Flick_Mac

Sorry to hear that Jules. I guess the upside is you know what's wrong and that you need to treasure every minute you have with her.

With regards to needing a second op that's if the first op doesn't completely close the shunt after 4-6 weeks. If you close the shunt any faster than that the main complication is the portal hypertension that WnH was talking about. As far as my notes say, if surgery goes well life expectancy isn't reduced. Minimising chances of post-op seizures is done by medical treatment for about 4weeks prior to surgery, and courses of antibiotics, worming them etc The stats I have for complications for an intrahepatic shunt: 70-75% clinical improvement after closing a single intrahepatic shunt Surgical mortality of 11-25% There is sometimes no improvement despite surgery She also says to get a liver biopsy prior to surgery to ensure it isn't Hepatic Microvascular Dysplasia - which is like lots of tiny shunts throughout the liver. This is managed with drugs and diet etc. They also say that they can remove the urinary calculi at the same time as closing the shunt so that might be something to consider if you do go ahead if it is infact a shunt. Hope that helps! It's pretty well straight from my lecture notes... sorry if it isn't totally logical... I had a chicken medicine exam this morning and am brain fried!

I hope everything goes smoothly jules.... we just had our liver surgery lectures and the lecturer (a specialist surgeon) seemed to think that surgical treatment was really good and worth doing in most cases - it will give a fix and require no medication long-term all going well. Going over my notes it looks like most of the compications are from closing the shunt too quickly - they need to be closed slowly. 35% of larger dogs still have the extrahepatic shunt so if that is it, and it was my dog, I'd do surgery no question. Feel free to PM me and I'd be happy to email you my lecture notes if you'd like a look.

Akita: Kyojin American Staffordshire Terrier: Tua, Max Australian Shepherd: Banjo Belgian Shepherd (Groenendael): Fleming Border Collie: Roy, Molly Bull Terrier: Bonnerville Cane Corso: Ali Cavalier King Charles Spaniel: Bree, Ingrid, Jersey, Lacey, Fern Chihuahua: Chelsea and Pansy, Heidi, Bertie, Moose Dally:Appollo Finnish Lapphund: Halo, Vienna, Jaana English Setter: Spartan, James German Coolie: FlashBazil, Latte German Shepherd: Java, Odin, Tlaloc Golden Retriever: Onslow, Matilda-Rose, Chester Great Dane: Sparkles Griffon Bruxellois: Mocha Labrador Retriever: Lestat, Bailey, Tia, Mieka Papillon: Blaze, Minka, Portia, Tyson, Coco Rottweiler: Roxy, Feonix, Radar, Neo, Abby Samoyed: Mistral, Alchemy, Yngvie, Dante, Bundy, Kamikaze, Fergus, Kato Siberian Husky: Akira, Tikaani Staffordshire Bull Terrier: Kiara SWF: Zoe Rescue Bitsa: Keely, Fred and Ginger,Ozzie, Tess (Wolfie X) White Swiss Shepherd: Rakim Weimaraner: Ariane, Lulu, Louie

You don't need to rush to desex undescended testes, but just remember that you should do it eventually. Undescended testes are far more likely to turn cancerous due to the increased temperature that they are at in the abdomen. My boy was a cryptorchid, and it just meant that his desexing was more like a female 'spay' than a straight forward castration. No big deal apart from the not breeding thing, which wasn't an issue for me.

The MRI might have been to check that there was no middle ear changes (if the ear drum had ruptured), or that the bony parts of the ear weren't infected or affected. Perhaps not neccessary if she's only had a few ear infections, but like someone said (can't remember who) it's the best practice to offer the gold standard and let owners decide from there.

MRIs are the expensive part because you've usually got to use a human machine. Only a couple of places have MRIs and they ain't cheap! Good choice going for a second opinion, but just remember general allergies are the number 1 cause for ear disease. Food may be the allergy but it's more likely pollen or something in the environment

The bodys organs have a huge amount of reserve, and often diseases don't show until about 70% of the tissue is affected. So often the signs of disease will come on quickly and there isn't so much you can do to reverse it. I can't quite figure out how to put that more eloquently, but maybe Rappie or someone will come and clarify. Rest easy beautiful girl. x

We've used the Parade for years now (7 or so) - especially Derek - and they've seen us through some emergencies (snail bait and 100 bee stings). We don't live in the hills, but they've always been excellent and I'd definitely recommend them if you want to go that far.

