julesluvscavs

Hi Rappie, thank you for your input :) I phoned the specialist today to ask about a consult and possible MRI. and how much would it all be, its going cost lots of money if he has the MRI also thats without what ever other treatment path we go down.. Of course he cant tell us much over the phone until he sees Joey. I think hubby and I will at least take Joey down for a consult, we owe him that... and go from there... They said they could do MRI same day if its warranted but if he has one he cant have his painkillers for at least 2-3 days before the MRI.. Not sure how hes going cope without anything for that long especially as hes on them for an eye procedure also he had recently (another long story!) So just have to work out when hubby can take another day off work to go there as its a fair distance away for us..

Thanks Ness, i guess thats our next step, hopefully hubby can get another day off work soon so we can take him there.. Ill see if i can get them give us a consult and do xrays at same time rather than going back and forth.. Luckily last week the eye specialist was able to do Joey eye procedure at the same time, altho we had to end up going back last Sat morning anyway because he had a bad reaction to it Trouble is most specialists dont generally work on Saturdays..

Thank you Haredown Whippets the vet hasn't suggested any xrays they can do, just gave us the info sheets if we were interested in taking Joey to this neurologist to let him take a look .. Can a normal vet do the spinal xrays, as thats what i would prefer to do first up.. but it looks like we will have to take him to the neurologist for them to do them. He's on some mild pain killers/antiflammatories tablets for his eye anyway which the vet said will help his back also.. He has had bowen type dog treatments already and he's just had a course of cartrophen injection plus we have him on some natural powder which is meant to be quite powerful as antiflamortory .. We don't think its helped him much but perhaps if he hadn't had all these things, he would be far worse by now? We really hate the spasms hes having throughout the night tho.. he doesn't yelp with them, it more just lots of movement . We are very reluctant to put him through any surgury, but like you all have suggested I do think we need to at least get him xrayed and go from there.. Im glad your poodle is doing ok and comfortably considering the problem .. i know what its like having a disc/degenerative problem with my spine also..

Our puppy, well shes now about 10 months old has been mostly on a raw diet right from the start as recommended by her breeder (The breeder has guided us through it all which has been great!) We did score some free puppy dry food a while back from our vets (I think they want to change our mind about feeding her a complete raw diet lol). I have used a small amount of it as a meal , sometimes with a bit of raw food mixed with it too.. I don't do it every night tho. I have had no issues doing this so far. :)

Ok I finally found the info sheets for that the vet gave us and its for Dr Ian Douglas ! I will make contact later with him and see if he can talk to me first about it all :) and yes he's in Bellevue Heights, so still bit of a distance .. Anyway i will give him a call and go from there :) Ness his number is on the sheets, i will pm you with them soon .

The other thing is that it is risky performing operations on Joey, as he has problems coming out of them... that in itself is a worry too .. Not because of heart issues, he doesnt have any heart problems, the vet has told us why in the past but i cant remember what the problem is with GA he has..

Thank you for your input also Bikergirl :) Glad to hear you have had success through Dr Ian Douglas :) Im not giving up yet, just working out our options which will work best for Joey and US within our means.. And I still would want to do a MRI first.. i just wish we could get it done closer to us. Im trying to find the info sheets our vet gave us to see if its the same person.. cant find them just atm grrrr..its been a crazy fewmonths for us

Thank you Ness, let me know if you have any problems Pm'ing me :)

Ness if you have his details then could please message me with them, thanks :) some people have said they cant always PM me on here, i did clean out my messages a while back, so hopefully it works now :) Ps I know you have had a difficult time too Ive been lucky till now *touch wood* thats ours are just starting to have things go wrong at their ages, not when they were younger.

