luvmybulldog

After saying goodbye to all three of my precious souls over the last few years coming home to an empty house was unbearable.  All of my dogs have always been the most important purpose in my life. They are the ones who motivate me, make me happy and keep me fit. They are always just there for me and then one day they're not.  I can't function without a special furry being in my life so after losing Shab last year I decided I needed to  welcome a new little one into my life.  This is Dublin - then and now. To say she is a handful would be an understatement but I am loving every minute.

Yet another year goes by - I will never forget. Love you and miss you my grumpy girl.

It's been a whole year withour you my sweet girl. I hope the three of you are up there all together (and behaving yourselves). Keep watch until it's time for me to join you all.  I miss you all so much 

 4 long years without you my little man - the time has gone so fast. All 3 of you now reunited once again - my three amigos. You make sure you keep those 2 girls in line. 

So sorry for your loss LMO. it's always so hard to say goodbye. Rest peacefully Jeune. 

So sorry for your loss. They leave such an incredible gap in the household when they are no longer around. Rest in Peace Bunter.

I'm so sorry for your loss - may you rest in peace Jester. 

2 Years my darling girl - I still miss you and it still hurts. 

Thank you all so much - and you are right Loving my Oldies, I was so so lucky to have her. 

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4 hours ago, Loving my Oldies said:

’Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

 

 

Your fight is over Shab, no more struggle. I know how hard you fought.  You're reunited with Hoover and Crumpet but the house is now completely empty, it's horrible. My gentle, precious, gorgeous girl, I've never known another with such complete devotion that you showed, you were one of a kind. All who you met loved you and you were so so loved in return. I wish you had been mine from the start but I will forever be grateful for the years we did get together.  No time would have been enough but the memories you have left me with will be held in my heart forever. I will miss all the beach walks and the park get togethers and even the terrible nail trim days - I will miss everything. Sleep peacefully my baby girl. I love you so much.

Im so sorry for your loss - take care of yourselves - rest peacefully beautiful Dozer 

3 years my little man - I can now think of you with a smile along with the sadness but I still wish I could've had you here with me for longer. I hope you and Crump are behaving up there.

I'm so sorry for your loss Sandgrubber - May your Jarrah Rest in Peace.  

1 whole year my precious girl. A whole year without you bringing smiles to the faces of all who knew you and loved you. There are so many people at the park who still remember and talk about you and I can now think of all the great things we shared with a smile or a laugh but the nights without you beside me are still so sad. Please be over that Bridge with Hoover and Doze and Raven and Bundy and please behave. No one likes a pushy stubborn girl who plays too rough and likes to lay on top of others and pin them down just because she can. Remember - you're not the boss - you have to share and you have to show your kind gentle side to all the others who are there with you. 

I miss you, everything about you, and the house is so much different without both you and Hoover in it. Please watch over me and Shab, especially Shab, she's not doing well and she needs some of your Bulldog strength and determination. You will always be in my heart my beautiful girl but I wish you could still be by my side.

So sorry for your loss - What a beautiful girl. Rest in Peace Button. 

9 hours ago, Boronia said:

I went to the Dog Lovers Show a couple of weeks ago (I was helping at the Sporting Terrier stand, I helped mind the Dandies ) I had a look at the other stands and came across this food you may be interested in http://www.proudi.com/

Scroll down for the retail outlets

I started Shab on the Proudi Turkey about 5 months ago and she was doing so well.  Now I can't find it anywhere here on the North side of Brisbane. The rep. at the Dog Lovers Show said they are trying to work on a different formula with regards to the offal side of the recipe because they were having a difficult time getting the ratio's right ( big bird but small organs ).  He said they were looking at maybe combining it with beef/chicken organs so I'll just have to wait and see what they come up with.  I'm in the process of changing her over to Bark Naturals Raw Boost Complete Turkey, the fat content is perfect for her but she was definitely better on the Proudi. 

My Hoover ( Scottie ) would kill any wildlife he could catch in the yard. I used to get a lot of bush rats, mice. blue tongue lizards, possums, toads and the occasional snake. He must have taught my Bulldog because she would join in. He wouldn't just kill them though, he used to completely pull them apart. I used to come home from work sometimes to what looked like a crime scene and have to clean it all up. He was never allowed off lead at night in the back yard. I always knew when he spotted something cause his body would freeze and his tail would be going a million miles an hour.

When I lost him Crumpet took over, she woke me up at 3am one morning and I thought she wanted to go out to wee but when I opened the back door she took off after a possum. She must have thought she'd killed it because when she finally dropped it and walked away it got up and took off up the nearest tree. She caught a lorikeet once and before I could take it off her she ate its head. 

