cavNrott

For Benny, please don't let him suffer. If the meds are not keeping him pain free you need to rethink your plans of keeping him going until the weekend. The most important thing is keeping him pain free and if he's growling at you he must be in serious pain. Can you increase the dose of his pain relief meds? If the answer is no then please do the kindest thing you can do for him. Give him the gift of release from pain. Edited to add: Sophie had a raw diet all her life until she was diagnosed with oral osteosarcoma. Because of the bacteria in raw meat I cooked all her meat and vegetables after she was diagnosed. She was fed organic food only, after diagnosis.

I'm so sorry to hear Benny has oral osteosarcoma. My Rottweiler Sophie, also had oral osteosarcoma in her mandible. The most important thing you can do for Benny is to make sure you have effective pain relief for him and love him for the time he has left. This is such a difficult and very sad time for you. Take care of yourself.

I'm inclined to agree with sarsaparilla. I think he was having you on too and getting sick kicks out of it.

Agree absolutely with this. My Cavaliers have 30 inch crates. 24 inch would be too small. My dogs are 10.7kg and 11.5kg.

What a beautiful young man Ernie is

I know those 'other days' so well Kajtek. It takes time to learn how to live without them. I'm so sorry.

Unfortunately you'll have to do your research. Make sure you carefully read the PDS of the insurance policies your interested in. You need to know of any general exclusions or breed exclusions.

No no DDD, no thanks necessary. Zantac is evil, I doubt I've ever felt so nauseous as when I was taking that stuff. There absolutely no need for you to feel awful about following your vets advice. We trust our vets to do their best for our dogs and they're not too keen on us disagreeing with the prescribed medication. Some medications though effective for some dogs, seriously suck for others. (same with humans).

DDD what a brilliant update. I'm so glad Danny is on the right track now. It was that darn Zantac that was making him feel ill.

I was told by a surgeon who does this surgery, as well as teaches the ruptured ligament procedure at Werribee Vet Uni that ligaments once ruptured or partially ruptured do not heal or reconstruct.

I read those reviews and it looks like most were posted by young people who could do to learn some manners, to say nothing of spelling and grammar. They appeared to be more concerned about the mature age of the staff and volunteers than anything else. AAPS is busy, especially on weekends. They don't have the time to pander to the sense of entitlement those who feel it's their due. The ones who want the exclusive attention of a staff member so they can ask inane questions. I read things have changed since I used to go there and evidently not for the better which is a shame because I think it's a good shelter and their priority is always the welfare of the animals.

Well that's not very helpful of them. Dogs are microchipped for a reason which seems to be escaping AAPS. I hope they don't make a big mistake with this dog. It's always been their practise not to allow one of their dogs to go to a home where there are entire dogs so evidently they haven't had a change of heart.

It's not a pound BC, it's a shelter. When I was doing my little bit to rescue Rottweilers they did work with me but I had only desexed dogs at home. I agree a Russian Black Terrier should only go to experienced people. Do we know exactly who the breeder of this dog is? Microchip? I know a breeder has been contacted but has the person/breeder who bred this dog been contacted?

What a sweet face that dog has.

Canetoad I guess all you can do is watch and wait. There clearly is a problem of some description but discovering exactly what it is will evidently not be easy. Good luck with it.

Xrays do not show ligaments. They show only arthritic changes in the knee that may be caused by a ruptured or partially ruptured ligament. If ligaments did show on xray then why not soft tissue damage? It doesn't happen. Manipulating a knee with a damaged ligament under sedation will result in the dog not reacting to pain whereas if the knee is manipulated with the dog fully conscious and aware it will react immediately to any pain caused by the manipulation. What you do is entirely up to you. I wish you and your dog well. Perhaps contact OsSoSwift about a competent vet who is closer to home. That would make it much easier for you.

What a beautiful big boy he is.

Now that you've made the decision try not to worry. I hope all goes well with the surgery and make sure she is sent home with plenty of good, effective pain relief.

