knitmehappy

He's home now :) skinny and ravenous. I spoke to 3 vets over the week at the clinic, all of them vague about whether I can expect this to happen again. Anyone know?

Well, it doesn't look like an obstruction yay! But still in hospital, had more bloody diarrhoea and is continuing with the fluids and antibiotics. Thr vet thinks he's picking up and hopefully will be coming home tomorrow :)

The vet continues to be concerned about Buddy, he's very subdued. She's thinking he may have an obstruction now even though yesterdays xray was clear. So now we wait

Sorry to hear you lost your girl I use comfortis with no probs on the dog and rebolution on the cat.

He could very well have eaten or drank something. He's that kinda dog. Ill keep the cordial thing in mind, it's recommended for people too isn't it? Right now of course he's hooked ip to a drip so thats sorting out the dehydration. Actually, I'm kind of relieved he's in the hospital, I haven't had much sleep for the last couple of nights, it's as bad as having a sick kid! And I have to work tomorrow, I was getting into a state trying to work out how to pop home to check on him. Leaving him in the yard isn't an option unless I want him squashed by a digger

Yeah, I get the sardines in water. He splits a can with the cat a couple of times a week.

I'm reasonably sure he hasn't been digging things up because I've had him inside or leashed because of the works (no fence right now) but its always possible, he is a stealthy creature when it comes to eating crap.

Hi, no he has a pretty good diet I think. Kibble plus chicken, rice and sardines. He's very lean, people always comment because they think labs are always chubby!

Hi there. I'm just wondering if anyone has experience with this condition. My Buddy (5yr old lab) is in hospital tonight for iv hydration for this condition its the second time this has happened, first time was just over a year ago. First time occurred a couple of weeks after we adopted him from petrescue. At the moment there is a lot of activity at home (landscaping, blokes, trucks excavators). I don't know if stress s contributing? Does anyone know if it is normal for a healthy young animal to get so sick more than once? Both times he has gone downhill pretty fast. The vet has ruled out various infections, parasites and obstruction. Is it worth seeing a gastroenterology specialist vet?

thats good to know. thank you

Yes, but the fleas in my house seemed to be resistant to advantage, I'm guessing the flea tx in advantix is the same? Sorry I wasnt clear, I had flea probs with other tx until using comfortis.

Well this is timely! This afternoon Buddy managed to raid not one but two(!!!) separate picnics of their roast chicken at the dog park. I had just pulled one ribcage out of his throat and was putting it in the bin and he found the next one!!! I think I pulled most of the bones out of his throat. I was so embarrassed my dog was acting like a lunatic today, but I'm sure it had something to do with the aroma of roast chook floating through the dog park. His recall is normally very good but I don't think even Superdog would have resisted. Ive only had him for about 4 months and haven't managed to teach "leave it" yet, I thought I was doing well with having reliable recall. But, yeah, if it was your picnic he ate today, I'm sorry. Although I really do think if you are going to eat roast chicken off the ground at the off-leash dog park then you should expect to lose some of it.

Can I not use advantix at all on the dog if I have a cat? Ok will have a look at frontline + I would think it is only an issue if the dog and cat have contact eg. curl up together. If they ignore each other then I can't see how the cat would ingest any and come to any harm. Dr Google seems to have 2 schools of thought....cat can die horribly just looking at treated dog or cat lives happily with treated dog. My cat may come into contact with the stuff when she is ripping Buddy's eyes out. If frontline plus is as effective then I will probably go with it just for peace of mind. I accidentally poisoned my cat last year with chicken wormer and it was awful

Can I not use advantix at all on the dog if I have a cat? Ok will have a look at frontline +

Hi there, this is my first tick season as a dog owner. Buddy is currently on comfortis for flea control. Is it better to use advantix or continue with comfortis and use a preventic tick collar? I had a few problems with fleas passing from cat to dog, and after a bit of trial and error now have the cat on revolution and dog on comfortis. If its better to use advantix for ticks I'm ok to lose a bit of flea protection, seeing as ticks can be fatal and fleas not. But would prefer to have optimal protection for both. Ive read the tick collar can''t be used when swimming? does it need to be removed and replaced? Buddy is a 30kg labrador, he swims a lot. thanks.