Now it's just Shab and I and while she doesn't chase to kill she usually lets me know she has something cornered by barking. One day I came home to find her with a baby bush rat between her front paws completely covered in her slobber from licking it, poor thing must have been in shock. I had to get it away from her and let it go in the front yard. 

My girl has Cushings - expensive disease in the beginning. We had a full blood count done as she needed some teeth removed  and I suspected a UTI as she was peeing more often. This showed the elevated liver enzymes as well as a UTI which we started treating with antibiotics before she went in to have an ultrasound and ACTH test.  I had the ultrasound as it looked at all of her organs as well as her Adrenal glands which gives my vet something to compare to in the future in regards to her Gall Bladder / Liver & Kidneys. Test was positive for Cushings and they could see on the ultrasound that one of her adrenals was enlarged.

The medication is dosed on weight so you'll probably be started on 10mg of Trilostane per day ( 2mg per kg )  I'm not sure if you mean Liver disease  when you say ' infected Liver ' or just elevated liver enzymes, I don' think Trilostane is recommended for dogs with Kidney or Liver disease.

If you start the medication then the first test to monitor the cortisol is 10 days from the beginning and then another test is due 30 days from the start of the medication and all going well

( you have to monitor the dog closely ) it can be tested every 90 days.  My girl is 21kgs and was prescribed 25mg per day ( split into 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 in the evening ) they recommend dogs over 40 pounds start on half the dosage.  My advice is if you do start medication then start low as it is easy to increase but if the dosage is too high then the dog can go into an Addisonian crisis which will usually result in an emergency vet visit/stay - close monitoring and watching and knowing your dog is extremely important.   

My vet gets the capsules from BOVA the compounding chemist and they are $126 per month.  I'm not sure if your vet can write you a prescription so you can purchase them online yourself which would work out cheaper.  You could also speak with your vet about doing the ' Pre Pill Cortisol ' testing instead of an ACTH test for the monitoring which would work out a lot cheaper. They only need to draw blood and send it to the Lab rather than drawing blood and then injecting the stim. agent and drawing blood another hour after that. The difference between the cost at my vet is $120 for the Pre Pill and $230 for the ACTH.

Cushings is a slow progressing disease but the excess cortisol being produced can mask other problems such as arthritis - I have noticed that my girl is more wobbly on her legs and she can't jump up onto the bed or the couch anymore and sometimes I have to carry her down the stairs. You can look into supplements to help with arthritis.

I joined a Cushings facebook group ( for dogs ) and while I know every dog is different and some people on facebook can be just horrible there are a few people on there with some great knowledge, suggestions and information.  It's a lot to take in and as I said, expensive in the beginning but with the right dose and close monitoring it can relieve the symptoms which is fantastic for your dog and for you too.  If you are on facebook and you would like the details of the Support page let me know.  

Could I also ask if your Vet tested his Thyroid and what the antibiotics are for?     

I loved that - Thank you Boronia

I'm so sorry for you and your family's loss - Take care

I don't know how to attach a link - Does this work?

https://www.ekka.com.au/media/3365/ekka0646-canine-information-guide-4.pdf?utm_source=2018 RNA Canine Competition&utm_campaign=48746d0400-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_07_19_03_49_COPY_03&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6398d345cc-48746d0400-

I don't know much about them but Mini's Bulldog Rescue maybe - I wish I could take him. I miss my little girl so much

So sorry for your loss Malamum - what a beautiful girl. It's so heartbreaking when they leave us. Take care. 

Well it looks like my girl has Cushings disease. Shab had her yearly vet appointment ( a month early ) a couple of weeks ago due to a suspected UTI and I also got them to run a CBC as she needs 4 teeth removed.  She does have a UTI and we were given AB's but they phoned with the blood results and her Liver enzymes were elevated. We had a day at the Specialist on Friday where they did an ultrasound which has shown bilaterally enlarged adrenals - he said everything else in there looked ok, which agreed with the blood results as well.  He also did an ACTH test which we are waiting on results for. Just wondering if anyone can advise which way is the best to get Trilostane ( if that is what the IMS recommends going forward ) - should I get the local compound chemist to make it up for me, can it be purchased with a script from any chemist or should I just get my vet to provide?. Has anyone got any thoughts on treatment?  At the moment all the symptoms she is showing are : very slight increase in water intake -  urinating ( which seems back to normal now)  and her appetite has increased a little too. She is a bit wonky in the rear end and is sleeping more. Shab is 13 years old and I know that I'm not likely to have her for more than a couple of years more but I need to do what's best for her and I don't want her to suffer.  Just looking for others experience with treatment and how it went for them.  I'm not ready to say goodbye to another one yet.

So sorry for your loss Westiemum - It's just so hard to say to say goodbye to our precious ones. Rest in Peace beautiful Sarah.