Mooper

Tummy biopsy? I missed that bit earlier. Why did he have that done?

Just a quick update, and a question: Jack is happy and bouncy on these anti-inflammatories, with the Joint Guard etc. But he's scratching himself like crazy. We thought it was a contact allergy as it seemed to start soon after the lawn was mowed. However, it seems to be getting worse. His last Advocate flea treatment was mid-January so it shouldn't be fleas ... He did have a hydrobath last weekend but was thoroughly dried, so I don't think it's a reaction to the shampoo. And the scratching started two days later Has anyone heard of a dog being allergic to anti-inflammatories or Joint Guard? Nothing else in his diet has changed.

It's like canine pinball, isn't it? Or dodgem cars, where Cody is the car ... I'm glad he's adapted to the conehead look. How is his face looking?

I got this from Alison here on DOL some time ago. Hope it helps

I am wondering this, too. Our dog Jack has never had allergy problems and has gone from having slightly pink feet (noticed by the vet a couple of days ago) to scratching a lot last night. I'm sure it's a contact allergy, as it's his belly and the backs of his legs that he's scratching; not his back, neck or sides. With all the rain the east coast has finally had since before Christmas, maybe the grass seeds have gone into overdrive? OH mowed the lawn on Saturday and Jack's itching started soon thereafter. I've bookmarked the Groomers Products site

I've just started Jack on Joint Guard, having never used supplements before. Will check back some time in the next few weeks ...

Nonna, is that you? Poor Cody. I hope he's all better soon. I'm glad he's got his fave toy to keep him company while you're giggling

Could it have been skin from some sort of fruit??? Bizarre

The turkey was bounding around the yard tonight when we got home, Clover. You just wouldn't believe it :D And that was *before* he'd had his first anti-inflammatory with all the supplements. I can only begin to imagine how on-top-of-the-world he'll begin to feel soon. But I'll keep our walks to a standard pace instead of jogging from now on, just to be safe. Does anyone know whether Joint Guard is less effective if you put it with pulped veges and meat in the freezer? I wanted to add a scoop to each takeaway container of BARF I made up tonight. But in case something like the vit C gets killed in the freezer, this week's BARF will have it added on top of the mix. Jack was a good boy and ate all his dinner, including the anti-inflammatory tablet I buried in there

Damn, they're sneaky, putting on a good show for the vets etc. I hope she gets some relief soon. And that you sleep well tonight.

Oh, it's you, Dru! I'm easily confused :D I'm keen to head home soon and see how the boofer is. Hopefully he hasn't been chasing birds out of the yard all day.

I'm guessing everyone in the shop had plenty of opportunity to see his teeth with all the whinging he was doing when I drove off

Thinking of you and Tess

Onya, Staffyluv After seeing the vet this morning, he's really happy that Jack has maintained his weight and activity levels since his grade III MCT was removed (with clean margins) in October. And so are we! But we're always on the lookout for lumps and bumps. Lucinda's and Ollie's stories give us hope :D

As it turns out, you were just about right! But there's no need for injections yet. We've caught it early enough that a course of anti-inflammatories together with dietary supplements and no more running on concrete should see him come good ETA Thanks for the link, PF

They appear to offer a warranty on their website but you may have a fight on your hands to prove that the pins were always dried before the brush was stored. Still, it would be far cheaper for them to replace your brush than to suffer the loss of all potential DOL first-time or return customers Good luck!

Thanks for the tip, PF. Yeah, I got a tub of Joint Guard which does indeed contain MSM as well as glucosamine etc. I'll look into the mussel option. I presume it's available as a powder? I still haven't made it to Cardowan in the last week so I'll ask the bloke when I eventually get there

