Elfin

Thank you all so much for your thoughts. (You are all lovely!) I just called for an update, and her blood tests are "looking better". But I could hear a dog yelping in the background. They said it was Elfin, and that her pain-killer was wearing off. She just sounded so distressed, and I am now really upset, too. I said I would call back later, but am worried sick. I don't know what to do.

Thank you, Miss B. You are a vet nurse; do those symptoms sound like anything you recognise? I have just phoned for an update. They have given her strong pain killers and said she is more comfortable, just sleeping. They are doing more blood tests in an hour.

My very special heart-dog, Elfin, has been admitted at Southern Animal Emergency Centre after suddenly becoming unwell at KCC park today. She was fine this morning, ate her brekky, had a play with the other 2 dogs, but then at about 12.30, I noticed she wasn't "quite right" (I don't know what it was, she was just being weird), so we left the show immediately and came home. By the time we got home, she was obviously in pain; panting and had a very high heart-rate. I rushed her straight to SAEC (they are soooooo wonderful) and they did x-rays to check for GDV/bloat (she is a Deerhound). That was quickly ruled out, so they did blood tests. They apparently were "essentially normal" but that she was a bit dehydrated. They were concerned about the level of pain she was in (they think in her abdomen), so have admitted her for pain-relief and put her on a drip. She is only 4 years old and is as fit as a fiddle, so this is all very scary. She has terrible separation anxiety (so do I!), so that makes me all the more worried.

Thank you to everyone that offered advice and support, and also to those that PM'd me, thank you. A HUGE thank you to luckypup, who has made a lovely offer.

We are in the Caulfield area. I stopped into a bottleshop that knows me well ( :wink:) on the way home from KCC Park just now, and she was fine in the shop. I would take her back to the hydrobath place to show her that it WASN'T that scary, but I don't want slinky-poodle to harass her again, or give those stupid people anymore of my money.

They look good, Staff'n'Toller, thank you! . Do you know if they are fresh water or recycled water? I had a look at locations; there is one about 20 minutes drive from us. Just re-read your post, Staff'n'Toller, and you clearly state it is fresh water. My apologies, I have had a long week have obviously lost my brain somewhere along the way.

They look good, Staff'n'Toller, thank you! . Do you know if they are fresh water or recycled water? I had a look at locations; there is one about 20 minutes drive from us.

Unfortunatley, she ain't that small... she's a Deerhound.

It didn't break the skin and I was on 'their' premises (albeit a shop). Would I still be able to report it? Do I just ring the council? What is involved? Can I use your hydrobath?! Damn right you can.. your pup was attacked! Get the number for the rangers and give them a call. A visit from a ranger might make her contain the dog for its safety and the safety of customers dogs. I don't have a hydrobath and frankly, i'd not use a public one. You don't know how often the water is changed and at least one DOLers dog got a nasty bacterial skin infection from one. A handshower fitted on a two way bath tap will do the job. I will give the rangers a call on Monday... The reason I like the hydrobath there is because you use fresh water from the tap, rather than recycled water, and they have a really great industrial-stength blow-dryer. I am a germ-o-phobe and take my own disinfectant and clean the bath before I use it anyway, even flush the hose with disinfectant then clean water before I fill the bath! (I know, a bit over the top but it makes me happy). I would LOVE to be able to bath at home, but we only have a shower in our bathroom; no bath.

I had pre-paid.. grrrrr...

It didn't break the skin and I was on 'their' premises (albeit a shop). Would I still be able to report it? Do I just ring the council? What is involved? Can I use your hydrobath?!

No, this one is in Melbourne.

*sigh* you try so hard to do everything right, but there is always SOMETHING, isn't there?! Took 6 month old pup for her first hydrobath today at our local pet washing place. I was detemined to make it a happy, positive experience for her... She was nervous getting into the bath, and was also a little nervous when I turned the bath on (even though we had practiced with water at home), but she stood calmly and didn't struggle or try to get away. I practiced my calm assertive mode, and fed her lots of treats throughout the short bath. After I lifted her out of the bath, we made a big fuss and game out of towel drying her, and she thought it was all great fun. Perfect! A positive experience that she would remember! As we were leaving, I went to the counter to speak to a very nice sales assistant. The pup sat calmly on lead at my feet, as the poodle x (or could be poodle with terrible haircut?) that belongs to the owner of the shop came over to sniff the pup. I have seen this dog "slinking" around the shop many times before. As the poodle x sniffed our pup, the pup stood up, wagging her tail. At this point, the poodle-thing latched onto my pups neck. My pup runs backward, screaming, with the poodle hanging off her neck. When I could get close enough to push the poodle thing away, the owner of the shop (and the offending dog), scooped it up, and said, "don't worry, he only weighs 5kgs. He couldn't hurt her if he tried!". Needless to say, I was gobsmacked and tried to explain that even if he didn't break the skin (there are a few red marks on her neck), I didn't want my puppy to have such a fright. I wanted to say a hell of a lot more (!), but was too busy trying to get out the door with my pup who was now whimpering and shaking. So much for a good experience... :rolleyes: So can I use your hydrobath.... please?!

Hi fifi We definately try to stop her running around inside, but we were worried that we were doing too much exercise with her at the park (ie. galloping). We let her run around for 20-25 minutes (she goes berserk; loads of "circle work"), and even then, when she gets home she goes mental around the house. We put her in her crate but still sometimes throws herself around in there. We do lots of short training sessions to mentally exhaust her and she gets a lamb flap and stuffed Kong every day to chew on. She just never stops, and at times I am nearly in tears trying to stop her from doing stupid stuff as I am so paranoid about her growth plates. She went to the chiro yesterday and he said to back off the exercise, so I am feeling guilty that we are doing too much with her. Thank you for all your replies, we really appreciate the time you have taken to help us.

