woody2shoes

Thanks everyone. Jed, I could not agree more either. I knew full well that if Oakley wasn't meant to make it, he would not survive very long no matter how hard I tried. He's tenacious though. In spite of my far from perfect early efforts, he not only survived, but is now thriving beautifully! He is so precious and between my husband's commitment and mine, he has been given every opportunity, all of which were fully deserved IMHO. Bless his little cotton socks w2s

Thank you everyone for your support, assistance and most importantly, your wonderful success stories. Ososwift is quite right! Little Oakley is absolutely thriving. He is well in excess of 530gms as of his last weigh in, can't drink enough at every feed and is clearly going to be just fine. :D It is now Day 12 and even though he now has ample strength to suckle on mum, he has decided he has an attitude and she can't feed him quickly enough! In any case, he is now absolutely coming along in leaps and bounds (almost literally!) and it won't be long before he will be on solids when I expect he will do some serious catching up to his siblings. If not, then he will be a delightful smaller boy for someone special to love and cherish. Here's a photo of all the babies taken this morning - that's Oakley on top. What he lacks in size he makes up for in tenacity! It was actually a little bit fresh overnight so they felt the need to pile on top of each other and do some serious snuggling. Warms my heart.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I'm taking all advice on board. Baby is starting to pick up now. His suckle reflex is actually quite good but his mum doesn't have a lot of milk to reward him more for his efforts and he is still building up strength. Hopefully the milk supply issue and his strength will continue to improve. I am letting him nurse as much as possible then topping up with formula by bottle which he loves. He is putting on weight slowly but surely now. Dehydration became an issue yesterday (lack of vigilance on my part - I was still extremely sleep deprived from the whelping) so he is now on treatment to ensure it doesn't happen again. I could kick myself for not noticing it sooner. Poor boy. I really like the idea of the Nutrigel so will give that a go tomorrow. I appreciate that some might have let a pup like this go but that is/was not an option for this little fighter. Hopefully he continues to grow and thrive as I have grown very attached to him.

Thanks! That does make sense. He appears reasonably strong but if I had to describe his suckling reflex, it does suggest to me that he may still be very tired. He gets around the whelping box well enough but as you say, suckling does take a lot of strength. His mum was in early stages of labour for a quite a number of hours and came "this" close to delivering the first boy, and another couple of hours passed before finally going into full labour. She then delivered his 6 siblings in fairly easy fashion but it was then another two hours before this little fella arrived. He was exhausted and so was she. I have been trying him on the boob regularly and will keep doing so. Thanks for the tip. I keep hoping he will latch on. I was led to believe that the sponge might help him develop a suckling reflex. Is that not the case? Sadly, I don't have a bottle. Can you suggest what sort to get please?

Hi, my whippet had a litter of 7 yesterday, 4 days early. She is a maiden. All except one pup are nursing well and going strong. The last born, a boy, was quite tired when he finally arrived and since then has been unable/doesn't know how to suckle. He is smaller than the others but appears to be well developed, doesn't have a cleft palate and he is a fighter. He is feeding well on Wombaroo every two hours. I am using a sponge. Naturally, I'd love him to nurse on his mum. He tries and tries but to no avail. It's heartbreaking. Does anyone have any techniques to suggest? Has anyone experienced this and had any success getting their pup to nurse? We will hand feed him til he can be weaned but naturally, if we can get him to nurse, he would be better off. Thanks in advance. w2s

Hi everyone, A lovely Sydney based family who own one of my whippets is searching for a reputable (and preferrably highly recommended) boarding facility in the Sydney area. They need to board Oscar over Christmas while they travel overseas visiting family. Unfortunately, I am in Victoria otherwise Oscar would come here for a holiday. Ideally, they were hoping they might be able to board Oscar in a family set up but all attempts by me to find somewhere appropriate have fallen through. I have offered to find a boarding facility instead so am asking for recommendations please. All feedback would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. w2s

LOL us greyhound people got pretty excited!! Yep! You could say we all got a bit excited!!! It was a VERY popular win! Go Rebanne and Warrior...awesome!

