Allerzeit

Thanks for that :) I'll pass that on and see what they say

Hi guys, I've posted about a male rotty in the non-urgent rescues who needs some help. He's being temporarily cared for at the moment by someone, but really can't stay where he is (no fencing, and person has cats - this dog isn't cat friendly). I think he needs to make his way into experienced foster care and be assessed if possible, but not sure who to contact in Tasmania to see if we can make this happen. Does anyone know of rescue contacts in Tasmania who we could have a talk to about our options? Thanks :)

Very good point. I would even go as far as if you do take him to the vet, let them know when you book the appointment that you suspect he could have canine cough - they may get you to bring him in via a back door, rather than have him sitting in the waiting room with other dogs.

It does sound canine cough'ish - I certainly wouldn't discount it, even with the vaccinations, still quite possible for him to have it. We've use a human cough syrup for canine cough before - it just calms down the coughing and gives them some relief from that. Name is on the tip of my tongue - starts with B.... argh! Benadryl, I think? The original one - not flavoured or fancy in any way. As long as he's happy in himself, then I wouldn't rush to the vet - but as karly said, if he is flat in any way, or gets worse, then vet would have to be the next step.

A psychic once told me I'd had 16 kids in a past life.. yep, that's likely to remove much interest in more :laugh: Well, there's your problem! :laugh:

That's interesting TW, I did exactly the same thing with my much younger sister and I now have no interest in ever having children. It's not that I dislike children, I just have no interest in them at all and I do find them annoying a lot of the time. Hmmm, here too. I have a sister 13 years younger than me - I spent plenty of time as a teenager playing mum - babysitting, changing nappies, the works. I avoided babysitting for others though - I felt totally intimidated trying to be an authority figure to other people's children.

I don't actively dislike children - I'm not comfortable around them, don't enjoy being around them or interacting with them, and don't want any, ever. I don't think of my pets as children, they're animals not little furry people. I certainly don't think that my love of animals has anything to do with my disinterest in children.

Yes, my thoughts, too - depends on the breed standard, and what is required for the breed. *presses Like button*

Oh, no! I'm so very, very sorry MM RIP little girl

Oh, I think there's a few more than that! ;) If you're in the southern region, then I would highly recommend giving David Boersma at Sandy Bay Holistic a try - http://sandybayvet.com.au/ You need to be working on your dogs immune system, and an holistic approach might be worth a go :)

Looking good, fingers crossed! She just did her morning poo, and what did we find in there but a 5cm x 5cm square of blanket. You know the fibrous blankets that removalists use for padding furniture? Well, Radar and Feonix have one of those as their night bedding, and Nova did pull it down from its day storage spot early last week - I thought we had caught her before she chewed any of it off, but I guess not! Better find a new day storage spot for the blankets!

Wow - some of you have really been through the wringer with obstructions! Bloody dogs! Things are looking good here, everything crossed. She is still her normal, excessive, self. Absolutely famished and very un-impressed with the small food offerings. Another small, normally formed, poo this morning - definitely has lots of hair through it. I've increased her servings of boiled chicken and rice from a miniscule amount to a tiny amount, so we will see how she goes on that for the next 24 hours.

No poo from over here yet! :laugh: She's bright and happy. No vomiting, so that's good. Eating well (although thoroughly unimpressed with her diet and, moreso, the very small volume of food). She did have a sudden bit of diarrhea this morning, which seemed to catch her by surprise (ie, suddenly headed for the back door, but didn't make it). Waiting for the vet to call me back so that I can update her, and also wanted to ask her how long without the mass passing we should wait before we need to x-ray again, assuming Nova is still bright and acting normal. From the information I was given yesterday, the blockage should move from the small intestine and into the large intestine sometime within 12 - 24 hours from yesterday afternoon (this is where the highest risk of it getting stuck is), but I don't think we can expect it to be pooped out that soon.

There was a LOT of hair! I think I could have gotten a second Radar out of it, so she could have potentially ingested quite a bit We're on our way in to pick her up. The last X-ray at 2.30 showed that the barium covered mass is still working it's way through, very slowly. There is still an area of the digestive tract where there is a risk of it getting stuck, so constant observation until it passes. Any sign of deterioration, particularly vomiting, and she has to go straight back. She's bright, very hungry and has kept the water and little bit of food down. Very small meals of bland food for the next 5-7 days, and watch her like a hawk. All fingers crossed she will pass it on her own! I'm on strict orders that when she does pass it I have to report in on what it is! :laugh: So, not out of the woods yet, but fingers are all crossed!

