Rottifan

No worries at all - best of luck. Its so frustrating when you're trying to eliminate what is causing the problem - if only they could talk! Oh and SA - maybe a bit far, lol, although he used to travel there every 3 months but hasnt for some time, damn! For the other person who asked I use Doc Jamieson - mobile chiropractor in Qld, his website is fairly comprehensive and help me decide who to use and I'm so glad I was lucky to find him at the right time, very lucky. My boy is 11 now and was pretty much completely paralysed when he was 7 with no hope/results from anyone else - needless to say..... I'm a huge fan and will be eternally grateful!

Will PM you the details of the mobile animal chiropractor I use, he is far better than any others I tried, amazing results and I owe my 11 yr old boys life to him after being told when he was 7 and paralysed to put him down, and getting little results from vet chiropractors and others. He is self taught/trained but has many many years of experience and the testimonials on his website told me instantly that I had the guy that I knew could help me when I was so so desperate. I will be forever eternally grateful!

Warm salty water works but recently it was not working like it used to on my boy and my vet said to get Systane eye drops from the human chemist to use a couple of times a day. That worked well! Good luck

if that's the case, there should be very many stumbling sore dogs around . That comment doesn't sound terribly reassuring. Did he do any manipulations/treatments? tell you where ,or what the injury was? The vets don't seem too concerned Her symptoms are worse after a free leash walk on the beach. I have tried to raise her bowls but it does not help. I should point out that most of the time she is fine but she does tend to stumble once a day She seems to be experiencing the shooting pains a few times a day. Other than that she is happy to walk up and down stairs, jump on the couch and is very keen to go out for a walk as usual. Does anyone know a good vet in Adelaide who might be talented in solving in this kind of problem? .....increases her drinking and she does have muscle wastage?? Maybe I need to be more patient but I just want her to be back to normal asap. In response to the above, I have dealt with this and I was your needle in the haystack!!! My vet wasnt concerned either BUT neither could they tell me what was wrong - and this is NOT NORMAL. They also couldnt provide me with a solution or make a difference to my dog therefore I went searching for another option. Finding a good animal chiropractor was the biggest problem for me - I tried many, vet chiropractors and self trained - I found a mobile animal chiropractor in Queensland who is amazing, and this is what I learnt from him treating my dog: 1. Most dogs are out of alignment with pinched nerves. 2. They live like this without showing symptoms given they have a high pain threshold and are pack animals therefore reluctant to show weakness 3. With pinched nerves when they move in a particular way it causes the muscles to spasm (ouch) to protect the nerves. 4. To avoid this they change the way they walk..maybe in such a small way that owners do not notice (you know if your dog has been doing this for a long period of time because they will have muscle wastage evident from either not stepping fully forward with their front legs or pushing fully back with their rear legs, to avoid the pain). They may also drink excessive water due to pain. 5. With muscle wastage it doesnt take much for them to go out of alignment badly and do more damage to themselves. 6. More damage can also be done by themselves, which owners need to stop from happening until a good animal chiropractor can keep your dog in alignment for a lengthy period of time and allow that muscle to build back up (which it will when your dog is in alignment and walking normally/exercising for a period of time). For example, if your dog experiences pain when pushing the proper amount back with rear legs, and has shortened their walk to avoid that pain...when the owner says that its "w-a-l-k" time the dogs adrenalin goes through the roof and it allows him/her to push through the pain barrier, the dog will push all the way back with rear legs, muscles spasm and sometimes something has to give causing cruciate ligament issues! It is important to stop off-lead exercise and any running to the front fence to bark at the post man etc. 7. Symptoms may disappear after the dog has rested because inflamation may reduce and muscle spasm will go away..then the cycle starts again until those pinched nerves can be released. 8. RE Animal Chiropractors - the results should be INSTANT. Immediately after a treatment my dog has a big shake and his walk returns to normal straight away. 9. Even when you find a good animal chiropractor it is up the owners to ensure their dog does not ruin the process by going back out of alignment, easily done with dogs that have muscle wastage. You should (even if it doesnt seem to make your dog worse), stop the jumping up and down off furniture as much as possible, limit the use of stairs, put down carpet runners if you have tiles/wooden floors (keep your dogs on non-slip flooring), no using head halties/harnesses, remove collars, bowls at head height, tie doggy doors open, no crazy ball play, stop dogs running the fence line etc etc. Imperative to improvement. It is certainly a process to go through but once you make the necessary changes in your home environment (because that is where the problems most likely were incurred by your dog), and you get a good animal chiropractor then you should be well on the way to seeing improvement. Best of luck!

