Cavandra

If no one replies about one closer to you, I have been to Garry Barnsley at Bringelly, and he is brilliant.

If you google "Ester C & Hip Dysplasia", you will find lots of information & studies that have been conducted showing dramatic improvements in dogs using Ester C & Calcium Ascorbate. HD is polygenic, so yes parents with good hips can produce affected pups, but environmental conditions could also cause it, ie daily jumping, too much walking/running, stairs, slopes etc also diet can cause it. Many people only look at the dogs overall "score" and breed their dogs to another that has an acceptable "score" ie under the breed average. But often the scores are not that good, as when you look at the paperwork teh dog may have a left hip of 0 & a right hip of 10......the score is 10, however, that dog is very likely to produce HD as that hip is dysplasic!

Coming from a breed with patella problems, I have seen & heard of many many Cavaliers that were patella cleared by the Vets at all their baby visits, only to develop the problem around 9 months...........Many good show dogs have been thrown out due to this problem around this age, I have had a couple myself that I would have liked to have been "tighter" at that age that were Vet cleared earlier. They all came back after 12 months though......The reason for this is that some dogs have abnormal growth spurts, and grow higher in the rear than the front etc...........The Stifles go straight, and on straight stifled dogs you nearly always have slipping patellas! Can you be absolutely certain this is not the case with your puppy? Could it not also be an injury?

Which State are you from? There may be a Heart clinic coming up near you somewhere.

Just to tell you of a non doom & gloom story I raised a litter of pups for someone once, and I took them for their vaccinations at 8 weeks, the pick of the litter had a very audible murmur, I could easily hear it myself with my crappy stethescope! Anyway, 2 Vets listened , I asked if it may be an "innocent murmur" (ie one that the pup grows out of)........They both agreed this pup would likely have Patent Ductus, which is very serious & causes death by 12 months unless heart surgery is done, and it could not possibly "grow out of it". I left it to the owners of the litter to decide what to do, and they decided to do nothing & take the pup to the next heart clinic.......The pup was CLEARED by the Specialist...........So this very loud murmur DID actually disappear on its own, at approx 9 months of age............... You really cant act unless a Cardiologist sees your dog, that is what I would do asap

Sorry, I guess it doesnt actually matter if your dog is desexed or not as I previously asked as it isnt alwyas sexually transmitted.........My thoughts here are that a possibility is your dog has Canine Herpes Virus, I believe it is detected by a blood test. CHV has flu like nasal dischgarge, sometimes a cough & can have inflammed tonsils.......Just a thought that not many realise exists in Australia, but is on the increase, or more so being diagnosed more often as it has probably always been in Australia I spose. Nasal mites? i know you think nasal tumour also, but my friend in the last couple of months has experienced this in a dog of theirs, and there was more blood in the discharge than anything else. He also had very "rattly" breathing.......... What about his teeth? Rotting roots can affect the nose as the infection drains into the nose, the sores could be ulcers caused by a bad tooth?????? Sorry I am guessing as I dont know your dogs details, age, condition , breed etc.......

Hi there, is your dog desexed?

Not insecure whatsoever............It is not me who deleted the posts it was due to you taking such offence that the mods did it I would presume! There is nothing "ill informed" in my posts, but I will gladly stop posting on this subject, as most Cavalier Breeders can tell you anything you want to know about CM/SM! I have told you the deal here, Lee Piertse (Griffons) & Jeanie Montford (Cavaliers) are the cordinators in Sydney and will help you/your vets with the very involved process of customs clearances etc, and what day of the week to send blood to Canada etc........If you can not contact Clare, her offsider Penny Knowler can advise you, and Georgina Childs at the specialist center @ Ryde may also advise your Vets re procedure.

I am extremely worried that Vets/Specialists are going to be diagnosing this condition in Australia. Alot of effort has gone into setting up correct screening & result reading etc in Sydney, and if Vets are going to diagnose it on their own without consulting the experts it is going to make things very hard to ever come up with a DNA marker etc........ The condition has been around since the original dogs were mated to produce what is now known as the Cavalier. There is no doubt that many dogs over the years were euthanased or lived with symptoms that were misdiagnosed as other things. I have no doubt that most scratching dogs in the future will also be misdiagnosed as having SM also ! It has taken many years for the experts to get a plan of attack on the condition, as firstly they didnt know what a "normal" Cavalier skull should look like. Secondly there is no rhyme or reason to why dogs are affected & why dogs are not affected, at first it was thought it was due to changing skull shapes, but it is not so. Affected dogs can produce non affected offspring & non affected dogs can produce affected offspring!!! Sydney Cav Club has discounted MRI scans for $700, the dog is done, the pedigree & scan is sent to UK to Clare Rushbridge to be diagnosed and Graded, and blood & pedigree are sent to the experts in Canada, a further $60 is donated to teh Cav Club in a fund to be used later for furtehr research. The person is then given the results, and a certificate & DVD with their scans on it. Most of the Cavaliers that have been done have been Graded A (excellent) so far, with a few having Graded D (borderline).......This system has been in place for only a couple of months! Why we dont have the volumes of dogs severely affected here or NZ is a mystery really in comparison to the problem in UK & USA....a few scratching dogs here & there can be seen , but for the thousands that are bred each year in this Country you would expect to see far more............. I personally know a King Charles that was euthanased & included in the study, and the whole Sydney scanning set up has been brought about by a woman with Griffons who was given a grant for this study by Clare Rushbridge, and is extrememely knowledgeable about the disorder. Your cross bred Cavaliers blood could be vital to the Canadians, as could be the scan to the UK, as it may be easier to isolate the gene from a cross bred, who knows????........... I would strongly recommend you ask your Vet/Specialist to contact Sydney through Georgina Childs at the Specialist center at Ryde. To my knowledge "shunts" have not been used for many many years now, as they are not effective, and for this Specialist to mention this as a treatment makes me wonder if they know enough to be advising you at all......According to the experts & Sydney organisers there is no one in Australia qualified to accurately read the scans..........

