SchnauzerMax

Started her on medication a couple of days ago...starts with 'v' but I keep forgetting its name.

Lilly hasn't improved any. She pee'd inside overnight, didn't even ask to go out...just got up and squatted.

It's not incontinence as she's not leaking/dribbling and is most definitely squatting before doing it.

She also stares into space, but has always done that! Has forgotten basics like dinner time...she is constantly going back to her food bowl even if she's eaten an hour before. And she just isn't herself.

Sigh. I hope the medication helps.

If it's Vivatonin, it takes about a month before you can see results (if any). Changes are usually gradual and subtle. I hope it works for you.

I'm looking for a groomer that can do a schnauzer clip well.

We are near Sydney Uni. Our old groomer (who was brilliant) isn't an option anymore ...

There has been no trauma or hair pulled out. From the last time I clipped her I noticed the fluffy fur had gone and black wire growing. Weird though. Could she now be getting her wire coat as the patch seems to be getting bigger????????? She is a very soft coated girl and I thought maybe now her wire is going to come through ???? My other mini is just fine. Thanks for giving me ideas though. xx

How's her thyroid levels?

My mini (now gone to the bridge) developed an underperforming thyroid when he was around 7 years old. The fur on the lower half of his back towards his tail became quite 'sparse' which sent us to the vet. He ended up having to have daily thyroxine tablets which fixed it. Thyroid levels are not usually automatically tested for when you do general blood panels. It is usually a separate test.

I just put him on the scales, he is 14kg but he is an oversized mini - he is 17 -18 inches from the floor to the top of his shoulders. Vet said 12kg is ideal for his size. With the reduction in food and the weight management food, he is still putting on weight. Exercise is a bit hard as he refuses to walk at a certain point when i take him on walks. I stand still and wait for him but he won't budge... i try another route and he stops at a certain point also. I take him for a run at the local park too but he doesn't run around that much, he just walks around sniffing. He doesn't get snacks or table scraps either! So i'm

I am hoping the puppy will get some kilos off also. There has been a lot of chasing around in the yard and wrestling :rolleyes:

Giraffez,

Are you sure he's not eating the puppy's food as well? My min schnauzer (RIP last year) was quite similar in nature and size to yours - reduce his food and he would reduce his physical activity to match!

He was also a master food thief ... to the point of stealing food from my standard schnauzer's bowl while he was eating from it!!!

I am hoping some of you may be able to help with suggestions.

We have a 12 year old Rotty x Doberman who suffers from arthritis and hip dysplaxia. We have seen her slowly decline this year in particular and realistically would be surprised if she is still with us this upcoming winter. We have just started to notice that she is not eating much at all - perhaps a couple of mouth fulls of food a day, and this morning she vomited up white frothy stuff. She is not terribly active as she is an invalid of sorts, but she always seemed to have a good appetite.

This loss of interest in food started a few weeks ago I would say. She has limited bowel movements as a result.

Does anyone know what we could do to assist her with eating, or is it all a sign of old age?

Thanks

Karen

Karen,

Dogs can be incredibly stoic so it is hard to say what is going on. The lack of appetite and the white frothy vomit can be signs of pancreatitis.

If it is pancreatitis, forcing her to eat more will make it worse.

I would get her checked out by a vet.

Maybe a different vet.

x2

My old boy had something similar a few years ago - it turned out to be a combination of chewing gum and a small decorative garden stone. The gum stuck the stone to the fur on the bottom of his paw and made it look like his pad.

He couldn't walk on it but he could sort of stand on it. We couldn't see it. We thought he had ruptured something but the vet started to shave the fur near the "pad" and it became obvious!

I understand a lot of the really small dogs have major blood-glucose issues and have to be fed much more often than a normal sized dog of their breed.

think I read somewhere blood clotting / circulation issues as well. It's just plain cruel.

I have a dog here that has pancreatitis. She is on a diet of kangaroo, rice and veges

yep :p

the reason I think the OP really needs to get vet help here is that apparently, on high protein food, her dog produces crystals ( I am guessing like the ones produced in the bladder? ) and for this reason- having TWO processes happening, it is not a time to 'try' things

Producing crystals in the joints sounds like a dog version of gout. So gout + pancreatitis = more help from the vet

Some breeds (e.g. schnauzers) have naturally higher levels of fats in the blood. It can cause problems for analysing blood - some of my old boy's blood tests need to be sent away to the lab instead of using the vet's inhouse equipment.

R&L:

One important hing is to not cut him back too savagely. Losing weight too quickly can cause some nasty medical issues.

My vet says when a dog's that big, getting weight off fast is a good thing.

I'd give him what you consider to be a normal meal for a dog that size until you talk to the vet.

