stormie

It's a shame the voice over said that Chris ducked off to see the Wallabies (or whatever they were) whilst the pup was waking up - obviously there are other vets there at the clinic, but they make out it's his case and I doubt any vet would really want to leave their patient so soon in that situation. I must say, I am pretty cynical when it comes to him and his show, but have been told recently that apparently he does answer all his after hours calls himself and decides whether or not he'll see them, so that's boosted my respect for him a little. I just wish his bits weren't so 'scripted', but then again, it probably wouldn't make for good television if it wasn't.

It will just dry his skin out with too much use, but no, no other side effects. It might pay to use a leave in conditioner after if you can to re hydrate the skin after. Yep I would just feed as normal. My boy is on pretty lose doses of Cortisone now that he's on Atopica (5mg every few days for a 55kg dog) but occasionally needs a higher dose and on those days I find he's a bit hungrier. Definitely drinks more too so I just try to plan his cortisone days in relation to the weather, ie if I know its going to be a really hot day I try to avoid it and give it on a day when I know it will be cooler.

Pyohex treats staph where as Malaseb treats staph and fungus. And yep, increased thirst, hunger and urination are all side effects of cortisone, particularly at the higher doses.

This is NOT safe. Not having a go here, but could you explain why, please? If find I remember things better when I know the reason Basically it causes iron poisoning, which causes severe damage to cells, especially of the intestines, liver, cardiovascular and nervous tissue. It's just as bad as Defender (the green one). With Baysol, (the blue one) if treated in time, can be reversed with no irreparable damage. The other two, even if you get to them straight away, can still be fatal.

This is NOT safe.

SV???? Malamutes can be prone to ZRD too so may be worth ruling out. Glad you plan to do a scraping as it really is the best way to see what is going on - it should at least tell you if and what bacteria is present. I will ask for that test as well In the meantime he has attacked his tail and it is red raw and he is in obvious discomfort :D Not sure what I could put on it tonight to soothe it? SV = super vet :D Do you have any Neocort or Neo Topic or any other cream with some cortisone in it? It's really the only thing that's going to be strong enough to provide relief. Sounds like his itching is a definite possible cause. But whether or not that is primary or secondary is the question. Biopsies are awesome and should give you an idea whether its an allergy, hormonal etc.

The word 'mongrel' is really just a word for cross bred. The definition is simply a plant or an animal resulting from the cross of different breeds The fact the word is also used in a derogatory way in society makes it sound worse, but really it's no different to calling a female dog a bitch - it is what it is. A Maltese/Shih Tzu is a cross and therefore could be referred to as a mongrel. In my opinion, it would be a rare occasion to find another dog of the same breeding with a similar personality. There are just way too many variables involved when breeding together two different breeds, even if the lines behind each different breed were similar (which would be a rarity in any situation involving cross bred dogs being bred as the breeders in these situations usually focus on breeding the crosses so the linage behind them would most likely be different). eta - I have a top picture of a messed up mouth of a Maltese x Shih Tzu!

Adnil were the two Danes from the same breeder of similar breeding/lines?

First thought would be staph/yeast infection too. He may have had some sort of skin irritation which made him itchy and all the scratching and chewing has irritated the skin and upset the normal barrier allowing the staph to take hold. But in saying that, could also be other things. I'd be wanting a second opinion and have him scraped or even a biopsy.

Pitbulls were developed to be dog aggressive - the chances of getting a DA one is higher in that breed because it was selected for and desireable in the breed when it was developed. On the other hand, to be handled at the level of arousal required for the fighting ring, they HAD to be very non people aggressive. A dog that couldn't be handled was a danger to its owner. That's a point made very strongly by breed defenders when accusations that the breed is "vicious" are levelled. If you're going to cite the arguments used by defenders of the breed when talking about attacks on people please get your facts straight. Irresponsible ownership is not confined to owners of this breed. Few posters are denigrating crossbred dogs. Some posters are promoting them - and that's a breach of forum rules. You seem to have particular trouble abiding by that rule Moselle. Thank you PF - answered better than I could.

You may not agree with my thoughts but that does not entitle you to label me a troll? I was stating the obvious in saying that there is good and bad everywhere and you accuse me of wanting to stir trouble?? Um where did I label you a troll? The word was used as an adjective. Sorry, I should have said sifting or browsing

I bet that not all shih tzu x maltese have issues with strangers or men, it isn't a particular trait of theirs. This has more to do with their upbringing rather than a breed or xbreed characteristic. I don't doubt that there are purebred dogs out there in the big wide world that may have a dislike for men or strangers alike. This has nothing to do with breed.....lest we forget - let us not blame the breed (or crossbreed) but the deed....or realistically speaking....the upbringing. A cross bred dog doesn't have traits. And I disagree that it's only upbringing which determines personality. Yes, a dogs personality may vary through the breed, but can be quite similar throughout certain lines.

Oh lordy, here we go again... Moselle, do you spend your days trolling threads to stir up trouble? Brad - Welcome. But this is a Purebred forum.

