cavNrott

I've just printed out the info about Vacci-check and will be taking it to my vet when I go there in 10 days. It will be interesting because this is principle(owner)of the vet practice who told me 18 months ago that I was 'uneducated and placing my dogs at risk' when I told him that I would not be vaccinating them again. They had the full course of puppy vaccs plus the booster 12 months later. This vet was adamant that annual vaccinations were necessary and we had quite a spirited discussion on the subject. He was not interested in titre testing and gave me an estimate of approx $350 for each dog if I insisted on having titres done. I will be seeing his partner so it will be interesting to see what transpires.

Kayla, how is Maxie? Were you able to bring him home today?

Contact Erny. Maybe PM her though I do hope she'll chime in here so we can all learn from her. She knows about vaccinations, antibodies and immunity. For sure she knows more about the subject than my vet and probably more than most vets do. edited because I don't seem able to type a sentence without E or O

I think there's a strong possiblilty that customs would seize it. They would consider it to be dog food. I wouldn't risk it.

I'm certainly not in a position to argue the pain aspect. I saw the surgeon fairly quickly and had the surgery done immediately the Myelogram proved it was indeed a ruptured disk. I don't know if IVDD has ongoing pain. My dog didn't show signs of pain upon the surgeons initial examination. But knowing all that he does, he was probably very gentle and did nothing to cause pain. If FCE dogs have no ongoing pain, is any movement restored after a period of time?

Thanks Erny. An excellent explanation. I agree that euthanasia should be given very careful consideration with all alternatives being investigated. Unfortunately with IVDD the time for consideration is limited to about 48 hours if what the surgeon told me was correct and I have no reason to believe otherwise. Hopefully this dog in question is not suffering from IVDD and that that he will improve.

This is not the case at all. With IVDD, the area of rupture is pressing on the spinal cord so clearly no messages from the brain can get past the area of compression, therefore there is no pain. There is of course the initial pain caused by the rupture and the dog in question appears to have had pain because the OP said growling and yelping was heard. My dog screamed in pain when the disk ruptured. We saw the vet within 15 minutes and we were sent on our way to the specialist surgeon. This took another 10-15 minutes by which time there was no pain because there was no feeling beyond the area of rupture. IVDD is acute. I know nothing about FCE but if it the conditon develops slowly then this was not the case with the dog in question.

Unfortunately there is a window of 48 hours in which there is the chance of surgery being successful. I was informed of this by the specialist who performed my dog's surgery. Unfortunately, this negates any hastening slowly and a fairly quick decision needs to be made, if it is indeed IVDD. Of course a Myelogram or MRI needs to be done to confirm. I'm not sure why a vet would suggest FCE without even seeing evidence of same via myelogram or MRI. It sounds like clutching at straws. Neither FCE or IVDD be accurately diagnosed without evidence.

I'm so sorry Kirty

Unfortunately Kirty, xrays are not helpful. They will show only bone and what needs to be shown in the spinal cord and the disks between the vertebrae. A Myelogram is probably less expensive than an MRI and will show the condition of the spine and discs.

I don't know anything about FCE but my perfectly healthy dog ran into the yard and fell in a screaming heap. He was paralysed from the shoulders down. I rushed him to the vet immediately who sent us to a specialist surgeon. The surgeon said surgery was the only solution. Because I took immediate action and not much time had elapsed he said the dog had a very good chance of a full recovery. My dog had a myelogram which showed a ruptured disk. He had the surgery and it certainly was very expensive. It was more than $5000 and worth every cent. The surgery was successful and my dog is now living a normal life, running, playing and doing everything a normal dog does. His surgery was performed 4 years ago and he is now almost 10yo. There is a time limit on a possible successful outcome of the surgery. I made the decision as soon as the surgeon suggested surgery and the dog was taken in right away for the myelogram. The surgeon called me while my dog was still under the general anaesthetic for the myelogram, to give me the firm diagnosis and surgery was performed while he was still under anaesthetic. I don't wish to sound abrupt but this is not the time for your friend to sit around for a couple of days pondering the dog's situation. She needs to make a decision now and take action. Maybe she could research IVDD (Intervertebral disk disease). I hope it all works out ok.

Thinking of you Kayla at this very stressful time and hoping for the best result possible for Maxie.

