Kazm

I get cytopoint injections for my mini schnauzer. She has an allergy which I believe to be seasonal/environmental. I can honestly say for the last 7 years she has started itching at the exact time. The injection works straight away and with her I only need to get it approx 3 times a year.

Nice to hear of the “oldies” still doing things they love and being a happy dog.

Absolutely terrible. Hope they throw the book at him.

Last year when Molly kept getting hives ( very mysteriously at night only) the vet recommended loratadine. It held her off for a few hours but she seemed a bit sleepy/quiet on them. She stopped getting the hives but was still itchy so she was given the cytopoint injection. That fixed all.

That’s just awful. What a terrifying situation they were all in.

Oh my gosh, that’s so devastating for your friend and her dog. I’ve got no advice, I’d just like to send some get well wishes to her dog and hopefully with the right help they both will be ok.

Finally an update. My friend only heard back from the specialist yesterday about Astro. It seems they believe that what occurred was a slipped or bulging disc in his neck which referred pain to his left shoulder. They are starting him on a new medication which he’ll be on for 8 weeks. If he doesn’t improve or goes back to displaying the same symptoms they’ll do an MRI and likely surgery. Apparently the issue can sort itself out sometimes. At present though Astro has been back to his usual happy dog self. My friend is relieved and fingers crossed the medication continues to work.

Our very first thoughts were pancreatitis. We are aware minis are prone to it but I think the vet ruled that out. He is a goofy dog so he very well could have hurt himself doing something silly but at present they are living in a townhouse and the yard space is tiny. I’m sort of thinking it’s highly unlikely. I have a gut feeling there is more going on. His owner just messaged me half an hour ago and it seems like he is starting to improve. He is still sleeping a lot but he is using the steps again and following her everywhere and his little tail is up again. Acting a whole lot more normal. I think the medication is finally working on him. It’ll be interesting to hear the specialists report. Fingers crossed we hear something tomorrow.

Deeds, his coat is fine. Same as usual. Yes, they did a blood test. It showed his liver levels as being quite high. The blood test was done when his neck and ears were swollen the week before. The vet though that might be an indication of an allergic reaction to being bitten by a bug. Which she’s assuming is why he was swollen.

Good idea Deeds. I’m just not sure. I’d have to talk to her. She did say they were sending the X-rays to the specialist so not sure where he actually is.

Mollys mum, Zena was on tramadol. She had hermangiosarcoma. I’m thinking it did help her. I just wish my friend had been given something stronger than Panadol for Astro but I guess the vet should know what she’s doing ?? Hopefully she hears from the specialist real soon.

An update - at the appointment this afternoon apparently they didn’t give my friend much information at all. They basically said they were going to wait for the specialists opinion before going a head with any course of action. At present Astro is being given meloxicam, gaberpentin and Panadol. He’s been on these since Monday and we can’t see that any is helping him. He is obviously in pain and not well.

Hey everyone, A really good friend of mine had her mini schnauzer at the vet today and it looks like a diagnosis of medial shoulder instability. Have any of you dealt with this before or even heard/know about it? Astro is 9 years old ( actually Mollys younger brother). His owner and I became very close friends after she bought him from me. I’m always dogsitting him and have always groomed him too. A lovely, fun loving dog. The last 2 weeks haven’t been good for him. She noticed that on the Sunday his ears and around his neck were a bit swollen. He seemed very quiet. On the Monday all swelling had gone down but he still didn’t seem himself so she took him to the vet. They guessed he may have been bitten by a bug and had an allergic reaction. They went home. He wasn’t interested in his dinner that night and vomited twice but then he seemed more normal the next day. Last Friday I had him over night and she picked him up Saturday afternoon but I could tell he just wasn’t right. Very quiet. Not overly interested in food, ( usually gulps everything down so quick) and he was limping. This Monday she was back with him at the vet and she checked him over and noticed he flinched when she touched near his left shoulder. He was booked in today for an X-ray as she was concerned about bone cancer. She apparently couldn’t see anything related to cancer but a specialist is going to look at the X-rays anyway. Will get his opinion by Monday. She diagnosed him as having MSI. My friend had an appointment to speak with the vet properly this afternoon to see what happens from here. I haven’t heard from her yet. She’s very upset as Astro is her shadow and best mate. He usually follows her everywhere. Since Monday he just seems to have gone downhill so quickly. He will not jump on anything or use steps. He is off his food, will eat but very slowly. He looks sad, his tail is down, obviously still limping and walks really slow and just wants to sleep. It’s so hard to see him like this. I just want to help her get through this. She did spend this morning with me while he was at the vet. Any information I can give to her would be great.

