Mickys slave

Ive noticed mixed reactions to Micky. Some people are happy to walk up to her and patter, though look to me for confirmation that its ok first. A lot of people though, see a big dog and avoid her - personally i dont think dalmatians are that big - and it doesnt matter their nationality. People are wary of dogs they dont know. And being a typical dalmatian, if you have her attention she runs over, tail wagging, all excited.... and when someone walks away she gets curious lol. I try to only let her off the leash where there is few distractions, and if im walking her on a leash i shorten the leash way before we get to the person so no one tries to tell me to control her - when its sheer curiousity on her part. Other dogs also seem to follow Micky and not listen to their owners when she is leash free. Ive had plenty of people freaked out my by her smarl though, even people who know her well. They think she is about to attack them, so i tell them straight up that the only time she has ever growled at anyone or anything was when a brown dog bit her on the back of the legs and ran off, so dad yelled at it, so now she doesnt like dogs standing behind her, particularly brown dogs. I tell people the worst she is going to do is lick people and sniff them, and then she does exactly that. Sometimes she is so caught up in her own little world that she doesnt even notice someone till they are patting her lol. What i love however is other peoples reactions when big dogs are off leash and tearing around... When Micky was younger she used to play wrestles with a Doberman, and at another park with two Rodesian Ridgeback X's. She has always loved running with other big dogs her size or even bigger. The non big dog owners around look at you like because the dogs are running they are going to rip into their smaller dog, or because the dogs are running they are going to suddenly lunge at a person.... My dogs attention is completely taken by trying to catch the other dog, and i sometimes it takes a great deal of calling to get the dogs to go " oh hang on we leaving now " and stop having fun, but people assume a dog running is a bad thing. I guess its peoples experiences, but it takes 1 bad experience to ruin it for some people, and sometimes people never warm up to dogs. Everyones different i spose. The dog before her that we had, was an Airdale, and the biggest softie. He was such a sookie boy, but because the second he was out of the yard on a leash he would pull so hard my dad had to run to keep up with him, people assumed he was bad mannered, when it was jsut his intial excitement lol.

Thanks everyone *hugs* Im really upset because my dad is a heartless bastard and has put his foot down.... the words " im not spending any more bloody money on the dog" and " you want to take her to the vet, you pay for it"...... And im on centrelink benefits and cant afford to take her. Mum doesnt want to do anything remotely invasive, and that seems to include another ultrasound/xray cos she would rather not know how long Micky has left, and just enjoy what time she does have. Surgery isnt an option. There is also a thrombus where the tumor is attached to the spleen. Mum asked the vet originally can we get a biopsy and the vet said we werent able to, the only option was exploratory surgery, and Micky had a 20% survival rate. Because we cant get the surgery, we cant get a proper diagnosis. Hence i came and asked here. We called the vet back after a month and asked what could be done and they said, 3 meals a day, keep her happy and safe, watch her for changes. if you guys have ideas about boosting a dogs immune system or countering anaemia without medications in dogs, feel free to suggest. She is happy, comfortable, well fed, gets lots of attention and cuddles and company. I know you guys have the right ideas and stuff, and please dont think me heartless for not taking her back to the vet, but it really isnt my choice. As soon as we feel she is suffering, we will do whatever we feel needs to be done to relieve it, but for the meantime she is doing ok. Its just, its at the end of the projected time frame, and it feels like there is a big empty hole of time ahead of me......

