The Pet Info Thread

[JoeyJoJo 18]

I'm pretty sure vonteego wouldn't stone two dogs to death. In fact, he's probably preparing some sort of libel suit against you right now. But the marriage part? Maybe.

[Tiltinagain 973]

Speedz, just curious, do dogs get cramps from lots of excercise?I have a Lab male from very good field trial lines that will be 2 in July. I train/compete him for AKC retriever hunt tests and field trials. He is very athletic, great weight etc...3 times over the last 3 or 4 months after training (twice on water, once on land) he has started whining badly and holding up his right rear leg,not wanting to put weight on it. After the times training on water it was while I was toweling him off after quite a bit of swimming. He would justall of a sudden start whining and his leg would be up. I'd continue drying him off and within 30 seconds to a minute he'd be perfectly fine, no whining,no limp, running and jumping etc... each time it's occured, I've checked his paw for cuts, squeezed his paw and all the way up the leg gently trying tosee if there was an obvious injury and nothing.The last time it happened, a couple of weeks ago, after drying him off I took him for an easy walk and, again, within a minute or so he was fine. We trained the next day and a few times since with no issue. It seems like a cramp to me but always happens in the lame leg/paw. Right rear. Other than these issues he never limps, runs and jumps like a typical lab pup and is 100% normal.Thoughts?

[vonteego3 0]

Haha, you're trying to rationalise with vonteego about dogs? Didn't you see this article about him in the news?

She's cute.I'm not saying legit breeders are the root of all evil, not at all. I was just saying that a rescue dog, who would otherwise be living in a shelter (or killed), is much better off in an apartment than buying a puppy from a breeder to live in an apartment; they have other options.

[vonteego3 0]

Speedz, just curious, do dogs get cramps from lots of excercise?I have a Lab male from very good field trial lines that will be 2 in July. I train/compete him for AKC retriever hunt tests and field trials. He is very athletic, great weight etc...3 times over the last 3 or 4 months after training (twice on water, once on land) he has started whining badly and holding up his right rear leg,not wanting to put weight on it. After the times training on water it was while I was toweling him off after quite a bit of swimming. He would justall of a sudden start whining and his leg would be up. I'd continue drying him off and within 30 seconds to a minute he'd be perfectly fine, no whining,no limp, running and jumping etc... each time it's occured, I've checked his paw for cuts, squeezed his paw and all the way up the leg gently trying tosee if there was an obvious injury and nothing.The last time it happened, a couple of weeks ago, after drying him off I took him for an easy walk and, again, within a minute or so he was fine. We trained the next day and a few times since with no issue. It seems like a cramp to me but always happens in the lame leg/paw. Right rear. Other than these issues he never limps, runs and jumps like a typical lab pup and is 100% normal.Thoughts?

Have you had his hips x-rayed? Sounds like the beginnings of dysplasia.

[Tiltinagain 973]

Have you had his hips x-rayed? Sounds like the beginnings of dysplasia.

They aren't considered "official" until the dog turns 2, which is in July. I'll have them doneafter that.Really don't think that's the cause. For what it's worth, all dogs in his 5 generation pedigreeon both sides were good or excellent for hips. Which isn't a guarantee but certainly reducesthe odds of having problem hips.

[vonteego3 0]

They aren't considered "official" until the dog turns 2, which is in July. I'll have them doneafter that.Really don't think that's the cause. For what it's worth, all dogs in his 5 generation pedigreeon both sides were good or excellent for hips. Which isn't a guarantee but certainly reducesthe odds of having problem hips.

Could also be a simple sprain... have you tried NSAIDs? If 2 weeks of rimadyl doesn't cure it, it's something more serious (obviously).

[Tiltinagain 973]

Could also be a simple sprain... have you tried NSAIDs? If 2 weeks of rimadyl doesn't cure it, it's something more serious (obviously).

I've thought of this too. The reason it seems more like a cramp to me is because, like you or me, it comes on quickly then is done quickly. Also it doesn't happen every time we train. Like I said, it's happened 3 times in the last 3 months or so and we've trained 25 or 30 times in that time, both on waterand land. Once he stops whining and puts weight on it and walks around a little he's perfectly fine and ready to run another set. The other thing I thought of was a soft tissue injury in the bottom of his paw (which seems like where the most pain is when he has thishappen) that only happens if he steps wrong, on a rock etc...

[vonteego3 0]

I've thought of this too. The reason it seems more like a cramp to me is because, like you or me, it comes on quickly then is done quickly. Also it doesn't happen every time we train. Like I said, it's happened 3 times in the last 3 months or so and we've trained 25 or 30 times in that time, both on waterand land. Once he stops whining and puts weight on it and walks around a little he's perfectly fine and ready to run another set. The other thing I thought of was a soft tissue injury in the bottom of his paw (which seems like where the most pain is when he has thishappen) that only happens if he steps wrong, on a rock etc...

