tdierikx

Definitely! If the cause is a torsion or intussusception, then the longer you wait, the more of your dog's intenal gastric tract can die off, leading to very aggressive surgery to remove large portions of same... or death if not treated asap. If you even suspect bloat in your dog... vet asap... don't wait! T.

I'll be there around 9ish, OK? T.

Is this sunday good for you @asal? T.

Would you like me to come out with my whipper snipper @asal? We can clear any longer grass to deter the wrigglies from visiting the dogs... T.

Bonnie or Connie @asal? Thank dog she's OK! T.

That IS good customer service! Lucky Jeune to have you as her mum... T.

Nawww.... looks like she found herself a friend... lol! T.

Have you been showing your boy at all? That would give you the networking and kudos for good wins that may be required to get him out there and recognised as desirable by others... Unfortunately hiring your dog out as a stud isn't as easy as just advertising for him to get "dates with the ladies"... T.

OMG!!! Such precious little souls... I think kisses all around are warranted... from Aunty Tracey of course! (and from all their other DOL aunties and uncles to... just for good measure methinks... lol!) Always happy to have a good research session if Madeline needs me to @yellowgirl... she's just too precious for words! Hugs to you also for all she's put you through these past few weeks... T.

Fingers crossed Madeline has now stablised enough to not require any more intrusive tests. You may be looking at regular PCV tests to keep an eye on the anaemia, but maybe if she's stable enough, they can be spaced further apart now... Keep an eye on the weight gain... we don't want a chubby girl if she has a heart murmur... her heart will be working hard enough, yes? Also, as long as the anaemia is identified as a regenerative type, then outlook is much better in the long run - her body is doing all the right things to regenerate the cells, she may be healing herself, albeit slowly... the Gabapentin can have 2 aims, anti-seizure and pain relief, so hopefully it will help keep her stable while her own body does the amazing healing things bodies do when faced with situations like this. I think Madeline might need a few more cuddles from me please... T.

@yellowgirl - has your vet run full bloods? Checking for potassium, calcium, ALP, glucose, etc? Results from those can give a clearer indication of whether we are looking at Addison's. I was chatting to our farm vet yesterday during his weekly visit, and he said to look for elevated potassium, glucose, and ALP for a more definite indication of Addison's. He originally said the wobbles could have been from a TIA, and that the enlarged adrenals (depending on how enlarged of course) and heart murmur could also be age related. I told him the blood (haematocrit) results, and he said overall they weren't life-threateningly scary at this point, but still of concern. He advises full bloods and follow-up haematocrit (PCV) a week after the original bloods to see if any positive changes have occurred since being on the Gabapentin. The other possibility for the strange blood test results could be an underlying infectious agent... slim chance, but still a possibility. How is sweet Madeline doing so far? T.

T4 will be elevated most times if there is a pituitary issue... if the thyroid itself is normal (as I found out with my own... errr!) My own thyroid was on the way out, but blood tests kept saying all hormone levels (TSH and T4 specifically) were within normal ranges - because my silly pituitary gland was taking up the slack and doing the work for the ailing thyroid... lol! So far all my looking up stuff is trying to point to Addison's Disease (hypoadrenocorticism) ... can't really get past the enlarged adrenals... *sigh*... and the liver spots may be a part of the same package there... Anyways - if you promise to not get scared or go off the beaten path... here is the website that I primarily use to look up animal related medical test results... it's also very reputable, OK? http://eclinpath.com/chemistry/chemistry-quick-guide/ Just remember to look at the results for whatever type of test that has been run, or you'll get sidetracked... errr! Please give Miss Madeline a cuddle and kiss from me, OK? T.

Hmmm... what meds has the vet given Madeline @yellowgirl? Prednisolone? Was she on any other medications prior to this episode? Has the vet tested for pituitary gland function? Immune mediated haemolytic anaemia doesn't normally present with enlarged adrenals from what I'm reading... but different presentations can be indicative of underlying causes. ie: the adrenal enlargement could be the primary cause for the other symptoms and test results I'll do some more investigations after work, OK? Can't have too many heads working on getting Madeline better, can we? T.

