fungrzz

Hi everyone, I recently bought an unit and will be moving into it in a few months. I have a 7 year old Maltese who I'll be taking with me. It took a lot of begging/grovelling to the body corp to get them to agree to let her stay there on a "trial basis" so is there ANYTHING that I can do to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible and minimise the chance of her being kicked out? She's generally very quiet (unless there's a cat on the lawn) - but what I'm worried about is her potentially barking at unfamiliar noise of people walking in the common areas to get to their unit. We will be on the top floor with only 1 other unit on our side so hopefully there shouldnt be TOO many instances of people just milling around... but any ideas how I can prepare her for that? Thanks in advance!

First morning after giving her a little bit of BH... more droppings in quantity and in smelliness :S the stool was also softer than normal. Will keep giving it to her for a few days and see how it goes!

I emailed Kel on Friday afternoon and received a very generous sample this morning! talk about quick! My dog was sniffing at the bag enthusiastically so I look forward to giving her some tonight! Will report back soon

Hey Poodle Mum, so sad you had to join this thread. My dog's been a IMHA survivor since June last year and I understand that it can be a hard battle but definitely hang in there! I agree with what Red Dog NZ said about the fluctuations. Even after blood transfusion and days of drugs, my dog's PCV still went from 30 and 20 over night so... yea :S All those drugs can be really hard on the liver so one advice I have is giving her some Milk Thistle and giving lots and LOTS of it.When my dog's IMHA morphed into IMTP the vet added imuran to the drug cocktail and her liver values went off the charts. A few weeks with milk thistle and her liver was back to almost normal :D This disease is complicated enough as is and we defintitely dont want add liver/kidney failures to the list of problems she's already got!!! Good luck, and i hope she gets better!

HI everyone, Our holistic vet recommended feeding artichokes to my dog to support her liver which has taken a beating in the last few months from harsh drugs... I keep forgetting to ask her HOW to feed it so just wondering if any knowledgable DOL-ers have any ideas? I have never eaten artichokes before so it just looks confusing to me... TIA!

It's all good and well to say that puppy buyers need to do their research - but can someone offer some pointers on just *how* we should go about researching? and how do you find out if someone is "reputable"? I mean even on Dogz Online website there are so many breeders listed! I find it so confusing because I dont even know where to start. I mean when you contact someone it's very rare that they come across nasty/unethical or generally unknowledgable about the breed...?

Yea the 6months one was banned in the states and Canada - apparently there was a high incidence of dogs developing IMHA shortly after the injection. My doggy is battling with IMHA at the moment (not from the injection) and it's really not fun. So if i had the choice i would probably stay away *just* in case

Hey guys, I have about a 1/2-3/4 bag of EVO for small dogs (Chicken and Turkey) which is grain free if anyone in Sydney wants them... I know a lot of people don't buy it because of it's distributors but if you're looking for a change you can have my bag for free My poor baby is on some medication which causes her to be susceptible to pancreatis so need to give her a very bland and home cooked diet so she definitely won't be needing it!

Hi everyone, I'm hoping someone can help me out... are there any 'mobile' groomers or groomers who work from home who I can take my Maltese to? She was diagnosed with IMHA earlier this year and as a result of the drugs her immune system is somewhat compromised. Her vet gave us the clear to visit the groomer when her medication was reduced to a very lose dose... but since visiting she's had some complications which may or may not be linked... While I really, really love the current groomer, I'm just wondering if there are any groomers out there who can do quick private sessions without other dogs around?? Thank you so much in advance!

