Dave73

here is a updated photo of my girl.

id keep her inside till its sorted. These guys are usually weak little cowards as they don't have the ticker to come to your door. But they are the dangerous ones. Id love 5mins with a tool like this. Get the cameras set up as well.

True never say never but I will not be replacing her with another GSD maybe a dog or 2 between then I will be ready to have another GSD. Its weird but I would feel that I was disrespecting her if I got a GSD to replace her. Maybe an Anatolian shepherd between. But hopefully that decision is way off and she sees old age, she is 6 1/2 know.

Hi Jessica M, I will get a photo up this weekend. Ive spoken to a heap of vets and specialists regarding this cancer in GSD's and it is such a major cause of death its ridiculous. I was just unlucky she got it so young but was lucky it was in the muscle and not in one of the 4 organs it attacks. With them its usually too late once they show signs of the cancer as its painless until its to late. The specialists have said that the chew toys or the spot on or the yearly injections or the yearly heart worm was not the cause of this cancer it was genetics, don't get me wrong I have changed her diet to all natural plus herbs (natural Vet) and she gets a tablet for flea treatment and she is going on monthly heartworm and no yearly injections she will get a blood test to test her antibodies. But Jazz just loves her chew toys so I have left them but encourage the kong full of dates which she likes. Unfortunately due to this issue with GSD,s I wont get another after she goes and also I don't think I will ever be able to attach to another one again as I will always be judging them against her as she has totally stolen my heart, even more know since seeing her drive and will to live and never give up attitude she is truly a special special dog.

Its terrible going to SASH for these check ups you are just waiting for them to come out and say its back. But to date it hasn't and fingers crossed in 8 weeks when she has the xrays and ultrasounds its clear none in the organs then we can really start to relax. Its funny her 1 back leg is huge they were all laughing about it today at sash it looks like Popeyes forearm and her front shoulders are huge as well.There all amazed at how well she is doing and how happy she is.

Update, Zeus has made a full recovery, looks like it was the barbiturates a bit to heavy for him but there not 100% sure. Jazz had the lump removed and it was a cyst as sometimes the needle aspiration is wrong but pathology tests confirmed it. She has had her 10mth check up today and all is good no recurrence near the original area blood tests were clear no new lumps. She has a 6month ultrasound and xray in 8 weeks (12month anniversary)and if that's clear she will go out to 3 monthly visits and 12 monthly ultrasounds. If its clear it looks like she has beaten it but she will have to remain on the tablet chemo for her whole life just to be sure.

Don't worry some people on this site have a tendency to carry on a bit.

Ever thought about a Ridgeback. They are supreme athletes large breed, fine as a 1 dog household. Short coat minimal health issues.

I know your pain with this nasty nasty cancer. I lost my last 2 to this both had liver hemangiosarcoma, by the time they showed the signs the shaking and my boy had a bloated stomach they were gone in days after the ultrasounds. My 5 yr old GSD girl know had it in her hind leg in the muscle which was rare and luckily for her there was a lump that alerted us. They all believed it was the secondary and the prime was in one of the organs, but luckily it was the prime and no cancer elsewhere and after the amputation she is fine but it will come back we know that just hoping the chemo wards it off as long as possible. Its a painless cancer till right near the end thats why its usually to late to do anything as it way to advanced

It's a bloody joke isn't it Dave? I bailed up a ranger recently down at the boat ramp (I didn't have my dogs with me because it's too dangerous with offlead dogs not keeping in the designated area) where there is a large offleash area plus our local Rugby oval, restaurants and picnic areas. Council had just put in some new signs where only cars with boat trailers can park and the ranger was there in a second booking cars without trailers. I pointed out to him the dogs running all over the oval despite the signs saying no dogs and also running all over the short stretch of beach again clearly signed. He mumbled something about how they do patrols regularly which is bullsh#t and I told him so. I also said "it's much easier to stick a ticket under a window isn't it?" He didn't answer me he just turned and got in his car I can't speak for all council rangers but Gosford is beyond pathetic, I know this first hand! There as bad at Penrith as well, same thing on the Nepean river booking people for parking in a trailer only spot. Companion animal officers at Penrith are hard core if your dog barks for a hour in the morning but report dogs off leash and I get cannot do anything... Yep as you say...too hard. I had an old dude spit at me one day, yep spit. I was in the same area before I gave it up as a bad joke and this guys little fluffy came zooming out of no where barking and snapping around my greyhounds legs. With greyhounds thin skin any breed of dog can do damage so I was yelling at him to get his bloody dog before I kicked it to the moon, which were my exact words. He stormed over and said "how dare you! if you touch my dog I will report you" I asked him to whom he was going to report me, my greyhounds are muzzled and onlead by law put the bloody thing on a lead NOW! Do you know what? He didn't even have a lead, he just let his dog out of his car and let it go. When he told me that I called him an irresponsible ar#ehole so he spat at me...nice. I would of knocked him out but a guy who spits wouldn't have the ticker to do it to another guy

My longest was my last 2 I lost both to cancer nearly 1 year to the day apart from one another. I got a Male RR 5 months after my girl passed on then I got a female GSD 12 months after the RR. What I tend to do is change breeds to stay faithful its weird I know but when my GSD girl goes I will not get another GSD female next dog same with the RR male. So what I might do is get a RR female and a GSD male. Weird I Know!!!!

