cavNrott

I had much the same situation with my 6yo Rottweiler. The first biopsy came back from pathology as inconclusive. 3 months later on second biopsy it was found to be a highly malignant tumour. Can you elaborate please Spottychick. Which tests other than histopathology can be done to determine what the tumours are? The tumours you treated by natural methods that went into remission. Could you explain the natual methods you used and what type of tumours they were? If it ever happens again to one of my dogs I want to be fully armed with as much knowledge as possible. I did use alternative treatments as well as allopathic meds for my dog and she happily lived for much longer than expected but eventually the cancer cut her life short.

I've known about SM since that Crufts doc was shown a couple of years ago and I've read what I was able to find about it but I didn't know intervertebral disk disease was a symptom. When my Cav had his laminectomy in December he had a myelogram to track his spine and spinal cord to find where the cord was compressed. He was paralysed from the shoulders down and they imaged the entire spine. If there was evidence of a syrinx surely the specialist would have have told me. I can't remember if the base of the skull was shown on the imaging, I think it was. They manipulated his neck when they did the initial examination. At the time I though if he didn't have a painful neck then, he would have by the time they finished pushing and pulling his head around. I didn't know a dog's neck was so flexible. They have an MRI machine at the Specialist Referral Centre where I take my dogs. I've been there so often in the last 3 years we're on a first name basis. I think they probably know all about SM, at least I hope so. I'll make enquiries. I hope your boy is ok Sunnyflower and wish you well. Please keep us updated.

I used them on my Rottweilers and for my Cavaliers...mostly for my own benefit because I can't be fussed doing up and undoing buckles. I use the material martingales with the chain loop and ring. They only wear them on walks, no collars at home.

I've been giving my dogs wild salmon oil for 3-4 years. It's supposed to be better than the normal fish oil because it's from deep sea, cold water salmon. Mercury level is not an issue with cold water wild salmon. The oncologist suggested I try to find this oil for my dog when we were treating her for cancer. Swisse had not released their product at the time and I used to buy deep see salmon oil from NZ and have it sent over. Since Swisse started making it I've been buying their product. I take it as well as giving it to the dogs. I wouldn't go back to the normal fish oil now. The dogs also have a natural Vit E capsule every second day.

I wonder if there's a vet in Melbourne who is clued up on SM. Though my dogs seem ok I noted in one of the videos that intervertebral disk disease can be an indication of SM. My 6 1/2yo Cav boy had a laminectomy for a ruptured disk last December. It was diagnosed as intervertebral disk disease. SM was not mentioned by the specilaist and it didn't occur to me to ask about the possibility. This dog walks and runs normally, he doesn't have a strange gait nor has he ever stopped trotting along to scratch. I've not seen him scratching near his neck at any time and he doesn't rub his face on anything. He doesn't scratch much and when he does it's on the bottom jaw around the lip area. Because he has a yeast allergy the vet said the itch was probably due to the allergy and suggested antihistamines. The lip area looks a bit red and the antihistamines relieved the itch and redness. He doesn't scratch anywhere else. One vet also picked up a grade 1 heart murmur in my boy. The other vets who examined him didn't seem to detect it, or they made no mention of it. I'm not going to run around in a panic having an MRI done because he shows so few symptoms and my Cav girl has no symptoms but watching those videos scared the bejebus out of me and it would be good to know if there is a vet around these parts who is familiar with SM. efs

My own fault Dyz for not reading the PDS thoroughly. They do state :- We reserve our rights to change the terms and conditions of the policy upon renewal. Their PDS also states:- The maximum we will pay for a single condition, a recurring condition or a chronic condition suffered by your pet is the maximum amount that was current in the policy period when the condition first manifested. Once this maximum amount has been paid we will not pay for any further treatment of that condition during the remainder of of the policy period or any other future policy period. Bronson's pneumonia is 90% resolved. Thanks for asking.

I feed them twice a day in the kitchen so no fly problems.

I've found this not to be the case with Bow Wow Meow (Petsure) Insurance. My dog who was 5 1/2yo and had never had a sick day in his life, ruptured a disk in his spine for which he needed immediate surgery. There has been no lapse or any late policy payments but upon renewal this year an extra condition has been added. It states that in addition to the $250 excess I pay I will be responsible for 60% of any claim relating to any spinal condition for this dog. I might add to even get them to pay out for the surgery took 3 months of me arguing with them. Since then this dog has had pneumonia so I imagine when the policy is up for renewal there will be another condition that advises I'll have to pay 60% for any respiratory issues should they occur.

Oh I've just come across this thread. Kritta I am so very sorry for your loss of beautiful Gypsy. Fly free sweet girl

I've used Sentinel Spectrum for years and the dogs have never had fleas or worms. It's a great product that takes care of everything. If by chance your dog did pick up a few fleas you could give a Capstar tablet. This kills the fleas within 20 minutes. I had a rescue dog come here that was covered in fleas, I gave her a Capstar tablet right away and had her lie down on a white sheet. I was amazed at the number of dead and dying fleas that dropped off her. She was put on Sentinel the same day and we had no further problems.

Thanks for the update julz. It sounds like all will be well with the dogs.