I go to Gladesville Vet Hospital as well and they are very good

thanks guys Sadly all financial decisions regarding pets are made my parents. Although im 27 im at uni and dont have the funds to cover these things. And dad is very much a " pets stay outside" person - he grew up on a farm and was always more detached to our pets than mum and me and my brother. They basically said that seeing as the xrays/ultrasound/vet stays cost over 1k, they would never opt for chemo or anything like that..... North Ryde Emergency vet were awesome though. We also took our cat Lucy there when we found her in what we found out was shock and her body was shutting down, and we had no idea cos she had seemed fine hours before.So i was not keen on leaving Micky there over night, i wanted to take her home and hug her lots but considering the GDV she was safer in the vets.... I was worried we were going have 2 outta 2 with them for losing pets When mum spoke to the vet before the decision to not operate was made, she spoke to the vet at length ( Rosalie at Gladesville Vet) about the risks. And Rosalie said that because of Mickys age and the condition she was in then, that even if they did the operation, and there were able to remove the tumour, it was highly likely she would not make the surgery. Rosalie also said that if it was cancerous then she would advise for Micky to be put to sleep So if we went with the surgery there was about a 70-80% chance she wouldnt make it for one reason or another. If we went with no surgery we were told that it was 50/50 over weather it was cancerous or not. And if she went down hill quickly and in pain, that would be how we would know. If not she had 2-4 months. Mum also asked Rosalie what she would do if this was her own dog, and Rosalie said she would take her home and make her comfortable. We decided on no surgery because when we looked at the risk, the risk of losing her was far too high. And she was not in any pain at that point, and other than recovering from the GDV, was herself. Mum called Rosalie back after 2 weeks and Rosalie was suprised Micky was still with us, because she had expected the tumour to bleed out by then, considering the spleen was squished by the GDV, but was glad that she was still with us. I do know the tumor is near a main blood vessel, so i assume it is in the red pulp of the spleen. She isnt in any pain at this point, so im still suspecting Hemangioma over Hemangiosarcoma. Another xray or ultrasound would be good though, i will have to talk to the parents. I dont think the parents want to take Micky back to the vet though. Like you did with your boy, i want to do whatever i can to help her, but parents see it more that they do want to help her, but they dont want to spend what they consider a crazy amount of money on her on the small chance it could change things for her, or put her thru procedures that will make her feel worse/sicker/in pain, considering she is an old girl. Their main goal if for her to happy and comfortable. She still has a fair bit of bounce in her, but she has slowed down since she recovered in July. Sorry to be such a pain about it all, i jsut gotta work with the parents with this

Hey all. I just wanted to share my doggies story, and ask some questions regarding it. Sorry for the length. Our girl, Micky, is 12 yr old dally. Back in july she almost died. We thought she had a tick bite as she was walking funny, off her food all day, and looked very awkward, very tired,wouldnt drink, didnt want to move much. We took her down to the vet, who said that there was a mass the size of a lemon in her abdomen, and that they could keep her over night but no one would be able to monitor her, or we could take her home and monitor her ourselves, and if worried take her to 24/7 emergency vet. They wanted to do an ultrasound in the morning. They gave her an injection of pain relief and antibiotics. Her rib cage was considerably distended and she looked really skinny near her back legs. We took her home and watched her like a hawk. All she did was sleep, didnt want to get up or move or eat or anything. And got unusally clingy and sooky. A few hours later she started drooling profusely and could barely keep her eyes open. We called the emergency vet and asked if the injections the vet gave her could cause this and we were told it was highly unlikely and to bring her in. My normally bouncy dally barely could get up, taking a good few mins to get to her feet, needing help. we walked her to the car, and i helped her in and she jsut lay there and rested her head on my leg - which she NEVER does. She started to close her eyes and i was going to let her but when i tapped her nose she didnt respond.... so i panicked and kept tapping her nose to keep her awake. We took her into the emergency vet, and mum signed all the paperwork. Micky lay down again, and i decided that i was going to keep her awake at all costs - so i slowly walked her back and forth thru the emergency vet till we were called. Ive now worked out this was a good thing it kept blood flowing and kept her awake. When the emergency vet checked her out, Mickys gums were grey with barely any pink in them, and we were told she was going into shock, they said they need to do xrays to find out what was wrong. When they came back, Micky had some of her bounce back and pulled towards me from the vet. It turned out she had gastric distention, it had blocked off her vena cava and her back legs and organs behind the stomach were struggling to get any blood to them. Her stomach was 3 times its normal size. They deflated her stomach - it hadnt twisted thank god. They kept her over night for observation and left the catheter in for the normal vet to do the ultrasound the next day as there was still a mass to be seen in the xray. When we picked her up in the morning she seemed mostly like herself. We took her to the vet for the ultrasound. The vet called dad at home during that tense day.... Dad and i were waiting for the phone call, and when dad took it, he wrote notes down, and gave them mums mobile number cos she was at work. turned out the mass in the xray was a tumour on her spleen. The vet said that if we operated there was a very high chance she would die on the operating table, and if it was cancerous they probably have to euthanise her. If they didnt operate she would either die quickly in pain, or slowly not in pain. If she was in pain it was cancerous, if it was slow, it was not malignant.quickly was 2 weeks, slowly was 4 months. My bro left for Europe and told her she better be back when he gets home - which would be 4 months. We decided to bring her home for however long we had her, we didnt want her dying on an operating table. She was exhausted and very hungry for 5 days when we got her home, and went from 5 small meals, to 4, and now she is on 3 meals permanently, no dry food. When she recovered she seemed better than she had before she got sick, but has gotten more lethargic since, going downhill a bit quicker than before she was sick. She is far more sooky and loves to stick to my side whenever i am near her. Its been almost 4 months, my brother is home in 2-3 weeks, and she is still alive. She is still alert, still her dally self. Still grins I guess what i wanted to ask is, what can i do for her? the vet never suggested any medications, so im not sure thats an option. The vet thought the tumour was going to rupture before 2 weeks was up and was glad that it hasnt. Im thinking more to boost her immune system so her having a compromised spleen isnt effecting her as much. What about food? Any suggestions? Anything else i can do for her? This is the first dog ive had that has been this ill, and besides feeding her as the vet said, we havent got any other ideas. Thanks for reading everyone .

