Tilly

Hope all goes well. Let us know how she is going.

You take your dog out to the local park for a short training session. It was quiet (no one around) and no real distractions. It is a place they have trained before so it is not new. The exercises you are going to do are familiar to the dog and they have usually done them well. You get him focused and starts out with a nice sit and then heels for about 5 steps ... and then his mind starts to wander and everything goes downhill. He starts to play with the leash. He is given a quick verbal correction and we walk another 4 steps and then he is put into a sit and told to stay while you walk 3 steps and turn to face him ... he had decided sitting is not his thing and is laying on his side. He is given a verbal and you step forward to sit him ... and he rolls over and tries to chew your hand. You put him in a sit and walk another couple of steps in a heel and he is all over the place. He is told to drop and he sits - you put him in a drop and he is up almost immediately. He is told to sit and he drops - again put into a sit and he lays down almost immediately. He fights against his leash, he just isn't focusing or paying attention. So what do you do?

If she is still normal then just monitor her. The area where the tick was might get infected so do keep it clean etc. If there is any signs of weakness in the back legs, labour breathing or if she becomes lethargic - take her to the vet ASAP. Make sure you go over her thoroughly as there may be more then 1 tick - they can be very hard to find. that everything is ok. We nearly lost our boy recently due to a nasty tick.

When I went to puppy pre-school (what a waste of money!!!) the "trainer" said Eukanuba was like feeding your kids red cordial. Some processed foods would be more likely to cause "issues" then feeding raw ... IMO

I will try the tea first up ... his eyes are looking really sore. He is proving to be a little difficult with the whole process of trying to clean his eyes up...

My boys have red eyes from the annoying dusty. I have been using warm water to wipe around their eyes and just plain fresh water wash their eyes .... can I use something like "Refresh"? I took one dog to the vet today (for their weekly weigh-in) and they suggested saline ... I thought saline was about the same as salt water - would that be a better option? Many Thanks

Can't offer advice other then to say - yes they do try pushing the boundaries ... my GSD pup started about 2 weeks ago and he is not quite 6 months old yet. My older GSD boy was a complete nightmare - he decided to chase my mothers cat, got to the end of the leash and kept going with me flying through the air and when I hit the ground the dog came back to "check on me" and then sat on me. I ended up with a dislocated shoulder, cracked bone in the elbow, sprained wrist, dislocated finger and a number of impressive bruises ... thanksfully it was not in front of any strangers - just my mum I swear the more trouble they are ... the cuter they are - just so we don't disown them :p

I brought a terricota pot (large) and then a matching bucket (20 litres) and then dug the terricota pot halfway into the ground, put the bucket into the pot and filled it with water ... it last about 3 days until the brat discovered the bucket and managed to take the bucket out of the pot and then proceeded to play with the bucket .... terricota pot remained in the ground. We are currently using a large tub (about 40 litres) with a couple of heavy rocks/brick in the bottom ... but the brat has managed to move it halfway across the yard and empty it only twice so far but usually it ends up with about 6 inches of mud in the bottom. Was thinking of getting a house feeder thing and hang it off the fence (at ground level) by a couple of bolt eyelets ... just need to find something heavy duty.

Make the run the place were all fun things happen ... play with him in there, feed him, spend time sitting with him etc. Maybe also take a piece of bedding from the crate outside into his bed out there so he has a familiar smell.

I find it gives my older boy the runs so I don't tend to feed it ...

The old boy has a long way to go before he is "back to normal" but he is doing fantastic. He has been given access to half the yard today because he was getting cranky with being confined to the "puppy pen". His bladder control is not so good at the moment - he doesn't like making a mess of his bed so he is frequently getting up to toilet but still has little accidents. I find when I go out to clean up his bed, the tray underneath (to catch any dribbled under the shadecloth bed) and hose the area clean - he won't make eye contact until it is all cleaned up. Generally he has been finding a comfortable place to sleep in the garden and only getting up to toilet, drink and eat. His walking is getting stronger but it is basically head down and get to the destination as quick as possible so he can sit or lay down to rest.

My GSD pup is 24 weeks (and 28.3kg) and I haven't walked him for exercise yet. He goes out for obedience training at the local park (working with distraction) and walking on leash training but the majority of his "exercise" is off-leash and in the form of play. I also take him swimming on a weekly basis as this is low impact but excellent for building muscles and strength.

He has walked about 12 steps this afternoon. I went into his pen to try and clean it up a little but he got up and walked about 6 steps out of the pen. This let me give it a good clean and change his bed while he had a little rest and then he walked the 6 steps back into the pen and on to his bed. It was a big effort for him but he was walking properly even picking his feet up to step over a 10cm high piece of timber. I can't believe the big difference in him when only 24 hours ago I through we were going to loose him for sure. He has had a little water this afternoon and we will try him with a tiny bit of food in the morning.

I used the Rogz collars on our pup and haven't had any problems.

There is no catheter in - vet suggested it wasn't a good idea as it can introduce infection into the body and he didn't need that to happen. We were shown how to drain his bladder if it becomes full but were told he is likely to leak due to the ticks affect of the muscles in the bladder. He doesn't like having a mess and is trying to clean himself but it is taking a fair bit of effort - so I have wiped him over with a damp cloth to remove the urine on his coat. I have through about putting a belly band on him but I don't think he would like that. I just don't want him to have to deal with his skin irritated or burnt by the urine.

