Double Lab Love

Tzar - just a heads up... I had a puncture on my shin from breaking up a dog fight... tetanus jab as over ten years plus antibiotics.. Had the misfortune to get another bite in my upper thigh 6 weeks later.... rushed at by an offlead dog with my fear aggressive Lab - needless to say i came off second best.. BUT because I had the tetanus jab earlier I didn't bother about going to the Dr and within the week I developed an infection which got really nasty...so off to the Dr for meds.... So just keep an eye on it and if it does get yucky looking make sure your Dr gives you strong enough antibiotics as it took a second visit to the Dr's and a stronger dose to stop the infection - took 4 weeks to heal

Yep - another vote for Gary and Neil..

Panzer Attack - my Lab boy had luxating patella surgery just over a year ago... His surgery involved deepening of the groove and tightening of the ligaments... we followed the post op instructions to the tee - as OH was between jobs so he had 24 hr care - thank dog... His surgery was successful and the patella healed beautifully BUT he has since developed a luxating patella in his other leg - which being a big boned Lab may have been overcompensation even though we did everything to the letter post op and in addition I have kept him v lean... Our vet and specialist seems to think he may have a genetic weakness in the patellas as opposed to it having been trauma - hence the weakness in the second leg... patella issues are less common in larger breed dogs apparently (or so I have been told) Our specialist has said that this time the patella is nowhere near as bad and is really not bothering him so we are leaving it as this stage (really don't want him to have two ops within a year - esp as OH and I now work full time). We are keeping him very lean with lots of controlled leash walking, hill work, swimming and joint supplements and no boisterous off lead play.. BUT if it worsens then I would have no hesitation in booking him straight in for surgery and we would try and work around the 6 week post op care... Hope this helps !

Hi Guys... So nice to be able to give good update !! Happy happy news - Lola is now home - returned by a good Samaritan One very happy little boy, very relieved Mum and Dad and an unrepentant Lola :D

Thanks Guys... They have rung all the local pounds / vets but you are right she could have crossed into another jurisdiction...so will le them know to perhaps widen their seach and poster drop... Apparently she got out when they put the bins out and hasn't been seen since... The are hoping against hope bc it has been nearly a week now

Hi Everyone, My husband's work colleague much loved Lola has gone missing - I have only just found out about it and thought I could help her by posting it here.. The have rung all the vets / local pound etc but so far have heard nothing - her little boy is devasted If those in the Zetland area could keep a look out I / they would be so grateful. Thanks all in advance.. We miss Lola. Have you seen her? German Shepard x Staffy Seen last at Hansard Street Zetland On the 22nd August PLEASE CALL WITH ANY INFO Paul on 0417 275 620 or Amy on 0410 789 656

Thanks Nekhbet.. Will make a note of that for future use..

Hi, We go to Railway Row Veterinary Clinic just next to Emu Plains Station... Mark is very good and we have been very happy with them so far for our two Labs... Alot of our neighbours use them too...

From what I am now reading it seems that Rimadyl is not something that I would want to risk using in the future. As mentioned I have used it once on my female Lab and was not happy with the way she reacted to it and had the same concerns about a year ago for my boy with his patella issues. I have had two different vets give it to me for pain relief / anti inflam after consultations and I think next time I will specify that I would prefer to use an alternative ... Could I please ask the experienced owners here what I should be asking them for ? Thanks in advance...

Many thanks SchnauzerMax - I appreciate you taking the time to reply.... I guess you would have to closely monitor when administrating and take it as a case by case scenario...and be aware of the risks of prolonged usage... It just worried me that alot of the past posts seemed to involve Labs so I was probably being over cautious... as usual :)

Actually - while on the subject my girl was prescribed them a few weeeks ago for a soft muscle tissue injury... I noticed a change in her behaviour after giving her one with her meal when we got her home.... very lethargic etc.. Did a bit of past thread searching on here and was alarmed at the number of people who wouldn't use it... esp on Labs / GSD's ?? Is this still the case as I immediately stopped giving her any more and she has healed nicely without it.... This has been on my mind a bit in case of needing it again in the future..... May I ask what is the current general concensus on usage ? Is there an alternative ? sorry if I am hijacking) but as the OP has a GSD....

