~Anne~

Monte paced. He was always very restless. He alternated between restlessness or being totally zonked out asleep. I used to listen for his nails clicking on the floor at night. He went in and out of the dog door non stop too.

Poor girl and poor you. She may also have had seizures you haven't noticed. The key signs for Monte having a seizure were wet patches. Not from urine, as he only ever urinated uncontrolled in the last year or two before he died, but from froth and drool. He often also had evidence of being damp or wet on the side of his face where he lay in his drool. Monte had several different types of seizure activity. Sometimes, usually during his meals, he would stumble around as if drunk or choking. They were the hardest because it was hard to tell if he was choking and if I should panic or if it was another seizure and to keep calm. Some dogs do quirky things such as lfy snap only. Seizures are different for every dog and sometimes every seizure can be different.

I'd speak to your vet and discuss the issue of cost. Ask them about alternatives. Quite often they will have other options they can look at for you. You are partners in your dog's health. Sometimes we forget that. If they're good vets, they'll do what they can to help.

Sorry AMS if you though I was implying that you deliberately miss doses. I really didn't mean it that way. It was the comment: "it doesn't matter as it has built up in his system" that concerned me. Your vets have given you the wrong impression. It does not remain at therapeutic levels after 12 hours and declines fairly quickly. I know how life gets in the way. My life revolved around Monte's medication schedule and it certainly wasn't easy. I can also admit to giving some doses late. It's life. You can only do the best you can.

Ams, this is very important. Your dog is at risk of seizure with every tablet you miss! Phenobarbital only stays level for 12 hours before the levels begin to reduce. It doesn't matter how long they have been on the drug. That is why it is administered every 12 hours. It does not stay in the system. Please do not skip doses and ensure you give it to your dog as close as possible to the 12 hours every day. The only anti epileptic drug that builds up and where the occasional missed dose doesn't matter is bromide. I don't think Keppra builds up either but I could be wrong on that one as it isn't commonly used in Australia and I only used it for a short period with Monte and only when he suffered a cluster of seizures. BC crazy, we have another member who has spent many years with her BC with epilepsy. Message CaseyKay. Monte, my epileptic pug passed away earlier this year. He battled epilepsy for over 9 years. He suffered clusters and could have 4 or 5 within an hour. For the most part he was a happy little pug though and lived till a few days short of his 11th birthday. The post ictal phase, which is the phase post seizure is different for every dog. Monte would run manic before he wound down. Some dogs even become aggressive during this phase. The most important thing is to ensure they cannot injure themselves during the seizure and to keep them cool. During the seizure their heart rate increases dramatically and their body temperature goes up. I used to put the air con on even in Winter but then I was dealing with a brachy breed and they dot. Have great cooling systems anyway. I always gave Monte some ice cream or yoghurt after a cluster. It helped cool him and helped with fatigue. He did get very tired after a cluster but then he was having a good number of seizures and also running manic. I used to hold him in between to stop him crashing into walls. He used to run around as though he was blind. If you can, film the next episode. Grab your phone if it is handy. Your vet will need to know the type of seizure and the frequency. There are many types of seizures. It sounds link your dog experienced a tonic clonic, which is what used to be called a grand mal. There are also petite mals and focals. Seizures can be caused by disease, toxins and injury. When the tests show everything is fine and there is no known cause for the seizures it is given the diagnoses of epilepsy. Not all dogs with epilepsy require medication. If your dog does, rest assured it's not the ned of the world.

Great to hear you have a plan with how to move forward. I think Boof's vet thinks his lipoma is the last of his worries given his propensity to develop MCTs. It's quite large though and aside from a needle biopsy, he's not suggested any other testing. I thought it was a gland as it's about the size of a small golf ball and appeared quote suddenly. It isn't growing though. How did you discover Fern's?

First year vets, like anyone else starting out, have to get experience somewhere. I agree that the very green ones can be a worry. I can recall having to show a couple all the tricks on things like how to find veins and inject iv. Still their theoretical knowledge far outweighed mine and it only took 2 seconds for them to build experience in the simple techniques of everyday small animal practice. We all have to start somewhere.... and if the animal rights movement would allow more access to real animals they would have more experience before graduation. That's a touchy subject though.

