tramissa

Thanks all. We are doing ok most of the time, but then her being gone hits us, usually over something silly. Appreciate all the thoughts, here and on facebook.

Primecca Royal Whispers. 26/6/1997 - 16/6/2011. Run free over the rainbow bridge my angel. You will forever be loved and missed. xoxoxo

I refuse to buy it anymore. I got so many off batches, from 3 different stores here in Cairns. When I could get fresh stuff, it was great but I refuse to take the chance anymore after wasting so much money. Btw, whoever said it is human grade, it isn't. It has the minced bone in it as well which automatically makes it not human grade, not to mention the prep and storage requirements are a lot lower than human grade.

Unfortunately, despite not leaving the yard this week, she has now come down with kennel cough. On top of the difficulty adjusting, impaired renal function and tumour on her side, I think this is just too much. I know that kennel cough is recoverable, but seeing her frail little body shaking with the coughing and how constant it is, she is just not having any quality of life. It will be a vet visit for her tomorrow morning (waiting until the vet I trust is on, and spoiling her rotten today) and will ask for his advice, but I do not think she will be coming home tomorrow Now to break the news to the 14 year old who already lost his pet fish yesterday Thanks for all the advice guys.

Thanks for the replies :p I guess we'll keep taking it day by day and fixing whatever we can see needs fixing. Luckily we have no stairs etc and I've separated the backyard into a smaller area for her to get used to and also to use to give her a break from Jonno when needed.

Just catching up on DOL news and saw this. Jane, you are an amazing woman and I will never forget that you took time out from your busy life to talk to me for hours about an issue I was having. My prayers and thoughts are added to those of others. Get well soon lovely lady - this world isn't finished with you yet!

Hi guys, It's been a while since I was here but I desperately need some help with my darling girl. For those that don't know, or don't remember, Minnie is a 14 year old lowchen. She has been blind in her right eye for the past year or so (detached lens) and her left eye had limited vision. She is also mostly deaf, only recognising certain frequencies. Up until 4 days ago, she was still living life like only a dog can, ruling the roost over Jonno, demanding food and cuddles etc and just generally a happy lady. 4 days ago the left lens detached. Whilst her pain/comfort levels are being taken care of through medication, she seems to be having a very hard time adjusting to complete blindness, despite the fact that she was mostly blind before and being that we haven't moved furniture etc for over a year due to this. She is moving very tentatively, although this is slowly improving as she learns where things are again. I have put strong but different smells in different areas to help her identify where she is (i.e., food area, outside bed etc) but I'm not sure if this is helping much. How long should I expect her adjustment to take? She has a few other health issues now as well, but her being terrified of moving around in her own environment is making me believe that it is almost her time. Only the fact that she still enjoys her cuddles and her food and gives the occaisional tail wag is making me hesitate about this decision. I don't want to make the decision prematurely though if I am expecting too much, too soon from her, only to find that if I had given her another week or so she'd have been fine. Thanks in advance for any responses. If you need more info, please don't hesitate to ask.

I'd never thought of using a black light to check for pee stains. Thank you I think it would be blood etc as well, that has been washed down.

I've just gone back to basics and crating with Jonno yet again. Same issue, except he rarely poos inside, but does wee. Got some more stuff to treat the carpet, and he's crated when inside. He spends all day outside as well and has no issues toileting outside then.

why spring water? The oils are really good for them. As long as there's not a lot of processed fats in their diet, I drain most of the oil, but leave a little when I feed sardines or tuna.

I do these days, because my old girl gets very anxious if she's not, so to spare her we try and feed at the same time. She only does it if we're home though, if we're not home, she will be very relaxed when we get home. My life kinda runs around her at the moment though, so it's not a huge issue. Once she has gone, I will go back to random feeding times.

google pistil pete the lowchen

So WA breeders keep the puppies papers and hand over photocopies of the parents papers? Or they don't have to register litters at all? Sorry doesn't sound right to me. That's right - not every puppy in the litter has to be registered. If they are going to be shown or bred from, they are registered, otherwise they don't have to be. So yes, you could receive a puppy from an ethical breeder and only get a copy of the 'pedigree' (i.e., photocopy of both parents papers, or excel spreadsheet etc).