I do remember about that time CavNrott Glad Bronson recovered well Its hard to know what to do, if Joey was younger I would do what ever it takes altho we don't have much spare $ atm.. but he is suffering between this and his eye, we dont think his eye is ever going be 100 per better (it was an abrasion from a scratch that got infected long story..) still seeing a specialist for it. The biggest thing is my husband has had a lot of time off from work between having to see to his Mum in her final days and taking Joey to the specialist in Adelaide.. and hes not going be able to organize more time off easily from now on and im not able drive that far .. I just wish the local vets could do a MRI and send it to a specialist to be read. I would hate to make an decision without some proper diagnoses of course, but i just hope the next stage doesn't come on too quickly, as it all has already .. This is why i have posted about it to get some opinions also..

Thank you Ness :) the vet did give us some info sheets on one in Adelaide, i'll have to look it up to see which one it is? we have been so busy as i mentioned with Joey's eye appts and my husbands Mothers passing that I havent had much of a chance to look at the info sheets yet. I will message you later for some details. Thank you :) Trouble is if we have to go too far for appts/tests its going get difficult for us as husband cant keep taking more time off work, and im not able to drive to Adelaide..

Thanks Cassie, the post was full of codes, but i managed to take it out after :) However my default text size is still bit small even when i try to change it, it goes back smaller. Maybe its doing something from my end long as people can understand what i wrote, thats the main thing. Yes its a worry re Joey.. we thought we were going to lose Renae some months ago, but shes okish now, but its her son that has us really worried ! We love them all so much, but there only so much money to spread around these days, and I refuse to put an older dog (for a cav hes getting on) through lots of suffering and anything too invasive... I have major nerve damage in my spine and I spend nearly every day in pain and thats with medication but i can whinge about it unlike Joey Also where we live its difficult to access other type treatments easily eg holistic ones.

I have no idea whats going on with how my post has come out like it did , and even now my text is too small even tho its the default one i think ive fixed some of the problems, it had come up with lots of codes . but my text is still small !

I did leave a comment in another person's post on a similar topic but thought I would start my own as I don't really want to hijack theirs.. This is what i posted previously ''We are starting to go through something similar now with one of of our Cavaliers, Hes just over 9 now. We had noticed hes been stiff in his back and legs for some time, but thought he was just getting arthritis.. so hes been on Glyde until recently. Over last couple months its come on really bad and hes been wobbling when he walks. I first thought it was that wobblers sydrome, but its apparently not took him to a vet just over a month ago and she said its just really bad arthritis. I did ask if it could be this disc spine thing that some breeds of dogs are prone too such as Cavaliers. She was quite adamant that it wasn't that and suggested a course of catrophen injections. I was relieved thinking I hope its just arthritis and we can help him feel better with this course of cartrophen, Previously i had a dog physio work on him but she couldn't feel anything sinister and also thought it was just arthritis and recommended me some other powder thats even stronger than Glyde.Anyway he hasn't gotten worse, but hasn't gotten better either since starting the cartrophen. Hes also on some other painkillers for his eye problem. He seems happy enough but wobbles as he walks and drags his legs and we have to lift up and down on our bed now. And he has quite frequent really bad jerking spasms through the night.So tonight was the last injection with a vet check to see how hes going. It was a different vet and he does not think its arthritis but basically he suspects hes on the second severe stage of it. He says we need to go to a specialist to get a proper diagnosis as hes not a specialist. He said they would probably just recommend painkillers and rest at the stage he is, but probably a MRI would be the next step.... However this is to be confirmed by a specialist .I have no idea whats going happen, im scared of the next stage ! I have read that there is an operation but its not always successful if the condition is really bad. Hes not good with going under, so im not sure id want to put him through all of that at his age. Anyway we are going reassess the situation over the next few weeks at to what to do about it . Theres obviously no hurry to have a MRI just atm. I dont think hes in too much pain, as he would let us know, as hes a real sook at the best of times. He is grumpy a lot but you get that with pain ( I know for myself with my spine problems)'' Since then hes still no better, and often he walk sideways now.. We have been really busy between getting his eye issues sorted out and my husband's Mother passed away just over a week ago, so all our attention has gone into travelling a fair distance to an eye specialist in Adelaide for Joey and also having to arrange funeral for my husbands (which was yesterday) We have forked out heaps on Joeys eye, which has been a priority, but we really dont have much left over to start doing MRI's and big operations.. we also have other expenses to do with husbands Mother as well on top of everything else So my question is (which our vets arnt too forthcoming with) is there a general xray that will show up any major nerve/back problems before having to get a MRI done? if we have to go down the MRI path my husband would need to take more time off work to get Joey to it, and hes already had all the time he can get off now for his Mother and Joeys eye specialist appts? Someone was telling me her dog was so bad with it, it showed up in a normal xray and sadly it didnt even make it to having the MRI and any ops. We both are not keen to put him through anything invasive at his age as hes not good with going under.. At this stage we would prefer to not have to put him through a lot of suffering if it comes to that. All our vet has said is to get a MRI done and go from there.. We don't currently have lots of $ to spend on major type operations . Anyway looking for thoughts? Poor Joey is in the wars atm between his eye and this horrible crippling condition.

