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MyTDogs

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Everything posted by MyTDogs

  1. Do you know if they palpated rectally? I ask because Gilly is very stoic...the only time I've ever heard her cry out or try to bite was when the neurologist palpated the vertebrae/disc during a rectal exam. I was shocked because up until then we couldn't figure out what was wrong. I felt horrible that she could have so much pain & I [a longtime vet tech] didn't realize it. These dogs will tolerate almost anything! I'll keep my fingers crossed for Nick too.
  2. Gloria, It sounds like Lumbosacral stenosis or Cauda Equina- my 14 yo girl Gilly has this. Border Collies are prone to this (many active breeds are). Essentially there are bulging discs that impinge on the nerve roots. Gilly had the MRI & CT to confirm (regular films are not going to tell you much) but her heart & kidneys would not have made the surgery so I opted for rest & steroids. 8 weeks of strict rest & good doses of steroids. She is better now but not the same. Even if you opt for surgery there is always the risk of another disc rupturing. My best advice would be to see a neurologist. They can thoroughly evaluate Nick & give your best options/prognosis for conservative treatment. Good Luck- I feel your(& Nick's)pain
  3. That is great news If he has concurrent skin infections (common with demodex) it will help to have him on antibiotics & frequent baths with benzoyl peroxide shampoo. Please post pix when you can.
  4. Okay Liz, I spoke to one of the derms today & she said that the original case study showing that lufenuron was effective (circa 2000) was poorly designed, no controls, etc... in 2004, 2 of her colleagues - Doug DeBoer & Karen Moriello did a carefully designed study (actually funded by Novartis) that showed that Program was not effective for preventing or curing dermatophytosis. here is the abstract Here is a link to a paragraph about Lufenuron for Dermatophytosis. It is written by Dr. Moriello. HTH,
  5. I don't know all of your circumstances but I will say that I tend to wait as long as I can to alter. Some studies have suggested that the hormonal release during puberty has an important effect on the formation of joints. Waiting until growth plates are closed, especially for those who plan on athletic activities with their dogs, seems to be more & more common. Depending on the severity of Dexter's demodex, he may be more susceptible to relapses during times of "stress". Anesthetic procedures are stressful & so sometimes we see a relapse. HTH,
  6. Not necessarily. Sometimes the worst is when we start treatment on a really bad case & as the mites die the dogs get really itchy. Presumably because the drug attacks the nervous system of the mite and they get more active before they die. In general it just depends on the individual dog's tolerance for that sort of thing.
  7. Localized demodex (found in just one spot) is not uncommon in growing pups. It usually clears all on its own with out any treatment. So while your neem/almond oil may have helped it go away, it is more likely it would've cleared on its own without any intervention. Generalized demodex (spots on multiple sites- this pup has a spot on his leg too I believe) is not as likely to clear on its own and get very bad. So in a pup like this treatment would be advised.
  8. I will check tomorrow Liz (I am the head tech/office manager there) to get specific references. I think it has something to do with a study showing that it didn't work. They are sticklers for actual studies & rarely believe anecdotal evidence, absent legit studies.
  9. Good, Advantage Multi is definitely they way to go...easy & does a good job. This vet might be a keeper I wouldn't sweat the fungal culture too much...demodex is probably the only issue & miconazole doesn't treat it
  10. Okay well then he has demodex...you don't see "mites" in the scraping if there is a fungal infection. Did they give you anything to treat the demodex?
  11. Only certain strains of one species (Microsporum canis) can be diagnosed with a woods lamp (there are many many species- 4 or 5 that we commonly deal with in dogs & cats) so it is not really useful unless it is a positive result. It is also easy to get a false positive because people look for anything that will fluoresce and flakes of skin & medications can do so even in the absence ringworm. A fungal culture is the best way to diagnose ringworm not a skin scrape. Hair from the edges of the affected area are plucked then inoculated into a special gel and after 2-4 weeks suspicious areas of growth are examined under the microscope to determine the species. A skin scrape & hair pluck (done properly) will diagnose demodex. Cytologies will diagnose bacterial & yeast infections as well as give clues to other issues such as a contact reaction (highly inflammatory lesion in the absence of bacteria or yeast). Bottom line for the OP is we can all guess but even my bosses (who have been practicing Veterinary Dermatologists for almost 20 years) would not look at that lesion & be able to tell you. They could give a better guess surely but when you go to the doctor you don't really want him/her to guess (& take your money for it) when there are several simple & cheap tests that can help to narrow the field first. JMO,
  12. NO way you can diagnose that as ringworm based on appearance alone. You need to have a skin scrape done & cytology wouldn't hurt either. It is much more likely it is demodex mites or even a small scrape that has spread into a contact reaction to the miconazole. Your vet should have done a simple fungal culture before diagnosing ringworm.
  13. You didn't mention how they know it is ringworm. Ringworm cannot be accurately diagnosed by appearance alone. How long has he had it? Unfortunately the pix are way too big & my computer is not happy about opening them...
  14. You can try lime sulfur dips- unpleasant but very effective. Use it once weekly. In addition we use Resiketochlor daily. And bad cases will get fluconazole for a month or so. How do you know it is ringworm? Has your vet identified the exact species? I ask because many times we see dogs with "ringworm" that really have other issues such as pyoderma, or demodex. Most often ringworm is self limiting but other conditions may not be. Our dermatologists do not recommend lefenuron (Program). Here is a good website This is geared towards cats in a shelter environment (ground zero for ringworm cases) but it will help to educate you HTH,
  15. MyTDogs

