ILuvAmstaffs

No sign of arthritis or any problem other than slight inflammation on the joint on the 1st round of x-rays. He is having the 2nd round today, so will know more in a week, after the x-rays are sent off to the specialist again. Meanwhile, I will take him to the chiro & see what he can do for him.

Would love to get him swimming, so will definately be doing that now the weather has warmed up! So far he only goes in to his neck! lol

Diesel was from this breeders 2nd litter & she admits to not having had too much experience with their health problems yet. The main reason she suggested a diet change was because she was worried he would be "oversized" if I wanted to show him, but the vet assures me that from what they have seen on the x-ray, it won't help as the "gaps" between the joints need to close up regardless, so he will grow no matter what we do. Funny to note, this litter was on eukanuba & they are double the size of her 1st litter 2 years ago (from the same parents) that were on science diet.

We are booked in with Peter Schofield this Sunday. In all fairness, I have taken Diesel to 2 vets & asked if he is over weight & they tell me he is not, but I will be trying to get his weight down for sure. He certainly doesn't have a tummy & nips in at all the right places though! I also took him along to meet Mell & Koda at a dog show when he was 5.5months & he was a good bit taller * longer than most the pups there that were a month older, so he is definately growing a bit too fast. Heres a pic taken a few weeks ago & he has lost a bit of bulk but gained a bit of size (if that makes sense) since then: As you can see in this pic:

Yeah, Diesel has slowed down height wise, but seems to be filling out more & more His breeder suggested limiting his protein to slow his growth, but we asked the vet & he said it wouldn't help. It would just make him leaner.

Will do. If I can't get a recommendation for one closer to home, I will make an appointment with the one MellG recommended out near Penrith! P.S Trying to do it on the sly so I don't get ear bashed by his grandparents!!!

I just looked up this site: http://www.chirovet.com.au/ And will email one of the practitioners shortly.

I had a chiropractor recommended to me, but never ended up taking Diesel as my dad was of the opinion that they can do more harm than good. But it is definately worth a try at this stage, though I'm not sure if the inflammation on his front leg joints would rule out back problems???

Hi guys, I posted previously in regards to my Amstaff puppy limping. Unfotunately the limp has not gone away. Diesel is now 6 months old, 19inches tall & weighs 27kg, which I am just stating to show that he IS a big boy for his age, though not fat. This is the full rundown: I first noticed the limp approx 6 weeks ago, took him to the vet & had x-rays done. The x-rays were sent to an othopeadic surgeon who said that all the joints look fine & it is probably just due to the fact that he is a rapidly growing puppy. They decided to give him the 4 week course of Cartrophen injections along with daily doses of sashas blend, to see if there was any improvement & requested further x-rays in 3 months time, when he was closer to finishing growing (apparently they could tell he had a fair way to go, by the gaps between the joints.) 6 weeks later & he is still limping. Myself, partner & my parents all believe the limp is a fair bit better, but the vet says he can see no change & we need to do another round of x-rays to send to the othopeadic surgeon & if they still can't see anything, they think they know what it is & will want to operate (probably just a scope). We have, however, narrowed the limp down to only effecting his front right leg. The vet said that as he is so young, the surgery would be 100% effective. What I would like some advise on, is should I be getting a 2nd opinion b4 commiting to the surgery (if it comes to that). I was thinking that I could take both sets of x-rays to a different vet to see what their opinion is, just to make sure I am not making my boy have a needless operation IF there is a chance that they are just growing pains that will go away when he reaches full size (as we were first told by the vet). However, at the same time, I hate the fact that while we are deciding what to do, Diesel is still in pain. Any advise would be much appreciated, as I am really not sure how to proceed at this point.

Sorry SAS, wasn't looking for an arguement. Just going on advice we recieved from 3 separate vets, that they advise against it & the point more being that if there is a safer drug, it's always best to err on the side of caution Would be assuming also that the OP was asking for a drug to use b4 she could get to the vet... Anyway, alls well that ends well & it seems that this one did.

Staffordshire Bull Terrier edited to add: Ooops, I didnt realise you were quoting.

