dianed

My dogs dont like Uncle Albers or Great Barko, am feeding whats left to the magpies! Seems I,m not the only one who,s dogs wont eat it as our local Produce store told me they are not going to stock it anymore after negative feedback.

Have you tried cooking the roo meat, sometimes it makes a difference.

Hi, so sorry to hear such a young dog has pannus. Your dog will need the drops every day for the rest of its life unless something better comes along. My 10yo GSD Carla who passed away last year was diagnosed with pannus at age 6. I treated her with Optimune drops daily,I did use an ointment at the start as well to help clear the eye but I can,t remember its name. We managed to keep the disease from covering her whole eye with the drops, knocking the amount down to a maintenance dose during winter months. As soon as the sun started to shine more it was a ritual twice a day. I used to put her head in between my legs and hold her eye open one at a time and put the drops in. I held her head to make sure she didn't shake it out. Towards the end I could do it from the front, she just sat there. My vet let me pick up the drops at the counter as long as I took her in each year for a check up. The eye can ulcerate because of the cortisone use but I was very aware of that. I have seen suncaps online for dogs maybe you should have a look at them for summer, Carla wouldn't wear the doggles I got they weren't a good fit for her face shape. She did love to sit in the sun which was a problem we had with her. Her life was not altered by pannus she did the same things she always did, she saw it as her job to keep the foxes away at night. I think she relied on her sense of smell and hearing more. Good luck

Hope you got it out?? I just use a piece of tissue wound up but the saline wash may do the job. I ve had grass seeds and they usually go to the corner of the eye over night.

Thats extremly high in my opinion, my GSD had a growth removed from inside her upper lip and another warty looking growth from her foot in April and it cost $280.25. I asked for no testing on the growth as the dog is 11.5 years. It depends where you go as to price I suppose. My last short visit to the vet cost $66. Last year I had to take another dog to Canberra for a needle biopsy and ultra sound for a mass on her lung. It cost $900 with an inconclusive result on the biopsy! I was no further advanced in knowing if it was cancer or an infection. My 3 yo GSD has sebaceous cysts that will one day have to be removed.

Not that area but further down on the south coast vets are using it. My dog was vaccinated last year with a 3 yearly C3 Nobivac.

Troppodogs, I,m so sorry to hear about your girl.

I gave my dogs sunflower oil recently when I ran out of olive oil, it didnt hurt them. In fact they liked the taste better.

It was Optimmune drops I used. Like others have said you can do a maintenance dose of cortisone in winter. You will see a reduction in the cloudiness in the eye. Carla loved to sit in the sun so I got a market umbrella for her to sit under. I got her a pair of doogles but she didn't like wearing them. I see today the have special caps made for dogs, they look just the thing for outdoor wear.

Don,t know where you live town or country?so this may not be applicable. When my dogs do that its a sign that a fox is outside, the other night one dog nearly went thru the glass door to get outside.

When I lived on a dairy farm 20 years ago my dogs drank as much milk and colostrum as they wanted, it never did them any harm. The dogs I have now have a bowl of pasteurized milk every morning with their fish oil in it, poor things don,t know what they are missing.. all that creamy milk...

Daisy, My 10 yo GSD that passed away last year had pannus. It started with patches of pinky film over the eye itself, I first noticed it on the outer edge of her eye. In time that turned to a greyish/black, left untreated it would have covered her whole eye. She had cortisone drops and an ointment which was very expensive ($30+ a tube) applied daily.I found the cortisone alone kept the disease at bay. In winter months I cut back on the drops as they can weaken the eye. I was able to delay the disease, but each year she lost more sight. At no time where her eyes red or weepy, so hopefully Clyde doesn't have pannus even though Greyhounds like GSD,s are predisposed to it.

I have found the salt solution best also. After using two tubes of ointment from the vet we still had the problem. Bathing in the salt clears it up.

And don,t forget the rainy weather brings them out, thats what I was told here on the south coast! ;)

Hi Labsrule, How are things with you, glad to hear Fitzy is going ok with the chemo and he is healing up after his surgery. Hopefully his hair will grow back fast, I had to go buy a rug for Sophie, it was the middle of winter and damn cold that year and she didnt have any excess fat on her. Its good that you can get back to your daily walks in the autumn sun. All those normal things help the healing process for both of you. As time goes by you begin to relax a little within yourself and accept that each day you have them is a bonus. One decision I did make 3 years ago was that I would cut down the amount of dry food from my dogs diet. I feed mostly roo meat from our property that I butcher myself with the occasional chicken bits & pieces. Dry is offered but mostly left untouched these days. If Soph can do it so can Fitzy!

Hi Labsrule. Yes my dog did have stage II hemangiosarcoma of the spleen. A biopsy of her spleen was taken and sent to Sydney. Before they operated the first time she had blood transfusions to bring her red blood cell count up. The vet said her spleen didn't look that bad when they opened her up and took the biopsy, a little abnormal in shape. So it was not removed. She was then treated for Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA)and given a high dose of cortisone each day. Days later (it may have been a week) I received a call from the vet, who was a bit shocked by the results. The biopsy results showed she had Hemangiosarcoma Stage 2, and I was told it is very serious and things cant be any worse. I had to wean her off the cortisone and take her in next day to have her spleen removed. Two ops in one week! I have no doubt that the cancer will return if it hasnt already, the tumor removed from her mouth recently is part of it I believe. I am monitoring a small black cluster lump below her nose. Its my decision not to have futher tests done on her, at the moment she looks really good, she,s over 11, eating well and enjoying old age so we will make the most of it. She,s been extremely lucky to have survived this far. The vets own dog did pass away due to the cancer returning. I hope Fitzy is as fortunate as Sophie and has a few more years... with or without chemo.

