SchnauzerMax

Can she ask her vet to contact the previous vet for details?

One adrenal gland significantly bigger than the other can mean a tumour. If it is, and it is confined to the one gland, then removing the (bad) gland is an option, depending on what sort it is and her overall health. You only need one good one to function normally. The drinking more water is a symptom. As it gets worse, you may have problems with bedwetting because of the sheer amount of water drunk. My standard schnauzer Luigi was 12 when symptoms started to be noticed and just 13 when he was successfully operated on. He died at 16 of old age. From memory the test is a Dexx Suppression test which takes > 4 hours to do but will indicate what sort it is. There are other choices if surgery is not an option.. there are other DOLers who have more experience with that side.

Can you set up a webcam and record what happens with your two when you go into your room?

And that's assuming it is easy to find!

Thanks everyone. We have all had a good look at Bazza's pallette and it appears normal. He is eating semi solids from a bowl ravenously. He is still suckling but can't hang on for long as he doesn't seem to be able to grip on and suck. He is noticeably smaller than his brothers as well. His breathing is very snuffly and you can hear wheezing in his thought area but not so much in his lungs. The vet said the problem appears to be in the sinus or throat region and his lymph glands are a little swollen. He gets distressed when you touch him in the lymph area as well. The wheezing and snuffling continues even when he is asleep and he does have some bubbles from his nose from time to time. When he had the two wounds to his facial area, he was bleeding from his nose for about 6 hours - not profusely but just a trickle of watery red blood. That was when the first vet gave him the medication that I am still giving him. There is no blood now - just watery discharge from time to time. Any advice is welcome as obviously I am wanting to give him every chance. He does not appear to be suffering but the vet says he suspects his oxygen stats would be way down and he is definitely working harder to breathe than he should. Maybe a change of antibiotic? On rare occasions, we have had to try a different type of antibiotic because the usual one (Clavulox?) wasn't doing the trick.

Heartbreaking. Just plain heartbreaking.

Yes if the growth is confined to one of the adrenal glands then surgery can be the best option. My old standard schnauzer (RIP) had this. The surgery was not without risks but his quality of life was so much better afterwards. He started showing symptoms at 12 and had the surgery around his 13th birthday. He lived to be 16.

The crazy dog-hating lady's statement rings a bell but it's not 'public' land. If I remember correctly it's 'Commonwealth owned' land. The law changed a few years ago. The only reason I remember is that when it changed one of the security guards at my local University tried to rather aggressively enforce it. He wasn't very successful because none of his colleagues would help him. He tried to detain one of my neighbours - a little old lady with 2 SWF for being offleash. He actually called for backup and his colleagues arrived and took him away instead :laugh:

My local vet examined Zeppi and said that it wasn't a broken tooth but an infection or a growth of some kind. We tried antibiotics (5 days) because it looked infected but there was no change. He then referred us to a specialist surgeon at the Animal Referral Hospital (ARH) in Sydney because the surgery to remove growths in the mouth is complex. The specialist surgeon said identification is by cutting it out and doing pathology on it - you can't be 100% sure until you get it under the microscope. If it is a nasty growth (malignant) then the best option is to get clear margins the first time and even if it is benign, on the whole, clear margins are better. I don't ever remember discussing taking biopsies - we went straight for the surgery before it got too big. I hope this helps. ETA. Zeppi's epulis looked like it was attached to the tooth beside the canine but it was actually the canine.

It needs to be identified. If it is an epulis then it will keep growing and growing and growing. Benign does not mean harmless. My old mini schnauzer Zeppi (RIP) had an epulis. We thought he had broken a tooth. It came up very quickly.The vet ended up taking the canine and surrounding teeth with clear margins. There was no option but to remove it. If it can't be removed, it needs to be cut back. I have seen pictures of a pug called Pumpkin in the states who was rescued with an epulis the size of a small pumpkin (hence the name). I can't find the pages - looks like they have been removed but it was horrible. It was so big that they couldn't remove it all just cut it back and monitor.

Bubonic plague is far too kind. A disease that leaves them dependent on the kindness of others for all their physical needs for a very long time is my wish. ETA Donation sent.

I'd be very careful with Tramadol if the dog has never had it before. In some dogs it causes disorientation and the subsequent distress means they are more manic than sedated.

If Moët is named after the champagne then apparently it is pronounced "Mo’wett". The original Moët was a Frenchman with a Dutch surname. http://lucire.com/2002/0530ll0.shtml

From my behavioural genetics textbook "Hybrid Vigour or Heterosis is the increase in viability and performance when different inbred strains are crossed." When was the book published, and how much credence does the author have? :) Probably more than wikipedia. You'd hope so for a text. But you never know. Plomin, R., DeFries, J. C., Knopik, V. S., & Neiderhiser, J. M. (2012). Behavioral Genetics (6th ed.). New York: Worth Publishers. Robert Plomin, PHD is MRC Research Professor of Behavioural Genetics at the Institute of Psychiatry, London. John C DeFries, PHD is Professor of Psychology at the Institute or behavioural Genetics, University of Colorado, Boulder. Valerie S. Knopik, PHD is Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Human Behavior and Behavioral & Social Sciences at the Waren Alpert School of Medicine, Brown University. Jenae M. Neiderhiser, PHD is Professor of Psychology at Penn State University. Plomin and DeFries have been working together for over 30 years and are known for their longitudinal studies of twins viz. The Colorado Adoption Project.

From my behavioural genetics textbook "Hybrid Vigour or Heterosis is the increase in viability and performance when different inbred strains are crossed."

Good advice fuzzy82 - it shouldn't have to be, but you have to use common sense when it comes to your dog's safety. Sometimes common sense and avoidance don't work because of the stupidity of the other dog owner. Today I was walking all three of mine, all on lead and perfectly under control, and we had stopped to talk to a good friend and her kids (the kids would not continue to walk home until they got a pat :D ). I saw a guy approaching us with his heeler X on lead, so I moved over and put all the dogs on a drop. Well he diverted and continued to walk straight for us intent on letting his dog meet and greet mine I asked him if he could keep his distance and my friend stepped in front of the still dropped and calm dogs. Thankfully he diverted again and passed at a distance. I mean who the hell is stupid enough to allow their dog to greet three random large dogs at once Later that day I took each of them, one at a time, to the local market and they got to play with a gorgeous brindle staffy X, a kelpie X and a SWF with no drama or trouble Do you think he approached you because your three were calm and perfectly behaved? If he was looking to socialize his dog then your three would have appeared to be perfect (to him) even though it was far from that for you.

No affenpinschers this year?

Low fat usually means less then 10%. 'Normal' Optimum is 14%. The 'light and mature' Optimum is 8%. It might be worth trying it.

In Australia, generics have the same active ingredient but can differ in the formulation of the tablet or liquid, so the generic looks different to the brandname version. Also, some generics contain gluten as a binder which is a problem if you are gluten intolerant or coeliac. Outside of Australia, I would be very wary.

Usually, you pay the bill and then claim. Petplan then send you a cheque in the mail that is minus your excess (and 25% if you have chosen that option). The cheque can take a while to appear as they don't do EFT and you are reliant on the vagaries of Australia Post as well as cheque print runs etc. I believe some vets will allow you to pay the excess etc and wait for payment from Petplan for the rest but I don't know of any specific vets that do this.

I'm so sorry. He was a special dog.

exactly! :laugh:

Maccas for dogs

I think it's appalling. me too

That actually sounds like a candida infection for which dilute ACV is a natural remedy. If it is, washing with soap products will make it itchier. The dilute ACV works by bringing the pH levels back to normal.