    Isla

    I feel your pain & I hope that in time the pain is replaced with happy memories of the wonderful things you did together.
  16. If you can feel the saggital crest easily then the muscles are smaller. Strong chewers have larger muscles and so the bone isn't easily felt. I've always referred to the Occipital Crest as the knowledge knot (it is on the top/back of the skull in the middle behind the ears). The term is usually in jest because Irish Setters & Great Danes seem to have very large "knowledge knots"
  17. We do this a lot in FL. It is usually after training class when we stop for lunch or dinner. I can't imagine leaving them for hours though. Honestly from what you've posted she seems to put a lot of effort into caring for them. Does she work at the pub? if so my guess is that she's doing her best to keep her well loved dogs under some trying circumstances. I'd suggest if you're able to help out by offering a midday walk or something, perhaps you can better judge the situation once you meet & speak with her.
  18. I agree Donald, Working with a good trainer may save this dog's life. I know the veterinary behaviorist around here gets $300+ for an appointment....and often produces equivocal results after many many months. It always amazes [saddens] me that some people (not necessarily on this forum) would rather kill a dog than go to a qualified trainer who may use positive punishment to train the dog how to get along in our world. Using the spider analogy...I hate spiders. If for months on end I knew I was gonna get exposed to spiders I'd have lots of stress- even if I did get the money. If on the other hand I could get my spider fear cured in a matter of minutes or hours then for the period of time I was being exposed it would be stressful no doubt. But it would not drag on & on for months. Once it was over I'd be happy & realize that I survived the spider exposure & it wasn't that bad after all. All that said, I choose to manage my arachnophobia with cans of Raid & flyswatters nearby.
  19. I love the yellow eyes. Someone said that dogs carrying red will have yellow eyes....
  20. Hey Lewis, just be sure to file down the sharp corners- I can just see the dogs slicing themselves on a tight wrap around the upright or even during a mad crash.
  21. The video is very sad...I couldn't watch it all either. I have resisted writing a comment on you tube...it is stuff like this that gets others thinking that working livestock with dogs is cruel.
  22. Yeah, or caused what we used to call "potato chip syndrome" at the ER. It scratched as it went down (or came up) & caused irritation/inflammation that led to the cough/gag. As an aside, if you are unsure if you have a cough or a gag/retch. You can press on the trachea (feels like a hard "tube" going down the center of the neck). You don't need to push hard- no harder than you'd push on yourself. If it is a cough- like with ITB (Kennel Cough)- you should get paroxysmal coughing. If it is a gag/retch you won't get any cough. HTH!
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