tdierikx

Link to Easy Thumbnails software... it's free, and I highly recommend it too.

https://www.fookes.com/easy-thumbnails

T.

Did the lump get to that size over time, or has it come up more suddenly? I would be having the vet actually look at it and feel it to make sure that it's just an inflammatory reaction, and not something more sinister like an abscess that may require some intervention to stop it getting worse. Better safe than sorry is the general rule here...

T.

My eyes are leaking... in a good way...

Thank you @sandgrubber

T.

The clinic I worked at didn't add the antibiotic shot after surgery as a line item, as it was included in the surgery cost... as was the long acting pain relief shot all animals also get.

When I was with the rescue I fostered lots of pups for, I was never given antibiotics for any of the pups after desexing surgery, and they all healed just fine with no complications. There is usually no real need to give a week's worth of antibiotics after any surgery, unless it is a particularly long and tricky one where the inside of the animal is exposed to the air for an extended period of time.

T.

They possibly gave her a long acting antibiotic injection at the end of surgery before she woke up (the clinic I was at did it with every surgery), and if her surgery was the first of the day, then she would have recovered from the anaesthetic earlier, and been ready to go home earlier. Some dogs recover really quickly from the anaesthetics, so why keep them sitting in a cage at the clinic when they could be home in a familiar environment?

T.

Low dose hormones? For thyroid maybe? Or for her incontinence?

If the hormones are for her thyroid, maybe they are no longer at the right dose, and need upping a little? Hyper behaviour could be a symptom of thyroid issues.

In what way was she "sick for a week"? And I'd be looking for reasons for a sudden development of a cough, such as possible heart disease...

I'd be booking a visit with my vet asap, and getting a full blood panel done, including thyroid markers, and a good listen to her chest for any heart or lung irregularities. Depending on the blood results and/or any anomalies with heart or lungs, I would follow vet advice for any future tests that may need to be done to get to the bottom of the sudden onset of her strange symptoms.

T.

Considering that the bill she got passed last year requiring all pounds to offer animals to rescue has actually made pounds leery of destroying any animal for fear of repercussions, and has ended up with most rescues being offered animals that need extensive rehabilitation before they can be rehomed, some of the problems many pounds face right now are of her actual making... grrr!

"We're talking about happy, healthy, reliable animals that are being euthanased," she said. - I call bulldust... generally those being euthanaised are not exactly great pet prospects, but as the legislation only stipulates that physical health as the benchmark for keeping them alive, mental issues in these animals are sadly overlooked as a perfectly legitimate reason for ending suffering.

Note that the only organisations quoted (or giving comment) in this piece are AJP and Animal Liberation... one sided much? RSPCA obviously didn't want to comment, nor did any other overseeing government body (or they weren't given enough time to make a response).

Another interesting note about this article is that it doesn't give any link to the inquiry itself... so for those interested in making any submissions, here it is...

https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/committees/inquiries/Pages/inquiry-details.aspx?pk=2970

Don't hold your breath for a common sense approach to this inquiry though, as Emma is chairing it, and her pet Greens member Abigail Boyd) is also on the committee. Between them, it's gonna be quite loaded with an animal rights agenda of limiting pet ownership. Be prepared for the witness list giving in-person testimony to be heavily populated by animal rights groups and those sympathetic to the "cause", and the final report to be loaded with excerpts of their testimony in order to push the AJP/Greens agenda.

All that said, I fully support any positive and common sense change that makes life for not only the animals, but the humans involved in their care also, better.

T.

As a vet nurse, I can't help but to clarify that on animals, it's called a necropsy... just my inner word nazi kicking in, and no offense meant to anyone.

A basic necropsy performed by a vet is not an expensive or complicated process, but if tissue samples and fluids are sent off for examination by a pathologist, that will increase the cost exponentially.

A couple of times when I was in my last job, we had a goat or lamb suddenly pass, and our local vet actually did necropsies on them for free - he figured that learning what had happened and then formulating preventative measures to ensure no repeat incidents was the best course of action. The one time we formally requested a necropsy, I think the cost was around $40... no pathology sent off.

T.

Two happy and healthy doglets... stunning!

I can't help noticing that while Hailey looks always "switched on" and really alert, Apollo has a much softer facial expression... is he really just a big goofball?