I can't find anyone in Australia who stocks 'Healthy Mouth'. Do you know if it's available anywhere here?

Steve and Erny. Your advice and comments about Calendular are very informative and very much appreciated by those of us who are beginners on the Calendular road. I'm learning every time a comment is made by either of you about this and taking all your info on board.

So boiling water would not kill off everything nutritious in the calendular flowers? I'd have thought not many 'goodies' would get past boiling water.

I wonder how long it would last in the fridge before losing its effectivness or going off (if it actually does go off)

Thanks Erny. Going by colour is a good idea. Golden yellow it shall be

That sounds like a good idea. Erny, to brew calendular tea in bulk, what do you suggest for the ratio of flowers to water if I wanted to brew a litre at a time? My dogs don't have any skin problems but I want to use the calendular as the final rinse, probably using a sauce bottle. edited to fix quote.

Yep. My vet has always said the same thing, keep the stitches and the incision dry.

What do you mean when you say you have a very 'previous' mini schnauzer I haven't a clue what that means. When it's raining take an umbrella and go outside with her. Don't just put her out. Use a word you are comfortable with and when she eventually obliges, praise like mad. Eventually she will connect the word with the action and you'll have a dog who eliminates on command. As for her not eating in front of you. Put her food down, tell her she may eat and sit quietly on a chair in the room, stay still and be quiet, read a book. If she doesn't eat after say, 15 minutes take the food up and try again in half an hour or so. Make sure she hasn't had any treats since her last meal. When she is hungry she will eat. You need to win this one and it will take time. Presently the dog is calling the shots and you need to turn this around. Nipping at heels must be discouraged. Correct with a stern Ah Ah and redirect her with a toy or give her a command to sit or any other command, this is to give her something else to do other than nip heels. How old is this little dog? efs

Very dangerous advice. In my breed they never go over their due date without it being due to a major problem. Primary inertia can happen in any breed so if they are not in labour by the due date they should be monitored by a vet and have a caesar at the first sign of puppy distress. It is always safest to ensure that you actually know if they are pregnant or not by ultrasound or x-ray. With modern vet practices, guesswork and risking bitches should be a thing of the past. Its not dangerous at all to not rush to the vet if they don't give birth exactly on the first day 63 days after the 1st mating. 63 to 65 days is a common time frame for almost all breeds & that is an average guide not a set in stone day. Your particular line of dogs may always do this but not everyones dogs or indeed all dogs of a specific breed whelp precisely to date. For some dogs traveling back & forth to the vets, going in there, being handled & examined etc may be so stressful if they are that close to the day that its not worth putting them through it unless there is a problem or sensible reason to think so. They may start to give birth in a crate in the car & be so stressedOver many years mine have whelped at 59 days, which was alarming but she did that with 3 litters & all was well, through to 67 days for others & all was well too. Ultra sound is fine if one must know but is not always reliable in numbers & they can absorb. Xray is only for a really need to do IMO. Everyone does is differently but I can't see danger in going over 63 days. It is common & normal. Many vets wouldn't even say come in if it was day 64 & nothing was wrong. The point is that the OP doesn't even know if her dog is pregnant or if it's a phantom so clearly this dog has not been seen by a vet at all. The dog has hardly been caused any stress by travelling, being handled, examined etc., by a vet. Your dogs may have sailed through gestation and whelping without any problems but it's very unwise to assume the OP's dog, who you have never seen and know nothing about, will be ok. Why would you not encourage the OP to take the dog to the vet? You state there is nothing dangerous going on here. You can't possibly know that. For some reason that I fail to understand, the OP appears very reluctant to seek vet advice irrespective of her not having a clue about her dog's condition. This to me is foolish to say the least. If there is a problem the dog suffers due to lack of vet attention. Why gamble with your dog's health by witholding vet advice? To the OP. Keep your dog safe. Take her to the vet. efs

Peter Laverty did the complicated spinal surgery on my dog.

Oh I trust it will all turn out ok on Thursday. Try not to worry too much

Is the vet still open? Can you ring and ask them what you should do? Otherwise ring them early in the morning. I hope Gus recovers quickly.

Excellent news Kayla. I wonder if he is the surgeon who operated on my Cavalier's spine. If so, you're certainly on a winner there. Good luck with it all and please give us progress reports.