boxagirl

LOL Did you? I didn't even know he was in there! Now I will have to go buy it haha any chance you can take a photo and upload it for me? :D Thanks haha Bondi has been featured in dogslife, so if Mr Books is then both my dogs are famous! LOL

Happy to help whenever

Hi Sharna- Sorry I can;t reply in detail at the moment- I'm about to leave to pick my dog up from the vets Just wanted to say I have looked after your dogs at the kennels you use, and we havn't had any issues with them not getting along (that I'm aware of)- and they aren't even fussed about food etc. So it may be something about how they are relating to you as a pack? Dogs always act differently in a different environment when their owners are out of the picture

Me too. I am partial to the reds- but I think I'd like a nice flashy dark brindle girl next.

I'd say Flashy Red Boxers. My fave too

Quick update on Bondi- after she had been going so well, even being able to walk on her own again- she is now back to square one and cannot use her back legs at all I think she may have over done it on monday (I came home to find her on my bed, she somehow jumped up there). We have upped her steroid dose again- and from now on when I leave she will be left in a crate- which she will absolutely hate I just hope she hasn't re-ruptured a disc and done permanent damage.

Toys: English Toy Terrier Min Pin Iggy Terriers: Amstaff Stafford Manchester Terrier Gundogs: Brittany Vizla GSP Hounds: Ridgeback Afghan Ibizan Hound Herding: Aussie Shepherd GSD Belgian Shep (Malinios) Utility: Boxer Dobermann Sibe Non Sporting: Great Dane Boston Terrier Frenchie

Mine are bathed in plush puppy or aloveen Smells good and makes the soooo soft :D Which is ok for Boxers ;)

Lucky you RV! I'm jealous! Always wanted to go to the US and to go to a dog show too is a bonus!

Update on miss Bondi- her movement has improved out of sight! She actually got up and walked into the next room yesterday (I was outside playing with Booker and she came to see where I was while my parents were supposed to be watching her) Apparently it looked like she was drunk, she was wobbly- but she didnt fall over! But I haven't been able to get her to eat since tuesday, and the tiny bit that I did manage to get down she has been vommiting up Just had her to the vets and Vet nearly had me in tears! He was our usual vet- not her specialist- he said "This might be a battle we can't win" He thinks it is classic sign of a dog in pain- gave us anti-vommit tabs, and anti-biotics incase of infection- Bondi's temp was a tad low. I also brought some nutrigel (she hates the stuff, but I put it in her mouth). Anyway got home, gave her anti-vom tablet, tried to get her to eat some roast chicken- nope she turned her nose up at it. Was about it tears telling my stepmum about it- so she tried, nope Bon wouldn't take it from her either. So stepmum went and got some ham , beef mince and sausages for Bon- eureka! Bon ate them like she was starving! We only gave her a little bit, so hopefully she will keep it down! Fingers crossed! So now I am going to the shops to buy an assortment of yummy stuff for Bon so she doesn't get sick of one thing lol What a character she is! She has lost 4kg in 3 weeks though and looks so thin! She was 30kg and is now 26kg

What about some treat balls with food in them so she can smell the treats- and they make noises as she pushed the ball?

Quick update on Bonnie, her movement is improving, as is her bladder control- but she has abit of pain Which makes me think it must be IVDD. Going back to specialist on monday. Not keen to do the surgery on her at this age and with her degree of spondylosis- so going to go with the conservative treatment, steroids/crate rest/physical therapy- and hope she recovers.

Soft Coated Wheaten?

Crumpett, Oates, Porridge Can you tell I like food names? Al? (from Home Improvement/Tim the Toolman) coz there is a Wilson (the next door neighbour) on that too.

Cheddar? Colby? Edam? Cotta? Parmesan?

