Bigpuppy

Yes yes and yes - we live on the beach and this morning I was walking my daughters Old English Sheepdog for her - and there was an IDENTICAL boy to our girl - all black and fluffy and healthy, swimming, running, barking - had a huge chat to the owner who imported him in from NZ because he had heard so many stories of Newfies in AUS and problems - very interesting gentleman and said he recently knew of at least two other cases similar to ours???????? What is going on out there????? So came home to my girl as she lay there so far from what she was - it just disgusts me. Our Local Vet has been wonderful and very understanding and agrees her time may well be up - devastating.

Very strange answer - clearly from someone that has been in this position before and in the industry. You have no idea what happened ?????????? And are guessing - we are looking at the FACTS you have no idea where anything came from unless you were there????????????

No excuse for staph in a freshly cut bone - I am talented but not that talented!!!! Sterilisation does wonders amazing study on hospitals with high % of staph and those with very low cases - all comes down to theatre sterilisation. And yes you are correct sometimes vets just don't have the skills, this person sells his practice on TPLO which makes it even worse because he certainly isn't the only one that is trained to perform this surgery.....even ore reason for regulation in this industry to stop poor pet owners paying $$$$$ for vets that can't perform procedures they think they can ....... my lesson is always beware of those that focus on marketing themselves and not caring for the animal.

Thank you and yes time can only tell if any damage done re medications. Unfortunately the VVSC is not a legal authority hence the lack of industry regulation, organisations are limited with no legal power to protect the public and will protect their own in their professional sector, especially if they believe there is an argument hence why many people have the same story and it has cost them many $$$$$$. Our issue is the Staph and mainly the unsuccessful surgery which is of no fault of the owners (us) - I believe in a simple example that if you hire a professional to do a job like fix your car and the bottom falls out than who is at fault regardless of emotion and circumstance of process questions? Is it the owner of the car? Having read so much on this forum and getting people's valuable ideas etc it appears it is an issue for many and is very disappointing that Australian spend more than AUD$2.1BILLION per year on their pets at Vets and the Vetinary industry is unregulated and without compliance - other than their State Veterinary Organisation which has no legal power only arbitrary ....a bit like Financial Planning Industry 10 years ago and the Real Estate Industry. We are able to take this matter further and I hope a precedent is created for the sake of the many responsible pet owners and Vets out there and thank you for you comments I wish she would be crazy as ever and playing but we found out this morning after an x-ray the surgery is a disaster!!!!

hi and thank you - yes she (they) have always been on Omega Oil, Vit C powder and exactly what you mentioned Bovine Collagen Powder - also only ever given Mobility by Royal Canine as their dried food - completely and always understood the importance of this - hence why we are certain she is just too big! Never did either go on long walks - we always took them to the beach for swimming (agree best ever for them) and she has not even been out of the house since this TPLO surgery due to the infection. You are so right about their pain threshold and yes distresses me more! Her leg looks excellent now but she cannot walk on it - so I have had her resting. Having said that she follows me around as Newfs do and is happy to do that. I have halved her food because of no exercise and beach visits and watch everything that she eats - 1 cup mobility with potions and powders for breakfast and dinner is 1 (kitchen tea cup) plus my fresh brew of vegies (carrotts, apples, fresh red meat, beans etc etc )I added lots of vegies and fruit to fill her up without calories and then some red meat - it is disgusting but at least fresh and I know what is in it!!!!! I think your point about Rescue water Program is a very important one as this is working for them and I am convinced that dogs like this are far better to breed from. And yes you are correct most breeders have good intentions however we know that sire of this one and many others has many, many issues and is still continuing to be bred from. I found 4 others and are in constant contact regarding the health issues they face - thankfully she does not have the heart and thyroid issues they do! Two of them have also had TPLO! Very disappointing. The breeder has kept away from all of us (?????) - not a Victorian and earlier on three of us were simply addressed with "must be overweight!" - none were!

Thanks Ness will search it out definately - I need as much info as possible

Thank you...have a bit of hope after joining this forum so am very grateful for the thoughts and suggestions - we will be visiting the local vet tomorrow and having a chat to find the best way forward for her......we even went and got a St Bernard pup who is fabulous and lies beside her, talks to her and follows her around and she loves him - hence why I had to have her so well checked for staph but skin, nose - everything was clear and her leg is healthy with no swelling or heat she just can't walk on it! If we do another op that puts her at $37500 including purchase!!!!!! But we love her but am not having her going through anymore trauma - just not right.

OMG that would have been awful - and you feel like you have a baby in the house nursing them etc etc.....but looking at that would have traumatised any dog owner. Love the coat part - I too fretted about that...she had a bald patch on other leg after surgery for ages and a very gorgeous breeder put me onto the magic horse stuff Shapeleys MTG (Mane, tail grom) - stimulates growth and it worked within 7 days!!!!!!!!! Have often though it could be a good thing for bald men!!!!