Thanks, Jodie. Hugs delivered We're back from the vet. We saw Michael Archinal today. Jack thoroughly enjoyed his massage from Michael; he loves him The shoulder isn't the problem, it's the front left elbow, and Jack's compensating for that which is now making his shoulder tender. It's likely to be the beginnings of arthritis, so Jack will finally have glucosamine added to his BARF and some fish oil capsules (1000mg a day). I've been so lazy in not giving them to him sooner Michael noticed signs of a low-level allergy in Jack's paws, and he does scratch a lot just after the lawn has been mowed, so the fish oil should help that. He's also on a five-day course of anti-inflammatories and while walks are still allowed, he's not allowed to have an off-lead romp. No fast games of fetch in the backyard, either, but he shouldn't need to be crated inside the house. I felt like such a dingbat ... it was only once we got into the consultation room that I realise I've been running with Jack of a morning for the past few weeks instead of just walking. As soon as I thought that, and wondered aloud whether that's it, Michael said that will more than likely be the culprit. Why didn't I think of that before? So Jack's career as a distance runner is over and, gosh darn it, I can't run in the mornings either His weight is fantastic, at 29.2kg, and Michael was really happy with all his vitals and lymph nodes. He doesn't think any other tests following up from the MCT are necessary as we've found no lumps or bumps. But, of course, we need to keep checking allll the time. Vehs, the vet also complemented you on your wash and blowdry of Jack as he's never felt such a soft ACD X The boofer got told his teeth are perfect, too Thanks to everyone for your thoughts, advice and PMs

I'll ask the vet about it, Warley. Paula_canberra's PM inbox is full but I reckon if I give her a call, she may be able to point me in the right direction. Although I think her vet in Weston Ck deals with her foster greys.

Thanks, PR The boofer was hooning around the yard chasing the mynahs away from a bone this morning, and he's not panting. So who knows? I'll take him to the vet anyway, to get their opinion on what it is/was. I've been meaning to get him in for a check-up, regardless.

Thanks, tram and Clover. Hopefully I'm just being a worrywart. Jack seemed to forget his troubles at dinner time. Typical. We'll see what the morning brings.

Thanks, puggy. It seems to be muscular rather than joint-related, so I don't think Cartophen (is that what you meant?) will do the trick. But I'm no vet. Just a worried pet owner.

Hopefully some personal experiences that can help solve this mystery ... Jack hasn't been himself all day today, which we put down to the warmer weather. He was outside for much of the morning, under the house in the cool, but panted a fair bit when he came in. Whenever I'd move about the house, I'd come back to find him just standing there having what I thought was the canine equivalent of a senior moment -- you know, looking a tad confused. He's 8yo next week so I figure that's nothing to worry about too much. I took him outside later and sat with him in the shade, rubbing his tummy. I held his left front paw and he let out a cry Thinking he'd stepped on some broken glass (OH dropped a bottle of olive oil in the kitchen last night) I checked his pads but there's nothing untoward there. Outside again later, I ran my hand down the left front leg pretty firmly and got no reaction other than a wagging tail Until I got back up to the shoulder, and then Jack pretty much crumpled in a heap, crying again. We took him for a short walk in the cool of the evening and he's happy as larry out on his lead. There's no sign of limping, but he is taking what you would call purposeful steps. If an aircraft flies overheard nearby, or a dog in the street barks, Jack seems to forget his pain and races to the door. What could it be? What makes the fleshy bit of the shoulder (I think that's where it is?) suddenly hurt so much? We mopped up the olive oil last night straight after the accident, so I don't think he slipped on that. And he hasn't really done zoomies today. He was well enough to bury a marrowbone in my zucchini garden bed Any clues? I suspect we'll be off to the vet in the morning, unless it's just a short-term muscular thing that fixes itself with some rest overnight. Oh, a few more facts. As I said, Jack will be eight soon. He's bang on 30kg, ACD x GSD (we think) who is the size of a petite German Shepherd. He's never had any muscular or joint issues before. He did have a grade 3 mast cell tumour removed from the other side of his body, down near the hip, in October but hasn't had any more lumps since then. We're baffled ... and hoping against hope that this isn't another cancer of some sort. We hate seeing him in pain, and hearing the crying is even worse

Ah yes. Jack sounds like your boy ... he's very well trained to STARE at a box but had no clue what else to do with it Free shaping with him involves a repertoire of (usually in this order) sit, shake (right), wave (right), drop, roll (always rolls to his right!), speak, then I get just about every toy from his box placed neatly on my lap. He's always been good at putting toys back in the box but I never trained him to do so He usually just carries whatever he has over there and drops it in order to pick up a different toy. I'm not complaining, although I'm still trying to teach him to put away the laundry ...

Sweetest dog ever