aki

What a great topic, besides useful information its also hugely amusing... I have a "do it now and get it over with, forget the circling and walking" and the other who circles endlessly while I am waiting patiently to pick it up, while eyeing me. My boy also loves to poop on Agapanthus plants, fortunately we don't have any, but lots of neighbours do, he seems to smell the plant and circle so the poop lands right in the middle of the plant, making it really difficult to pluck out LOL

Our boy loves being scratched around the ears, I agree with the replies that touching (gently) and fondling allows you to bond with your pup, like magthedag, our 2 sammies love being scratched (even in the ear!!) which sends them into a really trance like state. as for one ear up and one down, my first male sammy had the same until he was about 6 months old, then hey presto one day the other ear was up, I wouldn't worry yet.

Hi Melo, I posted the question for Tara on the samfans, already had 1 reply, here is what Lynn said: "I have used human glucosamine/chondriton for my old girl for 4 years now (from age to 6 to now 10 1/2). We use the same one, Move Free Triple Strength. I think it would work better with MSM, but I'm highly allergic to MSM and break out just handling the pills with it as an ingredient. The dog handles the MSM just fine. She also gets 5 drops of yucca extract daily to reduce inflammation. For an elbow separation, I might suggest some alternatives - massage using accupressure points or even accupuncture. My girl had a soft tissue injury in her elbow when she was 6. Rimadyl and aspirin did nothing for her, but 30 minutes of massage at the 2001 National Specialty cleared it up for good. You could also try Dog Gone Pain, called DGP. I have not used this but have ordered it after hearing how well it works." This lady is in the US, so the products may not be available in Oz. On the acupuncture, reminds me of another sammy that lives close by who has hip dysplasia for quite a few years, the owner said she has acupunture for Kita once every 2 weeks and it makes a huge difference, something to think about?? If I get any more replies, i will post them Aki

Hi Melo, Well, good & bad news, at least you know what the problem is, anyone got a spare swimming pool?? for Tara,no seriously gentle exercise & hopefully Joint guard or similar will help. Some of the samfans posted an option to give their older sammies a doggie dosage of glucosamine/chondroitin which is really Sashas blend but the human equivalent. I will post a query today to see what dosage was given and any results/side effects and get back asap. In the meantime give her a big sammy hug from me (fellow sammy lover/owner) and keep happy

Hi Melo, long time no post, Crystal my sammy girl was also diagnosed with early arthritis in her front paw earlier this year. Vets did the usual check and finally did the x-rays which showed the arthritis. her symptoms persisted over a few months usually after resting. I also waited longer than I think I should have, luckily she responded to the injections (once a week for a month) and now have her on Sashas blend which works really well for her. I belong to the samfans email list which is an worldwide organisation for sammy lovers mainly North America but other members as well. There is a lot of information about health issues you could check out not only for the arthritis problem but all sorts of useful advice. The web address is http://www.samfans.org. In the meantime I wish you well with Tara, don't fret and keep happy :D Aki

so sorry to hear about Nooshka, I still remember losing my first girl sammy many many years ago. I'm sure he will be with my 2 sammies at the Rainbow Bridge