dogbesotted

rest in peace young Scamp. A life far too short. Helen

oh poor baby. Glad to hear that all went well and that she is home where she belongs. wishing her a speedy and permanent recovery..sending Molly tummy tickles and rubs. H

Chloe is obviously one very special soul who has now cast off her earthly form to rejoin the angels. Sorry for your loss, DD. Their paws leave indelible marks on our lives, and they are never ever here long enough but our lives would be far less rich without them Hugs H

gosh I am glad i dropped into this thread. will call gary tomorrow enquiring about bulk delivery. great prices.

I have to ask why is Ben on a course of cortisone????????????????????????????????? If any thyroid disorder is suspected ( other than an addisonoan crisis) why is the dog oncortisone??? just my two penneth worth

Glad to hear our little trooper is showing his spirit. Hug him for me please. macrolone should be reduced slowly over a longish period of time. missing one tablet will not have any advers effect but stopping cold turkey is not at alll good. From what I can dredge up from m y rusty memory... Lucinda was reduced to macrolone every second day, the tyhe dose was halved etc. But dont rely on that info...ask your vet how to wean Ollie off it. Funny how picky they can be. Lucinda inspect each and every morsel of food. those that dont pass muster get flicked across the yard with disdain. I am stuffed if I can see why one piece of chicken neck gets the A OK and another the flick.

No problems..hopefully others will jump in too. Where are you located? Lucindas holistic vet is in Sydney ( I am in Qld but she still treated Lucinda with the help of my conventional vet). here are some links: The morris foundation : http://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/lear...iscoidlupus.asp [PDF] Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in a Dog: Diagnosis and TreatmentFile Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML the disease known as discoid lupus. Discoid lupus is considered a mild variant of SLE ... Criteria for the Diagnosis of Canine Systemic Lupus Erythematosus ... dspace.library.cornell.edu/bitstream/1813/2756/1/2003+Kearns.pdf I am looking up my holistic dog book...

hey you dont get to know anything if you dont ask questions. thats how we all learn. My Lucinda ( mast cell Tumour) was treated both conventionally and holistically for a while, and then we changed to holistic only. The two are not mutually exclusive but both vets MUST know what other treatments are being given. With Lucinda both would discuss her treatment. Vaccination should only be given to healthy dogs and a dog with a compromised immune system is not healthy.

I would be looking at holistic vet treatment ( in conjunction with conventional treatment ) I think. It is a matter of getting the immune system back into balance. By teh way...with a dog with a compromised immune system..no more vaccinations.

thought I'd give a little update. Lucinda: still here but very itchy at the moment. I guess we are still just taking each day as it comes. Lucinda is still feisty but has become quite frail. But the other night had a dust up which she started and she finished....sigh. Once an alpha bitch always an alpha bitch. Bless her. Oscar: is doing really well. he has picked up quite a bit. Snoozes a lot more but otherwise is good. Margali: still has no bark. LOL. The rest of the mob is well.

Jodie, I am sorry to hear that Ollie continues to have tummy problems. Lucinda is having itchy problems..have just started her on Loratadine twice daily to try to settle things down. She too is most likely at the same stage that Ollie is..I can see the bend in the road that we travel together, that place where she will travel without me until we meet up again. As for when..well the only thing I know for sure is that both Ollie and Lucinda will let us knopw in no uncertain terms when they are ready...cant say how but when you get that look you cant miss it. Sending you both great big hugs Helen

These yearly treatments are not the same as vaccinations. Autoimmune diseases can also be triggered by infections not only vaccines, and its always in the individuals that are already succeptable to development of autoimmunity, ie. you have to be succeptible first, its not like its vaccine fault. My point was that studies are now showing that immunity from vaccinations lasts much longer than 1 year..whereas in 1999 the gospel was responsible owners vaccinate their dogs annually... I prefer to think that people do their own research and then make their own decisions based on that within reason of course. I feel that frequently medications and treatments for dogs are designed for the convenience of the owners and I choose to keep it as simple as possible. What suits me is not something that I would expect others to follow.

Bless the dear boy! I am so glad that the new meds are working. I agree with the here for a good time....life is for living. HUgs to you both H

Griff, Condolances. It is alwasy heart wrenching saying farewell to our loved ones. Your dear old soul will now be free of his earthly burdens and watching over you with love until you meet again. I will light a candle in his honour tonight.

the active ingredient is exactly the same...moxidectin this is from the fda report: "In June 2001, Proheart 6 (moxidectin) was approved and launched in the US by FDAH to prevent canine heartworm disease for 6 months, and to treat existing larval and adult stages of the canine hookworm. Since then, the product has also been registered in Italy, Canada, Japan, France, Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Korea. A similar product, ProHeart SR12, which contains approximately 3 times the amount of moxidectin as ProHeart 6, is registered and marketed in Australia since October 2000" 2004 report from AVPMA: http://www.apvma.gov.au/qa/proheart.shtml needless to say the numbers of adverse reports are dependent upons people knowing that one there is an organisation collating and investigating such incidents and two: people insisting that any adverse reaction be reported. My view is that should my dog be one of the minority who has a severe reaction ( or any reaction for that matter) how does one combat the side effects of a product that is designed to remain working in the body for 12 months?????? Years ago my heart dog Morris developed Immune mediated Thrombocytopenia a couple of days after receiving his annual vaccination ..... when I asked about any possible link i was told emphatically no. BUT now it is acknoweledged that autoimmune disease can be a reaction to vaccination.

