Introducing Rolf!

[hortfurball]

Rolf is gorgeous, I love seeing new piccies of him. :)

And he's looking really good Hortfurball.

As the owner of a skinny dog myself, it can seem such slow progress to get weight onto them. A two steps forward, one step back process at times.

Absolutely! He's such a fussy eater it doesn't make it easy. And he goes off colour at least once a month and doesn't eat for 24 hours. Most frustrating! Can't believe it's taken nearly 6 months just to get 6 1/2 kilos on him! C'mon Rolfie, just get to 65 kilos and I'll be happy.

Poor Rolf had a reaction to a bee or wasp on Sunday. He was very unhappy, rubbing his face on everything - even tried to rub it on one of the cats! I gave him some Polaramine and decided to watch and see and take him to the vet if needed. Rolfie refused to have a cold pack applied (apparently they must kill dogs with them from the carry-on) and we upset him greatly by chasing him around and trying to mist cold water onto his face (cruel, cruel people!)

Sneaking some pics of the sorry patient made me decide he needed a road trip. The Polaramine I gave him when we first saw the swelling had so little effect as to be useless. By this stage the entire side of his face had swollen and it was starting to creep over the top of his nose to the other side so we didn't want to risk any respiratory issues so we just called to find out which was the nearest open vet, grabbed the dogs and left. Half an hours drive, then had to wait about an hour while they saw TWO other patients, one in already and one in the waiting room (slow as a wet week) but eventually Rolfie got two injections so his face started to go down and he was feeling a lot happier. He also loved us again after the cold pack and water misting episodes. :D

This is how Rolf looked when we woke him up to drag him off to the vet, took the photo and ran out of the door - Poor baby doesn't even look like a dane in this pic.

Recovering...note the lip!

Rolf decided he liked the vet attention and went for a repeat performance on Tuesday morning. Caught it early, recognised the head rubbing/shaking and didn't muck around. No photos this time, no human antihistamines, just took him straight to the vet while it still looked like hives instead of huge swelling.

My vet is awesome! They said come straight down and we'll try to fit you in. When I got there the waiting room was full and they said they'd do the best they could to squeeze him in but obviously the appointments took precedence. But then they heard all the head shaking and with Rolf flicking slobber everywhere every time he shook his head, we were called in almost immediately. The lovely vet said they could see he was in obvious distress so he became a priority. Then I had to tell her she had a big wad of slobber on the back of her shoulder. :laugh:

SO different to our experience at the other Vet, waiting for an hour when there was ONE other person in the waiting room.

He had some mild oedema in his ears from the head shaking but not too bad, and it went away over the next couple of days.

[cointreau]

I hope Rolf is fully recovered now and he doesn't have anymore nasty reactions. Glad you found a vet you are happy with. Personally I don't think you should wait to be seein in a case like Rolf had, routine treatment can wait a little longer :)

[Chezy]

I can just imagine the scene in the waiting room, slobber flying

your gunna have to get rolf a bee suit :laugh:

poor thing he looks miserable and it def ruins his hamdsome looks :)

[Dame Aussie]

Oh, poor Rolf He's so beautiful, love the offended picture :laugh:

Edited November 22, 2012 by Aussie3

[ari.g]

Hope he is all recovered now. He is beautiful

[hortfurball]

Thanks everyone :) Not so beautiful after a beesting! :laugh:

I hope Rolf is fully recovered now and he doesn't have anymore nasty reactions.

No such luck. Just after I posted last night he made it three in a week. Much less severe though, just the hives and no swelling but I was all ready to call the emergency vet for a while. After about 10 or 15 minutes though the head shaking was settling down and there was no swelling, so I waited it out and it didn't get worse. I'm thinking Sunday's was a bee and last nights might have been wasp, ant, mozzie or spider. As for Tuesday's, maybe it would have settled too if I hadn't taken him to the vet, but I wasn't taking any chances after Sunday. Please let that be it for the year.

Personally I don't think you should wait to be seein in a case like Rolf had, routine treatment can wait a little longer :)

I agree. Probably won't go to that other vet again unless we have to. That was pretty shoddy treatment. We know that the other people wating were just there for vaccinations. They had four dogs with them and were getting them all vaccinated. I think that vet works on 'first in first seen', not appointments. The person who was in when we got there was still in half an hour later. Longest consult ever. They only had one vet on (understandable on a Sunday)

The other benefit with our vet of choice, is that they process tests on site, so results are almost instantaneous.

