krissy

It has taken me awhile to write this. Summit turned 11 on May 5th. That same day he herniated a disc in his neck resulting in extreme pain. I took him to the local referral hospital for a CT to confirm the diagnosis and then we proceeded with surgery. Here he is in his x-pen, wearing his "Help 'Em Up" harness the night before surgery. Surgery of the spinal cord is never "routine", however these dogs generally do very well. Summit went into surgery with almost no neurological deficits, so he was expected to come out of surgery ambulatory. Many dogs are improved right after surgery, some have a bit of worsening of their neurological signs. So you can imagine my complete heartbreak when he recovered from the anesthetic and was completely paralyzed in all 4 legs. I was pretty sure I was going to have to euthanize him, that I had essentially robbed him of the next year or two of his life. He wasn't neurological, just very painful. I could have tried medical management first before going to surgery, but I didn't want to subject him to more pain and another anesthetic. I wanted him to be able to do the things he loves to do, and instead I agreed to a surgery that took away his ability to do anything. I spent a couple of hours every day at the hospital, hanging out with him in his run. The staff got pretty used me being around. He wouldn't eat for anyone else, so I went in to see him twice a day. On the third night, he was discharged to my care. Thank goodness I'm a vet and could take him home, or the cost of prolonged hospitalization would have been a real killer on my bank account. The CT, surgery, and hospitalization was already close to $6000. When he came home he was beginning to have some reflexes and very slight voluntary motor function in his legs. The next morning, when I woke up, I nearly cried as Summit was laying on the hardwood floor in sternal, and on the opposite side to the one we had put him on the night before. We set out more beds (our entire living room floor is basically just side by side dog beds now) to try to prevent him from falling onto the hardwood, and I had picked him up a really awesome orthopedic bed the day before he came home. The last 2.5 weeks have just been intensive nursing care. Medication, urinary catheter care, rehab exercises, cleaning up poop, cleaning up poop on Summit after he flails around trying to get away from it. Last week he kept making motions as if he wanted to try to get up, any time we went outside with the girls. So we carried him out to enjoy the evening. The past week he has started to sleep in "normal" positions again, with his legs tucked up, or in sternal with his legs under and his chin flat on the ground. These are things he couldn't do. He literally could barely even lift his head after surgery. Anyway, here's a video of the past 2.5 weeks. I didn't take any video at the hospital, because I was honestly too heartbroken. He's still got a long way to go. Most of the major improvement happens in the first 6 weeks after surgery, so we've got another few weeks to see what's going to happen. He's a pretty happy dog, though I can tell he wants to come outside with us. Hopefully the weather improves so I can get him outside for a bit again this week. https://youtu.be/lK4nIE0fQfY

I work the same hours and our dogs are fine. I think most dogs are more than capable of holding it that long, though some just might not be able to. And of course it is nice even for those that can, to not have to. I sometimes bring the dogs to work with me (perk of the job!) or will pop home at lunch. And 2-3 times a week I work the afternoon shift, so the dogs are only along for about 4-5 hours between when I leave and DBF comes home. The rest of the time they just wait 8-9 hours and it's fine.

If the Bravecto doesn't agree with him, you could try Nexgard next year. I used that last year for my hounds. Similarly to Bravecto it covers only ticks and fleas. It's made by the same company as Heartgard and looks (and probably tastes) very much the same. Last year I did Heartgard on the 1st of the month and Nexgard on the 15th. I had thought about trying Bravecto this year, but I got a free box of Revolution so I'm going to use that first, and I still have 2 doses of Nexgard from last year that should round out my summer. Especially since Summit may not be out walking much any more, I may be still just covering 2 dogs instead of 3.

I always recommend that people go for the oncology referral. Have a consult and find out all of your options from the expert. Most general practice vets do not know all of the specifics regarding chemo because there are so many protocols that differ depending on cancer type, and even within it as for lymphoma (T-cell vs B-cell). Going for the consult does not commit you to doing chemo, it just gives you all of the information you need to make an informed decision. I've sent lots of clients for consults, many of whom opted just for prednisone, but all have been glad they went for the consult to find out their options and have any and all questions answered. Best of luck; let us know what you decide to do.

