trinabean

Happy Gotcha day Lucy. :) Megan the puppy farm photo is worlds away from how Lucy looks now. She is so evidently loved and cared for. Friends of mine have a mini Schnauzer too. They are such smart, spunky little dogs.

My dog's quirks are mostly related to his overwhelmingly curious nature. If there's something happening anywhere in our house, he's right there, 'supervising.' More than a few of my childrens paintings have incriminating whisker marks on them. This morning I was vacuuming using just the nozzle part. I put it down for a moment, still running, to move something. Unbeknownst to me, nosy Boxer tried to sniff it. There was a brief moment of noise as his jowls were stuck on suction before he popped in the air and it fell off. The look of 'WTF?' was priceless. :laugh:

Poor Cooper, that looks ouchy! You said earlier that you have some Cortavance. I have some for my dog's allergies, but I definitely wouldn't use it in this case, as it is quite astringent and will sting like hell. That said, I don't know what you can use tonight. Hopefully he sleeps well now, and you can get some good advice from your vet in the morning. Good luck, and gentle ear scratches for Cooper.

Ah Stan, dog after my own heart! :laugh:

:laugh: Love it. Clever boy.

Seems straightforward to me.

The dogs featured are from the 'Wine Dogs' series of books from what I understand. There are some beautiful photos of vineyard dogs from around Australia (and around the world) on their Facebook site. Worth a look for those who missed out on seeing their breed on stamps. :) My link 'Wine Dogs'

Whatever you think of newspapers aside, the case went to court and evidence was provided. Clearly, enough evidence for the breeder to be given a sentence (albeit a suspended one). I'm not sure you read the article?

Teela, I think I've borrowed that book from the library in the past. I seem to recall checking the date that it was first published and it was some time ago? I wondered if some of the information given was a bit outdated? Not casting aspersions on those who give their dogs the occasional bit of onion though. The odd bit for a healthy dog is possibly fine. I personally wouldn't feed it to mine, as he has enough health issues without me potentially complicating things.

Sorry about your boy Cowanbree. Yes, I hear you on the big questions about quality of life and where does one draw the line as far as treatment etc. goes. I love this dog, his temperament is fantastic and he is so much a part of our family. Most of the time he seems happy enough...but he is a Boxer, and they are joyful souls! I guess I'm not ready to give up on a good outcome for him until I have some more answers. Finding the answers is proving to be the hard part. He has cost us a small fortune so far in vet bills, special diets etc. as you can well imagine, as your boy had immune-related issues all his life. The specialist vet called last night, to say that the rest of the results are back (fecal/urine/bloods). There's no sign of parasites or anything abnormal, apart from the high 'eosinophils.' He mentioned that there are several possible conditions that would need either more in-depth blood tests, ultrasound or biopsy to investigate. Things he mentioned were pancreatitis, something to do with adrenal glands, and IBD (with a possible small intestine component to the problems?). Bruno is 2 weeks into the elimination diet and we opted to stick with that for the time being to see whether things settle down just with a low-fat, novel protein/carb diet. I've taken to writing down how much he's eating, meds given, and observations like how often he vomits/has diarrhoea. The vet wants me to send that through to him. Maybe he will see a pattern that I can't, and hopefully it will give him some info as to the next steps we should take. Thank you Cowanbree for your insight. :) And thank you SarahJ88, I'm glad you got a good result in the end with your GR. :)

Thanks for your reply Skye2. I hear you on the temptation to try and 'fatten up' a skinny dog. And the pain of watching them have one good week (or less) of eating and then one miserable week with bloody diarhoea and weight loss. I have used slippery elm in the past and I think it helped too. Thanks, I will ask if it's suitable to use while Bruno is on the elimination diet. If not, it would be something I might be able to use once the 6-8 weeks is up. And this dog has been like this ever since he was a pup too ( came home from the breeder with diarrhoea and was a "picky eater" in the breeders words). I was told to call the breeder within a day or two if it didn't settle down. I did. If I knew then what I do now, I should have returned him. It was a heart decision not a head decision. We had fallen in love with him and mistakenly thought that it was all going to be ok. You live and learn... Re. the heart murmur in your fox terrier, it is encouraging that a dog with a severe heart murmur lived until 18. Hopefully this is mild enough that it won't be a problem, thanks. :)

Hmm, a good question WoofnHoof. The invoice says that the blood tests are 'CBC, biochemistry panel and electrolytes.' He also had urine taken for 'urinalysis' and a fecal sample to test for parasites (he is regularly wormed, but the vet mentioned parasites like Giardia that aren't killed by normal wormers). Is the liver function test a different blood test? The vet called later on Friday to say that the blood results were back. Nothing was remarkable except that he had an elevated level of 'eosinophils.' This could indicate a parasite infection or it could just be because he has allergies. He was diagnosed and was being treated by a dermatologist for the allergies. We are still waiting for the results on the urine/ fecal tests. Thanks WoofnHoof. :) A normal biochemistry result can pick up liver issues in the ALT levels but they don't always show up either so the one that is usually done to check liver function specifically is the bile acid test, they take blood when fasting and then after eating and compare the bile acid levels, that will tell you if the liver is doing it's job. Not all vet practices have come across liver shunts, I know mine hadn't so they didn't recognise it and it was misdiagnosed initially. Thanks WoofnHoof, I think the blood results so far were that everything seemed normal (liver, kidneys etc) as far as that test can tell. I get what you're saying though that the blood test doesn't always tell the full story. The only thing that showed up outside the normal range was the high 'eosinophil' count. I will ask about the bile acid test when I speak to the vet next. I'm hoping that as the vet we saw was a specialist and senior lecturer at the university clinic, that he will be well-informed on all sorts of weird/unusual illnesses.

