Erny

Thanks for your thoughts, everyone. I'd love for a chrystal ball, right now. I know the decision rests in my hands. I have been thinking about not proceeding with the op ....... but my mind is suggesting I can't not. Me thinks it will be a decision at the last moment and even then with lots of trepidation. IR - thanks. I haven't asked in a while - hope Phoebe is going well. Say hello from Aunty "Erny". ;) And to your Dad, please, who I also hope is well.

Fantastic to hear, Helen. :D Thinking of you both.

Hi Rusky :D How's Goldie going? Further tests are coming up, aren't they? I know we shared a PM - was that only yesterday? (Feels like a week ago ) When do you return to the Vet's? Good health thoughts coming your way. :D

Dang it, Jodie. Sorry to hear of this set back. Sometimes when you're driving that bumpy road, it feels like your 'shockers' have gone and every bump is like hitting a rock. But then the 'shockers' come good and although the bumps are still there, you're making progress. I hope the latter becomes Ollie's case. Sending you 'strength' thoughts, Jodie and 'healing' thoughts for good ol' Ollie.

Thank you, Longclaw. And I do know what you mean. This is my dilemma. Am I being fair to Kal by putting her through this surgery (given her age and that she went through 3 surgeries only 2.5 years ago due to swallowing a bone) when she doesn't understand what it's about and why? I am beating myself up over this question, and the question is regardless of what the outcome of the forthcoming surgery is.

Don't joke. I may well make good use of Kal's pre-surgery meds that are left over. Noticed today at the Vet's that Kal was really very calm compared to normal. Oh! The good news? Kal weighed in at 28.4 kgs today. So she's put on a whole 2 kgs since I started feeding her chicken approximately 4 weeks ago. :D

Ain't that the truth. :D

Hey you lot. Thank you for visiting here. Kal's nose continued to leak 'gunk' over night and she was feeling a bit low, it seems. Managed to get an 11am appointment with Guy today and only returned home about 1 hour ago. With Kal under GA, Guy scoped her nose and throat (from both ways) and found nothing. I was hoping for a grass seed or some such, as that would be our simple answer. The good news is that there was no tumour - not one that was detectable by the scope, anyway. Nasal passage is inflamed. He flushed all the gunk away and took a sample of the 'gunk'. Does show bacterial - although not fungal. Kal's on antibiotics. We talked about a CT scan (more conclusive). Cost = $700.00. More on that in a moment. While Kal was under, they did a further Ultrasound on the affected Adrenal Gland. It is pressing on the Vena Cava Vein (main vein which supplies blood to the back legs) quite alarmingly. Is this why Kal is losing power in the hind legs? Maybe. Although Guy's not overly confident that's the case - he suggests that the back legs would show swelling if blood supply was an issue there. But he does suggest it may be a contributing cause. We won't really know 100% in this respect unless we operate to remove the tumour and allow the Vena Cava Vein to flow freely. Further, the ultra sound shows a 'cloud' IN the Vena Cava Vein. This could either be: An innocent blood clot formed as a result of the impeded blood flow. A malignant blood clot. A tumour growing inside the vein. It seems to be detached from the Adrenal tumour (we think) so it may not be that the adrenal tumour has invaded the Vena Cava Vein, although this possibility is not ruled out. Guy doesn't want to wait longer than necessary for surgery. I need to recheck, but I think Kal's pre-surgery meds began Saturday week ago. Minimum 2 weeks meds = Saturday 20th May. Guy will bring his schedule forward to accomodate surgery on Monday 22nd May instead of 29th May. (Normally would not be doing surgeries at all next week.) If I don't go for surgery, there's quite a chance that the tumour will cause the Vena Cavea Vein to split and bleed out. This would be quite painful for Kal if this occurred. I managed to extract from Guy his 'gut feeling' on how long Kal might have if I didn't go ahead with surgery. He doesn't know what he basis it on but he suggested 6 months. Funny, I've been thinking that too and I don't know what I'm basing it on either. The longer we wait for surgery, the less chance of success. Now - back to Kal's nose and the CT scan. This is the plan....... See how she goes now it's all been flushed out and her on antibiotics. If it clears up - no need for the CT scan (and I save $700.00). If not cleared up, Guy will do a CT scan on the day of but prior to surgery and will proceed to surgery depending on the results. Guy checked Kal over (basic neurological examination). Back legs show slightly slow responses and he does believe there is probably some degenerative/old age related issues there, but not too bad. That's the upshot of today (as far as I can recall it). Guy was very patient with my questioning. He's given me a copy of his notes regarding adrenal tumour removal to read. We had a laugh that he will be able to come out of surgery and consult with me if he has any difficulties along the way. I also met with the anethesiast who was lovely. Although they can't say one way or the other and have obviously made the risks very obvious, I can't help feeling more confident having spoken with them both. I am going to sleep on it (ie the decision as to whether we operate or not) for a day or so, and then let them know.