I have generally felt like there are two types of SA in the newly adopted dog. There are some dogs that have true separation anxiety (i.e. the dog that gets severely worked up and never seems to accept that her people always come back), and there are many that just have transient separation anxiety (i.e. it resolves once the dog adjusts to the new home life and figures out that her people are indeed always coming home). In the dozen or so fosters that we have had I think I've had ONE that didn't cry at all in his crate, and he was a lurcher that was treated pretty well - he was allowed to go in the house, played with the kids, etc, but was crated in the garage overnight so I suspect he was pretty used to being crated and having his folks leave and come back. Other than him, every dog we have ever had has cried and howled in their crate for some period of time. After a few days most of them have settled and been fine. We have had one foster that absolutely could not be crated, however she was fine if left muzzled in the house (she had crate anxiety, not separation anxiety). I think some degree of anxiety is normal in the transition period - everything is new and different, and they are alone for the first time. But once they recognize what the new routine is the majority of them relax and do not truly have separation anxiety. For these dogs it is just about doing general alone training, as you have been, and waiting them out. An Adaptil diffuser or collar could be helpful for reducing stress levels during the transition. The other sect of dogs, of course, are those that truly have separation anxiety which does not resolve over the first couple of weeks. I have been fortunate and never really had to deal with a dog in this category, but others here have and probably have better tips on that. And then of course, you should rule out whether it is separation anxiety or crate anxiety. I'm a huge fan of crates, but not every dog can be crated. I'd recommend trying without the crate (use an ex-pen, baby gates, muzzle or some combination) to rule that out. If it's the crate then that's an easy fix - but I'd recommend working on crate training because I think it's really important for a dog to be comfortable with being crated as you never know when you will need it.

Prince Edward County, not Island. It's in Ontario. Kingston should have some good emergency clinics, or potentially some greyhound savvy vets. Anyone on this board that's in that area and might know?

A good laser machine costs quite a bit. One of our clinics owns a small, used, portable unit and I believe it cost $6000. We bought it from another hospital. The Companion Lasers that a lot of clinics have are relatively large and can cost upwards of $10000 new I believe (depends on what model, some are up to $20000 from what I've been told). You also need to know what you're doing with a laser. The Companion Lasers have pretty straight forward settings based on the size of animal, size of treatment area, colour of skin, etc, but a lot of other lasers simply ask you to input the power and time and it's up to the user to know what the setting should be. Ultimately, you're probably still best off to visit your regular provider for laser therapy since they are licensed.

So awesome! Love those white faces!

I think the flip side of this scenario is that this dog could be exhibiting separation anxiety as opposed to crate anxiety. Transitioning out of the crate is a fine idea, however be open to the possibility that your dog may actually be more anxious about your absence than the crate, in which case noise may continue and destructive behaviour may begin. I'd start with muzzling and baby gating, and if the anxiety seems resolved then I'd start to transition away from the muzzle as well. If the noise continues or there is other evidence of continued anxiety then separation training is in order. I personally like crates if the dog is crate trained. It keeps the dog out of trouble (eating or destroying things), prevents accidents or fights with other pets (dog fights, chasing the cat, etc), and keeps the dog confined and safe in case of an emergency (if someone breaks into your house they will not be threatened by the dog and are likely to leave it alone, dog also can't wander out of the house through the open door). My biggest fear is fire, but even in that scenario I think the dog may still fare better in a crate. Scared dogs hide, and the last thing I want is my dog hiding or running away from firefighters trying to rescue them. The flip side, of course, is that they can't get away from smoke/fire on their own, but I don't have a dog door so regardless they'd be trapped in the house. Fire is my biggest fear, but you can drive yourself crazy thinking about all the possibilities. Regardless of whether a dog is crated regularly at home, I think it's important to exercise occasional crating on a regular basis to maintain their confinement training. There are so many scenarios where dogs have to be crated - injury, surgery, hospitalization, etc - and it's really important that it's not a big deal. Summit is not routinely crated at home, but I do it sometimes just to maintain his tolerance for it.