She was on DOL on Wednesday at 5.42pm but didn't post in this thread. I hope she'll come in here and tell us everything is ok and the dogs are recovering. Really worried now.

Oh Rusky I'm so very sorry she had to leave you. Run free now beautiful girl

I'm worried too. She hasn't been online since about 5.45 last night. I hope the dogs are alright.

Julz how are your dogs doing and how are you? Sending strong healing vibes for the dogs and :rolleyes: for you.

Nope, Snout Girl, I live in Mt Waverley. Lordy! that's bad news. No one has been interested in stalking me for years :D

It would be waaayy out of character for a Cavalier to bite. They love people, particularly children. I walk my Cavs past the local kindergarten and often it's when the morning kinder is over and Mums are picking up their kids. All the kids run over to my dogs, the Mums know their kids are not at risk of being bitten. All the little kids know my dogs names. The kindergarten is fenced in but the car park and surrounding lawn and plant area out front isn't. Gotta say I think it's cruel to tie out a Cavalier. They're such gentle, sweet dogs. I'd be telling the owners their dog is getting loose. Cavaliers have zero road sense and the little dog will get hit by a car.

Julz it sounds like the vet has not impressed upon you how vitally important it is to keep the dogs quiet. Ideally they should be crated with only on leash toilet breaks. No playing with children, no visitors and certainly no visiting dogs to excite them. My house was off limits to everyone when my dog was on Vit K. I disconnected my doorbell when he was out of the crate (sitting with me) so he didn't run to the door if someone rang the bell. I put the telephone on mute because my dogs think when the phone rings it requires some action from them. My dog had definitely eaten enough rat bait to kill a dog much larger than he is. Each and every time your dogs walk around there will be capillary ruptures. You need to keep them very quiet at all times so there is as little risk as possible for a bleed. I made chicken broth with the bones of a bbq chicken and mixed the broth with water to encourage him to drink. He was keen to drink it and we had no dehydration issues.

I agree, this is a totally different from the reaction I got from my vet. After they did the ACT test she told me she injected the Vit K shot in five places and advised me about the tablets and said they are more effective given with something fatty like butter. So my dog had his tablets with butter. He thought they were a special treat. Not once did they suggest my dog had a slim chance of survival. They were quite optimistic and encouraging. We discussed my dogs recovery rather than his demise and they told me what to watch out for, pale gums, any bruising etc., They also phoned me every couple of days to see how he was doing. They did tell me to bring him straight in if I had any concerns and to make sure he was kept very quiet. No walking, no playing etc., Really I think the vet has caused the OP a lot of stress that she could well do without. I would be very concerned about their lack of success in every single case of rat bait ingestion. Why the hell did they need to say that anyway? Very strange for any vet to be telling clients about their treatment failures.

I forgot to mention. Did the vet tell you that the Vit K tablets work more efficiently given with something fatty? I gave Bronson his tablets with a good dob of butter.

Yes, a PCV is a good idea. I'd take both dogs in. Don't let the kids to try to engage the dogs in play. The more activity the greater the chance of capillary rupture and you don't want that. Keep them as quiet as you possibly can. Crate them if necessary. My dog was lethargic when he was on Vit K. He wasn't interested in doing much except eating and sleeping. The bait my boy ate was Brodificoum which is a second generation rat bait and as potent as all hell. During the storm some of my neighbours garden soil with green pellets in it washed under the fence as well as the packet being blown in by the strong wind so at least I knew where the rat bait came from and was able to ask him what kind of poison it was. Knowing what it was gave the vet a heads up. I think you got them to the vet on time and hopefully all will be well. This is such an awful thing to go through, my thoughts are with you. Please keep us posted.

Feels a bit weird. It's shorter than the other ribs. I'm really glad they found it and showed me on xray before I took some weight off the boy and was able to feel it because I would have high tailed it to the vet in a panic. You couldn't feel it when he was a bit porky. Yeah he is special

My girl Cavalier has that lump in the sternum area. My boy doesn't have it. He does however have an extra rib. It showed up when he had a myelogram and I can feel it now he's lost some weight.

The first anniversary so so painful. :p Thinking of you.

A few months ago my Cavalier ate a throw pack of 'One Shot' rat bait that blew into my yard in a storm. It was 2 days before I saw the empty pack. I'm not sure if he went to that side of the house on the day the packet blew into my yard. I took him to the vet as soon I saw the packet so it could have been 2 1/2 days since he ingested it. He had a ACT blood test that showed his clotting time was compromised. He had Vit K shots and was on tablets for 4 weeks. We did another ACT test after 4 weeks on Vit K tablets and his blood was clotting time was good. Just to be sure we did another test 2 weeks later and all was normal. He did eat a fair amount of the rat poison. I used a stick to poke around in his poop and I could see there was plenty of green in there. Don't give up hope. My dog ate enough rat bait to kill a dog 3 times his size and he survived without complications. The vet said not to walk him and to keep him as quiet as possible while he was on the Vit K tabs. No running, playing or jumping. Outside only on lead to toilet. I'm so sorry. I know the stress you're going through but don't give up hope. Will those dogs to live...positive thoughts and strongly will them to live.