It's a bloody joke isn't it Dave? I bailed up a ranger recently down at the boat ramp (I didn't have my dogs with me because it's too dangerous with offlead dogs not keeping in the designated area) where there is a large offleash area plus our local Rugby oval, restaurants and picnic areas. Council had just put in some new signs where only cars with boat trailers can park and the ranger was there in a second booking cars without trailers. I pointed out to him the dogs running all over the oval despite the signs saying no dogs and also running all over the short stretch of beach again clearly signed. He mumbled something about how they do patrols regularly which is bullsh#t and I told him so. I also said "it's much easier to stick a ticket under a window isn't it?" He didn't answer me he just turned and got in his car I can't speak for all council rangers but Gosford is beyond pathetic, I know this first hand! There as bad at Penrith as well, same thing on the Nepean river booking people for parking in a trailer only spot. Companion animal officers at Penrith are hard core if your dog barks for a hour in the morning but report dogs off leash and I get cannot do anything...

Good luck with it I know your frustration with councils, I have been complaining to Penrith Council about dogs off leads for years and I get told there's nothing they can do to police it, but they threatened me cause my 2 barked between 8-9am Mon - Fri as the kids going to school bashed on the fence walking down a council laneway. Also recently 2 guide dogs have been attacked in Penrith CBD causing pretty nasty injuries to the dogs but council will do nothing about it as its too hard.

He is home and his walk/gait is nearly back to normal. No one is positive of what it was a few ideas, but the main thing is he is better and hopefully he will fully recover but he may stay like this which is about 90% and im okay with that.

Good news he has improved over night still not perfect but definitely better, still no idea what has caused this we may never know but hes improving and that's the main thing hopefully we can get him home in the next day or two.

Don't know a neurologist will be looking at his case tonight but there is no real improvement tonight.

Its devastating to put your pet in for facial surgery then to be told that he is technically partially paralysed.

No real change this morning maybe a very slight improvement. Definitely hasn't deteriorated. They are at a lose with it. He apparently was fine not long after surgery but something changed during the night on Thursday. It seems to be neurological and not skeletal. We are devastated!!!!

Thanks so are we!! Just gut wrenching seeing a dog that could run and do everything with ease barely be able to walk tonight.

Well its been an eventful week Jazz developed a new lump and thank god it was a fatty cyst. But Zeus has had his surgery on his eye and lets just say something may have gone horribly wrong as he has developed weakness in his back legs. They are hopeful its just the strong pain meds but we will know more in the morning.

Well our boy went to SASH yesterday and had a full check up Xrays, ultrasounds and full blood work plus a general check over his whole body. Good news in he is cancer free besides the small Mast cell near his left eye. So he goes in for surgery next Thursday to get clear margins. The surgeons are very confident that they can do it without hurting his eyesight as it is so close to his eye, he might damage 1 nerve that controls blinking and if so he has to have daily drops in that eye no big deal. They will be taking off 3 other skin tags as they call them and treating them as malignant and getting margins if they turn out to be. So no chemo needed for him which is a relief 2 dogs on it would be a pain. Something I have learned any new lumps or bumps on either dog and any dogs in the future will be going straight to SASH and having them remove them as on both dogs recent cancer issues my vet has operated and wasn't skilled enough to get margins and they have both had to have another operation at SASH to get margins so we have been paying twice. Happy weekend as our boy will live to old age.

Im going to trade my ford falcon turbo for a Skoda Octavia wagon. Easily fits my Ridgeback and GSD in the rear luggage department, the dealer let us try, they actually came on the test drive and were happily laying down and they are very low. Wife has a new forester and they are useless, to high and not much space. The good part about them I can get the RS version and I still get a powerful turbo car with great fuel economy.

I see where you are coming from and understand your predicament that night but some people just say call the council for a dog that barks, its the easy solution. We had the same issue with a neighbour they got a border collie 12 months old and for the first week every time they went out she would howl non stop. I could of called the council and neighbours did call, probably the spineless ones that reported my dogs for barking for a few hours in the morning due to kids bashing on the fence but I went over and told them that she was doing it and gave them a old Kong that my dogs had used and gave them a few tips it didn't help. It lasted a week and the dog settled but they too are down as having a nuisance dog. The dog was and is very well cared for and if neighbours had spoke to them they would of said she is just settling in and it will get better and acknowledge the issue and the pushy council wouldn't of needed to get involved and they wouldn't have a strike against them for NOTHING...

Always wanted a Beauceron but unfortunately I have 2 dogs and they are both fighting cancer but if they weren't I would snap him up.

Well it only takes me 45mins from Emu Plains leaving at 7am which is quicker than going to Parramatta but I wont mention the cost of the tolls. I know what your talking about re the bills but everyone else said that Jazz wouldn't see Christmas and here she is nearly May and still in Remission and getting stronger each and everyday.