vetrg

You don't mention what breed your dog is. If this is one of the mastiff breeds or a loose skinned dog like a basset or great dane I would recommend either going to a specialist or checking that your local vet is very experienced with that type of dog before surgery and the complication arte is much higher with those breeds.

Oh that's really interesting - could you please post a link or reference if you have the time? Ta Can't find my reference since I moved house it seems to have gome walkies- sorry. Was presented at BSAVA Congress ?2008, possibly 2007. They had an specific discussion on common dog poisonings.

There is an individual susceptibility and the type of grape matters. There was a case report of a westie who died after eating 2 grapes, its littermate ate multiple grapes a day and was never ill. The whole situation is unpredictable. The toxin is also stable to cooking and to drying so include raisins, sultanas etc in the off menu list, along with fruit cake. Most dogs appear very tolerant.

You can nag all you want but some people will never diet their dogs. I had a client with an OBESE 57kg golden retriever who ruptured a cruciate- they flatly refused to diet him saying he was fine. My cruciate repair failed due to his weight (they had declined referral). I then refused to operate again and referred him to an ortho specialist who refused to operate due to his weight. 4 months and 20 kg later the dog no longer requires surgery and the owners spent $1000 dollars in referral fees for the specialist to tell them he was too fat. Obviously the local vet telling them that for $20 was inadequate. I tell owners every day their dog is fat. About 1 in 5 listen, 1in 10 actually try to get the dog slimmer (note not lean, just slimmer)

Even though macrolide antibiotics originally were developed from fungal byproducts this does not mean they are "natural". They are now produced in big steel vats in labs. Tylosin was widely used as a growth promoter in chickens (at low doses) and was banned due to widespread concern about development of bacterial resistance. Why encourage antibiotic use for cosmetic purposes? Safety research will investigate whether it is safe for the user, not whether the user has developed resistant bacteria in its gut.

Most vets love seeing lean dogs however if asked is this weight ok- mostly for a pet owner we are never going to get them to accept a lean dog- so we say it's fine. If asked is this dog too thin- that is very different kettle of fish- and apart from abuse cases you almosy never see a too thin dog. Just poor pet owners fed up of being abused in the park by owners of fat dogs saying- your dog is soooo thin, don't you feed him?

It is not possible for the chiro to have forced the luxation unless the patellas were loose anyway HOWEVER .... it is possible for your dog to have a grade I or II luxation that it is coping with quite well then the chiro in an effort to make her "normal" has removed those coping mechanisms. sometimes if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

If your dogs eye are cloudy there is an issue with its cornea or its aquous humour inside the eye. A chiropracter can't fix either of those and the eyes should be looked at by a vet. Any chiropracter who is telling you otherwise is asked to get sued!!

Angel Eyes are a low dose of antibiotic. Although widely used by showing people, given the choice, I would live with a bit of cosmetic staining rather than dose my dog on antibiotics all the time.

In fact: Dr Greg Burton at the Melbourne Vetrinary Specialist Centre, Glen Waverley. 03 9887 8844

The only specialist dermatologist in Melbourne is at the Melbourne Veterinary Specialist Clinic- I think that is in the south of the city though.

In the UK a vet is meant to inform the Kennel Club if they perform any "appearance altering procedures" to a registered dog. I ahve usually tried to do so and once asked the KC what they did with my letters. apparently they are filed and only referred to IF the winner of a show has a query raised!! what a waste of my time. I have done eyelid surgery on 2 top show winning sharpei stud dogs who must have accounted for 200 plus pups between them. If they are picked up by this examination all to the good.

I have 2 terriers who have been free fed all their lives, both are slim. They are not food oriented and were hopeless trying to train with food rewards. They have access to dry food at all times with occasional table scaps as treats. I don't see that free feeding is an issue if the dogs are not greedy and don't overfeed. It is not true that it is not normal- a degree of famine and feast is seen with wild carnivores who will gorge when they have caught something but as dogs are more scavengers they will eat almost anything as and when they get it. Twice daily feeding or once daily feeding of discrete meals does not model "wild behaviour" any more than free feeding. Fat dogs should not free feed only because if they are not hungry and clearing their bowl they are being fed too much!

Depending where it is I would seek referral to a specialist surgoen with a soft tissue or oncology interest. They can do fairly dramatic palate resections and end up quite functional. Hard palate masses are often nasty- might be wise to have a repeat biopsy.

Incontinence in spayed bitches occurs at whatever age you spay then due to the hormonal drop off and weakening of the pelvic floor muscles. In studies comparing Australia (where spaying before the first season was common) and the UK (where the practice was to let them have at least one season) there was no difference in the percentage that became incontinent. In my experience fat dogs are more likely (possibly just more bladder pressure when lying down?) and GSDs were the most common breed.