Jodie, I have been anxiously awaiting an Ollie update. I also think it is time for an Ollie photo update... Lucinda is getting thinner too..and it is around the eyes and face that it really shows. She has also lost a lot of muscle around the hindquarters. But otherwise is fine in herself. HUgs and cuddles to Ollie H

I suspect we are all talking around in circles... The most unplanned effects of neutering ( males or females) are as a result of very early neutering. I would think that logically the hormones have done their bit growth and development wise when a the dog is desexed after 1 year of age, even possibly by 6 months. The retention of puppy coat tends to be an effect of early neutering ( ie 6-8 weeks) . I have all females spayed here ( out of 6 bitches its the really bitchy one ( Fat Mags and Angelina) who are porky...LOL They are half sisters too. Maybe its genetic. the others are fine. Lucky is desexed male....no changes in his coat. He was desexed at around 12-18 months I think. H

OMG I am shocked. No words are adequate. I would strongly recommed holistic support no matter what treatment that is going to be followed. H

On further thought: Obviously puberty is at different ages depending upon the size of the breed. Perhaps that is why with large and giant breeds the secondary effects ( note secondary effects) are more noticible with the bigger breeds. Cheers H

LOLs. Just trying for a bit of humour. but was he neutered at 6 - 8 weeks????

The links i posted were both for and against ( maybe) . I strongly beleive in choice..BUT All rescues that leave me are neutered. Have never had pups go through me..( one actually now that i recall who went to a friend entier and was desexed at 7 months). It irks me slightly that many in favour of juvenile neutering refuse to acknowledge that there are some effects that go along with the neutering. It has a major hormonal effect... which has flow effects both positive and negative on the entier animal. For most thoughtful ppl the positive effects far outweigh the negative but that does not mean the negatives do not exist. edited to add: I too dont give a hoot if the dog is leggier or less deep chested or if it may retain a juvenile coat. I guess if you wanted a baritone bark ......you would be disappointed

molasseslass wrote: "" ""DB, how does a human study relate to dogs? "" I just threw it in for fun ...seriously tho there are side effects to neutering pre puberty even for cats and dogs. It is a matter of recognising these effects ( after all the hormones are the drivers of the growth of each animal etc) and weighing up the benefits against the adverse effects. I prefer to makes decisions based on all the information rather than just one side. I am not against neutering of dogs and cats. I am also not against responsible persons choosing not to do so. I know several people who have had their male maremmas neutered pre puberty and they have been much taller in the leg, less msucular and have retained a "puppy coat" . cheers H

for consideration: 1. http://www.caninesports.com/SpayNeuter.html 2. http://www.petresource.com/Articles%20of%2...n_neutering.htm 3. ROTTWEILER HEALTH ISSUES Early Spay/Neuter Linked to Osteosarcoma Research has linked early neutering and spaying before first cycle to significant increases in the risk of osteosarcoma in Rottweilers. "The researchers found that 14.8% of the Rottweilers studied developed appendicular bone cancer. The relative risk was 1.65 castrated males, 1.34 in spayed females and 1.03 in intact females. The risk of developing bone cancer was significantly higher in animals that were neutered at less than 1 year of age compared with intact animals. Dr. B. C. Beranek, Purdue University" 4. http://www.ivis.org/advances/Concannon/olson/IVIS.pdf. http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:MwqORS...=clnk&cd=42 4. There are side effects resulting from prepuberty neutering.... refer to the castrati of the middle ages. "Although castration did little to damage a castrato's intellect, it did pose serious health and emotional problems. Most castrati suffered from the effects of developmental hypogonadism, including infantile penis and an underdeveloped prostate. They also had more developed subcutaneous fat than the normal male, fat deposits localized on the hips, buttocks and breast areas, fatty deposits on the eyelids, and skin that sometimes appeared wrinkled or swollen. The arms and legs of many castrati were unusually long as compared to the torso (the long bones never stopped growing), which made them look distorted" ( http://wa.essortment.com/castratihistory_rzna.htm ) Cheers H

Bloody Hell. 12 months is appallingly young!\\ I use Dr Barbara Fougere ( holisticvet) and have since august 2002. If you would like contact details let me know. Holistic treatment is very individual and I prefer to have individual consultations. My Lucinda has been treated by Barbara since the beginning of september 2002. ( at that time I was advised by Lucinda s oncologist at the Uni of Qld Vet Clinic to take her home for a few days to say goodbye.It is now Oct 2006 and the fair L is still here and still having quality of life altho we are now heading towards that final journey. H

No matter what you use, be sure to carefully go over him every evening. Not only ears, nose etc but also his boy bits.