Cautiously optimistic at the moment, all fingers crossed: http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/234344-gastric-obstruction/

Fingers crossed for your little guy!

Don't exactly learn from their experiences, do they? :laugh:

Nova sounds a lot like Louis, Staffyluv! She's always chewing something - she is very, very mouthy. Gets lots of attention and activity, but just always has to have things in her mouth. A bit like a toddler who just can't keep his hands off of things!

One for the trophy cabinet! :laugh:

I'm laying my bets on a bloody great furball! I brushed Radar out on Sunday morning because he was blowing coat - masses of undercoat flying in the air as I was brushing him, which Nova thought was so much fun to chase.... After the vet commenting on the streaky appearance of the barium, I immediately thought "hair!" I bet the little minx ingested a heap of hair while chasing and catching it! I won't be at all surprised to hear reports of her having a great hairy poo!

Just had a phone call from the vet. She called my little darling "naughty"! :laugh: Nova got about 500ml of fluid last night before she ate the IV line :rolleyes: :laugh: They got a second line into her this morning, and it lasted only a few minutes before the Nova machine ate it! So - she's feeling pretty bright and full of herself apparently. We are crossing fingers and touching wood, but the report from the vet the morning is excellent! She was given the barium liquid yesterday afternoon at around 3pm. When the vet rang at 7.30pm she said that the barium was taking a very long time to leave the stomach. It was moving through ok once it left the stomach, but at 7.30pm most of the barium was still in the stomach when it should have been long gone. They also noticed that the barium looked streaky, so they suspected something like a sock (with the barium covering the fibres, displaying a streaky appearance) or grass, etc. This morning, all of the barium has left the stomach and is now in the large intestine - and still looks streaky. So they believe that the barium has coated whatever it was and is carrying it through the digestive system. It will be interesting to see what comes out the other end! Nova shows no signs of nausea, and still hasn't had any vomiting - so they are pretty sure that whatever was obstructing the stomach is now on the way out They are going to give her a small amount of water and a tiny bit of mushy food. Firstly, to see if she can keep it down and secondly to see what it does. They will x-ray again at around 2pm to see what has happened with the food and to make sure all looks good. If she passes that test, then she can come home!

Thank you guys, I appreciate it. Thanks for sharing your experience with Hamlet, pers. I think I might have to get a muzzle - if for nothing else, I can see it being a better option than an elizabethan collar. God, she is going to hate me for putting a muzzle on her! Of course, being a 6 1/2 month old puppy, her head is nowhere near fully developed yet - I think I might take out muzzle shares, since I will probably be buying a few to match her growing scone!

I can't answer the poll - I need to be able to choose multiple options :laugh: Nova, Radar and Feonix go out into runs. Molly and Neo have the house.

Well, I'm a cat on a hot tin roof this morning Nova is in at the vet with a suspected gastric obstruction. She had a barium series done yesterday afternoon which showed that the barium - although moving through - was moving very slowly compared with normal, and it looks like there is possibly something in the stomach. She was hospitalised overnight, put on fluids and when I spoke to the vet last night, Nova was bright and alert. No vomiting or attempts to vomit (last vomit would have been around 11.30am yesterday), so the vet wanted to give her overnight and do another x-ray first thing this morning to see what has happened with the barium overnight, and then she will go straight into surgery if the final results point that way. Please spare some positive thoughts for Nova this morning, if you can. Any positive thoughts would be very much appreciated. Also, does anyone have any positive stories to share about their experiences with gastrointestinal obstructions - recovery stories, etc. I've read more than enough scary stuff overnight thanks to Dr Google - I need uplifting and positive stories, because I'm sick with worry at the moment How about post operative care. Any recommendations there? Nova is a shocker for ingesting anything non-food that she can get her mouth on - any thoughts on how I can reduce this? A friend has already suggested muzzling her, but I don't think that would be safe to do when she is not supervised, and it's when she's not supervised that she's going to get into things. Even overnight - she eats her bedding in her crate. I could muzzle her overnight, but is that really safe? She might have to sleep in a bare crate instead, poor thing I expect to hear from the vet by 9am with the mornings news, but pretty sure surgery will be happening this morning. Please, please let her be ok!

Not Bowen, but David Jones in Chiltern for muscle magic. We used to use him all the time when we were living up there, he is just brilliant.