:There is a reason he was sore and limping two months ago. Ligaments once ruptured or partially ruptured to not repair irrespective of resting or controlled exercise. : If the knee looked good on xray why was the vet surprised he wasn't lame or limping. Note: ligaments do not show on xray. : 6 weeks later when he chased the car you could see the knee was very unstable and swollen. You decided on surgery. : After flying him to Brisbane and took him to QVH where he was xrayed on both knees and hips and no sign of a torn ligament. Note: Ligaments do not show on xray but vet will notice some arthritic changes in knees when ligaments are ruptured or partially ruptured. With my Rottie, she was running and walking ok most times but I could see the knee was not stable at times. I wonder if the partially torn ligament was holding up most of the time and if this is the case with your dog. I had TPLO surgery done and she had no further problems with that knee. The other knee went at a later date. I think you need to investigate this further. If you noticed an unstable knee on various occasions then it's safe to assume the knee is indeed unstable. I wish you all the best. It's difficult to know what to do when the dog seems ok most of the time. It's the times when the knee doesn't look ok that you need to have a good rethink about what should be done. edited to fix bolding.

Hi PeiLuvR. Great to hear from you again after all this time. I hope you stick around. The only vets I would recommend are the ones the Specialist Veterinary Centre, the ones I suggested to Monchichi. I wouldn't let a GP type vet do this surgery. My neighbour had a SWF who was diagnosed with LP, not sure of the grade, and she had a fairly well known vet do the surgery on one leg and a couple of weeks later on the other leg. This dog was still skipping and hopping when they sold their house three years later. I'd rate those surgeries as a dismal failure. Not sure if the size/weight of the dog would have any bearing on the cost of the surgery. The same skill is necessary if the surgery is to be successful whatever the size of dog. Not sure if the anaesthesia cost would make a difference. Re: xrays. Maybe manual manipulation is telling the vet all he needs to know. I doubt there would be much to see on xray that couldn't be felt on manipulation.

I'm not sure whe're talking about the same product. Enzyplex comes in a tub and is around the $100 mark, perhaps a bit over $100. Has been around that price for the last 6 years. I think I paid about $95 for the product - The postage/delivery was about $10. Yes, that would be the one. We are talking about the same product ;)

I think best practise is to take the advice of your vet unless or until proven otherwise re the Enzyplex. My vet had never heard of Enzyplex until I took the tub in for him to see so don't be surprised if your vet doesn't know anything about it either. I would be booking your dog in to see an internal medicine specialist ASAP. Perhaps the Werribee Vet Uni or if you're prepared to drive a little further, to one of the internal medicine specialists at the Specialist Veterinary Centre in Glen Waverley or at their other centre in Essendon. I take my dogs to the Glen Waverley Branch if there's anything I think our vet is taking too long to diagnose. I'm happy with the Specialist Centre. They've been able to diagnose and treat my dogs quickly if our vet is still futzing around doing his best at trying to find out what's wrong. You need a referral to a specialist centre. Poor Charlie has been suffering with this now for seven weeks so an urgent specialist appointment would be the best thing to do for him. I don't give my pancreatitis girl anything to eat that has a fat content over 6%. I feed raw so that's not a problem because Kangaroo has a fat content of about 5% maximum. Occasionally I feed some dry food for breakfast and then I feed only Canidae Platinum due to it's low fat content. Another low fat dry food is Sunday Pets Deleganics Senior but that's not really an easy food to access. I know if I feed my girl anything with a high fat content she'll feel uncomfortable though she hasn't had a full on pancreatitis attack for a few years now. The low fat content food is very important. I do hope your vets have told you this. Check the fat content on the bag of Royal Canin food you're feeding Charlie. If it's over 6% I'd be phasing that food out and introducing a low fat dry food starting immediately. You need to do the change over gradually though. I gather you're using a phone which may be why you can't see your replies though you're still ok to find the thread and see replies from others. Not sure why you can't see your own replies I'm on a PC so no probs there and I get email advice from DOL when a thread I've subscribed to receives a reply. Please keep us posted on your progress with Charlie. I hope you can find some answers quickly to set him on the right path.

Bowel incontinence can be an issue with this surgery. I would think long and hard before having it done and research all other options.

I'm not sure whe're talking about the same product. Enzyplex comes in a tub and is around the $100 mark, perhaps a bit over $100. Has been around that price for the last 6 years.

Charliebear, I really can't remember where I bought the Enzyplex from, it was so long ago. It lasts for ages. I suggest you Google it to find a supplier. I truly hope it works for your dog as well as it's worked for mine. I did start giving it to my dog when she was suffering from a Pancreatitis attack with the full knowledge and approval of her vet. He said if it didn't work for her then it would do no harm.