I'd work on lots of desensitization when he's not hurt. It's never going to be quite the same as having to do something to them that might be painful, or handling them when they're injured, but it can help a little if they're at least comfortable being handled. When Kili hit adolescence, despite having been well socialized and practiced in handling, she became fearful of having her nails trimmed and getting needles. I worked very slowly with her on just the handling portions of getting blood drawn or a needle given - holding her in the restraint positions, holding off the vein. I worked up to giving her a little pinch as well - not quite the same as a needle stick, but at least to provide a level of "pain" stimulus. She is now okay for SQ needles and for blood draws, though I am always the one to restrain her and I choose which tech will be pulling blood very carefully (only patient, soft spoken techs with a lot of experience that won't have to fish for the vein). I would not trust Kili not to bite if she was in serious pain. However, she does have good bite inhibition and is very used to her muzzle, so if I was concerned and had the ability I would always muzzle prior to handling her for something very painful. Treats also go a long way.

You can return Hill's products to the vet you bought them from for a full refund. Their products are 100% guaranteed for any reason - pet won't eat it, changing foods, pet passes away.

Beautiful tribute.

This is what I've always done with Kili, who also had a vulvoplasty done at 7 months old as part of treatment for her recurrent UTIs.

So sorry.

Summit's is "hurry up" and Kili's is "take a break".

Laser pointers are a bad idea. They promote frustration because they are uncatchable. Some animals are okay with this, but in many it leads to frustration at best and OCD at worst. Giving a dog an outlet for some prey drive doesn't necessarily carry over to make the dog unsafe with small creatures, but I think frustration at not being able to finish the natural progression of that drive could lead the dog to see an alternative she wouldn't normally see (cats). I play tug, disc, and other games that rely on my dog's innate prey drive. She is perfectly safe with our rabbits. But that chase drive is always rewarded with the natural progression of catching her tug or the disc and getting to play with it. My opinion, throw the laser away.

Kili would love to chase small furries. The jackrabbits are the worst around here. But I've never had her take my arm off. We walk on 4-6' leashes in this household, with only about a foot of loose lead between us. I keep the lead short like that with the dogs right by my side unless they are doing their business, or the occasional stop just to sniff around. I don't give them extra lead to walk ahead of me or out far to the side. They are in a loose heel position the whole time. I can usually tell well in advance that there's a furry creature just by the changes in my dog. Ears, focus, body language - then I can spot it and tell her to leave it. She rarely tries to dart after them now, but even if she does the lead is too short for her to really launch herself anywhere.

Wait... that's NOT normal? I hear this a lot at work when I'm counselling people on their overweight pets. They say the dog is starving and always hungry. My suggestion is that the dog isn't actually hungry... just likes food. Last night I ate chips and candy before dinner. Then after dinner I had strawberries (you know, so that ONE of my snacks was healthy) and more candy. I also contemplated having a popsicle but decided I'd already had an unhealthy enough night (to be fair my dinner was very healthy and I had a small portion). I didn't want a popsicle because I was hungry. I wanted one just because I like popsicles! My dogs will eat any time, almost anything. They're not hungry, they're just food hounds. If they were offered 3 meals all in a row, they'd clean each bowl. They'd probably eat until their stomachs exploded if they were given the opportunity. They like food! If your dog is losing weight then she's not getting enough to eat and probably is hungry. If she's maintaining her weight, or gaining, she probably just likes food. You can try adding low calorie, high fibre fillers to keep her full longer if you really think she's hungry but she's gaining weight... but if she's just a chow hound that won't do much.

I leave my dogs for work. And I do crate the one... no way I trust her not to get into trouble or pester her senior brother. They spend the whole day sleeping and she loves her crate, so I don't worry too much about it. Just make sure your dog gets lots of exercise when you're home.

