dianed

I,m so sorry. I read your thread last week and my heart sank, I also lost a young gsd to pneumonia on Xmas day 13 years ago. :p

I,m so sorry. Another beautiful shepherd gone way to soon.

I take my old girl out last thing at night. If I dont she will wet her bed. I always ask her in the mornings if she wants to go outside, sometimes she does, she then comes back in to sleep till the morning walk. Are you sure she hasn't a urinary tract infection.

You will have to post a photo of her all decked out for winter

I wondered about acupuncture for my girl. The anti inflammatory seems to help, she one every second day now.

I,d investigate the chemo angle, going by the stages of Carla,s cancer I think you may have some time up your sleeve. We also used fluid tabs to help rid the lungs of fluid. I have to say after the needle biopsy (which was a waste of time) she went downhill fast. $800 could have been spent on chemo! Like you, not knowing what type of cancer was a problem, we had 6 weeks in the final stage before it affected her breathing. My vets where not equipped for this type of problem, even the vet in Canberra who did the biopsy wasn't really much help. Just said she has 6=8 weeks, he asked for the $800 up front. If chemo buys time go for it. Good Luck.

I lost my 10 yo beautiful gsd Carla to lung cancer 3 years ago this July. Like your girl the mass was close to her heart, in fact it was pushing against her heart. About 2 years before I noticed her breathing was heavy. I took her to the vet who did a cardiogram,but nothing abnormal showed up, the anesthetic they used made her so sick I never went back. 6 months before she passed away she developed a cough off and on, it got worse as time went by. A needle biopsy was in conclusive, an ultrasound showed a huge mass. It was inoperable due to its location. In six weeks she went down hill, she lost considerable weight and stopped eating probably due to all the medication. I think she had what they refer to as a hot tumor, she loved to sit outside in the cold or on the tiles even though it was winter. She did not seem to be in pain, although at the end she had trouble breathing. That was when I decided to have her pts. Her eyes told me when, I have a photo of her taken the day before and you can see she,d lost the fight. She had cortisone to try and shrink the tumor and antibiotics in case it was an infection.

I am starting Sophie on Prolet, we have to wait 48 hours after the cartrophen injection . Initially 1 1/2 tabs for 3 days then every second day. We will see if they agree with her and how she responds. I caused her to fall by touching her in that spot on her leg , I will find out its name. She was checked out yesterday and does not have a heart murmur. In fact the vet said she does not look 13, she is mostly black in color with no gray muzzle common to gsd,s.

I break open a few fish oil capsules for my itchy gsd. It seems to help her.

Sophie had her monthly cartrophen injection and is fine today. I am giving the right amount of Glucosomine/ Chondroitin for her weight. I told the vet how she fell over when I touched her under upper front leg. She laughed! It seems like I touched a nerve that caused her to loose her footing. Wish I could remember the name of it, maybe some one knows of it. Its something that vet students get caught out with?

Sophie scared the hell out of me while on our walk late yesterday. She started to limp in the left front leg so I massaged it only to have her scream in pain, she then passed out. She came too right away and we slowly walked home. She ate her normal dinner and slept all night. We had a small walk this morning, all seems ok. So tomorrow when she is due for her monthly cartrophen injection we will be getting some medication for her arthritis. Only short walks from now on.

Thanks 'Cockerlover' from me to!

You can get a product called Webzone from hardware or produce stores to spray round the house and yard for fleas. Does the job as well as a pest control person and much cheaper.

Ive had 2 gsd,s that had mammary cancer in the past. A mother & daughter, the lump felt very hard but not attached. I could feel all round it. When removed they where a hard lump of red grizzle, if that helps. If left untreated they would have developed into a punch of grape like tumors. One had started to attach by growing a root, very nasty things. If its soft maybe its a sebaceous cyst or just a fatty lump. Watch and see if it grows, Vet visit I,m afraid, better to be safe than sorry!

Its like the movement they do when dreaming but I think its more than that. More like a shaking/spasm type movement of the limb. I am sure its related to the deterioration of the leg due to arthritis and muscle loss. The other day I noticed only Sophie,s worst leg doing it while she was asleep.

I am so sorry to hear Lady has had another seizure, I remember when my favorite cat Ginger had them years ago. They are not nice.

T&S my dog does the spasm thing also in her sleep. She gets a real movement going, I think its a natural old age thing?

Just wanted to add, my young dogs is prone to these cysts.Shes had maybe 4 or 5 burst now. All have healed up on there own, they are mainly on her back and neck area Like a previous poster I clean them up with salt water and Betadine. I squeeze them out as much as I can. Then leave them to heal up. The do not return in the same spot. She has 3 atm in different places.

They say if a person takes fish oil and works out at the gym it helps build up muscle mass faster. I dont know how this relates to an older dog as most have trouble moving and are not very active. Regardless I,d say its better for them to take fish oil than not take it as its known to have an inflammatory benefit. I can see my girl going down hill each day, yesterday she was very wobbly.

I,m surprised your vet didn't say to take a glucosamine supplement as well, my vet said try everything fish oil, glusc/ chondroit, sardines. The cartrophen injections before winter sets in(now monthly). They are supposed to slow the joint deterioration down. It looks like our dogs are not overweight, its just old age catching up with them and all we can do is keep them mobile and happy and hopefully free from pain. I have noticed when I dont walk my oldie for one day she is much stiffer the next time around. The sun is out for a change so we are off for a walk now

What about the organic Natural Paws shampoo in a block (less than $10) and last ages. Or a conditioner like Fido,s Creme Conditioning with chamomile & macadamia oil, it leaves their coats very soft and a has nice smell. I use it as a leave in conditioner on my older cat & dog.

Ive been keeping an eye on my older dogs muscle tone as well, she has lost a little muscle although she is a very lean gsd around 32 kg. I make sure she has two short walks a day. I believe exercise is the key, same as us humans . She is very wobbly in the back end so we dont overdo it. I give here a rub in the hip area to get her going. I believe that helps. A good orthopedic bed to sleep on at night. I intend on getting a harness for when Sophie gets worse to help steady her when we walk. Do you walk your girl on a lead? I,m outside a lot and my dogs follow me around, they like to come inside when I do. I have no problem with that. I make sure Sophie eats some fat food to keep her weight up, Glucosimine, fish oil and a monthly cartrophen injection. Can you make Tara sit to eat or put her bowl up higher? It must be hard for them to loose a mate they have been close too. Do you plan on getting another dog?

Sophie aged 13.4 has her panting moments at night as well. But then my 4yo Pepper does as well. So I figured it was the heat not age. Both have been sleeping on the bare floor some nights but move to their beds in the early hours. Heat related I am sure!

Ive put the drug options off because of things I have read about them. What drug does your dog use FHRP, does he only take it when in pain or everyday? My vet has mentioned Metacam and I know someone who,s dog uses Rimadyl medication daily.

My dog Sophie is slowing getting worse in the back end.She has cartrophen injections each month and a daily dose of Glucosine/Chondroitin. Yesterday I noticed she is licking herself near one hip joint. She has now worn the skin away,would this be a sign of pain in her hip joint?