stormie

Orbee's going to the snow for his birthday this year!! :D

I believe that the Coronavirus that infects horses is different to the one that infects dogs, so I don't believe dogs can contract it by eating horse faeces. They can contract it by eating infected dog faeces though.

The vaccines registered for triennial use are the same as those used annually, just with a longer registration. The Nobivac C3 includes a newer strain of parvo, but that's about it. Pfizer's C3 has an open registration, meaning the Vet can sign off annually or up to 3 yearly. Intervet have both an annual C3 and a Triennial C3. There isn't a lot of difference between the two, except I think there are more virus particles in the Trinnial and a newer strain of parvo covered. Virbac still push for annuals, however their vaccine is actually made by Intervet ;) If a dog does not sero convert a vaccine as an adult, repeating the vaccine is not going to make an ounce of difference - they will all be useless. If it does, then it's likely the dog will have lasting immunity for at least 3 years. Some studies have shown immunity up to the 6-7year range. Giving an injection annually does not boost immunity. In fact, those who are in a high parvo area would likely have better immunity, as they would constantly be challenged by the virus, stimulating the cells. I would certainly not be annually vaccinating a dog with any type of known immune problem. Even the Specialists tell us and our referrals for immune mediated diseases, not to vaccinate again. Repeatedly vaccinating the same dogs over and over does not increase herd immunity. We need to be vaccinating MORE dogs, less often. I would love to see a similar program to the free micro-chipping days, but involving vaccines, occur in high parvo areas. Unfortunately it's not uncommon to hear stories from vets in the parvo areas, telling us about the people who get a pup, don't vacc, can't afford parvo treatment, but then go out and get another pup and don't vaccinate again. And the same thing happens over and over again with the pups never having a chance in the first place.

Horse2008 - have a look at this diagram. The pelvis is not effected by the length of the leg bones - so even if the leg bones are really long, this won't cause the pelvic bones to protrude anymore than they would in short legged dogs, simply because there just isn't that relationship between the two bones. Also note the length of the rib cage. There are a few organs that tend to sit up inside the rib cage, with the stomach and liver being a couple. The rib cage could never be so narrow as to effect the expansion of the stomach so much, that a dog could not eat enough. Digestion doesn't just occur in the stomach - it's a big long process which starts in the stomach and then continues on through the intestines which are located in the abdomen. The heart and lung systems are bigger than the stomach and are inside the rib cage, so if they can fit adequately, so can the stomach.

if the dog does have such a rare medical condition he should be on a special diet not cat mince and canned food. And how did he even pass as an assistance dog in his condition? I'm still trying to understand how the rib cage effects digestion??? There is no way a rib cage can be so tiny it would compress the stomach and prevent it from expanding. Any dog breed with a deep chest is at increased risk of bloat.

Yes, she had her first vac at 6 weeks. I thought c4 didnt have the KC included? Thats what my previous vet told me and the reason why my other girl received c4 and c5 3 months apart. Then if there was a 6wk shot there was no need for another at 8wks. You would usually do one at 6-8wks, then another at 12wks or a bit after. Or you could finish at 10wks if your vet carried that specific vaccine. a C4 is a C3 (Distemper, Hepatitis and Parvovirus) plus Parainfluenza, which is the viral component of Kennel Cough. The Intranasal KC is Parainfluenza plus Bordatella bronchiseptica, which is a bacterial component of KC. So giving a C4 plus a KC, you're doubling up on the Parainfluenza. Some vets only have C4's, so they'd be using that instead of a C3. So your last vet would have given the second C4 for the core components (Distemp, Hep and Parvo) and then given an Intransal KC with the final shot, as this only needs to be given once. If you're using injectible KC vaccines, they need to be given twice, 4wks apart, for immunity. I assume that the C5 your other call had was a C4 plus an Intranasal, rather than a C3 plus Intranasal.

I'm going to be a bit different here and say that even though that diet is not ideal, it's still 1.5kg of food a day, made up of mince, meat and bones. Yes tinned food was mentioned, but even if thats 500g of tinned, the rest is still cat mince (which probably has more meat than dog mince), chicken mince and chicken necks. Orbit is fed raw and as a 60kg dog, 1.5kg/day of fresh meat and bones sustains him pretty well. This is 2.5% of his body weight. Say the OP's dog is eating 1kg in mince and necks, this alone is already 3% of its body weight daily, then you have the egg and the tinned food on top of this. Obviously it's entirely possible that the dog has a very fast metabolism, but with that much raw going in, I guess I wouldn't be expecting a huge output, which this dog has. So yes, by all means look at changing the diet to something more balanced and with higher fat, but please get this dog really checked out thoroughly by a good vet, who can rule out health conditions which may be causing this.

