Mum to Emma

One thing has always puzzled me - maybe it's just the particular breeds I am interested in, but why are there so few breeders advertising available dogs and puppies in Victoria? And since they don't advertise here, where DO they advertise their dogs? The site seems predominantly NSW focused.

That sounds terrifying! It's amazing how this little white pill can transform them.

Emma started having the occasional seizure (about one every 4 months) in 2013. By September 2014 it was happening every four weeks. She had full blood panels twice and nothing showed up. Was put on a low dose of phenobarbitone in November and has not seized since (touch wood!!).

Cramp - yes, that's a good way to describe it. The vet has said she has neurological problems giving her that old dog wobbliness. I'll have to get it on film because the episodes are brief and. would be impossible to diagnose without seeing it. Perhaps it's something unique to greyhounds and whippets with their hare like toes.

Hi - I wonder if anyone has come across this before. Occasionally (perhaps a couple of times a day and then not for a few days) My whippet will start to limp badly, the source of the pain being her front left foot. If I look at the foot, I can see that the toes are angled upwards. If I stretch and smooth out the toes, the pain is immediately relived and she walks as normal. Is this some find of intermittent dislocation? I don't want to subject her to unnecessary X-rays because she's nearly 14 and, really, what can a vet do?

My whippet Emma has had about 4 bouts of idiopathic / chronic diarrhea with the last dragging on for several months. After the full suite of tests, metrozine etc, etc, including an ultrasound, what stopped it was peptosyl followed by I/d (later switched to b/d to help with ccd - also b/d ingredients are much better than the other hills products). It seems that sometimes the bowel just needs 'rebooting' and peptosyl does this.

My brother used to board his dogs there but we became wary of the place for a few reasons. We asked to visit his dogs while they were there but they would only bring the dogs out to us and not let us see them in their accommodation, even though it was during inspection hours. They were in the top priced enclosures so we had no way of verifying that they were actually getting what he paid for. The next time he was overseas, I visited the kennels saying that I was considering boarding my dogs there and found that his dogs were not in the exercise area that they should have been in. Also I personally don't like the fact that you can't leave your dog with a security blanket nor it's favourite toy. They say they keep your dog with a 'compatible' friend. How do they tell if 2 dogs who are strangers in a strange situation, are going to get along?? Personally I'd look elsewhere. We got bad vibes about the place. They run it as a business first and are very inflexible with owners and dogs. But the above was 5 years ago so perhaps ownership has changed.

Emma had her first seizure in July 2013. She had full blood work done at the time and no cause could be found. Of late, the seizures have become more frequent and are now about once a month. The latest, last night, of course occurred the day AFTER I took her to the vet for something else! Keeping in mind her age - 13 years 8 months - is a vet likely to prescribe seizure medication or is the risk of side effects too great at this stage of her life? They are full-on seizures (salivation, urination, paddling, panting etc) and last about 2 minutes. She's blind so I'm sure the fact that she is constantly banging her head into walls, doors etc doesn't help.

I think these dogs owners have the same arrogance as cyclists who ride on footpaths and that they do so because despite fines and by-laws saying that it's "illegal", no one is ever prosecuted. So I put a lot of the blame on councils who rarely, if ever, enforce leash laws. There's a very well-manicured park near me (indeed, there council refers to it as "Gardens" not a "Park") where there are always council workers pruning or digging. It's in a very wealthy part of our municipality. But the dogs absolutely run riot in the place. No one from the council cares (least of all the local member who lives in the same street!)

Yes, what amazes me - and you see it SO often - is people who walk their dogs off leash down suburban streets, with no thought to the fact that a car could easily back out of a driveway right over their dog. They might stop to give way to the pedestrian, but the poor driver has no chance of spotting the dog that is invariably wandering a long way ahead or behind.

I pay nearly $3000 in Council rates, so I'm going to take as many poo bags from the parks as I want! The bag dispensers are rarely empty so obviously our council is more organised than some. Reject Shop bags are paper thin. Likewise supermarket bags these days, even if they're not torn. I'm sure the council WANTS people to take them and pick up after their dogs. That's what they're for. It's not like I'm re-selling them on ebay!!

Agree . I have a fear aggressive MS too and I don't let other dogs visit . The MS will not just calm down either . She has learn aggression = people leave you alone, ie it works. I think your parents need some help with the MS- do you think they'd see a professional? No, although I did suggest to them that that is what they need. This text from the ASPCA website describes her behaviour perfectly - Defensive Aggression Closely related to fear aggression is defensive aggression. The primary difference is the strategy adopted by the dog. Defensively aggressive dogs are still motivated by fear, but instead of trying to retreat, they decide that the best defense is a good offense. Dogs who are defensively aggressive exhibit a mixture of fearful and offensive postures. (Please see our article, Canine Body Language, for more information about what defensive, aggressive dogs look like.) They may initially charge at a person or another dog who frightens them, barking and growling. Regardless of whether the victim freezes or advances, the defensively aggressive dog often delivers the first strike. Only if the victim retreats is the defensively aggressive dog likely to abort an attack. Male and female dogs are equally prone to defensive aggression. It’s slightly more common in adults than in puppies simply because dogs need to have some confidence to use this defensive strategy, and puppies are usually less confident than adults.