What an amazing story thank you so much - that gives me hope...........and what an awful saga for you because as you know you just want what is best for them. She has had 7 days of IV in ICU and now 65 days of 4000 mlgm per day?????? Was your length of time like that? She is such a gorgeous pup, huge, fluffy, beautiful temprement and clever - everything you could ask for.......but truthfully she is HUGE by Newf standards and is taller then my 6foot 4" son.....am sort of the opinion that the breed is no longer bred from working dogs so in our case have become too large hence all the issues...she is limping past me now! Breaks my heart each night she still checks in every bedroom to make sure all are there and in bed love the breed but not sure if would ever have one again just too painful. Anyway again thank you for your story, it is hugely appreciated.

ooops - forgot to say she also plays very little with other dogs and she previously loved it - used to take her to the beach so that is a big indicator for us. She limps like she did prior to surgery!

So nice to talk with those that understand........yes we spoke with the surgeon and his reply was exactly what I said that they would be broke if people didn't pay for their mistake!!!!!! We had offered to generously pay for the medication but not for the hospitalisation - we already paid for the op on the day which is fine. Some people I have spoken to said this particular man had met them half way - I feel the prob is he knows we have money and love our dog so he is going for it.....we had two Newfies originally the other did not even make it to months - she started to lose the use of her back legs ended up being neurological after $4000 worth of tests! Broke our hearts but we put her down as I spent three months using a towel to get her to the toilet and outside etc etc so this happening is just too much. She had a myleogram and never walked properly again - yes same well known Melbourne surgeon ! I had spoken to the breeder and she immediately got defensive and said she must be overweight?????? They were groomed every two weeks at the vets and neither overweight as I always had them checked and watched their diet etc. Was just looking at our girl now and she spends most of her time sitting and looking, she used to be far more playful so am convinced she is in pain. Am definately not letting anyone do more surgery because of the snapped screw and also I would never risk the Staph again. Just found out another Melbourne surgeon doesn't charge if your pet gets Staph and does the same procedure! Guess that is the lesson here for everyone.....ours claimed he was the only one who is able to do this procedure and we believed him! Think I might take her to our very practical local vet and get their thoughts as to what is best for her and put my own wants and desperation aside. Thank you again very comforting to read others versions and suggestions.

Thank you so much for your kind words - it is terrible. My father is a surgeon so am well educated re Staph and yes it is on the skin and everywhere - unfortunately in her case it was where the surgery was on the freshly cut bone and yes she was on IV however the lab results took 6 days and the medication she was on was not doing the trick! They were getting 4 bags of ooze draining from inside the wound a day.......we are insured but they have every right not to pay (I am a lawyer) as it has been admitted to be surgeons error and what I found very interesting is that he said "we always make mistakes and if we didn't charge for them we would be out of business!!!!" I am amazed if people just accept especially after big $$$$ have been paid straight away - not even a payment plan we just paid until now. After speaking with a number of friends that are Vets it became evident that with the massive doses of antibiotic it will have halved her life due to the damage done to her organs so really is a double edged sword. You are so right about health history etc and yes we checked it all but have also uncovered many, many cover ups there too - her brothers and sisters have suffered heart probs, thyroid probs etc etc so I feel very sad for the good breeders out there that are honest. I just am not sure if we are keeping her alive for us and for the vet???? How much surgery keeps going on and all I am concerned with is her level of pain and comfort as she has gone through so much. We adore her but I can't help but think with all her "joint" issues she is just too big for herself and every time we have been talked into surgery and she has been given every fabulous thing on the market since 10 weeks of age too????????? Would love to hear if anyone else has some staph stories from surgery and what the result was? Thank you again

Our beautiful 17 month old Newfie has endured three major rounds of surgery from 6 months old. Firstly her front leg bones were not growing together so major surgery at a cost of $6800, then a TPLO in right hind and recently TPLO in left hind. She wasn't right upon returning home and within 6 days she started panting, not moving much so took her straight back - her wound was spotless. Well........7 days in ICU and finally cultures came back she had contracted STAPH!!!!!! 2000mlgm twice a day of antibiotic - so which kills her this or the staph. Has anyone got any advice or been through this - she is just weight bearing and we are 8 weeks down the track now, also found out when she was admitted to ICU that the top screw had snapped....and no the screw nor plate have caused the infection it has been admitted it was surgically obtained......for that pleasure it cost us $5500. Both TPLO surgeries cost us $11000 together and have since found out that this particular surgeon is NOT the only one able to perform the procedure in Melbourne so we are feeling horrendous that our pup has gone through all this and ended up with Staph. Thanks