Loraine

Hesa these numbers can be scary, I believe that Zed's was 9 I am glad that the thyroxine has helped Panda and I am hoping it does the same for Zedley.

If her meal quantity has not suddently changed she should not be gaining weight. Has her appetite suddenly become ravenous? has she started to drink more water? has she developed a pot belly? These are some of the signs of Cushing's disease, which is often, wrongly, put down to old age. If you suspect this ask the vet to run a blood panel whihc includes and ACTH.

FTP my boy's skin is always pinker than normal. I know that stress (like having foster dogs at the house - stopped that) makes him really itchy to the point where he scratches parts until they bleed He does not appear to lick overly nor chew to a silly point. (IMO all dogs will scratch, chew and lick at times but not to the point of blooding themselves). I have checked the garden and walk sites for bad plants, he has been on many types of different meats for elimation purposes. Yeah going through the same thing here - pulling my hair out and my boy has his bucket on all day to stop him licking/chewing which create hotspots on him. My vet believes it's Atopia but have not rules out Hypothyroidism. FTP last year we had bloods done and the thyroid was showing as low, but the TSH (I think that is what it is was kinda normal so the vet ignored the low thryoid. This week the other vet called pathology for a better explanation as the second TSH thingy being nornal poiints away from thyroid, however, Zedley's heartrate is low (90 instead of 110), he is itchy, a bit lethargic - all pointers towards thyroid problems. Might be worth you having another test run.

FTP my boy's skin is always pinker than normal. I know that stress (like having foster dogs at the house - stopped that) makes him really itchy to the point where he scratches parts until they bleed He does not appear to lick overly nor chew to a silly point. (IMO all dogs will scratch, chew and lick at times but not to the point of blooding themselves). I have checked the garden and walk sites for bad plants, he has been on many types of different meats for elimation purposes.

We tried homeopathics with Jessie but it didn't work, but a combination of homoeopathics and thyroxine worked fine. With Pele I've got her on both. We have managed to cut her thyroxine right down. The thyroxine will take several weeks to kick in. Has the vet suggested another blood test after about 6 weeks to check that it's working and that the dosage is correct or needs to be adjusted? I've also gone down the homeopath route to no avail. He is seeing the vet in 2 weeks time, and althought she has not yet said 'blood test' I believe she will suggest it (if not I will). As he is coming down off steroids and just finishing a course of antibiotics I know she wanted to wait until he only has Thyroxine. I tell you, if this does not work I think I will have him skinned

Thanks for that Bully. I am a bit p'd off as the other vet in the surgery ignored those numbers. However, now we hopefully are on the right track. Apparently I cannot expect to see any improvement/difference for a couple of weeks.

My Zedley has had an itchy skin since he arrived here 3 years ago. He has had bloods done in the past. Today the vet re-looked at his results and called the pathologist. Seems his Thyroid is low, but the hormone that usually makes the Thyroid push more stuff was low and should have been high. So now we are starting the lad on a low dose Thyroxine for a couple of weeks. His heart rate was very low too. Hopefully this will solve his problems as we are close to the end of the camel meat elimination diet and his skin is no different.

I used to love the peace of hand stripping our Wire Foxies. Now I use clippers as the old fingers are no longer up to the job :rolleyes:

I love the two lady vets at Lynwood Vet Clinic on Metcalfe Road

April, you and your family gave the girl a wonderful life, and she loves you all for it. The second dog will get used to the loss reasonably quickly. Talk to the kids now, plan for the day you take your girl to the vet, plan what you want to do with her body (burial in the garden, cremation and an urn, etc.) and ask the kids to each write a few words about the dog.

My mini poodle used to make a noise like that and he had a heart murmur. It can also be caused by the trachea collapsing for a short period of time. Neither are too serious.

Kyra I know how upsetting this is for you. My mini poodle had a heart murmur all of his life, and as he got older needed meds. He lived to be 15.5 and had Cushing's Disease as well! I know that there are different degrees of murmur and I am hoping that the ultra sound will show a minor problem. BTW good on your breeder for his/her offer.

I have never seen fleas around here on any of the local dogs, but we all treat just to be sure. My vet advised trying the Advocate just in case mites are playing a part in the itchy story, however a skin scraping found no mites

Zedley flares even worse when bathed in Malaseb, I am using the EPO, but at the moment he is resistant to all of my ministerings He is also regularly on fish oil and EP oil. This itchy thing has been ongoing for a long time, every time I think we have beaten it it comes back and this has been a bad one, hence the cortisone tabs (which makes him very hungry, put on weight and become a food thief :p Maybe this year is going to be a bad one for the itchies, I hope your dog has found some relief.

I'm using Advocate which covers for mites too.

Thanks for the treat idea. My vet is very good, and I am very up with pred and its side effects (I had a dog with Cushing's). We have a plan and we are currently dropping his dose, and he goes back to the vet next week to see what we do regarding the meds, my own feeling is the sooner he is off them the better, but he had literally dug a hole in his shoulder :rolleyes:

We are going to leave him on the camel and s/pot for 6 weeks and see what the outcome is and decide where to go from there. We have tried most other meats and as he came to me aged 2, I have no real idea of what he may have had in the first two years of his life. ATM he is also on prednisolone which I hate doing long term, but he does dig holes in himself at times.

!st Camel, coz he has been on every other meat and this is just about the last stand It is being stocked by Better Pets and Gardens and is made by: Pet Custom Diets 414 Oxford Street Mt Hawthorn 6016 Ph 9444 1220 www.petcustomdiets.com They do Camel, Horse and 'roo all with sweet 'tato, then if you move onto the Wellness diet they add barley. These come in 600g Trays On the tray of food it says - Hypoallergenic Complete Camel and Sweet Potato. Ingredients - Camel, S/pot, vitamins, minerals, sunflower oil Preservative and additive free hydradted natural level Dry Comparative basis Protein Min 12% Protein min 44% Fat min 8% Fat min 27% Fibre Max 0.6% Fibre Max 1.9% Moisture 75% This product has been formulated with assistance from Specialist Veterinary Dermatologists for pets with food allergies. They also provide the bones and jerky The costs vary depending on how many trays you want to order (I think they also deliver). Edit for spelling

I feed at night (in the early evening). I have always fed adult dogs one meal a day in the evening. Only pupd had a different schedule.

Zedley's vet has put him on a new elimination diet of camel and sweet potato. There is a new outfit here in Perth who do elimination diets, and wellness diets. I have picked up camel meals and camel bones and camel treats and hopefully we can get to the bottom of his itchies

It looks like being a bad year for the itchies here too. Zedley has a full blown attack, and all of the neighbour dogs are itchy too. Zedders is on A/B's and steroids it is so bad. ;)

My mini poodle used to reverse sneeze and his vet said it was because he had a mild heart murmer.

I feed raw most of the time (sometimes what I am eating becomes his second course ). I always have a couple of cans of Nature's Gift in the pantry for emergencies. It seems to be pretty good and does not have that nasty 'dog food' smell (such as Pal) YUCK

When dogs are so fat (obese) their doodle hides in the fat. I would have a vet have a look just to be sure.

Fleur a black mini poodle whose mum passed away some time ago, and was surrendered to a rescue, but was impossible to rehome and she was sent to the Bridge yesterday morning. Poor girl was 17, blind, deaf, no sense of smell and almost toothless. Also had a heart murmer and had recently had two seizures. Fly free little one, you were loved here among the humans and I am sure you will meet my Coco at the Bridge.