SarasMum

Run free little one.

I am so sorry for the loss of your beautiful babies. RIP gentle ones.

I would also recommend getting her elbow, shoulder or even neck checked out. You could also have a good poke and prod of her foot and whole leg, shoulder and neck yourself to see if she has any sore bits.

The conditions you are thinking about that are diet related occur in much younger dogs who are still growing and feet usually point outwards like ballerinas. With your dog being 3.5 her bones, muscles and ligaments would have finished growing so unless seh has had the problem since puppyhood it wouldn't have just occured.

I have prodded her a fair bit and she doesnt seem fazed at all by it and doesnt seem like she is in pain at all. Because it has been raining a bit lately I get her to lay down and I wipe her feet dry and most of her legs and bend and twist them to get the mud out and she doesnt even flinch.

I remember the day she got home when she was 8 weeks old, she went to walk up a step before we could stop her and she howled like she had hurt herself, it was only for a second but I wonder if she did some damage back then? We have tried to be really careful with her growth and its frustrating that something may have happened to her.

More

You can see it more clearly on this last pic here.

Sorry it has taken so long to get pics, I have been working all week and have only just had a chance to take them.

Have you had her elbows x-rayed? She may be toeing in to relieve pressure around the elbow area.

No I havent. I have only recently noticed it and its not bad but I can see it. As she is a pet I wasnt concerned about getting her scores done so havent xrayed. She was desexed at 18 months.

I will try and get a pic tomorrow.

Hi- no idea really- but with a foot which is twisted-- could she be compensating for an injury somewhere else? using her foot this way to take the weight off something..or take MORE weight??

No I dont think so. If you werent looking you wouldnt really notice it I suppose. Its turning slightly right at the bottom of the ankle which is why I thought it may be diet related. Its like she is pigeon toed a little bit lol.

If it's only one leg affected, I wouldn't suspect a dietary problem as a likely cause. I'd suspect some sort of trauma as being a more likely cause.

Can you post a photo?

Yeah I will but have to head off to work now so it will be tomorrow I hope. Thanks.

Hi- no idea really- but with a foot which is twisted-- could she be compensating for an injury somewhere else? using her foot this way to take the weight off something..or take MORE weight??

No I dont think so. If you werent looking you wouldnt really notice it I suppose. Its turning slightly right at the bottom of the ankle which is why I thought it may be diet related. Its like she is pigeon toed a little bit lol.

I have posted this in the GSD thread as well but its a bit quiet in there atm, or maybe I am a thread killer lol.

My 3.5yo female GSD of late seems to have her left paw turned inward when she runs. Its not something I have really noticed until recently and was wondering if it could be diet related and is it fixable? Its not bothering her in the slightest and its only when she runs, standing it is straight.

She has a chicken carcass daily for breakfast, Royal Canin for dinner, sardines a few times a week, an egg weekly, vegies here and there and yoghurt occassionally. She tends to get a runny bum with lamb, I do give it but not often. She doesnt get a lot of beef either.

Is there something out of whack in her diet that may be causing it? Is it too much chicken bone and more meat needed?

Any advice is appreciated.

Quick question re legs and marylands. Do you take the really sharp long bone out before you feed it?

I hope your puppy is well now. You could also try some Biolac mixed in the with the dry, it does a similar job to the goats milk I think. Its what my GSD breeder recommended when I brought my pup home a few years ago. I was also feeding 3 times a day until 12 weeks then gradually dropped her down to 2. She was having a small brisket bone of a night time as well. I also added vitamin c to her diet once a day. At this age she was getting 250mg which was increased at around 12 weeks to 500mg.

Good luck with your girl.

We raw feed my cats on human grade mince.

Yesterday we bought a fresh batch (not close to expiry or anything) and fed them last night. When we woke up this morning, the mince had hardly been touched (unusual, because they're used to mince.)

My dog normally eats the cat's left overs, so this morning he ate the mince. But then within an hour, he had vomited it all back up again twice.

Since vomitting he just hasn't been himself. He's not following me around the house, and just wanting to rest.

So I guess there are two issues. Do I need to worry about my dog? Is there anything I can give him to give him back his energy?

Do I assume the rest of the mince is bad? I'm hesitant to throw the lot out, it was around $40 worth (2 bulk packs.) Divided up as soon as we got home and then it was frozen.

So, was the mince sitting there all night? If so, no wonder he threw it up. Would you eat meat thats been sitting there out in the open for 8 hours?