Beautiful photos. Wonderful adventures

I agree with sandgrubber. Keep the media away until the autopsy results are back. Sad sorry though.

Wow, that’s great news. She is obviously one very tough, well looked after girl. I’m happy that she has proved everyone wrong.

The girl that was involved in the attack ( the owner of the dachshund) is actually a client/ friend of my son. He’s her personal trainer. He actually told me about the attack. He didn’t know details at that stage but I’ll talk to him and see what actually happened.

Oh my gosh. I’m so surprised to hear of Opals passing. How devastating for you Rebanne. Of course you’d be in shock. Such a young dog too. I do hope the vet report gives you some closure and can explain why it happened so suddenly. I truly feel for you. Take care. Sending hugs xx R.I.P Little Opal

We’ve only owned mini schnauzers. They are just the perfect fit for us and totally love the breed. My brother has until recently always owned German shepards. I like them but we are a little dog family.

Good luck to Opal tomorrow. Hope it all goes well. It will be a long night and nervous wait for you tomorrow but fingers crossed the outcome is a good one.

Children need to know and be able to deal with life and death. I always explained everything although both mine were older. Personally I would wait to get the next pup. Let Dashie be the most important until his last day. Maybe talk to your kids and explain although it’s going to be a sad, terrible day when he passes, in time you can all have fun choosing the next family member. Give them something to look forward to. In the meantime make every moment with Dash count, because as we all know it’s a very hard thing saying goodbye to them.

And if they did accept a lesser amount then everyone would expect the same. I understand it’s a ridiculous amount to pay but it is what it is and if you can believe the article, they were given options.

Great article. When Molly was attacked, she was cleaned up and kept quiet. When we visited her at lunchtime to talk to the head vet I realised she was deteriorating. After we left they operated on her to clean the wounds up and that was when they realised she had a crushed rib that had pierced her chest cavity. Earlier X-rays didn’t pick it up as there was so much bruising. She was rushed to the emergency hospital as she couldn’t breathe on her own and by this time it was in the “after hours” time. Obviously the bill was already high. The vet stabilised her and then spoke with us about what may need to be done. He gave us quotes on different scenarios. The bill could have amassed to a very large amount but he assured us he would talk with us every step of the way and didn’t need to decide straight away. We, naturally were upset but, if it had come to that we would have been asking about recovery and quality of life. She was not in a good way, but as it turned out the treatment our own vet provided was enough and we didn’t need to do anything more major for her. The bill was big but we were fine with it. It’s what, as pet owners we do. If it’d been worse who knows. I don’t like to think about that. Emotions do come into decisions but you really have to know when to draw the line. For the pet as much as for yourself.

I don’t understand some people. Easter weekend, specialists, tests, spinal surgery. What can they expect. It all adds up and medical procedures etc are expensive. We all know that. Buy a frenchie, buy insurance. When Molly was attacked we had everything explained thoroughly to us and it was expensive enough but if she had deteriorated further the cost would have blown out too. Thankfully my little girl was on our side and became my miracle. Personally I would not be seen on national tv saying I had to sell some handbags that I didn’t want to.

Years ago now we were camping on a cattle property. One that we frequently went to and we’ve always been very wary of snakes but honestly have never really seen many. The one day though we were walking with both dogs, crossing a very shallow creek. My husband and Molly were ahead of me and Zena. The next thing I knew he was jumping about yelling at Molly. She was very young and thought he was playing. In reality there was a red belly black laying in the sun. To this day I don’t know how either of them didn’t get bitten. The snake eventually just moved slowly off while my husband grabbed Molly when he was in the clear. She had literally been jumping all over the snake in her playful mood and we swear she never even seen it. My husband was trying to distract her with his behaviour, trying to get her away from it but thankfully it all ended without incident but it certainly shook us. We are just thankful it was a rbb, knowing they are more placid than a brown.