You had mentioned awhile back that you massage and stretch your dogs because Sig seemed to feel a little better after his soft tissue injury so you kept doing it. What kind of exercises do you do?
We do a couple basic exercises, with shoulder flexor stretches being the main one for Sigurd. They are described in THIS veterinary article along with a couple other stretches I do.
THIS chart by FitPaws is a great resource with good photo examples of each aspect of the stretch. I particularly like how they show flexion, extension, and abduction for each. Stretches of these kinds are what I do on each dog after extensive exercise since it’s very easy to do once they’re relaxed post workout. I should do it pre-workout more but it’s difficult when they’re excited.
My vet also recommended what she calls “bicycle stretches” where you slowly rotate the limb in a natural movement. We do this for Sigurd more so that the other dogs.
Golden retrievers at Guisachan, near Tomich (2018)
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Dudley Coutts Marjoribanks, 1st Baron Tweedmouth, also known as the Laird of Guisachan and Glenaffric (29 December 1820 – 4 March 1894), was a Scottish businessman and a Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1853 until 1880, when he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Tweedmouth.
A mystery respiratory illness has been spreading across the country recently which affects dogs. It begins with a cough and can progress to pneumonia. The disease does not respond well to antibiotics. It is apparently spread by contact from other canines. It's wise to limit communal contact with other dogs, such as dog parks and shared water bowls. The screenshot is from Today.com. PLEASE frens SHARE this and tell anyone you know who owns a dog!!!
Our new year is off to a good start with a Vet visit (he is fine. As usual I catastrophized something tiny-- they think he just jammed his dewclaw and it got infected). He's on antibiotics and they are having me increase his NSAID dose since he's been underdosed for his weight. Speaking of which, he is back up to 96. I stg every time I think I've got him headed in the right direction it turns out he's gained. He needs to get back down to around 90, I know it will help him move a lot better especially as he's going to be 11 in 2 weeks and its getting harder for him to walk distances (chase the squirrels, though? Oh, he'll do that anytime).
I created a walking plan for him to slowly increase his distance and stamina, the same way I did my half-marathon training, 3 walks per week, adding a little bit to the combined mileage each week. Did 2/3 walks for the week already (he limps a bit past the first mile, so we're sticking around a mile per walk for the first few weeks). I'm also going to ask his vet if I can bring him in and weigh him every other week. Got his nails dremeled, finally, and all the impacted undercoat is out. Ivan's new years' resolutions are off to a good start.
The latest BOAS grading stats by The Kennel Club. Those are great results and really shows what a difference getting a well bred dog makes when it comes to health.
84,8% of Frenchies, 81,8% of bulldogs and 78,6% of Pugs are unaffected.
I can't wait until these kinds of testing are available worldwide, right now in France we only have Breath testing which is clearly not as thorough.
Does anyone else out there have dogs with Keratin cysts? A few of my basset hound’s have burst through the skin (gosh the smell is disgusting) and when cleaned out are sometimes 2cm (just shy of 1”) deep. She’s 7 and has had 5 burst, some worse than others, but with this one I’m wondering if I should go to the vet and get sutures put in? It’s not just open, it’s still seeping.
Looking for some advice from people who’ve faced similar situations.
ignore how small the actual coms page is, caused by user error and non indicative of final result,
$5 full colour bust
$10 full body
$25 anything but nonce crap
DM for details
info about said fat dog under cut
My dog Molly tore her Achilles three years ago, and we couldn't afford the surgery to fix it fully at the time so we'd been managing with medication.
Two weeks ago the vet told us the past three years of pain and inflammation meds have wrecked unusual havoc on her liver, we've switched her meds, but the vet basically said now the choice is long term damage, or short term pain for my fat dog, unless she gets the surgery.
We now have to choose between losing her in the next two years or go into debt for the next 6mo.
shes only 5, which is middle aged for dog, but she MY middle aged lady, and if you could do anything to help her, id appreciate it loads,
If you are uninterested in my slap dash drawings but still want to help theres afundrasier for half the cost of the surgery below and my direct ko-fi,
hello fellow dog owners!! just a head's up, there's been a respiratory illness spreading throughout northwestern us states but there's also been cases found in the east as well (like rhode island), and we're beginning to see a few in canada (like alberta) very recently. there's no cure yet as vets arent sure if it's a viral or bacterial infection. please keep your pups away from high-volume spaces like dog parks, daycare, boarding/kennels, etc., since that's how it's most likely spreading. brachycephalic dogs (smushed-faces) and dogs with underlying health conditions are definitely the most at risk of death in these cases, but everyone should be cautious nonetheless! here are some articles to read more about it. pls spread the word!!
Obviously I am going to take him to the vet but within 30 minutes of this episode Luca was 100% back to normal. This is the second time something like this has happened, the last time was 4 years ago. He has shown intermittent stiffness in his back legs a handful of times in the last 4 years but nothing like this.
We were walking and suddenly he had this episode, losing coordination and proprioception in his back legs. It looks a lot like DM except that he made a full recovery. He may have been in pain but he didn’t make any sounds, he mostly seemed confused and scared. He also has had no obvious pain signs afterward and is already playing with Topaz the next morning. I’m not sure if it’s musculoskeletal or neurological?
If anyone has seen anything like this I’d be interested. The confusing part is that he makes a full recovery afterward and seems normal. The first time something like this happened he was at home laying down so that made it seem neurological. The vet checked him over physically but couldn’t find any issues. We haven’t had him X-rayed as that’s kind of a specialist thing and they didn’t recommend it since he seemed fine.
PSA! Especially in the PNW. My breeder friend just returned from the Golden Retriever national specialty in OR and knows several dogs who are sick, some very much so. Stay alert!
A couple weeks ago I noticed a small bald patch on one of Ivan's forefeet, near his dewclaw. When I looked more closely it looked like a little cyst. He gets a lot of those all over so I didn't think it was a big deal. Today his foot looks pretty swollen and the bald patch is bigger. It isn't red or hot or anything, but he does seem to favor that foot and has for a while. A vet visit is in order.
Adding a picture so I can compare how it looks tomorrow. Hopefully the vet can get him in quickly :/