malleerr

Hi All, Well after a few weeks of good health Mallee has decided to give both Brock and I heart failure and become somewhat sick again. Every since she had all her ops we have had bouts of problems with her and diahorrea. With her getting a bout of it every month or so. Sometimes there has been a bit of blood spotting in the diahorrea. We spoke to her surgeon about this and he said as it was fresh blood and only a little that with Mallee being a bit of a scavanger that she has probably eaten something that has scratched her insides. Well over the last two months she has been really great and had no problems until Wednesday night. We got home from work and the poor girl had messed in her cage, took her out made lots of fuss over her so she would not feel to bad, and seemed ok till about 7.30ish when she started vomiting and then had diahorrea. This settled and then a 4.30am in the morning she starting groaning and went out said and did a poo that had a fair amount of blood in it. I decided to go to work in the morning, leaving her out of the cage, with newspaper down so i could see if she did anymore what it was like. When i got home at lunch i nearly died she had had more diahorrea but the amount of blood on the newspaper really freaked my out. I collect what i could and made an appt for the local vets. She seems perfectly happy running around, playing gums are fine, nice nose???? The vet seems to think that she may have IBS or something similar. Would not send samples away??? But gave her an injection, antibotics for a week, and no food for 24 hours and then for a week only rice and steamed chicken???? I always had a feeling that she had something like this and have been wondering if her surgery could have caused it as she was fine with number 2s until she had all the ops. Corine - i am sure it was Duncan who had the bowel problem - what was it that he had, his symptoms, and what do you feed him now?? Kelly i hope Chloe is doing well and now more dramas! Thanks Antoinette

Hi Kel & Quills I have Mallee on Cosequin and have found it to do its job well, no further signs of arthritis or pain in her front elbows where she previously had arthritis before the arthoscope and Ulna Osteotomy.

Hi Quills, Yes arthritis can rear its ugly head at early ages, our Rhodesian Ridgeback was diagonised with severe arthritis and elbow dysplasia at 4 months old!!!!!! Sucessfully operated on and then diagonised with HD at 5.5 months poor little thing! Which has since been operated on 3 times, and she is just now getting back to somewhat of a normal life after 6 mths recovery!!! And i agree with Kelly_Louise about the $$$$ as we also have spent $10K plus on our girl also. The initial x-rays to confirm HD - if it is that - it could possibly be a number of things and hopefully nothing at all - were around i think the $250.00 mark. Not that much really to find out exactly what you are dealing with and the options you then have. I would also suggest that if you don't already i would get your georgous girl onto Glucosamine. Hope she is feeling better soon and it is not a serious problem. Keep us posted and more piccys please she is just devine!! Antoinette

Hey Kel - she will be fine, i am sure you are worried over nothing. Maybe as the day before she was doing great guns she has overdone it a bit, and sore today!! Heres hoping anyway. Are her gums a nice lovely pink color? Thanks for the update - special hugs to you both again. Antoinette No real news on the Mallee front -so i suppose the old saying no news is good news applies here P.S. SENDING LOTS OF HEALING THOUGHTS YOUR WAY ALSO, but iam not too sure if i can help you out in the "sane" department, i think it takes a tad of "insaneness" to get through all of this.

WELCOME HOME CHLOE!!!! Please pass on lots and lots of get well hugs and kisses from the Mallee household. Been thinking of you guys and are glad to hear Chloe is well and safe and back home. Did you or have you got an e collar yet?? I would have thought the hospital would have given you a free one when she was discharged. Hope everyone else is going along as well as Chloe and Mallee seem to be.

Hel Kel, So glad the op went well and as planned. Give Chloe a special hug for me when you pick her up!! Remember you have done the right thing by her and in the long term it will be well worth it - she will try to make you feel guilty i am sure with those poor puppy eyes she will be putting on, but hang in there and remember you have to be cruel to be kind sometimes. At least you have been through the whole recovery process before and know what to expect! ! As for what we expect out of Mallee over the next 12 months or so, i am really not sure. We have never been advised by the surgeons on what to expect other than she will make a perfect pet but will not be an athlete. Mind you that being said, she seems to be basically back to where she was before the op, except that she is not as fit and can't walk as far but she will get her fitness back i am sure and be able to walk further. She runs around the house like an idiot, jumps on and off our bed like a mad man, which is basically impossible to stop as she is going through a stage were getting in trouble must mean play time. We are both really happy with her progress. We have decided that we will reintroduce her to other dogs probably in the next week or so, but no playing of course as that worries us both. I must go - i just checked in to see what it happening, i am so busy at work at the moment i only have brief stops in at DOL at the moment. Hang in there Kel - will be thinking of you, and checking in for updates. lots of luv Antoinette xxxoo

