Rusky

:cool: :rolleyes: I am over the moon for you Pampa

thanks Rappie. I will speak to our vet about that

I just got a call from the vet regarding my dear old girls condition. I dropped a urine sample in as we have completed a full course of antibiotics to fix the kidney infection which was in fact a side effect of kidney malfunction. The vet told me that he had in fatc recently attended a conference and chronic kidney disease was discussed at length. He feels weighing everything up that the best course of action now is a month on a diet low in phospherous then retest her urine/bloods to see if there is a general improvement. The specific gravity of her urine is still very low though there is now less blood. So diet for a month, then ace inhibitors to increase blood flow is required. I have a problem I can't use prescription diets like hills or Eukanuba ( see my previos posts on the company) I can't, just can't. The vet suggested Royal Canin and I will go off and do a google, he actually said he has no idea why we don't produce our own food here in OZ and I agree. I used to give the dogs dry food which was made in WA but the guy stopped making it. Does anyone know a dry food diet low in phospherous whose company does not have any nasty rumours against it. I can't feed my old goldie her chicken necks or frames or bones or vegetables any more :D But it may help her to feel better

Right well, we need to be very positive. Kal will be in excellent hands, all possibilities are covered and I am sure it will be a good outcome. I think of all the dogs everyday too, just wanting them to be the best they can be. Thanks for the kind words about my girl, she is laughing in that picture. keep us updated.

any news Erny?

you'll get there, she has the face of an angel

RIP :p a lovely boy who had led a full happy active life full of love and companionship

I would start from the beginning with a toy which is used just for training. here is a copy and paste from a previous post I answered "You want her to hold the toy or whatever in her mouth and then release it to you on a command?to teach 'give' try starting from your chair and while you are watching TV. Pop the toy in her mouth count one second and say give and exchange with a piece of food. Then when she holds and gives throw a small distance with your finger on her collarwaitbring or fetch whatever word you like, send her to get the toy.when you have this perfected from your armchair then move on to longer distances like the great outdoors. Remember to praise and reward.I should have said each stage needs to be perfected before you move on to the next." for your dog on walks I would not take the stick, would totally ignore the stick, when you have the release perfected with a toy, like a rope or something then use that for retrieve. I think the tug has been perfected by your dog and she loves it :p You absolutely MUST win the toys and you are the one who decides when the game is played and when it is over. If you ignore the sticks then the game never started and there is no tug. I like the two stick idea nornally for fun and excercise, I have done myself with a tireless retriever but she always gave me the stick when I asked for it.

this is so funny. I go to check yours and pampas threads, then I see you are here on mine. :p I am sure all these good vibes are doing lots of good, they are for me anyway, personally I mean, Cindy is ok, she is quiet, she is eating, I give her 4 small meals a day. I don't have to hand feed anymore. The one thing I have noticed and it is silly but she snores very loudly, she always snored a bit but this is big time. I remember well from nursing patients with renal failure that they snored loudly, even on dialysis when they slept. It may be a coincidence, I am not sure. I guess I always thought it was from sedation, maybe it is part of the condition. We can't have her in the room with us which is a bit sad when she needs us.

hang in there... :p it won't be long now till the op How is she today?

A great book available from ebay is The power of positive dog training by Pat Miller There are also masses of positive training programmes on the net with step by step directions

Is malcolm going to a new home at all? could you find him a pet home? I feel for you this is very difficult, if the situation is not sorted soon then malcolm will be fearful and that spells trouble. I don't know anything about sibling litters. I just don't want the small pup beaten up anymore than you do which is why I suggested separation. If the beatings are happening in the yard it is time for you to do some training with them both, separately and together. How will you manage 4 huge dogs? Do you live in a castle :cool: Have you taken them to puppy class? dane puppy class maybe?

feed one inside the pen and one outside the pen. The runt is being bullied.

rest assured they do, it will be fine. The trouble with cushings in humans is it is quite difficult to diagnose and I am assuming that the range of tests performed are to make sure it is the cortisone increase caused by a tumour ( malignant or benign) of the adrenal gland and not the pituitary gland causing the problem by an increase in adrenocorticotropic hormone ACHT. Once they have decied it is the adrenal gland tumour causing the problems they need to watch that the tumour has not affected other major organs, so more blood tests, sweat tests( do they do that in dogs?) and urine tests. They need to make sure that Kal is absolutely as well as she can be prior to surgery to give her the best chance. Don't watch any TT progs or similar, trust your vets they sound amazing I must say. I have confidence in your vets, the whole thread has impressed me enormously.