Hey Everyone, I am so sorry to hear about all the dogs that have lost its battle to this horrible disease! I know this is an old thread but I just wanted to revive it in case there are any new people battling this disease and looking for information online. When my baby was diagnosed with IMHA I searched desperately for information and was very devastated by all the sad posts that are around. This IS such a serious disease but I just want people to know that there is definitely still hope so don't give up on your furbaby~!! My 5 y/o Maltese was diagnosed about 3 months ago and the crash came very suddenly. I believe the timeline was something like Monday: dark urine, orange faeces, pale gums and lethargy so I took her to the vet. Her PCV was at 30, with elevated bilirubin levels. Vet put her on a drip and kept her overnight Tuesday: Slightly higher energy levels, PCV @ 27. Kept overnight and recommended seeing a specialist for an ultrasound Wednesday: PCV at 19, so I took her home and made an appointment with specialist the next day. she was so weak and could not stand, and did not want to eat or drink anything! Thursday: Specialist diagnosed her with IMHA. PCA @ 12 and a blood transfusion was performed which brought the PCV to 31. She was kept overnight Friday: PCV @ 22. Kept overnight Saturday: PCV @ 21. Vet was happy to let her to go home, but we had to bring her back for blood test every few days Now, 3 months later her PCV is at 45 (normal) and with no sign of haemolytic anaemia present as of her last check. She is 5kg and her cortisone/prednisolone regime is as follows: 1st 2 weeks: 6.25mg AM; 6.25mg PM; ¼ antacid PM 2nd 2 weeks: 6.25mg AM; 2.5mg PM 2nd month: 6.25mg AM 3rd month: 6.25mg AM, every 2nd day We're going in for another check this weekend but if things keep going the way it has, she will hopefully be drug free in another month or 2... SO there is definitely a glimmer of hope! It is a lot of hard work, but just need to stay positive for your baby and be super duper watchful for any signs of relapse and manage those side effects of the drugs to the best of your abilities! I am definitely not a vet but I'd just share some of the stuff I've done which appears to be working for my dog. obviously each case is different but yea! The main things I have done to combat the side effects include: - Milk Thistle to protect the liver from drug damage - Always feeding before administering the prednisolone to protect stomach - UTI’s is apparently a VERY common problem and can be quite serious so I have used: o Yoghurt and cranberry pills everyday - it appears to help as we have yet to come across it! o Toilet breaks at regular intervals to flush out the bladder. This was probably the most painful as it involved waking up every 2-3 hours in the middle of the night to take her outside in the first couple of weeks D: o Wiping down the privates every time after doing her business o Keep changing the water to keep it fresh o Regular urine tests to catch it early if it happens - Home cooked (not raw ) meals with about 50-60% vegetables and the rest meat. This is to be nice to the liver which is doing lots of hard work! Also the prednisolone makes them super hungry so the extra vegetables fill them up but doesn’t make them fat~ o For the vegies I use: sweet potato (base) and a mixture of zucchinis, carrots, kale, black beans, broccoli, peas, chick peas, brown rice o Meats: beef mince, lamb mince, lamb heart, sardines, chicken livers, calf livers o Other: Egg + shells o No salt + other additives. so for snacks I only give her fruits or homemade liver treats which is essentially liver sliced and boiled slightly to set, then baked at 90 degrees for 1.5hrs - Gentle exercise for the first month or 2... prednisolone does deteriorate the muscles quite a bit so make sure you keep exercise to a minimum when the drug dosage is high. We used to just let her out in the yard for a few weeks, then walked for ½ block as the medication reduced... now we're back to her old routine and she's even faster than before we can hardly catch up! - Keep all food out of reach, including ones of tables! The drugs make them ravenous for food and even the once well behaved dogs can turn into tricksy little thieves! My dog climbed onto a sofa and then leapt onto the table from there and ate some vegies which contained substantial amounts of garlic~ this led to a trip to the emergency vet for some induced vomiting D: - We have not found the cause for the IMHA... so i'm trying to keep her chemical free as possible... so currently looking for some natural flea prevention stuff so I might report on this later! Also, there's no doubt that this can be a very expensive condition... but there's always carecredit available which seems to be quite a good way to fund the treatment. With me, I had to cut a big chunk out of savings AND to be super tight for the period and avoid shopping centres!! But in the end it's all worth it That is all I can think of for now! But I hope SOMEONE might find it helpful Bye!

Hello All! My little 5.5 y/o Maltese was diagnosed with immune mediated hemolytic anemia a little over a month and a half ago and a blood transfusion and many vet specialist vet visits later, she seems to be winning the battle, with her PCV at 38 during the last check Anyway, I thought it would be a good idea to get her Pet insurance as that vet bill was quite a shocker to say the least. I know that she will not be covered in the event of a relapse in IMHA, but I am cautious of the fact that the high dose of prednisone she is on can cause long term damage and makes her more susceptible other illnesse and complications which she does not have symptoms of at the moment. Given this scenario, do you think the potential secondary complications fall under the definition of "pre-existing condistions"? The definition provided in PIA's PDS is: • any Condition(s) or symptoms or signs of that Condition occurring or existing in any form prior to the Commencement Date, or • a latent infectious condition that manifests itself within a known incubation period following the Commencement Date indicating clear evidence that the condition had existed prior to the Commencement Date. or • any Illness or symptoms or signs of that Illness occurring or existing in any form during the Waiting Period. It doesnt really sound like they will be caught by the definition but I'm just not 100% sure... Thanks in advance for your help! Fungrzz