Rappie

It would depend on whether she was 'just' diabetic or whether she was a 'sick' diabetic in various stages of ketosis or ketoacidosis or concurrent pancreatitis. By the time you run full blood work, urine tests, start a sick dog on fluids and insulin and do a blood glucose curve you could certainly be reaching $500 territory if everything goes well. With any situation, but esepcially chronic disease, it is important the the owner trusts the vet. New diabetics do need to be monitored closely initially, usually 2 weekly for glucose curves and dose adjustments. Once stable this is reduced to monthly check up, 3 monthly, 6 monthly etc for prescription refills. The management of diabetic cats can be less intensive depending on which type of insulin is used - they can also go into remission.

What sort of dog is he? Do you know if it was a pure culture of salmonella? 2 years is a LONG time to have a debilitating and potentially fatal cause of bacterial diarrhoea. I would be more concerned about things like inflammatory bowel disease, or a malabsorption / maldigestion syndrome.

The vets that take PennHip rads are not supposed to be assessing them. Clients who have PennHip rads taken should be signing a form that says they agree that if PennHip rads are done, they MUST be sent off to be assessed formally no matter what the results. The vet might take them and say they look good, bad, whatever but that is not the end of the process.....

As long as the bleeding stops in a reasonable time, you don't need to panic. Mouths heal very well, and the flow of blood from the wound does help to wash any bacteria out from the wound. Apart from monitoring, if it's stopped bleeding you don't need to DO anything except maybe feed some soft food to limit disturbing the healing bit. I have had a case where a dog had a scuffle with another dog and ended up having a tooth go straight through their tongue. That was quite messy and did require an urgent surgery (it was a drug detector dog to boot) but once the bleeding was stopped everything was fine. Shredded and torn tongues with profuse bleeding are another story.

For the purposes of identifying abnormalities then the rads can be taken at any age. If you have a vet locally that is PennHip accredited then those results can be useful, but if there is palpable laxity then the standard extended hip view and a thorough examination under anaesthesia should be sufficient. Once they are taken, you can request a specialist opinion - either from a radiologist (they can be posted or submitted online if digital images are taken) or from a surgical specialist. People in your local area could advise your of their recommendations.

I would have hip radiographs taken to get a diagnosis of hip dysplasia if it is present (palpable laxity in the joints is highly suspicious). At 10 months, there is still a small window of time for a triple pelvic osteotomy to be done to correct anatomical alignment of the hip joint. However, this is a specialist procedure and is not appropriate for all dogs as it is dependent on age, hip structure and degree of degenerative changes in the joint. Otherwise treatment and management relies on maintaining a lean body weight, moderate exercise, nutritional supplements for joint health, supplementary treatments such as Zydax / Cartrophen injections and pain relief as appropriate (not all dogs will require this). If these measures are not sufficient then dogs become candidates for other surgical procedures like hip replacements or denervation procedures - which one really depends on whether pain or joint dysfunction is the primary problem. I'm by no means suggesting surgery is the only way to manage dogs with hip dysplasia, but I would strongly reccomend having radiographs done so at least you know what you are dealing with, and what to expect in the future.

What about Rookwood Necropolis? I would like to visit a cemetery, this one is closer and seems 'friendlier' - by this I mean that their website encourages people to visit, learn about history etc, they even have open days! I just Googled Waverly Cemetery and came across the debate over whether you have to pay to take photos in a public place. It may not even have an impact on an excursion, but Rookwood is a heck of a lot closer

Trying to avoid study We have a handful of friends interested in photography, although they don't know it yet I was hoping to organise some casual photography 'adventures' as a way to catch up. Hoping for some suggestions. Ideally either accessible by public transport or with facilities for parking etc. Somewhere nice to eat or have a picnic would be good too. OH and I have been to the Auburn Botanic Gardens, and at some point will go to Taronga Zoo but would like more ideas. I've been browsing some photography club websites for ideas - Cockatoo Island looks like fun too.

Well we think Canon users are like Apple FanBoi's : Following your comparison, I'd think of Pentax more like Peugot or Volkswagon, smaller market, a bit different, but still perfectly capable. I'm not sure cheap Japanese car is the right comparison. Ellz, have a look at the Pentax forums. See what can be done, what lenses are available (including the second hand ones) etc. For all the Canon users - genuine question - what are the technical or quality reasons that choose a Canon over other brands? Not how easily you can get gear, or the size of the support groups etc.