A dog that has an eye that is producing a lot of mucus with a dry nose on the same side would make me very suspicious of a condition called "neurogenic dry eye" where the nerve that supplies both the lacrimal gland and the nasal gland is no longer working. This should be investigated and treatment started if required before the dog gets secondary corneal disease.

ACP is now believed to be contraindicated in fearful situations at it stops them looking scared but doesn't stop them being scared. Valium type drugs are believed to help and can be given after they start being scared as in humans it causes short term memory loss as well as being an anxiolytic: so not only does it stop you being scared, you forget why you were scared in the first place so there is no reinforcement. I have found DAP (spray or plug in diffuser) to be very helpful. This is available from your vets. This is a pheromone product that gives off the pheromone that the bitch gives off to puppies and is very comforting. It works in about 80% of dogs and turned my JRT from a quivering wreck to a relatively settled dog in the UK 3 weeks that is "bonfire night". Ideally it takes 3 weeks for maximum effect using the diffuser but the spray works immediately but needs topping up over the night.

The e collar needs to reach to the end of his muzzle. There are 2 options with water bowls: a large shallow dish into which the whole contraption may be put (eg roasting pan) or a small heavy based dish over which the collar will fit. Most dogs do not rub at enucleation sites as the sore eye has gone- ask your vet if you can leave it off. Many dogs appear to be rubbing as they come round from anaesthesia when they are half awake and the face is damp from cleaning etc but then won't rub after that. The reflex at the vet clinic is- he's rubbing, give him a collar.

How old is the pup? what do ou mean by lazy? is the eye deviated, or are the lids droopy? can she see using that eye?

Staffies have an inherited metabolic condition that results in seizures that become progressively harder to control. This can be tested for with a urine sample. Most seizures believed to be idiopathic epilepsy are relatively similar in form from seizure to seizure. When deciding to medicate you must consider the risk/benefit ratio of long term medication vs an occasional seizure. If the seizures are infrequent and very short or mild you could chose not to medicate. If the seizures are severe, frequent of the dog belongs to someone who cannot cope well we will choose to medicate. It is worth starting a seizures diary and log anything you believe could be a seizure and also anything 'odd' eg dog has peed in her bed, dog is groggy when you get home etc that may indicate a seizure while you have been out. This will allow you to make an informed decision on whether to medicate.

Lens replacement with a false lens is usually done if possible after lens extraction as it will allow focus for the animal. The replacement lens gives fixed distant focus, just like with people (humans after cataract surgery will still require reading glasses). Distance vision is considered greater than 6 feet away. The dog can still see things closer up, they are just a bit blurry. Dog can still have useful vision if a lens is not placed as they dont have to read/ drive a car etc. Sometimes it is not possible to place a false lens however but ideally a lens is placed at it helps prevent scarring of the remaining lens capsule. Good luck with the surgery and post op care.

Histiocytomas tend to look at their worst just before they resolve. However histiocytes release histamine which is itchy so they often get removed at this point as the dog starts to chew at them. If you can bear with it it should start looking better soon.

Dogs have glands along the eyelid edge that provide part of the tear film. These can become impacted +/- infected. However in young dogs I would also be suspicious of blepharitis (inflammation of the eyelids) preventing drainage (it is hard to see in the photos). This will need treatment from the vet however you could try warm compresses and see if that helps.

The problems with the planned legislation are 1. it's unenforcable which is bad legislation and 2. it is taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut. The problem is that the vast majority of people who have a litter do it from the best motives (rarely money) and a small detructive minority cause issues by being irresponsible. Even the people who run into issues with mismatings etc usually do it through ignorance. If any organisation wishes to avoid outside interference then they must police themselves effectively. This also means considering what "outsiders" think of their attitudes and behaviours. Lots of people honestly think breeding breeds which require eyelid tacking at 2 weeks to be able to see is wrong, that booking elective caesars because they are completely unable to whelp is wrong, that selling pups with the recommendation that "you had better get its airways operated on before summer" is wrong. The breed associations need to address this sort of issue then they would be able to say to politicians that dog people are responsible and able to police themselves and make decisions on their own. I am aware of the literature on the subject but given the choice There aren't many vets who would rather do major surgery on an 8 week old pup rather than a 6 month old so I suspect there won't be floods of vets keen to assist this policy!

If the snotty discharge persists then exces mucus is an early sign of dry eye and should be checked out by a vet. Dry eye is easy to treat in the early stages and much harder if it is advanced.