cavNrott

This is for Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency. Not all animals with pancreatic problems have this. You are correct. It is for EPI but for it has prevented further acute pancreatitis attacks in my dog. I mentioned it here as it may help other dogs with pancreatitis issues.

Enzyplex has prevented my dog from having any further acute Pancreatitis attacks. There have been no further attacks since I started her on this product. It's expensive but well worth the cost. Much cheaper than paying vet fees and certainly better than the pain and discomfort the dog suffers in the course of each attack.

Glucosamine is far more efficient when linked with Chondroitin and MSM. My dogs are given this supplement from the time they're pups and so far so good my oldies don't have arthritis. I've always used a human supplement, Wagners MSM Joint Formula.

About your chiro Monchichi. Unless he is very experienced with canine anatomy I would not let him touch your dog. If you want to go down the path of chiro I would go to the Vet, Barry Haywood. He's somewhere in the outer S or SE suburbs. Someone will chime in with his contact details I'm sure. I've lost mine. Swimming is excellent non weight bearing exercise but it won't do much to help the patella issue though it will help your dog get fit but you would need to swim the dog more regularly. My Rottie was swimming three times a week after ACL surgery. As VizslaMomma suggested, the treadmill in Moorabbin would be better and they also have an animal physiotherapist that you would consult with beforehand.

Monchichi. Wing Tip Wong may have retired from practice now. I heard he was still teaching at Werribee Vet Uni. though. I can recommend Pete Laverty at the Melbourne Specialist Centre. He got my dog walking again when the local vet was unsure if this would ever happen. This dog walks runs and plays normally. However I think your ideas are very sensible. I would not be rushing into any Patella surgery unless your dog had difficulty just being a dog and unless he indicated he was in pain. Re: Insurance. If your dog was insured well before a diagnosis is recorded he will be covered. If not, call the insurance company and ask about the policy. You probably have the PDS so have a read and see what it says about cover.

I am so very sorry for your loss of your beautiful boy. Godspeed handsome boy.

Monchichi, since you are in Melbourne as I am, there are only two specialist vets I would let touch my dogs. One is Wing Tip Wong at the Werribee Vet Teaching College...I don't know the correct name for it. The other is Pete Laverty at the Melbourne Specialist Veterinary Centre. They have a branch in Glen Waverley and also at Essendon. I'm making another post here because I just read your dog has shown signs of having LP.

When my Cavalier was about 18 months of age the vet diagnosed her with a Grade 2 Luxating Patella. She had shown no sign or symptoms of a dicky knee and the knee felt quite stable to me. Vet asked should he book her in for surgery and I said not until I saw some sign of her knee giving her grief. This dog is now almost 10 years old and has still never shown any sign of having a luxating patella. I've been taking her to a vet closer to home for the last 7 years. I asked him what he thought of her knees without telling what the previous vet diagnosed. This current vet said her knees were stable and they have proven to be stable for all these years.

Geez! It's all trial and error when looking for the best way to do things for a sick dog. Your own sleep never warrants a second thought. I know this from experience when nursing my Rottie in her final year of life after a cancer diagnosis. She was diagnosed at 6yo and I lost her exactly one year and one week later. I was lucky to have her for that last year after she was given a prognosis of just a few weeks. It was a good year and with a dedicated oncologist we were able to keep her pain free so she could enjoy the time she had left. I was hoping for no throw up for Danny this morning This little boy could not be in better hands DDD You're doing a great job and I can only imagine your vet bills.

Hoping Danny...and you, both have a good night and an uneventful morning. Maybe the Famotidine will make all the difference. Let us know how he is in the morning please DDD.

We're all different and probably so are our dogs. What suits one doesn't suit another. I can not take Zantac but Mylanta doesn't bother me at all.

If I lived closer I would love to join you but it's a bit of a stretch from Vic.

You did say yes, (I have my DOL name in brackets on my page). I don't know who most DOL folk are on Facebook. Oh, poor little Danny being so sick early this morning. He's a very lucky boy he has you to take care of him I'm no vet but I think Zantac should be considered to be a contributing factor to his vomiting at least until it's absolutely ruled out. There must be a similar drug the vet could prescribe instead, to see if the nausea/vomiting continues. I didn't know Zantac was causing my nausea until my daughter in law told me she had the same reaction. I stopped taking it immediately and the nausea ceased.

