alananddora

Hi Sparky, Thanks for the concern. This morning she vomitted the charcoal and a little bit of stomach content, but otherwise she was her normal self. She also had a movement that was normal and was not been fed AM. She ate some grass today (cause there was a very small bit of grass vomit in the garden) when she was by herself but, again tonight she is normal. Lucky girl... I will feed her tonight. No more Voltaren for her! Thanks Alan.

Again thanks for the advise as per my earlier note first thing we did was call the emergency number for Vineyard vets and we are following the advise given by the on-call vet. She (pooch) is now asleep and is showing no signs of any abnormal behaviour.

Thanks for ther advise - yep I got the human toxic help line. They said they could not advise on a dog, but even for humans 200 MG is no where near toxic levels for the average joe. Pooch is doing well she has been playing and drinking water, she seems fine and exhibiting none of the symptoms of overdose. Finger crossed. Thanks

I called the Vineyard vets about 30 mins ago and they said she should be monitored for the next two hours and if she worsens then she may need stomach pump. I am trying to find the number for the toxic help line... Thanks...

Hey All, Can anyone help me - our GSD just ate about 200mg sodium diclofenac (Voltaren). We turned our heads for 5 mins and there she was munching away. She took them about an hour ago and she does not seem to have any side effects - what should we do? I have already given her some charcoal that she has eaten and has had water. Thanks

Some can be deadly! Hmmm now I am worried. Just called OH to tell her to leave her in the house today so I can properly clean up and make sure none is left. (sorry to hijack thread!)

I had problems with smashing them and getting the chicken wings to mix properly. Made some enquiries about a proper mincer but too expensive. Found a really good cast iron hand mincer for $60 from Vic.Basement and it does a really good job of grinding the bones and making good RMB mince - requires a bit of elbow grease... did 3kg last night and have tight shoulders this morning...

I guess it would be with all the additives - but she's ok no vommiting, good appetite, no runs etc this morning and last night. Seems to have run straight through her, but I'll keep an eye on her.

How about potting mix? Left a bag (stupidly) within Jasmine's area got home yesterday to find potting mix and plastic bag scattered everywhere. Time for poo and first bit was RMB type, second was black - just like potting mix! So I guess I will mix in some potting mix with her next batch....

I had heard of it but before changing her diet I made sure I read the appropriate literature (Billingham, Shultz, plus web based info) before taking the plunge to make sure over a period of time she gained a balance in her diet. Not all her individual meals are balanced, but then again neither are mine now or as a child.

Well said Poodlefan. On this forum and from other sources people have questioned my ability to fed Jasmine a raw balanced diet. Citing various vitamins/minerals that I could not possibly feed her in a balanced way. I agree that it cannot be too hard to feed a dog a balanced, healthy, fresh diet.

Also, for the crushed chicken wings I have a small cast iron hand mincer ($60 from Victoria Basement) and this is very effective at crushing the small bnoes in the chicken wings.

Our 7 month GSD gets a BARF diet. Reciepe is: crushed chicken wings/necks with bones (2kg), liver/heart (700g), natural yoghurt, ground flaxseed/Alfalfa/kelp, veggies (1kg), fruit (500g), garlic, good quality olive oil, VitC, Apple Cider Vinegar. This makes her main food batch for the week about 10 portions. Rest is a fish barf (x2) and then just raw meaty bones (whole chicken wings frozen, lamb/beef brisket). I have started to give her whole filleted fish as well and last week she got her first whole chicken. She loves all the food she is given. (I have a small bag of Eukanuba is reserve just in case).

Desex her now. She doesn't need to have a season. Hi Luvmywhiteshep, Were the reasons I was given above incorrect or just irrelevant by the vet?

Not sure if the season thing is making her crazy, but our vet has also advised to desex our 7 month old (F) GSD after her first season - his reasoning was that if it is done prior to the first season her vagina and vulva would not be fully developed and it may cause issues later in life. And desexing later has no other health implications - except for keeping the males away for a few weeks! We have followed TOT since Jasmine was 8 weeks and it has worked exceptionally well. We are now starting her prey drive training course, all toys and distractions have been removed for two weeks. Hopefully this will stop ours becoming a rebellious teenager... even though she is getting quite frustrated at no play (but that's the point I think..) Keep being consistent and fair and she will come around. Good luck.

Yep, ours had breath that would wilt flowers on the weekend and after a close exam she had a bit of wood wedged in her back teeth that was decaying and once removed back to lovely breath. Double check all her teeth and gums for anthing stuck...

Hi All, Dr Zammit gave Jasmine's hips the all clear - in fact he said if you were asking for advise on breeding her I would give it the green light. So all cool. Her knee is still a bit dodgy but we will have to wait for the soft tissue to fix itself. Methinks Jasmine has a new vet! Thanks again for the advise. A&D.

Hi All, Jasmine just got a clean bill of health on her rear knee - soft tissue is the verdict. No pain or movement in the joint. :p Hopefully all will be well with Dr. Zammit as well Thks...

Thanks for the advise. Your reply came in when I was typing the above, but your first paragraph fits in with what our breeder told me on the phone this afternoon. On your other question - Jasmine's diet is BARF. That is the Billingham BARF diet, which one of the benefits weare told is that this promotes slow growth and correct growth. A&D.

