jans

Hi Milly She is a Maltese, around the age of 3 or 4 when diagnosed. Can't be sure of her age as she was a rescue. I made the decision post surgery to keep her on the Hills l/d, just to be on the safe side and while the shunt was closing and have never taken her off it. She gets a hand full of dry for breakfast and then half a tin of the wet at dinner time. I have 2 other dogs who think that the l/d dry is the best thing ever and will try to steal it from her if she drops a piece, so it must be OK. At diagnosis she was 3.8 kilos and is now 6.8 kilo. Ben said that I could wean her off the l/d but since she likes it and as I was nervous about doing so, I didn't. I do give her "normal" treats. I'm trying to remember how long she was in hospital for. For the initial diagnosis, she was in for 2 days. They put a radioactive dye in her system and monitored that to watch the shunt. She then came home for a couple of weeks with the medications that you have already posted about, and the l/d, to build up her strength for surgery. I think she was in ICU for one day post surgery, then a normal ward for about 2 days or maybe 3 - I can't exactly remember. The first 24 hours are the worst, incase she rejected the band they put on the blood vessel. The worst part was prior to surgery, watching her be such a sick little girl, and hoping that she'd make it through to surgery date. The recovery post surgery was a breeze compared to prior. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again faced with the same diagnosis.

Hi Milly Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. My girl was diagnosed with a shunt about 4 years ago and had the surgery at the Universtiy of Melbourne's vet school. The surgeon at the time was Dr Ben Landon, who is a specialist in shunt surgery and was doing a big research project on shunts at the time. I was very very happy with him treating my girl (who is still with me BTW). I notice that Ben is now with the University of Sydney's vet school, so if you can, see if you can get a referral to Ben.

I'm in Essendon and use Tracey's mobile dog wash. She's based I think in Albert Park but comes to me every 8 weeks and does other clients in the area.

Hi Skwo2 and good luck with your Chelsea. My girl has been on L/D for a couple of years now and I am lucky that she seems to enjoy it. I'd recommend giving the dry L/D a chance but as Staff'n'Toller posted, the minimum bag is 9 kilos. However, my other 2 dogs (who don't have a liver problem) BEG for the L/D dry food they love it so much, so a 9 kilo bag may not be too much of a waste if others also enjoy it. Given what you are probably paying in vet fees, the investment in a 9kg bag may be worth it from that angle too. Jans

I reckon it's worth asking, Morita. It's the glucosamine in it that apparently helps in the prevention of arthritis. I googled joint guard and was happy with what it said, so bought some. I took his bucket off when I was able to supervise him. He responded really well to me saying NO when he licked his wound. My vet said a bit of a lick was OK but said if I put my hand gently on the wound and it came away moist, then he was licking too much and the bucket/collar had to go back on.

Thanks everyone. I'll try a few things tonight and see how he goes.

Poor little mite, Morita. When mine had the bicket on, all I got was a filty dirty look. Your's just looks sad.. My surgeon recommneded joint guard - did yours too??

Hi - looking for advice please. My boy had surgery on his leg over 2 weeks ago, and the bandages removed after 3 days. There is some sticky bits still stuck to the skin on his feet. I would have thought they's have just come off over time, but it's almost like glue holding bits of bandage to his foot. I can't peel off so wondered if there is something I can put on his leg to disolve the sticky stuff so that I can peel of the little bits of bandage. Any ideas??

Good luck, Morita. My Malt boy had his operated on last Thursday, and the biggest problem I have now is keeping the monkey quiet. The littlies recover so very quickly.

There's also a place in Coburg called Pet Love. She makes beef, chicken, roo and rabbit meat mixes. My dogs love it. She's on Moreland Road

I had to give one of my fosters a capsule without food - at least an hour before meals. The only way it worked for me was to have a syringe of water with me. Stuck the pill on the back of the tongue then gently/slowly syringed water into the side of his mouth from the syringe. That made him swallow no problems at all.

This isn't raw, but it's easy and economical. But you need a slow cooker. This quantity lasts my 2 smallish dogs about 5 days. Chicken risotto slow cooker recipe: · approx 700g of chicken fillet (thigh with skin on is good) · 2 cups white rice · 3 carrots-roughly chopped · 2 stick celery-roughly chopped · 1/2 bunch parsley (optional) . clove of garlic · 1- 1.5 litres of water- enough to cover all ingredients by 2cm or so. chuck all in crock pot. put on high for 4 hours. I use a timer so it is ready when I come home from work. Add 1Tbsp doggy vitamin powder + 2Tbsp Flaxseed oil to risotto when cooled. Serve to doggies who will gobble it up.

My Malt girl ruptured hers about 2 months ago and I've decided not to do the surgery. My vet suggested not rushing into anything for at least a month, to see whether she could manage well enough with the leg as it was. Her limp decreased and she is just as mobile as before (she's not an active dog). I asked the question about arthritis and he said that she was going to get it anyway, so to take that out of the equation. She has other health issues, so unless she becomes immobile, I'm leaving her as is. Good luck

Thanks everyone for the advice. I had googled cruciate ligaments and got lots of information from a surgical perspective, but it's not the same as first hand from someone who's actually been through it.