I can see the advantages of using a crate in various circumstances. I spend a lot of time on a forum with a lot of US users and they seem to use crates quite differently to the way I would envisage to be healthy for the dog. They seem to be used to contain the dog while the owners work full time and if the dog displays behaviour such as chewing, soiling etc. In my very limited dog experience crating the dog for 8-10 hours every day will do nothing to teach it acceptable behaviour or enrich its environment. I can see how using it for periods when the dog needs timeout or cannot be supervised would be great. My Buddy recently had a stay in hospital and the crate simply wasn't an issue, even though I don't think he's ever seen one before. We just put him in the crate, he was sick and miserable and went in and stayed without any dramas. Stopping him from gnawing on the IV line was another matter. Of course, any other dog may have found it stressful. Pretty much anything can be used punitively. I bet there are bad people out there treating their dogs badly while on leash. Most dog owners use a leash for its intended purpose, to walk the dog in a controlled fashion and to keep it safe. Yes, in a perfect world the dog would walk at heel without the need for anyone to use a lead, no dog would ever chase anything or run into the road, or poo in other peoples yards....but that doesn't mean that the rest of us defective dog owners are being mean using a lead because we haven't managed to train the dog into perfection.......where am I going with this? Leash- when used properly,good. bad when used to strangle or beat dog. Crate= good when used correctly, bad when used as doggy jail. The piece of equipment isn't really the issue, but the use to which it is put.

thanks Rappie, from this info he is not in any discomfort so hopefully its just a normal smegma thing :)

OH Lordy, what have I started??!! LOL. STOP IT!!! BEHAVE!

Its good to know it can be normal. All my other pets and child are girls so I'm not terribly familiar with this department LOL.

I will get it checked, he needs his shots soon anyway so I will do it this week. Thank you all.

Thanks I will book him in. He doesn't seem bothered by it (no excessive licking or anything) but of course he can't talk so I can't say whether its painful or not.

I'm fairly sure this is not normal. My 4yo Lab has a drop of white/sometimes light greenish stuff appearing on the end of his penis fairly regularly. At first I thought maybe he had had a wee and it was a drip, but I'm fairly sure its not urine. He is neutered. 2-3 months ago he had 2 courses of antibiotics for gastroenteritis, is it possible he has thrush? I'm not sure how long this has been happening, I think I noticed it a couple of times 2-3 weeks ago, but it disappears so it could have been there for a while. I don't spend a lot of time looking under there. Should he have a trip to the vet? Thanks

Hi Im just looking for recs about boarding my dog for a month in september. He's a large lab, 4 yrs old and quite boisterous and bouncy. Recently rehomed from a shelter. I have a few options. Im considering Dont Fret Pets, i saw an ad on here for them. I can board him in kennels- I'm not sure he would get enough exercise? do they take them out for walks or just let them into the 'exercise yard'? I have a dog-minded friend, however I dogsit for her lab because she is now a single parent working full-time and hasn't got a lot of time for exercising her own dog. On the flip side, he will have company with her dog and he knows the house and family. If anyone can recommend a good kennel/carer in Newcastle I would appreciate it Thanks.

Yes, most definitely. I have nursed people and animals in their last days. There is a distinctive odor caused by either/both kidney and liver failure. It's not unpleasant but distinctive. If you are concerned, see the vet.

He had blood tests for pancreatitis etc initially and he is now on his second course of metronidazole which covers giardia. The vet will do US etc if he still has diarrhea in 3 days. He doesn't think he has a foreign body or obstruction because he would be in a lot of pain if that was the case. I'm pretty sure he has had a thorough examination and he was improving until I gave him the none, so I think it is good related rather than anything more sinister. He is much better today and ate his breakfast (chicken) and wanted more. I just gave him a small amount, if he has no diarrhea this morning he can have more at lunchtime. He's a much happier dog today :)