Kolya

Hooray for Airedales, they rock. That is all.

I was driving behind a ute outside Brisbane a few days ago in the middle of the day, 30 plus degree heat and on the tray of the ute was a cattle dog tied up to the back of the cab. No shade, no nothing with the sun bouncing off the reflective floor of the tray and the back of the cab. I felt so sorry for him. I hope his owner didn't have far to drive.

Hey, all. Thanks for all your responses. If the medication doesn't clear up whatever's ailing Archie, I'll get a urine sample for the vet and ask them to re-test (which they'll likely want to do anyway) and ask them for a culture this time. I would say xrays will also be on the cards. In the meantime I will definitely do the paper test. Thanks for the suggestion, Anne. Re: Contamination - YES, there was undoubtedly contamination of the first sample that I collected. Arch peed on the garage floor as I was discussing his problem with my vet nurse friend on the phone. She said to try and get as much of it into a jar as possible and get it to her straight away, that getting off the garage floor wouldn't make too much difference if I could get enough of it. So improvising, and without syringe, i pushed quite a lot of it into a jar with a spatula (necessity is the mother of invention). After the other sample came back clear, I mentioned to her the possibility of contamination being the cause of the disparity in results and her response was that struvite crystals only come from one place, dog's urine, not off garage floors which seems a fair point. It's an interesting point, Rappie, about struvites appearing in well concentrated urine but not more dilute - I wonder if that was a factor. My friend commented that it was a little dark and that he needed to drink more water while the vet described her sample only as "well concentrated". I took it as a compliment (lol!). Cripes, Schnauzer, those stones look huge. Your poor girl! It must have been painful for her. I'm glad she's had them out and that the prescription food is doing its job as that may be Archie's future. I personally think he either has something akin to cystitis or some kind of obstruction in his bladder as sometimes after he sits/lies down he jumps back up like something's sticking into him and tries to find a more comfortable position. This can happen two or three times in a row. This may be evidence of a stone but it could also be his fur bothering his 'red rocket' which seems to be very sensitive. The vet wasn't able to feel any stones when she examined him. After urinating he rushes inside and promptly sits down to stop the irritation, which strikes me as being cystitis-like. If the medication doesn't settle him an x-ray and urine culture are next on the list. Cavs, a very interesting comment re cranberry tablets. I am really tempted to try this and will mention it to my vet as a possible future couse of action should it reoccur and no other problem is found. Because he's a male and runs the risk of a blocked urethra and fairly swift death, i would like him to have an xray just to make 100% sure he has no stones or large crystals in his bladder. His urine flow is much better today, back to normal, but he definitely still has discomfort. Hopefully the medication will start working in the next day or two but if not, I'm off to rob a bank just in case it's stones :) Will let you all know how it goes and thanks again for your thoughtful responses.

Hi there, I have a mysterious affliction affecting my 18 month old Airedale. Yesterday afternoon I noticed he was crying when he peed and wasn't able to cock his leg without pain. I took a urine sample to a friend who is a vet nurse. She rang back and told me it was full of struvite crystals, no blood or white blood cells and that he has a Ph of 9, which is at the top end. She told me I needed to take him to my vet ASAP due to the possibility of stones and that he would need prescription food from here on. She blames it on the "crap supermarket food" I've been feeding him. I made an appointment for the vet and they said they'd see him today. So last night I fed him raw lamb and rice and gave him some yoghurt and a vitamin C tablet in the hope of alleviating it even a little. The next morning his flow was much stronger and he was once again able to cock his leg. I took him up to the vet and she took a urine sample for analysis and lo and behold found no crystals etc. and a normal PH. She couldn't feel any stones and everything in his rectum is AOK. She has prescribed Meloxicam for the next week to see how it goes.My dog is still uncomfortable after weeing (not during) and his flow is stronger than it was but still not up to his usual. I dropped in on my friend, the vet nurse, later and she was staggered. She showed me the slide she'd made and sure enough it was full of crystals. Does anyone have any idea what might be going on here? Can struvite crystals appear and disappear in the space of 24 hours? If it's not crystals or infection (no white blood cells on either slide), any idea what might be causing his discomfort?

I got the boy! I got the boy!! Only because the breeder agreed to relinquish his choice pup!! Wooh!!! So happy!!! I visited over the weekend and he's gorgeous!! Thanks for advice all. :)

Thanks everyone for all your thoughtful replies. Airdaler, I've emailed the breeder regarding this and haven't had a response yet. This particular breeder has a long-standing history in breeding and showing Airedales with some good results. The pup is the progeny of a champion show dog so I'm trusting the temperament of the dogs is going to be sound. The family tree has been provided and it's quite impressive (to my untrained eyes)with a few champions here and there. I'm assuming champion show dogs must have good qualities in terms of temperament. Based on the balance of these replies and wider reading, I've decided to stop worrying about gender so much. I work from home so will be able to keep a close eye on the dogs and as doglifetraining said, now I'm aware of this possible issue I can take steps to avoid it. Puppy pre-school here we come. Thanks again, for your insights, great advice and your own doggydom tales and I'm sure I'll be back, freaking out about something else in the near future :) ("Fenton!")

Hi there, I'm new to DOL and have to say this forum is brilliant! I am soon going to be owned by a female Airedale pup who will be living with a 7 year old female Scottie. My question is have I made a mistake with the sex? I based my choice of a female pup after reading that male Airedales will try to dominate other animals in the home and didn't want that. After putting down a deposit on a female pup, I've read that same-sex aggression can be a particular problem in Airedales. Obviously my research of the breed was not thorough enough. The Scottie has had female dogs (cattle dogs and collies) over to visit and completely ignores them and they her so I'm taking this as a good sign. If I train my female pup from the start to play nice with the Scottie, do you think the situation is manageable? I've read so many conflicting opinions about Airedales and same-sex aggression that I'm quite confused and more than a little concerned. I would love any help you can give. Thanks. Kolya