WoofnHoof

Thanks tlc :) Yeah that's his winter coat it's very very wooly, he is starting to lose it already you can see the darker areas around his nose and eyes that's his summer coat starting to show hopefully he will be a very pretty colour in summer :) GardenGnome and Impatiens love your pics too I especially love the green cars so vivid!

Here's a few I posted in the equine thread I took today with my iphone as my big camera seems to have wandered off and I couldn't be bothered turning the place upside down to find it

That's awesome news! I'm lucky my dog didn't need the second op it was just one of the risks if the liver didn't grow and take over the job, hopefully your girl's liver will grow and improve with the extra blood flow too :)

That's awesome I'm so glad surgery went well! :) Fingers crossed for a closing shunt

Awesome!

That is awesome news DR :)

Oh what a nightmare for you! Hope they are both ok

No worries hope your girl is feeling better soon :)

The intrahepatic operation is possible although it is very risky and much more difficult than an extrahepatic shunt operation. It's also less likely to be successful because it's difficult to put a constrictor around the vessel so they usually only clamp it a little and hope that the reduced blood flow will help the shunt close further, if it doesn't a second op may be required to close it down fully. Intrahepatic shunts are less common in the smaller dogs it depends on the type of shunt but unless there are multiple shunts it shouldn't regrow after it has been closed down, it's generally only if there are other abnormal areas in there that things get more complicated. The recovery was very good it helped that he was under a year old that improves prognosis, he was on siezure watch for 3 days following the surgery (post op seizures are a very dangerous complication for this surgery) so I wasn't allowed to see him during that time but it was a very short recovery time he was bouncing around happy and healthy even with staples running from between his front legs to between his back legs. He was kept on the special diet for a couple of months after to prevent overworking his liver, he never showed any more symptoms after that. He had a blood biochemistry test done (same as the diagnosis bile acid test) after a few months and this came back perfectly normal no sign of liver dysfunction and he was put on a normal diet. He was 10 months old when he had the surgery and he's 6 years old now and he's been a perfectly dog ever since :) I was lucky, there were no dangerous complications, the shunt appears to have caused no further problem and therefore hasn't required further surgery, I was lucky to have an excellent surgeon in the country (Geraldine Hunt) unfortunately she's not at University of Sydney anymore but I'm sure they have great vets there.

My husky had a shunt as well, it was intrahepatic (inside the liver) and he had surgery at about 10 months of age which worked well. Hope your girl has a simple shunt and a successful surgery :)

I'm so sorry to hear this Teebs So close in age to my little boy as well it's so hard when you think you'll have them around for so much longer

Lol love those big eyes :)

Beautiful pic!

Lol yeah B loves him he wishes he could be in there with him but he's too little at the moment, Lou is a bit more indifferent these days now the novelty has worn off but some nights he will stand on the other side of the fence and keep him company when B is in the stable it's very sweet :) efs

Lol no pig squealing or bucking in that one sorry, I'll have to get some more he wasn't being very cooperative the other day he just wanted to follow me around and use me as a scratching post :laugh:

I know I don't get much done at the best of times :laugh: it has been easier to just watch from afar the last few days as with all the rain he's been a shocking grot so I don't want to touch him lol! Can't wait till his little stable comes then he can be all clean and cuddly again :D

Lol thanks EI I'm glad it worked it took forever to load for some reason.

Ok I've made an attempt at video I'm slowed so I don't know how well it will work but here goes :)

I totally understand that a rescue may feel it was risky, that's totally fine I certainly wouldn't be annoyed if they didn't home one to me because of that :) I can only say that the very few times the sibe has had a go in the past have terrified me enough to be very vigilant about keeping them separated (he hasn't killed any little dogs but he is just too rough ). So now they are not togther under any circumstances, they are separated in the house with a child gate and only when I'm in the house too, any other time they are in crates or in their separate yards, the loss of a littlie would be far too devastating for me to ever risk it. It's a juggling act for sure but I've been doing it fine with my current chi so I am confident that I can do it with another :)

I know it's crazy isn't it? Chis are the easiest dogs in the world to own, they mostly exercise themselves, don't eat much, cute and cuddly, don't take up much space, just give them a bit of love and company and they are happy as larry, piece of cake really :)

Doh too slow lol, I've sent a message, they seem to have two FB though a page and a profile so not sure which I need to message but I've gone through the page. :)

Cool thanks Donatella I'll check it out :)

Hi everyone My mum is feeling much better so she has taken Lulu (SV) back home with her and my little chi is missing having a friend his own size so I'm thinking of added another little chi to the clan. I'm not sure I want another 15+ years of little dogs so I'm thinking of one a little closer to his age (current boy is 9). My little chi is pretty good with other littlies, he is desexed, he's a little bossy but gets on well with most smaller dogs, he gets intimidated by bigger dogs so I'd like something close to his size (he is around 3.5-4kg). My sibe is unpredictable so he is separated at all times from the smaller dogs they often get crated during the day while I'm at work or if it's a really nice day they have a seperate little yard. When I'm at home they are in the yard or inside in another section to the sibe. Anyway if anyone has an older littlie they think might fit in here let me know, preferrably within cooee of Toowoomba but if they able to be transported they could be further afield. Thanks :)

Lol yeah those are super cute :D

Lol I'll try and get some video of him :)