jabbawok

polomum, unfortunately I live at my parents house. Your ideas are good and if it was truly my dog I would be doing those things. As an example of how bad this is, yesterday Amber kept getting taken outside by my parents. I brought her inside and told mum I think it might be wise to leave her in the house so she can rest the leg as it was looking worse. A few minutes later Amber was outside again. This morning I again explained that I'm worried about Amber. I won't post the reply I got. Childish stuff really. Now sect. 5 of POCTA states: Could someone explain paragraph ( c). What exactly does "necessary for the animal to be provided with veterinary treatment" mean? What necessitates vet action? It could be argued considering Amber doesn't seem to be in any pain, that she uses the leg when she wants to chase something or play; that no treatment is necessary. Also the definition of "veterinary treatment" in the Act is very vague. The reason I ask this is sect 5 pretty much says that I may also be in breach of the act if I do nothing (since I am often supervising/caring for the dog). And if this is so I would have grounds - actually a lawful responsibility - to take Amber to a vet whether my parents like it or not. And that's what I'm now intending on doing, depending on what the above actually means. So anyone care to explain it? Does Amber's injury make it necessary she's provided with diagnosis/treatment?

That was a half-hearted attempt at some dry humor. Of course that doesn't make her mine. Yeah Lucy, this is what I was wondering. I heard of other dogs with anal gland problems not being able to handle a BARF diet. The vet did explain years ago about the complications that can occur with the operation - incontinence, partial paralysis etc. Which is why my parents decided not to have it done. Unfortunately their previous dog died when she went to the vet to have an ear infection looked at and the vet gave her the wrong anaesthetic. So they always think the worst when operations are mentioned. Amber also seems to handle dry food better than all the other stuff she's been brought up on. She also gets some metamucil sprinkled on her food when she's having trouble pooping, as advised by the vet, which does seem to help. But I'm trying to create a more nutritious diet that will incorporate these things, as well as being low calorie so she'll lose some weight to help with her injured leg. I guess just feeding things separately will allow the amount of fibre etc to be adjusted whenever necessary. But it needs to be a no-brainer at feeding time so my parents can understand the requirements too. Although the main aim is to get her as far away from that awful tinned food as possible.

Erny, this is the part that's keeping me awake every night. I have yet to come up with a way to explain this to my parents in a way that does not sound "bad". The other thing that annoys me about this is apparently the vet said something along the lines of trying to keep Amber quiet, though it will be hard, and that was it. So even if something "lawful" happened about this they could just say the vet never told them she had to remain off the leg. Yeah I know, most people would understand what had to be done. But remember I'm talking about people that think you train a dog by telling it off when it does something bad, and never praising it when it's good. They're my parents, and I love 'em, but after 8 years of arguments about obedience etc it's obvious a farm dog was not the correct choice for them. What are the chances the vet could immobilize the leg with a cast or something if it turns out to be a torn ligament, considering it won't get rested any other way?

Bit hard to explain this whole complex situation. Sure, it's not my dog, technically. But every command she knows I've taught her. And now I feed her. Hmmm, doesn't that make her mine? So, so frustrating this little adventure into the world of savior.

The vet said years ago to give her raw chicken wings etc when her anal glands were real bad. They abscessed fairly quickly though. This isn't my dog so I don't have the full info. Just trying to do the right thing for her.

But can you tell me what changes should be made for the fact she has anal gland problems? What I mean is BARF is designed around the idea that's their "natural diet". But a dog eating it's natural diet shouldn't get anal gland problems. So now she has anal gland problems which are permanent, is there anything that should be changed? Edit: Oh, and when she was being fed raw bones it seemed to make her bum worse. That's why I'm asking.

I thought that's what you'd say.

Amber - my parents kelpie X - has had anal gland problems since she was a few years old. They're abscessed and she often "boot scoots". I did a search here but couldn't find much info. So does anybody have some tips on what sort of food to feed her? She's been living for several years on a predominate tinned food diet and it's time things changed. She is a little overweight and with her current leg injury she needs to lose a few kilos. So what would be a good thing to feed her that's nutritious, filling and kind to her digestive system/anal glands?

Well this is sooooo frustrating. Amber's leg isn't really any better. In fact she isn't holding it straight much at all now. What I mean is when she walks on it, it's like the knee is rubber and it bends every time she puts weight on it rather than remaining relatively straight. She doesn't seem to be in any pain. And she often "kicks dirt" after urinating with both legs like usual. But the swelling is still there. She was meant to go back to the vet on Friday if it wasn't better so he could check the leg out more. But they didn't take her. So we still don't know what the problem is or how severe. But I'm powerless to do anything about it. I don't have a way to get her to the vet myself. If I say anything it will erupt into an argument. Oh well, the joys of being a compassionate person, hey?

