stormie

Poppydog - I can't stress enough the consult with a Derm. I spent so much money on 'miracle cures' from the internet, shampoos, supplements, clothing, herbal/holistic medicines, new diets etc etc, trying to relieve Orbit's itching. In the end though, I had just wasted so much time and money that I wish I spent the right way, to find out the cause of his allergies. For example - so many people suggested getting him on a raw diet, so I did. I was feeding him chicken frames, chicken mince etc etc. I was also supplementing him with stacks of fish oil as I had read it was great for skin. None of it helped at all. I used Aloveen and gave him oatmeal baths to try and soothe him. Eventually, I was lucky enough to get some help from a Derm. We did what she recommended and whilst doing the food elimination diet, came to the conclusion that chicken and fish actually made him worse. So whilst trying to help, I was making him worse! I then did a series of blood tests to find out what he reacted to (he couldn't do the intra dermal skin testing because you need to with hold all drugs for many weeks and he'd have killed himself had I done that!) and turns out oatmeal is a trigger. Occasionally now, I admit I do still read things and think I might give it a go, but only once I've totally sussed out the ingredients and know that its not going to make him worse. As for fleas, if flea allergy turns out to be a problem, the more prevention you can use, the better. I would suggest using a combination of a breeding regulator (like whats in Sentinel) and an Adulticide - so something that kills the adults. Revolution might be something to look into too - it works against scabies so you can rule scabies out at the same time.

There's no point changing the diet unless you're doing a proper food elimination diet. You need to rule out food allergies first. If you switch to a grain free kibble, you'll still be feeding a protein source you were before, eg chicken, fish etc, so the results would be completely unreliable. Basically, when you go to a Derm about itchy skin, they'll start you on a process of elimination. You can really only diagnose Atopy by ruling out everything else. So you need to rule out parasites, fungal and bacterial infections, food allergies etc. They will often suggest keeping the dog inside for a few weeks to see if its something outside, and then doing the same with the dog outside, in case its something inside. They will look at the distribution to help give answers also. Moselle - I think you need to do some research on vaccines. Vaccinating a dog is introducing them to the virus. It's the same as if the dog encountered the virus at the park, however the particles have just been altered in a way to not be pathogenic. So to the immune system, the particles are exactly the same - it's just that they are unable to affect the body as the virus would if encountered in faeces at the park. So yes, the vaccine stimulates the immune system. But so does taking your dog for a walk. If you titre test your dog and its got a high parvo level, it's because it has encountered the virus in the environment and the body is acting accordingly. I'm all for not vaccinating yearly. But people need to understand vaccines first before they start sprouting information to people about how dangerous they are. Do you also then suggest people never walk their dogs or take them to the park? Because every time they sniff another dogs poo, they could be encountering parvo, corona virus, etc etc but that seems to be ok? As for fleas, Moselle, I think you mean Species specific. Fleas don't pick breeds.

From memory, it took a few days before my step dad's Golden started eating again. I hand fed her for a while as it was too hard for her to put her head into a bowl and pick something up, with her eye nystagmus. It helped if she was laying down as well. I think in the beginning, I was actually putting food into her mouth as she just couldn't focus on the food to pick it up herself. She recovered, but was never quite 100%. She had a little bit of a head tilt which I think made eating harder for her. Unfortunately, one night she must have scoffed her chicken carcass without chewing, and got the wish bone stuck in her pylorus. She vomited in the night and somehow aspirated some, causing irreparable damage to her lungs. We tried to operate but she couldn't maintain a proper oxygen saturation due to the lung damage so I put her to sleep on the table. She was 16.

There is no scientific evidence to suggest vaccinations cause allergies - or any other disease. It's still be researched. The Specialists involved in the research are suspecting dogs who have negative reactions to vaccines start off with 'faulty' immune systems to start with and the vaccine is just a trigger. So no, we don't tell people that vaccines cause problems because vets practice science based medicine and telling people this would be incorrect. Yes, we tell them there's a possible link to some immune mediated diseases, but not that they're the CAUSE.

Sounds very much like she has a skin irritation. My first step would be to see your regular vet and see what they say. Check your garden for wandering jew too. Start by eliminating any chance of the scratching being due to fleas or other parasites that make them itchy, like sarcoptic mange. If the itching continues, then seek a referral to a Dermatologist. They will be able to continue on the process of elimination to help determine the cause and then possibly start treatment. May I also suggest, if you haven't already, get insurance ASAP! I'm not sure if this is a wrong thing to suggest, but if you haven't been to your vet about this problem, then it can't be classed as an existing condition. So if you can somehow arrange insurance before you seek vet help, you may be lucky and be covered, but I'm not sure if there are waiting period etc. Treating skin conditions can become very expensive and the insurance will be a god send!