Hi Abs. Thanks for your post. Will let everyone know what the Vet says. And Allerzeit. I feel quite selfish and self absorbed. Thank you for your recent post. You made time for Kal and I when you yourself would be feeling the grief of loss. I hope pain will be healed by time and that the process is not too difficult for you.

Thanks Isaviz. All I can say at the moment is that Kal is a bit sick of me putting my eyeball to her nose. Not to mention the torch to shine a light up there!

Thanks Trace. Just got off the phone from the Werribee Emergency Vet (EV), who did have a quick glance through Kal's notes so has a vague idea of history. Kal is eating well so the EV doesn't believe it is urgent. I have told her the frequency of "backward sneezes" has increased considerably over the last couple of days, even though I felt the noise from her breathing through her nose had eased a little. Tonight, the 'gurgling' sound in her nose has returned. (Obviously the phlegm/fluid in it.) Her nose is still draining phlegm/blood - whether it is constant or not is difficult to assess, because Kal licks it off. But it seems to take a minute or two for the flow to return. The EV has suggested I telephone Guy Yates tomorrow, although she doesn't know if he's in this coming week or not. If not, I'll either try to get a message to wherever he is, or speak to another Vet. This may not even be related to everything/anything else that's wrong - maybe it's a grass seed or something? It's just one thing on top of another that's so frustrating. Also difficult to answer the usual questions such as "how is she feeling?" - because I can say "low", but then that's a symptom of everything else that's been going on for the last countless months too. Sometimes I just feel like screaming. In fact .......................................................... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rrrrrrggggggghhhh! There. That's better.

Werribee Emergency centre giving Kal's notes and tonight's report to the emergency Vet. Waiting for a call back. Estimated 15-30 minutes. In the meantime, 'bloody drip' has stopped. It isn't prolific. F%$k

Oh dear ..... just noticed clear phlegm tinged with blood coming from one nostril (right side). What the hell does that mean . Surely it can't be good? Ringing emergency (for some advice) now.

Can't say it'd be something I'd look forward to either. I put my girl's waterproof jacket on when I send her outside in the rain to toilet. Mostly she'll stick to the grassed area just under the eaves of the roof for shelter.

What's the difference between cleaning up the concrete and cleaning up the yard? Where do you live that it rains every day? Maybe that's where our water storeage dams should be. Can you supply her with an area that is dry? Either that, or barracade off the concrete area where she can't get to it - then has no choice.

I'd suggest it's not a case of 'the check chain not working properly', but rather 'the check chain not being properly worked' ..... perhaps amongst other things in view of the additional distractions whilst out walking. Training needs to be generalised to different environments, otherwise you will find these sorts of situations. IE. "My dog is good here, but not there."

Your post cracked me up, Pampa. A nice way to stem the tears (that needed to flow) after just reading Hespandabear's post to Kal, Ollie, Stewie and Lucinda. I know the breathing isn't related to the meds because, looking back, I recognise the early signs which started 2-3 months ago. Unless, of course, the meds have made it worse? Possible. I reported it to the surgeon's assistant today. She's going to report it to Guy and I'm expecting a call in the next day or so. I have prematurely posted in the thread by Hespandabear and, now that I'm here, guess I should mention it now. This morning, I scheduled Kal's surgery for 29th May. This afternoon, I took Kal to her chiro. Long story short. I am seriously thinking about doing an about face on the surgery. At the moment, I'm spinning from indecision. I think I need to sleep on it and, first thing in the morning, investigate my true gut feelings on the matter.

Hey Gemibabe ..... you lost your teeth or something? Something I have found helpful with dogs who lack confidence around people - I have done this with those dogs who have come to the kennels for boarding and training. I get the dog to perform some small 'agility' moves. Eg. encouraging the dog up on to a chair or table (depending on size of dog) or even a small but solid storeage box. Apart from the dog 'feeling clever' (I say that running the risk of anthropomorphism) I think the dog's perception of raised height in comparison to handler/owner raises its ranking level a notch - ETA. No, that's not quite true. Probably simply doesn't feel as submissive DUE to the reduction of height difference. With some, the dogs are so nervous/lacking in confidence that I have to manually place them, paw at a time, up on to the chair/table. But regardless, I always make out like they've completed the most complex of feats and give them a treat (whatever their favourite is), then call them down. I repeat a number of times and on most occasions by the end of the session have the dog confidently springing up and then down (on command/direction) from the item within the first session, or at least by the second one. There are some dogs too nervous to accept even a tasty food treat, initially, but once they do a couple of repetitions of the 'agility' exercise, their nervousness abates sufficiently to accept the treat. The whole thing then starts to snow ball in a positive way. Naturally, you need to be careful here not to have the dog believe its actually higher ranking than you, but with these temperament types I find that doesn't occur, especially if other things (such as obedience; NILIF program etc. etc.) are continued and in place. Once the dog is performing this 'trick' confidently, I will start each training session with one or two repeats of this performance before continuing with obedience training. In the obedience I work to set the dog up for many, many wins, keeping it easy. Depending on the dog and its progress, I might even break the obedience training session up with returns to the 'agility' exercise. Eventually, when the dog's confidence has been gained, the need to do the 'agility' exercise diminishes and is actually often replaced with the emergence of some other preference for reward that the dog was otherwise earlier too nervous to exhibit (eg. tug toy play etc.) More often than not the dog's progress is reflected in its obedience as well and then opens the door to move from the 'teaching' phase of training to the 'training' phase. ETA: I work to avoid giving attention for the most submissive of behaviour. Even using food luring to 'straighten' the dog up into a more confident sit (eg) and then treating for the more confident position.

