o_rooly

On a sort-of-related note, my sister had surgery to remove her gallbladder and said the wound recovery itself was no big deal, but some CO2 bubbles that had migrated up to her shoulder were awfully painful and crunchy. Her doc said that it would just take time for them to dissipate, which they did after she was otherwise healed..

Oh, my god.. I am so, so sorry. Please know that we are here to support you. I am so sorry for your loss. I can't believe it. Brandy -- Run free, sweetie, you were a very lucky pup to have such a loving home. Edit: I just watched your video of her - she was unbelievably adorable.

Sending tons of positive thoughts to you and sweet Brandy!! She is at the e-vet where she is getting help, that's a GOOD thing.

Hi Max and Jerry!!! Max is a very handsome fellow! :wub: (pic was linked above) Edit: Max has the most interesting head marking that I've ever seen

I am so, so sorry. I don't have the words. :grouphug

I don't have any experience with recurrent UTIs in dogs, but I used to be VERY prone to them, getting them about every month and a half for over two years before starting with cranberry extract capsules daily - my maintenance dose is generally 2 capsules daily, though the bottles usually state you can take 2 capsules 3x daily. Haven't had a UTI since I started them. I am currently on "super" cranberry extract (super-concentrated) - I believe it's the CVS store brand - 2 capsules daily; I haven't noticed any efficacy differences between brands or strengths (though I like the peace of mind using super-pills! ), so I just buy whatever's on sale. Once in a very great while, I'll start to get the slight burny feeling, in which case I go up to the recommended dose (2 capsules 3x daily for the regular concentration) for a few days, and then back to normal. HIGHLY recommend trying this first if there are no other nagging issues to necessitate surgery.

I don't have any advice, but am here for you, too. My friend took her bulldog/Aussie cross to the Tustin center (on Jamboree?) for specialist attention for his medical issues - it sounds like an amazing place. Let me know if you need anything!! In the meantime, I'll be thinking of Ruby :heart

I hadn't heard of EPI, so I googled and found this website: http://www.epi4dogs.com/ VERY informative.

Go! Dog makes "indestructible" stuffies. Reviews point out that they are not as indestructible as they advertise, BUT the company guarantees the stuffies and is apparently willing to replace disemboweled ones. Plus, the dragons are CUUUUTE. Aston has one and LOVES it, though he isn't much of a disemboweler, just a mindless cookie-monster-like up-and-down chewer. http://www.godogfun.com/products_chewguard (I ordered my dragon through Amazon)

You know what is best for Wilbur in your heart, better than any of us. Follow your instinct. Wilbur is a VERY lucky pup.

Keeping my fingers crossed and beaming positive thoughts your way.

:grouphug

I'm pretty sure that the epilepsy can cause a heightened sense of smell. I can't find any studies online at the moment, but just in terms of neural issues in general, it makes sense. It could just be the immense resounding pain associated with them, BUT when I am in the midst of a migraine (they stretch out over a few days in varying degrees for me), I can smell things MUCH more strongly, my ears are piqued, and I can practically *feel* colors and lights. ugh. On a related note - I once worked with someone who had psychotic olfactory episodes, meaning that she often smelled things that weren't present. Unfortunately for her, it was usually something like dirty diapers (I guess that wouldn't be a downside for a dog, though ). I read somewhere that epilepsy can cause this. I'll link stuff up if I can find it..

Try giving her fish oil, either liquid or in capsules - I buy Kirkland Fish Oil capsules 1000mg from Costco, pretty inexpensive at ~$10 for 400 Aston's dandruff and itching cleared up in a little under two weeks, it seemed, though I know it can take up to about 6 for fish oil to work things out. You could also apply lotion topically in the meantime, though I haven't done this and don't have personal recommendations - I know that I have heard of bag balm and different sorts of vaseline-brand lotions being used by other GTers, though. Waiting to see if the fish oil helps would also allot some time for Lyla to settle in, so the stress factor would reduce itself over time, too, in case that's part of the cause. YAY LYLA!! Congrats on your new houndie

My sister has a small (<10 lbs) terrier mix and keeps asking me when she (the dog) can meet Aston. At first I said I'd bring him by her apartment sometime with a muzzle on, but then had second thoughts and took Aston by my sister's workplace for her to meet him on his own first (so him trying to lunge at her baby wouldn't be her first impression of him). I have since explained that as I get to know Aston, I've found that there is some self-control I can impart through training him, but he won't ever be safe to play off-leash with Penny due to his high prey drive (her dog's fear aggression doesn't help, either, but I didn't mention that ). Aston's Aston, not meant to be with delicious small animals. We love him oodles either way. All part of what we signed on for Edit to add: Aston has a past small-dog attack on his record, which I blame fully on the past owner who let him off-leash outdoors This is a particular reason why I'm not keen on testing his boundaries any time soon.

Wow!!! What a good girl She deserves smooches and scritches!

I highly recommend reading this before venturing into dremel-land: http://homepages.udayton.edu/~merenski/doberdawn/dremel/dremel.html I've been working on Aston's feets since we got him almost five months ago, and they're just now alllmost where I want them

An awful situation all around.. I'll be thinking of Ilsa and her family

I don't know what else to say, but you, your family and sweet Hobbes are in my thoughts.

How long do you wait before turning back around to face him once you've turned away? I've gathered from what I've read (but haven't had to try it in person luckily, sooo.. there's MY level of expert ) that the best thing is to wait until the dog has quieted before turning back around, that way they'll start to connect that self control = face time

Aston is quiet unless he's REALLY REALLY amped to do something (usually eat or go outside) or REALLY REALLY offended (my boss tried to move him while he was lying down by grabbing his legs - ROOOOF! and then a boisterous lab puppy tried to hump him at the vet's office -- ROOOF ROOF!). My fiance also gets Aston super worked-up at playtime - he hops down on the ground in front of Aston and strikes a playbow, then does the freeze-and-watch-out-of-the-corner-of-your-eye thing for a few seconds before batting at Aston's head or side, then repeat. Aston responds in kind and starts ROOFing they're bffs. I'm just learning about how to play with dogs..

I agree, too!! Coarse sanding bands for the win. Sidenote, I just found out that sanding cones ARE great for grinding the heads off of stripped screws. They REALLY REALLY do heat up, though. /hijack off

It seems that blood work at 6-month intervals is standard with NSAID use. Aston's on meloxicam (generic of metacam) - I'll take him to the vet in about 3 months to get checked for liver issues. Edit to add: I just started him on it about three months ago; he is only 6 years old, but has an old injury in his left hind leg that has turned arthritic. So, we're in for the long haul on NSAIDs, it seems.

I would think that especially for seniors, if it will work on a continuous basis w/o bad side effects, why not? My personal issue with Metronidazole is that it's great at obliterating bad bugs that affect stomach health and... ahem, some girl issues, but it also REALLY wipes out the good bugs, so there's no longer a natural defense against the same problems later. Maybe give pup some probiotics in between doses of Metro (to give the probiotics time to gain a foothold in the digestive tract before the next dose of meds hits)? However, if you're going to give Metro on a continuous basis, maybe it's not as much as an issue.. I also recall Metronidazole making everything taste like metal to me, but maybe that's not something that transfers to canines Also, I wonder what the dosage would be for daily use?