I've never heard of a dog with a cramp, but it seems reasonable... try some of that new fancy gatorade, should solve the problem.Edit: Or just ask him. We recently had a couple decline to adopt a dog because although they adored him, their "pet communicator" asked their cat, and the cat declined to have a new canine friend.

[JoeyJoJo 18]

I don't know anything about dogs, but I don't see why any animal couldn't get a cramp.

[Tiltinagain 973]

I've never heard of a dog with a cramp, but it seems reasonable... try some of that new fancy gatorade, should solve the problem.Edit: Or just ask him. We recently had a couple decline to adopt a dog because although they adored him, their "pet communicator" asked their cat, and the cat declined to have a new canine friend.

That's fantastic!Maybe I'll ask our cat what's wrong with the dog??

[Pot Odds RAC 23]

Maybe I'll ask our cat what's wrong with the dog??

Cats lie. He'd probably say: "The dog has cancer. Kill him."

[Tiltinagain 973]

Cats lie. He'd probably say: "The dog has cancer. Kill him."

I laughed out loud at this because it's so damned true!

[speedz99 145]

Muscle cramping in dogs is rare, but occasionally documented, and one of those "we can't prove it but assume it happens" kind of things. The problem is that, while it certainly makes sense that dogs could conceivably cramp up, it's a fleeting injury that can't really be diagnosed after the fact without asking the patient exactly what happened, which we obviously can't do (barring excellent work from a pet communicator). But, assuming it does happen (which is safe to say), it's more common to occur in the rear limb and can occur idiopathically (meaning, we have know clue why) or because of a number of neuromuscular issues (electrolyte imbalances, poor tissue perfusion, etc). Honestly, the way it's happening right now, with acute onset and quick dissipation, you're not going to get a diagnosis unless you bring him in, agree to radiographs, and there's an obvious knee or hip problem (which would be surprising based on your description of the problem, but not out of the realm of possibility). For now just keep him well hydrated, keep a close eye out for the problem, and if it starts happening more often or the episodes last noticably longer (which would indicate something more on the hip/knee end of the spectrum) bring him to your vet.

[Tiltinagain 973]

Muscle cramping in dogs is rare, but occasionally documented, and one of those "we can't prove it but assume it happens" kind of things. The problem is that, while it certainly makes sense that dogs could conceivably cramp up, it's a fleeting injury that can't really be diagnosed after the fact without asking the patient exactly what happened, which we obviously can't do (barring excellent work from a pet communicator). But, assuming it does happen (which is safe to say), it's more common to occur in the rear limb and can occur idiopathically (meaning, we have know clue why) or because of a number of neuromuscular issues (electrolyte imbalances, poor tissue perfusion, etc). Honestly, the way it's happening right now, with acute onset and quick dissipation, you're not going to get a diagnosis unless you bring him in, agree to radiographs, and there's an obvious knee or hip problem (which would be surprising based on your description of the problem, but not out of the realm of possibility). For now just keep him well hydrated, keep a close eye out for the problem, and if it starts happening more often or the episodes last noticably longer (which would indicate something more on the hip/knee end of the spectrum) bring him to your vet.

Thanks much.He has a vet appointment for regular a regular check up/vaccines but I figured it if wasn't happening when we were in there they wouldn't beable to tell me anything.As I said before, once he turns 2 and OFA considers the results "official" I'll have his hips and elbows done. I would be shocked if this was the cause butwho knows until they look?On another note; I was reading a retriever forum I frequent today and many posters, including two vets, said they no longer vaccinate for Corona. I'm thinking my vet did vaccinate for this when Ace was a puppy. What are your thoughts on why, or why not, to give this vaccination?Again, thanks for your help.

[speedz99 145]

On another note; I was reading a retriever forum I frequent today and many posters, including two vets, said they no longer vaccinate for Corona. I'm thinking my vet did vaccinate for this when Ace was a puppy. What are your thoughts on why, or why not, to give this vaccination?

Well, coronavirus is a relatively mild, self-limiting disease. It's a decent idea for puppies because the diarrhea it causes could potentially be more of an issue for them, so that's why it's included in some combo vaccines (that protect against parvo, hepatitis, distemper, etc). The one minor concern is that an unvaccinated adult dog could be an asymptomatic carrier and give the disease to a puppy...but if you don't have any newborn puppies around that are too young to have been vaccinated yet, this obviously isn't an issue. I don't know of any studies that say it could hurt to be vaccinated for coronavirus as part of a combo vaccine, but it's widely accepted that it's pretty unnecessary, especially for adults. In the scheme of things, whether or not your vet chooses/recommends to vaccinate him for coronavirus should be absolutely no skin off your back, so don't waste time and energy worrying about it. You can decline if it's a solo vaccine, or just accept it if your vet has it as part of the combo.

