kayla1

Is he still on vivitonin? Just wondering if one of the other dementia medications would work better, selegiline or fitergol, not sure if you've tried them already. I was told with Kayla that her panting is also part of the dementia. She tends to pant more in the evening when she is pacing. Not sure what would cause the jerking movements you describe though.

The recall now includes dry food. link

If you read my previous posts you'll see I have never stated there is a 'major problem with bull breeds in this country'. The fact that you still think this is a 'non-issue' says it all. Unfortunately statements such as that are not going to positively influence public perception. Good luck to those who are taking positive, proactive steps.

These discussions go around in circles. The data is incomplete, as corvus said, so you cannot rely on it to conclude there is not a problem. We have anecdotal evidence that suggests there is some problem at least in certain areas. We know there are breed differences in terms of temperament and potential damage that can be done, and that irresponsible owners may be attracted to certain breeds. So instead of denying that any problem exists or arguing that bull breeds are the same as any other dog, perhaps someone can tell us more about the positive steps being taken?

Have you consulted with a behaviourist since the problem began? If so, what was their recommendation?

I don't agree with any dog allowed to roam the streets, but I'd feel far more confident facing a 5kg fluffy than the 50kg aggressive American bulldog that used to live up the road (the first dog I've come across that scared the crap out of me). But all that says is that there are problems in some areas and not others. It sounds like you don't have an issue with bull breeds in your area, but I certainly do in my area. Absolutely, we hear so little of the positive steps being taken because they are drowned out by the chorus of denials and the blame game.

Thanks melzawelza, but I'm not querying BSL research. I have seen plenty of evidence that BSL doesn't work so I don't need any convincing in that respect. What I'm interested in are the stats that show that incidents with bull breeds in this country are so low that they don't represent a major problem.

Not sure if you mean reports to council or media reports, but you cannot conclude that because something is not reported that it doesn't exist. For example, of the more serious incidents in my local area that were actually reported to council, one incident where two SBTs killed a small dog and another where a staffy mix attacked a person, neither even made the local paper. Countless other incidents were neither reported to council nor made the media. I'd like to read these stats if you could let me know what evidence you are referring to.

Any. Pick one. Find a statistic that supports the position that we have a major problem with bull breeds. Heck, go with any and all breeds. I am 100% confident we have no major problem with any breed in this country because incidents of attacks across the board are so incredibly low, there cannot be a major problem. Add to the fact people go on and on about how popular bull breeds are and how many there are around and the fact incidents with them are so low shows exactly the opposite of a major problem. I don't need to find evidence to support a position because I haven't made any generalisations. What I'm interested in are the particular statistics you are referring to, especially when you say that incidents with bull breeds are so low that they show the opposite of a major problem? I would like to read these stats myself and form my own conclusions.

Glad to hear something is working! I can see how the manuka honey would help the cough, but I didn't know it could affect alertness. I might try it with Kayla actually.

Which statistics are you referring to here?

The puppia harnesses are good in that they don't seem to slide around as much as other harnesses. But in terms of quality I agree with huski, the webmaster harnesses are great and really well made.

I agree. Really, when you think about how many dogs are in the country compared to the amount of serious incidents that actually happen, it isn't a great deal. This doesn't excuse it of course, but I do think people can get a bit hysterical about it being a bigger problem than it is. I'd be more worried about getting attacked by a person out on the street, and I would say that the amount of serious attacks on people by other people, greatly outweighs the amount of attacks by dogs. I guess it depends on where you live but the reason I do not walk my dogs around the local streets is because of the sheer number of off lead roaming dogs, the vast majority of which happen to be bull breeds. Unfortunately because these dogs are rarely under control, they are also involved in the majority of attacks in the local area. By attacks I mean attacks on other dogs, and less frequently people. Some of these attacks have resulted in the death of the other dog. Such serious incidents don't happen here on a daily basis, and when they do they are often not reported to council for various reasons, but they happen often enough to make me very wary of where I walk my dogs. Even when walking at the park, I sometimes carry something with me to ward off roaming (or I should say, charging) dogs. It's not hysteria, and it's certainly not OTT. It's about minimising risk, which shouldn't be necessary at all, but unfortunately it is. I hope the victims of the attack in Boronia are able to recover physically and emotionally.

Good luck! Hope it works for Mac.