Cannot recommend it highly enough. I had unexplained habits being exhibited by my boy and he got that bad that I was contemplating him being pts when he was 7 but pleased to say he is now over 11 yrs of age and doing me proud. I have learnt that most dogs are out of alignment from a young age but their high pain tolerance doesnt see symptoms becoming apparent until it is really bad for them I had to try a number of chiropractors to a) find one that got results and b) find one that could look at my dog and tell me what was wrong without me having to point it out, and also be able to tell me how they would fix the problem and that they HAD fixed these problems before. Some chiropractors I went to would have given my dog more improvement by giving him a cuddle I finally found a qld chiropractor who is mobile (great for anxious dogs or dogs that are quite bad or big dogs) so he comes to my house and treats my boy and the results are immediate and very evident. I would not let just anyone adjust my dog without them being able to prove how good they are! Jamieson is the person I use in Qld - there are video's I believe on his website to show how a treatment should be done and the results you should get to ensure you go to your appointment armed with the knowledge that DOES work. My dog has never been laid down at any stage during a chiropractic treatment apart from a vet chiropractor who had done the vet chiro course and needless to say the results were nothing, in fact he seemed a little worse after it...so much for a course meaning anything! Good luck - I hope you have some good success, it would be sooo much easier if they could talk and tell us what was wrong

In my experience just remember that any anti-inflam/pain relief is only doing exactly what you have recognised..."masking up the problem". The drug is not fixing the cause of the problem in any way. If your dog was lame I would see an animal chiropractor to ensure your dog is in alignment and pinched nerves are released, pain will instantly be removed and movement can return to normal due to your dog not experiencing pain with normal movement. The drugs will not be needed then. Best of luck, the hardest thing is finding a good reputable/experienced animal chiropractor!

When I've had an issue with my dog finding it hard to poo before it was actually cured by an animal chiropractor! Due to pain my dog felt when trying to squat and push out a poo (sorry to get descriptive) as a result of having pinched nerves he would cry and look uncomfortable straining. His stools appeared to have changed but I also found this was due to him "putting off" having to do a poo rather than an internal problem. Once adjusted by my mobile animal chiropractor and all pain removed his bowel movements were fine! Good luck, just another idea to think about..

Licking or chewing of feet can cause the feet to have an "allergy" look by the time owners look at the feet/pads due to the chewing. What can start the chewing in the first place can be referral pain/niggling that they feel in their extremities when they have pinched nerves from being out of alignment. If the dog is out in the shoulders or has pinched nerves in their back (most do at some time in their life from stairs, jumping on and off furniture, slippery floors, rough play etc), then this will cause this reaction. An animal chiropractor can release the pinched nerves, muscle spasm and pain will then be eliminated and you can rule that out as the cause - generally works very well in my experience!

How is the little one going since another month has passed? Hope all is still going well.

My adult dog will "knuckle" over if he is "out of alignment". If they are out in the shoulders, its like racing greys that stumble when they start to run. If you see an animal chiropractor to have your dog/pups from 8wks of age realigned it will ensure that they grow in alignment and this will make more of a difference than the food that they are fed! They can be out of alignment from mum stepping on them, bad birth etc - good luck

CORRECTION: To guide you in the right direction.....AQIS is the department you need to communicate with, NOT Customs. Customs take care of illegal wildlife importations, drugs, explosives, terrorist activity, weapons, excess currency etc to name a few. AQIS take care of food and diseases, to name a few. Beagles and/or xray technology will easily detect food stuffs being imported. Ingredients are what would be the problem, if it is a problem. Get a list from the product supplier and email it to AQIS and find out if you can import it freely, if not ask if you can apply for a permit for same. Best of luck

Just a "thought outside the square". I have known dogs to not be able to lose weight no matter how lean a diet is or how much they are excercised....this is because if they are "out of alignment" they wont be able to. When a dog has pinched nerves they feel referral pain down limbs when they move. To avoid pain, rather than show obvious symptoms, they may take shorter steps and take other measure that you dont notice because you see them all the time. If they are not fully stretching out and their muscles are only half working no matter how much exercise you do they wont burn fat (muscles burn fat, its like going to the gym and doing half bicep curls - wont work!). See an animal chiro for a few treatments, ensure all pinched nerves are released, with your dog free of pain movement will be full and muscles will build up and fat will be burnt. Hope this helps, it is a slow process sometimes...