Sunnyflower I just wanted to say how brave you are to make the hardest decision we have to make for our pets. My thoughts are with you, your OH and Oscar. Treasure the time you have left, as I'm sure you are.

I'm pretty sure the PennHIp scheme says it's only accurate from 24months, whereas the other Australian scheme (which I don't think is quite as thorough or regulated) is 12months

I think I'm going to be out of the next few meets guys - Louie is being grumpier than normal with other dogs, so I'm going to try a few different strategies for getting him to stop being so growly!

Not an uncommon face around here that's for sure! Lovely shots Bec! I need to take my ready-made models out for some photo love I think!

Ok - these are from the archives, as I've been lazy lately and haven't taken anything worthy of a mention! Keira&Phoenix's Phoenix: GoldenGirl's Lexie:

Louie has a coat - a Weatherbeeta Landa. Anything with polar fleece makes him itch... but he shivers INSIDE if he's cold. Banjo pants in the middle of winter - he doesn't get a coat (except an old torn up Landa with no stuffing - it makes an awesome raincoat!)

My friend has a malamute x shepherd and he's the most timid dog I've ever seen. NOTHING we tried would get him to come and seek attention. We're quite worried he'll become fear aggressive, although his owners ARE aware of this and are working hard at socialising him. Not saying that this is a breed thing, it's far more likely his temperament and being raised on an isolated farm, but if you're grasping at straws for things to tell them it may help.

Yeah - I sooo wasn't expecting being able to find you guys and there you were! I was actually really proud of Louie. He did really well not grumbling at too many bouncy pups (I've figured out it's them and face-rushers he really doesn't like). As for the 5th I think it's fine... all I have on Sundays is obedience and that's going to be switched from AM to PM as of 2 weeks time so I'll keep an eye on this thread.

When are we thinking of? I love Nudgee... and the dogs love it even more! PS Glad I caught you girls today - didn't think I'd see you with all the people! I forgot to say bye though - got rushed off!

It's like the t-shirt a friend of mine has that says "meat is murder... tasty, tasty murder"

There is no post-op pain. They are not recovered.

John Davey we have dogs and cats used in flea drug trials at uni that are rehomed after their trial is completed. Some animals are euthanased after their trial as part of their requirements by ethics but definitely not ALL. I don't think desensitisation is the thing that vet students develop, although may be in some cases. I think of it as objectivity. I would be very upset if I saw as many animals as I do and will see in pain, but I have to objectively put that aside and think about how I'm going to treat this and what is the best way to help the suffering. Yes terminal surgeries are different but it helps gain that objectivity by experiencing controlled painless death and I don't think that's a bad thing. I think this argument is well and truly over - it is going round in circles and no one will be persuaded to the other side of the argument.

After slacking off with my other challenges I'm going to give it a go!

The PetBarn I work for has RSPCA kittens - they're there full time (only usually a week or less) and we are always there to give them cuddles, plus the RSPCA vollies come by almost every day. We've had a really good success rate too!

Hey! I think (hopefully) I'll be there... am away Saturday night so if I'm awake I'm going to head along with a friend. I might just meet you guys there, and see you if I see you this time... Have an awesome time if I miss you!

Kelpie Kaye - I'm thinking more of the beef, sheep and perhaps poultry industries - where the interaction with animals is far less. I think dairy farmers are probably the big exception to the rule from my experience. But as I said, not all but I believe a lot of farmers are desensitised with a lot of the practices they carry out - dehorning, castration, tailing etc without anaesthesia. Vets are required (and I personally would always anyway if it wasn't) carry these procedures out with anaesthesia and analgesia. My Dad's been graduated from Medicine for 30-ish years, and I think he told me once that they used dogs (not 100% sure if I'm remembering right though).