Had your puppy already had a vacc at 6 weeks? Cause if so, one at 8wks isn't really necessary, but one at around 12wks or later would be fine. I don't like the idea of a C4 plus a KC because you're doubling up on a KC component

Gosh I really had no idea that there were Vets out there who would actually refuse to give C3's??? I'm all for making owners aware of their options, but to push it on them is a bit over board. But then again, I think we might actually be one of the only clinics vaccinating cats triennially, so maybe we're a bit odd

Yay!! You'll have to try and come during my shift so you can meet Orbit

I think most of the Dane folk agree that the Eagle Pack formula is great for Giant breeds. I raised Orbit on it (he's a Dane) and my boss is still using it on his Newfoundland and is very happy with the results. Without knowing who your breeder is, I can't be sure they know their lines and what they do best on, but I do know of another respected Dane breeder who uses the Advance formula on their puppies and so obviously happy with it. Thanks for the recommendation, Stonecutter We have quite a few Danes that come to us now and my boss has always had Giant breeds. You should come into the Dane sub-forum, too! Lots of experiences owners/breeders in there who are always happy to help. But there's a rule for new puppies, that daily photos are required :D

Oh gees. A brindle Bull Terrier was reported missing to us this morning (Pennant Hills), followed by a call from the council regarding the same dog, asking we contact them first if the dog is bought in to us. Owner didn't mention anything about DA, however the council did say there had been an incident.

Hmm my understanding is that Distemper is often low because it's not as common in the environment these days, so they are rarely challenged by it. I would say that if the parvo titre is sufficient, then immunity is good for both.

Stormie, was it you that once posted about swimming in your bosses pool on your lunch break?? Where do you work, Utopia Vet Hospital? Yep, that was also me Need a new VN by any chance? hmm well I wouldn't mind an extra person to answer the phone at morning tea time, so I can enjoy my espresso and food platter

Stormie, was it you that once posted about swimming in your bosses pool on your lunch break?? Where do you work, Utopia Vet Hospital? Yep, that also me

I'm lucky too. My boss has a rescue and a purebred, and they went to dog shows to meet and greet breeders and meet their dogs etc. He's also very quick to discourage BYBing too.

For sure, but if done correctly, could also produce some great results? I think the low uric acid Dallies are a great example. I believe that one of the Neurologists also believed that Syringomyelia could be removed from Cavs with the introduction of another breed like a Jack Russel, to improve the skull structure?

Sorry to sort of go technical, but it's important that people know that Multiguard is definitely NOT non-toxic. It supposedly tastes bitter, so not as appetising as the others, but if enough is ingested it can most definitely be fatal.

I'm so sorry JulesP. What a terrible tragedy. Run free Brock

This is true, but in the wild, only the fittest survive. So if any conditions did pop up which would hinder the Cheetah in anyway, it would most likely die and therefore not reproduce.

Just for the record, I've seen plenty of dogs ears that look ok at first glance, but it's not until you get down there with an otoscope that you see all the manky pus.

Just curious, but if there's little to no vision, is there any main reason you want to save the eye rather than just have it removed?

Orbee's been on cortisone pretty much since he was 4months old. He's coming up to 4yo and you wouldn't know he's a cortisone kid. I've seen animals live to a ripe old age who have been on life long cortisone and in many of those cases, their passing was nothing to do with cortisone. Unfortunately some animals don't cope as well as others, but if you can get by with it and have it managed properly, then they can do very well. Larger breeds tend to have a lower tolerance to the higher doses, so should be kept as low as possible. I believe the specialists don't really like to see any breed on anything higher than 60mg, too.

I wonder whether it's thought to be much more uncommon in Australia because owners here may be less likely to have the work up done to prove it? I've been told by Vets who've worked in the UK, that dog ownership is different over there to here, in that pretty much everyone has insurance so there's really such thing as not affording treatment. So could it be possible that it's more common over there because it's diagnosed more than it is here? Could there be a lot more Cavs in Aus with SM, however owners are unable to afford the Specialist appointments and MRI to confirm? We have a client with a Cav who displays the symptoms, particularly when excited, but the owner isn't that phased by it? They've had the disease explained to them but there's been no discussion of wanting to see a Specialist and/or have an MRI. I guess I wonder how many people out there have dogs displaying symptoms but just think their dog is itchy and therefore not interested in seeking further vet attention? I assume the disease can vary in severity, so not all would be miserable 24/7?

We stock it in our clinic and our last two orders have all been fulfilled, which I think has only happened once before in 2 years and that was after going to EP Head Office. So fingers crossed the supply issue is being resolved.