fifi trixibell

I have only just seen this. Is there a date in mind as yet? I might know of a few non-DOL'ers interested too. Ange

that was beautiful msj run free jenna :rolleyes: ange

i am thinking of you and your family MSJ - i am so sorry ange

Oh Mel - i am so sorry. Run free Jye thinking of you . . . . Ange

Squirt! Love the smell of Squirt. Ange

she will be fine - she is in good hands. give her a big hug from us when you see her ange

she will be fine - i promise she still has to show lulu what a pretty girl she is in her new pink collar ange

good luck loz and bondi - i hope the vet can sort it out. sounds horrid ange

thank you so much for your support guys - i really appreciate it. i thought i would give you a bit of an update on lulu. well we saw the vet on wednesday night and she is on anti-inflammatories. on wednesday night her leg popped out twice, which i tried to help her put back in, but she kind of kept staring at me with those big brown eyes and i felt so sorry for her. she keeps trying to play with lily (or lily is stirring her up rather) and is lame quite often now, from what i can tell. having said that, she does not seem to be in pain as often as she is lame. is this making any sense? i think that surgery is definately the option for her - it is amazing how this has impacted her way of life in just a week! i have been quoted $900 for the operation - couldn't have been worse timing with christmas around the corner, but that's life i suppose. lulu was booked in to the groomers yesterday (her first time!) and is looking lovely. although i must admit, she didn't seem to have much of a haircut - it looks the same as when i do it. anyway, lily is quite miffed that she didn't go and wouldn't look or talk to lulu last night. apparently when lulu came home lily went all over lulu like a vacuum - sniffing her everywhere and then decided "humph" and ignored her. julie-ann - i am so glad to hear that joey is better and it is not a luxating patella. i was wondering how long before you saw this thread thanks again guys ange

well i thought i would fill you in a bit more - wasn't up to it last night (horrible day). lulu definately has a luxating patella. it is her left hind leg. the vet checked the other leg and there was no problems with it thankfully. she is on anti-inflammatories for the next 5 days to help with the pain and we need to do the usual as in keep her quiet and let her rest. bit difficult with lily wanting to play with her all the time - although lulu does tell her off when she has had enough. we are to keep an eye on her and if she seems to be in a large amount of pain and it happens on a regular basis - surgery is the option. i am really sad for lulu - you can see she is grumpy and not happy at all, but at the same time i am a little annoyed. we purchased lulu after much research and both parents had hip scores, etc, that was all clear. now we have firstly found out she has an allergy and now a luxating patella. what more could i have done initially? she is with us for the long haul - i will never give her up and she will get the best care possible, but as i am sure you can appreciate it is frustrating. *sigh* ange

its a luxating patella ;) ange

;) don't tell oh that there are so many 'homes' for lulu she is off to the vet in a couple of hours. bit of a pain really as their clinic burnt down a couple of months ago and now they are operating somewhere else - no idea where it is. oh well, looks like lulu and mummy are going for a bit of a sunday drive ange

she is booked in tonight to see the vet. she was fine overnight and seemed ok this morning. OHis making (what he calls) jokes about sending her back for a refund my poor baby. will see what the vet says tonight. ange

i just found a link on here to visual symptoms of luxating patella and it sounds like what happened A dog from one of the smaller breeds runs across the yard chasing a tossed ball. In mid-stride, he yelps in pain and pulls his left hind leg off of the ground. After a second, he continues limping on in a three-legged fashion. After ten minutes, the rear leg drops back down to the ground and he uses it normally. This episode occurs maybe once a week. It never really seems to bother him that much – a yelp of pain, a short period of lameness, and in a few minutes he is back to his old self. damn ange

i'm concerned for my cav, lulu. tonight she went to run after our other dog and all of a sudden was yelping and was not putting any weight on one of her hind legs. she kept yelling for about 30 seconds and eventually calmed down but was still tentative about stepping on her leg. i checked her to see if there was anything embedded in her foot, but could see nothing. she had dinner and seemed fine, but then went to run again and the same thing happened. not as intense as before, but you could see what ever it was hurt her all the same. i have felt all over her leg and she doesn't wince with pain from pressure - i have gone from the top of her hip all the way down. could it be a sublaxating patella? i have been home all day sick with the girls and this is the first it happened today. they have been running around all day with no problems. i was going to wait out the night and see how she is tomorrow. if she still limps then straight to the vet. do you agree? ange