Has anyone had their dogs treated by Tony at Hampton Park or Georgina Davies (travelling chiro)? If so, can you please tell me what you thought? Feel free to PM me if you prefer. Thank you in advance.

Yeah do they have cheap brown-tiger AV? I may need it next snake breeding season. I'll pay cash for mates rates. Oh yeah I need cheap GA for next time I go to the sleep dentist. His costs a thousand bucks. Worth every cent but it would be nice to save a penny ooooooh, can I have some brown-tiger AV, too?

hehehehe... funny thread! (although I am very easily amused)

I can post photos of calm deeries or park-zoomie deeries, but loungroom-zoomie deeries are not photographed as I am too busy yelling/moving furninture/holding paintings on the wall/trying to stop carnage. I haven't posted photos before as I am a classic technophobe and am yet to learn how to. I shall do my best.

Two puppy C3 vaccs, then one C3 at 15 months, then no more vaccs. Heartworm with ivermectin every 2 months. Intestinal worm every 3-4 months. And we don't heartworm/intestinal worm at the same time. Minimal chemical intervention.

Rescue Remedy has worked wonders on our pup that was having violent nightmares... on our older boy that used to suffer separation anxiety, it did nuffink. Can't hurt to try though!

Inside zoomies are actually quite frightening, especially when you combine one 45kg Deerhound dog , one 30kg Deerhound grumpy bitch, one 22kg Deerhound pup(that has not grown a brain yet), one 8kg angry cat, and a small 2 bedroom flat with polished floorboards. Terrifying, infact. Luckily, the rest of the crew rarely join in.

Wow! So many replies in such a short time... thank you all! I feel a bit better after reading your responses. We do several short training sessions with her each day to tire her mentally, as well as "interactive" toys such as a Kong filled with frozen goodies. We try to stop the loungeroom zoomies, as they are not only destructive, but we also worry about her hurting herself as she jumps around (up and down off couch, sliding into the walls etc.) This was our concern, that we were giving her too much exercise at the park with the other dogs, but after reading the responses here, it might NOT be too much. When we were restricting her exercise is when loungeroom zoomies occur. Nattylou; we are worried that she pushes herself too hard when playing with the older two, so when she starts to slow down, we put her back on lead and take he home. And you are spot on with her "throwing things out". I took her to our chiro when the older two went, and she was "out" in her neck and hip... once again, this leads us back to the dilemma... park zoomies, or loungeroom zoomies? It seems limited zoomies at the park may be the lesser of two evils? We go to puppy classes (show classes) and she plays with the other dogs there, but can be very rough. It is difficult to find a pup of a similar age and size that will provide more "appropriate" playtime. Thank you all sincerely for your help.

We are looking to pick you clever people's brain's again... Our Deerhound pup is now 5 months old. We are struggling to restrict exercise as she seems to have endless amounts of energy, but are paranoid about damaging her growth plates. If we let her run (like a crazy psycho dog) around at the park with our two older dogs until she flops (about 20-25 minutes), she is happy, but we worry that she is doing more exercise than she should be. If we take her on gentle quiet walks with gentle off-lead runs, she gets home and goes mental around the loungeroom (and I mean MENTAL. She can jump from one couch to another, clearing the coffee table in between at very high speed!). We are doing lots of "thinking" work with her as well, to tire her mentally, but she just wants to run. (And do amazing circle work!) Any suggestions, or are we being paranoid parents? Thank you in advance for your help.

We feed it and LOVE it, although (as with many foods) not all dogs do well on it. Ours get RMBs during the day and VAN for dinner. I am lucky enough to get it at wholesale prices, so I buy the Premium Choice, and Premium Choice Allerblend for my sensitive boy. These are the Complete Mix already mixed with meat (roo and tripe) completely preservative free. It is very expensive at retail price and I certainly wouldn't be able to afford to feed three giant breed dogs on it if I had to pay full price. The Complete Mix is a much cheaper option. I wouldn't use as much as it states on the pack, ie. I would use less museli and more mince. It is extremely low in fat, which does not suit some dogs. I add the Vets All Natural Omega Blend oil, which once again is outrageously expensive at retail price. Ours also get fat from the lamb flaps etc. All the best, N.

Sorry to hear of your dog's diagnosis, but pannus is usually quite easy to control once it is diagnosed. Pannus is worsened by sunlight, so try to avoid going outside in the middle of the day, especially in summer. Once the ulcer had healed, the best control for pannus a combination of Prednefrin Forte and cyclosporin (a 1% solution seems best, but Optimmune ointment also works well. The bonus is that cyclosporin is the best treatment for dry eye and has a direct anti-inflammatory effect. It also reduces corneal scarring and pigmentation). You will probably find that you will nead to treat Clyde less in winter than in summer. The oral cortisone is probably unneccessary at the moment. We normally treat ulcers with Vibravet (doxycycline, an antibiotic that is excreted in the tears), Tricin ointment (a broad spectrum antibiotic that also protects the cornea) and Prolet/Rimadyl(carprofen, an anti-inflammatory that has been found to very helpful in corneal problems). All the best, and I am sure Clyde will be much happier now! (edited cos I can't thpell)