Thanks Staffyluv, I know from what you've written in the past that Ollie was one very special dog. Wow, you certainly had your share of ups and downs with his health! I too hope that now that you've worked out what Ziggy is sensitive to, he will stay healthy and happy. Your idea of seeing a holistic vet is a good one. As Jed suggested, sometimes natural therapies can help where conventional medicine can't. I think I will persist with the specialist's advice on an elimination diet for 6-8 weeks and wait and see what the rest of the test results come back with. I will then re-evaluate the need for further testing if it seems necessary and take it from there as to which direction we take. Thanks for your ideas. :)

Thanks Kiwigirl, rabbit would have been a good novel protein except that he has had it before (in Big Dog 'barf' patties). Although we do have feral rabbits in WA I haven't seen rabbit meat widely available at all, not sure why. Bruno loved it in the barf patties though. It might be something I try him on again in future. Thanks for your thoughts. :)

So sorry you are going through this Juice. It's very stressful and upsetting when they are sick. Especially as you don't know what you're facing yet. My thoughts are with you and your girl. I hope you get some answers soon. And keep unloading, especially as you say, because you can't tell the kids much yet.

it's a title I will wear with pride :laugh: :laugh:

I haven't told the breeder about the heart murmur yet. As for the allergies and colitis, apparently they haven't had any history of that. Well, apart from his dam with a couple of foods (she gets itchy when fed lamb or beef). I only found that out after quite some time though, I had been keeping the breeder up to date. From their end, mine is the only pup in the litter with health problems. And no, I didn't know that about your cocker spaniel. I think you are correct though, his heart murmur may not be a problem. To be honest, this is the first time a vet has had a really good listen to Bruno's heart that I can recall. His GI issues are far more worrying at the moment. I'll be relieved if the cycle of refusing to eat/ diarrhoea and intermittant vomiting settles down...

Oh she is beautiful!

If he's only been kennelled once before, many years ago, I would do a trial run. Perhaps just for a couple of nights, while you are not far away? That way, if all goes well, you can go away at Easter confident that he is ok. It won't be a big unknown. On the other hand, if he doesn't cope with a short trial, you'd still have time to make other arrangements. Perhaps a house/pet sitter? I have kennelled my dog several times for short stays (5 days or less) and recently for 3 weeks. He gets really excited when we arrive at the kennels and I know that they love him. This makes it a lot easier for me to go away. Much as I hate to leave him, I know he is well-cared for. So I think a short trial is worth it if it gives you peace of mind for future kennel stays. :)

Hmm, a good question WoofnHoof. The invoice says that the blood tests are 'CBC, biochemistry panel and electrolytes.' He also had urine taken for 'urinalysis' and a fecal sample to test for parasites (he is regularly wormed, but the vet mentioned parasites like Giardia that aren't killed by normal wormers). Is the liver function test a different blood test? The vet called later on Friday to say that the blood results were back. Nothing was remarkable except that he had an elevated level of 'eosinophils.' This could indicate a parasite infection or it could just be because he has allergies. He was diagnosed and was being treated by a dermatologist for the allergies. We are still waiting for the results on the urine/ fecal tests. Thanks WoofnHoof. :) Thanks LittleMissOdie. I will ask the vet about the liver issues which you and WoofnHoof have mentioned. :)

Thanks Jed, I will consider natural therapies down the track a little bit. I'm waiting to see what the blood/urine/fecal tests come back with this week and will take it from there. I will give the elimination diet a shot too, as it's the only way to definatively work out which foods he can /can't tolerate. I've kept the breeder in the loop about the allergies and colitis. I haven't told them about the heart murmur yet. Is a grade 2 murmur something that can develop or would it have been there since puppyhood? I'm wondering why no vet has noticed it until now? Oh thanks TheLBD. Well yes, you've met him and he loves you to bits too. You are forevermore 'The awesome-orange-squeeky-ball-giver' :laugh:

I don't *think* my house has a doggy smell. But maybe I'm in denial? :laugh: My breed is very short-coated, perhaps that helps. As others have said, having hard floors rather than carpet helps too. As does weekly cleaning and washing dog bedding. I mop my wood floors with hot water and eucalyptus oil. It smells nice and kills dust mites (which my dog is allergic to). I also throw a capful of eucalyptus oil in when I wash the dog bedding. Congratulations on your new puppy. Do we get to see a photo? :D

Yes, this is a harsh climate, especially in Summer. It's going to be over 40 degrees tomorrow. Truly, the baking heat can be intense and I don't know how anyone could forget a dog and leave it in a car here.

Thanks Amymattasha, I'll keep it in mind. I have 6-8 weeks ahead of me of cooking up caldrons of quinoa with this elimination diet!

And apologies Anne, I just checked my link and it didn't take you to the ingredient listing as I meant it to! So in the page my link went to, click on 'air-dried dogfood' then 'venison' (or whatever flavour) then choose 'analysis' to find an ingredient list. I'm a link numpty it seems.