dianed

Today I returned from holidays to find that little Molly the Staffy who we used to meet on our morning walks had passed away after being bitten by a snake on cup day. Molly was found earlier this year in the bush by woodcutters, she was suffering from mange and badly undernourished.She was taken in by a loving couple who nursed her back to health, she settled in to her new home with her doggie family and was enjoying all the good things in life. She was such a happy loving girl after all she,d been through in her short life. Pepper will miss you on our walks Molly. Have fun chasing all those staffys.

The same thing happens with some of the pour on drenches used on Cattle, they run around silly for awhile and they have hides! Some even get burned. Most of the dog and cat flea spot on controls are smaller doses of same products.

First off I would have found out if the mass in the spleen was cancerous or not, they can do a biopsy as was the case of my dog. She was diagnosed with a grade 2 Hemangiosarcoma of the spleen after a biopsy, the same cancer that Labsrule sadly lost her boy to recently. My dog one day suddenly presented with pale gums, very lethargic, staggering around and just not well. She needed a blood transfusion to bring her red blood cell count up immediately or she would have died. Before the biopsy results came back she was treated for Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia ( IMHA). The day the results came in she was operated on and her spleen removed. It was a matter of urgency to remove the spleen as it can burst. After the spleenectomy she returned to her old self. The vet said she was confident the cancer had not spread outside the spleen. That was over 3 years ago and Sophie is about to turn 12 this month. Further I think I am right in saying that whether a mass is benign or malignant a life threatening bleed can occur if it ruptures. A spleen can bleed and stop as it seems has happened in your dog, but most likely it will bleed again. I,m surprised your vet didn't recommend removal of the spleen after things had settled down. A dog as like us humans can live without a spleen.

I got a bag of Hypro the other day and my dogs arent that keen on it, we have tried Great Barko and Uncle Albers as well. What my dogs do love are the Hypro 4x2 biscuits, its like they are addicted to them. I liked the oily feel of the GB and UA but they didn't take to them, fussy buggers.

Labsrule thats a lovely tribute to your beautiful Fitzy. Its always so hard when you loose them before their time but you did all you could for Fitzy, of that I am sure. He new he was loved and you have such wonderful memories to hold onto. Take care of yourself, Di.

Would it be ok to tell us about her, what was she like. I lost one last year to cancer, I still miss her.

I,m so sorry to hear about your loss. A lot of people on this forum have lost pets so you are not alone, would it help to talk about it on this forum. We have an older friend who lost his beloved companion rather suddenly due to a silly accident caused while he was helping out a friend. He suffered badly for weeks to the point where we became very worried about him. He was able to speak to his close friends and his vet, he had no family members. I believe you can talk to Life Line phone 13 11 14 about loosing a pet.

Well done! I have a 3yo long coat gsd (as pretty and spoilt as Shyla).In the last few days she has chewed up my torch recharger, the lead on my lamp and the knobs on my dresser.Obviously she was bored as we hadn't been able to get outside because of the wind.

I have a gsd who does the same thing, takes all her food to her bed and eats. She even picks up the cat bowl and takes it to her bed to lick clean.

One day at a time sounds good,... .all the best

"AND MANY MORE"

Hi Camyperth, I agree with the approach you are taking. The tumor didn't bleed,so that was in your favour, your vet would have known by the size and shape of the spleen how long the tumor had been there. If Teds happy, go for it

Should have added, At the time three years ago my vet operated on 3 dogs in as many weeks with the same problem, my dog Sophie was the third. One was her own dog a blue heeler x, I know for a fact he survived 2.5 years without any further treatment, he was nearly 14 at the time of his op I believe.