Great News Kelly. Glad she has finally healed. You must be soo happy, like i can't tell!!!! Make sure you let me know the date she goes in for the op, so Mallee and i can cross everything for you and Chloe. She is not going to know herself in about 2 months time, hopefully, she will be like a brand new puppy, or atleast like a, maybe, 4 year old dog!!! Great News. Keep the updates coming Love Antoinette xo

Hi Kel - i don't really see why it would be a problem to post pone the op until the weather warms up a bit. I would probably be thinking along the lines that you are, that if she can cope with it for a few more months, why not leave it until it is warmer so she will be more comfy with recovering. The cartrophen injections would probably get her through to spring. But, what ever you decide, whether to do it now or wait you are not being cruel. It may also be easier for you if you do it when its warmer, no getting up in the middle of the freezing night to do toliet runs......lol.....Have a talk to the vet, they might be in agreeance. Let me know what you decide. And i am also sure it will be good news for you both!! Did she give you those "dont take me here" eyes when you took her back to the vets...poor little mite.....i am dreading the look on Mallee's face next time we take her to the vets. Her next op is to be desexed, and i am dreading it. I know its only a very minor every day op, but, i just hate that thought of putting her through it and more stitches etc when she has just began being somewhat normal again. But hey these things need to be done, would never forgive myself if she somehow ended up preggers or with some type of uterus infection or whatever, so it has to be done. Take care of yourself, give Chloe a special hug and kiss from us 3 down here tonight when you get her, and hugs to you. Keep in touch Antoinette xo

Good Luck Kel - will be thinking of you both, fingers crossed that everything goes to plan and the new surgery can go ahead. Try not to bite those nails down too low. Fido666 - hows Duncan going - i hope his leg is ok and that it was just a strain - thinking of you guys also. Mallee is still gunning it along, i finally have my shadow back, every time i turn around there she is with her little tail wagging, its just fantastic to see. Take care all and special hugs to Chloe and Duncan Love Antoinette and Mallee

Hi Koza - glad to hear that Stella is well, and is nearly back to a "normal life". Mallee also will not go outside now we literally have to drag her on her stomach outside to go to the loo if its is cold or raining. Its a constant battle to get her out there. It must be the luxury of living inside for the last 5 months. But you would think by now she is hanging to get outside!!!!.....lol.....i can't work her out sometimes. Anyway must be a flying post as i am running late. Hope everyone else out there is doing well. Kelly - how is Chloe going???? I am missing your updates. Antoinette xxoo

We use Iams - large breed Puppy Growth Dry Food - we have an RR and have found it really good - its actually the only one that does not upset her tum

Hi All!! Wow Kelly so glad to hear how well our lovely little Chloe is going. I have been checking for updates daily and must have missed your post yest. She sounds like she is once again enjoying life, which is just so brilliant for you all. YIPEE!!! Finally you can relax and enjoy your time with her between now and the next surgery. At least with the next op you have been there done that so you will be super prepared for everything. Mallee has been going so well - its just soo exciting. OVer the long weekend she was out of the cage every day from about 5.30 am until 11ish at night OFF THE LEAD.......another YIPEE. She has been so well behave, we have only had the occassional zoomie which has been less than we expected. Although she has slipped over twice on the floor boards both times landing on her pelvis - which of course scared the hell out of me - but each time she has gotten straight back up given a shake and gone on her way with no signs of pain, swelling or stiffness, which is excellent. Her walking is improving all the time - there seems to be just no stopping her. The sneaky little thing has even been climbing on the furniture when your back is turned. Reverting back to the old days much to Brock disgust who says that she has gone 6 months without being on the furniture why does she have to start back at it now. I don't mind the only reason i would stop her is if she could hurt herself, which again she does not seemed to be doing. I suppose with her hip joints gone there is not much back there that she can hurt besides her pelvis, and i am positive that it must have healed by now. Our original surgeon Sam has been back in contact with us and is extremly happy with her progress and even said that he would be happy to let her go and be out of the cage totally, but would first want to confirm it with Guy as Guy has done the last lot of xrays etc.... So we are finally all getting there. I could just go on and on about how good Mallee is going but i will not bore you all with it. I am just so glad that everything seems to be working out for all of us. Fingers crossed and touching wood that it stays this way. God knows our babies and all of us have been through some very rough times. Hugs to you all and pats to the pooches. Antoinette and little big Mallee Girl

Good Luck with it all Erny!! I have been wondering how Kal has been going ever since i realised it was you that we saw in Werribee. Guy is Mallee's surgeon, well he did not do any of her ops, but has been doing all the follow up xrays and such since Sam left. I have found Guy really helpful and nice, but a bit slow on the telephone calls sometimes as he is really busy.....lol......he will kill me for saying that!!!! Good luck and i hope it all goes well for you and Kal. Antoinette

HI ALL, Just checking in to see how everyone is going. All must be OK as it has been awhile since anyone has posted. Koza - hows Stella going? Kelly how are things with you hope Chloe is marching along well - have you had the family wedding yet??? God i hope i have remembered right, but i am sure you mentioned you were going to be a bridesmaid???? Mallee is gunning along, going really well. Has not been back swimming as Brock has been working heaps and heaps of overtime lately which is good in the money scheme of things but not so good with trying to get Mallee back into swimming. She is going for lots of walkies though and loving it. She is out of the cage now when we are at home, and not too busy - she has had the occassional zommie when we have not been able to grap hold of her straight away. You have to watch her eyes all the time as she get this look about her right before she does it and its always usually just before she want to go to sleep. Its almost like she throws these little tantrams about being tired and then woosh she is off like a bullet! I am soo pleased with her progress over the last few weeks - its just excellent!!! YIPEE FINALLY!!!! Still taking things slowly as i am sure she is probably ready for more and wanting more - but we have both discussed the situation and would rather be safe with her then sorry. She is almost back to looking the way she did before all the ops and her hair is almost grown back. Her walking is really good, she has a slight limp in the right leg and swings it around, and it gets more pronounced the longer she walks, so i would say that is when she is getting tired. Mallee celebrates her first birthday tomorrow WOW we have finally got there - 4 mths ago i was questioning whether she would ever get there!! Hope all is well with everyone Love to you all and hugs to the pups Antoinette xo

Hi Sheltiesrule - not sure if i can really help or not but we have been experiencing the same problem with Mallee and are now trying to turn our sides to her everytime she jumps and ignoring her. We have previously tried going mad at her or just pushing her off but that has not work! Turning to the side or away from her, and not looking at her in the eyes when she does it seems be working but we have not been able to completly stop it yet.....hopefully soon as she is a big pup and its getting quite annoying esp when people visit....not everyone enjoys a big sloppy head butt.....lol..... Maybe also try the training section. If you find a solution let me know!!!!

I would also love to know the answer to this question. I have an 11mth RR and its hard to call her a puppy now that she is sooo big!!??

TOO CUTE!!!! You look gorgeous - the funny thing about those photos is the second one, i have a photo of me standing with me old appolouse (-spl- i have never been able to spell that one) horse wearing just about the same clothes in the same stance and everything......spooky......Danny looks alot like my second horse only smaller - i love the chestnuts!!! I can imagine him up there now at the Bridge munching out on all the lush clover and grass having a belly ache.......lol........ Thanks for the pics they were great to see, and finally i have some sort of idea on what you may look like......... Hang in there, special hugs to you and to Chloe - Mallee sends you a lick on the cheek!! Antoinette xoxo

I am so sorry to hear about old Danny Kelly_Louise. My thoughts are with you! I know what it is like to loose your horse - i lost mine around 10 years ago and still think of him often.. You develop such a strong emotional bond with them hey!! Chin up, think of all the good times that you had with Danny from childhood to now and no how much of a wonderful life he had with you, he did well to get to 30!!! Good times are a coming Kel they are just around the corner. Yell out if you need a chat. Antoinette xo P.S. sending lots and lots of :D :p your way

Thanks Kel - she is too dam cute - those photos don't even do her justice!!!! She went for another walk last night outside of the front gates and ventured two houses away - she loved it!!! and was so tuckered out which is good. She is coming along so well. Will pass on your hug to her - if you pass one onto Chloe!!! Heres a pic of her crashed out after a walk

Here you go guys. Mallee with no sling. AND Mallee's first walk Not real great pics but its hard to get good ones - too busy watching her!!!!

Oh Corine, your heart must have stopped for a few moments...you poor thing..... I do hope poor little Dunc is feeling alot better now. Maybe he just strechted his leg to far, i am really hoping that is all it is. Give him a cuddle from me. As to what Kel said about the screws/plates backing out a bit, Mallee's surgeon said to us if Mallee's backed out anymore or even completed backed out he would only open her up to remove them if they were causing her pain, which he did not think would happen as they don't have sharp edges. But i don't think Duncan would have done that. Mallee is still coming along in leaps and bounds. Its really starting to get exciting, as she is coming along so well. We had another email from one of her sugeons Guy who said that he expects that she can come out of the cage in 1-2 months unsupervised so that will be fantastic!! Hugs to you all and your pooches - i hope all is well with everyone. Oh BTW Corine did you get Duncans bowel problem sorted out??

Hi Guys Just wanted to share some news with you all that makes as very happy!! I have just received an email from our original Surgeon (Sam - aka our hero) who did all the ops on Mallee saying: "Saw Mallee's last xrays and i couldn't be happier with them. Slow return to exercise from now on - the surgery sites are almost completely healed and therefore the main trick now is just to improve her strenght and mobility" YAYY so i emailed him back thanking him soo much for all his help and support over the last 4mths and that we could not of gotten through it all without his support, patience and help, as he has been there for us whenever we needed him, questions etc, he would often sends me emails asking how she is going etc etc, and he replied with: "That is my pleasure - and likewise you and Brock have been the best clients i have ever had! - understanding and commited to your lovely dog - you deserve her to do really well and never have another sick day in her life." It makes me soo happy to hear from Sam that he is happy with her progress to date as we have not been able to see him since the last op as he no longer works at Werribee Uni Vets!! So onwards and upwards for Mallee :D Hope everyone else pooches are going as well as Mallee....!!!.... Erny - i have been reading your other thread regarding Kal and note that we actually saw you several times last Thursday at the vets lazing under the tree, and in the waiting room. So if you happened to see another little ridgeback being walked across the grass in a sling that was us and Mallee - i hope Kal is going well she is a beautiful girl!!!

HI All!! Corine - i have pm'd you with the name of Mallee's surgeons. The surgeon said he would only want to see us now in a pain mangament kind of role or only if Mallee pulls up really sore from loose screws or anything like that - which hopefully fingers crossed does not happen!! He said that he can only document so much with Mallee and did not feel it necessary to put her under again for more xrays in a month or so.....So yes, you are right Corine it is good news!!! I think as long as we are aware that she still has a tiny bit of healing to do and that we do not push her too fast to soon that things should be fine. Mallee is walking really well. We took her for a short walk - well more of a sniff around the front yard last night and just along the footpath to the neighbours house and she had an absolute ball!!! Yay finally walking the dog ;) as breif as it was it was just great to see Mallee wandering around sniffing everything her little tail sticking straight up in the air, and her smiling away looking so proud of herself!!! Her walking has not changed that much since the op, she tends to just swing her back legs out a bit more then previously as she always kind of had a funny little trot! You can tell when she is getting tired as she tends to get a little wobbly on her right leg, as thats still not as strong as the left. But we are really happy with her!! She even got to say hello to three little dogs being walked past our house - well they were only interested in eating Mallee, and all Mallee was interested in doing was licking them...she was really good though, no jumping around or anything, which i thought she would do considering she has not seen another dog in 4mths!!!! I was frightened that she would go a bit crazy the first time she saw a dog again but she was very well behaved, even sat down when Brock asked her to - thank god we took her to puppy preschool!!! :p She had another good day today, she finally got to lounge around the back yard soaking up the sun which she also totally enjoyed. We have not had her out much to just lounge around as she seems to be too interested in chasing bugs, but since she has been out the last few days she has quiten a bit which is good, so with the continued longer breaks out of the cage, it should make it easier on her and on us as she wont be as full of beans as she usually is when she gets out!! Anyway guys i will leave it there - hope you all have/had a good weekend - and will give you another update next week. Hope all is well with everyone and that all the pooches are coming along well. Antoinette

Thanks for the reply Kel - you are just too good to me, always making me see things a bit differently. Brock and i have decided that we will start exercising her more, in an effort to build up the back end starting with a walk, a short one, down the street tonight if she behaves, and slowly increase the exercise weekly. She will continue to be in the cage while we are not at home, but be out of the cage as much as possible while we are at home, starting on the leash and when she quitens down off the leash, but that i doubt will be for awhile, as she is as mad as a cut snake as you would be after spending 4mths in a cage. Our surgeon did sound very pleased with her considering everything she has been through, but as we would have, he would have also loved to have seen her fully healed as it has been 4 mths now, and that should have been plenty of time. But, nothing with Mallee is text book!!....lol...... So after thinking about it all this morning i have come to the conclusion that it is not as bad, as i first thought!! She has come such a long way and she is showing so much improvement, and keeps getting stronger and stronger. Its just hard sometimes to remember what it was like to have her healthy and able bodied, but am reminding myself that it was either this way or no way!! So i am feeling alot better about it all. Will give you an update hopefully over the weekend about how she goes with her walkies. Give Chloe and big hug from me and one for yourself also. Antoinette. XxoO

Well Hi Guys, We have unfortunately had much of the same news as Chloe and Kelly. Mallee's left side has healed perfectly, but the right side still has a little more healing to do. The bone has bridged right across on the right side except for a little gap in the middle, and just need become more dense. So she is still in the cage while we are not home, but can start more exercise and more swimming. We have been so used to going by timelines, and all he has said this time was he does not need to see us again, no more xrays, and just take things slowly and as they come, and of course get in contact with him if we need to. Not quite what we wanted to hear but i suppose maybe we were expecting a little more. So the journey continues. Thanks again everyone for all your support not sure if i would have been able to get this far without your held and support and will keep you posted. Thanks Antoinette