Unfortunately I don't think they're as concerned as they should because she's tiny. It's the old case of the little dog getting away with behaviour that would ring MAJOR alarm bells if she was a GSD. The next dog she snaps at may not be a submissive whippet. Mum carries her around like a cat, which doesn't help! I don't know if the breeder realised just how fearful she is but I personally was concerned when we collected her because while most of her other mini schnauzers were jumping all over us, this one ran away and hid when put on the ground. And her mother stood back and barked constantly, backing away if anyone tried to get near her (which makes me think part of this is in the bloodline). Of course, she's in a different environment now because she's not surrounded by half a dozen other dogs. Perhaps that's why the behaviour has changed. My parents just say she's become territorial, and she does calm down after a few minutes. But, yes, there's no way I'll be subjecting my boy to her again at least until such time as she stops snapping at anyone who walks through the door.

I think it's pretty well a universal characteristic of whippets that they're a sensitive breed that can frighten easily and don't respond confidentially to other dogs that display aggression. My parents have recently adopted a 10 month old mini-schnauzer which was initially very fearful (hiding and defecating whenever people entered the house). Unfortunately this has progressed to fear aggression - barking madly and charging/snapping at the heels of any human or dog who enters the house. This has caused some friction in the human family because I don't think I should subject my whippet to such a confrontation every time we visit. My parent's response is "Oh, she'll quieten down" and they are make some effort to get her out of this habit by immediately locking her away when she starts up with this kind of aggression. But since this change in the mini-schnauzer's behaviour, my dog has to be pulled through the front gate and clings to me inside, whereas he used to enjoy visits and would happily and confidently explore every corner (and counter) of the house. Should I continue to subject my whippet to this situation which is, for him, frightening in the hope that they'll get used to each other? Even if the mini-schnauzer's behaviour approves, I very much doubt whether she'll ever welcome him calmly - it's not in the nature of the breed. By the way, does anyone think that mini-schnauzer breeders need to address the temperament issue? This is the fifth the family has owned, and their temparment as a breed seems to be all over the shop. Some are friendly (if in your face) while others are little balls of fury. I'd considered owning one at some stage, but the rage/aggression some display really puts me off. Oh, and these are very well bred dogs from top Vic breeders.

Thanks jans and cowanbree - just the reassurance I needed :) Now counting the hours until the bucket comes off!

Her appointment to have the stitches out is next Tuesday morning so I'll leave contacting them until then. I just thought that sometimes real life experiences add a lot to vet advice! I had to take her back 7 days ago as she must have knocked the orbit (sp?) because it swelled up again like just after the operation and she developed a full on nose blood. The swelling subsided as did the blood, but there's still this nagging amount that doesn't want to go away. One vet thought she may have a bleeding disorder which I think unlikely as she apparently didn't bleed much during the operation and shehad a full blood panel a couple of months before which showed nothing out of the ordinary. Being blind and largely deaf, she's spent the last 10 days banging and crashing into walls with the cone on her heard, so I'm sure this is not helping the healing process! I can already tell, however, that since the eye removal she's much happier and is frantic to go on her walk every morning!

Well I finally took the plunge and had Emma's left eye removed after battling glaucoma and recurring ulcers. It will be two weeks on Tuesday since the operation and she'll have the stitches out then. However 10 days since the op she is still getting a bloody discharge from the left nostril. It's not excessive - just a small smear on a tissue - and she's otherwise well so I'm not unduly concerned (except for the fact that it's making a mess of my walls!) Is this usual?

OT, but why is it that products such as Prokolin+ or even "human" products such as Pepto Bismol and Kaopetcate are not available in Australia? Pepto and Kaopetcate and common products in the US, probably even available at supermarkets. Yet here they're effectively banned. I know that the overpriced veterinary equivalent is available. So as usual we're paying too much for so-called veterinary products when the cheaper "human" equivalent would be just as good. Is it the 'nanny state' at work?

How common is kidney disease in miniature schnauzers? My family has owned 5 mini schnauzers and the oldest two died of the disease. Can we expect the other three to fall victim to it too? The first two were vaguely related (uncle and niece) so perhaps its something in the bloodline. BTW, they were 13 and 12 years of age, so not young dogs but not especially old either. It's not something I would consider to be a common condition in dogs (compared with cats where 9 times out of 10, kidney disease is the cause of their demise).

It's a shame that pepper spray is illegal in this country. And it's - of course - so ironic that greyhounds, the gentlest of breeds, are forced to be muzzled.

Thanks Rascalmyshadow. She'll have a follow up visit with the vet and we'll go from there. I'd love to learn some massage techniques to help her and my own dogs retain their flexibility as they age. Yoga for dogs ?!?

Melbourne (sorry - was looking at Rascalmyshadow's location) Dogs in Motion is a physio in Melbourne http://www.dogsinmotion.com.au and they can help the same way your physio helped you, as well as giving you exercises with the aim to prevent future injuries, rather than just treating the ones she currently has with the chiro. Physio can also reduce pain which it sounds like Maggie could use!! Thanks for this. I had no idea that this was available, although I've heard very good things about Southpaws, where they are based.

Melbourne (sorry - was looking at Rascalmyshadow's location)

Yes, I agree. I would hate to see Maggie lose her free movement which IMO has been much better than her age suggests. And I remember with my neck, once the pain receded the stiffness remained until after a few sessions with a physio. Can you suggest a good doggie chiropractor in the eastern suburbs?

I would still suggest a visit to a decent canine chiropractor. That's a lot of painkillers for sore muscles! Well I guess you can only follow the advice you're given. I know I pulled a muscle in my neck once and the pain was the worst I have ever experienced. Literally needed someone to lift my head off the pillow as the pain in my neck was excruciating.