morgan

This is not the only skeletal change created by stopping hormones before growth is almost complete, as chest and head development is affected too, depending on breed. In my breed, even desexing at 6 mths has created taller, narrow chested dogs with insufficient lung room - resulting in problems separate to increased cruciate ligament ruptures.

That is a big lump! It happened to my daughter with her Implanon - made it extremely painful and difficult to remove and has left her with a nasty scar as a result. Poor doc had to really slice into her to get it

Actually, it is not always treated so cheaply or easily - some bitches don't respond to artificial hormones or other drugs, others require expensive tests etc and some simply remain incontinent no matter what and end up having to live permanently outside. Some owners can't cope with it and end up putting the dog to sleep. Before you rush in and say that this is heartless, picture an elderly person in a carpeted flat who simply cannot manage the problem and doesn't want to dump the poor animal in the pound, knowing it's chances of being rehomed are minimal - euthanasia could appear to be the kindest alternative.

Thanks, that's what I meant to say - trying to do too many things at once and not concentrating on anything properly

Just tying tubes is useless IMO as you still get the mess, dogs being attracted and the risk of pyo. If you search around you might be able to find a vet who is willing to do a hysterectomy while leaving a single ovary. There is also a new op being developed where some ovarian tissue is spliced under the skin after desexing is performed to allow a small amount of hormone to be developed. I haven't looked into this and know nothing of whether or not it is viable, but the vet researchers seem to think it is worth pursuing. If you can get this done you should be able to get a desexing certificate, as the bitch is incapable of having a litter, even though she is not technically desexed. At least with these options there is no bleeding or smell and no pyo or possibility of puppies. With only one ovary you will have less hormonal behaviour to deal with and much less chance of dogs being attracted through changes in pheromones. This operation, if youcan find someone to do it, will entail more time under anaesthetic and higher costs, but less chance of spay incontinence, which is not cheap to manage. Haven't seen any research in dogs, but with women who have a hysterectomy the blood supply to the ovaries is compromised, leading to earlier menopause in most instances, usually within 5 years. If this same thing happened to dogs there would be a gradual lessening of oestrogen being made which would reduce the risk of mammary cancer over time. Bear in mind that only about 30% of mammary cancers in dogs are malignant, the rest are not fatal. No matter which way you go there are drawbacks and problems, just like women trying to manage their own fertility have issues to deal with no matter which option they go for. So you have to work out which risks and adverse effects you feel are most acceptable to you.

The body will sometimes encapsulate a foreign body with fibrous tissue - whether it is a microchip in an animal or a silicon breast implant or contraceptive implant in women. Very rarely this fibrous tissue can become cancerous, so keep an eye on it, but it should be fine.

Yes, I have a couple of girls that become serious humpers when in season - doesn't bother me as they are obviously enjoying themselves and it's only a few weeks a year I also have a 13 mth old male that attempts to jump on every female, but is quickly put in his place and is learning that this is not acceptable behaviour. He did go through a stage of trying to constantly hump a male whippet when he was younger but thankfully grew out of that the moment he met a girl in season. He now knows which gender is which If you look at my post, I did say "most" not all Centitout - I sympathise with your problem of breeding a breed that has very large litters when it is so difficult to find suitable pet homes. This is why so many breeders in your position either cull litters or let the weaklings die without going to heroic measures to save them. They know that they cannot manage the financial stress and extra work required that can occur as a result of being left with unsaleable pups that quickly eat them out of house and home. If they can't bring themselves to cull, or have to save every single puppy in a litter no matter what, they might only breed a single litter once every few years, so that they have time to find suitable homes for the unsold pups as adults - this can take years. Having a breed that is difficult to find suitable homes for myself, I have always spaced litters so that I have the time and money to raise unhomed pups and look after them until a suitable home does turn up. Naturally the costs incurred are never recouped, but I do this because I love them. I have also culled weaklings in large litters to maximise the health of the other pups and so as not to totally drain the dam. I don't like supplementary feeding with artificial formula unless absolutely essential - doing this because there are more than ten pups is not on for me. Of course others feel differently - but then they have the option of keeping more mouths to feed for a lot, lot longer. Obviously you don't want your pups to be bred from, so can you find homes for your pups if they are desexed? If people only want them for breeding, not pets, surely it doesn't make any difference whether they are sold desexed early or with contracts - there just aren't suitable homes for them, which is the risk you run with breeding, so you cop it on the chin and keep them. Good, suitable homes for them as desexed adults always turn up eventually. Naturally this option is very difficult if you raise two very large litters at the same time.

Consider using CAA Capsules as a support for your dog. These have helped many cancer patients and are quite cheap. They are based on the original Percy's Powder, which was developed to cure cancer in livestock and then people 70 odd years ago.