I'm so sorry you will be having to go through this soon Trishm *hugs* We might have to make a decision soon with one of ours Unfortunarely the lady vet people speak so highly of on dol in that link someone posted doesn't come this far Thinking of you x

Thank you Kirislin ;) Hows your dogs eye now ?

Long story cut short as possible. One of our Cavs 'Joey' at some stage managed to get his cornea scratched somehow, presumably by one of the many other pets. When it first became obvious (wasn't straightaway) we took him to our local vets, and they said it looked fairly serious and they gave him some gel type drops (after doing some tests for dry eye etc) , It actually ended up prolonging the problem. A few people including Joey's breeder highly recommended us Dr Tony Read, so we asked our vets for a referral to go see him. We got in fairly quickly but didn't get him first up but his partner of his clinic, who did his best to treat the problem with more tests and better eye drops. He did say we needed to come back tho for another check up on it. Last Thurs my husband took Joey for his check up down to Adelaide (bit of a drive for us, but you got to do what you have to do for our precious pets) and this time we got the head one Dr Tony Read and he found another abrasion under the other one and recommended to my husband 2 options, 1st was he could perform a procedure there and then (but its not a 100 percent successful one) but he thought it would be best to try that one first, or he could have a proper operation (but that would be another day). My husband decided it best to go with the procedure since Dr Read could do it then and there. He was given some general eye drops for after, and we were told he had to have a cone over head for a long as possible as so Joey couldn't rub his eyes in any way, and to keep him protected from the pets (which we have had him in a crate) Anyway this morning Joeys eye was really bad and mucusy and looking like he was going blind Rang the specialist and he said if you were closer, id suggest coming in so he could look at it, but since we are a long way away, he said get him to our local vets and get them to write a script for this particular drops (that are for humans too) and then we could get it filled out at one of our local chemist.. and to then ring him back first thing Monday. So off to vet Hubby went with Joey, and she said it did look infected, so would write the script out as they didn't have those particular drops there. None of our local chemist had these drops in stock !! One of them rang so many other nearby towns for us but no one had any So its now about 11.30 am and hubby is worried we not going be able to get any so he called Dr Tony Reed up again and told him about our situation. Without any hesitation he said if you can get him here, I will come in and meet you at the clinic ( He doesn't work weekends) . So hubby drove in all our wet and very wild weather conditions down to the specialist (Anzac highway for those of you who know places in SA) We live in Goolwa. The specialist could see how bad it was and said Joey has had a rare reaction to the procedure that he had not anticipated. He numbed Joey's eye and cleaned it all up and tested his eye again and put some more drops in. This took about sa good hour ! Anyway he was able to give us these particular drops and has instructed us with it all and we have to call him up on Monday to let him know how Joey is going. He is not going charge us for the out of hours consult, only for the drops. But we are very impressed that he come in to see to Joey on his day off ( he doesn't live close to the clinic) and check him over properly. Not sure whats going happen next, but we feel more confident now having had them checked sooner than later and getting these drops finally! Just wanted to share about this even tho its not been pleasant thing for Joey and my husband having to go out on a day thats been very dangerous conditions on the roads, we feel happy that we have acted so quickly and hopefully Joey will start healing over the next couple of days. He seems ok atm . I do think he enjoyed his long drive in the car and some alone time with his human daddy

