Kirty

Took him to work today and the vet said they are pretty sure it is not his thyroid, so not to bother with the blood test just yet. His cloudy eye is caused by dry eye so he now has meds for that. He had a skin scraping and there were no mites but there is bacteria in his lumps, so he has meds for that. The derm nurse is pretty sure its environmental allergies so she has given me some shampoo, cream and supplements to try for him. She doesn't want him on steroids just yet. His legs are unfortunately still a mystery. I'd love to get him x-rayed but we don't have an x-ray at work and I just can't afford it right now. The vet said he has muscle wastage all over and thinks he may have been tied up a lot? So we are going to try and build up his muscles and see if that helps at all. Unfortunately I have to do a bit of trial and error because there is no way I can afford the specialist visit that would diagnose his legs/spine issues. Thankfully he is not in any pain so we'll just have to see what happens. I feel awful saying this but I would not have taken on this dog had I know the issues he has. I am glad he is enjoying his time here but I don't know how much time he has. :D

Beautiful. My Grandma had a garden full of them.

Yep, same boy. He has put on weight and he seems so much brighter, but his skin and his gait are not improving. The episodes where he turned purple seem to have stopped so I am thinking (hoping) that it was just due to his severe kennel cough (which has now completely gone). He is such a gorgeous dog and I just know he is going to break my heart. He has even started playing with toys and playing with my dogs, but he is so unco-ordinated. He struggles to get up the two steps onto the deck. Its like his legs won't do what his mind wants them to do.

He is a normal black and tan. Will see if I can get a blood test done tomorrow at work.

Oh great, another condition to add to his list!! ETA: I just googled thyroid problems in Dobes and found this website, which pretty much lists his symptoms. It says it can also cause wobbly gait, which might be the real cause of his 'wobblers' and corneal problems - which he also has! http://www.animalinfo.com.au/fact_sheets/view/2/3/99

Inside his ears are OK. They are a bit dirty looking, but no inflammation etc. I'll take some photos tomorrow in the light and show you what all his manky bits look like. Might even see if I can rope the ex-derm nurse into doing a skin scraping...

Thanks stormie. I'll take him into work this week and see if I can get something for him. He isn't scratching enough to break the skin and like I said, the areas are very localised. His face is fine and its just that one patch on the point of his chest and his elbows. He was like that when he came here and it hasn't changed at all since he's been here, that's what's confusing me. He LOVED being brushed with the blade tonight, it must have felt so good to have me scratching the areas he can't reach! LOL! I suspect he has wobblers and possibly a heart condition too, which just complicates everything unfortunately. ETA: And when you say allergies, are you thinking diet or contact? Should I try him on chicken and rice for a while?

I have a 7-8yo Dobermann foster dog here at the moment. He came from the pound so we have no history on him. Apart from his many other health problems, he has very very itchy skin. His coat is very dull and his skin is very dry and flakey all over, but there is no redness at all. He has some hairloss on his ears which I thought was due to flies but may be related? He also has some hairloss and large bumps on his chest and elbows. The bumps are up to the size of a pea and some of them are full of puss. I have had him for over 4 weeks now and there has been no change in the amount of hairloss or itching. He is on Bonnie working dog dryfood, as well as some raw meat and bones. He has nice firm poops. He has been treated twice with Revolution in the time I've had him, so I am fairly confident it is not fleas or sarcoptic mange. I guess it could be demodex but I would have expected more hairloss by now? I was also thinking allergies but I would have expected redness? He has been bathed in Oatmeal shampoo and also Malaseb shampoo with no changes. I have some new shampoo which is meant to be great for itchy dogs so I'll wash him tomorrow with that. I have just given him a really good brush with a shedding blade and got off TONNES of dry, dead coat. Does anyone have any ideas on what it might be? And more importantly, what can I try to help him? I'm going to start adding some fish to his diet to see if that helps. Any other tips would be greatly appreciated!!

My ex-foster cat ended up at the emergency vet after being hit by a car and subsequently had to be PTS. I had been called out of work to go and see her - I was hysterical and had no cash or cards on me but they would not let me leave without full payment (which by the way was $700+ for 2 hours of care!!) so I had to call my mum and pay with her CC over the phone. My regular vets are pretty flexible though and usually help me out with big bills.

That is so lovely Gayle. I feel that adult animals understand when someone gives them another chance. I have not adopted an adult dog but have fostered quite a few and they are always so lovely and so grateful. My gorgeous Dobe boy follows me around everywhere and is definitelu *my* dog.

We get some classics at work, particularly from the vet students. Just recently a student told a client that her Cavalier x (I think she said Daschund) was really cute - the dog was a purebred Tibbie!! And another time a student asked me what the 'cute pug crosses' were. Ummm Griffons! LOL!

Have you looked into Sussex Spaniels? A friend of mine has one and she is GORGEOUS!! Not as heavy as a clumber but still on the chunky side. Active but not crazy =)

Exactly. The popularity of the colour blue in AmStaffs AND SBT's has led to BYB getting on the bandwagon and breeding lots of sub-quality, blue animals. In fact, I am pretty sure the ONLY colour AmStaff I have seen walk through our clinic doors has been blue!

Thanks Gayle and the others who defended me. I work in a vet clinic and we see our fair share of AmStaffs. I never said that ALL blue AmStaff's had problems, but that I had seen lots that did. In fact, dilute x dilute seems to cause problems in a wide variety of animals, not just dogs.

We had a mobile trailer and no dogs were ever injured. Our clients were always very happy. My MIL had to do a grooming course when she bought the franchise. There are cowboys in any industry and in fact, several of our clients came to us after having bad experiences elsewhere (including SEVERE clipper rash, clipped too short, cuts on the dog, etc). You can be as trained as you like and still be crap.

The current AVA schedule is what the RSPCA has told you. Puppy vaccs, first booster 12mths later and then every three years after that. Most vets however are still pushing yearly vaccs or 'super' vaccs. Not necessary. Get the NORMAL vacc every three years.

Thats just freaky. He looks deformed.

Because you call yourself a headmaster but cannot tell the difference between two similar but very different words? Excepted = excluded Accepted = included

Don't let a vet cut it out either. The gland is needed for tear production so it needs to be replaced NOT removed.

Actually I have also seen a lot of blue Am Staffs with the same kind of issues as the SBTs. Very bad skin, lots of them that look nothing like an AmStaff, shocking teeth, etc. Its not just SBTs.

I got to meet Shae a few days ago and she is even cuter in real life!! :D She is going to be one spoilt doggy in Gayle's house.

Its all well and good to say 'some groomers shave everything', 'only do puppy clips', etc but 99% of the clients we had wanted that. I once groomed the cutest little Poodle and did his feet and face properly and left a *small* topknot - well the clients complained and I had to cut it off! LOL! Our clients wanted a short clip all over so they didn't have to brush it or wash it until we saw it next time. What can you do? Oh and we used to charge $66 for a small-med dog clip, bath, dry, nails, etc.

Just bumping this up! This month's newsletter is all about Glaucoma! Next month will be Entropion. Previous topics include Distichia (extra eyelashes), PRA, Hereditary Cataracts and Retinal Dysplasia. Past newsletters are all available on request!

RIP Wally. What a lucky boy he was to have you as his guardian angel. Big hugs Indi.

Awww she is cute. Have you had her scanned for a chip? Unfortunately she really does need to go to the pound so her owners can find her.