cavNrott

The cruciate ligament does not show on xray. What an xray would show in the case of cruciate rupture would be any arthritic changes caused by a ruptured or partially ruptured cruciate ligament. This would not be visible on xray until some time had passed since the injury. The 'invasive' test the vet described and is referring to sounds to be a Myelogram not an MRI. My Cavalier had a Myelogram for suspected Invertebral Disk Disease. The Myelogram revealed he did indeed have a ruptured disk in his spine for which he had immediate surgery. He was 5yo when this happened and of course there was no possibility of any contributing factor such as multiple large litters by age 4yo. $2000 for a Myelogram sounds about right. She sounds to be in considerable pain. 3 very large litters is a lot for a small dog aged at just 4yo when the 3rd litter was whelped. I would have the Myelogram done. Then you will know for sure if there is a spinal issue. With due respect to the opinion of the chiro, a Mini Poodle is not a Greyhound. I would not allow any manipulation of this dog prior to a Myelogram or MRI. If the vet thought it was a muscle problem he would have advised you accordingly.

The microchip registry has the details of the chip, not the vet. As far as I'm aware the owners name and details are not available to vets when they scan the chip. I may stand to be corrected there. If a dog is lost or is stolen then surely the first thing an owner would do is notify the microchip registry to post an alert against the chip. This is why we chip our dogs. When the chip is scanned the alert should be evident. I recently picked up a little Poodle I found wandering in traffic. I took him to the vet who scanned him and then phoned the microchip registry. The registry gave the vet the dog owners details. The vet called the owner and advised them that the dog had been found. This was at 5.30pm on a Saturday so definitely after normal business hours.

It sounds to me like it could be a spinal problem. I wonder why the orthopaedic specialist xrayed only the legs and not the spine. I would be asking for a spinal xray or MRI. I wouldn't be having any chiropractic manipulation done prior to having a spinal xray on this little one.

I seriously doubt a vet would tell the new owners to take the dog to the RSPCA to have a m/chip read. All vets have m/chip scanners. I also doubt the RSPCA confiscated the dog. It would not take weeks to sort out the ownership issue. A state dec by the new owners stating they had legitimately bought/rescued/were given the dog would be enough. There would be no need to leave the dog at the RSPCA 'for a few weeks'? Under the circumstances I seriously doubt the m/chip number had a 'stolen dog' alert attached to it so the RSPCA would have no legitimate grounds on which to confiscate the dog. None of this story rings true.

The only issue here I can see is that the Hewitts are in NSW and Silentchild is in Victoria.

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Jules I am so very sorry for your loss of beautiful Joey. Godspeed Joey. May you rest in peace.

Jules I'm so very sorry Joey's time has come. My heart goes out to you.

Jules, you and Joey are in my thoughts. I hope the cortisone helps your boy.

Vet prescribed the Baycox and has asked us to give her 0.75ml daily for 5 days, skip 7 days and repeat after that for 5 days. Now we are in the second day of skip days. I don't remember if vet was looking for all types of bacteria, eg Giardia or he may have particularly looking at Coccidia only. I might give him a ring just to confirm. She has been vac (2nd) and dewormed with Sentinal Spectrum at 12 weeks of age, and a week after she started her diarrhoea as per my post explaining the ordeal. I have not deworm her since but she is scheduled for her next, this month end. Where can I get the Canex or Fenpral? Is it available in pet store or from the vet? I haven't seen both the brand before.. I am so worried and stress If you have your pup on Sentinel Spectrum you do not need to double dose by giving Canex or Fenpral. Please check with your vet before adding in additional worming products.

I have been with Bow Wow Meow (underwritten by Hollards) since August 2009. Today I received my renewal notice for both of my dogs for the next year. Bow Wow Meow informed me they no longer cover 100% of the total vet bill and have reduced their cover to 80%. In addition to this they have increased the premium for my dogs by 49.8% each, up from last year. Basically I pay a lot more for a lot less cover. I also pay an excess for any claim. A reasonable policy increase per year is acceptable but a 49.8% increase is well beyond acceptable in my opinion. It's probably worth mentioning that I have made no claims during the year. Surely this is opportunistic. My dogs have recently turned 8 and 9 years of age respectively. Taking out a policy elsewhere is not a viable option once a dog turns 8 years old. This leaves with with the option of either paying up or cancelling and leaving my dogs uninsured. Reading the PDS really is of no great benefit because the customer cannot predict any changes these pet insurance companies can and will make when it's time for policy renewal. They appear to be legally able to move the goal posts whenever and however they wish. Nevertheless, I strongly advise reading the PDS very thoroughly. The list of exemptions increases every year and you need to know what the exemtpions are before taking out any pet insurance policy. I advise CAVEAT EMPTOR to anyone who is thinking of insuring with this company.

Same here. I've used this product for years on my Cavaliers and they've never looked greasy. Less is more with Cowboy Magic and brushing well with a good quality brush leaves their coats shiny, soft and matt free.

My now 9yo Cavalier had IDD episode 4 years ago. It was acute rather than chronic. I was present when his disk ruptured, he was running out the back door and suddenly stopped and was screaming in pain. He was virtually paralysed from the shoulders down. I rushed him to the vet immediately and we were referred to the Specialist Centre within a couple of hours. Bronson had a myelogram which revealed a ruptured disk in his spine. Whilst he was still under GA the specialist called to tell me that surgery was necessary if Bronson was to walk again. I gave the ok and surgery was performed immediately. The ruptured disk material was pressing on his spinal cord and no messages from the brain were getting beyond the area of the pressure. Hence he was unable to walk and would probably remain so without surgery. Bronson had a problem free recovery and after a month or so he was able to walk and run normally. He has had never had any further problems with his spine. He runs and plays with my other Cav and has no issues at all. He has no arthritis, possibly because I've had him on a daily glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM supplement since he was a puppy. Xrays show bones rather than nerves and/or tissue so either an MRI or a myelogram would be best if you intend to go down that path. Sorry to hear you are going through a difficult time. If you need any further information, ask away.

I agree with the above. You need to provide a safe home for this puppy. She's been neglected and teased by your housemates who are not interested in the welfare of the pup. You appear to be an inexperienced dog owner who needs help and advice on how to raise your dog to be the best she can be. I doubt you need a behaviourist but you do need to get this dog into obedience training with a trainer who is experienced with the breed. You have a very smart, very energetic breed. She's behaving normally for a pup who has not had any training. You dog doesn't know what is acceptable behaviour because she hasn't been trained to know what is acceptable. Please protect your dog and provide her with the training she needs to become a well behaved example of the breed. There is a thread on this forum for the Rottweiler breed. Please join that thread and you will receive advice and direction from dedicated owners of the breed. They will be only too happy to assist you.

The Lort Smith Animal Hospital does great work. I suspect you are getting Lort Smith confused with the LDH (Lost Dogs Home)which has a very high euthanasia rate.

Well yes, that's precisely what car insurance is about...accidental damage. Car insurance does not cover a malfunction causing the vehicle to breakdown. How very astute of you to acknowledge car insurance covers 'the accident side of things'. Would you claim on your car insurance if by chance you damaged your car by, say, running into your fence or letter box? A situation which could have been avoided had you been more vigilant. I presume you don't have private health insurance since you assume rest, worries and anxiety etc., are the cause of illness. Do you avail yourself of the Government subsidised Medicare system if you need medical attention or do you insist on paying for treatment out of your own pocket? Afterall had you 'chilled out' you probably would not need to avail yourself of medical treatment. I hope your dog never suffers a serious health issue or injury that is very expensive to treat. We all have every right to insure our animals or not. You are exercising your right as are we who do choose to insure our pets. Pet Insurance is optional, as is private health insurance and motor vehicle insurance. I choose to insure my dogs to ensure they receive specialist veterinary treatment for any illness or injury. One of my dogs suffered a ruptured disk in his spine. His specialist surgery cost in excess of $7,700. Because he is insured there was no consideration necessary as to whether I could afford to go ahead with immediate surgery, it was a given. This dog had never had a sick day in his 6 years of life prior to the disk rupture. Had he not had immediate surgery he would never have walked again and would have been euthanised.

Strange reply You are aware we are talking here about pet insurance, aren't you? I don't think most dogs are into hypchondria.

It seems you are referring to an retractable lead, not a long lead. They're not similar. I'm not a fan of retractable leads and wouldn't use one. A long lead, on the other hand, is a valuable tool for recall training.

Excellent post persephone. That is exactly how we who have had cause to be part of the palliative care thread see the purpose of the thread. Thank you for stating your opinion so clearly and compassionately.

In my opinion there are way too many non dog related threads on DOL. Often when using the 'view new content' option there are so many threads about non dog related issues that one could be forgiven for thinking it's a general chat forum instead of a pure bred dog forum. If people need the palliative care sub forum they'll find it or someone will point them in the right direction. The palliative care sub forum is a place where we can receive support and advice from others who have experience in caring for a terminally ill dog. The palliative care sub forum should not be a place for general chit chat or for diagnosis of an unknown or suspected health issue (as has happened in the past). It is a sub forum for those who are caring for a dying dog. Is there actually any general chit chat at all in the palliative care forum? I doubt there's general chit chat and trust it will remain so. What happened is that there was a request for opinions on the possible health issue with a sick dog that had not been diagnosed by a vet. This request was followed by comments explaining the exact nature of palliative care. I think this thread should probably be in the Forum Suggestions forum. If you read my original post you'd know that I did post in there and didn't get much of a response. If there is no general chit chat in the palliative care forum, why did you complain about it? Or is your actual complaint that this thread has shone a torch on that forum in a negative light? Having a bad day Sheridan or too much time and nothing constructive to do? I did not complain about general chit chat. I said it should not be a place for general chit chat OR a suspected health issue with a dog. Had I been complaing about chit chat I would have use the word AND instead of OR. Perhaps take time to read and understand the reply instead of being so eager to jump on the attack. I don't think this thread has shown the palliative care forum in a negative light at all. That may have been the intention but if so, it failed to meet the objective.

Staffyluv I know Ollie's thread and our communication set us on the right track regarding diet. Sophie's appetite improved greatly when we followed your advice. I found the palliative care sub forum to be of invaluable support and assistance when caring for Sophie. Sophie's story is in the 'Unwell Rotties' thread. I didn't start a separate thread for her because when I saw people doing the sensible thing and starting a thread on their palliative care dog I had already entered a lot of information about our journey in the Unwell thread.

In my opinion there are way too many non dog related threads on DOL. Often when using the 'view new content' option there are so many threads about non dog related issues that one could be forgiven for thinking it's a general chat forum instead of a pure bred dog forum. If people need the palliative care sub forum they'll find it or someone will point them in the right direction. The palliative care sub forum is a place where we can receive support and advice from others who have experience in caring for a terminally ill dog. The palliative care sub forum should not be a place for general chit chat or for diagnosis of an unknown or suspected health issue (as has happened in the past). It is a sub forum for those who are caring for a dying dog. Is there actually any general chit chat at all in the palliative care forum? I doubt there's general chit chat and trust it will remain so. What happened is that there was a request for opinions on the possible health issue with a sick dog that had not been diagnosed by a vet. This request was followed by comments explaining the exact nature of palliative care. I think this thread should probably be in the Forum Suggestions forum.

In my opinion there are way too many non dog related threads on DOL. Often when using the 'view new content' option there are so many threads about non dog related issues that one could be forgiven for thinking it's a general chat forum instead of a pure bred dog forum. If people need the palliative care sub forum they'll find it or someone will point them in the right direction. The palliative care sub forum is a place where we can receive support and advice from others who have experience in caring for a terminally ill dog. The palliative care sub forum should not be a place for general chit chat or for diagnosis of an unknown or suspected health issue (as has happened in the past). It is a sub forum for those who are caring for a dying dog.

I hope the information about Sophie's treatment in the Unwell Rotties thread assists you. One thing I highly recommend is to consult with a caring oncologist. It's been over 4 1/2 years now since I lost Sophie and I doubt I can remember a lot of the supplemtents I gave her. If you can wade through the thread I documented everything in there. If I can help in any way, I'm happy to do so.