Hi All, I have spoken with our breeder and on her advise we will be taking Jasmine's xrays to Rob Zammit for a second opinion next week. My breeder did say that not much should be read into a sixth month old dog's xray - I am hoping this is the case. The PennHip sounds interesting and also looking at some of the radiographs of the case of severe DHD in the 6 month xray, Jasmine's are nothing like these - in my humble opinion. Will wait for the second opinion and take it from there. Thanks for the advise. Alan.

They don't want to say much, do they? "Changes" really is hedging bets, but implies there's some problem evident in the way the top of the thigh bone (femoral head) sits in the hip joint (acetabulum). The femoral head is like a ball and the acetabulum is the socket it sits in. The vet normally has little models to show you how the joint works. Muscles and ligaments also support the hip joint, so all is not lost if those minor changes continue. Yes, I'd be cautious with her and follow breeders advice about growing large breed dogs e.g. Keep a lean weight, use large breed puppy food (if feeding dry), short walks only, no jumping/leaping/ carry-on that is hard on growing joints. Were her 'parents' hip scored? What was the results? Hi Poodle Wrangler, From that perspective the vet did show us the model and the xrays. From ny layman's terms there was a straightening of the ball and apparently, the socket was not as "encompassing" as it should be on normal dogs. All of these comments by the vet were tempered by her saying this is not to say they will not be good when she gets to twelve months. Her parents sire (cayos) and dame (Kalrach Kiss T) both had good hip scores. Not sure how to do multiple quotes... (-; Hi Luvmywhiteshep, My comments were more relative to her previous activity play - I will still keep her in good shape but I know what you mean. What's PennHip? Miranda, et all My original question I guess was more to do with the following - how much can an owner of a large breed trust the xrays of a six month old GSD considering she has another 12 months of growing? Assume - the small changes in xrays were due to environment and not predisposition and these environmental impacts are eliminated from the remaining growth period - could I expect her to have 0 hip score at adulthood? Sorry for all the questions, but my concern is quite big at the mo. She is going back to the vets tonight for a check up on her soft tissue injury. Thanks again, Alan.

Hi All, I hope someone can provide me with some advise on an issue that has come up with our 6 month old GSD. This info was posted in a previous post in the puppy section but I wanted to post here to see if anyone else has come across this issue before and how it worked itself out. Three weekends ago Jasmine was off leash at Cenntenial park and she got bundled over by a large GSD male - all in good sprit but she took a nasty tumble and then started limping the next day. We rested her for two days and then the following day she ran about a bit and starting limping and hopping on her rear leg again. We took her to the vets and was then admitted during the day for xrays. The report is below - "On exam under sedation - there was no real cranial movement in her stifle. On manipulation of her hips there was evidence of restriction in movement/angulation. Xrays were taken of her hips and stifles. No fractures or chips were evident on xrays. On the xrays of her hips - there were slight changes to femoral head shape and ability to sit on the acetabulum - which will be important to monitor as she gets older. She is too young to score her hips. At this stage to treat her stifle injury as a soft tissue trama. Rimadyl 100mg chews - .25 tablet morning and evening...." I would not have thought that we had been overexercising her. Sure she had gone on some walks of up to 30 minutes, but this was only 1-2 times per week and was done on grass. Having said that these are now going to be cut out completely so as not to risk further deterioration. Jasmine used to have the run of the whole backyard, I have also restricted that now to her dog run and an area of grass all on one level (its about 10m by 3m - more than enough room for her). My question is given the diagnosis above does this mean Jasmine will not have properly formed hips as an adult? Is this damage irreversible? Given large breed puppies should not have excessive exercise is the best thing to do is to wrap her in cotton wool until she is 12 months plus due to the above? Your advise and opinions would be welcome. Thanks Alan.

Here is Jasmines vet report - "On exam under sedation - there was no real cranial movement in her stifle. On manipulation of her hips there was evidence of restriction in movement/angulation. Xrays were taken of her hips and stifles. No fractures or chips were evident on xrays. On the xrays of her hips - there were slight changes to femoral head shape and ability to sit on the acetabulum - which will be important to monitor as she gets older. She is too young to score her hips. At this stage to treat her stifle injury as a soft tissue trama. Rimadyl 100mg chews - .25 tablet morning and evening...." Any advise or experience with type of report would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

RiverStar - hope yours mends himself quickly as well! Tarmon - are all these products you described, prescribed by the vets? I will discuss these with the vet this coming Friday. Thanks.

Ours too had a visit last Friday to have her xray's done. The result for the knee was that there is no evidence of major damage and the vet indicated is was most likely soft tissue damage. Similar to cpudds was a week of rest with antiinflammatory's - she seems to be responding well but we have a another visit on Friday. One point of intense concern for us was that the vet decided to xray her hips as well and there were some abnormalities (I left the report at home I will post the results later) on the formation of the socket and ball - vet did say that in a six month puppy this may not be a huge cause for concern but it has highlighted the fact that these pupppies are so fragile until thay mature. Following this we will be really phasing out her tough play and keeping walks to a maximum of 30 monutes once she has recovered from her soft tissue injury. Has anyone had a similar experience were joints were abnormal at this age only to have good hips at 12 months plus? She has a trip up to see K9 Force this weekend so hopefully this will not stress her knee too much!