Mairead

Totally agree with tdierikx. The problem councils have is ratepayers don't want money spent on compliance unless it is for, say, illegal parking in their own street. Someone in rescue who did a seminar out here ?Gwen Bailey said you have to ask 'is this animal better off today than it was yesterday?'. But there are those who think any kind of life for an animal is better than no life, or they are hoping that soon things will be better, despite all evidence to the contrary. When she first started at Blue Cross (UK) as the behaviourist Gwen took on a dog that had bitten several people to rehabilitate, it took, from memory, two years. She said one third of Blue Cross surrendered dogs are for behaviour problems as perceived by owner eg destructive, doesn't like children, too big/too active, and for minor problems change of owner is enough to 'fix' the dog. Before adoption they have a video A New Dog in the Family and do a home visit. In 1995 their success rate (owners would choose the same dog again) was 93%.

From The 5-Minute Veterinary Consult: Food Reactions (Dermatologic) Nonseasonal pruritis [itch] of any body location Poor response to antiinflammatory doses of glucocorticoids suggests a food hypersensitivity Vomiting Diarrhea Excessive borborygmus [bowel sounds], flatulence, and frequent bowel motions Food elimination diet as diagnosis. More details if you want them.

I used to take a golf umbrella to the off leash area in case I needed to fend off an ill-mannered dog. My dog knew to come to me for shelter. Usually picked a quiet time anyway and only remember having to use it once.

Hutchinsons Encyclopedia from approx 1930s shows many breeds which have not changed, particularly sighthounds. Could it be that working tests keep exaggerations at bay? In earlier times dog breeders and owners usually owned or had experience with other livestock so were more likely to understand that "short back" didn't mean the shorter the better. If you draw a portrait of someone and exaggerate their characteristic features it is called a caricature. This has happened in some breeds.

To say Donut had knowledge of astrophysics is judging by human standards. I wonder if the dog could smell and/or hear the school bus? Many dogs react to the arrival of certain cars but not others, but we take our animal's abilities for granted. Is it the car or the driver that the dog is detecting? When I was looking after a neighbour's horse while he was overseas for a planned six months, his cat disappeared shortly after he left. When she returned after only a few months, everyone assumed that Ray must be returning early. And he did.

Yes had this with an Irish Wolfhound. His symptom was difficulty pooing, in that he didn't stop in one spot but moved along as if it was uncomfortable or difficult. Long time ago, can't remember if he had urinary symptoms as well. Men get urinary symptoms when they have prostate problems. Neutering cured the dog. Similar treatment for some men with prostate cancer, chemical castration with female hormones. Did the vets give you a diagnosis or wait and see?

Yes puppy food with puppy formula, like sloppy porridge. I used soaked puppy dry food plus formula rather than tinned. And mum may stop cleaning up after them if she hasn't already, so even more work for you. If done properly, being a breeder is neither easy nor profitable.

Oops, skipped over the YouTube reference. I was reading it as the vet had taken months to diagnose. I agree not a reliable source of info. I searched "degenerative myelopathy toller" and found some info "anecdotally known in tollers since 2009". I lean more to the .edu or .org websites and take the info and reference to the vet, same for my GP.

Disappointing you haven't had replies from breeders so far but good you finally have a diagnosis. USA text " The 5-Minute Veterinary Consult " (3rd edition 2004) says German Shepherds and German Shepherd mixes are the dogs most commonly affected, rare in some other breeds, ("collie and collie crosses", Labradors, Siberians, Chesapeakes, Kerry Blues and Welsh corgis. Tollers not mentioned, so that may explain why it wasn't on your vet's radar. The text has two pages of info with the then unproven treatment of exercise, vitamin supplements and epsilon aminocaproic acid "apparently slows the progression in 50% of patients". Maybe German Shepherd people or websites may provide info? If not, maybe try asking German Shepherd people at obedience trials etc for a German Shepherd vet recommendation. I know I was not well thought of by some breeders for mentioning potential problems " it will discourage people". Good luck.

Thanks for that, moosmum. Well below breed average, that's good isn't it? Years ago I had to get X rays of my dog done as part of the contract for frozen semen from the USA. Vets here were surprised I was asking for it to be done. Here it was still the 0 - 106 (BVA?) scheme and there it was OFA which didn't have number scores, only word grades, so much discussion of translation of results from one scheme to the other.

Can't help you with that. I had sighthounds. I would be interested to know more though. Different countries and some breeds have their own systems. Some have number scores and some have words (eg Very Good) or letter scores.

Does the report have a vet's or clinic's name on it, so you can ask them? I couldn't find what ** might mean on a score, so I'm guessing it means "not done", not clear enough to read", "dog not old enough to score" or "results to follow" ? Not a very professional way of saying it though. If they were using asterisks correctly there should be somewhere on the report to explain it eg " ** - not scored". Do you think you have got the entire report, rather than part of it?

How is Zara?

Yes Amazeti, one dog on its own can do aggressive behaviour to that level but its rare compared to behaviour to that level by humans. Its easy enough to look up details of fatalities involving dogs for several countries. Tragically, often there were warning signs before the behaviour escalated, but not in every case.

Should have written anything above a Level 2 bite sounds like it is beyond the capabilities of most people to manage.

It could take two years before the coroner investigates, that is about the waiting time in NSW. In NSW people with security gates can get their meters read remotely. Still, dogs loose that were capable of what Ian Dunbar calls Level 6 bites (highest level) - anything above Level 3 causes severe injuries and is poor prognosis for dog's rehab.

I found a couple of references to Bandog Bullmastiffs being Bullmastiff X American Pitbull.

Little Gifts, the ABC article says twice that the owners were not home.

I would ask for a copy of the urine report before paying for another appointment. Well done for using the sterile container. Some humans can't manage to collect their own urine correctly. Did you wait until she was at full pee, to collect a mid-stream sample? That minimizes contamination.

Doesn't sound to me like they sent any sample to a lab. If they did you can ask for a copy of the report. No proper lab would mention crystals and then not identify them. Sounds more like an in house job with someone not used to looking down a microscope. If she had a UTI again the inappropriate urination (on your bed) and not being able to hold on to her urine overnight or for long would be signs. What container did you use to collect her sample?

Ask your vet to make up information sheets for you. Day to day management, signs that your dog needs a check up, signs there's an emergency etc. It will mean they might have to do some research so their knowledge will be up to date. Maybe transfer this topic to Health etc

Sounds like the vet is trying to sell you expensive food that you may not need. Taking advantage of your concern or worry.

I agree with tdierikx, wait for a diagnosis. As for crystals 'not known' that makes me wonder just who is doing the testing and why mention it if they don't know what sort? As a lab technician I'm offended. From my (human) biochemistry book by Kaplan and Pesce: "In general, the formation of crystals should be regarded as an artifact of the system of collection. Usually crystals are not present when urine is freshly voided... When heated to 37° C most crystals disappear." Crystals can be from different chemicals and have different (diagnostic) shapes. One sort( not in dogs) looks like a coffin lid. Re drinking: I remember on the Million Paws walks most dogs went for any water bowl available while my sighthound didn't drink at all.

The dog is called a pitbull but looks more like an overweight whippet mix to me.

Link below in Boronia's post. Thanks Boronia. This story is the opposite of the Bardwell Park "aggressive dog" story. Man was fined $9000.