[Simply Grand]

Oh Rolf The first thought that came into my head when I saw those pics was "poor little Rolf..." I know, he's not actually little!

If i was at the vet for something routine and someone came in with an unwell animal I would insist they went in before me! Although I don't think I would have to, my normal vets are pretty good at fitting in priorities, when Riley got bitten in a fight I went without an appointment and they fit him in straight away.

Edited November 23, 2012 by Simply Grand

[hortfurball]

Simply Grand, they're always 'little' when they're hurt, no matter how big they are physically. :)

Anyway, everything's relative. He IS little compared to a horse, or a hippo...

[Danois]

He's looking good!! And following Boo's footsteps with the food too! Have you tried something like Eagle Pack performance or Canidae Grain Free or Royal Canin 4800 - the blacks seem to struggle with weight the most! I use a food with higher protein and fat and it makes life a lot easier!

If he is going to get bee stings then it might be worth getting some cortisone from the vet to have on hand? It is such a scare when their face puffs up - Boo was bitten by a spider (we think) once and I watched his face puff! I was able to give him cortisone and then take him to the vet.

[tarope]

Congratulations, he is beautiful.

[hortfurball]

Thanks Tarope, we think so too :)

Danois, we switched him from Supercoat (which was what was first recommended by a show person whose dogs all look great on it) to Black Hawk Lamb and Rice a while back and it seemed to make a difference. He also really liked it which was a bonus with a fussy eater. A couple of weeks ago we thought we'd try the Black Hawk Chicken and Rice and he LOVES it so it's here to stay so long as he keeps loving it. With him being fussy, I don't want to keep chopping and changing.

Our vet is within walking distance, so about a minute by car if we had to get him there quickly, and has a 24 hour on call emergency service. We are going to get some stronger antihistamines though.

[Drumbeat]

He's just gorgeous. If I see a young black Great Dane around Perth would I get arrested if I dashed up to the owner and asked if they were Hotfurball?? :laugh:

[hortfurball]

He's just gorgeous. If I see a young black Great Dane around Perth would I get arrested if I dashed up to the owner and asked if they were Hotfurball?? :laugh:

There's an easier way, just see if his tag says 'Rolf'! :laugh: I think he and Ella together are pretty unmistakable ;) But if you want to meet him, just say the word! :)

[hortfurball]

Latest Rolfie pics, for anyone interested. :)

Taught him to jump up and stand with his paws on my shoulders - may live to regret this as he now does it spontaneously when super excited

Catch me if you can!

Really not sure about this 'going in the water' thing - "Muuumm! You're too far out!" (with his friends Nera and Oscar)

Love this pic! Determined to get to me regardless of his apprehension :)

Made it! (look at his expression, darling boy!)

I know this is a long shot, but does anyone know of someone in Perth who might want to join the great dane madness without having to go through the puppy destructo phase? There is a young black female (2 1/2yo) who is looking for a home at the moment, she is lovely and gets on well with other dogs at playdates, but needs to live without a canine companion. She is a good girl who would like someone who is home a lot and will treat her like a princess. Well behaved if shoes and remotes are out of reach ;) and great recall.

[Loving my Oldies]

That is a helluva lot of dog - and so handsome, even when tentative

I hope you find a perfect home for,the young girl.

[hortfurball]

Thanks DD, he's a helluva lot of sook! :laugh:

The girl is currently in foster on a large property with other danes, so she's ok for now, just needs that one on one attention that she'll get when she has her own home. I posted on behalf of the foster mum. :)

[Horsegal98]

Beautiful photos-- I need to use my camera more often and stop being lazy and using my phone.

[hortfurball]

Thanks, most of them have been taken by other people at the playdates we go to, except for the ones at home. Rolf ran past us at the first beach playdate we went to and flung sand up into the zoom lens of the little camera, jamming it, so now I only have a huge old thing that I usually leave at home. The latest beach ones were taken by a friend on a Panasonic Lumix (waterproof) hence risking it over the ocean. Most of the really great photos are taken by Jo Wild, who's a Perth based photographer specialising in dogs and children and very generous with permission to post these casual shots. :)

[MarieEvans]

I love how shiny his coat is, and he seems to be a generally good boy. Congratulations on getting your great dane!

[Mashlee08]

Hey I took one of those piccies remember :p hehe, I so so love Rolfie boy, surprised you didn't put the slobber face level 10 ones up! He has that mastered.