My girl does this and I put my fingers across her nose so she has to breathe through her mouth, it seems to work.

You may also want to remove the 'choker bone', the long, tapered bone that runs parallel to the main bone of the leg. They can be quite sharp, and lodge in the throat if not chewed properly. I tend to give my dog legs, since they last him a bit longer, but I always remove that bone first, ever since one almost went through the roof of our family dog's mouth as a kid.

I totally agree with this, its an accident waiting to happen.

After my long term vet laughed at me, and basically insinuated I was crazy when I asked him about titre testing and also the fact that I was concerned about yearly vaccs, I went and found myself a new vet.

He ws great, he listened to my concerns, he asked questions in regards to my animals and whether I kennelled them or not etc. He doesnt do the titre testing himself but he basically told me not to vaccinate my staffy x again unless I kennelled her in the future. He did concede that vacc'ing dogs with skin irritations can affect them and that I was doing the right thing for her. She should pretty well be covered already. He also said that giving an oral heartworm is probably preferable for her too.

I am really pleased, its nice to know that there is one vet out there that doesnt think I am an irresponsible owner by not vaccinating yearly.

I will definately be going back there again.

My vet knew what one was because he said that he had done them for rabies etc for dogs going overseas. I just dont think that he is the type to try anything *out there* iykwim.

I have always just trusted what he said, why not, he is the vet not me. However I would like to have some sort of control over their health and treatments etc and I think that with him passing off everything that can be found on the internet as a crock of crap isnt doing anyone any favours. He is a country vet that has done what he has done for a long time, on his own, no partners involved, just him. I think thats just the way he likes it to be.

I will definately be contacting other vets to see what they offer.

I feed mine Advance. This combined with chicken carcasses for breaky, sardines added, yoghurt, cheese, occasional eggs, vegies.

That was a really good read, thanks.

I think its definately time to find someone else to treat my girls.

spinal arthritis, skin irritations, grass allergies and demodex mites

The allergies and demodex common genetic problem in Staffys. We see heaps a few that have barely seen a vet clinic let alone regular vaccinations, so obviously vaccination is no the exclusive cause. I also see a lot of these staffies with these problems bred from so of course its becoming more common.

ETA sounds like your staffy was on a large dose of Cortisone. There is a new product now which is a non systemic cortisone because of the problems the tablets cause. Some vets treat mites with Ivomectin which is not sanctioned in dogs. As for spinal arthritis, any anti inflammitories are not long term solutions. Was surgery ever discussed and home made or low-allergen food sources to help her system?

I dont know how you can link ProHeart injections with a tumour. It would have been there for a while, not spring up in 4 days. Once again ... tumors and GSDs not a suprise. Maybe the high stress of the vet visit contributed or sheer coincidence.

Though I dont agree with the vet getting angry, yes. Dont believe everything you read on the internet. There is a lady whose dog has a virtual 0 T4 count, and because of what she read on the internet and vet journals now think she knows best for medicating her dog and how often testing should be. Far from it.

I dont think they necessarily caused the staffy's problems but she obviously had a low immunity to start with with I think was exaserbated by the vaccs. With the GSD the reason given was that she had a tumour in the wall of a blood vessel that burst, personally I think that he may have been guessing as no autopsy was done.

I dont think he is a bad vet but just a bit stuck in his ways and not willing to do research or take on new ideas.

As for the staffy, no surgery was ever discussed. She was put on cortisone for 3 to 4 years. She was given a wash with some very potent stuff here and there. Nobody ever gave me specific instructions to control the demodex, I thought it was something she would have forever. No special diets were ever discussed, she was only ever on cortisone. By the time she was pts she was incontinent, very hard for a dog that slept under the blankets as my foot warmer.

I took my GSD bitch to the vet this morning to have her desxing stitches removed. While I was there I asked my vet if he did titre testing. You would not believe the look on his face. I am pretty sure he thinks I am a neurotic dog owner as it is and I think this just comfirmed his opinion (in HIS head, not mine).

Bit of background.......... I have previously owned a GSD bitch, desexed at 6 months. Yearly vaccinated and also yearly heartworm vacc'd. Staffy bitch, desexed at 6 months. Yearly vaccinated and also yearly heartworm vacc'd.

GSD bitch died at age 4 from some form of bleed internally. Vet says it was a tumour in the wall of an artery/vein that ruptured causing massive internal bleeding that she just could not recover from.