I would get the Pentax Everyone is going to have a personal preference. We have a Pentax ist*D and a K200D here - neither of us have any aspirations for going pro, but we've never tried to do something and thought, "Oh wait, no, we need a Canon to do that" . They're affordable, they're nice to hold, as long as you pick a K-mount lens you can use Pentax lens your little heart desires.

We have Pentax gear, but the 77mm f1.8 lens is a beautiful portrait lens. We have 35mm (macro), 40mm and 50mm primes as well, all can take nice shots with bokeh but the 77mm is awesome. It's hard to take a bad photo with it, even if the photographer is not that great

For a very small mass like you have described, additional testing may not have been practical. If there was some question over the results such as the diagnosis did not fit the clinical picture, vets can take a repeat sample for comparison, or request a review of the initial sample submitted. Beyond that, we're really left with close monitoring of the lump, or excisional biospy and histopathology (which is what has been done with your dog). In a larger mass where we do have concern over it being a cancer, an incisional biopsy is often done first. This involves a general anaesthetic, removing a small wedge of tissue from the mass, then sending this sample away for histopathology. Once the results of that are known, the mass if removed as indicated (small or large margins if benign or malignant). In the cases of mast cell tumours and soft tissue sarcomas (and some other cancers), the incisional biopsy helps to grade the tumour. It's also the time where additional procedures like chest radiographs or abdominal ultrasounds might be done to search for metastases if a major surgery is being planned.

There may not have been a large number of inflammatory cells in the initial sample, but other (non blood) cells undergoing an inflammatory response can change their appearance and shape. There are some changes that are common to both inflammatory and neoplastic (cancerous) processes.

This is a difficult situation, but unfortunately it happens. The vet initially has the benefit of seeing the whole dog and then taking what is really, a tiny sample of cells that are spread out on a slide. We then send them to someone who has only the slide and a written history to work off and determine a diagnosis. Cells can be damaged and look like something else, sometimes the cells collected are not really representative of the actual problem. Spindle cell tumours can be difficult to diagnose from cytology and have a recognised higher rate of false positive and false negative results. Spindle cells originate from other cells in the skin, there can be inflammation associated with cancerous growth. Unfortunately, cytology is not 100% reliable no matter who is doing the sample collecting or the pathology reading. It's a minimally invasive way for us to gather information to make decisions about what to do next. In this case the cytology suggested something sinister, your vet has reacted accordingly and removed the mass with wide margins and then sent the mass, in it's entirety and "in" it's original location to be reviewed as a histopathology sample. I know it's frustrating that the result has now come back as as benign lump, but in a dog with a history of a mast cell tumour this is excellent news. It would be much worse if the cytology said it was nothing (or worse, no cytology was done) and it WAS a soft tissue sarcoma, which wasn't removed, or was removed incompletely. I have had a similar situation occur, however for some reason we weren't able to go to surgery. I took several needle samples from a particular lump and got a cytological diagnosis that wasn't conclusive but did very much err towards soft tissue sarcoma, with slim possibilities of other things. When I called a while later to check on the patient, the lump had disappeared. The cytology was read by a pathologist who I hold in very high esteem, but making an interpretation and diagnosis from a bunch of spread out cells can be very difficult. That said, this is why we follow the process of cytology - surgical removal - histopathology, so we DO get diagnoses.

Well I had a patient (a dog!) cock his leg and pee on the back of my legs while I was closing a door this morning. I was unimpressed, lol.

There is some evidence, but it's not a guarantee that they will work for every dog. One of my own dogs (5kg) tries to swallow the large dog Hills t/d biscuits whole, so they are no use to him, lol. There are two main ways that they work - either through the kibble 'construction' so that they don't shatter and supposedly 'scrub' teeth, or through a chemical action where a phosphorous containing substance prevents calcium from saliva binding to plaque and forming tartar. Do they work? I think so, but they have their limitations and won't prevent dental disease in all dogs. Some small white fluffy dogs just have bad teeth no matter what we do. Some dogs will never get dental disease no matter what we do.