T.

14 hours ago, Deeds said:

I note the the 2 facilities named in both articles are in Sydney Elite Performance K9 and Elite K9 Resort at Nerang.  Wonder if they are connected.

The article says they are owned by the same people. It does not elucidate further than saying that the dog on the Gold Coast collapsed while at the facility and was taken to a vet, but sadly died before arriving there. It doesn't say when this occurred - recently, or during the summer months, which would be more likely if the dog (that looks to be a Frenchie?) collapsed due to heat issues endemic to that breed.

The article goes further, by saying that RSPCA QLD have told complainants that matters at the boarding facility are the responsibility of council - does not say whether RSPCA QLD have inspected the facility at any point, but mentions that barking complaints are not RSPCA purview.

More than half of the article is a dissertation of the Sydney dog death, including the public statement that facility has released regarding the incident.

Overall, the story is short on any actual detail, but heavy on speculation and condemnation... trial by media if you will...

T.

I suppose it comes down to whether they will write the scripts with a number of repeats, or they will want to write a new script each time you need to get the stuff elsewhere.

Out of curiosity, when you get meds from the clinic, do they charge a dispensing fee also? I've noticed that a lot of Sydney suburban vets have started adding this fee in recent times, when they never used to charge any extra to dispense medications previously.

T.

Sending you all my very best virtual hugs and love @Rebanne... hang in there... you did everything you could, but it was just her time... please don't beat yourself up, you are Opal's best hero for trying so hard, OK?

T.

The area this happened at is just off the south end of a large off-leash dog park (Gannons Park) which is not far from where I live. Hurstville All Breeds dog training club hold their weekly training sessions near there on the Sundays, but was probably on school holiday hiatus this weekend. Lots of dog owners like to take their dogs down towards the river out of the park - which technically isn't designated off-leash, but there are no signs or anybody to stop people going there with off leash dogs for a dip in the water when the tide is up, or a good sniff about in the low tide bog.

I'm trying to think which vet clinic they could have taken the little dog to on a Sunday afternoon, and the closest one that would have been open would be VSOS, which is an emergency hospital, so if taken there, it will be in the best hands fully trained for emergency situations.

T.

Oh jeebus @Rebanne... my heart breaks with you and for you.

I'm sure Opal knew in some way how hard you tried to bring her back, but it was her time... however hard that is for us who are left behind. Please remember her with lots of smiles and a heart full of love for all the amazing memories you made together over the years. She will always be with you in your heart.

Fly free with the angels goodest girl Opal...

Much love and virtual hugs to you Rebanne...

T.

An interesting note... there has been a steady increase in news reports about dog attacks in Qld... leading up to the announcement of their plans to introduce new laws looking to ban certain breeds altogether (rather than just imposing restrictions on owning them), and much higher penalties for dogs and their owners if/when an incident occurs. The one thing that stands out with the proposed new legislation is that it only targets larger breeds or certain larger breed mixes... it is not being applied as strictly to smaller breeds that may attack humans or other dogs, as it's commonly espoused that they "don't do as much damage".

If one looks at dog bite statistics, there are a number of (smaller) breeds not specifically mentioned in the proposed legislation up in the top 10. I'm not bagging out owners of smaller breeds who might be "a little feisty", but I certainly don't think that certain behaviours should be condoned or encouraged in ANY dog, regardless of size. Certain things that SOME owners of smaller dogs may find amusing or "cute", certainly are not that when displayed by a larger dog, are they?

Back in the day I used to visit busy dog parks, I can certainly attest that most of the aggressive type behaviours were usually from smaller breeds of dog towards the larger breeds, and only if the larger dog reacted in kind was there ever any fuss made by anyone. Quite frankly, if you have your dog out in a public space, please keep it under control, and make sure it has decent "manners" around other dogs and humans... regardless of it's size, OK?

T.

@Papillon Kisses... I hear you about the difference in the amount of damage that larger dogs can invariably inflict, but is that a reason to place bans or ridiculous restrictions on them all? Then again, smaller breeds can inflict serious damage to a small child too... and I'm not bagging out smaller breeds in saying that.