Yes, good luck with your Millie, Churchie. Fingers crossed it's just a strain or a minor tear. My vet announced very positively that it was a rupture with my Bells so I think surgery will be the way to go for her and I'd hate to think, as Westiemum's did, of her becoming listless and miserable. BTW, I have a baby gate too - best investment I ever made for securing a dog or three.

Thanks again Westiemum. The diet for a liver shunt is to only eat the Hills LD food so it's portion control rather than substitution for this little girl. However her brother is starting to put on a bit of weight too (bad bad mummy), so that's great advice about the vegies, I'll definitley give it a go now rather than wait until he gets into the same condition. Any DOLers recommned a good surgeon as an option to Werribee??

Bless you, Westie Mum - that is exactly the sort of information I was looking for. Mine, too, is a resuce - a foster failure actually. I had thought the surgery would be way way more than $900 - phew I had thought at least $2k, and also thought I would be looking at months, not a week or two, to recovery. I can definitly cope with that. In terms of diet, she is on a very strict diet as it is, but I am obviously overfeeding her. She had a liver shunt which was surgically addressed about 18 months ago but only partially successful, so is on Hills LD wet and dry food. I will have to be strict and cut back on her food and ignore those big brown eyes begging for more. I'm in Melbourne and my vet is taking Werribee for the surgery. I hate taking her to Werribee - did you have any trouble finding a good surgeon?? Thanks heaps, Jans

Hi there, I'd appreciate any and all advice on a ruptured cruciate ligament in a small dog. My girl ruptured her right rear leg last week. My vet has put her on a course of anti-inflamm meds, and in 5 days she has gone from not weight-bearing on the leg to a pronounced limp. The options I am faced with are leave her on the meds and we live with the limp, or have surgery. She's 5 years old and about half a kilo overweight. The vet said that with littlies, don't rush into surgery however the extra weight she is carrying needs to come off (not an easy feat). Before I commit either way I'd love advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation. The limp restricts her play and I have a house full of stairs so am worried that if I leave her and don't do surgery, that I will cause her problems like arthritis down the track. If I do have the surgery, I'd like to know what to expect in terms of her recovery. I work full time but would take a few weeks off work to look after her. If I did that, when in terms of timing would be best? i.e the first 3 weeks post op, or as she becomes more active. Do they recover the full use of the leg after surgery?? Is she in any pain now?? Really appreciate any thoughts and advice on this. Thanks Jans.

There is a great shop in Moreland road Coburg (Melbourne) - "Petlove". Claire makes up pet food mix, which is either beef, chicken, rabbit or roo, and she adds in grated vegies, oils, parsley, garlic, grains etc. No preservatives - all fresh daily so I buy in bulk sometimes and freeze portions. She is open 6 days a week and also stocks quality dry food and other things you'd find in a pet shop (no, she doesn't sell livestock). Web site is Petlove.com.au

Yes, I have been through it Kaz. It's a tough decision whether to go ahead with surgery or let the poor baby go. The surgery is very expensive although if it is a success the problem is "cured". The earlier you catch it and have the operation, the better chance of a positive outcome. In our case, we had the surgery and unfortunelty it was not 100% success. They place a band around the shunting vein and the first 24 hours is critical to see whether the band is successful. Initially in our case they had to open her up again at 24 hours and losen the band, so she is not 100% "cured". Needlesss to say she became a foster failure and after 15 months is still with us. She only eats prescription food, Hills LD but loves it so medical management of the problem is easy. As much as I love her deeply, it would be a tough call whether to go through it again, and the cost would probably set you back about $4k..... Good luck and I hope it is not a shunt

For those in Melbourne, I recommed a store called "petlove". Claire makes and sells dog food. Mine love the rabbit, which has been minced with vegies and other good stuff. No preservatives, so I bag it up and freeze it. Check out the website petlove.com.au

Kaye, I am so very sorry for your loss and what you had to go through for your friend. I had to do the same thing a few months ago too - my best friend of 15 years had lost his quality of life and I made the decison to take him to Lort Smith too. The hardest thing to cope with for me was having to make that decision. For the weeks leading up to it, I used to pray that I would wake up in the morning and find he'd left me for the bridge. That was a selfish thing to hope for, becasue I didn't want the burden of making the final decsion for him. Maybe that's what you are going through too. I too said to myself after the event that I could have put up with the burden a little bit longer but on reflection there are different kinds of suffering and I really beleive that Rex wanted to go, was ready to go, but it was my selfishness and my lack of courage that dragged it on. Give yourself some comfort that as a dog lover, you probably gave that dog the best life in the whole world, and he wouldn't have exchanged his 15 years with you for 30 years with someone who didn't love him as much. Take heart - each day will be a little bit easier