The only thing that's going to provide complete relief is an anti inflammatory - eg cortisone based cream. You may be able to pick up something with a small amount of cortisone in it from the chemist, but otherwise, something like Neocort, Neo-topic or Cortivance is the way to go. Antihistamines can help, but whilst its so inflamed and irritated now, they're not going to be enough to fix the problem she's already caused so it's going to remain itchy.

The difference is that the human medication is on the PBS, so its subsidised by the Government. The tax that we all pay goes towards making these medications cheaper for people. The Drug Company or Pharmacy etc still gets their full amount for the drugs they make or sell, the difference is, the consumer only pays part of the price and the Government makes up the rest with money coming from the tax payer. The PBS was put in place to assist people with the cost of human medications. So getting animal medications is essentially rorting the system and means that mine and everyone else's tax is helping to pay for your dogs medication.

Intra operatively, you know it's a success, so for eg, doing a splenectomy, its considered a success if the spleen is removed and there's no haemorrhaging. Same things with an intestinal operation, if you tie off the wrong thing, you'll see the intestine going blue pretty quickly. The students were actually encouraged that if they wanted to take home one of the dogs or cats, they were allowed.

One thing to consider, is that many many dogs are microchipped these days. So if you look at a population of dogs who have cancer and try to find a common link, there's a fair chance that a microchip may be one.

Well said Nekhbet

I guess because they are people's animals. They do work experience at clinics whilst they're in uni and I think some get to operate during this time. But again, they're always people's pets. But to an extent, they do. Routine things like speys and castrates are generally the same, but outside Uni, they're seeing different sized lumps, tumours etc, on new breeds of dogs with different skin, fat etc. Then there's the anaesthetic side of things. Knowing what changes occur in the body if say the oxygen is cut, or the anaesthetic goes to high etc. They need to know the entire function of the body and sometimes the only way to learn is to see it for real. Again, something I'd much rather they learnt at Uni than experimenting on my dogs!! I worked with a terrible new grad once. It blew me away how much he just did not know, but he had the attitude that he knew everything. Nearly killed some animals because he gave them an anaesthetic dose he thought was right, but was completely made up, and was 3 times the dose. But atleast if they make mistakes, they've done work at uni to possibly know how to go about fixing it. Probably makes me sound awful, but I'd rather a vet learnt to castrate 10 pound dogs to be pts rather than learning on my dog!

I can't speak for all clinic, but I know with the ones I've worked at, the new grads are mentored for a while when they first start working. Ours consulted on their own but always had another vet on duty they could discuss things with if they needed help. Same with surgery - routine things they did on their own but always with another vet in theatre in case they need help. With the more difficult surgeries, they'd start off scrubbed in assisting and after a few, when they felt comfortable, they did them on their own. I have heard of some clinics having a senior vet sit in on consults with the new grads until they're satisfied they can handle it on their own. In saying all that though, once they graduate uni, they're vets and can do what they want. I know of one who came straight out of uni and started their own practice on their own. Knowing how 'fresh' our new grads were, I have no idea how this person survives!

They still get chucked in a black plastic bag and dumped at the tip. 'They' implies you are talking about a living thing. The body of the now passed animal gets 'placed' into a plastic bag and buried, yes. But it's not a living animal anymore. It's a body. The animals soul or whatever has long gone. I can't see how the aftercare of a dead body has anything to do with it.

No signature from me either and I find this topic very frustrating. It's not uncommon to see posts started from people complaining about vets. Their fees are too high, they didn't get the diagnosis first go, missed something etc etc. And now people want to take away one of the major learning factors for vets through Uni? You need to stop humanising this. Putting to sleep an animal is not cruel. The dogs were going to be put to sleep anyway, so surely it's better they get to contribute something to the world rather than dying in vain? How are vets meant to learn otherwise? You want the best care for your pet when he's ill but how will that happen if they aren't given the experience and training to know what to do? You want your animals to be safe under anaesthesia, but again, you take away this part of study and it just becomes text book training. So the first time something goes wrong and they need to know what to do, it's going to be on your dog. I'm still interested to know whether those that are taking a stand against this and signing the petition, will you then follow through and refuse to use vaccines? Will you not vaccinate your next puppy and risk it's life, to stand up for those used in the vaccine trial/registration process? Same goes with worming your dog, heartworm prevention, flea prevention, tick prevention.

Unfortunately, it's a fact that for people to learn and animals to live, others have to die. All the vets I've worked with tell how wonderfully these animals were treated, possibly far better than they may have been had they been pts at the pound. The students hold them and cuddle them and pat them. They feel no pain. It happens in every part of the veterinary industry. For any drug to be registered, it has to be tested. The process required to register a vaccination is far far worse; what those dogs in the studies have to go through is much worse. So before people start pushing for vaccines to be registered for longer interval times, keep in mind you're sentencing many many dogs to death. So if you think this is barbaric and want to take a stand, then I would expect that you'll also never use a vaccine, commercial food, drugs or have your dog operated on. eta: I believe too that its not uncommon for some of the students to take home some of the animals if they can, rather than pts.

I actually had to rewind and play again to make sure I heard him right. What an absolute tool. Anyone who could actually believe that must have something wrong with them.

You should send the photos to Ch 7's Today Tonight - they just now put on a story about selling pets in pet shops, what really goes on etc etc. I'm sure they'd love to see them!