It is believed the tick could only have been picked up from the last work site he was on which was in Chambers Flat - but this area is a fully fence lawned site with no access to "bush". It is not a known area for ticks like some of the sites they work on - some places they work the dogs are drenched as soon as they get home due to the high risk of ticks. The young pup has also been onto this work site (as part of his socialisation and training) so he had been drenched within an inch of his life - just to make sure he doesn't have any ticks. The big boy is doing well and has turned over in his bed ... but he has started dribbling urine - he is on a shadecloth bed so the bulk it is dripping through but obviously some is getting on him and there is still some on the shadecloth. Any suggestions on how to keep him clean without disturbing/moving him too much? I have a tray under the bed with a puppy pad to collect that side of it. Would giving him Vitamin C doses help with his recover? I have been reading that vitamin C can help with poisoning - I have Ester C but wasn't sure if this would be of any help to him...

I took the boy to the vet yesterday for a catheter ... and during the consult a very little tick was found!!!! This is despite him being checked from head to toe a number of times for ticks - it was the little lump (the size of a pea) that was found rather then the tick itself. He was immediately treated with anti-serum. The vet wanted him admitted into hospital but after he had a go at one of the nurses - he was allowed to come home with me. She had just told me he needed to be kept calm and stress free - and agreed hospital was not the right place for him. After a touch and go afternoon and night ... this morning his breathing is a little bit better. On talking to the vet - he did not have the typical signs of tick paralysis but she said he did not exactly have the right eye movement for Vesticular disease. She wouldn't be surprised if it was a combination of both... I am extremely thankful that he destroyed his catheter ... otherwise the nasty tick might not have been found until it was far too late. He is on his bed at the moment sleeping peacefully like a little angel.

He did a poo :D There has been no great improvement in him on a whole but he has done a poo so that is one good thing. Just about to take him up to the vet to get a new catheter - he destroyed the other one.

There is still no improvements. He has not toileted since Friday morning. As he had previously had prostate issues and if he doesn't toilet regularly (ie due to being confined) then he stops peeing - he again has a catheter to drain his bladder. He has had injections for increase the intake of anti-biotics. He is still drinking when offered water but I find if I leave the bucket with him then he will move away from it. I have to encourage him to eat as his medication is in the food (tablets in some mince). He has no pain in any of his hips, legs or spine - this has been thoroughly checked. He has feeling in his legs and a full range of movement but is unable to stand due to a weakness. Even though he is at home he is getting regular vet attention. Last time he was in hospital he was locked in his pen and no-one could go near him unless he was sedated - he can't go through that again. We have discussed a number of possiblities with the vet and at this stage unless there is some improvements then we just can't put him through this - none of the "possibles" are any good so we don't see the need to put him through all the tests when it will change nothing. Vesticular disease was our last hope - that things would improve in a couple of days ... because this would have been the best outcome.

When you are looking for puppy pre-schools - looks for ones that are not run in public parks or run in vet clinic's. I took my GSD pup to a puppy pre-school recently and I really think they are a waste of time if you already know something about dogs. They are really designed for new puppy owners who know nothing about feeding, grooming, training their pups. Obedience classes don't normally accept dogs until they are fully vaccinated - so I would be using this time to look around for one. I highly recommend calling in on a training night and see how they are run and the methods they use.

There has been absolutely no signs of improvement It is so hard watching an otherwise active dog just laying there ... thankfully he don't appear to be in pain. After talking to the vet this morning we decided to give him until Monday to see if there is any improvements ... then we will need to seriously look at making some very hard decisions. :D

There has been no improvements yet. The vet call this morning and we discussed options. At the moment I have my fingers crossed that it is related to the ear infection and will give him another 24-48 hours to see if there is any improvements. He doesn't appear to be in any pain and is still drinking well. I am a bit reluctant to feed him but his medication requires food so he is getting small amounts only. I am desperately hoping for some improvement by this afternoon...

I never had spare time to start with ... Between a nutty puppy (our next security dog) requiring lots of work, a very sick older dog requiring around the clock care, a full time job, volunteer work (which is almost a full time job) and the general maintenance of a house – I didn’t have time before but definitely don’t have any now ... At the moment the only thing I am missing out on seems to be sleep But at the end of the day ... I am sure they are both worth it

There has been no real changes in his ability to walk in the last 6 hours ... but he is wagging his tail and just barked at strange noise. When you walk up to him he rolls over for a tummy rub. I can't get him to stay on his bed and he keeps moving around the yard (slowly) in a half bunny hop. I am not sure if this means he is trying to toilet so I am currently waiting for my brother to come home from work to see if he can help me hold him up long enough to see if he will toilet.

He has vomitted a couple of time now - hopefully he had his tablets down long enough to actually be of help. He is on his bed now so hopefully he will stay tucked in for the night. I did consider bringing him inside for the night but I would have to get him up the back stairs and he couldn't do it - and he just doesn't feel comfortable inside. I have managed to get him to walk a few steps (to his bed) if I am in front of him guiding him - otherwise he doesn't move. I needed to lift him up on to his bed - he can get one front foot on and then I need to support him to get his other foot up and then lifting up the back half. I have tried using a towel to support the back half but it doesn't seem to work for him - he digs his toes in and won't move. I might try again later to see if he needs to toilet and if it will help. I think it is definately looking more and more like vestibular syndrome ...