stormie

Oh I was going to start a thread on this!! If anyone knows anywhere in Sydney (Hills District) who have turkey frames, I'd love to know! Otherwise I might go suss out some local butchers tomorrow. Thanks for the reminder!

Hahaha that's awesome. Dogs + water = funny photos. I have a few of Orbit, but that's not surprising with him really Dane Bomb I also have a sequence of what started as a lovely moment in the pool, but Orbit took too far

Yap I'm sorry to hear you are still struggling so hard with the death of your dog. The bond we feel with them can be so amazingly strong, so to lose them really can leave a big hole in your life. Unfortunately it's a difficult fact of life that our pets get sick and even with the very best of care from vets, specialists, ourselves, there is nothing which can be done to stop them crossing the bridge. When it's their time, it's their time. I understand with the grief you are feeling that you are looking for someone to blame. But it just may be that it was your beautiful dog's time to go and nothing could be done to stop this. My knowledge of the Vets Surgeons Board is that they generally er on fighting for the client. Rather than turning a blind eye, it just may be that they have investigated and found your vet did nothing wrong. If there was any suspicion that your vet's actions resulted in your dogs death, they would most definitely be taking things further. It sounds like it's possible the condition and treatments have not been fully explained to you which if this is the case, I feel for you. It would be an awful feeling to not understand why your pet is no longer around. Perhaps it would also help to have someone explain the full details to you of what happened clearly, so you understand exactly what happened and why? I also agree with seeking some grief counseling to help you through this. My boy is like my other half and I know when it's his time I am going to find it very difficult as well.

Happy 16th Birthday Kuges!! Our two Goldens both made it to 16 so I understand how wonderful it is for you to have him around for so long.

We get payed out for it, but Orbit has a 'special stool' to help him get in the car. My car isn't that big, but the seats in the back are quite high and the step things are high for him to be lifting his weight on one leg. So I just use this crate with a towel on it and it means he can leap up. Without it, he has to do an awkward climb which often needs assistance

The cost of a vaccine is generally the Consultation fee + the cost of the vaccine. JMO, but I'm not sure I'd have a huge amount of confidence in a clinic/vet who didn't feel their consultations/health checks/advice wasn't worth anything?

Maybe she did start off with a few 'byb' litters but as her interested and love of dogs grew, she learnt about pedigrees, better breeding practices, dog sports and got her prefix to do it the right way?

I get them from Myella Pet Foods. It may be worth a try to see if they deliver to your area or you could do a bulk run to Sydney maybe? I get them in boxes of $15kg and they were about $30 a box but I'm pretty sure it just went up. Their service can be pretty terrible though but I believe its better if you actually go there yourself to pick it up.

Orbit got bones from a puppy, but as an extra with his dry food. Mostly wings, necks, ribs etc. When he hit about 12months of age I put him onto a complete raw diet, so he now gets bones as a full meal - again, non weight bearing things likes frames, wings, ribs. He also gets, and did from a puppy, big recreational bones here and there and once he's chewed the knuckles off I take them away.

Exactly, Souff! Every animal she would have operated on would look exactly the same before surgery she'd be doing. But then again, maybe that's why more and more vets are doing less and less surgery

I'm anti the injection, but I have to say, I don't believe there is any scientific evidence showing major issues with the injection in Australia. Our reps visit us every 6 weeks, my boss goes to listen to specialists talk almost every fortnight, we get the AVA newsletters, The Veterinarian magazine and not yet has there been information given to us about 'major issues'. I've never seen a reaction to SR-12 and in our last clinic almost all our clients received it at the time of vaccination. I don't think it's fair to say a vet musn't keep up to date with the latest information because they haven't seen or heard of reactions proven to be from the drug. If you can provide links or references though, and not just of people claiming to have reactions, then I'm more than happy to be proven wrong

You only need to give 1/4 of the tablet - the large dog tablets are 4 times the strength of the small dog/cat ones.

According to Specialists, apparently there is no scientific evidence that this works. We have a couple of guys come visit us all the time trying to get us to buy the in house kit, but until we see some hard core evidence, we won't be doing it.

Can you still get regular Heartgard, as opposed to Heartgard Plus? It just does heartworm and is a chew

We used to have no pull harnesses that were almost exactly the same as the Black Dog ones, however where you clipped the lead on to the front, was a slip action, so when you pulled, rather than just pulling the chest bit across, it tightened a bit. It was a much better design IMO.