Yep it can cause Ulcers, however in clinical trials this was only when used excessively (exceeding the reccomended dossage). And the same as with humans, when taken on an empty stomach etc... I still take it, but the dog can't tell me when he has a sore tummy & it's hard to work out the exact dose for dogs, so I prefer to err on the side of caution when other drugs are available. But if it was all that was on offer, i'd go for it (but a smaller dose, just incase)

Diesel was scratching like mad when we got him. He was so itchy, he would even cry while he was scratching & he had small sores on his tummy with a rash & was starting to lose some hair. I took him to the vet & he said to add a capful of Apple Cider Vinegar to his water, wash the rash with malaseb every night (and use aloveen on the rest of his body) & add to omega 3 oil to his food & if not improvement to take him back for the "exclusion diet". We didn't need to got back,as the scratching eased within days & 2 weeks later, he rarely scratches & has a lovely coat.

We asked our vet the same question last week & he said that panadol is not toxic to dogs, but as little as 2 panadols will kill a cat. He DID say though, that you CAN give them panadol (dose as per human weight) but it doesn't do much to help the pain relief. He said that asprin works better & again the dose is as per the dose would be for a human of the same weight... so a small dog would need the kiddies asprin. He also said to never give a dog Nurofen as it can cause ulcers in dogs (and humans).

Picked Diesel up from mum & dads last night. He has a big bandage on his back leg, but other than that, he seems to be ok. Not limping too much. He's on a course of antibiotics to stop it from getting infected. Mum said that she put him outside to play with Max for less than 15 minutes when he did it! Unbelievable that a dog as big as Max is just so gentle with him & yet he STILL managed to damaged HIMSELF!

We just put a shell full of water out the back for Diesel to drink out of :D Not because he was knocking his water bowl over, but rather that he was drinking out of our fish pond instead & freaking out the fish! :D ;)

Has Koda grown out of his "accident prone" stage??? He's only a bit older than Diesel, isn't he? So fingers crossed.... :D Diesel had his 1st shot of Cartrophen on Monday for his legs & is taking Sashas remedy & apparently his limp was much better this moring. Then this.... :D Yes, definately stressed out! Anyway, you will see the little trouper this Saturday... all bandaged up & limping It IS Saturday, isn't it???

Well, I just had to share this as it is just so frustrating.... I recieved a call from my Dad earlier, saying doofus has hurt himself again & they had just gotten back from the vet. He had been running around the yard with Max the dobe & must have caught his back toe on something, because he had split his toenail in half.... We take so much care, to make sure that he isn't wearing himself out & I do a 2 hour round trip to take him to mum & dads b4 work, so that he's not alone all day, but I swear, I must own the most accident prone puppy in the universe. :D

My amstaff puppy has his adult teeth in a few places WITH the little puppy ones next to them... he was chewing something near me on the weekend & all of a sudden there was this tooth sitting in my lap I think it must be ok, cause he has had a double up for a few weeks, but now they are falling out

So sorry to hear about your loss BullyLuva.... my dobe girl lived til just b4 she was 14 & I still miss her You should be proud that you gave her a wonderful life & she will always live on in your memories.

Not sure about other breeds of dogs, but our amstaff pups nose was almost half pink when we got him & I emailed a breeder to find out if it was ok, she said her boys nose took 9monthsto fill in with black. Diesel is now 21 weeks and its almost filled in... So I wouldn't stress too much

Well, fantastic news from the vet. Diesel is in the clear. Turns out that it is just swelling on his joints due to all the running around he does. The vet said the main reason is that he still has a lot of growing to do (geez, he's already 19inches & 20.5kg) & his bones haven't set together yet. The x-rays showed all joints to be in perfect condition (yay) but the only thing they could see was a slight opaqueness on the sesamoid (which wasn't fractured after all), so they are sending the x-rays off to an orthopedic specialist. But in the vets opinion, he's almost 110% sure it will be nothing! Phew!

Thanks for the kind words guys. The waiting game is horrible

Hi guys, we have just taken Diesel to the vet & it seems he is REALLY in the wars. He has pain when pressed, in both front knees, 1 sesamoid & his back right hip, plus a bit of localised swelling. The vet thinks it could just be strained ligaments from racing around like a nutter but could also be dislodged growth plates. So he is booked in for x-rays on Tuesday under sedation and they will also minipulate all of his joints to see if they find anything. God, I feel like the worst pet owner, letting this happen to him. But who would know that a case of the zoomies could lead to this? Anyway, if you could all keep your fingers, toes, eyes & everything else crossed for him on Tuesday, it would be much appreciated! Will keep you updated as to the out come. Lee

I am glad to hear that! Boy, they can really give us a fright, cant they. Sure can. ;) But hats because we love our furkids, so its ok! :D Like I said though, I am still going to have him checked out, just to be sure....