But if he's THAT hungry, and at that size, I'd suggest you run a thyroid panel on him.

x2

Argh this is so annoying! White tail spiders are not the evil beasts everyone thinks. They SOMETIMES carry a bacteria on their fangs that affects SOME people and obviously SOME animals. Lots of other spiders carry the bacteria too.

http://www.toxinology.com/about/white_tail...ider_bites.html

http://www.avru.org/compendium/biogs/A000024b.htm

More often there is an underlying unnoticed condition (like cancer e.g. melanoma) that gets noticed because of the spider bite.

Someone (Skeptics Society?) did an investigation and found no evidence for white-tailed spider bite causing necrosis etc.

On a psychological level, its much easier to blame an external force (nasty, evil spider) than an internal one i.e. cancer, blood disorder etc. that wasn't noticed in time

Can you video his behaviour so you can show the vet? using a camera phone would probably be good enough.

Are you sure he's trying to vomit and not just cough / gag ?

Some dogs develop less rigid windpipes as they age. This means that the receptors on the inside of the windpipe get triggered easily and they cough/gag easily. It can appear that they are trying to vomit but nothing "comes up".

There is a fancy name for this but I can't remember it :D . From memory, small dogs are more prone to this than larger ones.

My 13-1/2 y.o. entire male has become incontinent. He is on medication but so far it isn't working.

Has anyone else had this problem and what did you do to fix the problem?

What's his water consumption like? Drinking excessive amounts of water could lead to not being able to "hold it all in". If this is the case, to fix the problem you have to find out why he is so thirsty.

Just wondering if anyone has tried that new brand of dog kibble, 'Yoghurt Plus'? It is available in coles stores.

My dog loves chicken raw or cooked and he loves yoghurt but he won't eat 'Yoghurt Plus' kibble!

I would suggest picking 2 breeds from each group and using the breed standards for each. That way you can compare and contrast within each group and between the 2 groups.

I would avoid referencing wikipedia (it makes you look bad on the referencing but you can use it to find proper references though )

Jessie,

I am in a similar situation to your potential adopters - I have an older standard schnauzer that lost his companion last year. I would like to get another dog but so far the thought of my boy being bullied by a younger dog has has made me reticent to follow through. IMO a kelpie pup is just far too boisterous.

I think this is it ;)

Kelpie-i,

IF you are going to have it operated on do it now. Just because it is classified as benign does not mean that it doesn't eventually grow into the adjacent areas of the mouth. Benign just means it doesn't spread to other parts of the body.

If you wait until it is "really" causing a problem, it may be too complicated to fix. Better to get it now when it is small OR decide not to operate at all.

This sort of tumour is centred around the root of one tooth in the mouth which means removal of the tumour is usually removal of teeth (plural) and part of the gum (but the bigger it is the more they have to take).

My miniature schnauzer (gone to the bridge last year) had one removed at the age of 9 years in 2004. He lost a number of teeth but recovered well. There was no re-occurrence. His tumour was fast growing so the choice of surgery for us was a no-brainer.

The following is a link to the most extreme case I know about http://www.pugrescuenc.org/pumpkin.htm

I'd just make sure that anything I was declaring was in the form of a stat dec and that all paperwork was certified copies i.e by a J.P.

It's sensible to stop the steroids and see what affect that has. Fingers crossed !!

You need to be able to distinguish between excessive thirst leading to excessive amounts of water being drunk which leads to not being able to "hold it all in" and incontinence - leaking irrespective of bladder fullness.

Incontinence medicine usually works on females by tightening the sphincter muscles and hence stopping leaking. It doesn't work so well on males.

If your old boy is drinking so much that he con't contain himself especially when he is asleep then it may be something else.

The most common is probably diabetes but there are a whole bunch of other things that could cause this.

Also, if he is drinking excessive amounts of water, then his blood and urine tests may come back in the normal range which actually indicates a problem.

How much water is he drinking?

My standard schnauzer Luigi had very similar symptoms to your rottie 3 years ago - incontinence and 'arthritic' pain. Bloodwork and urine tests always came back normal but he was drinking lots and lots of water and wetting the bed and peeing when he walked. Propalin seemed to work for a couple of weeks and then didn't. Eventually we ended up at a specialist.

It turned out to be a tumour on his adrenal gland. The only way to diagnose it was to do an ultrasound. It did not show on x-rays. What did show on x-rays was a badly inflamed bladder that the original vet thought was bladder cancer. The 'arthritic' pain was a really incredibly sore bladder due to the tumour. The solution for Luigi was surgery. He is now 15 and slowing down but still with us.

I hope the vet gets to the root of problem quickly for you.