I have had an eye removed on a tiny baby puppy, and she had no discharge after a day & a half roughly.

Sounds like kennel cough to me............There are so many strains of it not all have the same symptoms........The vaccination doesnt cover all the strains, so is the reason I dont bother vaccinating for it. Like human flu viruses symptoms can vary. Just boost his immune system with good food & supplements like garlic, EsterC, Apple Cider Vinegar & kelp.......Echinacea is also useful.

"Groomers" shampoos work & most specifically they work for various reasons, for allergy sufferers, and others work on hormonal hair loss, which are great for bitches who blow coat........The Royal Jelly shampoo used in conjunction with the Evening Primrose spray & supplement does work on hormonal bitches. The thing also with this particular shampoo is that when done correctly with heat from the blow dryer activating it, it actually thickens the hair & gives the appearance that the dog has more coat than it really does.......... You should talk to the distributors of this UK brand shampoo, they are Poodle exhibitors from Victoria.

Yes this shampoo does work, I have used it with great success over the years. It must be done exactly as directed, which would put alot of people off, having to bath every few days & completely blow dry the dog each time as the heat helps activate it. The Evening Primrose supplement is useful also for hormonal coat loss.

I have not seen a shampoo that works as yet. however.......... Champion Tails (Silver highlight) Stain Remover (horse product) powder does work. OR Laserlites "No More Stains" powder also works. You must follow the instructions to the letter or you will end up with a purple dog!

You say you soak his dry food, does this mean you are feeding him Advance Rehydrateable? That is the only one I can think of that is designed to soak. If this be the case it is only suitable for small breeds.......If you feel you need to feed dry food I would make sure it is one suitable for large breeds, and good quality. He would probably prefer it not soaked anyway

All my clients who use Frontline always have fleas. I changed from Frontline years ago for that very reason. When it became Frontline PLUS, it was no longer adequate against fleas. It was great for the fact that extra large dog I could do 6 dogs from one dose, now I use Advantix I can only get 4 dogs from the large dog one so it isnt as economical.

More bones would be good Your dog may well be detoxing from the processed foods he ate before you switched to raw. But dogs can be allergic to anything, so it coudl be possible he is allergic to the dairy products or maybe red meat ........

I have alot of articles & websites about the dangers of vaccinating etc on my website www.geocities.com/cavgold Go to "Vaccinations" I do my puppy shots then they all get one after 12 months of age, and dont get another one for the rest of their life. I have had pups get absesses at the site of injection, and have had a litter become dangerously ill after vaccinating once also, but in general the problems with vaccinations are long term, after the dog gets a build up in their system from annuals. Vets in USA inject cats in the legs & the tail these days, as they can amputate those when the Cat develops a cancer at the site of injection.

www.pricelesspets.com.au www.aussiepet.com.au I am sure heartguard comes in tablets as well as chewables.

Unless you can push it in & out easily, then you can just ignore it, is only a bit of fat. Many Vets want to fix them during desexing, but it isnt necessary, just your personal choice

There is currently a thread going whereby a lady has all her 5 dogs begin seizures on the same day. They started 21 days after their Vaccinations which included Lepto. It goes on to recommend Fish oil........ http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=111094 I am another one against over vaccinating, and due to virtually every site I have ever looked at saying that it can cause encephalitis, and seizures are a symptom of that, then it most definately is a cause of seizures IMO. Another condition that can causes seizures is Syringiomyelia (Arnold Chiari Sydnrome) which might interest Puggles as Pugs are one of the 16 Breeds affected. For those looking at minimising their heartworm meds, Dr Jean Dodds recommends one of our monthly heartworm medications (ie does heartwom ONLY), every 45 days, she said it is not necessary to heartworm every 30 days.

Chicken frames, wings, necks, backs Lamb flaps, necks, shanks Beef OxTail (cheaper in summer) Turkey necks

Mine get done a couple of times a year, except my bitches I am planning to breed, they always get done before they whelp whether or not they are due. I am bout to move my heartworm out to 45 days instead of 30 days which is what Dr Jean Dodds recommends now.

Sorry to disagree, but all groomers should be expressing anal glands it is their job!

Hi Kiki I have never used the commercial Barf patties, but I believe they are expensive. I have always fed my own diet, and it is mainly meaty bones. I estimate it costs me $40 a week to feed 10 Cavaliers.........That would be my average, sometimes if I am replacing things like flax seed oil or some other supplement then the bill will be higher that week, and undoubtedly some weeks might be less than $40 when things are on special..........The money saving comes from buying bulk when things are cheap, and having enough freezer room to store. As an example, I get fresh chicken carcasses from my butcher for $2 for a shopping bag full, and chicken mince (minced carcasses) for $1 a kilo from him.......Beef mince is often down to $4 a kilo at Bilo.........Any fruit & veg can be got for next to nothing or free from grocery stores, they often have over ripe stuff out back & give it to people for thier rabbits etc.......There is nothing wrong with it, as over ripe is better anyway. If you bring it home & blend it straight away & freeze it, it is fine to use I am always looking at Bilo for bargains you can get Cottage cheese & yoghurts about to expire for as little as 49c...........