Hi DBS. Can't say I've noticed a huge, if any, difference to anything. She's been fairly calm, although I've been working to avoid even the most minimal of stress for her, so I'm not sure if that's a 'side effect' of the meds or not. I did notice the other day that Kal was up and barking quite strongly at an unfamiliar dog who chose to nose around on my nature strip. This was a good sign IMO, as Kal's pack intrusion warnings have weakened over the time of her illness, to the point that she doesn't bother to get off her outdoor bed and only barks once or twice (weakly). There is another problem, though, but unrelated to the meds and possibly unrelated to anything else. Over the last couple of months I've noticed this, but the signs were so obscure and short lasting that I whilst I 'noted' them, I tended to be able to find some outside reason for it. It relates to her breathing and it is in the last two nights that I am beginning to become alarmed. As far as I am able to tell, it seems to occur only/mainly at night time, although in this I could be wrong. It is trouble with breathing through her nose. She sounds like a person might sound when they are blocked up with a bad cold but insist on trying to suck air in through the nasal passages. I notice now that the difficulty in this breathing is beginning to distress her to a degree. She will move her head position around as if trying to seek a position to make breathing easier. She will swallow as if also trying to clear something. I have listened to her lungs during this but I don't hear any wheezing there. The noise all seems to come from her nose. For the sake of description, the noise reminds me of someone with asthma or perhaps emphasema - I'm not suggesting this is the problem. As I said, lungs sound clear (and she's had regular checks there with all the recent visits to the vet). Last night I tried placing her body in different positions to see if it would help, but it didn't. For just a short moment, there was even a 'gurgling' sound, like as if her nose was blocked with moist mucous (as in a cold). It did ease when I propped her head up with a bunch of her blanket and the rest of her night she seemed to sleep peacefully. I am concerned, although not panicking. And I am ready in these moments to rush her to emergency if need be. I am taking Kal to the chiro this afternoon to fix what damage she did when she fell down the two steps a number of days ago. I will be in contact with the Vet today (assuming he's there) regarding forthcoming op and to report this breathing problem.

Allerzeit. I wish for you and Stewie a miracle. In its absence, know that you give Stewie a precious gift. The giving is harder for you than the receiving by Stewie. Very sorry for what you now face. I send wishes for your strength and courage.

Hi Dru. IMO, if it ISN'T STATED in the NSW Act (Domestic, Feral & Nuisance Act?) that the prong is ILLEGAL, then it's not. "There are none so blind as those who will not see" ....... and I thought that only applied to the Victorian Government - who saw (?) fit to ban it.

Thank you - that's very kind. :rolleyes:

Hey! Can I come! :rolleyes:

Hi Abs. I just don't know. I did point out to the Vets that whilst the bloods and urine tests don't show Cushing's, there's so many other clinical signs that to me, suggest Cushing's. Somehow, neither of them think the clinical signs do. This part I don't quite understand. But I don't know what else I can do other than to follow their direction and trust in their expertise. "Trust" in this regard comes difficult for me, as I've had such a bum steer and rotten run with so many other Vets in the process of insisting something was wrong with Kal. I've thought about going to someone else. Eg. Holistic Vet etc. etc. But then that means more poking and probing and I really don't want to keep putting Kal through that time after time after time. And there's no getting away from the fact that she has an adrenal gland tumour anyway. And then, of course, I'm spending more money. Money has never been a primary consideration by me when it has come to Kal's health, but given the chance that surgery can't or shouldn't be avoided, my funds to spend in the meantime have become limited. I wouldn't hesitate if I could know the outcome of elsewhere investigation would conclude in a definitive answer. I can only hope I'm doing the right thing, one way or another. Kal is sore - probably from the fall she had down the steps. She gave a small yelp when I extended her rear left leg, something she is normally ok with. She was in obvious discomfort last night. When I called her from her bed for the last toilet stop of the night, I noticed the skin on her back dramatically pulled to one side (to the left). This is obvious when you have a Ridgy, because the ridge shows up how off centre it is. I've seen this before, when Kal was suffering discomfort over the 'bone incident'. I'm going to take her to the chiro on Wednesday to sort that out. ETA: We went for a short walk this evening when I returned from training. She was quite jaunty and happy to be out. Also happy to return, because she knows she gets fed on return. Actually, come to think of it, Kal gets fed almost constantly these days. (Her chicken fillet is cooking as we speak.)

Oh Pamps! That's wonderful news. Words wouldn't describe how happy and relieved I am for you. Now we just need to wish you and your 'family' a safe journey home. :cool: :rolleyes: