labsrule

I think you need to get a Vet's referral to an Orthopaedic surgeon. Your vet should be able to give you this as it is not unusual for owners wanting a 2nd opinion from a specialist veterinary surgeon. I did this for one of my labs and even though my vet could do the surgery (it was eye surgery), I told him I wanted to consult with a Veterinary eye specialist to also get their opinion and my vet was fine with this. He was interested to get a copy of what the eye specialist recommended, so I asked the eye specialist clinic to fax a copy to my vet, which they did. This kept my vet fully in the picture and provided him with specialist information to assist him with ongoing treatment for my boy and also added to the Vet's knowledge bank. My vet wasn't put out at all when I requested the referral, as he knew that I only wanted the best for my boy and he was only too pleased to provide me with the referral.

Most ridiculous thing I have heard a vet say, what a load of rubbish and obviously in cahoots with the pet food companies that he sells product for . It is a proven fact that chewing on bones does in fact clean a dogs teeth . One of my 3 black labs is not allowed bones due to a gastropexy he had as a result of bloat before I adopted him and there is a noticeable difference between his teeth and the teeth of my other two, that get bones daily as there is a hell of a lot less build up on their teeth and they look in much better condition than the one that is not allowed bones:thumbsup: .

Give me a "nutty" Labrador any day. I love their enthusiasm, exuberance, sheer joy of life and making the most of every opportunity. What fun I have had over many years with Labradors and the memories are just priceless. In all the years (many ), I have had Labradors, they have made me laugh every day of those years with their antics and I could not imagine my life without a scallywag Labrador in it. How boring would that be They truly are without peer and I want to come back in the next life as a Labrador, in a home like mine Humans could learn a hell of a lot from Labradors and their take on life

Shaun - How is Fraser doing? hope he is doing ok and recovering well . We need an update Charles - thank you so much for your informative post. It is fantastic to have qualified, knowledgeable, experienced veterinary experts contribute to this forum ;)

Welcome to dol I would never recommend sending your dog away to one of these so called training camps I have heard a few horror stories about these type of places and the treatment that is dished out to the dogs that go there to be "trained: A work colleague told me about one of her relatives that sent her dog away to one of these places and the dog was never the same when it returned. It went in as a confident, happy, disobedient dog and came out a quivering, cowering very nervy, skinny dog that seemed to be scared of its own shadow. The owners were shattered by what had happened to their dog, as they thought they would get back a confident, happy and obedient dog. They blamed themselves for taking the "easy way out" without getting in either a qualified behaviourist or reputable trainer to help them with their dog. As it was, they did have to get professional help with this dog, to undo the damage that was done in this "so called training camp". Apparently, the dog never returned to its happy, confident self, but it did get a hell of a lot better, under the guidance of a professional behaviourist. Like other posters have suggested, you need to get in contact with a good trainer to help you work with your dog in a one on one situation to ensure both you and your dog obtain maximum benefit. It takes commitment and work to ensure that your dog does develop into a well adjusted, well behaved adult and a much beloved member of your family

I was responding to a fellow Lab owner in the Labrador sub forum regarding treatment for a particular injury her Lab suffered and remembered about this Pet First Aid Book I purchased from the Australian Red Cross a few years ago. It contains valuable information you need to help keep your pet safe and act with confidence during an emergency, until you can take your dog or cat to a veterinarian and thought it worthwhile to post about this book in this forum also. It is well worth the $21.95 and I have included the link to purchase this book: Pet First Aid Book thru the Australian Red Cross

Sounds like SPAM to me (hmmm...pig snount....) I thought that at first but remember seeing corned silverside in a can during one of the my visits to the Supermarket and thought Yuk bet that is horrible just like Spam

Yeah too salty for the dogs, but great with a Mustard Sauce for us human

Something along the lines of: "she/he's lovely, give her her/him lots of pats (pause) then say she/he is a big girl/boy isn't she/he - I had a similar problem with my girl and my vet told me that my girl will suffer some serious health problems if I did not get the extra weight off my girl. I had to work very hard with her to get the weight off and it has made such a difference and she is so much happier bouncing all round the place with a new lease of life. I felt so bad that I hadn't done anything about her weight earlier and could have compromised her health. Thank goodness my vet is a straight shooter and told me what I needed to hear" Hopefully she will take the hint

I don't think there are any swimming pools for dogs in Sydney, let alone Western Sydney otherwise I would be there with my boys I am always envious of the dog swimming facilities they have in VIC. If you looking for a place for your dog(s) to swim out West try the Hawkesbury River which is just over the back (down the hill) from Windsor township

My previous lab girl and my youngest lab boy were on the annual heartworm injection but awhile ago after reading a number of posts on DOL regarding this with some pretty persuasive arguments/info on this I swapped over to monthly chewables for my 3 lab boys. Whilst my dogs didn't experience any negative reactions to these injections I was always concerned about 12mths worth of this medication being pumped into their systems in one go, albeit slow release.

Check his paws and in between his toes thoroughly for any prickles (thorns) as one of my Lab boys quite often gets a prickle in one or more of his paws during our walks in the summertime. If no prickles, then off to the Vet he goes for a check.

My vet recommended Sorbolene with Glycerine for one of my labs that has a callous problem. I got a 325ml container with a Pump dispenser from the Chemist for around $5.00

Being a besotted lab owner and lover of many years my advice to you would be to think very carefully about the future for these two lab pups, particularly the impact on your life as your kids grow up. Kids promise all sorts of things when they are negotiating with their parents to get them a dog, but the truth is that many do not follow through on their promises. The majority of the time, the toilet training, feeding, exercising, bathing etc falls back onto the parent(s) and the dogs tend to take a backseat when the kids become teenagers and boyfriends and girlfriends enter the arena. Then there is the possibility of university which could result in the kid(s) having to live away from home, and you may end as sole carer for two adult labradors. The reality is that far too often kids abandon their devoted companions who they grew up with and I speak from personal experience here as my daughter who was absolutely devoted to her our darling black lab girl Cassie who we got as a 8 weekold pup when my daughter was 11 was pushed aside for boyfriends when my daughter was 16. I was extremely upset about this as we had many discussions about this possibly happening and my daughter constantly assured me that it would never happen and that Cassie would still be included in her life and would continue to receive the attention she has always received from her. Luckily I also had an extremely close bond with Cassie so she didn't miss out on any attention and in fact our bond deepened and we were inspearable and I still miss my darling girl (RIP sweetheart ) to this very day, 9 years after she passed at 13½ years. Lab puppies are without doubt the cutest pups around, but they are also hard work due to their boisterous natures, energetic levels, destructive prowess and high intelligence and it takes a lot of commitment from all family members to ensure they develop into well rounded, happy, well behaved adults. Labs can be a bit of a shock for Lab novices, even if you have had experience with other dogs as labs are very outgoing, over the top friendly, full on dogs who operate at full throttle in every thing they do. They have such an abundance of enthusiam and love of life which can be very challenging at times with some of their over the top crazy antics and they are the epitomy of the lovable larrikin They are fantastic with children and will bring much laughter and mayhem into your lives and I truly hope your children will be as devoted to them for their entire lives, as they will be to them and your family. They truly are an awesome breed and IMHO (totally biased of course :D) they are without peer. Their unswerving loyalty and devotion, strong bond, companionship and deep love are unrivalled and they will bring much joy to your family

Nutrience now that Nutro is no longer available. Can you please add this as an option

tks for your response Rappie, I will continue my research as it doesn't appear any dolers that read this section have had a dog with this condition, which I am not surrised at, given it's relative rarity. My vet was also pretty confident that they had removed the lump with clean margins as well, so here's hoping that it will not regrow quickly or at all.

My 12 year old black lab boy Thomas had surgery on Monday to remove a lump on the back of his left front leg as well as a small growth on the lower eyelid of his left eye. Received the results of the biopsy of lump removed from his leg today when I took him back for his post surgery check and he has been diagnosed with a malignant Schwannoma (Nerve Sheath Tumour). I was half expecting the maligancy verdict as the lump was a pretty solid mass and grew very quickly as I didn't notice it until it was a decent size due to the position of it being obscured in part on the back of his leg and it didn't affect his mobility at all. Anyway Vet advised it is a relatively rare tumour and is locally invasive so does not undergo metastatic spread, but can regrow and if that happens, then he will need further surgery to remove the regrowth. If it continues to regrow after multiple surgeries then amputation needs to be considered. My vet advised in the last 13 months, my boy is only the 2nd dog that has been diagnosed with this condition and the first dog which had surgery about 12 months ago has not had a regrowth occur yet, so that is good news. As part of my research, I would like to know if any dolers dogs have been diagnosed with this condition? and if so, can you share your dog's experience/treatment on how they fared with this condition.

I tried to unsuccessfully take some closer face shots tonight, but he keeps on squinting or closing his eyes, so gave up on trying to take any more When I was having a good close check of his eyes tonight, I noticed that in the corner of his right eye there is a small protruding growth, but the other eye is fine, no growths or obvious ulceration that my untrained eye can see. He was very good, just lying very still why I was poking and prodding around his eyes , totally different though with his ears, when I tried to rinse them . It's his eyelids, not his eyes. If the lower lids are drooping it would mean that he has Ectropion. He's been diagnosed with Entropion so it seems the upper eyelids are the problem. His eyes do look very irritated but the pics are not clear enough to tell. When my girl had surgery for entropion many years ago the first surgery didn't turn out too well and had to be done again a year or so later. It never was much good even after the second surgery. The second eyelid was good and gave her no further problems. I actually had my Vet write down the name of the diagnosis on his card, which was Entropian as none of my other dogs had ever had this eye problem before and I wanted to do some research on it. As well as my vet mentioning that he could not guarantee that the surgery would correct the problem entirely, he also mentioned that he may need to undergo further surgery cavNrott - your outcome was the reason I posted as this is my main concern for my boy that he undergoes this surgery at his age, and the outcome isn't successful and he may have to undergo further surgery which also may or may not be successful . It is a bit of a double edged sword, but I just can't sit by and do nothing as this irritation must be driving him mad. As they say nothing ventured, nothing gained and at least I will give him a shot at getting it corrected. Miranda tks for info on the laser surgery, I will also investigate this further and speak further with my Vet about getting a referral to an eye specialist. I would rather pay more for a better outcome first time around as being a specialist one would hope their success rates are higher than an ordinary Vet. My 12 year old black lab boy goes in for surgery on Monday morning with removal of a lump on his leg and a growth on one of his lower eye lids, so will get his recovery out of the way first and whilst that is happening I will obtain a referral from my Vet for a Veterinary Eye Specialist for Tournie. Thanks so much to everyone for their input, is has been a great help and very informative. :D

Thank you - I will get some of this tomorrow not sure how receptive he will be to it though as had a real battle on my hands with him trying to rinse his ears out with Malaseb due to an ear infection he had as he can be a real handful when you try to administer any treatment and had to virtually wrestle him to the ground :D as he is very stubborn, even for the Vet He may have had a bad experience with being rough handled in the past.

and another couple of photos - Poor boy looks so sad, but he is really isn't he is such a happy boy, but the eyes drooping make him look sad

OK here are some photos I took tonight, when I could get him to be still enough as everytime I sat down to take the photo he wanted to plonk his fat bum on my lap Anyway best I can do, so hopefully they will give you an idea on his eye condition/eye shape - tks for your help

Very saddened to hear of the loss of your beloved Angel. The older they are, the harder it is to say goodbye as they are so much a part of your life and it is devastating when their time comes. She lived a long life and you will have many wonderful lifetime memories of her. RIP Angel and run free

Alix my heart goes out to you on the loss of your beloved Charlie The 5 years he spent with you would have been the happiest of his life and having adopted a couple of 10 year old seniors myself, I know how quickly they can get under your skin and worm their way into your heart. How lucky you both were to find each other and so wonderful that he had such a long life and was able to share 5 wonderful years with you. RIP Charlie and know that you were much loved and will be much missed

Many thanks everybody for your replies and suggestions, much appreciated and I will PM Peibe as well My vet thinks he may have had this condition all his life, poor bugger and I wouldn't be surprised as his owners didn't want him when he found his way to the Pound, very overweight and suffering bad arthritis both conditions he is currently been treated for. My concern is that the Vet said that the surgery may not fix the problem, and whilst I am a bit concerned because of his age, I would like to try and give him some relief from this condition, particularly if he has had it all his life, the irritation must be hell for the poor boy. I went to take a close up photo of him and my batteries are flat, so have just put in the recharger and will post one later today. His eyes are watery and constantly weeping tear like substance and he has tear stains and his eyes droop downwards. My vet can do the surgery, but I am wandering because of his age whether it would be better to get a referral from my vet to see a veterinary eye specialist first.

My 10 year old black lab boy Tournie who I adopted a couple of months ago has been diagnosed with Entropian & my vet has recommended corrective surgery. Just wandering if any DOLERS have had an older dog that has had this surgery and what was the outcome? Also did your vet perform the surgery or a veterinary eye specialist?