~Anne~

I can't figure out what there is to debate. To me, photography is an art form. Art is created through creativity and it takes on many forms and uses many mediums. There is no 'right or wrong' just art.

Wow, how cool is that. Thanks. I never knew about scripts before!

I have always used Optimmune in rescues and I swear by it. We have had fabulous results, particularly in reversing pigment discolouration. If dry eye is not treated, the dog will develop a condition called pigmentary keratitis. In advanced cases this can cause permanent blindness. This is what the eyes of a Pug look like with advanced pigmentary keratitis...do whatever you can to treat the condition rather than let them lose sight. You can see how you can not see any whites of the eye and there is muck stuck to the eyeball. It is very painful. It is like they are looking through a brown curtain that gets heavier and thicker until they can only pick light and dark... and sometimes not even that. To think this is preventable kills me... so many rescues have come in with little sight because of dry eye;

Nurtional info of AllBran Per 52g (3/4 cup) Calories 171 ( Kilojoules 712 ) Total Fat 1.6 g -Saturated Fat 0.3g Cholesterol - 0 Sodium 198 mg Total Carbohydrates 23.6 g -Dietary Fibre 15.3 g -Sugars 7.1 g Protein 7.8 g Potassium 486.2 mg

@ ML Thanks dwynwen. Protecting the bedding is going to be fun but I think your idea of the mattress pads is a good one. Where do you buy these from?? My dogs have their own lounge to sleep on in their 'dog room' as well as beds on the floor as we usually always have rescues in and some seem to prefer to sleep in a bed on their own or they can not jump up on the lounge. I cover the lounge with a sheet and then with a blanket in Winter and with another sheet in Summer. That way I can wash the shetts/blankets and keep it all clean. I could be the mattress pads under the sheet. I guess the beds on the floor I can just keep washing?? It also largely depends on how much she leaks. Reports are that she can be sitting and leave a patch on ly the size of a 20cent piece and at other times the volume is more. I have a dog door that she will be able to use so hopefully this will help with the full bladder issue.

Thanks for the responses. Yeah, I was worried about urine burn ML with the pads. I guess you would have to treat it much a like a baby and replace the pad several times throughout the day. The issue will be when I am at work. I did a little research yesterday and actually purchased undies that are specific to bitches with incontinence and pads.... I am hoping the human incontinence pads will also fit as these will be cheaper and easier to purchase. There seems to be a couple of brands of these things and the ones I ordered yesterday were much cheaper...so I am hoping that it doens't mean poorer quality. I hope it is more that the other brand are overpriced. If I could sew....... *sigh* There is still a chance that the condition will improve. It has only been 2 weeks.

Anyone?

I have a rescue currently in care who has had 2 surgical procedures to remove struvite stones from the bladder. This last one was left some time before the operation was done, to the point where the dog was a mess with incontinence and infection. The stone was the size of a mandarin!! :p 2 weeks post surgery and it appears she may be incontinent. We are hoping that this is still just trauma but it may not be. I need to evenutally find a home for this girl and I will need to be armed with every bit of info there is about how to manage incontinece with a dog that lives inside. Not to mention she will be shortly delivered to me where I will need to protect my furnishings and floors as well. Do you have a dog that suffers from this and lives mainly inside? If so, how do you manage it? I have heard of 'pants' that bitches can wear and I am wondering if this is suitable?? Any advice or help appreciated.

I think the all bran is actually a good idea, just maybe wait until she has recovered from the op and feed alittle less of it. One thing that seems to be fashionable these days is to squeeze anal sacs. If a dog has good sized feaces and of a nice firmness, then the sacs will squeez naturally and you will not have any issues with them or need to do them yourself. In this modern day, many little dogs are fed inappropriate diets, hence why teeth problems are a big issue for little dogs...too much soft soggy food. It is hard sometime to feed little fussy dogs the right balance of foods for teeth, health and firm droppings. Bran is just another way of helping a good overall diet be complete, much the same as feeding fish oil caps and similar. Many additives help in my view...although there are some that do more harm than good.

