Skye2

I was thinking of trying those dried fish treats. I think it is called fish for dogs. It looks like dried fish with no presservatives. I just have to find some one that stocks them.

I was looking at medibank private and was wondering if a pre-existing condition can be insured once a waiting period has been met such as in humans. I did notice that they have a waiting period on cruciate ligaments. Does anyone have experiences with this side of thing. Sorry to OP if it is slightly off topic.

I went through this with my Banjo (jack russell). He had terrible pancreatitis and could barely eat anything in the end. I went to Sydney Uni and they were fabulous they did a whole work up on his ($1000) worth of tests. There are multiple things that can cause pancreatitis unfortunately for him he had multiple problems and pancreatitis was just part of it. He had lesions on his liver, parathyroid issues, tumours elsewhere. Some of these problems could have been corrected surgically but due to the complexity of all put together they were unhappy to anaethetise him. He lived on for another 12 months. Even though we couldn't do anything to help Banjo Sydney Uni certainly were about the only ones that got to the bottom of his multiple problems. So i strongly recommend you make an appointment. Good luck with your dog.

Good news on my bulldog. I emailed the xrays to the breeder and she had two vets review the films. She has decided she will pay half of the surgery cost if required as well as pay for the next lot of xrays or the offer of another puppy. I am very pleased with this as it has now taken the pressure out of the situation for financial reasons. My pup is going very well. At present it is very difficult to detect a limp at all. He has one more Cartrophen shot to go and has started his Joint Guard, fish oil and Ester C. I try and keep him from playing with my other dogs as much as possible with sensible exercise. We have tried some swimming but am having difficulty in getting him to enjoy this. I put a life vest on but he is terrified and is desperate to get to the side. I am not sure to continue with this. I have thought about taking my other dog along to try and give him some doggy support. The vet in New Zealand who sees lots of British Bulldogs thinks that as far as the hip dysplasia goes he has seen a lot worse hips and in fact if he xrayed most bulldogs there would probably be some degree of dysplasia. He thinks at his point (arthritis aside) to rest the pup as much as possible while he is still growing and just give him lead exercise or swimming (yeah sure!!) and then re xray when the growth plates have settled as long as the dog continues to be relatively mobile and pain free. Of course, i am still left with the arthritis and no doubt surgery will be inevitable. The femoral head is free of arthritis but the acetabulum has a small amount on the side.

I use advocate for my three dogs and cat. Advocate kills flea, fleas larvae, heartworm, intestinal (except tapeworm), lice ear mites sarcoptic mange and demdectic mange. It is fairly pricey, I pay $73 for a 6 pack of 10-25kg from Aussie pets online store. I could be wrong but I thought revolution does heartworm as well but just not intestinal worms.

Thank you this is the kind of post I was hoping for. I want to know how my dog is likely to be after the procedure is done. I don't have faith in my local vet other than just vaccinations so it is a little difficult to find another vet to entrust my baby to. The specialist seems very good and I know his quality of care will be excellent. I would stand a better chance talking my husband into the surgery if the cost was lower. I have seen Rob Zammitt once before so maybe I should consult him. I only don't see him regularly as he is over an hour away but it might be worth investigating.

This scares me as i have just been at Strathfield this week and am contemplating using them for surgery on my dog. What are peoples thoughts regarding vets in South West Sydney. I live in between Bowral and Campbelltown but am prepared to travel.

Sorry Staranias you beat me to the reply. I had a problem with limping 6 weeks ago and he was xrayed at the time and they looked okay. I crate rested him and he had Metacam and he came good within 10 days. He has been good since and then the limp flared up again. I had him re-xrayed and the arthritis has developed in that short time. The first x-rays could have been taken with him in the wrong position but the specialist didn't really comment on that. He was suprised at the findings on xray considering what the first xrays showed. With regards to diet and exercise. He has always been under weight for a bulldog, i have struggled to get weight on him as he is a very fussy eater. With regards to exercise I work three days a week and he is put in a grass run by himself on those days and whenever i am out of the house. The other days i.e weekends he is able to freely play but he does tend to play for a couple of hours and then comes inside for a sleep in his crate. I wouldn't say he is excessively active. I don't take him on long walks. I did do some lead training with him as i was showing him but this would be say 10 minutes 4 times a week. The breeder seems to think that maybe i have mismanaged his exercise.

Besides the money it is more the pup i am concerned about and his well being the money would make me decisions easier. My concern at the moment is do i do the surgery or do i wait.

I did contact the breeder but she did not mention any compensation and I suppose I am not the type to ask for it. She is trying to be helpful but clearly states that there is no hip dysplasia in the lines. I suppose i don't want to get into an argument over it and it doesn't really help the dog. I suppose i would like her to offer to help me out with the surgery cost. I can put the cost of the surgery on a credit card and pay it off in time but really want to know is this the best for the dog. I have read many posts from people saying that they have dogs with hip dysplasia and arthritis that they manage without surgery.