Back from the neurologists- and wow that was alot of information to take in But the tests were inconclusive The vet thinks it is either an FCE, or a slipped disc (FCE is the better outcome)- but she said it is a really puzzling case, and without further diagnostics we can't tell- and the only way to diagnose FCE is to rule out everything else. Bondi was "walking" better than I've seen since it happened, with the use of the vets "sling". She was moving her back legs in the motion of walking, occasionally toeing over still, but sometimes not. Vet said Bondi still has good reflexes, pinching her toes and hammer on her knees- she pulled her feet away. Pinch test up and down Bondi's back to try to generalise the area was inconclusive- and kept giving different results each time we tried it. It is most likely lower back- but sometimes she showed she had feeling there, sometimes she didn't. What vets said: FCE are usually very sudden, with only brief period of pain- Bondi had has extreme pain for 3-5 days before this happened- which possibly suggests it's not FCE- but then she has had frequent painful episodes for about a year now since being diagnosed with spondylosis- so her painful episode prior to loss of mobility could be completely unrelated. Bondi had been "shuffling" her back legs about 3 hours prior to collapse- so not as sudden as you would expect to see with an FCE- but then, she could have been shuffling as a result to unrelated pain. Disc herniations/slipped disc are very rare in dogs with spondylosis, and are most common in the middle of the back where the ribs- however that is where Bondi's spondylosis is at it's worst, and her spine is completely calcified there so slipped disc isn't likely To diagnose if it is a slipped disc we need to do a myelogram (insert dye into the fluid around the spinal cord, then xray or CT scan to look for any compression on the spinal cord) or an MRI. Myelogram is done under anaesthetic, and can be risky- dogs can come out of it temporarily worse after it. Myelogram cost is roughly $1500 Treatment of slipped/herniated disc is either medical or surgical. Vet said surgery is most effective in first 2 weeks after the incident- and gets more risky and less effective after that timeframe. 90% of dogs who have surgery recover to function well, 80% of dogs treated medically will recover to function well enough. FCE most improvement is seen in first 4-6 weeks, progress slows after that but can still happen slowly. Hydrotherapy and other physical therapies aswell as supportive care are needed for treatment. Slipped Disc/Herniated disc may start calcify/repair itself after around 6 weeks- although if it is impinging on the spinal cord in the wrong place this can be problematic. Slipped discs often recur. Bondi seems to be making good progress in 4 days- and we are booked in for another examination on monday to decide what to do. My thoughts at the moment are - I'm happy with her progress so far, and if she has come this far in 4 days she will hopefully keep improving - I'm not keen to have her undergo spinal surgery- no matter what the diagnosis, it is risky, it is expensive, Bondi doesn't cope well under anaesthetic, slipped discs often re-occur, and Bondi is 8 years old with servere spondylosis already. Vet said the main pro to having surgery over medical treatment is that recovery is much faster- but I have time to spend on her recovery so thats not an issue. - I don't really want to do the myelogram either- it has risks, may set her progress back, requires anasthetic which Bondi doesn't cope well with, is expensive, and will only tell us the diagnosis- of which surgery or medical treatment are the only options if it is slipped disc- and I already know I don't want to put her through surgery. Vet also said medical treatment of slipped disc is similar to meds she is on now- and her supportive care- so it doesn't really matter if we know exactly what it is if the treatment is similar, knowing would help with the treatment making it more exact/tailored- but the basic care will be the same either diagnosis. Sorry for the long post Just needed to get all this info down before I forget it ;)

Cheezel?

BONDI JUST TOOK 2 STEPS! When I was getting her up- I think she thought she was about to fall over- There was no weight on her rear end because I was holding it in the air wheelbarrowing her- and she moved her legs in the motion of 2 steps! Then went back to not using them again- but still, 2 steps!

Bondi is off to a specialist neurologist vet tomorrow morning- wish us luck

Yay great news Lisa! MG Hope little Gibbs is ok! Here is a video of another Boxer with FCE just like Bondi- seems to be just as bad as Bon is at the start (although he has a cathater (sp?_) luckily Bon doesn't need one of them yet) But at the end is up and running! This Boxer probably doesn't have spondylosis aswell as an FCE though, and that is a concern, but Bondi has coped with spondylosis all her life by the looks of it and been very happy- about 6 weeks ago she was running around at the park with Booker and you wouldn;t know she had anything wrong- she is a trooper, so I'm optimistic we can get her though this.

Thanks for the info Geepers. She is still knuckling over and not using her back leggs at all- I am holding her rear end up and making her walk on her front legs abit, then placing her rear legs on the ground in a confortable position and supporting her so she doesn't fall over- letting her put abit of weight on them, but they just bend and she begins to fall if I am not there to hold her up.

FCE is what vet thinks Bondi has. After doing some reading up on it, and some positive feedback from fellow boxer people, I think I am going to try and stick it and and rehabilitate Bon- vet said give it a week, but some of the things I've read say you should wait 7-21 days to see improvement, and rehabilitation can take months. Going to look at getting her in to see a neurologist. It is hard work though, turning her is near impossible on my own- luckily today my stepmum has been home to help- but tomorrow I will struggle. Toileting isn't nice, when we pick her up she starts weeing, so we are doing that frequently to empty her out. She has done one poop, whilst she was laying down, she wasn;t impressed But there is hope, and while there is hope and she isn;t in pain (albeit uncomfortable, and high-dependance) I have to keep trying.

Had a close call with Bon today Her back legs are paralysed and she can't walk or stand up Took her down to the vets to have her PTS, thinking there was nothing that can be done- vet said give it a week- abit of bone may have broken off and affected the blood flow of the spinal cord- since there is no pain or strength in back legs but she can still feel them if you pinch them. So staying home to nurse Bon some more, turning her every 2 hours so she doesnt get lung infection (a very hard task She is like a sack of potatoes and freaks everytime you move her she has no balance ) She is on vallium, tramel, previcox and endep tablets. Hopefully in a week we will see some improvement or I will be back down at the vets again next week

I support docking- working at a kennels I have seen so many injured tails of previously docked breeds. Would love this ban to be reversed, but dont know if it can be done now Maybe you should add a poll to this topic?

Thanks guys. She is still zonked out from the aneasthetic yesterday, so hasn't eaten anything or had any medication Managed to get her to drink out of a spray bottle atleast.