beenie

TBH, the state she's in after being confined, shaved bits on her legs from drips etc and now this big bald patch, a 'short back and sides' is going to be the least of the problems :D Actually, it might be the best course of action. Will discuss tactics with groomer tomorrow. Treat ball is in the bin (damned thing!)

LOL, sorry should have said, she's a Wheaten terrier....soft, fine silky coat... apparenlty easily rubbed off by continued friction with slightly sticky rubbery treat balls being held against her chest with her paws (I've seen her hold bones etc the same way). Yeah, I know hte groomer can't actually DO anything about the bald spot (obviously) it's more trying to limit the damage around the bald patch (long coat next to bald patch seems to = awful matting)

I'm mortified :D Poor Willow has been 'confined to quarters' this last week (after a snake bite 10 days ago) and to ease her boredom yesterday I bought her one of those blue rubbery 'Everlasting Treat Ball' thingoes. All Good, she thinks it's fabulous and it's kept her amused today when I needed to be out of hte house for a few hours..... Until tonight when I was giving her a cuddle and ran my hand down her front between her legs and felt a large BALD PATCH Totally bald. To the skin. O.M.G!!! I couldn't figure out how on earth she'd managed to get in such a state. She's been lazing about on the rugs around the house all week - only going outside with me on the lead (apart from one heroic, but short lived dash for freedom when my 6yo mistakenly let her out - 2 mins of joy then back inside where she belongs!) and i was horrified to think that she'd rubbed herself raw like that (her coat is worse for wear after being hospitalised and house bound, but I have been grooming her every 2nd day and putting off a proper groom until the end of the month so as to keep her as calm and rested as possible...really didn't think it was THAT bad!) Until I went in to the laundry to fill her water bowl...and found the bloody treat ball in the corner with tufts of her beautiful soft coat stuck all over it :p My poor darling :-( Please, is there anything I can do?? It must be so uncomfortable for her :-( I know it'll grow back, but I just feel awful :D God, i think I'll have to call our lovely groomer and ask her to come asap! Whaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

Willow came home tonight! She is looking a bit lean, having not eaten for 3-4 days, but so so happy to be home Now the 'fun' bit starts....keeping a bouncy, active 19mth old Wheaten crated or on a short leash for 3-4 weeks...... Wish me luck!!!

Hello again, well, I have good news Miss Willow was finally tempted to eat today ...does any dog refuse a bbq chicken haha?? She had two good meals (which meant I got to visit twice yay!) and lots of lovie cuddles from me and my son who came with me this morning. She's improving a lot, tests look good, wee is clearing up - so all good! The vet discussed sending her home, but said that if we could afford another couple of days hospital care, he would prefer to keep her there on the drip a little while longer - which I agreed to. I would hate to bring her home too early and have complications down the track as a previous poster described! So, hopefully we'll have her home sometime on the weekend Sandra, I hope China is doing well too!!

I'm so sorry for your loss RIP Shilo

Wow Sandra! I hope your dog is ok!! Given what we've just been through it seems very early to be going home??? Did they run urine tests or muscle tests??? Willow is still at the vet on the drip - looking MUCH happier today and yesterday when I went in for some cuddles :-) She's been reluctant to eat, they've offered her everything they have - wet, dry, puppy, cat, and I even took some bbq chicken which she ate half a handfull of then refused! We're hoping she'll eat some more through the day. She still has moderate protiens in the urine today and the vet is keen to keep her there another day or so on the drip - mainly as I have two young kids and it is easier to keep her quiet and calm at the vets, and the more fluids she has the better protected her kindneys will be :-)

Thanks for all your replies, it does make it better to know others are thinking of us! Lucknow, thanks for reinforcing that for me, she'll be kept in her crate or by my side for as long as the vet tells me to!! The LAST thing I want is for her to suffer anymore than she has already (or for us to loose her don't even want to think of it) Waiting to hear from the vet this afternoon with an update, hopefully all is well and she'll be home tomorrow :D

