Staranais

Oh damn, really? Thanks for saving me $60! She does love balls and other toys, but they tend to last a matter of minutes, and I don't want to leave something breakable with her during the day for safety's sake. Going to the OP shop for soft toys is a great idea!

Thanks Rappie!

I don't know much about Zydax, but my girl is on another formulation of Pentosan, and we were recommended to give it once a week for four weeks, every 4 - 6 months. So that's 8 to 12 doses per year. Another vet I know suggested just doing it monthly, that is, 12 doses per year. I would rather overdose than underdose on it since it seems fairly innocuous, isn't too expensive, and once you see the signs of DJD (arthritis) it's too late - you can't turn back the clock and cure it, you can only stop it progressing.

Not at all! I'm so happy that my girl is finally old enough to use the bathroom appropriately & to understand me when I talk to her. I'm not at all tempted to go through puppyhood again anytime soon.

I live with a little Miss Fussy, who just isn't into chew toys. I must have spent hundreds of dollars on her over the years. If it's not edible, she's just not interested in chewing it. She loves RMB and other edible chews, but I'm looking for something not edible, that she can have in the house & that won't freak me out if she decides to leave it in my bed (as she so often does). The kong was ignored. The mint flavoured orbee was apparently only interesting so long as it was filled with things. The beef flavoured nylabone is ignored. The rope chew is ignored. The nylabone double action dental chew thingy is ignored. Tennis balls and soft toys keep her occupied & happy, but I don't want to leave her alone with them as she destroys them so quickly. I'm tossing up buying an everlasting treat ball for her, but am a little reluctant to shell out $60 (ouch!) for something she may decide to completely ignore. I'm interested in hearing what chew toys other dogs really enjoy - preferably ones that are long lasting, not too grubby, and not squeaky.

As long as they're getting sufficient exercise & mental stimulation & company, then I don't think it matters if a dog is inside or out.

I feel the same way. I might be very tempted to water spray people like that, but at the end of the day I wouldn't because my dog is home alone by herself and vulnerable all day. No one sensible would be game to enter the yard to hurt her with all the racket & teeth clacking, but someone vindictive or petty could throw things at her, or bait her. I'm paranoid perhaps, but not all people are nice people. The sign sounds like a smart idea. So does fencing your yard so the dogs can't get to the front.

Yes thanks, I know it's a DVD. I was just hoping someone could explain exactly what it is about, who it's aimed towards & what methods it uses. I will never again buy a dog DVD or book purely on the information available on google, after some rather disappointing experiences where I ended up getting something rather different to what I thought I was getting! ETA, thanks Rubystar, I think we crossposted.

What are crate games? Are they just designed to get your dog to go happily into its crate, and stay there quietly?

Me too. I never attempt to incite barking, that would be daft, and I'd be annoyed too if I saw anyone deliberately getting my dog to bark or teasing her. But if I'm walking on a public footpath minding my own business & a dog rushes barking at us from behind a fence, then I won't proceed along the footpath until my girl is walking nicely. I don't want to let her pull, even if another dog is barking, that just teaches her that it's OK to pull. If she's not walking nicely, sometimes we deliberately walk back & forth past the loud dog a few more times in order to get some loose leash walking practice in. I figure, we're allowed to walk on the footpath. If us walking on a public footpath upsets someone's dog, that's just too bad.

Thanks Tilly, I'll have a look for the PaPaw. Thanks SilverHaze too, don't worry, we're not going to do long distances on road - but unfortunately, where I live, we're going to have to trot a km or two by road in order to access the dirt track where I eventually hope to run her. I've never heard of bag balm - is it udder cream?

LOL, I have had this trouble for several months, with my malinois after shoulder surgery. They do need things to do, or they will get destructive or depressed, especially if they're used to lots of stimulation & exercise. Things we do include: * Lots of big RMB to chew on. Cannon bones & pigs heads work well to keep my girl occupied for a while. * Learning new tricks can tire them out mentally (we do clicker for dinner, each trick earns one piece of kibble). There are a gazillion silly little things you can teach your dog that don't require much physical effort but that will get him thinking. * Scent games inside can tire them out mentally (my girl will hunt the living room for my keys). * I take my girl everywhere I can with me in her car crate, when the weather permits, so she can get some stimulation by watching different things. * Visiting different places/different people's houses on leash, tires them out as well, especially when you enforce good manners the entire visit. Unless your vet has specified complete rest for some reason, it may be possible to take him for on leash walks before the 14 days is up? Interspersing periods of heeling with loose leash walking is a particularly good way to tire them out, if your boy knows how to heel.

Agree.

They're slightly worn & sore today after biking yesterday & the day before, so we're taking a couple of days off so as to not risk aggravating them. I'm sure they'll toughen up by themselves naturally if we take it slow. Just wondering if there are any home remedies that can accelerate the toughening process. Guess I'm just impatient! She's loving the biking, and it doesn't seem to be aggravating her shoulder at all (hooray!)