I've always been very interested in animal health @yellowgirl... and am currently studying vet nursing at TAFE (vet science is a bit out of my price range unfortunately). My reckoning is that the anaemia is going to be the definitive symptom that leads to diagnosis of whatever is going on with Madeline, plus the new onset heart murmur (which may be a result of said anaemia). I look at symptom lists as being a sort of multiple choice list of things that can be a result of any particular disease - the more symptoms from the list that are displayed, the more obvious the diagnosis - but certainly not all symptoms are required for the disease/condition to be the cause. Does that make sense? Hopefully the vet will have a diagnosis and a treatment plan for sweet Madeline soon... T.

Please give little Max a hug from all his DOL aunties and uncles @shirra... let's hope his issues have either abated, or been treated... T.

I went with the search for enlarged adrenal glands @yellowgirl... and anaemia... Addisons can have the anaemia, while Cushings doesn't tend to. Addisons is also more likely to be diagnosed in older dogs, and Cushings more in younger dogs. Both are the main diseases that result in enlarged adrenals. The "patchy" liver is a worry though... and could be the cause of the anaemia if the "patches" are nasty things. Fingers crossed it's something relatively easily treatable, and Madeline is with us for a long time yet... Please give the sweet old thing a soft cuddle and kiss from me... and tell her to stop worrying her mumma... T.

I have owned 2 male Rotti's over the years - both were intact. 1 started pushing boundaries at puberty (around 18 months old), and only required some refresher obedience training to come back into line. The other boy was such a softie all his life... never pushed any boundaries at all. I have also worked with guard trained adult rottweilers of spurious breeding (for size rather than temperament), and 99% of those were just big softies wanting cuddles and attention when not working. They were all intact also. As your boy has been neutered, he is less likely to exhibit hormone driven behavioural changes, but normal adolescent boundary pushing may occur. As long as those instances are acted upon so he knows what behaviour is acceptable and what isn't, then really I wouldn't be concerned about what other people's perceptions are of "breed characteristics" based on alarmist internet postings by the sadly uninformed. Good socialisation and obedience training is key to reducing behavioural issues in any/all breeds of dog... and it looks like you are well on that road already. Don't pay any attention to the alarmists, really, they don't know what they are talking about, OK? Love and enjoy your boy, and he'll be a great canine citizen. T.

Has the vet tested for Addison's Disease? The symptoms appear to match unfortunately... T.

@asal - that is why I'm specifying the IDEXX SNAP Giardia test for the OP's dog - it tests for the enzymes released in a giardia infestation rather than the actual cysts. A standard faecal float looks for the presence of cysts in the stool sample via a microscope, but as giardia only releases cysts into the stool sporadically, the standard float test may produce a false negative for giardia. The standard float will show the presence of coccidia oocysts, which most dogs will have some of, but unless the oocyst numbers are extremely high in concentration, coccidiosis will be asymptomatic and not an issue. It is important to note that different magnifications are required to see coccidia oocytes or giardia cysts through the microscope. The IDEXX SNAP Giardia test is designed to detect enzymes released continuously by a giardia infection, hence being a much more accurate indicator of said infection. This test is 99% accurate in returning a correct diagnosis of giardia. Alternately, if giardia is even suspected, a course of Metronidazole (Flagyl), or Fenbendazole (Panacur) should be administered to treat it effectively. Neither would be detrimental to the dog even if administered prophylactically (just in case), so maybe if the dog is still symptomatic over a week after being treated for coccidia, the OP could ask for the giardia treatment drugs to cover all bases here. The OP doesn't specify how long after going to the vet their dog started showing signs of illness - the gestation period for giardia in dogs is usually 5 to 12 days (humans is 1 to 14 days), and the life cycle of canine coccidia is anywhere from 1 to 28 days once ingested. Giardia is mostly transmitted from infected water, and coccidia is contracted from ingesting infected faecal matter. The hygeine standards of a normal vet clinic should mitigate the contraction of coccidia whilst in care, unless someone has been very lax in cleaning the cage used for a dog's daytime stay for dental surgery. As stated in a previous post, a communal waterbowl would definitely be a possible infection route for giarda if not cleaned and refilled with fresh clean water regularly. It is important to note that some species of giardia and coccidia can be transmissable to humans also, so I hope the vet explained that to the OP when they took their dog home. Usually the 2 species of giardia found in dogs are not those that can infect humans. The form of coccidia that can affect humans is cryptosporidium, so if the vet suspected the dog had coccidiosis, then they should have advised the owner to practice very good hygeine when dealing with the dog while symptomatic (ie. has diarrhoea), especially if there are children that could be exposed to it. @shirra - please let us know of any progress with your daughter's little man... what is his name by the way? T.