I'm with you on the need for education about owning any dog, because what someone may find intimidating or downright scary coming from a larger dog, might also be the exact same behaviour that is smiled upon with a smaller breed dog. Quite frankly, I don't fancy being bitten by ANY dog, and any owner who thinks it's amusing or acceptable for their smaller dog to act in certain ways, really needs to rethink their stance in that respect.

T.

I read the discussion paper, and did not see any explicit reference to any breeds other than those already listed as banned from import.

I can see the possibility of issues for people who own the traditionally "guard/security" breeds, as councils may wish to take the state legislation further by restricting certain breeds by default via their local laws - dog knows that most councils are already imposing local laws that make little sense other than to make things administratively easier for themselves with regards to animals in their LGA's. Who is to say whether councils may opt to list Rotties and Shepherds as automatically restricted in some way purely due to the ability to cause major damage if they happened to bite... not to mention that an approach from even a friendly dog of those breeds could frighten a person enough for them to make a complaint, then have the dog restricted/regulated...

It would be interesting to see any evidence that any smaller breed dog has been subject to "dangerous" dog restrictions after one or more attacks on humans or other animals... I'd be tipping there aren't any...

T.

11 hours ago, Dogsfevr said:

I would highly recommend understanding your local council /state law requirements as a breeder then familiarize yourself with ANKC requirements .

This! Lots of councils in Australia now require anyone who wants to breed dogs - even only the once - to put in a DA to become a breeding business. This in turn can have a flow on effect that makes you easy to find for attention from RSPCA, who may decide they want to audit you against the codes of practice for breeding dogs in your state, so you may want to familiarise yourself with those codes, and any other legislation related to the breeding of dogs.

T.

5 hours ago, Tempus Fugit said:

Pitbull owners have long described their pets as American Staffordshires

The problem I see is that anyone who doesn't own a pedigreed AmStaff, could face the possibility that their crossbred bull breed dog may be "identified" as a pitbull (or cross thereof), and will be subject to the proposed new laws - regardless if the dog is perfectly stable and appropriately mannered. Then there is the fact that DNA of the AmStaff and Pitbull are pretty much identical, so who will decide whether a dog is one or the other if there are no pedigree papers to definitively prove it? That is a can of worms I wouldn't like to open...

I'm also not convinced about the reasoning behind limiting the right of appeal when a destruction order for a declared dog is made.

On the face of things, the discussion paper reads like the declared dog problem has been well thought out, and is worded appropriately to give that impression, but there are some issues that can be picked up if one reads it carefully.

All that said, I'm supportive of stronger penalties for those who actively encourage bad behaviour in their dogs - of any breed/size - where the dog has occasioned actual bodily harm... and custodial sentences for those who are repeat offenders.

T.

I suppose at least they are on lead... my bugbear is the ones that pull up to the dog park with around a dozen dogs in their van, and unload them all into the park to run amok while they scroll on their phones... grrr!

Family pets while a child were Lab crosses...

My own dogs have been several crossbreeds (all medium-large sized), a Labrador, and a bunch of Rotties...

Hands down, my heart breed is Rotti.

T.

My first dog after leaving home (Rebel) used to steal the salad off my plate if I was eating dinner on the couch... even if there was steak on the plate! She loved the oil/vinegar dressing on it...

T.

I had a rotti female once who wouldn't eat anything except raw liver or lean beef (no fat) soaked in milk for the final 2 weeks of pregnancy... it was really bizarre, but didn't seem to have any detrimental effect on the resulting pups.

T.

I've had 2 dogs who have developed thunder/storm/fireworks phobias over the years. One would settle if I put her in the bathroom with the door shut, as if she felt safe in there and the thunder/storm/fireworks couldn't get to her - the other was a trembling wreck who wouldn't settle unless she was leaning up against someone (human, not other dog), as if she thought you would keep her safe. The first dog would start trembling and acting weird hours before a storm actually came... we think she sensed the barometric pressure changes. The second one only reacted once the storm started, and if no-one was home, she'd panic and run out into the rain and get soaked to the skin, rather than hunkering down inside where she was actually safer - but she was a strange character even before the phobias started.

If you aren't sure about DAP, maybe you could try a thunder-shirt for your boy?

T.

We had one or two over the years I was involved in rescue... great dogs...

T.