Yes sorry Souff, I worded that badly. The amount of vWF in your system may vary from day to day for many reasons (whether or not you have vWF disease), but as you say, if you've got congenital vWF disease, you've always got it. The lab we use here like you to send more than one sample when testing for vWF disease, due to the variation in vWF in the system from day to day, but they certainly do not require yearly tests throughout the dog's life. If the dog is borderline vWF, then some vets will do a buccal mucosal bleeding time test before every surgery to see if the dog is likely to need medications for the vWF disease on this occasion, but that's different to testing every year whether or not the dog needed surgery. I don't know much about the genetic test - I don't even know if we can get it over here. Hope that makes more sense.

Anyone got advice or toughening up pads for roadwork (trotting beside a bike)? Besides building up distance slowly, I mean, and taking time off if her pads are tender. Someone suggested meths to me, I know you can use that on human feet to make them tougher, but would be worried about drying out her pads leading to pad cracks. On the other hand, not sure if conditioning her paws would help, surely that would make them softer? Additional zinc in the diet was also suggested? I'm hoping the sled dog people might have some gems of tried & tested wisdom to share.

Sounds like the person who made up that statistic either intended to deceive people or was perhaps just bad at maths. But surely even producing 98 to 5000 kittens in a lifetime is a great reason to desex a female cat?

Me too. Some of those tests make sense (especially in a dog to be used for breeding), but some seem like definite overkill to me. Why do a dental x-ray at all, if the teeth look squeaky clean? Why recheck yearly for von Willebrands, unless you're about to do surgery on the dog? Why x-ray yearly for intervertebral disease, if the dog's showing no clinical signs?

There are lots of joint supplements out there - most work in slightly different ways, so if it's within the budget, you could try several & hopefully get a synergistic effect? Intro them one at a time of course, so that if something causes an adverse reaction, you know which one it is. Glucosamine, MSM, chondroitan, are all supposed to be good for some dogs. There's one product out there that's supposed to be particularly good, glucosamin + chondroitan + manganese, although I haven't tried it myself. I've had Pentosan/Cartrophen injections with my girl, they're supposed to help DJD, but there is apparently some indication it can help prevent DJD too (my understanding of spondylosis is that it's simply DJD of the spine). I presume he's already on fish body oil (with E) for the omega 3? Staff'n'Toller suggested green lipped muscle to me on another thread, which is a great idea. I've heard conflicting reports on ester-C, some people reckon it helps them, some say that it does nothing, I've never tried it or researched into it much myself. Perhaps it depends on the individual. I believe it can have GIT side effects at high doses (although less than regular vit C), so start with a low dose if you try it. Did they suggest swimming to you? I know we often recommend that to DJD dogs, I presume spondylosis similarly benefit. Did they have any suggestions as to what caused the spondylosis?

Theoretically, I think there shouldn't be any, and I've never heard of any, but your Mandela seems to obey medical laws of his very own sometimes, doesn't he? So probably a good idea to introduce his new meds one by one. I didn't know he had spondyosis too, though? Staff'n'toller - good idea, when I graduate! I'm not sure if whole green lipped mussels are within my budget right now. I might have a hunt about for the powder though, that's a good idea. Between her pentosan, her glucosamine, her fish, her E, and now her mussel, the poor girl is going to rattle when she walks. Bedazzled, that's a very cunning idea. I was just working on the doggy zen-type principle of "see this amazing treat that you really really want? Well, you can have it if you eat this other thingy first". Your way sounds faster, though.

Dog aggressive, I believe.

Hmmm thanks, I'll investigate & see if we can get it over here, & if so if it's any more expensive than the the human version that she's currently on. Not keen to order it from Oz, that might be a little pricey.

Interesting, I wonder what they saw on the rads to make them suspect a higher risk of hip dysplasia (from the wording, they're presumably not seeing degenerative changes?) I'd personally send the rads off for a formal assessment, if it didn't cost much more. Did your friend ask the vet if in their opinion the hip pathology could be causing the clinical signs? Will be interesting to hear what the chiro says, & if they can help.

Oh interesting, I'll investigate and see if I can find it at a reasonable price - I've never seen it around here before, so I didn't know you can get it. I'll still shape the exercise, though. I like teaching her, and she likes learning, and it might well come in handy at some stage.

Aw, he sounds like a cutie! It's glucosamine, MSM, and fish oil, Erny - pretty much indefinitely. She's coming right, I think. It's taking a little while but we're hanging in there! I think she'll always have a slightly wonky gait, but the limp appears to be (touch wood!) gone. She will hopefully be well enough to work again soon. Sas, I can pill her physically, but in general I find that inducing my dog to volunteer behaviours is better for our relationship than physically forcing her to do things. Perhaps your dogs are different, but this does not damage our relationship.