LauraJane

I think it's called Silica gel and you can buy it loose or in little satchets. I've bought it online before for work, but don't ask me where !?!? Goodluck

Oh he never stopped bouncing! Still running a muck like a usual staffy pup. Tried to keep him quiet last night, he was asleep on the couch with me, i thought it was safe to hop in the shower. Enjoying my nice relaxing shower and i could hear banging. Found him doing zoomies up and down the hallway with a cushion off the couch. He was just makin sure it was deaded!!

Thanks Guys. Yes Puggy he's had joint problems .... well sort of. Vet originally diagnosed Arthritis at 8 months. Went to Murdoch and they said NO arthritis, he's got carpal laxity. When discussing with them we decided to leave him on the diet he was on and keep going with the joint guard and fish oil as it would "do him no harm"?!? I've stopped it now though and will wait for him to feel better. He had chicken & rice last night, didn't worm him and didn't put joint guard etc. Thought id introduce each one slowly once he's feeling better. I'll definately go back to the vet if things don't improve. I've already swapped vets once, felt like i was talking to a brick wall. Starting to feel that way again bout this vets. I know they are busy and have more important things to do than answer silly questions from a first time mum. But i find this website and the search function more informative. Some things i would never have know about which are really important my vets have never told me. Checked his anus area, looks fine. No redness, dirt, swelling etc. Thanks again.

I probs should ring the vet about this, but i've rung them that much in the past i'm starting to get the feeling they think i'm crazy. The vet actually said to me on the last visit. "Your dog is healthy, please just enjoy him!!" (that was tuesday) So i thought i'd run is past you guys Sunday we went to the beach. My staffy boy had a bit of runny poo's in the arvo i put it down to too much saltwater. Monday he did a nice poo, but it had a bit of fresh red blood in it. I went to the vet Tuesday morning. Checked him over, he's fine. Tuesday night did another runny poo. Back to normal Wednesday. Wednesday night another runny poos and he dragged his bottom along the grass. Made me think ... WOrms? Did notice last night his tummy was grumbling. He's happy and active, no other signs of sickness. He was wormed about a month ago (due 8th) My plan of attack is... Put him on a diet of boiled chicken and rice. (he's currently getting chicken necks and or lamb/roo/mutton/fish, blended vegies, dry eagle pack in mornings) Worm him tonight. But i wasn't sure if i'm able to worm him now, or wait till his poo's are back to normal. Catch 22, if it is worms his poo's won't go back to normal unless i worm him? And, can i put his usual supp's (joint guard/fish oil etc) in his chicken and rice or wait till better? Any idea's?

I might try the holding the bone for him like you did Kirra, i'm sitting watching him anyway might aswell assist. I've trained him to "spit" when i'm not sure what he's munching on so i might be able to train him to nibble instead of gulp!?! Freezing them is a good idea, but i've frozen his chicken necks and watched him pick them up... put them down and come back later when they are defrosted. Tricky tricky. He has marrow bones quiet often, these seem like the safest cause they are so big .. but they are hard too, i'm worried he'll break his teeth. Maybe i'm just a stress head and worry too much (my OH makes jokes about purchasing a bubble wrap factory so i can wrap everyone up in it) Thanks for your help guys!

I've just started feeding my staffy boy a complete raw diet. After lots of reading and discussions with a holistic vet we've come up with a good diet plan. But... my boy is unco when it comes to eating bones. Chew Chew Chew... then GULP! Swallows it. He scared the crap outa me the other day by choking on a lamb flap. Last night he tried to swallow a bone with meat still on it, was about the size of a tennis ball. I watch him like a hawk, but now it's happened a few times i'm really nervous about giving him anything with out cutting it up into teeny tiny little peices.. and some things just can't be cut! I've tried really really big... as soon as he gets it down to a size he "thinks" he can swallow, he does. so my only option is really really small... or invest in my very own Mincer! Any thoughts on safe bones for a silly staffy dog?

Yeah, we've never pushed Decky to exercise at all. He does his own thing. We take him to the park or beach, he runs around and sniffs etc. Then we do 10 mins on lead training etc. Has play date with a little mate every now and again. I would be interested in the diet you feed your guy. Decky's been on Royal Canine Sensative and the vet said to leave him on that. He also gets raw at night, mince, veggie slops, occassional egg, Feramo supplement, fish oil, joint guard, celery seeds and rice. If there is more i can do to help him, i will do it in a flash. I wonder why my vet didn't tell me about the slippery surfaces thing? Good to know that!

Erny what excercises have you used? The surgeon told me wading through chest high water or to find a Physio with a machine to work certain muscles. No physio's here... but i'm looking into getting a paddle pool for the wading. He tends to jump around at the beach... can't get him to wade. Would love some more idea's though.

yeah i have kept the breeder informed the whole way through. Waiting for her reply from todays email with the update. I'm just happy it's something he'll grow out of and it's not going to get any worse. The vet said he's not in any pain. It's not affecting his quality of life at all. He's just a shakin' dog! I will keep an eye on it though. But i'm a worrier so i do that anyway.