That's a really interesting idea - can you use melatonin with dogs? Apparently yes, it is used for some dogs with CCD that have the restlessness at night. I've been reading about it for Kayla, though her night wanderings are not too bad at this stage to warrant it.

Not sure if you've tried it already but apparently melatonin can help to regulate sleep cycles without the drowsiness caused by some sedatives. I don't have any experience with it though so not sure how effective it is or what the side effects may be.

Have you tried iherb here. They have a huge range of products with good prices. I think there are some products you can't bring in, I'm not sure if milk thistle is one of them but it will say on the website.

Kayla started doing the same thing a while ago and because it's still fairly infrequent I've been able to manage it by making sure she goes out to toilet last thing before bed, and covering her beds in case of accidents. Though covering her beds won't always work because she tends to move around at night now. In her case the accidents occurred because she wasn't able to get outside quickly enough, and most of the time I've been able to work out the cause (increase in medication dosage, UTI, some type of seizure and possibly dementia have been the causes for her). I haven't tried any of the medication for incontinence at this stage with Kayla because it doesn't happen very often. Hopefully your vet will give some good advice about the possible causes and treatments.

Our Hamish is not displaying any of the symptoms you mentioned, just lots of head flapping and scratching at it. The soreness seems to be improving a little, however nowhere near back to normal. The vet gave me the antibiotic drops and wants to see him again in 2 weeks. An ear flush under anaesthetic has never been mentioned, however I may suggest it as I can't see how the ears can successfully be cleaned while the dog is muzzled and snarling, and trying to escape and generally being unco-operative. Thanks for you comments Using cotton buds is only going to remove some of the gunk that you can see, and not the gunk that's down near the ear drum. I've seen vets use cotton buds to get bits of gunk near the opening to the ear canal but never further down and not for a clean as such? If wax and muck builds up near the ear drum it can place pressure on it and become very painful. FWIW I was told an ear drum perforation from an ear clean is not very common, not that it's any consolation when it's your dog! I don't have any experience with chronic ear infections but there are others here who do. Hope he continues to improve.

When Maxie's ear drum was perforated (which the dermatologist confirmed was caused by the original ear clean at the local vet) he was showing vestibular symptoms - head tilt, nystagmus, and also loss of hearing. I'm not sure whether these are the usual symptoms for ear drum perforation. But if your boy's ear drum has been ruptured then nothing should be put in that ear except warm saline solution, as further damage can be done by using other cleaners/drops. After the ear drum was perforated Maxie developed an infection in the ear despite being given antibiotics iv and injection at the time, but fortunately the infection was in the external ear only and not in the middle ear. If the muck was pushed further down it could cause damage. I would have thought if there is that much muck in the ear that the drops are not getting down then an ear flush would be needed. Has he had his ears cleaned under general anaesthetic before? If the ears are that sore I would be back to the vet - well, based on my experience, personally I would be off to a dermatologist asap for a suspected ear drum perforation because they have the knowledge and better equipment to diagnose and treat it.

It sounds like you are thinking of rehoming Isobel only and keeping Hugo, but you mentioned earlier that OH isn't rapt in Hugo either and wants both dogs gone. If so, is that the best situation for Hugo?

Hmm interesting. One of the vets said I could try another ear flush under anaesthetic to clean the ears, after the first ear flush under anaesthetic didn't remove all the muck. I couldn't understand, if they couldn't be cleaned properly the first time, how the second time would be any different?? Anyway I decided against it and am going to a dermatologist instead. Plus I'm a bit paranoid now after my other dog suffered a perforated ear drum during a clean (fortunately he now has clean ears thanks to this dermatologist). The way the specialist explained it, I can see how it can sometimes be difficult, but it sounds like it shouldn't be happening very often at all.

I haven't noticed any difference in output, but it's only a small part of their overall diet anyway. As others have said, two of my dogs will poop 2-3 times a day anyway regardless of which food they are getting. Kayla, who has become quite fussy, absolutely loves it though - much more so than the other varieties of dry food that I've tried.

That's what I first thought but it's happened several times now, where the ears have not been cleaned completely, so I started wondering if it was a common occurrence.

When dogs have an ear flush under general anaesthetic, is it usual for vets to leave some wax or gunk still in the ear? I understand it's difficult sometimes for regular vets to clean the ears thoroughly, and they don't have the equipment that specialists have, so I can see how it happens but I'm just wondering if it's a common thing to still have gunk in the ears after an ear flush.