oh shit but it can be fixed :cool: could someone put her on the plane if she doesn't get an all clear. not the best article but simple here for you Pampa whatever happens

It is a good question and I am cooking chicken and fish for her, I will look more carefully at diet when she is eating normally again, right now I just want her to eat. I am guessing stuff like chicken anyway and fish, she loves sardines she has a tin a week. I need to make sure I give her the right fish. I am reading everything I can find. I didn't know nephrons could be repaired either. Apparently in a young dog the function can improve a lot, in an older dog it is not so positive.

Pampa don't chuck the memories away even if you are paying good money for stuff that others may think of as crap. We have moved countries many times and I still have that rubbish. My advice is keep the cherished garbage and chuck or sell the good stuff, the good stuff can be replaced when you have money, the memories can't. I am so pleased your girl will travel

It is hard and there is no easy quick fix but saying 'No' and giving her attention is reinforcing the behaviour. It sounds like she is a wonderful happy friendly dog. I must say that in a kennel situation with a dog running free and the other caged is a really happy time for the dogs I see. It is a 'look at me, wheeeeeeeee zooooomie wheeeeee bark' it is fun. I am not sure if maybe there is somewhere else you could walk for your comfort to break the cycle whilst doing your usual obedience training and having the dog focus on you. It is too much for your poor dog, can you walk past one she won't worry about, then give masses of praise and turn around and increase dog exposure daily? I mean when your dog is absolutely not worrying about the first barking dog then move on to the next, desensitisation? Another idea, walk past these dogs without your dog see if their reaction just to you is the same, see what the reaction is if you are over the road, gauge the place where they start to bark at you then you can turn before the barking gets bad and praise your dog for not barking at the initial woofing session. have your dog sit and stay and focus on you with food, any attention to the other dogs goes unrewarded but you must set your dog up to win the reward by making sure it is very early woofing time from behind the fence.

Kal will be most accomplished in the tricks department when she is fully well again, she can do her own shows, bless her.

The vet called me and basically the blood tests just really confirmed the kidney disease and that she has some renal failure. If she goes downhill I take her back immediately. She is presently not flushing much waste from her body. I am to continue the antibiotics for the next 8 days then do another urine sample. He saw an improvement in her today, she wagged her tail and ate a little so if she manages to self repair some of her nephrons (they can apparently)he will put her on some medication which may assist repair. I have to wait now and hope she continues to improve.

oh Pampa just reading of your day with rabbits and blackberries and it sounds like one of those days that you take and hold and never lose sight of, a precious day. I know your fears and I am with Erny and the false bottom crate. You know the stuff babies have in their nappies, those dry covers, could you sew a few together? they are called Pampas here those dry nappy things, that has to be a sign I reckon.. I am sure if you got her here she would cope with the kennels, the people are very kind. thinking of you,thinking of you too Erny

no not yet but I know that the vets were all in surgery till late so I hope to hear something tonight.

I took her to the vet this morning and dropped her off for the day as it is my day at rescue. I collected her on the way home and the nurse there said she had a lovely day I am still waiting for the vet to call with the results which they tell me the lab will fax through soon as they are done. Good news though I cooked her some chicken last night and she ate a bit of it, then I gave her a bit more and she took that too. A vet nurse I know told me that any nutrition will be good nutrition right now and she gave me some special cat diet food which she said Cindy would not be able to resist, she ate that just before and she is a little brighter today.. I am sorry for the name confusion, I call her my old goldie cos she is a golden retriever but her Sunday name is "Cindy" My last golden her name actually was Goldy. I really appreciate your thoughts and support, I am a bit stunned by it all as it happend so quickly but now I am wondering if I missed something because she is a bit slower as she gets older.

I am so glad it has been a good day for you Erny and for Pampa too with your dogs. Hope the food keeps going down and staying down and that she gets as well as she can prior to surgery Erny :rolleyes: sending hugs and special thoughts.

I dropped a urine spec into the vet today, he called me and said her kidneys are already compromised but to take her in tomorrow morning and he will do some blood work and see if anymore can be done. She is actually going downhill. I am so afraid. I still haven't washed her, she is fragile, she is sleeping mostly and hasn't eaten for 3 days now. She is still drinking but her kidneys aren't taking the waste away.