i am certainly not about to debate that statement through no-one's fault but my own, i have only trained them at home. we need to get to a club and get both of them trained. i think that given my circumstances they are both doing well in minimal training, but there is much more that we expect from them and them from us, i am sure. its just the fact that they have been given the same amounts of training, and the same subjects of training and yet have different levels of skill - hence my question originally. i appreciate all feedback - certainly a bigger topic than i originally thought. i agree with boxagirl (and many others) i just need to find that niche that makes them want to do the deed. ange

Thanks guys. It is just so obvious when they are together that they have different levels of training. For example, Lily will sit the minute you stop walking with her on the lead. Lulu however, will keep looking forward and take a few more seconds before looking back at me and then sitting upon command. They have been trained in the same manner - so I think perhaps I do need to find that 'niche' that rewards and encourages Lulu to see me as the leader. Lily definately finds reward in 'being' with you - she is there to please. I think perhaps I need to be a little more regimented with their training and do it more often in smaller bursts. They are still both quite young (8 months). mmmm, lots to think about Ange

Thanks guys. I have tried it in the past with them focussed on me directly in front of them, while they are sitting. Then stepping back one small step. However once I take the step, they come forward the same amount and sit again. I think it is because they are more focussed on the reward than on me I will try standing beside them and doing it and see it that changes it. Ange

I want to give our girls a stay command and have found a variety of ways of doing this but am curious for effective, current methods, used by all of us of DOL. I would like to know how I can get them to stay (dropping is another task) while using clicker training and positive reinforcement. Thanks Ange

Just curious. We have a cav and a boston, as some of you know, and our boston Lily seems to have more obedience in some areas than the cav, Lulu. In particular in the recall. I understand that cav's are not so inclined to 'definate' obedience in the sense of recall, etc and they have poor road sense. I have noticed this when just being with them and calling in a distracting environment. Lily is more likely to stay close and come back once called, however Lulu has a more inquisitive nose and does her own thing. She will come back eventually, but is more likely to run to her hearts content to whatever it is that has attracted her. Lily however seems happier to stay around us. Should I just persevere or is it the breed and therefore not likely to happen as I want? Thoughts? Ange

ok, what are the issues for the dog with the glands removed? i think my OH's sister had her maltese x shitzu's glands removed recently because they kept rupturing (vet's suggestion), so have thought about it but . . . . well, you know. would rather avoid surgery for my girl if possible. should i just get them removed and be done with it? she is obviously in discomfort with the scooting. BTW Chicko - i take them to belridge vet clinic. v. good thus far. they are on ocean reef road. ange

Thanks for the feedback guys. It sounds like even if I do give her additional fibre, she will still need to be drained monthly (from your accounts). At the mo' she is getting bones and additional grated sweet potato or pumpkin so I figured it was enough - I have some metamucil at home - might try it for her. Anyway, i am not at all confident about doing it myself so I thought if she goes to the groomer monthly and they can do it, all the better. Be much better than paying for an additional vet visit. Will groomers generally do this? Ange

Ok, well Lulu has been 'scooting' quite regularly lately on the floor. Neither of the girls have been getting many vegetables lately due to many things - mainly Lulu's food intolerance/allergies. Any suggestions, diet wise, for increasing her fibre to induce the anal glands to excrete whatever the yucky stuff is that they get rid of? She was 'drained' about a month ago, but was extremely sore already from her diarreah at the time. What is the usual amount of time between 'squeezing'? Also, I am thinking of taking her to a groomer. Is it something a groomer will do or do I need to take her to a vet to get it done. Not at all confident about doing it myself Thanks Ange

run free Barney Ange

Be sure to give Joey a big hug from me (and Lulu ) Ange