Thanks everyone... Well, Summer's pustules became a lot worse overnight so I took her to the vet yesterday. She has Acute Pustular Dermatitis brought on, more than likely, by an allergic reaction of some sort ie. she has a secondary infection so consistent with what has been suggested here on this forum. My vet suggested stinging nettles and whilst we do have them growing around here, there is little if any of it around any more, and certainly none in our immediate house yarding. I am at a loss. Nothing new of any sort has been introduced so I have no idea what brought this on. In any case, she is on a course of Cephalexin and the vet suggested using Savlon cream daily to soothe her underbelly. Well, the pustules dried up overnight and hopefully, by tomorrow I should see another marked improvement. She is definitely on the improve. Thanks again everyone. Cheers! w2s and Summer

Hi all, my 8mo whippet has suddenly developed dozens of large pustules all over her groin, belly, chest and the insides of her legs. Admittedly I don't check her belly every day but looking at the stage these are at, they appear quite new. She is not scratching or licking them, and they are not sore. I have 5 whippets and no-one else is affected in the slightest. I don't have a flea problem either. Unless you flipped her over, you would never know there was anything wrong. I nearly died when I had a look at her today. I haven't changed her diet, she shares the same bedding as the others, they all play in the same areas and I'm not aware of new weeds or plants...I am at a total loss as to what might be causing this. Can dogs develop skin infections quite randomly? In the close up, the dirt has accumulated because of the pustules oozing. If someone can offer me some advice about this I'd be most appreciative. Cheers. w2s

Thanks everyone. I will definitely pass these links on. pp, I've explained to all my puppy buyers about the importance of socialisation during these early weeks. They had a great start at my place and all their new owners are now continuing on with that. It's a balancing act, that's for sure. I appreciate your comments. sk, thanks for your feedback. It's all much appreciated. Cheers. w2s

Hi, I recently sold a female puppy to a lovely family in outer Melbourne, 4 hours from me. She is coming up 12wo and while she's still restricted to quarters awaiting her final vaccination/s, they would like to do some puppy training with her. Apparently she has 'sit' down pat but they would like to teach her more... They intend taking her to Puppy Preschool and then OB classes in due course but this is more about expanding her horizons using some fun puppy training in these very early stages. ;) I had hoped to get some video footage put together showing them how to start baby recalls and lead training etc. and upload it onto YouTube for them but that has proven to be quite difficult as I have no-one to help me. I then had a thought that perhaps there was something already available online that I could send them a link to. :D Any help in this area would be greatly appreciated. I would like to encourage this family as much as possible as they are super keen, really love their puppy and clearly enjoy interacting with her. This is their first dog so I am especially keen to help them out. Many thanks in advance, w2s

Neither pup has nursed since this started but they are resting well in between bouts and the second pup seems quite relaxed now. The first pup is still getting quite a bit of pain when straining and managed to pass an inch long stool that was almost rock hard...not sure if I should try an enema or seek advice now. She is still getting quite distressed when the bouts come.

Thanks for your reply fifi...I wouldn't say they were colicy just struggling to pass stools. I tried stimulating them with a flannel but that seemed to distress them so I've now left them with mum to calm down. The second pup affected was passing quite solid stools and mum just doesn't seem to be at all concerned except when it became quite distressed. They are sleeping at the moment. When they are in pain, they strain like crazy and once that wave passes they settle down again. I guess my question is, is it safe to monitor them overnight and address the situation in the morning once a vet/shop is open? Mum's milk seems fine, no hard/hot teats, all looking very normal so I don't know what is causing this except that I wonder if she is stimulating them enough? She is a maiden bitch and has been a great mother but who knows. Also, when you gave the enema, how did you apply it? Thanks. w2s Also edited for tired brain

Hi all, I have a litter of 7 whippets 9 days old today. All seem to be thriving...noticed tonight that one pup started to strain, passed a very firm stool and since then has been in quite a bit of pain (straining) in between bouts of relative calm. Not long after another pup started showing the same symptoms - the others are all fine. Any ideas please? Is this something coming through the milk? Is it lack of stimulation on the bitch's part? What can I do to help these babies...I've been using a warm flannel to rub their tummies when they're in pain but don't want to watch them distressed like this all night if I can avoid it. Thanks in advance... w2s

Thank you all for your input. My friend has obtained the dosage rate from her vet who happily gave it to her over the phone. I might add that we were both well aware of the possible risks involved when I offered her the Ivermectin and she was quite prepared to take responsibility for her own dog's health and well being. At no stage did I attempt to force her to use the Ivermectin, nor did I suggest she shouldn't obtain advice from her vet on how to use it or its safety. However, she was experiencing some delays in getting that advice so I thought it was worth trying to get it online in a more timely manner. I was actually trying to help a friend out. Edited for grammar

Hi, A friend of mine has a dog with sarcoptic mange. I've offered her some of our oral ivomec to treat her dog but don't know what dosage rate is used for mange. We use it for heartworm & parasite control and I gather that's quite different. Can anyone help me please? FYI the ivomec strength is 0.8g/L. Thanks in advance. Cheers, w2s