Staffy pts at age 8 after complications associated with 4 years of drugs given to combat spinal arthritis, skin irritations, grass allergies and demodex mites. We couldnt put her through another winter and suffer. She was incontinent, always ravishingly hungry and just not at all happy. As it gets really cold her we decided that it would be cruel to keep her here because we needed her.

Fast forward a few years. After some research and lots of time on DOL I read about other peoples experiences with yearly vacc's and heartworm vacc. I checked my records and realised that my GSD fell ill only about 4 days after having her heartworm vaccination. She was a very healthy dog before that. I also realised that yearly vaccinations could very well have contributed to my staffy's problems and in turn her short life.

I have decided not to vaccinate my current dogs yearly, especially my staffy x as she already has a summer grass allergy. I told my vet this today and asked re titre testing and he actually looked extremely peeved with me. He told me that I worry too much, that I should stop researching things on the internet and that if he did testing it would be extremely expensive and not worth squatdiddly. I mentioned to him that I know of others that have had it done, sent to WA and it has only cost them around $65. He added that after he put HIS fees on top of that it would come to a hell of a lot more. He was getting red in the face and a bit short with me. I said that after what we went through with the previous dogs I would rather be safe than sorry. He then told me that vaccinations had nothing to do with why they died and that he didnt believe any of it. He told me that it was on my head if I didnt vaccinate and I said that yes I know that but I would prefer not to put my dogs through what the other two did.

I then left and now I am stuck as to what to do. I liked this vet even though I knew he was set in his ways, very old school type. He used to think I was weird and sooky for the way I treated my dogs and now he is pretty sure he was right.

ARgghhhhhhh.

I spoke too soon. It seems to be a bit weepy this avo. I am not sure if she has popped a stitch or not. Stoopid dog. I will call the vet in the morning.

Any news???

My westie girl was desexed at 6 and a half, very soon after I got her as a mature westie. She came home that afternoon having had extra IV fluids and a long-acting pain killing injection (or was it a patch?? Can't remember... seeing a theme here??). I don't remember her having anti-biotics but she may have done. She was quiet and groggy for 24 hours, spent all her time on the lounge (her fav place!) and then the following day was bouncing around like a puppy. I genuinely believe the extra IV fluids make an enormous difference to recovery after surgery and so mine always have them. My girl recovered without incident, amazingly well - and I think it has a lot to do with the care and skill of her vet.

I think your girl's vomitting is a worry - and I think it can also be related to dehydration (but I might be wrong). I've also often wondered if dehydration in dogs can produce those excruiating headaches in dogs as it does in humans - which may explain why they respond to pain relief??? Not sure.

Anyway,I'd be asking the vet for pain killers and a serious check of her hydration and her wound (to check its not infected) - and go elsewhere if they don't take your concerns seriously - your girl's worth it.

Hope she's OK and recovering well.

Westiemum

She is fine now. She stopped vomiting and had small sips of water through the night. It took a few days but she is back to her old noisy self. The wound looks really good and we will head back at the end of the week to remove the stitches.

She is currenly out the backyard chasing flies

I have been using it for about 12 months or so now. My dogs are great on it. My staffy x has bad summer itch and this year it was nowhere near as bad as past years. I believe it was the food.

It is also easier for me to source than other brands.

She slept inside last night. She woke around 1am and came in for a hug. I gave her a small bit of water which she kept down. She woke again at 4am and wanted to go outside so I put her out and she didnt want to come back in. She had some more water which she also kept down.

OH fed her this morning but he then went to work so I am not sure if she kept it down but I cant see any remnants anywhere to say that she hasnt, but then the staffy x may have eaten any evidence

She is a bit brighter today, she is walking around a little bit, only venturing between inside and her bed outside. Her back isnt quite so arched today so she is feeling a bit better I'd say.

The bit that worried me the most last night is that she made no sound, none. She is normally a whinging, whining, loud, sounds like someone is killing her when she is saying hello kind of dog. She didnt make a sound last night at all. This I think worried me more than anything. She still hasnt but she definately looks better.

We have given her small sips of water which she seems to be keeping down. I suppose the vet could have given an injection but I dont know as nothing other than a general spey is listed on the invoice, that includes the ab injection she was given.

She normally sleeps outside (her preference) but I will keep her in tonight just in case.

Not sure if this makes any difference re the vomiting but she also gets car sick after 5 mins in the car :D I dont think she is very tough in the stomach department.

Oh and there is no 24 hour care, its a little surgery with one vet and one vet nurse. Except for the puddy cat in the cage above Maddisons.