Sometimes the signs are hard to spot though LM. I am sure Monte has had dozens more seizures when I am not around. A few times I have been able to pick it when something is knocked over or if he has goop on the side of his face. Othertimes I picked the wet patches on the floor where he has drooled with each seizure. Sometimes, when he seems quiet or tired when I come home I wonder if he has but I can never be sure. Montes seizures times vary. They used to always be in the early hours of the morning. This seems to have changed over the eyars and he has them in the early evening now most often.

Yes, therapeutic levels should be between 65 - 194 so 52 is low. When was her last seizure and was this before or after he last levels were taken? If she has been seizure free between levels and the last levels were also low, I'd be inclined to leave things as is. If she continued to be seizure free for 18 months to 2 years or more then I would be inclined to wean her off the pheno. The only time I would increase her intake of pheno would be if she was still suffering seizures and her levels were low.

Since you ask, this one http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21...5007222,00.html ........................

Perfect!

Psst, you need the opening quote and the end quote for it to work.

I would think though that the Specialist was merely venting a personal view. One view.

*just a quick note* - when you are quoting ensure this is at the end of the quote [/quote[ - except use the corresponding bracket and not the reversed one like I have... and then the words will be wrapped in the quote correctly. (whoops, where's Raz...don't wanna get into trouble for straying off topic....) Back to topic - to be honest, most Vets are quite intelligent and are also very aware of the shelf life and care needed for drugs. For example, liquid valium is one such drug with a short shelf life and needs to be kept out of light and heat. The only reason I know that is my Vet informed me. Whilst I think you bring up a good point, and a very valid one when it comes to dispensing and record keeping, I think you might be judging the majority on the actions of the minority. I feel personally that if it were an issue that was commonly reported then something would have been done about long ago. In having said that, it really isn\'t the right attitude to have to think that a dog should be put at rsik or die beofre something is done. Perhaps you need to take a slightly less personal view or a bigger view of it all and then you mmight end up with more support? I feel that the way in which you phrase some of your posts makes people feel you have a vendetta against Vets rather than an issue with the way thins are done.

I agree with the point you raised and the danger it presents....but I also find it odd that your Vet would remove tablets from their foil packaging?

Welcome to the world of rescue Rappie Great job! You and the rest of the clinic staff are to be congratulated. Can I ask what course of treatment he was put on? Here's my best demodex story; Day 1: 6 weeks later:

Great news.

If the diet change (including beneficial additives) was something which more strongly supported the immune system (or conversely, didn't compromise it), isn't that what it would be about for demodectic mange (and a whole host of other things)? Absolutely, but I am talking cure which is why I said 'on the whole'. I am a firm believer that a good diet helps all manner of things, but diet doesn't cause mange nor will it cure it. It seems to me that everything wrong with dogs is thought to be because of 'commercial foods'. This doesn't fit in with the fact that many, many dogs live full and healthy lives in commercial foods.

Interesting, but it doesn't resolve many diet related allergies though and the thought process is flawed. There seems to be a false belief that commercial foods are what cause dogs to itch. It is actually what the commercial foods are made up of that are found to be the allergen in a lot of cases, and the main culprits are various protein sources. Protein is also in barf and raw diets. I do agree though that overall, a fresh diet is far better than one that is high in preservatives and fillers however for both man and animal. I still remain unconvinced tha a diet change would do anything for demodectic mange on the whole.

It might be just kennel cough... it might not be kennel cough. Be guided by your Vet but also talk to them about your concerns and the fact that you feel surgery should be the last option. It does appear to sound a lot more like kc than a blockage though.

If the dog is sitll eating though..... and it is definitely coughing, then it could be kennel cough. Dogs do vomit with kennel cough.

They diagnosed kennel cough? Was she coughing? Did you tell them about the hose? I am not sure I would ever bother with the first Vet again. I think your instructions for the Vet sound fine - do what he can to determine if he really needs to open her up. Sounds like he might though. I assume she is not eating either? If it is a blockage, they don't have a lot of time normally to muck around so I would be prepared for the surgery option. I am sure she will be fine. All surgery carries risks however.

Dotty, I htink you'll find she possibly means fawn with a black mask. My Vet also refers to them as being 'black and tan' and so do many of the local pound staff when they chip them.