Malakita

Ever since we got our two dogs, our lives have changed considerably. Our lives revolve around our two dogs, and no, we do not have children. Hubby is going o/s in September, I am staying behind. We love our two to bits! :)

LOL just love everyones stories! Dogs are so just so awesome :)) Ahhh Zsa Zsa has a legacy to keep and Herbert is doing a terrific job ;)

Not long enough. Exactly what I thought. There are names for people like this that a decent person would have to place exclamation marks and asterisks in if they were to post it. This kind of thing make me SO furious. I agree with people who are saying let them suffer. I say feed him meatballs with ratsak in. Let him see for himself how it feels to bleed out. AGREED!

I completely agree with Mystiqview!

All the stories are simply hilarious! Very entertaining to read :) Herbert is so cute!

I have always used Revolution without any issues. Until April ;) We had a 2nd birthday party for my girl. That day a lone flea had the absolute hide to show itself! Right in front of her breeders, this flea crawled down from her forehead towards her eyes. They discreetly squashed it and told me. I was horrified! But as the summer had been so dry and hot, and we had bare patches of dirt. So for this summer , we will spray the areas with something for the fleas.

Hope everything is going fine with mum and her new brood. Paws crossed.

Yes quite true. Maybe it is the lazy me talking :) I have seen many US recipes asking for canned pumpkin. I would be curious to use it in a human dessert to see what it would like vs normal pumpkin.

Well I have never been so happy to see poo before :) He did a good poo this afternoon! At least for next time, I will know to use tinned food, or paraffin. And if he has loose poo, I know where to find canned pumpkin :) Thanks you guys!

Kirby is adorable!

Yippee!! He has started to poo. He ate half a can of Pedigree (the 1.2 kg tin). He pooed about 2 hours later. Pretty soft but at least the wheels are turning. He tried to do more but then the silly neighbours came out and interrupted him. He looked like he was straining a little. I forgot he had a poo early Thursday morning before he went into the clinic. He has eaten normal amounts of food Friday, Sat and today. The next port of call was going to be parraffin if nothing happened tonight. Or maybe just more Pedigree :) As far as his knee goes, the way he moves, I don't think he had surgery. No pain. I take his fentanyl patches off tomorrow. So relieved :)

He had a luxating patella done. Had an epidural, has got fentanyl patches on and is on carprofen ( which lists constipation as main side effect). He normally goes like clockwork. Last meal was on Wed. Fasted Thursday. Had a small incontinent poop Friday morning. Nothing since. He is very gassy, not sure hubby's nose can handle much more. He is eating and drinking like normal. Looks completely like he never even had surgery :) He has been walking to his favorite poo spot but nothing!! I know pumpkin as a binder so I was surprised to read it as a laxative. I will try canned food, and paws crossed it will work. But like JulesP said, I will be SO relieved whr he poos!!! I will head off to woollies to buy him some pedigree and some parafiin oil. Thanks everyone! :)

My boy had surgery on Thursday. I know he has had alot of bowel clogging medications. He is eating and drinking fine. No nausea or pain from not moving his bowels. I read canned pumpkin and metamucil is good. When should I start to really worry? Any ideas?

Just an update on my boy. He had his surgery yeserday afternoon and it went well. We went to pick him up in the evening and he was drugged up to his eyeballs. Awake at times but too dopey to do anything. We fitted the Help em Up harness on him with some difficulty. He was taking barely any of his own weight. It took 4 of us (hubby, nurse, surgeon and myself) to lift him on to the trolley so the surgeon could wheel him to our car. Getting into the car was difficult! Getting him out at our end was almost nightmarish. But we managed. He is temporarily next to our bed. Getting him in and out of a crate at present is impossible. Because of the epidural, he has been a bit faecally incontinent and I can't wipe that smell off him. This morning he could barely stand to go out, but he wanted to. The harness didn't work quite so well. The back clips that go between the groin and back legs kept snapping undone with the weight of him. If he helps to stand it is ok, but he wasn't standing so that part of the harness didn't work. Over the course of the day, the epidural is wearing off. He is standing up on all fours really well in comparison to this morning. We have an appointment in 2 weeks to see the surgeon. So far so good.

Alpha bet, that was well said! I wholeheartedly agree!

That was an awesome suggestion Jumabaar! I bought an X large U band.

Thank you all for your advice! I do feel comforted. I bought him a Help em up harness. He is used to being in harness as he did sledding. The harness is super terrific and easy to use, really well made. The real test will be putting it on post surgery, abit different now when nothing is sore. I also got him a big play pen off EBay. Debated and debated between another crate and a playpen. So there goes our lounge, it is literally fenced off :). He doesn't tend to move around all that much so we thought a play pen. And he also has his crate in our bedroom. Hubby also built him a ramp, which our other dog just loves! She loves running up and down the ramp. We will think about hydrotherapy and physio too. Tomorrow is the day. Keep your paws crossed! :)

Thanks for the positive feedback. I just feel like I am heading for impending doom. Over dramatic but I just don't know what to really expect/ prepare for post surgery. I worry mainly as we have 3 steps down the porch for him to go wees. He is an Akita and way too heavy to lift/carry down to the grass. The vet said he has done 500 odd patellas, that number sounded hopeful.... But no, I am just generally stressed and trying to keep him still for approx 2 months ...oh boy!

If anyone has gone through a luxating patella surgery especially for a large breed dog, please feel free to share any advice. Dog is used to being crated already. Just feeling overwhelmed.

I am so very sorry to read about your beautiful Myrtle. My heart goes out to you.

He was diagnosed by the vet after xrays were taken. We saw them a couple of months ago for something else, I mentioned his limping but they didn't pick it up. But after googling it, it was so obvious it is a luxating patella. Anyway we now have a surgeon, with an appt next week. We are going to get insurance for the future for my peace of mind.

I found out today my 17th month old large breed has a right luxating patella. Given his age, I was shocked at his femurs (bowed) and that his right hip ball looks worse than his left hip ball. There is a little arthritis in his right knee. He will need surgery, so now it is a matter of getting a good surgeon. And no, we don't have pet insurance. Has that ship sailed? If anyone has experienced luxating patellar or cruciate ligaments, good surgeons and pet insurance advice,I would love to hear your experiences.

Because most people think that dogs are just animals. They don't think about the long term, only the here and now. People have that it is 'only' a dog, or 'only' an animal mentality. They dont know/ realize that they need to put effort into a dog, they think dogs come trained. And that dogs also come knowing the English language fluently. Recently my dad's elderly friends went up north for possibly a few weeks as their daughter pretty much forced them. The couple have a huge farm and a kelpie cross. I felt so sad for the dog who is 6. And my dad piped up that if he had the space he would take him for the time they were away. I shook my head on the inside, as my dad has no clue about dogs. Just feed it and pat it when he was outside. The dog would be bored beyond tears!

The toilet training! I was almost beside myself!

What a gorgeous sight! Beautiful dogs!!