Stitch

Does anyone have any experience using epilepsy drugs on their dogs? I would appreciate any feedback so I can make an informed decision on my girls future meds. Thank you!

Prednisone didn't help at all so I have stopped that one. Vet says that it is a long and difficult road to try to find something that may help. The next thing to try would be pain killers or epilepsy meds. I don't know what to do as sometimes the side effects from these drugs can be worse than the original problem and I am reluctant to cause my girl more upset. I also don't want to set off the IBD she suffers from as I have it under control at the moment. It may be that I will not be able to find a solution to her tremors.

Could it be something as simple as feeding her bones? Any bones big or small, crushed or whole? ie. Excess of fat in diet on occasions

So after enquiring at the Specialist vet clinic, it is the Internal Medicine vets that take care of this kind of thing. We saw him Friday and it is going to be difficult to find the cause because of all the possible things it might me. She was shaking when she went there, actually worse shaking because she remembered it was the vet hospital she spent a week at when she had a terrible bout of IBD. She recovered fairly quickly though but was still shaking for him to see after she settled down. Her neurological reactions were normal. I provided the blood work done a few months ago for him to see, he did another test for calcium...that was normal. Said it may be related to the IBD so we are trying Prednisone for 7 days to see if that has any effect. Haven't seen any improvement or difference after 3 doses. Next thing he will try will be something to sedate her. Not sure what comes after that but it seems it will all be trial and error. I wondered if it could be pain associated with IBD but I think the prednisone would maybe address that. I am starting to wonder if we will be able to work out just what is causing it. To answer your questions, no she is on a strict diet, she is getting all the vitamins and minerals she should have, no there are no toxins that I am aware of...she is a house dog.

As you say, we do know our dogs well and IMO it isn't a chiropractic issue....but then I could be wrong. I think it more likely to be neurological. She shakes pretty much all her waking hours sometime more than others but not when she is asleep. She was shaking at the vet last time so he could see it first hand. I will see if there is a neurological vet near us. It will be a new area of vet. medicine for me.

She isn't as active as she used to be but her muscles don't look atrophied at all. She doesn't appear to have arthritis but then she hasn't been scanned for this. The vet hasn't done a neurological exam...in fact the vet was pretty dismissive of the problem. However the problem is definitely real and very obvious...and it is getting worse. Is there a speciality vet for this kind of thing?

I will try the chiro. Not sure about Bowen though as it didn't do anything for me when I tried it, so I am doubtful about trying it on a dog. I would love to hear from anyone who has seen this in older dogs.

My 12yo girl who, over a period of about 3-4 months, has started to get shakey legs. I asked the vet who just said it was because she is old and there is no treatment for it. Didn't seem to care much at all. To describe it, it is like she isn't putting pressure on a leg so it shakes but it is more than that as it involves two or more legs and is evident when she stands or if she is sitting. Her head doesn't shake at this stage and she doesn't shake when she is lying down or sleeping. It is not associated with tension, frustration or nervousness. Has anyone had any experience with this? and is there any treatment to provide relief for her? I hate seeing her do this and imagine it can't be pleasant for her so I would really appreciate any feedback.

Thank you for that Nekhbet, I will try putting him in a crate and then play with another dog and let him watch. I now realise, after reading & thinking about your post, that he has a very low frustration level....all my others have medium to high frustration levels. Maybe I can work on increasing that frustration level a little although I have to say he is a very easy dog to live with! LOL

He will play with a toy with me at home although not enthusiastically. He loses interest quickly. As I said he is very different in that regard to my other dogs. He likes food but again not enthusiastically, so it is easy for him to become distracted and difficult for me to get his attention. I will try playing with others and putting him away if he isn't interested. Should he be able to see the other dog having fun without him??

I am having a hard job finding a toy/tug for my boy that he will obsess about. He is nearly 5 months old and is more interested in what is going on around him especially when on a walk or in training class. He is quite good at giving me eye contact at home, I have been working on that for months, but again when he is out on a walk or in training class, I struggle to get eye contact from him. All my other dogs (same breed) would kill for a toy, any toy, but not him. This boy is not as sure of himself as all my others so that is a contributing factor, which is why I want him to obsess about a toy or tug. Can anyone offer any advice please?

Yepp...as I thought! A moment of madness on my part. I bought them at Costco so I think I will try to take them back....maybe exchange them for the moo tubes!

In a moment of enthusiasm I bought some Aussie Pet Health Treats "Trotters". They come in a professional resealable pack & look to be dried in a similar way to piggy ears. They are from 100% Australian pork. I have never bought them before but they looked like a nice, long lasting chew and I succumbed....now I am having second thoughts. Has anyone tried them on their dogs before? Previously I have always avoided giving anything that had "cooked" bones. Are they safe?