QUESTIONS 1. What is my relationship with the breed? (ie breeder, first time owner etc) First Time Owner of the breed 2nd time owner of a dog - Have black spotted dalmatian, female desexed - her name is Micky people always think she is a boy cos they think she is quite solid/tall for a female. We have had her since she was 5 weeks old. 4. What is the average lifespan? Ive seen information that says they live 10-12 years, others state 11-13yrs. Micky is 13 in November. 5. What is the general temperament/personality? Inquisitive, cheeky, eager to please, stubborn and strong willed, silly, charismatic and likeable, sociable. They smile Love their food, best bribe in the world lol! Anything that smells interesting that falls on the ground is fair game, although Micky likes to bury bread rolls - but doesnt do it when you wet them. When they have done the wrong thing, they almost look sorrowful and guilty and they sulk lol. lick everyone and everything, and i dont know if its specific a dally trait or my dog, but her greeting is nose in your crotch and she wont let up untill you let her do it lol. I've also had many a mexican standoff with Micky around the pool fence when she is being stubborn and knows im going to wash her or scold her lol. With the clown/silly side of them, ive seen Micky run into things, trip over her own paws, not see where she was running, get noseful of water when running into water and it suddenly gets deep. As Micky has gotten older shes sticking more and more to my side when we are outside and likes to lie in the grass and watch me put the washing on the line. Even though she was very ill in July - she still runs around a bit, although she does alot of sleeping. 6. How much daily exercise is needed for the average adult? a fair amount, they can run and run and when taken off leash micky has spent most of her time running back and forth in zig zag fashion accross the park while i walk in a straight line lol. Ive stopped taking Micky on frequents walks becuase the last walk i took her on was 20 mins and she was exhausted for half of it - due to her being ill back in July. If its cold she might get a walk, but she does alot of sleeping these days. 7. Is it a breed that a first time dog owner could easily cope with? I think so, if you are patient and looking for a charismatic dog with personality to burn, and can deal with the stubborness and have time to train them. 8. Can solo dogs of this breed easily occupy themselves for long periods? When they are younger not so much - much washing was pulled off the line to be played with or layed on, however given enough toys and not leaving things you dont want chewed with them helps. The do get bored, but once they know the rules they can amuse themselves as long as its not days on end. a good few hours though they are fine, and the older they get the easier they amuse themselves and not destroy things hehe. 9. How much grooming is required? A good decent brush every so often if they are an outside dog, as often as needed if they are inside. 10. Is it too boisterous for very small children or for infirm people (unless the dog is well trained)? when Micky was a puppy she used to lie on the ground around babies and toddlers and let them poke and prode her to their hearts content. As she got older she hasnt been around them so much. Since dallys are easily excited i suppose it comes down to individual temperament of the dog. but i know lots of patting by me when she is around new people does wonders.