HI, haven't been here for ages, but need some friendly reassurance today! My 19mth old Wheaten Terrier was bitten by a tiger snake yesterday morning! Thankfully I was home at the time as was able to rush her to the vet within 10 mins of the bite (after having to blast her with the hose to get her to leave the bloody snake alone and stop playing with it :rolleyes: ) and she had anti-venine straight away. She was responding well by yesterday afternoon, but has some blood in her urine. She spent the night at Advanced Vet Care in Kensington, and I took her back to my vet this morning where she'll stay for another 24-36 hours on the drip and having tests done. The vets all seem pretty confident she'll recover well, and they're running CK, kidney, urine tests today so I'm pretty sure they're doing all they should/can (given my complete ignorance of these things)....but you know, I still worry!! The vet commented that they don't usually find a puncture site, and he'd never actually found one on a dog....but they did yesterday! For what it's worth she was bitten in our backyard, we live in Greensborough near the Plenty River, but not in a rural area, actually less than 1km from the main shopping plaza - so if you live in the area please be aware that snakes are on the move! Fingers crossed for my baby!!

Thanks for the replies! Hmmmm, I thought they may be noisy.... may have to figure out a way of covering it in something.... It'll live in the laundry as her 'night bed', there's no way she'd dare rip up her bed in the lounge, and she has a kennel outside and has claimed one of the sling chairs from the outdoor table as her own, so plenty of other options for lounging about she just gets stuck into the 'night' bed when we're out and she's alone... naughty puppy lol! Size wise I'd only need a medium at the most, she's only a Wheaten so never gonna need a Dane size If anyone else has a recommendation for a good strong bed which is not noisy I'm all ears

Hi all, I need to get Willow a new bed... her third new dog bed in 4 months Does anyone have one of these? http://www.snooza.com.au/products/d1000.shtml Are they really tough?? Willow just rips though 'normal' fabric and plays with the foam filling .... I don't mind spending a bit if it's going to last the distance, less hassle than constantly replacing el cheapo beds from the reject shop haha! Was also looking at these... http://www.snooza.com.au/products/cuddler.shtml in the lambswool but not sure it'd put up with being chewed and abused Any feedback much appreciated! Beenie and Willow

Well, we're home from our holiday, so I thought I'd let you know how we went in case anyone else was thinking of trying Travelpetics. http://secure.naturapetics.com.au/details/2350714.html We gave Willow the drops maybe 5-6 times during the day before leaving for mums (basically every 45 mins or when I remembered) and she made it a full 1 hour 45 mins without vomitting. She did look reasonably happy and lay quietly on the backseat. Unfortunately there is about 5kms of gravel road just before Mums' place, and that was just too much for poor Willow after nearly 2 hours in the car - she did vomit but I think without that gravel section she would have been ok. Coming home she didn't have breakfast, gave her drops about 1 hour before leaving and this time she made it home without vomitting!! ;) Definately worth a try if your dog suffers car sickness, and at $20 it's cheaper and gentler than medication/sedation IMO :D Beenie (and a happy Willow!)

Thanks for the advice. I've given her two more thorough check overs since finding the tick, and no more evidence of any. I'll keep checking her regularly and will talk to my vet about preventative measures once we're home from our holiday. Looking at the pics, I'm sure it was NOT a paralysis tick, but better to be safe than sorry!! Does anyone know if there is something I can do to get rid of ticks in the backyard? Or at least discourage them? I'm thinking a pyrethrim spray on the bushy parts for a start! Beenie

Hi, just giving Willow a thorough brushing and felt a little lump - investigated and pulled off what I think is a tick. It wasn't embedded, just crawling on her back. It is about 3mm long, brownish red, shaped like a fat sesame seed with very fine legs. I think it's a brown dog tick, and from what I could see it hadn't 'eaten' anything.... Do I need to do anything? Obviously I've checked for more, but haven't found any. Do I need to treat her with anything? She's on Advocate monthly, but nothing else for ticks. We live in Melbourne if that's relevant. Help!!! ;)

Thanks Becks, obviously I'm not paying enough attention, I didn't realise you were in the UK! I'm quite smitten with your Mini Schnauzers, they're beautiful! I am just about to go out and get some of the Travelpetics product which another poster recommended, but if we have no luck with it, I'll visit the vet and try some Cerena as it's not too expensive to use on longer journeys everynow and then Beenie