Eija - sorry I just saw this :) I take my two Labs down to Fluffy and Knuckles in Able St,Penrith. They are very busy and you do have to book quite a bit in advance (esp for weekends) but they are really good( for what I require - which is pretty staightforward ) and we have tried quite a few locally before we found them... Cathy the owner is great and the staff are lovely - our two LOVE going there... Not too sure if this is too far and also I am not sure about show knowledge etc but you could ask. Website: www.fluffyandknuckles.com.au

Protectorasd... At the risk of repeating myself yet again - they were just amazing and beautiful examples of their breed... I have my fingers crossed that my future path includes owning one of these wonderful dogs.. I have had so much fun researching, looking at piccies and reading up on the history and breed characteristics - my work colleagues / friends and family have declared me rather obsessed :D But that's fine with me ! Yes - I was very underhanded using puppy piccies but the end result was worth it ! I think meeting your lovely dogs in person will be icing on the cake :D Thank you for letting me know you will be at Castle Hill this weekend - if we can get there we will and i am positive that you will find may more ASD admirers over the next few weeks :)

They were too - i hadn't noticed that :D I work in fin markets and am a trader so unless we have a quietish day I don't really get a chance to jump on the forums until after 4 ... well I can but the spectacular errors aren't worth it !! I leave after 5 so there is usually a small posting window re the forums :D Unlike today as it's a bit quiet ... That thread was just awesome I jumped around a bit on it but the piccies You know I went along to Dogs NSW day on Sat completely unaware that life as I know what about to change :laugh: I adore my two Labs and they are everything to us - but they were OH's choice of breed not mine. I also grew up with GSD's but they were my mums' choice... I admire so may large breed dogs but never had a moment until I saw Tribocie's Anatolians.... Unfortunately with our full time work commitments and long commute / two Labs / suburban backyard I think it will be quite a while before we can even contemplate adding another puppy to our family. My female Lab needs to be managed around other dogs so i would suspect i will have to be semi retired and mostly at home to manage a third - plus a move to a bigger block might be in order - then I can eventually have more :laugh: So like you millbrooksprings I will ogle / annoy and generally be obsessed until my circumstances change... I have launched a full on offensive to convince my OH this is our next addition and I think he is coming around to my way of thinking - I guess all the puppy piccies I bombarded him with over the last few days were probably a bit sneaky but worked a treat :D

Well I would agree that the females were better as I bred the girls :laugh: and co-own the youngest one .. lol no kennel blindness here :D There would have been a wolf sable coloured female, Takas Cleopatra http://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/profile.asp?dog=63011 and a tall female in the puppy class, Takas Cio Cio San. http://www.dogzonline.com.au/breeds/profile.asp?dog=63012 I'm glad you liked the Anatolians :) Hope you can spend more time with them soon. Yes !!!!! Lilli I feel such a goose about my post yesterday..... after looking through the guardian thread I can see how much this breed means to you and how passionate you are about them... They were all stunning and I LOVE Takas Cleopatra she is just gorgeous.. Her coloouring is so striking... I have a picture of Takas Cio Cio San on my Iphone - to convince OH that is our next dog when we move to acreage :D Cleopatra was shown in the utility class (being dogs NSW)and i as far as i was concerned she was the only one i saw - where there other breeds there :laugh: The more i read up and see piccies the more obsessed I become :) Edit to add that an ASD would be our next dog to own

I believe so Lilli... Two were in their crates but I got to personally meet the other two... The female was being shown( she looked so gorgeous in the ring) by far the best in my humble opinion :D I also met a young male... Unfortunately we didn't have a lot of time by that stage so i wasn't able to hang around and make a massive nusiance of myself :)

DDL these forums are about the breed, but whether we like it or not, the ANKC breed classification issue was an issue :) Fortunately Turkey have conducted DNA research and developed a DNA breed identity test, so Ankara can now identify Kangal via DNA analysis. :) I know Lilli and i respect that i was just so keen to find out as much info as I could from this thread and was disappointed that there wasn't much there... The four I met were just amazing - I was beyond impressed and have never had a breed make such an impression on me.... Perhaps I am just a bit lovesick and therefore a bit hasty :D i found the thread that Millbrooksprings directed me too and have spent the last few happily hours browsing in awe of the breed and the rescue work that has been done on their behalf. Just gorgeous They have jumped to the top of my list (even though I adore my Labs to pieces) and fingers crossed in the years to come I will be in the right place and be lucky enough to be the right owner for this wonderful breed. In the meantime i will happily research away and full in love with all the gorgeous photos :D

Thank you Millbrooksprings I didn't mean to sound harsh but was just very disappointed that no owner/breeder knowledge was forthcoming... Runs off to search for livestock thread...