Have you tried an electronic collar on your dog?

Yes that all sounds good Spotted Devil. I am so concerned about getting these two out and about as they are not at all confident and I am mindful of the small amount of time I have before the first fear period. They are already fearful of new situations so I don't want to make it worse.

Yes, that's how I feel about it too. Problem is I don't live near my showdog friends but of course I can visit family etc. and also dog shows. That might have to do until they get a bit older plus I will become a "lurker" on the edges of the obedience classes just to let the pups get used to the environment without pressure. I have been taking the pups out separately with an older dog to get confidence in walking in strange places but puppy preschool is sooo much easier.

I have two 12 wk old pups that I am currently socialising in preparation for the showring. When I went to enrol them in the puppy preschool that I usually take my pups to I found it isn't available until next year. This puppy preschool doesn't let pups play together but rather lets them be near but still on a lead. The only substitute class that I can find allows dogs of all sizes and temperaments to socialise freely together off lead. My breed at this age is not confident and we have always supervised any interaction so that as much as possible the pups don't get frightened by big dogs standing over them. Their confidence builds by being around dogs but not getting threatened. I would like to hear your opinions about what seem to be two difference schools of thought ie. put all the pups in together and let them sort it out (but stop bullying) or just let pups be near other pups on a lead but not let them intimidate each other. I have seen shy pups gradually blossom over several weeks in the puppy preschool when they are all in together BUT I don't want to risk the temperament of my pups, which at this stage is not outgoing, by letting them get overwhelmed by other pups. Which method is best?

Ahhh, the secret of no destruction....well...a component of it is the dogs personality however I do not believe in taking stolen items completely away from the pup/dog. I leave the temptation accessible. If you don't ask for them to improve, they won't. I start by only letting them free range of areas that I can watch what they are doing. When they take a slipper, etc. I just give a quick correction command, take the item from their mouths and put it back where it came from. In its place I give them a dog toy. I probably have to do that several times before the penny drops...it depends on their age. Not rocket science but consistency and timing are absolutely essential. Catching them as they open their mouths to steel is perfect. Sometimes you have to have eyes in the back of your head but it is worth it in the long run!

Thank you everyone for the feedback. I can remember back when males were never desexed and we had them in the house with no accidents. At the moment the training is coming along well....appropriate for the age. We have progressed from the stage of 'urge followed by immediate weeing' to me starting to teach them to wee on command. I LOVE having dogs that oblige on command, it is so handy. My house girl is SO reliable, no weeing or destruction even if I am not there. The puppy has a long way to go yet!

I am interested to get some feedback on having an entire male dog inside your house. How hard was he to toilet train & how reliable is he? Does he lift his leg on the furniture & do you find little accidents around the place? As a breeder I have only ever had bitches as a house dog and never let my stud dogs in the house unsupervised. I am now contemplating keeping a male puppy and would like to have his companionship. He is just starting to get the hang of toileting outside.

Thanks for the support VizslaMomma. I feel better for having 'vented'. I am going to have a word with the vet that owns the practice when the opportunity presents itself.

I don't know what they did to her as I couldn't get a straight answer. They shouldn't have sedated her as she would have co-operated with whatever they wanted done. The diarrhoea has eased but she still has the farts. This dog is on a special diet and I have been so careful with her to avoid any diarrhoea. So I go to the specialist and they manage to cause diarrhoea!! What really annoyed me was that I made the booking with a specific internal medicine vet so as to avoid getting the woman that I got. This is a big practice with 4-5 Internal Medicine specialists. When I saw who it was I said...I made the booking with xyz specialist and was told that sometimes they swap around. I should never have gone into that consult with this particular woman as I saw her several years ago and didn't like her then....she hasn't changed!!

I have drip/syringe fed many young puppies over the years with absolutely no problems. It has to be done slowly. If you have a pup that needs supplementing and you don't want to tube feed it, and it won't suck a bottle or eat solids and you can't or won't put it on mum more frequently then it is the only way to go. I find it the most expedient way of achieving an adequately nourished puppy. It goes without saying that if there are underlying medical issues they have to be addressed.

You can supplement feed with Di-Vetelac between mum feeds. You can do this for the whole litter if you want. Use boiled water and a syringe it in their mouth very slowly, drop by drop ensuring it doesn't go down the windpipe. It isn't difficult and it does make a big difference.

Puppies/dogs registered on the Limited Register still get a Pedigree Certificate. You just can't breed with them or show them in a confirmation dog show. You can however still do obedience trials etc. with them.