Years ago, one of my labs tore a groin muscle badly while hooning around our yard chasing after one of the racing pigeons which was flying a bit low...I had no idea what she had done at the time and it took a little bit of investigating before we located the actual injury. It didn't help that none of us ever gave groin muscles in dogs a second thought! Thankfully, rest, AI's, painkillers and on lead toileting for a while and she came good. She did subsequently injure that muscle again doing exactly the same thing! At the time of the injury, she was VERY sore - whimpering when she got up, hobbling, that sort of thing. She was most unhappy with life. It's surprising just how painful those kinds of injuries can be for a dog. I guess we're used to them being so stoic. In any case, there's a good chance that Chester's is a soft tissue injury but it would help if you could pinpoint the spot, just for peace of mind if nothing else. Good luck and I hope you can get him some relief soon. w2s

Our older labs have all had lumps like the one you describe and so far, all have been simple lipomas. As the others have pointed out, lipomas are quite common so here's hoping that's what your girl has too. Good luck...sounds like you both deserve a break! w2s

We've had active trialling labs for 25 years and whilst they are a finer build than their show counterparts, they certainly aren't small! Our four labs are fit, trim and in athletic condition. To give you an idea, our 8yo male weighs a shade under 30kg and he is fed 1 1/2 cups of dry kibble at night plus approx. 150g of minced chicken carcass. They all get knuckle/rib bones every morning when they are penned, and raw carrot and/or broccoli stalk are a favourite treat! Their exercise consists of either very vigorous play retrieving in water (we have an irrigation channel at our back gate) once a day for half an hour or so, or an hour long off lead walk depending on my day's schedule. I hope this helps...I agree with all the others regarding following the pack guide for feeding quantities. I am sure they are just to get you to feed more and subsequently have to buy more! Sadly, it's likely to be at the expense of your dog's health. :p Good luck. You will be so happy when you can see that waistline again! w2s

Your friend could try crating the dog whilst travelling and covering the crate so that any visual stimulus from outside is removed. Dogs seem to love looking out the side windows at things whizzing by and this does not do them any favours. A friend of mine has had the occasional whippet that suffered terribly from car sickness and we found (after some absolutely stomach churning episodes :p ) that covering the crate made a massive difference. I have seen the covered crate work so it is certainly worth a try IMHO. Good luck! w2s Edited because I can't seem to spell!

No, it's all very complicated stuff and you are doing well to remember any of it Tenille! The best picture I ever got of what was going on was from the CT Scans at Werribee Vet Hospital. The surgeon was able to show us the fragment in her left elbow clear as day and he suspected she had FCP in the right one too. She did - the fragment just hadn't broken away yet, that was all! Keep at it. If you can avoid surgery it will be a great thing!

Thanks for giving a different perspective on this issue Rappie. In hindsight, my choice of words could have been better... ...a free consult was really just one example. But you're right, I do need to communicate this to my vet if it bothers me. Having said that, I have the utmost respect for both our local clinics and their vet/nursing staff. It could be that because the bulk of their business comes from the dairy farmers in our area, the small animal part of their business is really quite insignificant. A small fortune for us is probably a mere drop in a dairy farmer's veterinary bill ocean. It's all relative I guess............ Given that Florinef is only available in human grade form, we are fortunate to be able to purchase it at a lower price by buying it at a pharmacy. I imagine that not many meds for dogs fall into this category so normally, we happily pay whatever the vets charge us including their mark up or dispensing fee. I have never had a problem with that. On that note, I dropped Candy's script off at the pharmacy earlier today. When I explained that I needed a script filled for my dog, the woman serving me said "No problem...you're certainly not the only one!" I live in a town with a population of just 1,600 people, serviced by one pharmacy - I was quite surprised at her response. Perhaps there are more human grade meds being prescribed for dogs than any of us are aware of? w2s

Good point Crisovar. This is most important. We plan to check in with our vet very regularly as well as keeping a very close eye on Candy's progress. The first sign of anything unusual and our vet will be advised. This is exactly what my Pharmacist led me to believe too tpl.

I agree. They are a business. And if they don't want to give me a free consult, that's their choice. But given that they already make good money off me, I don't see why they can't tell me when there is a less expensive way to purchase already costly drugs. I don't think that's too much to ask. It is heartbreaking enough to have a dog chronically ill and highly dependent on regular medication without having to pay more for it than is necessary. BTW, the company I work for makes a habit of rewarding its good customers every now and again. It pays great dividends. It's called PR. w2s

That's good news so far Tenille W. Fingers crossed all goes well for Chester and the need for surgery can be avoided. Please keep us posted. I think that keeping him mentally stimulated while he's being confined is vital so while you may regret it later I'd be training him as much as possible atm. It will keep him from getting too bored if nothing else! Good luck!