Hmmm... adult dogs (at 4, the dog is an adult) are not usually overly symptomatic for coccidia, as their immune systems are usually robust enough to control the build up of such gut fauna. Also, it's hard to believe that a communal water bowl would be the source of a coccidial infection... more likely to be Giardia - very similar symptoms actually, but requires a totally different drug to treat it effectively. ie: Toltrazuril is used for coccidiosis, and Metronidazole or Fenbendazole for giardia. Coccidia is transferred by ingestion of infected faecal matter, giardia is mostly transferred often from infected water sources. The drugs for one disease will not effectively treat the other. There are specific types of faecal floats that can be performed to get a more accurate diagnosis of giardia - ask your vet for a Giardia ELISA test (IDEXX SNAP Giardia will be 99% accurate in diagnosis), as opposed to a basic faecal float which can give a lot of false negatives as the cysts are only shed sporadically. The IDEXX SNAP Giardia test looks for giarda specific enzymes which will always be present in an infected dog's stool. Left untreated - or not properly diagnosed - a parasitic infestation like giardia can possibly have an effect on cognitive function... but most tests regarding that link have been human based, so may or may not be relevant to dogs. I hope your little dog gets well soon! T.

Having difficulty seeing how a dog can contract coccidia in a vet clinic... hygiene standards would have to be VERY low for that to occur! Are they 100% certain that the dog had coccidia only, and not any other issues? Never heard of coccidia affecting the brain or nervous system like that in an adult dog... I'd be taking the dog to a vet immediately... not waiting to see if things get better on their own. A full checkup including bloods and another faecal float to make sure the coccidia has been effectively treated. T.

The Animal Welfare League have exactly the same powers as the RSPCA when it comes to enforcing POCTAA... but they don't seem to seize as many animals or take people to court with the same veracity. Maybe they are more focused on educating to help people comply with the regulation, rather than prosecuting for profit? When you consider that someone pleading guilty to 1 count of aggravated cruelty can score the RSPCA up to $20k in fines, and the fact that attempting to fight a number of charges will cost someone in excess of $100-200k in legal fees alone... can you see the efficacy of laying multiple charges, whether they can be proved or not, then offering to drop a number of those charges if a plea is made to at least 1? Easy money IMHO... T.

Many crossbreeds are bred nowadays for the money factor... give the cross a "breed" name like Cavachon or Cavapoo or similar, and charge exhorbitant sums for them... *sigh* Unless all breeding animals used are fully tested for issues they could pass on to their offspring, it's really a lottery in what will happen with the offspring... and sometimes, like asal pointed out, some issues are not that easy to weed out of a particular pure breed, let alone when crossing them with other breeds that may or may not help or hinder that process. T.

My friend's 2 dogs are on Ivory Coat... no issues, and she's been feeding it for a few years. T.

Not good... but we don't know exactly what she may have said to the vet about the ear infection. Could be that as a breeder, she might have had medications to use already at home, and he thought she would at least start the treatment? @anon2345 - what is the actual nature of the heart defect? Is it a faulty valve, a hole in the heart, or an irregular muscle function? T.