[quote: So my first question is: Can I condition him in the little time I have until the Nationals? Can someone suggest some good exercises to do with him, how often and how long each session should be for? I know swimming is a good one, so Im hoping to incorporate that (or atleast wading at shoulder height). Should I alternate days of swimming with jogging/walking up hills? How many rest days should he have? If someone has a good exercise regime they have used before or could recommend that would be much appreciated. I'd also like to know if you think him having had suprelorin will have much of an impact on him building muscle. ....is there something else that someone can recommend that would be good to help build muscle/condition. All help/ suggestions much appreciated What a gorgeous photo!! I would think the best way to attack ensuring ALL exercise is going to be benefiting him building muscle and heading in the right direction is ensuring he is "in alignment". Have a chiro go over him and ensure that his movement and composition is perfect so that any exercise means he will build muscle which wont happen if he has pinched nerves and cannot stretch out fully....same with swimming etc. Best of luck. I use a mobile animal chiropractor who is great in Qld, has worked wonders for my boy!

If a dog is out of alignment in the front shoulders I have been told that they can trip and stumble/fall. Once adjusted by a good animal chiropractor and in alignment they will have no pain from pinched nerves and will move a lot more freely. That has certainly been the case with me, after trying many animal chiropractors, my mobile animal chiropractor has got my boy steady and even on all 4's again and he's nearly 11 now!

Petplan have given rebates for chiropractic treatments as well as medibank pet insurande and RACQ Pet insurance. Not sure what level of cover you need or what their limit is for the dollar value of cover per year though. Good luck!

There are products that greyhound trainers/greyhound vets would be able to tell you about but maybe she is just out of alignment and might experience muscle spasm associated with pinched nerves....a chiro visit might help! Good luck

Ow, good luck making those modifications. They just like to keep their independence and spring up and down onto furniture like they always have but....if possible I try and lift my little one up and down and he has gotten used to the whole "wait" thing while I rush at his beck and call when he wants to get up or down. While a fall/twisted back may seem to have "not done any damage", guaranteed it has. I would get your little one adjusted by a good animal chiropractor to ensure the pinched nerves from the fall are released and he wont be experiencing any muscle spasm as a result. Better to be proactive than reactive with lame / elderly animals!

I had my old boy on Metacam and havent used the other - hopefully some othe DOLers would have used both to be able to say. The metacam I used for a short time was in liquid form. My boy was said to be arthritis with joint issues, metacam helped for a short time but seemed to lose affect, then Gabapentin/Neurontin & Tramal were added twice daily (he was 7). I then found a good mobile animal chiropractor, that was 3 years ago, my boy is nearly 11 and has been off all of that medication the whole time and is moving great regardless of the issues the xrays showed him to have. Best of luck

I've been told that xrays wont show nerves so if the limping is caused by pain from a pinched nerve/muscle spasm from being out of alignment (which lots of dogs are from birth) you will not get this correct diagnosis from a vet. Regardless, many dogs are diagnosed with arthritis, displaysia and other conditions but after being adjusted by a chiro the lameness symptoms are eliminated. As with my boy who was very lame and has bad displaysia - after seeing a top chiro he doesnt show any symptoms of lameness. There is no doubt at all that he has the conditions which the vet diagnosed from xrays however that was NOT what was causing him to limp. I would have any puppy at a young age adjusted to ensure they grow up in alignment anyway and so that when you are exercising them you are developing/toning muscle knowing that it is being built to hold them 'in alignment' and not out to cuase problems at a later age. Best of luck!

