Sam&Saki

Ohhh congrats Outatime, your Ruby is just adorable!!! What a beautiful little baby furball :cool: Look at those paws! Awww *goes all puppy mushy* hehe ;) x

Oooh new puppies - how exciting!!! :cool: What are their names? Boys or girls? How old? Congrats & good luck & please do post pics ;) x

Hah very cute, what a happy fluffie x

Seems this can be a bit of a contentious issue... While some of the pure breed clubs and other well regarded training clubs train on check/choker trains, other training clubs can be extremely anti-check chain. Views on this are fairly polarised and in my experience people on both sides aren't shy in trying to force their own opinions on you. However I think perhaps you should be less concerned about others' opinions and more about what works for your individual dog - which depends on the breed, age, size, temperement and individual personality. My previous (mastiff type) dog was best on a check chain, my current (spitz type) dog is best on a Sporn Pack Control Leader. Other options are simple collar and lead, various types of harnesses, and Haltis, which seem to be the flavour of the month with many vets and trainers but which I personally don't think very highly of. Good luck, I'm sure you'll soon figure out which is best for your dog x

Even though my Kia was quite a good old age, especially for a giant dog, it was a horrible shock. If it makes you feel more comfortable to see the senior vets do it, who cares if it's ageist, hehe When diagnosed I was told what Kia had was extremely aggressive, she was given 10 days. She in fact lasted 6 weeks before being in any way sick or in pain so I am grateful I had all that time to take her out and about and spend quality time having fun with her. Tumours in the skin are so much more treatable than on organs. You have so many options. Surgery, if not that then chemo, if not that then steroids, if not that then there's another type of medication (name escapes me ATM.) I believe radiotherapy is out for skin tumours but there are so many other treatments - if you can avoid total worrying overload metldown research is good, you have hope and so many options Oh and Hill's Prescription n/d is good for feeding the dog but starving the cancer, might be worth talking to the senior vet about too. Sorry, hope I didn't just contribute to the info overload :/ Good luck again & stay strong,you can fight this x

Oh RMC I am so very, very sorry. Hemangiosarcoma is a horrible, quick and brutal cancer, I lost my beautiful girl Kia to it last year. What you are describing does not sound like hemangiosarcoma but obviously I'm not a canine oncologist, perhaps get a second opinion? The prognosis of hemangiosarcoma meaning only a few weeks before being fatal is in reference to when the cancer has metastasised to major organs, particularly the lungs. If your dog's lungs are clear and in particular if the tumours are not on organs at all you have more options to fight this horrible disease and plenty of reason to hope. Stay strong and don't give up hope, good luck to you and your dog *hugs*

Frenchie, it is called a recessed vulva. A bitch with a recessed vulva will likely have recurrent vaginitis, vaginal dermatitis and UTIs until the recessed vulva is rectified. Recessed vulvas will grow out by themselves as long as you don't get them spayed before it grows out, as getting a bitch spayed the standard way is by ovariohysterectomy, meaning the ovaries are removed - once the ovaries are gone, normal reproductive horomone function is gone, meaning reproductive development will cease. Your vet was absolutely wrong to desex your bitch when she had a recessed vulva, if you had gone to a specialist they would have told you not to desex until after it had grown out to a stage where it had corrected itself. It's a pity you didn't go to a specialist earlier but definintely go to one now. The operation to correct the vulva is not a nice one, but neither is a life of infections, itchiness, etc. Where are you based? I can recommend a good specialist in this field in Melbourne. God luck and hugs to you and your poor pup.

Actually maybe it's not OT! The only thing that has changed is the bitch being in season and two of them are definitely very overexcited about the whole thing. All my cleaning products are exactly the same as they've always been, no new plants, etc etc Hmmm perhaps it is just from over excitement then? I know it happens but I wish I knew more about why and how over excitement can cause sneezing in certain breeds! If anyone replies to this thread and explains I'd be thrilled! :rolleyes: x

In that case, are you sure it's not an allergy? I've known dogs to sneeze as a mild allergic reaction to dog shampoo, plants in the yard, even the detergent we wash our own clothes in - they're not sneezing at any particular time / after doing anything particular? You haven't changed brands of cleaning products or got new plants or moved house? Good luck, I hope you get to the bottom of it Slightly O/T: My Akita sneezes whenever she's over-excited, it used to worry me until I learned it's actually a breed quirk - you can even buy stickers saying "Akita: I sneeze on you because I love you" hahaha x

Perhaps one way to look at it is: It's your dog, so you pay all the bills, you take care of it - this also means you get to make all the decisions about it's care, training, where it's allowed, etc - it's not his call because it's not his dog, it's YOUR dog. Plus then if you break up one day down the track there'll be no custody battle - how devastated would you feel if he paid half the bills but then wanted to keep your dog? (Perhaps I'm just nasty and jealous, my dog is MY DOG only, mine mine mine! Any potential boy toys need to know they'd be second to my dog, hahaha) x

One thing to consider with pet insurance is always, always to read the fine print - many policies have hidden nasties, not just in sub-limits, but also inasmuchas many policies actually are set up to be a seperate policy for each year you have it, rather than one continual policy that just has to be renewed each year. For such policies this means that if your dog for example gets cancer, the treatments they cover will only be up to the sublimits and for the remainder of the policy year. The minute your policy year is over, not only will they stop covering any ongoing treatments, these also become 'pre-existing conditions' which means they can refuse you to cover you at all after that (and of course no-one else will either, once you have a pre-existing condition.) This is something insurance companies would never get away with for human health insurance - but is exactly what two of the most popular pet insurers do. Not to say there aren't benefits for pet insurance and it isn't a life saver for some people in some situations - just another thing to consider. :D x

Thank-you to everyone for your help. I'm currently seeing dog repro specialist Dr Stuart Mason at Monash Vet Clinic. For anyone who has a dog who has a hormone related condition for which spaying can exacerbate the problem, I highly recommend speaking to Stuart . Sometimes some local vets can push the "all dogs must be desexed at 6 months no matter what" line a little too hard, at the expense of your individual dog's individual needs; and if unsure I would recommend getting a second opinion from a specialist. In my case, not letting the RSPCA and my local vet bully me into getting an ovariohysterectomy at 6 months, and instead seeking a specialist's advice, looks likely to save my dog from life-long health problems. Thanks again all :D x

Oh yay an actual registered repro specialist, could be perfect, thank-you!!! Who knew all the good vets would be in Werribee!? Heh

Good idea, I did a bit of googling and it seems the Melbourne Uni veterinary teaching hospital is in Werribee - I'll try speaking to them too, surely between them and Monash someone will be of some help. Thanks! x

There was a Portuguese water dog at a tracking clinic I did last year in Melb her owner was explaining to me how she was desexed differently. I try and 'track' down who she is. Oh that would be so very awesome of you if you could, thank-you!!! x

Thank-you, I'll give them a call tomorrow and see if there's someone suitable there I can see. Appreciate it! x

Hi there Do any of you know of any Melbourne vets who specialise in reproduction / desexing? I know most vets can do standard spaying by way of ovariohysterectomy, however I'm looking for a vet who offers desexing by way of hysterectomy, leaving the ovaries intact. I really need to find a vet who understands not just the benefits but also the general and breed specific risks of spaying, and can offer some guidance as to when or whether to desex a dog who already has a hormone effected condition, and is at high risk of others. My local vet didn't know quite who to refer us to, so any tips of vets or clinics who have any experience in this area would be much appreciated. Thanks x