Update - sorry long post. After an early morning (3:30am) and spending the better part of Thursday on the road. We saw the surgeon at Murdoch Uni Vet. We manipulated and checked every joint, couldn't find any signs of pain. He checked the xrays and couldn't see anything alarming, mind you he did comment on the poor quality of the xrays. We decided to do xrays (10 all up) joint taps and full blood work to rule out nasty's. Poor little puppy.. being all poked and prodded.. not that i think he minded.. he got so much attention, kisses and cuddles!!! Decky's xrays were booked for Thursday arvo, but due to an emergency they were postponed till the Friday morning. So he spent the afternoon getting checked over by the Rick Reed (Professor, Orthopedic and osteoarthritis specialist). The xrays, joint taps etc ruled out everything. He has no arthritis. They have diagnosed his wobble to be "carpal laxity" - but very mild. Basically his extensor muscles are weaker than his contractor muscles in his forelegs only. The only time its recognisable is when his legs are relaxed. He has special excercises to do, but the vet thinks it will get better with age. He said his diet etc is fine and to continue on with what we are doing. Anyone have experiance with this? It's seems like a rare disease. I've done a few internet searches but only found limited info. Can not thank the vets and surgeons at Murdoch enough though, they were fantastic... very friendly, professional.. they took time out of there day to explain / show videos / text books. I would have been in there with the surgeon for about 4 hours all up and i only got charged 1 consult fee (plus the tests). :p

Puggy Puggy - OCD sure does sound about right. I insisted my vet give me a referral. We are booked in next Thursday in Perth at Murdoch Uni. I'm in for a bit of a drive. Thanks for everyones help. Wish us luck!

i just went through a similar thing with my Staffy - and same deal limited vets here. I'm no expert but this is what we did. We did 10 skin scapings and eventually found mite (and the vet had to dig deep). Used a demodex dip, but cause i was wary of it only used it on his bald patches. he hated it. We also washed him in Phyoex (sp?) weekly. He also suffers from grass allergy i think. We wash his feet every afternoon before he comes inside with fresh water, dry throughly and apply a really light soothing cream ( i think the brand is PAW - all natural if i remember correct) his underarms we used a antibacterial anti itch from the pet shop. Oh - and swapped his dry food to Royal Canine Sensitivity (for his treat balls/training etc) his main meals are raw meat /veggies etc and supplements. Now, 4 months down the track and his hair has grown back and no itchy tum tum Goodluck

Thanks Guys. Bigdaz I will see a specialist. I did think the arthritis may have been a secondary thing caused by something else. I will look into it further. Stella1 - Goodluck with Max's xrays.

Thanks Nekhbet, i will give them a call straight away.

Thanks Poodlefan, Yeah he only decided his ball was fun about 2 days before his xrays, since then he's been banned. He carry's it round the park - but no throwing.

We were taking him to the beach or park daily. He did his own thing off lead. Then say 10 minutes on lead trainng, sit, down, stay, left, right etc. Bout half an hour all up. Once a week we would skip the walk and go to obediance training for an hour. Never a huge amount of excercise. More playing tug, training etc. She didn't give me any indication as to the cause. I asked what i did wrong, and she said "these things happen"

My 7.5 month old staffy pup has been diagnosed with early signs of arthritis. I'm heartbroken. My vet was very careful not to call it elbow dysplasia.. just arthritis she said. Both elbows (left more than right) with a bit of 'beaking' and the right hip femur (sp?) is not quite round, kinda lumpy looking. Bit of background. I first noticed a wobble in his front leg whilst sitting when he was 10 weeks (the night we got him), it was like he wasn't locking in his 'ankle'. I asked the vet on our first trip. Nothing to worry bout i was told. I wasn't convinced. Every vet i've seen since (i've seen alot, a different one every time) they told me not to worry, its just laziness/nervousness etc. Then i noticed he was stiff after a long nap and limped for a couple of steps after getting up... then the limp would go. So i changed vet and asked the new vet. She checked his leg and heard a click, so we got xrays done the next day. He's on a 4 week course of catrophen injections, joint guard, celery seeds, and fish oil. Now, my new vet is fantastic, but i get the feeling that we have more options, but because of our location (no chiros, physio's, specialists etc) she has based the treatment plan on what we can do and not what can be done (if that makes sense) I thought i'd ask DOLER's if anyone had idea's of what else i can do, or of any specialist in WA that i could contact? I feel like i'm not doing enough, i want to give him the best chance of a long pain free life. Sorry bout the long post Thankyou