Bunnings must be different where you are Sabbath. In Sydney and the south coast they offer a huge choice, quality and competitive prices and the range is huge. The stores are massive.

Sorry, I have no experience whatsoever with this condition. However, fwiw, I just want to say that she's lucky to have you. You have a great fighting spirit and she's lucky to have you on her side. Boof has quite a large lipoma in what would be considered his armpit if he was human. I understand it is harmless though. I've never heard of an infiltrative lipoma.

Do we have anyone on DOL from JRT rescue in QLD. I think there is a breed club rescue for qld?

Each dog is different and some drugs have a much higher incidence of reactions. Perhaps a tick collar would be better? The problem with most types of applications is that the body absorbs the drug and you can't wipe it off or take it off. The same with injectables and drugs that are taken internally. Hence why I won't inject my dog with a heartworm preventative.

I only use sentinel spectrum. I've never had a flea problem.

I've never thought of using curash. I might buy some when I am next out shopping. Thanks Florise. Kayla, aside from antibiotics, what do you use to prevent it?

The blood maybe be from her scooting. There is obviously irritation somewhere causing the scooting. Olivia scoots but hers is because the fold around her vulva is prone to heat and moisture and so it gets yeasty and itchy. I find cleaning around her vulva and drying it really well helps a lot. When she first started scooting we assumed worms or glands. The. Ore I watched her though the more I realised it wasn't her bum that was annoying her and that was when we discovered the problem It gets worse obviously in the hot humid times of the year.

How awful that the insurance stops. Seriously, why couldn't insurance companies cover retired guide dogs as a philanthropic gesture. How mean spirited of them.

Tdierikx, maybe a comparison to Bunnings fits here. The Westfarmers Group bought out BBC and another chain (was it Hardware house?) and then Mitre 10 and now we have these fabulous stores that sell everything and at very competitive prices.

That's terrible Ams. I'm lucky in that I've never really had a 'bad' vet. I've had some poor experiences with vets but none like that. I think those in larger cities are better off with the choice they have, in small towns and regional areas you have to go with the vet you have. In this way, I think networked groups may help.

Why does there have to be a time to worry at all? I cant fathom this fear of new and different approaches. You talk like they're devil spawn. :laugh: You surely can't be serious.

Yes, there are some lessons to be learnt from history, but you're talking lessons of 30 years ago. :laugh: We forget how long ago it actually was sometimes! Besides, that was a very different business case to what we are discussing here. I don't think we have anything to fear in all honesty.

Fingers crossed for you. Poor little thing.

Greencross isn't a franchise. In Sydney, we also have VetFriends. (Edit: snap Kavic) In fact, I'm not sure that any of the groups are franchises.

Greencross are not the only ones who have a network of clinics and, in fact, they're not the only ones who have pet supplies and vet clinics. There is another I believe with PetVet and PetStock combining. There is even a specialised service group called Veterinary Buyers Group who buy clinics. You might also want to look at The Vet Group and Vet Share. There is another quickly growing group as well but I can't recall what their name is. I've seen them advertising practice management positions and similar.

You don't think you're being a little alarmist? According to the BoS there were more than 2300 clinics and that was over 13 years ago. I assume there has been an increase since then. Let's say for arguments sake there has been no increase in vet clinics though. Greencross would have to own more than 800 clinics to get to 36% 'if' that was the capped amount. If you actually look at how many they have, there are less than 100 practices.

I doubt it was Greencross. They originated in QLD. They're an Australian company and I doubt they're in the UK. In fact here's a tip - the Australian Financial Review predicts share prices in Greencross will continue to rise. They've had something like a 100% increase over the past 12 months and the merger with PetBarn is apparently going to see more increases. I'd be out buying shares if I had the money.

I can only see the benefits in the merger. PetBarn are not a tacky little pet shop operation selling animals in a mall. Combining the care and maintenance - health and retail - can only reap benefits in my view. Instead of buying high priced goods in a veterinary clinic, the range and price would be expanded and the choice far better. This means you get a variety of prices, it opens up the market on price. Why would you keep health care and medical care separate? Both are so intertwined. The health care industry for humans is also linked very heavily to medical care. It's logical. Everything I've heard about Greencross has been posisitve so far.