years apart from one or two short stays alone) even OH said today she seems a bit more clingy wanting to be around us all the time ( normally she is my shadow ) but more so lately and also just remember , lately she doesnt always want to walk down the back yard with me , she seems to want to stay by the back door , I "thought" maybe it was just a food thing , but maybe she feels more comfortable being near the door her eyes so far appear to be fine , but all will be checked at her next vet visit mum's older dog died at 17 1/2 yrs old , she was deaf and blind , but somehow could sence where mum was most of the time Thanks for the replies

Yes , it is sad when they start to get older Sam picked up hand signals better than what Tara has I have noticed with Sam he hears me comeing via my walking more than what Tara does , but will concentrate more of feet and hand actions she just loves to ignore me I think :p

Started me thinking after reading another thread My cocker who is 12 years old next month I am sure she is starting to go deaf Little things I have noticed she hates thunder storms and fireworks I have noticed in the last 6 months or so it takes her a minute or so to react to the noise also when she lays outside near the back door , normally as soon as you touch the handle to go out she gets up three or four times I have gone out and stood right behind her , until she sees me then gets up sometimes I can call her , and she is either ignoring me or not hearing me , yet I can whistle and she will come running What do others do when they start to see this happen

We use these also Natures way.Odourless fish oil 1000mg our Vet told us to give 5 capsules a day , our boy is close to 40 kilos

oh , yes I can relate to that lol my brother had a dog once that would come and sit by someone on the couch , then do a silent one , everyone could smell it, and then the dog got up and walked out the room I had forgotten about the Charcoal , I know we sold them in chemist shop will check for the dog biscuits ones Thank you