Congrats! I remember getting my first dog (my boy, Summit). It seems so long ago! Best decision I ever made! We want pictures once you get chosen!

So sad that you lost your boy. It isn't easy no matter how old they are, but there is something especially unfair when they are taken from us young. Run free, River.

How old is the dog? How long has she been off the track? Recurrent UTIs happen for a reason generally. Since an ultrasound has been done I'm assuming stones have been ruled out, and to some extent ectopic ureters. Persistent hymen is another cause for recurrence (this ended up being the cause for Kili) and you need a cystoscope to diagnose it, which also allows for ectopic ureter rule out (for the most part). I'm assuming we've ruled out diabetes as well, as sugar in the urine leads to a higher rate of infections....

Kili dislikes children. I usually handle it by just avoiding children. Putting a dog that is fearful of children in a situation where they have to deal with children is potentially asking for trouble. If I'm asking Kili to interact with children I make sure I have lots of her favourite goodies shoved in her face, control of her head just in case, and then I police the children even more than I'm policing her. That means making sure they don't crowd her, grab or poke at her, scream, run, chase her, etc. I line them up in a straight line (not curved around her), I give them a treat for her, and show them how to pat her under her chin instead of reaching over top of her head. I tell them to keep quiet, and that if she doesn't want to be patted anymore she'll walk away and they have to let her. Having my other dog, Summit, is also helpful. Once they've petted Kili a bit I will nudge them over to Summit to pet to their hearts' content while Kili gets a break. Constant supervision is a must for interactions with any child and ANY dog (no matter how much they may seem to love children). And not every dog is going to be safe around kids. If a dog is really afraid of kids (as opposed to how Kili is which is curious but wary) it's best not to put them in a situation with children. Scared dogs bite, and kids are face level with a big dog.

I noticed over the last couple of months there were quite a few posts about people having trouble teach new dogs or foster dogs, how to lie down or sit. I'd been meaning to put together a little video, but just never really got around to it. Well, I finally decided to sit down and do a quick edit of some videos, of me running through a series of foster dogs with a variety of temperaments and trainability. With the exception of the last dog, a 7 yr old Lurcher named Forrest, I did not have these foster dogs for very long. Forrest was with me for about 2 months and so I was able to work with him a lot more, which is why he is at the end showing an almost "final product". The first dog, Rianna, I had for about 2 weeks and was the least food motivated. The brindle, Gracie, I had for 3 days. The black girl, Georgia, I had for about 5 and I really wish I could have had more time with her because she was really fun to work with. However, the point is that you can train almost any personality or level of motivation, it's just about patience and finding what works. I really like using the lure under the leg, and I have no trouble getting down on the ground, however when I teach this in class I often show people how to do it sitting in a chair since it doesn't require getting down on the ground. I had a foster too that really didn't like the pressure from my leg and was strong enough to push through it, so I actually started him with walking under my legs, and then I slowly started squatting lower and lower to make him crouch... it was a good excuse to skip the gym too! Hope this is helpful and remember to have fun! https://youtu.be/NMXaKbbwu0M

Hmmm... looks a bit like Eosinophilic Furunculosis of the Face. German Shepherds are usually the ones that are predisposed, but it could technically happen to any breed because it's an immune reaction to an insect bite. I treated a dog last summer that had it. Wish I had the pictures of this patient on my computer. It was intense. It took over his entire muzzle, was super itchy so he traumatized it before they were able to get a cone on him, and it progressed rather quickly. We ended up bringing him in for a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. He responded almost instantly to steroids, though it did take about 2 weeks for it to fully resolve (when I saw him for his suture removal the lesions had all resolved but poor guy had almost no hair left anywhere on his muzzle). Anyway, might not be that specifically obviously, but could certainly be some sort of reaction. Doesn't really look like a cat bite issue, but cat bites are weird things that do unexpected things, so certainly wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility. Also, it's hard to tell just from pictures of course. I'd take her in to see your vet for some diagnostics and/or a treatment plan.