Fish oil is essential for itchy skin and a daily zinc tablet will help relieve inflammation and itching very quickly. I have found that most dogs respond to this without changing their diet too much. If these don't help you will have to go through an elimination process with food to see if any one type is the culprit. Some dogs can't handle red meat, others can't cope with chicken.

I never use the Medium Adult one because it contains more grain and active dogs have trouble keeping up their weight on it. It is also not as palatable as the Energy. Every border collie I have fed on the Energy has done very well on it, even the couch potato ones. I would only use the Adult on fat ones

Was speaking to a customer today whose foxie only just survived a snake bite 10 mths ago, with antivenene etc. Ever since the dog has been drinking an unusual amount of water and her kidneys are struggling. The vet said there's nothing he can do as the kidneys simply sustained too much damage from the venom.

We use a lot of Robert's products, more for the horses as we don't have too many health issues with the dogs - but find that all of them dislike the strong taste, so we always put the dose of herbal extract in a syringe of colloidal silver which dilutes it enough so that it tastes better and has the added health benefits of the CS. However, it does pay to hide the syringe while getting hold of the dog/cat/horse... ;)

Have known many whippets and a number of whippet breeders over the years and have never heard of kidney problems. Have known of a few dogs that have died more than a week after a snake bite, including one of my own dogs.

Have never had an annual health check done. Pups get checked out with their vaccs and never see a vet again unless there is a problem. Most of my dogs never see a vet again except for breeding purposes or accidents. The few health problems they get I can usually sort out myself.

I'd be trying everything possible before amputation. Look at all the human amputees that sometimes have pain in their "phantom" limbs. Just because the limb is removed doesn't stop the nerves sending messages to the brain that the missing limb hurts. There are many doggy shoes on the market. So saying, I am currently looking after a dog who had a hind leg removed several weeks ago - he was a houdini border collie who was found hanging from his fence by his back leg. It's circulation had been cut off so it had to be removed. He is doing great - running around like mad, just has to learn how to do sudden turns without falling over!

I can see why you didn't take them at their word...

First of all, buy some F10 disinfectant - and set up a footbath for anyone walking onto your property in case they pick up any virus on the footpath. Spray it on every surface around your pups in case flies or birds bring it in on their feet from the infected property - concrete, bedding, lawn etc. Secondly, worm every single pup and dog - any sort of worm burden is damaging to the gut and lessens their chance of survival if they do get it. Thirdly, look at buying some Parvaid from the US to start giving it as a preventative. - it can be also be used as treatment. It will keep for a few years and can be used for any sort of diarrhea, not just parvo. One vaccination is not enough tp protect young pups, so you must be vigilant. Put all the pups onto powdered vit c mixed in water and syringed down throats twice daily if necessary. Dosage depends on size, so if they were mine I would be giving it until bowel tolerance level, which is the maximum amount they can absorb before bowels loosen. All of my adult dogs have been exposed to parvo without getting it - simply with 2 puppy vaccinations and no boosters whatsoever. Even the oldies! But I am paranoid about youngsters, as it hits them so hard.

Definitely not. Gets far too cold in winter for the ticks to survive and continue breeding. Ask any vet in the area and they will tell you the same thing - the only cases they ever see are dogs that picked up ticks while on holidays on the coast.

You only have to see how far the EI virus has spread without horse to horse contact - these respiratory bugs are determined little suckers :rolleyes:

LM - who is anti-vaccination where dogs are concerned on this forum? There are many people concerned about over vaccination in dogs here, but I have never once seen anyone against vaccinating dogs in principle :rolleyes: It then becomes a matter of different people defining this in different ways. I never vaccinate after puppy shots, and 30 years of experience breeding dogs has proven that this in no way jeopardises their health. In fact it improves it. Other people prefer a three yearly protocol like yourself, some give the first annual booster after puppy shots then no more. All varying degrees of the same concern PS - IME there are many vets out there that don't deserve to be trusted as far as they can be kicked on this matter

If the club insists on the vacc and won't budge, buy some vitamin C powder and put your dog on at least a teaspoon of it mixed in a bit of water several times a day for a few days before and after to minimise reactions. Also buy some homoeopathic Thuja to give after the vacc - this is used to treat vaccination reactions. Karen Hedberg always used to use it at her surgery years ago for any type of vacc reaction.

Speak to your obedience club about titre testing - many clubs are now accepting it. yes it is a bit dearer than the vacc, but it is certainly much better to avoid any further adverse reactions. These reactions usually worsen over time due to the accumulation of the various chemicals.

How much LSA?

Tried to access that page, but it just keeps going to the home page.

Any vet in the country can do titre testing as it only involves sending a blood sample to the lab in Perth. My local vet rang them and said it would cost around the $100 mark. He looked at their brochure first and said they didn't do it, but checked with them later and let me know