Hello, sorry to here about your dog, everything you read about HSA sounds bad I know, its really a stressful time but I hope my experience and outcome helps you some. I have a GSD who will be 12 in November, she had her spleen removed with a stage 11 HSA three years ago last month, she was 8yo at the time. I had no follow up treatment, I asked about chemo but my vet said it wasn't needed, the cancer had not spread outside the spleen to any other organ as far as she could see. Sophie's blood cell count, her grey gums etc all returned to normal after the surgery. She has not looked back, eats much better and overall became a much happier dog. We still go for our long walks, she is sleeping more these days but 12 is old for a shepherd. I changed her diet to mainly raw food although she has taken a liking to 4x2,s recently. (naughty) After her op I was on tenderhooks but as time went on you adjust to whats happened and appreciate what ever time you have with your pet. Hopefully its all good from now on. There is another person on this forum who,s dog had HSA of the spleen, she opted for Chemo, if you look up my posts you will be able to read about it. Sophie,s survival time should be an inspiration to any other dog. all the best. Di

Years ago (28 to be exact) my first GSD had a litter of pups, having a dairy farm at the time they where feed lots of milk, colostrum and all. When mum was a pup she was feed the same. It didn,t do either mum or pups any harm, in fact when I look back mum & the 2 daughters I kept where the longest living, healthiest GSD.s I had. And no cancer problems like I have had in the ones since.

From what I have seen it depends on the dog and the breed. I had two female gsd,s born 6 months apart and they got on fine. They where best mates, when the younger of the two died the other was depressed. I got a 2yo later on but they don't have the same relationship. The 12yo will not play with the younger one much to her regret, understandably. On the other hand a friend has a 4yo female and a 12 month old male beagle and they are just a source of entertainment for their elderly owner. I do agree with Luvsdog, the younger dog I have has learnt alot from her older sister.

Local councils (in Qld) have a very basic dog information database and it's searched via address and council tag number rather than microchip. If the local council picked up your dog then they'd check for a tag with a contact number on it first, next they'd check for a council tag, next they'd check for a microchip and yes, they'd then contact the microchip registeries NOT search their dog registration data for the microchip number. NSW is probably different as the microchipping is compulsory state wide - other states probably different again. If a dog micro-chipped and registered in NSW went missing interstate are its chip details available on a national data base. Or do you have to register them yourself on something like CAR or AAR.

Wonderful stuff that hydrogen Peroxide. I got told by a horse vet years ago to use Hydrogen peroxide as an oxygenator to promote healing and skin growth. It certainly worked when my horse lost have the skin on her face due to a reaction from a worm paste Hope everything is ok this morning.

Wow, what an incision, hope she is well on the road to recovery and all is positive in future. Those little lumps, you just dont know do you? :thumbsup:

Hi K_L , My older dog wakes up each morning with the same gunk in the corner of her eyes. I just put it down to ageing. I did ask the vet two years ago and they gave me some drops but it returned when they ran out. It wasn,t conjunctivitis they said. I just wipe her eyes with a tissue or cotton ball soaked in salty water,that clears it up. As soon as I stop using it, it returns. I tried the tea bags mentioned on here but found the salt solution worked better. But I,d still get it checked out next vet visit.

Try Nucidol, follow directions on the tin for spraying around yards etc. I also spray the shed where the outside dog beds are in summer, and around the doors to keep flies away. You can make a solution as per instructions to use on your dogs for fleas. Available at Produce Stores in NSW. I have used it for years.

I,d take Ernys advice and give her time, seems like she,s managing at the moment. I went thru the same thing this time last year with my 9yo. Vets told me she had lung cancer so there was no happy ending and she was going down hill. I still wonder did I do the right thing at that time. I just wish I knew about DOL then and I could have shared my experience with others who had been in the same position. All the best thoughts for you and Tara.

Roo meat does have some moisture content which may be why your girl doesnt drink as much. If you microwave it (make sure its covered and watch out for the smell, yuk) you will get a juice out of it with little or no fat. In fact one day I zapped the chunks too long and got beef cherky.

I have the same problem with my older girl being feed chunky pieces of roo meat. I give her milk with psyllium husks mixed in it a couple of times week. If your dog can,t handle milk and if the roo is minced try adding the husks to it with a bit of water. My dog prefers it in milk and it defiantly adds fibre and moisture to her poos.

Should have included in my last post that I was disappointed my girls didn't like the Laucke Mills made Uncle Albers and Great Barko dog food. I love their bread mix and have been using it for years.