Hi my 6 month old pup has been diagnosed with hip dysplasia and with arthritic changes to the right hip. There is still quite a bit of coverage to the hips at this stage. The specialist recommended femoral head oestectomy for the bad side. My dog has a very slight limp and runs and jumps like my other dogs do. He has a slight short stride and there is some muscle wastage on the bad side. He tends to put most of his weight on his good side to do things like pivoting etc. He seems very happy and active at this stage. My management to date will include cartrophen, joint guard, fish oil and we are going to attempt some swimming (if he takes to it). The vet has told me i can hold off on the surgery for the time being but if i notice a significant change to consider the surgery. He says a better outcome will be achieved if it is done sooner before too much damage is done and before he looses too much muscle. He is not a candidate for hip replacement as he is a smaller dog. Pretty much i would like to hear from people who have had this procedure done and are they happy with it. Would you have it done again in retrospect. I have been qouted $3000 having it done by the specialist surgeon. I would appreciate people's input as this is a very difficult decision. My husband does not want the surgery (mainly due to cost and favours wait and see and if he is too much pain PTS). The pup cost us $3000 to begin with and we have not finished paying him off yet along with $1500 of vet bills in the the 3 months we have owned him. I can understand where he is coming from but I believe we can give him a good quality of life and he is a beautiful boy and I can't contemplate PTS. Thank you in advance for any info

Thanks I will give him a call and see if he can set me on the right path.

First vet thought leg perthes. We thought he had a fall on our steps as it was sudden. Second vet said a flat spot on hip xray. Third vet told me normal xray for a bulldog and it could just be growth. The limp went away but has now returned but nowhere near as bad. I am having difficulty finding a vet that knows bulldogs.

Does anyone know a good orthopaedic specialist. I have seen three different vets for my limping puppy and all have given different opinions. I think it is best to see a specialist. He is a British bulldog and I get comments like "well it is to be expected in bulldogs". My vet has given me a referral to animal referral hospital. I value peoples experiences as I have not faced this type of problem before.

Thanks for all your input, I think i will try some Joint Gaurd to begin with and see how he goes. The vet mentioned to me to use the glucosamine HCL. On some of the human web sites it seems to say that the sulphate variety offers more pain relief but i don't know if this applies to dogs. I was wondering about Cartrophen as well. I gave my horse Pentosan on occasions and I thought it might be good to do these shots as a precaution.

The vet has recommend I put my dog on glucosamine to help with a sore hip. He had a fall and the vet thought it might be helpful for a couple of months. I was looking at the various products or should I say numerous products and wondered what people use and recommend. What about human products I think this is cheaper. Thanks in advance for any help

No he didn't. I had him at a show last weekend and he got sick last Wednesday.

Is Benadryl a nasal decongestant or just a cough medicine. They don't seem to cough only a bit in the mornings and i assume that is related to getting rid of the mucus. It is really the mucus at night. They sleep in my room in a crate and woke me up panting away and unable to breath properly. I am assuming it is something like canine influenza. I will give the vet a call first. Thank you

My puppy 5 months old has what appears to be a cold. He doesn't have a cough and seems relatively well in himself. He is eating well and is active during the day. His main symptoms is a stuffed up nose with yellowish discharge but mainly in the mornings when he wakes up. He is on antibiotics, his second lot. I am assuming it is viral as it has not responded to two types of antibiotics and now my other puppy has it. They are very congested overnight and are having difficulty breathing such as humans do when you go to bed at night with a cold. Does anyone have any suggestions for helping with the blocked nose. If it were me i would take a Sudafed.

I went to the vet today and the teeth were removed. I am glad I went because they were not baby teeth but extra adult teeth in the very front and the canines on the side were infected. His tonsils were enlarged as well as glands most likely due to the infection. He said his alignment of teeth is otherwise exceptionally good for a bulldog. So I am glad I did this now and like people say not leave it until there was more of a problem down the track. When I spoke to other bulldog people I got a mixed response about removing them but of course with the vet checking him he was able to get a really good look and find out what was going on. Thanks for all your replies hope this will help others in the future.

Yes we did our first show yesterday ever for me and him. I asked a few people at the show and got mixed answers. I have booked him in for Tuesday. He always has meaty bones and different chew things but they are in hard as well as a canine on the side. The new teeth are taller than the baby teeth.

There is no mention of hepatitis in this report.

My bulldogs two front incisors have not fallen out but the adult teeth have come through in front of them. He is 4 and a half months old. They don't seem loose at all. Maybe because the teeth have come up in front they won't push out the baby teeth. Do you think I will need to get them taken out or just wait for a bit longer.

Sorry for the delay in getting back- have had a lot going on. The vet on sunday was great, she did some xrays and was a little concerned about his hip but was not happy with the views and decided to re-xray today with some sedation so as she could manipulate him better. Fortunately she is a lot happier with these xrays and feels he has had some type of injury such as a fall or a pulled back leg. He is a whole lot brighter tonight after being very sleepy today. The vet thought his pain level seemed better today than Sunday so hopefully he is on the improve. He has to have crate rest and some non-steroidal anti-inflammatories. He seems more hungry today after having lost a kilo in a week. He has a bit of an upset tummy though from the steroid injection on Friday night and has given him a few days of diarrhoea. We currently have him on mashed potato and chicken. He can start his other medication once the diarrhoea has subsided. I must admit it has been a very stressful time for all of us (dog included) thinking the worse case scenarios etc. I am hoping for a good night sleep tonight for myself. Thanks to all for your support and good wishes.

Thank you for that. I just want him to be better. I miss his happy little face. He seems quite peacefully asleep at the moment. I have a few options for tomorrow so i will get on the phone first think and sort it out.