Sorry but if he doesn't have papers he is not 'pedigree' The breeder has already been untruthful to you. Registered ethical breeders are not allowed to breed puppies and not register them with papers. Your breeder either is a dodgey registered breeder that needs to have their registration disqualified or, which is most likely, a dodgey backyard breeder that has gone and bought themselves two pedigree dogs and decided to get some puppies out of them. With little care for breed lines and if they should be bred at all. They then made out to you that they were good people and charged you a fortune for a dog that could be anything. Very sad. Because he is not a show dog I wouldn't worry about messing with his ears. 5 months is probably to late to do anything about them anyway. If these supposed breeders were such good people they would be able to show you how to glue and tape. Some states are allowed to sell without papers - I think WA is one of them, not sure if it is the only one? But to say the breeder is unethical when you don't know where they are, or if it is allowed, is not right.

The excelpet flea and tick spot on also includes the same main ingredient as the 'top dollar' ones do. I did a lot of research because I didn't believe it could be true, but it is. The supermarket brand 'treatments' are usually made by the same companies, just packaged differently and sold through a different market. It is still essentially the same product. I buy most of my stuff through woolies now, and for a lot cheaper than I used to.

Jonno sleeps wherever I tell him to. Minnie is always on the bed - perks of age and being a good girl Jonno is on the bed most nights, but usually ends up on the floor after a snuggle. Last night both were on the bed all night and I woke up with a dog under each arm *grin*. The aircon got a bit chilly for them I think. They don't normally like being under the blanket.

Thanks ML

Yup, I can't believe it either, and if I knew then what I know now, I'd have been more forceful. Thankfully it worked out okay.

I'm on cloud 9 atm! Vet actually muttered 'holy shit' when she was popped on the table and he could look at her eye, he was so surprised by how good it is looking. The lens is now sitting exactly where it should be, even though nothing is holding it there. I've been given instructions on tapering off the meds and signs to look out for that indicate another flare up, or a need to bring her in ASAP (and not to let the receptionists put me off if these signs happen) as well as instructions for how to use the meds if it does flare up. If I'm unsure of anything, I can bring her in, but otherwise her treatment is all home based for now We may need to look at revisiting our options if the flare ups of inflammation happen often, but he is extremely happy and said it's the best resolved case he's seen to date.

Thanks Settrlvr. I'm lucky in that, although she is not a good candidate for surgery (and separation during recovery is part of that), she is in fair health for an older dog and her comorbidities do not affect her quality of living at this current moment. I just get petrified when anything new happens because it brings me that one step closer to the day I have to say goodbye and that is weighing heavier on me each time. I honestly thought this might be it, and I am so glad it is not. Although it is very difficult, I am trying to make decisions with only my head, not my heart, so that she will never suffer for a minute longer than is necessary. Hopefully that is some time off yet.

Rappie - thank you so much for keeping me sane with the info you provided Everything I googled was worst case only, so it was nice to have a voice of reason Thank you also to everyone who replied in this thread, or sent me PM's with information and support. I appreciate it more than you can know!

Well, it wasn't wishful thinking A 'massive' improvement in just one night, so now drops are two hourly and tablets once daily and review on Tuesday (5:10 to remind myself). He doesn't think she will lose the eye at all. She's also now holding it open and he thinks the discomfort is pretty much gone, and will be totally gone by tomorrow if it keeps responding this way. Of course, if I notice anything I am to take her back day or night. He's also quite upset at his receptionist for not squeezing her in on the day I called based on my description at the time. The white is going, can only see it in the light now - in the shade her eye is brown again - I wasn't expecting that! She will be on daily eye drops, but that is easily manageable. I am so very, very relieved!!

Yes, and she was always going to be going to the vets - the appointment was booked before I made this post. This post was to find out if I needed to get her to an emergency vet. I don't know if it's wishful thinking, but it seems that the eye is improving already. She's such a good girl, she just rests her head against me and sits there while I'm putting the drops in.

hrm, no, haven't heard of one so far. Is this for you? Didn't realise you were up this way

Thanks to everyone and a big thanks to Rappie. Just got home and the lens has completely detached and luxated forward and is now in the anterior chamber, which is why it is now so visible. Vet couldn't even really see the pupil at all. She is now on hourly cortisone (prednisolone) drops and BID tablets and we have to go back tomorrow to see if it is helping. If it is not, we will discuss options then. I will get a second opinion before deciding anything if it's not helping, but I'm almost sure I can see an improvement after only 2 doses. He said not to stay up all night to do the hourly drops, but I think it will be pretty close to it, just to ensure improvement. Edit - I have no concerns about her being blind in one (or both) eyes as long as she is happy, although I'm sure I'll be on here asking questions about blind dogs if it gets to that stage. My concern was that she might be in pain (confirmed by vet tonight) and that is the condition that I will be treating/deciding on.