I have spoken to my vet surgery and confirmed that Sophie's cancer was stage II. No other treatment was recommended as the vet was confident that it had not spread to other organs. I was told also that the vets dog had recently passed away at well over 14 yo. I researched like you and read all I could on the subject, it was very depressing reading. Sophie had two blood transfusions to get her cell count back up for the operation. I could have had blood tests done on a regular basis to check her cell count to see if cancer had returned. A couple of months ago she had a growth removed from inside her lip. A photo of it is in another thread. They gave her a complete check up before giving her an anesthetic. At her age I don't want to put her through anymore than I have to, shes exceeded the life expectancy time given. I suppose you have to way up the pros and cons of chemotherapy, age and quality of life. He,s still young isn't he. How did you pick it up, did Fitzy go downhill really quick, grey gums, no energy? and after surgery did he bounce back to his old self pretty quick( except for the stitches).

Sorry to hear about your boy, its a very stressful thing to go thru. Sophie my German Shepherd who is now 11 1/2 was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma of the spleen 3 years ago this July, she had a splenectomy and recovered to her usual self in a few weeks. Her blood cell count returned to normal and she has never looked back, she eats better than she ever did and even put on a bit of weight. Sophie was the third dog in as many weeks that my vet operated on for Hemangiosarcoma of the spleen, one was the vets own dog, her then 11 year old blue Cattle Dog, he is alive and doing well today. The third dog I believe is also alive and well. Sophie was the youngest at 8yo. My vet did say it was very unusual to have 3 cases in as many weeks in a small town (Population 2700). There was nothing to link the dogs, they where all different breeds. I believe she was in contact with a teaching University in the USA where vets where doing a study on Hemangiosarcoma of the spleen after having so many close together. None of these dogs had Chemotherapy afterwords, if the cancer was contained and your vet was confident that it hadn't spread as was the case with Sophie and the other two why put your dog through more trauma. Last year I lost my 10 year old to lung cancer. I have since decided it would have been kinder to her at that age to have not made her last days miserable with medication that made her unwell and carting her around the countryside seeking treatment. I wish you both all the best and I will be thinking of you and your boy.

Yes its available at Produce stores in a 500ml tin. I had the spelling wrong, its Nucidol 200EC. Its an insecticide used on cattle and pigs for mange and lice. On dogs for fleas, horses. goats and for flies in animal sheds. We used in the dairy we had in Victoria years ago to keep flies away. When I moved to the NSW south coast my then German Shepherds became very itchy. I took them to the vet and he was the one who advised I use it. Also the flies where biting one dogs ears and I mixed a little with Vaseline and it worked. I wouldn't be surprised if my latest dog had mites when I got her, that's all I can think off. I tried changing her diet but nothing worked. Whatever caused the problem its gone now. PS I ,d be careful using it on broken skin.

I don,t know if this is of any help with the itch prob. When I got my rescue 3 year old GSD last year she had the biggest itch problem. As was stated on this forum once"she sounded like a steam engine" when she scratched. It wasn't fleas as she been advantixed each month. I mixed up some Nucadol in a watering can as per directions for dogs and soaked her after her normal bath. The itching ceased dramatically and her coat thickened up, it had been very sparse for a shepherd. She now has fish oil a few times a week.

A few years ago after my OH culled roos from our property I thought what a waste of good meat so I decided to butcher my own roo meat for my dogs. I,m pretty good at it now, I only use the meat from the hind quarters. I pack and freeze then thaw as fresh roo has a smell! I have found the bones to be very hard and when cut brittle. More so than beef bones, I have large dogs so I have had no problems...yet. The only large bone is in their back legs maybe that is why there is not much around. I must say I never thought to get a tail so after reading here I will try some. One problem I have found feeding straight roo is that my dogs loose weight .

I had the same problem as you last year when I started my rescue dog on raw food.She,d previously only had tin, bones and dry food. She vomited it straight back up, I had to slowly introduce it to her. The roo meat was worse, I ended up cooking it till she got used to it. I also had to keep the dry food separate. Shes fine now and has put on weight.

My older dog is always constipated so now I mix some psyllium husks in milk or in her soft food a couple of times a week. (she likes it in milk better)

From the owner of a 3 year old female shepherd who couldn't swim, (she sort off can now, if its called swimming!). I,m glad to see your puppy has been introduced to water at an early age, it makes all the difference. I thought swimming came natural to a dog, now I know different. Shes a beautiful pup and I loved your photos.

My 11 year old female shepherd started having the same problem late last year, out of the blue like your boy. First thing I did was get a sample and have it tested for an infection, it came back negative. For whatever reason? it cleared up after a few months, touch wood! I couldnt give my girl medication because of previous cancer problems. I got some polar fleece throw rugs(they dry fast) and a waterproof towelling bed liner from K mart which I adapted to her bedding. We now go outside last thing at night and I did take the water bowl away.