It was with great interest and anticpation that I searched for this thread this morning and have been quite disappointed. I was lucky emough to be introduced to this fabulous breed at Dogs NSW on Sat and was captivated by them from the minute I saw them in the ring. Later chatting with the breeders I got to meet four and that was it for me ! I was unable to chat for long with the breeders due to time constraints so was keen to start my research today with this thread. So far all I have read is pages long debate on ANKC and other classifications - which I am aware is extremely important to current owners and breeders - however as someone who is here to find out more about the breed I was sadly disappointed. It would be great to actually receive answers to the questions posed at the beginning of this thread - which is THE PURPOSE of Breed 101 threads - as you are doing this wonderful breed a huge disservice by not showcasing their talents,breed purpose and charateristics and allowing poeple like myself to gain more information. These forums should be about promoting purebreeds and allowing poeple to become educated about the breed in order to make informed decisions on the fit of the dog in question to their lifestyle / home cirumstances... Education os the key so can you please educate not debate

Ness - me again :) I seem to be able to finally read posts around this time and then I have to run off from work to get the train home to see my babies :D I remember that both specialists (we saw two)recommended that post surgery that they should start to put a little weight on the leg after a couple of weeks.... just for toilet breaks etc.. The reason being is that both had seen dogs that had no weight put on the leg for 6-8 weeks and then required more work to get them to weight bear and use the leg... so more rehabilitation I guess... which is the last thing you need after the post surgery care... I am pleased that Kenz seems better after being sick last Thursday... we had a couple of vomitas days with Tango in the first week due to the meds.... he got a bit spun out by them poor love You will porbabaly find that things start to look up after about week 3 - so you are nearly there !

Oh no Ness... Is it Kenz ??

Ness - sounds like we are pretty much doing the same thing re care.. Just opposite injuries - as yours is shoulder to patella and mine is patella to shoulder Not much fun either way I have to say and very very frustrating....

Oh Ness - it's a nightmare isn't it One paw forward two paws back... Tango's patella issues started a year ago and I honestly thought we would be in the clear by now.. I am so worried about his front leg and the the limping and I am worried the longer we leave the surgery the worse it is going to get and the more damage is caused... It's a leave issue for us as we both work long days and travel 90 mins each way to the CBD for work so have to be home full time for the recovery and we need at least 3 weeks off each which we don't have. Like you as soon as OH left his job last year we knew we would have at least 6 weeks so scheduled the surgery asap - it's just not possible at the moment this time around... You are so right it's so hard to keep them entertained in the crate once the meds wear off.... As tango got stronger we would tether them both on leads on the grass in the backyward so he could get some sun and fresh air but not run or move around. We also went through alot of kangaroo jerky.... Hardest thing was sneaking Tippi out for her daily excercise as he would get so upset...and sook - my god does that boy sook At the end if the day though - like you Ness - we will hang in there bc his health and well being is of the utmost priority.... .. Ness - we also have had two rounds of cartropen as well - specialist recommended to help avoid arthritis later on Plus he is on VAN supplements and Omega 3/6/9...

Ness - my Tango ( Lab - 20 months at the time) had patella surgery last August and the operation involved cutting the bone to extend the groove. He was on complete strict rest for 4 weeks (v hard with two labs under 2) and then tiny on lead walks to toilet for another 2 weeks.... basically kept extremely quiet for 8 weeks.. After that we were allowed small onlead walks which we gradually increased eventualy incorporating swimming and hill work. At the time the vet was very happy with his progress, the operation and the healing and we thought we were in the clear. OH was between jobs for three months so Tango was strictly monitored and we followed the vet's instructions to a tee. BUT 4 months later just as we thought we were over the worst - Tango's other patella went Now after vet / chiro / specialist visits the general concensus was that at the diagnosis it was quite mild and would not need operating. However in the last month that has again changed and it looks like it is getting worse and slipping out more.... He has also developed a slight limp when he trots which our chiro seems to think is bc he is carrying his weight on his front legs to compensate for the patella. Sigh..... So I guess what I am trying to say is that even after the max crate rest and doing everyhing as instructed this still happened so I guess Ness, as hard is it going to be (and trust me I know), do the max rest bc honestly we did all the right things and this still happended. OH and I are of the opinion that the other patella went due to a combination of bad genetics and an overcompensation on the other leg during the recovery. We have been so careful with his weight, avoiding off lead parks bc of the rough and tumble and trying to limit and supervise their zoomies but are now looking down the barrel of more surgery sooner rather than later. I nearly cried when I got home and saw him limping.... I really don't want to put him through such invasive surgery within 12 months but really can't see any option. It's hard too when you work full time and have no other support so we are busy now trying to stockpile leave so we can take alternative weeks off to get the surgery done... Not too mention buying a Lotto ticket every week I can so empathise with all you are going through Ness and I so hope that you have a positive outcome for Kenz... OH and I also learnt during the whole process that crate training is a godsend - we would not have coped otherwise...

I was so embarrased and then when i tried to explain it sounded even worse... More looks.... Then again - I think at times during the weekend that crate would have been mighty handy and NOT for the canine members of the party :laugh: