Gordie

My great dane boy, Gordie passed away on Saturday night. He died peacefully in his sleep. He's had Wobbler's for about 6 months but I'm not sure if it was from the Wobbler's or not. He had had an episode on the Monday prior, when I went down to his kennel and he couldn't move. My father thought it was a snake bite and we rushed him to the vets. They ruled out snake bite and thought it was botulism. He stayed overnight Monday on a drip and managed to pull through the next day. However, they were not sure what had happened as his bowel movements were normal, which they wouldn't have been if it was botulism. I brought him home on Tuesday night and took the week off work to spend some quality time with him. On Saturday I had to return to work and he passed away that night. I think perhaps he was meant to go before, but stayed to say goodbye. Gordie was very special to me and everyone he came in contact with. He was a beautiful, loyal and loving companion and I will miss him very deeply. I feel like he has been in my life a lot longer than he was. I think he knew it was his time to go. His aggression had got out of control and the hormones and pain killers I had given him in an attempt to calm him had not had the desired effect. I thought they may of, as it was just me and him for a couple of days, but he almost bit my mum's arm off when she went to pat him on the Friday, and he had never been aggressive toward her before then. I had begun to start thinking about the possibility of euthanising him, which i had never even entertained before. I thought that he was beginning to become a dog that I knew he didn't want to be. He was always fine with me, but the Gordie I saw when he was vicous towards others was not the same as the one who loved me. He hadn't been able to walk properly since November. But this attitude scared me a lot more than that. I had hope that he could walk again. I had begun to lose hope that his aggression could ever be controlled. Something my friend said to me afterward that really helped was "if you can take anything good out of this, at least he chose to let go and you didn't have to make that decision for him". I think that this is true. Gordie knew I probably wouldn't be able to make that choice, so he made it. I love him so much, I always will. I believe he read my thoughts and saw right through me all the time. He was a very intuitive dog who always seemed to know what to do. Even as a puppy, he was the most well behaved puppy imaginable! My doggy soulmate, Gordie (aka Boofhead) Rest In Peace.

Hey guys, Thanks heaps for all your supportive messages. This week has been a very hard one for me, and even harder is the fact that i need to make a decision asap... Everyone I have spoken to has basically told me GB therapy can only be used as adjuct therapy to the surgery and i had almost resigned myself to the fact that it would be surgery or nothing... I don't think it has really taken off in Australia like it has in the US, and all the specialists and vets I speak to deny there is any research out there that encourages it as treatment by itself! Whereas, all the information I could find on the net simply contradicts this...! argh! I was really at a loss this week, thinking the only thing i could do to save my baby was to put him through that horrible surgery... that is something i would have a hard choice deciding to do, but at the same time, i don't think i could say goodbye to Gordie without having tried everything i possibly could... I'm still looking into GB therapy, thanks heaps for all your leads. If that doesn't work i guess i'll have to go ahead with the surgery... its expensive and invasive, but i don't think i could forgive myself if i didn't do as much as i could for gordie. i don't want to be selfish but Gords means everything to me and i can't just give up. they tell me with the surgery he won't be able to be active for at least 3 months and have to go back for monthly scans to see if he's going ok... i'm worried if i have to do this... it's taken him a week to recover from the myelogram and even now he's not back to what he was before it... on top of that, i'm not exactly cashed up at the moment, but if that's the only option... "ce la vie". I'm still trying to get advice form as many people as possible, thankyou all for your leads and messages of support and hope. I hope i can find someone who can help me make a deciion that i'm happy with. Thank you so much, Bea.

Hey guys, Well, Gords and I took a trip down to the Melb Uni Vet Clinic in Werribee on Friday. Gordie had a thorough assessment and hip dyspasia and any joint problems were ruled out. So that left Wobblers... Gordie got booked in for x-rays, a ct scan and a myelogram that day because there had been a cancellation. I was so scared for him. I'd read a lot about myelograms and the side effects or possibility of seizures. My old vet had told me to ask if they could do a MRI instead, but the vet assured me that the reaction was uncommon and that a MRI wouldn't be able to give results as conclusive as the myelogram. So I booked him in. I was so scared and wasn't really prepared for it (they had told me they could only fit in a consultation). But I figured it was best to see exactly what we're dealing with asap, so I can look into treatment asap. and Gord's couldn't be diagnosed without the tests... Well he made it through ok. Although the vet scared me by waiting until 6pm to call when he was meant to at 4pm... He has a malformation between the 6th and 7th vertebrae at the base of neck. However, I won't know the extent of the problem until Monday when he gets the CT results. From the myelogram, he has compression from the bottom of the spinal cord, however the CT will show if it is being compressed from the sides as well. If it is he won't be a surgical candidate. The good news is that he is not in pain. Also, from the xrays and myelogram, the vet says the compression looks a lot less than most he has seen. Gords has been a bit worse for wear for the last few days. I picked him up Saturday morning. The vet said he would be slightly worse than he was for the next few days. Well, he seems a lot worse! He can't stand up straight anymore and has a lot of trouble putting weight on his back legs. I have to lift him into his doggie cage (no easy feat) which is only about 15cm from the ground. But he is better today than yesterday, so fingers crossed he recovers more. I've had to keep him separated from Jade. Which is torture, for all, because she whinges like crazy! But she jumps too much around him and gets him too excited. Fingers crossed for tomorrow. Cheers, Bea.

Dr. Jenny at the Manningham Vet Clinic in Bulleen is fantastic!!! They were my former vet before I moved to the country and I cannot recommend them high enough. The nurses and vets are all fantastic! they will always listen to your concerns and continue to give me advice over the phone whenever i need it. They're also very close to the eastern freeway, so easy to get to from cbd, eastern and northern suburbs.

Well, I couldn't get Gord's to my vet on the weekend, so I had to take him to another one. I had already spoken to my vet and he had told me most likely Wobbler's. But i didn't have my dogs with me (they were visiting with their father) and my vet was away for the weekend. The vet i went to see said it's either HD or Wobbler's, or both. He can't diagnose for sure until he's had the scans done. He needs to have x-rays and a myelogram. But in order to have the myelogram done, I have to go to an orthopaedic vet. As both of these scans require anasthesia, it's probably best to have them done at once, so that's why I said I wasn't sure. From everything I've read and what I have discussed with my vet, he most likely has Wobbler's. But they still have to rule out HD just in case. The vet gave Gordie a painkiller injection and gave me some anti-inflammatory meds in the meantime and he seems to have responded well to those. He seems a bit better today. Jade seems to know her big bro isn't well and doesn't bother him quite so much as she used to. She seems to sense his limits and doesn't push him. They've had a rough few months. I left my husband and the four of us (cat, freddy too) moved to the country to live with my parents. They've adjusted well. They love the sheep and running around on the farm. Dad's Kelpies still don't really like them, but they've moved onto the tolerance level. Thanks for your well wishes. Hopefully Gordie's condition will improve. I've near to certainly dismissed surgery as a viable treatment option. He's most probably got Wobbler's Syndrome and from what I've read, the success for the surgeries aren't fantastic. He'd be in a lot of pain (they remove part of the spinal cord), are not allowed much activity and must be kept away from other dogs. They'd both go mad... and I don't want that for either of them. Acupuncture therapy sounds like the only option. It has fairly good results, but is a continuous therapy. Hopefully I can find someone who does Gold bead therapy. It invovles implanting gold beads at acupuncture points along the spine and works in much the same way as acupuncture. However, unlike acupuncture, this is a permament option. From what I've read this treatment can have miraculous results, with less pain, hospitalisation and restriction on the dogs activity. I just hope I can find it in Australia. Thanks again for all your help, I'll keep up the search. Bea.

Hey guys, I have some bad news... Just got back from the Vet (as I've been concerned about Gordie, my Great Dane) and the vet has confirmed my suspicions that Gord's either had hip dysplasia or Wobbler's Syndrome. I read up a lot on Wobbler's before going as this was my suspicion also. Has anyone gone through Wobbler's before and be able to give me some information? Also, I'm very interested in acupuncture and gold bead therapy as treatments. I've read a lot of good things about them but they were all from US sites. Doe's anyone know of Gold bead therapy being used in Australia? Your help would be appreciated. Thanks, Bea.

Hey guys, Face of an Angel/Devil is right!!! Nah, she's a good little princess. And I am a very proud mummy. She had her first puppy kinder last night and was the star of the class!!! granted, i did the class last year with gordie so i wasn't a novice, but after only having her a week she is coming, sitting and dropping on command!!! More photos as requested... The sooking seems to have cleared up. She's less sooky thatn she used to be at least. I never give in to her when she cries and always proaise when quiet, but somehow, even when she's outside with gordie after having a meal, she'll sook as soon as she's finished to get back in!!! Oh well, the trails of puppies huh? Try and try again... Cheers guys, Bea. Below are some with big bro, gordie.

I picked up my new baby on Friday and although I love her greatly, goodness knows she loves to sook. We don't have a problem with this except when we have to leave her. She howls the house down!!! Today we decided to do a trial run in the morning before we left. First, we put her outside with Gordie, our 12mth perfectly behaved fur bub. She sooked and howled so much, so we thought we'd try her inside, thinking perhaps she would be too cold. So we put her in the bathroom with her bed and toys, but she continued to sook every time we closed the door. So we waited for her to drift to sleep and then left her and shut the door. 2 seconds later she was at it again. And she doesn't stop after 10, 20 or even 30 mins. I don't know how her little lungs do it!!! I really don't know what to do. I feel really sorry for the neighbours and if this keeps up i really can't blame them when they complain. We never had this problem with Gordie - he was one of those perfect dogs that always seems to know how to behave. Anyone have any hints?? http://w83.photobucket.com/widgets/dynamic...19/gordie_dane/