I have one of these. It's no different to a check chain, except that it doesn't need to be slipped over the head to put on, so you can size it to fit correctly higher up. Orbit doesn't have aggression problems - I simply have more control with him with a collar in a high up position. It helped dramatically with his walking position and now I hardly use it.

Wow! If they'll supply the litter tray, I'm getting one

Yep , I believe Anne is right and there is a difference between 'off label' dosing, and using a drug that is made for human use, in animals. As mentioned as an example - Ivermectin is registered for animal use, however it has no registered claim for mange, although it is widely used for this. To use it for mange would be considered 'off label' Human drugs are commonly used in animals all the time and very legitimately. Florinef is commonly used to treat Addisons disease, and whilst the tablets used are generally the human ones, I believe there is an injection of the same drug which is made for veterinary use? We commonly prescribe medications for animals that would be considered human medications. I believe the only time in which the human version shouldn't be used, is if there is an animal equivalent. Eg a vet technically shouldn't give a client a script for Mobic (Meloxicam) because there is a registered animal drug, Metacam. Many of these 'human' medications prove live saving for peoples pets all the time. If you believe the dosage given was too high, then this may be an issue, either with the vet getting the dose wrong, or someone writing the wrong label. However I don't believe the vet would have anything to answer for, as long as the drug is used for a legitimate reason. I wanted to mention too, that the words 'over hydrated' may not mean anything more than your dog reaching normal hydration and the fluid rate turned down/stopped. So for example, if a dog presented dehydrated, then a higher than maintenance fluid rate would be used, to rectify the dehydration. Once the dog is back to normal level, continuing on at this higher level would be classed as 'over hydrated', which initially would just be a matter of the dog urinating dilute urine often - sort of similar to if you drank 10 glasses of water in a day when didn't need to. However it can be a serious problem if the rate remains too high and the fluid cannot be removed as fast as it goes in. Again, I do not know the full details, but just trying to offer a possible explanation of what it may mean. I understand you must be terribly upset at the loss of your dog, particularly as you feel there has been negligence. So I second what Raz has said - have the consultation with the Solicitor you have found and hopefully you will be able to get some answers soon. I wish you all the best.

I don't believe the vaccines necessarily need to be done four weeks apart. The dates are to do with the pups immunity carried from mum. So at about 6-8weeks, the immunity can start to fade in some dogs, so a shot is given then, to give those who have none from mum, immunity. If they still have mums, then the vaccine is over ridden by mums and is useless. In most dogs, the antibodies from mum have faded by about the 12wk mark, so they have another one here. If mums immunity has gone, the vaccine will work and they'll have antibodies. In some, mum's immunity can stick around longer than 12weeks, particularly in black and tan dogs for some reason. So this is why another shot is often given at this time, in case mums antibodies have stuck around till around this point. I'm not sure you can titre test for maternal antibodies, so the only way to really know whether the puppy shots have been successful, is to titre test after. So technically you could titre test after each puppy shot to know when the vaccine was successful, but that could prove expensive. In very high parvo areas, there has actually been a suggestion to vacc every two weeks, to ensure you 'catch' the pup at the time the maternal antibodies have worn off. There are some vaccines which claim to over ride maternal antibodies, which they say can be finished at 10wks. As for the other types of vaccines though, I wouldn't risk stopping at 10wks unless you titre test and know for sure the vaccine was successful. If the pup still had maternal antibodies at this age, the vaccine would be useless and without another shot, the pup could be total susceptible.

Yeah there's no harm. You can get shampoos which boast of 'follicular flushing' which would help make them go away, but they do no harm and you don't need to get rid of them.

I can't speak of the attempt to spey thing, but I'd have thought the removal of the canines would simply have been poor communication, rather than mistreatment. They were obviously a problem to be removed (I cant imagine any vet or nurse wanting to take out 4 healthy canines - its a massive, awful job), so to leave them in and cause pain, would be cruel. But yes, the vet should have consulted the owner before doing so as many owners can be sensitive about it. The brain damage, well yes, this is awful, but if it was a drug reaction, that's a risk with any GA. It's unfortunately, but a potential risk to any animal receiving any drugs. Obviously we don't know the full facts or events, but if its just the information stated, I can't imagine a vet could be done for mistreatment of an animal because he removed canines under GA and the cat had a drug reaction.