Definitely see a chiro first, I'm with that plan too! Nothing to lose. An xray wont show nerves i believe so will not correctly diagnose the issue if it is resulting from your pup being 'out of alignment' and having pinched nerves. Signs that your little one is out of alignment can be front feet pointing outwards instead of facing forward, roached back (curved upwards) or a dip in the back, sitting with legs to the side. Dogs can be out of alignment from slipping on slippery floors (tiles/wooden) jumping off stairs/furniture and slipping, rough play, mum stepping on them in the litter, bad birth etc. Dont stress, look at it like a blessing in disguise. My boy went through this from a young age. I did the xray thing - yep bad joints, elbow and hip displaysia, anti-inflamatories and rest and it went away...well so I thought. As I know now, rest does nothing to address the cause of the problem so even if the symptoms disappear the problems IS STILL THERE! Low and behold my boy is nearly paralysed at the age of 7 - I then found the chiro who has saved his life after vets said to put him down. He turns 11 in October and I couldnt be prouder. My only wish is that I had of had him adjusted at a young age so that he grew up in alignment and I didnt have to keep having treatments now because he has such bad muscle wastage I cant build back up with exercise now he's older, to keep him in alignment! If I ever get another dog I will always get them adjusted from a young age, cant recommend the benefits highly enough!

Yeah definitely worth seeing about a chiro visit anyway - if the dog has a pinched nerve in the base of the skull from hitting his/her head I've seen that cause symptoms similar, disorientation, standing facing into a corner and doing strange things. Dogs that have been put on medication for alheizers have had miraculous recoveries with an adjustment. All dogs generally have pinched nerves, they can live with the pain and adjust the way they walk until something triggers off the pain and it all becomes too much, definitely wouldnt hurt hey

"A bit wobbly in the back end" - get your friend to look into alternative treatments that are cheaper and may just eliminate the problem and prove there is no further need for investigative testing. I know a number of people who got worst case scenario verdicts from vets and were told MRI's were required but they couldnt afford them straight away so went to a mobile animal chiropractor I use and the results have been amazing, the vet has then said there is no need to proceed down the path they were going to. I hope your friend is coping ok.

My vet and specialist has never mentioned vetoryl. My rotty (nearly 11) was put on compounded trilostane a few months ago, once a day dose of 150mg now. I have rung around compounding pharmacies to question how much it would be if I got a script but it wasnt too much cheaper than my vet was charging and so I let them order it in from the pharmacy that they have make it up and pay the vet direct for it to ensure the quality and the relationship they have with the chemist is good for timeliness. Some compounding pharmacies will only make the trilostane caps on certain days but no never has been an issue, has been the only thing dispensed to me! VSS is the specialist centre I took my boy to for confirmation of the diagnosis (Terry King - is great) and they also have some on hand if I run out to get them direct that day. Good luck hey

Dont lose hope! My dog has severe elbow and hip displaysia, xrays prove this. My dog was put on Metacam, Tramil and Gabapentin/Neurontin after I came home when he was 7 yrs old and couldnt move. The medication helped but there was no other option for me. Being a 50kg rotti with terrible bones/joints there was no option for joint fusion, replacement or any type of surgery. I was told by my vet to flood his body with pain relief was the only thing I could do. I then found an animal chiropractor to see if he could help, purely thinking along the lines of pain relief. What happened after that has simply been amazing. My boy is nearly 11 and has been walking like a puppy again and has been off all medication and supplements. There is absolutely NO doubt at all that he has displaysia HOWEVER this was NOT what was causing him to be lame. The symptoms I was seeing was from him being out of alignment for probably 7 years and suffering from the pain associated with pinched nerves and muscle spasm. After learning so much that I didnt know before about composition and movement it is disappointing that vets do not recognise that a dog is out of alignment, easily told by seeing muscle wastage as well as watching a dog move and lookint at their compositon, and suggest this for all of their clients to ensure they are in alignment and free of any associated pain. Their immune system can also function fully when they are in alignment so no harm in trying. Best of luck, but there are miracles out there so please stay positive! x

Hi Sandra, I would try eliminating that which you mentioned being a pinched nerve causing the issue. You never know, if your dog is out of alignment and has a pinched nerve this could cause muscle spasm and tense rigid symptoms to be exhibited. When rested and inflamation reduces symptoms reduce. Then when something triggers off the symptoms again you will see the same thing. It would be cheaper to have an animal chiropractor see to your dog before paying for tests that may not identify anything. Worth a try. I use a great one in Qld who provides a mobile service but definetly regardless of whether this is the problem is a great treatment to provide your dog early in life to eliminate any issues later on, I wish I had of - have only learnt the benefits now my dog is nearly 11! Good luck and keep us up to date, mystery illnesses are always difficult to narrow down