Hi Sas, sorry to hear about your dog. We are starting to go through something similar now with our 9 year old Cavalier. We had noticed hes been stiff in his back and legs for some time, but thought he was just getting arthritis.. so hes been on Glyde until recently. Over last couple months its come on really bad and hes been wobbling when he walks. I first thought it was that wobblers sydrome, but its apparently not. Took him to a vet just over a month ago and she said its just really bad arthritis. I did ask if it could be this disc spine thing that some breeds of dogs are prone too such as Cavaliers. She was quite adamant that it wasn't that and suggested a course of catrophen injections. I was relieved thinking I hope its just arthritis and we can help him feel better with this course of cartrophen, Previously i had a dog physio work on him but she couldnt feel anything sinister and also thought it was just arthritis and recommended me some other powder thats even stronger than Glyde. Anyway he hasn't gotten worse, but hasn't gotten better either since starting the cartrophen. Hes also on some other painkillers. He seems happy enough but wobbles as he walks and drags his legs and we have to lift up and down on our bed now. So tonight was the last injection with a vet check to see how hes going. It was a different vet and he does not think its arthritis but this other disc thing I haven't got the info sheet atm on me so i cant remember what its actually called.. but basically he suspects hes on the second severe stage of it. He says we need to go to a specialist to get a proper diagnosis as hes not a specialist. He said they would probably just recommend painkillers and rest at the stage he is, but probably a MRI would be the next step... i just found the info sheet and this vets suspects its Intervertebral Disc Disease.. However this is to be confirmed by a specialist . I have no idea whats going happen, im scared of the next stage ! I have read that there is an operation but its not always successful if the condition is really bad. Hes not good with going under, so im not sure id want to put him through all of that at his age. Anyway we are going reassess the situation over the next few weeks at to what to do about it . Theres obviously no hurry to have a MRI just atm. I dont think hes in too much pain, as he would let us know, as hes a real sook at the best of times. He is grumpy a lot but you get that with pain ( I know for myself with my spine problems) Anyway I haven't read all the comments by everyone else in here yet, but will do and see what others have to say on the subject. I hope you don't mind I have added in your post about my Cav condition atm.

If you are on facebook, do you have a local lost dogs site you can post about her on it as well ? or see if anyone has posted finding her?

I have posted the Gumtree link about her on a fb friend of mine her fb page. She lives in Toowoomba. Hope you are reunited with her very soon! x

Sorry to hear this Karen What a lovely home and life you gave her. Good innings too at her age. RIP Bow Wow

Don't know of him Marg, but sorry to hear that about Lacey.. I have heard of some successful surgeries for luxating patellas. Grade 4 is quite bad isn't it ?? I think theres a member here on DOL that may have gone through that with her Cav, or something similar. Cant remember what her user name is. I do recall her talking about it in the general disussion section.

Ive only just heard about this condition in dogs ! One of our Cavs has been wobbling when he walks, and i started googling as you do, and Wobblers Syndrome came up and I was sure thats what he had ! Anyway took him the vets, and told her what i thought it was and she said no he hasnt got that (hes just got bad arthritis instead) which can make some dogs appear wobbly when they walk. She said its mostly in bigger breeds and in a couple breeds in particular. She had not seen it in a small breed of dog yet. Doesn't sound too good

Good point Staffyluv . One of our cavs has put on weight due to her health issues and meds, id hate for people to prejudge us, or put a pic of her to say about it on DOL Thank you tho for looking after her in the meantime Kirty, that is so lovely of you . Hopefully her owners work out how to keep her in ! obviously her excess weight hasn't stopped her from doing everything to get out ! the pics of her and your daughter are cute

Miah's been on and still is predominantly on a raw diet, i do give her as an alternative every so often 4 legs food and I have given her some puppy dry food from the vets (only because we got them for free) Breeders guidelines are usually the best to go by while they are puppies then you can make a few small changes as they get older. You are supposed to worm them more often if they are being given a raw diet.