It's just that cortisone is a known cause of pancreatitis, so whether it's the injection or tablets, it can bring it on. That's why we wouldn't recommend giving a dog any form of cortisone who has just had a bout of pancreatitis, mild or severe. As for the coughing/reverse sneezing, it's too hard to say really without hearing or investigating more. It could be a form of airway disease, allergies, infection etc. As for adding the I/D, if SASH recommended the novel diet of Roo and Potato, I wouldn't be giving I/D, but just sticking only to the new diet to see if it's making a difference. The more foods you start to add, the more you risk a flare up of the IBD, if that's what it was. I would be looking for more help with regards to his allergies. Things like anti histamines, omega supplements, things to improve the skin barrier etc etc. Cortisone injections really aren't a good idea long term - tablets are generally considered a little safer because you can alter the dose day to day, with days off, however the injection is usually a high dose that lasts longer in their system.

I'm not sure why they don't think a biopsy will show much? It will give them an idea on the type of cells that are growing and possibly why, eg whether it's a response to trauma, infection, cancer, etc etc. I would want to know exactly what it is, especially seeing there are changes happening to the bone and only a biopsy would be able to tell you.

I'm thinking you're meaning the hock? at 'G' ?

When you say 'ankle', where exactly are you meaning? I'm not sure that HD would lead to changes like that further down the leg - usually most of the changes seen to do with the hip joint due to wear and tear, but even then it's within the joint rather than physical changes seen on the 'outside'. I'd have a biopsy done.

Definitely... These are the guidelines for missing a dose of Interceptor:

The same product (except a 6month dose) with withdrawn from use in America due to the high incidence of adverse reactions Most will probably recommend it over the tablets because you can only get it from a vet. Tablets you can buy online for the same price vet clinics pay for them. I can't say I've seen any adverse reactions to the product, but even so, I wouldn't risk it. Once it's injected, you can't get it out. So if there is a reaction to the drug, its going to keep slowly releasing for the next 12 months. With a tablet, it gets digested and does it's thing that day. If there's a reaction, there's more chance of getting them through it. Chances are, your dogs won't have any reaction at all. But just explaining why I'm not a fan. Have you tried looking at some discount websites? PetsWarehouse.com.au seem to have products for sale for less than a dollar more than our clinic can buy them at, so might be an option? As for remembering to dose, I just put a reminder on my phone and calendar.

Depends what the 'occasional itch' is from. If the dog rolls in a type of grass and gets a bit itchy, it has allergies and has the potential to pass it on to offspring and the offspring could be a lot worse than an occasional itch. As for Pebbles' girl, ff it's habitual scratching, then I'm not sure how an anti histamine would help and if it does ease the scratching, one would only therefore assume that the scratching was due to the release of histamine by the body, and thus an allergic response.

One thing though, who's to say dogs in the wild don't actually get sick and die from obstructions? Or perhaps they have stronger instincts and can be more selective in what they eat, being in the wild? I have probably done less than 10 foreign body removals that were bones in my 5 years nursing, however it's a risky operation that isn't without possible complications, so whilst the risk of it happening may be low, if it does, the outcome may not be good. It really is a tough one. Bones clearly have so many benefits to dogs, starting from the mouth to the other end. But recommending people to feed them is risky, because you cannot be sure that person's dog isn't going to have problems. We do suggest it, but are careful to discuss the risks vs benefits and try to suggest bones less likely to cause a problem. But if we tell someone to feed their dogs bones and it gets an obstruction and dies, you can be sure we would have hell to pay! But as for a commercial food company raising the issue and advising against it, well I can only assume its marketing for them.

Cortisone is an anti inflammatory. At higher doses works as an immune suppressant. So for an animal with chronic inflammatory bowel, cortisone, given at the anti inflammatory dose, reduces the inflammation in the bowel, enabling it to function properly.

Can't help you as I'm in Sydney, but just thought I'd mention that the Heartworm injection is not a vaccine, but instead, injecting the dog with enough chemical to slow release over 12 months. Also, the price of the SR-12 has (once again) just gone up by the manufacturer, so if you really want to have this done, try for sooner rather than later. Many here, myself included, are not big fans of the heartworm injection so I'm not sure how many recommendations you'll get. Could monthly tablets/chews be more economical?