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skybarker

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  1. I am still waiting on the blood work but I am reassured to hear that a few of you have been able to have an older dog's teeth cleaned without a problem. I have had some real bad experiences with vets so i have learned to question everything. Just to be safe I may take her to a veterinary dentist instead if I decide to have them cleaned.
  2. The chip does not seem to have any sort of pulp exposure and is the same color as the rest of her tooth. It's just a dent on one of her upper molars. It looks about the same as it did on her after photos last time her teeth were cleaned. I will have a chance to ask the vet a few more questions when i get the results of her bloodwork.
  3. My new vet recommended a dental cleaning and possible filling or tooth extraction for my 11 year old BC. He noticed she had a chipped tooth which she has had for at least 4 years as our previous vet had noticed it last time her teeth were cleaned but said it was not a problem. She is in good health and does not have gum disease just a bit of tarter. I don't know. I am a little bit worried about the anesthesia-the estimate includes as much as an hour for the procedure-at her age. I also think maybe pulling or sealing the chipped tooth might be a bit aggressive. It's not a problem now and has lasted without getting worse for years. She plays frisbee a lot and I think that is what chipped it. It's real expensive, too (not a deal breaker but a concern) What do you think?
  4. I was told my BC likely had an auto-immune disorder when she was 6 months old because she was anemic. After testing her for a bunch of different problems they (every vet in the practice saw her) decided she had an auto-immune disorder and started her on medicine for it. However, when I overheard my vet describing her as "the puppy with the poor prognosis" I posted here. Someone told me to get her to a board certified vetinary internal medicine specialist. I found one here: http://www.acvim.org/ It turned out she just had anemia (possibly from swallowing a bit of cactus). The specialist put her on iron supplements for several months and she made a full recovery. That was nine years ago.
  5. It's worth it. One of our BC's had surgery in both shoulders for OCD at six months. She is now four years old and you would never know she had ever had a problem. We did have a board certified Veterinary surgeon perform the surgery.
  6. The most important piece of advice I can give you is to get Chance to a Veterinary Internal Medicine Specialist. I faced a similar situation with mounting costs of endless tests and group of Vets who were ALL wrong about what was causing my dog's problem. Someone here told me to take her to a specialist and it saved here life. The specialist didn't waste my money running every test under the sun, she took a look at the lab work that had already been done and did just one more blood test to confirm that had much more minor and treatable problem (but one that needed the correct treatment) than the Vets at her regular clinic thought.
  7. I found a couple of the Chuck-It Ultra balls and a light version of the Planet Dog ball at REI yesterday. They are nice and both dogs seem to like them.
  8. I didn't know about the risk of dental damage. Another reason to switch to something else. Trouble is, most dog toy balls are a bit too heavy for a game of catch or too easy to chew to bits. The search begins...
  9. A friend's dog died from cancer which her vet said was likely caused from catching tennis balls. Some of them have fibers which get into the dog's system and do damage. Has anyone else heard of this?
  10. I was unable to spay my dog at 6 months because they found she was anemic. She is now 8 months old and her bloodwork is back to normal, so she can be spayed. However, since she is so close to her first heat, I am wondering if I should just postpone this until after. I know this would slightly increase her risk for breast cancer but it's not good to spay her if she has started heat , either. Also, I know she still has somewhat small red blood cells (I don't think her vet knows why-she will recieve at least one more iron injection). So, I am thinking about waiting until after her firt heat. I have two questions. I have never had a dog go through heat: what is involved? My dog is mostally an inside dog. Also, what are the risks/rewards of not spaying before her first heat?
  11. After two more blood tests (to check her serum iron level and liver function), we found she has the type of anemia which can be treated with an iron supplement. She should be fine.
  12. Wendy V, Mosstheboss2000, and all, Thanks for suggesting that I take Starbuck to a specialist. I realized my regular vet was just guessing after the most likely problems were ruled out and that I had better follow up on that advice fast. I located an internal medicine specialist on the ACVIM website (http://www.acvim.org/) and took Starbuck and her records in yesterday. I found out that her anemia wasn't that bad except on the first blood test, and that an immune related problem (AIHA) could be ruled out because of her age and because she has real small red blood cells (a dog with an immune related problem would have large cells). Now, we need to find out why she has such small red blood cells. I should have all the answers next week. A re-cap of the tests allready done: A CBC showing she was anemic (HCT 21) Two follow tests where that number rose to 32 and 33 Tested negative for all parasites but treated with a dewormer and and Doxycycline (for any sort of blood born parasite) X-rayed to make sure she hadn't swallowed anything metalic which could cause her anemia Her original vet had prescribed Prednisone because of a few spherocytes in her last blood test (which her internist said I didn't need to give her, as this isn't an immune related problem). I am glad I am now working with a specialist. I'll let you know what they find, Thanks.
  13. Latest test indicates AIHA, afterall. I will try to get another opion.
  14. Maybe, good news. The retest showed much improved numbers (almost normal) but my vet did not know why. They started her on an antibotic and deworming medicine (just in case, she did have a parasite problem which did not show on the tests) . We will retest her in a week. She sure seems healthy, I took her on a mile walk this morning and have been throwing frisbies and balls off an on since 7 this morning and she's still going strong (it's 5 P.M. here). My vet did say her numbers did not indicate AIHA. So I am starting to think things might not be bad. We will retest in a week. However, if I need another opinion, can someone recommend a good specialist in the Phoneix, AZ area? If so, send me a PM. Also, thanks for all of the kind wishes. I'll give you an update when I know more.
  15. I am sorry if this post is a bit rambling but when I took my beautiful 6 month pup in for spay surgery I was told she was anemic and they couldn't do the surgery.The vet did more blood work and said her anemia appers to be nonregenerative (some sort of bone marrow problem). The vet is going to consult with the pathlolgist and get back to me. The bloodwork found no evidense of parasites which could have caused this. We will retest tommorrow, but I am right now devastated. Has anyone had a good outcome with this sort of problem?
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