Ok Erny, I was hoping that's what you meant. And yeah it wouldn't be a good idea to show them this thread now :champagne: On a good note - fingers crossed - I just checked Amber out this morning before she's had time to overwork the leg. The swelling is way down. In fact it's not much larger than her good knee. And I could touch it without her snapping. I took her down the back for a wee and she seemed to be walking much better, without the leg sticking out so much. Whether it's because the anti-inflammatories are working, or that it's gone down from the rest overnight, I'm not sure. But I'll keep an eye on it and see if it swells up over the course of the day. It's such a shame we're getting into winter now. Amber is a river dog and the swimming would be such good rehab for her over the next few months. Thanks all, Dave.

Erny, if you mean I shouldn't have shown them you were all agreeing she has to go to the vet then I don't know what else could have been done. They wouldn't listen to me by myself and there was no one else to back me up. They aren't cruel people. They just don't understand a lot of stuff. You know: "if she was in pain she would be crying", "why would she chase cats full-pelt if her leg was injured?", that sort of thing. Anyway, I've been reading up in this forum of others experiences with this injury. I'm now more worried than I was before Amber went to the vet. My parents don't seem to understand the meaning of 'rest'. They've been letting her run around a bit over the weekend and her leg seems to be getting worse. I'm about to tell them it's probably wise to put her on the lead when taking her out for a pee and stuff. What else should I say to them? There's no way they'll crate her.

Amber's back from the vet. He seems to think it's just a torn ligament, and prescribed anti-inflammatories, and rest (as you know that's the hard part ). If it doesn't come good in a week he said to bring her back and he'll have to sedate her so he can check it out properly. That's exactly what I had read would happen. So thanks for the help everyone. I doubt anything would've been done today without showing the parents what you advised. BTW, like I said my parents aren't very good at dog obedience/training. My father always tells people how Amber hates going to the vet and they have to muzzle her and stuff. Well my brother went in with him today. He told me not only was Amber very well behaved, she actually led him into the vet!

Kellie, yes I love Amber. She's like my own Kelpie X was (I had managed to teach him around 20 spoken and 15 visual commands by the time he was 8 mo old. Easily trainable in the right hands. And 110% loyal. Anyway I printed out what you all have written and showed my parents, only to start a big argument once again. But they've agreed to take her to the vet.

puggy, I totally agree about the rest. Unfortunately my parents haven't done much training, against my advice, especially with Amber being a kelpie X. Whenever I mention (argue) about it - they go on about her being put down etc. I just can't seem to get through to them.

Hey everyone, sorry for asking a non PB question but it seems inside forum rules and this is the only Aussie forum I could find that gets more than 2 posts a year Just after a little advice about my parents kelpie X. She is 8 years old and a few weeks ago she did something to hurt her back left leg. I was the only persom home and I never saw what she did, but afterwards Amber wouldn't put any weight on the leg at all. I checked her out, suspecting something was stuck in the paw since she seemed to be "clenching" a couple of toes but couldn't find anything. And nothing seemed abnormal about the rest of the leg. The following day Amber was the same, so I told my parents if she's still like it the following day they should take her to the vet. Well it was the same but they would not take her to the vet. A few days later Amber started putting a little weight on the leg but she was still a bit lame. And she kept the paw sort of clenched even with weight on it. She has progressively got better over the days but still won't jump in the car. About a week after it happened I again made it very clear to my parents I was concerned and that I would pay to take her to the vet but it still never happened. She didn't and still doesn't seem in any pain, quite happy and eating as usual - just not as active as a kelpie should be, you know what I mean Anyway, today she chased a cat in the yard and went temporarily lame again after the chase. And it was quite obvious she was pointing her foot/leg a fair bit outwards. I checked her out a couple of hours later and can't believe I overlooked it previously - the knee is quite swollen. So my question is whether you think she's done her cruciate ligament, or could it just be a bad sprain or something that needs rest and maybe some meds to help it heal? The reason I ask is if it's the latter, that's sort of good, but if it's a ligament, well my parents are doing a bit of "it's just a dog - she'll be put down" thing and it's really starting to irritate me they could have made it worse by not taking her to the vet weeks ago. So what do you think? Everything I've read says if lameness continues for more than a few days to get them to a vet since it could be something like a torn ligament. Shouldn't my parents be taking this a little more seriously. It's been more than 3 weeks. Thanks, Dave.