No no, don't apologise. I am just upset that I may have been giving him a medicine that makes him sick when it is supposed to stop him being sick. :( Just so hard to know what to do. He is like two dogs: morning dog and afternoon/evening dog. He is 16; I just want the time we have left to be better than this for him. :cry: I know how that feels, wanting the time he has left to be as good for him as it can be. He looks such a sweet boy. I saw a pic on Facebook of him and immediately sent you a friend request. If it's the Zantac causing his nausea there are similar drugs the vet can prescribe that don't have that side effect, or hopefully not. It's trial and error with our dogs, if only they could tell us. My 11yo Cavalier has congestive heart failure. He's been on meds each 12 hours every day for the past seven months and he's now ailing fairly quickly. I can see the deterioration happening. I want the time he has left to be good for him. He's my special boy, I can't imagine being without him. He has had no evident problems with his medication but his gas would could strip paint from the walls so something is happening with his digestive system though it it doesn't appear to make him feel nauseous.(Can't say the same for me with his foul smelling wind). Let us know what the vet says tomorrow about the Zantac and the nausea.

Sorry DDD. I didn't mean to upset you. Not everyone can take Zantac but I'm unsure about whether or not it affects dogs the same as it did with me.

Zantac causes me extreme nausea. I only took it for a few days on prescription and had to stop taking it. It was truly awful.

Hear hear! I completely agree Huski. My Newf (not a highly-regarded Obedience breed) is also expected to have a 100% recall. Yes it took patience and perseverance and some thinking-outside-the-box to help him learn that but I believe it is my responsibility to my dog to do my very best to ensure their safety and a reliable recall may one day mean the difference between life and death. Would you say there are any breeds of dogs that could never be trained to have a reliable recall? (Of course there are individual differences within breeds as well) What about the LGDs?? Another here in total agreement My Rottie immediately recalled when attempting to chase his arch enemy, the roaming cat. Our very large off leash park is in suburbia. Our 'burb' is now considered to be an inner suburb. I didn't mind at all that the park was unfenced because it encouraged people to obedience train their dogs. I don't frequent that park now but when I was there almost every day for seven years the majority of dogs there were fairly well trained. There were a few exceptions with the little dogs but they usually stayed close to their owners. The park was frequently mostly by medium to large dogs.

May I suggest obedience training for the 'ferals' Dona?

I think we have come to accept that a 95% recall is described as bomb proof (semantics). If my dog is sniffing he will recall immediately. That was also the case with my Rottie. Sniffing is no excuse not to recall immediately IMO. I agree with Jules, especially that a recall should end in a positive result for the dog. I call, praise, treat and release. To do otherwise would make recall an unattractive proposition for any dog. If the dog is about to experience something it clearly doesn't like I will go and get him/her rather than call him/her to me. When we need to leave the fun of the off leash park I go to the dog and attach the lead rather than calling him/her to me. When an off leash park is unfenced and bordered by busy roads, to allow a dog to 'enjoy of off leash activity first' when that dog does not have reliable recall is not a risk I would take. Edited to say: Stressy I don't recall off lead until the dog is responding every time I give the command. I do of course let the dog off to play but I don't recall until I'm sure he'll respond. (another gimpy leg here but nerve damage, fortunately not a tumour.)

My very hairy Cavalier often pees on his front legs and unless I wipe the legs he does smell after a couple of days. I use unscented baby wipes, they do the trick.

When he ignores you and he's on the long line, reel him in immediately Stressy, then praise and treat even though it wasn't his idea to respond immediately. This how I trained my Rottie, she was on the long line every day until her response was immediate. The end result was a bomb proof recall, it had to be as our unfenced off leash park had busy roads on two sides...well three sides if you add in the possibility of her going through the car park. My Rottie girl did the same this as Ernie is doing. Her recall was brilliant until the day she decided it was optional. This is when the long line was put into practise.

I have a Cavalier KC Spaniel who is almost 10yo and has never needed a dental. She still has pristine white teeth. Very unusual for this breed my vet tells me. My 11yo Cav needed his first dental at age 9yo and he'll probably need another before too long. His teeth were good when I fed RMB's but I can no longer feed them due to his digestion issues. Now they get roo or goat tendons or something chewy after their dinner.

The mixtures I bought for my dog and the one I more recently got for myself all taste exactly the same. Foul.

You must be up in the middle of the night too - I thought I got it before anyone would see it . Are you a fellow insomniac Steve? That accounts for me being here in the early hours.

Well done! Mrs RB for your success with the council. Now could you please come and have a chat to our mob. We need you here as nothing's working. They won't replace the bins they took away. Bags that can't be unrolled are an excellent idea. It really pisses me off when people take half the role to save spending $2 for a packet of 100 bags. Bad luck to everyone else when the bags run out. I carry extra bags with me and offer them to anyone I see who intends to walk away from their dog's crap. Most take the bag and pick up but a few tell me where to go. I think I'll start taking my phone with me. If they think they're being caught on camera they may have a change of heart. Where are the parents of those young kids who think the bags are placed in the park for their amusement?