Need support to get voice out there, wish we could name these bad vets, 2 Vets gave no information on tablets given which turned out to be 'not for use in animals' by the TGA. Large doses given which severlely dehydrated her. found out through their report they overhydrated her also, no mention of front leg swollen 3 times the size. The cruel suffering witnessed after being allowed to take her home when she was supposed to be monitored very closely on these god so forgiven "tablets". The list is endless. Oh please please anyone that can help, these vets really do need to be"held accountable" Have lost a child.!! You need to call these guys first... http://www.vsb.qld.gov.au/ Are you able to elaborate on the 'over hydration'? Sorry, just trying to offer advice.

I think most cases of Negligence or other, are dealt with by the Vet Surgeons Board. Are you able to give a bit more information so people can offer advice?

They sound like comedones. They're basically just pores full of wax/oil etc. Nothing to worry about and very common

5 weeks is very early for the first shot. Generally the regime is 6-8wks, then 12wks then 16wks, though not all vets do the 16wk shot. The first shot at 5wks would almost definitely have been over ridden by mums antibodies and be rendered useless. I would have had his second shot a little earlier but so long as he's not been taken to any major risk areas, he should be ok. I'd be worried about the puppy school if its in a place like you described. I'd be wanting the vaccine now.

May I ask what breed of dog you are getting?

Cortisone will provide relief for both him and you. It's the only thing that's really going to provide relief, and if managed well, can still enable your dog to lead a normal life. A lot of people say how awful a drug it is. Yes, in some cases it can shorten life. But ask the dogs and I think they'd tell you they'd rather a comfortable, itch free life, albeit possibly shorter, than a longer life of constant discomfort. We pts an 18yo cat last week due to renal failure, that had had a long acting short of cortisone every 6 weeks its whole life. Other than the renal failure, the cat was in otherwise good health. So not all cortisone animals die young!!

My dog's a man. He poos along side the main road if he needs to. He's a dog - his body tells him to go, so he goes.

Nothing topical helps us either and we deal with contact, inhalent and food allergies. Contact allergy isn't actually all that common. I believe Dermatologists are now using Atopica to help diagnose which one is the problem, as it doesn't work all that well in contact and food allergies. I'm not even sure how well the allergy testing works for contact allergies, to be honest.

My Dane does lovely small poos! I would never think of stopping him from going to the toilet if he needed to. He's an animal. If his body tells him he needs to pass something, he needs to pass it.

Orbit is on raw and he passes whole stools with some crumble along with them. I much prefer him this way as he has to work a bit to get them out, which keeps his anal glands nice and 'normal'. It's a bit annoying in the yard though, because it turns white the same day so even with picking it up daily, there's always white powder left behind thats too fine to pick up.

Actually, it depends which strain. Bordetella Bronchiseptica (a common strain and one we vacc against) is bacterial. Parainfluenza is the most commonly seen viral strain. A good way to think of KC is like Whooping Cough - same family (Bordetella Pertussis) - a bit more serious than just a common cold. Many cases will go away on their own without AB's - I think the best thing to do is to discuss it with your vet. If you get the KC diagnosis, perhaps suggest to wait it out a few days and see how you go and if things get worse, then come back for AB's. Most vets should dispense them to you a few days later without another visit.

I think the thing to remember, is that all people are different and respond to things differently. I work with barking dogs every day in the clinic and to be honest, there are some dog barks/whines that make me want to drink the bottle of lethabarb. I am by no means desensitized to the sound, in fact, probably the opposite. I learn to tolerate it at work because it's my chosen profession but there are times when I simply have to leave the hospital area for my own sanity. My neighbour has two Min Poodles that both have very loud, 'yappy' barks. Whenever they see or hear their owner from their pen, they bark so loud it sounds like they're in my kitchen. They can go for a good 20mins, sometimes up till 11pm. It's not the fact that the bark is loud, its just the actual sound. It's so grating on my ears it physically changes my mood. The same sound over and over again is like having water dripped on your head constantly. For me, the constant sound of a dog bark, or any other repetitive noise, is not 'a little noise'. There's a huge difference, IMO, to the sound of loud music coming from a neighbour, to the sound of a barking dog. Atleast with music, the sound changes - it's not repetitive. It's annoying because it interferes with what you're trying to do, but I personally don't find it as grating as the constant repetition of a dog barking. If I had a dog like this myself, I really don't know what I would do, but I certainly would consider debarking if all avenues had been explored. I choose to own dogs because I get a lot of enjoyment and love from them. I'm not sure myself or the dog would get a lot out of a relationship if there was a constant stress such as barking going on all the time.

This. Interceptor is the same as Sentinel just without the flea component.