Again, thanks for your help.

Sure thing, I enjoy helping where/when I can. Let me know if you do ever get a definitive diagnosis for the leg issue.

[timwakefield 68]

For the second time, we have found what appears to be urine on our bed. Thoughts?

Have you considered that your wife may have been the culprit? Peeing the bed and blaming the cat or dog is the oldest trick in the book.

[chrispycream 0]

My parents have a 2 year old miniature long-hair dachshund. Recently he has begun to have seizure-like episodes. I haven't been around for either episode so I am pretty hazy about the details, order of events, vet treatments, etc, but here is what I can surmise. 1st 'seizure' occurs, general consensus is that dog (Beau) had an allergic reaction to chocolate that he found somewhere in the house2nd 'seizure' occurs, my mom takes him to the vet and he undergoes a lot of expensive tests, and the vet would like him to undergo more expensive tests, urinalysis (concern over crystals in urine?) etc. I've read that seizures are quite common in the breed and that there is really nothing you can do about it...With this in mind, do you have any thoughts about the situation...it is getting pretty expensive for my mom and I really don't know what to tell her. Thanks

[speedz99 145]

With this in mind, do you have any thoughts about the situation...it is getting pretty expensive for my mom and I really don't know what to tell her.

Sorry, I can't really help with this one. Too many variables, and seizures can be really tricky. The doctor probably isn't looking for urine crystals...I can't think of how that could be connected to seizeures. He/she is probably looking for other stuff in urine that can be indicative of other pathologies.Without more details I really can't tell you much of anything, and even with more details it could still be tough. One thing that might help would be to know how far apart the episodes were and what they entailed.

[Governator 54]

So my dog now limps on her hind leg (Is there anything not going wrong with her?)...She's been limping it a few times a day for the last 3 weeks now. She went in 2 weeks ago and had x-rays and they think it could be her knee. Also since her limping is usually after laying down for a long period of time the vet thinks it could be the beginning of arthritis.She was taken home with 2 medications, one called Metacam and the other is Glucosamine. The problem is I took her off Venactyl P which controls her inchyness to go on these meds but now she's going at herself like mad. Her one paw is totally red, it's awful.What a mess.... I called and she said to discontinue Metacam and continue with Glucosamine and Venactyl P.

[LadyGrey 6]

Aww pretty dog.

[Pot Odds RAC 23]

I fear it won't be long for my friend Fargo the Norwegian Elk Hound. Several years ago she started showing her age (she is about 14 now) and went into a rapid decline. At the time I thought she was not going to last more than a few months. However her decline leveled out and she even improved a bit. She still isn't very stable on hardwood floors and sometimes needs a little boost going up & down stairs - but for the most part she is pain free and still able to roam free and enjoy life in Casa de RAC. Lately she has become incontinent. For the most part it is manageable and not a real issue, but more and more often it is messy, loose, smelly, and you get the picture. She still has a healthy appetite and good spirits, She still teaches Bella the Pitbull about dominance. But I am fearful that this change in her digestive capabilities is an indication that she is nearing her end.

[chrispycream 0]

Sorry, I can't really help with this one. Too many variables, and seizures can be really tricky. The doctor probably isn't looking for urine crystals...I can't think of how that could be connected to seizeures. He/she is probably looking for other stuff in urine that can be indicative of other pathologies.Without more details I really can't tell you much of anything, and even with more details it could still be tough. One thing that might help would be to know how far apart the episodes were and what they entailed.

I guess I'm just curious as to why the vet is performing all of these tests when the condition appears to be genetic...I mean, there is no seizure cure. The dog seems happy and has an appetite.

[speedz99 145]

I guess I'm just curious as to why the vet is performing all of these tests when the condition appears to be genetic...I mean, there is no seizure cure. The dog seems happy and has an appetite.

Best practice in a case like this is to try and eliminate as many differentials as possible before just throwing up your hands and saying, "I guess it's just genetic." It'd be a disservice to the dog not to make sure it isn't something more serious, which it absolutely could be.

[Jeepster80125 0]

Isn't this the de facto cat thread?

[SlapStick 0]

Leash Aggression Update: GF went with the trainer again and he showed her something that has worked for her since. Everytime he spots a dog she steps on his lead and gets him to drop to the ground so he knows hes not the dominant force in the situation. If the dog comes over keep him on the ground first and let the dog have a sniff erc. Rub his belly and whatnot too. He hasn't gotten in a fight since she started doing it. I havem't done it much I'm kind of sticking to just letting him approach every dog and dealing with it which is working too. Compliment the other dog the whole time "what a sweety" in a happy tone so he knows your not tense. You look like a weirdo to everyone but it is working.