Dogs with pancreatitis will occasionally have flare up, and sometimes there is no identifiable reason behind it. It's important also to realise that normal dogs will occasionally have gut upsets that make them vomit (particularly if they've even something 'new'), so not every episode of sickness is going to be a pancreatitis flare up. It is certainly good that you're so vigilant, not all owners are! Without testing her pancreatic lipase it's hard to say 'yes, definitely' to it being pancreatitis. If she is no longer vomiting, then I would continue to feed her normal diet, but perhaps divided into several smaller meals. When treating pancreatitis in hospital, I generally work on offering water after 24 hours with no vomiting, and if that stays down after several hours then starting food. Since she has only been vomiting, but not had accompanying pain, depression, diarrhoea etc then I would continue to feed her now that the vomiting has stopped.

Sentinel Spectrum is a good product for long term control of flea problems, but the way it work means that is sterilises adult fleas so they can't lay eggs, however it wont kill fleas. If you're finding that you have fleas, then you may need to use a topical product such as Frontline or Advantage in addition. If this is the case, I would suggest switching to Interceptor Spectrum and then using the topical. Which product is going suit you best is really going to be determined by what type of treatment you want - ie, if you're happy with separate treatments, want an 'all in one', want the heartworm injection and then deal with only fleas and worms.

I think I've posted one (or more) of these before....but heck, the big brown one is the most handsome dog in the world, the little brown dog is the happiest (and stupidest )

Thanks guys :D We lived in a unit for 5 years so this is my first garden, really quite enjoying it even the 'boring' bits like weeding. The little roses under the window are really quite lurid colours, lol, as though someone has taken to them with a highlighter. Probably a good thing it was slightly overcast

I don't know if I'm more pleased with the photos, or the fact that I've managed grow these myself (well, at least, not kill them ) When you look at this one in 1:1 full size, you can see a perfect image of the rose leaves in the water drop, lol.

If he's been vaccinated previously the titre testing might be the way to go. I would suggest then calling the kennels to see what they say.

Depends on why he is on the prednisolone and what dose of it he is on. If he is on prednisolone for an immune mediated condition, I would titre test him rather than vaccinating. If it's more for skin allergies etc then if he is on a low-ish dose, although he might not have a full response it should not prevent some kind of immune response.

Our 15-30kg dog castrate is ~$240. Pre-anaesthetic blood profile is option, PCV / TP done on each patient, premedication of opiod and sedative, every patient has an IV catheter placed before anaesthesia, Alfaxan induction, isoflurane maintenance, individual packages of suture material, every desexing patient is on IV fluids, blood pressure monitoring by a nurse who sits in the surgery for the entire duration (no wandering to clean the clinic while listening to beeps). The patients have personal attention until they can right themselves after extubation and then are monitored by our kennel nurse, and get an NSAID injection once they are waking up (or at a time dictated by the vet if there are issues with blood pressure etc). Cost includes post op checks at 3 days and 10 days post surgery. The middle of an anaesthetic crisis is the wrong time to be placing an IV catheter, so even if fluids are not administered I would have one in place before they are asleep (on the odd occasion with a truly feral patient, it will be immediately after anaesthetic induction). Antibiotics are not required for most short surgeries (<90 mins and not involving the gastrointestinal or urinary tract) performed under aseptic conditions. They should not be given routinely. (For comparison, the basic cost for a GA and day in hospital is around $250).

Treatment with Vitamin K is usually successful, especially if it is started prior to clinical signs and the course of treatment is long enough and at a high enough dose for the particular type of rat bait ingested. It can certainly go badly, but these would ordinarily be the cases that are already sick and bleeding by the time we get to see them and some cases can turn around quickly once treatment is started. Can you tell us what type of rat bait it was, how big your dogs are and what dose of Vitamin K they are on? If your dog was dehydrated enough to require IV fluids (regardless of whether they have eaten rat bait) at the very minimum they should have had a PCV and TPP done to assess the level of dehydration, and if it was me doing the 'minimum' I would add in electrolytes as well. For a dog that has a history of rat bait ingestion, we should at least have an idea of whether the blood can clot - even if an activated clotting time is not done, blood left in a plain tube should clot eventually. If you don't have those basic answers, then I (strongly) suggest another opinion - it is BASIC information and it's important to the treatment of your dog.