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The 'Hummer'
06-05-2006, 12:00 PM
For years I've had German Shorthair Pointers, excellant for the kind of hunting I'm interested in and the distance I want a dog working in front of me. When I retired, I thought I'd try something a little more mellow & slower;) . I've never seen a kinder looking face than what you see on a Golden Retriever or a Yellow Lab. I opted for a Yellow Lab and in every way, she has become a very cherished member of our family. She's just over a year & a half now but shortly before she was a year old, she started sneezing quite heavily every once in a while. A short time later I started noticing blood in the discharge and her appetite started dropping off.:( They love their food so the drop in appetite wasn't a good sign. We took her to the vet clinic and after a pretty gruesome procedure on her nasal passage and some tests, the diagnosis, cryptococcus, a very serious fungal infection. When we fully realized the degree of seriousness we were devistated . For the first few days after the procedure, to get her to eat anything, what I ended up having to do was physically force small pieces of chicken down her throat with my fingers. If that would've continued any longer, I was probably within hours of having her 'mercifully' put down. I can't recall the name of the meds she was on but they were pretty harsh. After a period of time on Lillydale chicken, then later ground Deer meat, raw veggies & fruit, she started coming around. A short while ago the vet, seeing she was quite improved & because of blood work concerns, took her off the meds. I would say now, she is back to normal as far as I can tell and wolfing down her daily DOG FOOD rations. I'm fresh out of my ground Alberta Mule Deer meat but it couldn't have gone to a better cause:wink: .
If any of you out there are experiencing similar problems, hang in there. It takes a while but things do get better.
Last but far from least, I can't praise all the staff at Provost Veterinary Clinic in Duncan enough. their efforts, kindness, consideration & dedication are second to none. :biggrin:

lip_ripper00
06-05-2006, 01:14 PM
glad to hear everything worked out for you and your dog. Any idea what caused it?

The 'Hummer'
06-05-2006, 01:52 PM
Lip_ripperOO;
At the time, I did some searching on the net where a number of scources were listed, one of the most common, pigeon droppings.
On the island apparently cryptococcus first made its appearance mid island on the east coast. There is some suggestion four people have died from it but I have nothing to confirm that. There have been some reports of livestock contracting it & having to be put down. Actually, in Chemainus, another case involving a dog has just come to light.
From what the vet told me, on the island it seems to come from the bark on older growth trees. For the safety of the wife & I, our neighbors as well as their pets, I asked & was informed it is not contagious. Its in the air, and if you're going to get it, you'll get it. Appaerntly those most susceptible are those with a 'compromised' immune system or older animals & people. Thats what suprised the vet so much about our pup getting it is she is so young & healthy.

greybark
06-05-2006, 02:54 PM
Hey Hummer ,Your dog has a good and caring owner .
What is her name ?

REMEMBER -- Keep Your Fingertab On --

The 'Hummer'
06-05-2006, 06:02 PM
Greybark, you'll love this one, even though like myself, you're also an archery enthusiast. Her name is Tikka. The wife & I couldn't agree on a name so our daughter did the honours. My daughter is heavy into hunting and doesn't own a Tikka rifle so how she came up with the name is beyond me.

bsa30-06
06-05-2006, 06:11 PM
glad to hear your dog is doing better,i know what you must have been going thru my golden retriever gets siezures and is on medication to try to control them.There is nothing worse than that helpless feeling you get when your pet (family member) gets sick and there is nithing you can do to help.I hope tikka fully recovers and stays healthy.

greybark
06-05-2006, 07:18 PM
Hey Hummer , Tikka and the chuckle at your post , A good one !


REMEMBER -- Keep Your Fingertab On --

The 'Hummer'
06-05-2006, 07:23 PM
So far so good bsa30-06. Its just within the last week or so her appetite has returned to normal. At this point in time about the only thing that hasn't yet returned fully is her sence of smell. That may have been effected by the procedure done to her nasal passage in the beginning. If thats the only thing that doesn't come back, so be it. Even with a restricted sence of smell, she can probably put up a lot more birds than I can hit with a shotgun. May have to hunt Grouse a little less & Ducks a little more.
I know what you mean about dealing with siezures. One of my shorthairs had that problem and we couldn't find a med to help. The hardest part was the feeling of helplessness. He'd look at me and other than trying to comfort him, there was nothing I could do to help. They are family and devoted without any conditions.

bsa30-06
06-05-2006, 08:09 PM
Hummer, what meds did you try for the siezures?currently we are giving our retriever phenobarbatol , and they seem to be working well she only gets them about twice a year now.

The 'Hummer'
06-05-2006, 10:31 PM
Hummer, what meds did you try for the siezures?currently we are giving our retriever phenobarbatol , and they seem to be working well she only gets them about twice a year now.

Wish I could remember but I can't.:oops: I had that particular dog about 25 years ago. Sorry. Your dog only requiring phenobarbatol twice a year, that sounds pretty effective to me.:!: We were 'trying' meds considerably more often than that. There were a few we tried but they didn't seem to help much.:sad: Keep up what you're doing & good luck to you & your dog.

BlacktailStalker
06-11-2006, 11:37 AM
Glad your dog is ok. I'd die if something happened to my dog, shes my kid !

416
06-11-2006, 12:31 PM
Glad to hear your dog is doing fine, any one who cares for their pets can relate to your plight.

On a related note is it just me or has anyone else noticed our pets seem to be contracting more and more weird and unusual problems in recent years. In times gone by, most pets we had in our family died of old age, or not looking both ways before playing in the traffic. And what's worse is that modern purebreds seem to be more prone to things you never even heard about 20 years ago. Maybe its advances in medical sciences being able to detect more, but some how l think its more the result of our own doing ........the food chain (chemicals and addivitves) and breeding programs.

Fred
06-11-2006, 08:56 PM
We were wondering the same thing in our home 416. My sisters cat has, of all flipping things, a thyroid problem and has to take pills for it. I have had cats around me for nigh onto 50 years and this was a first for me. Fred

bsa30-06
06-11-2006, 09:16 PM
i have often heard people say that they would never get another pure breed dog of any kind because they seem to have to many health related issues.My golden retriever is a pure breed and the only pure breed dog i have ever owned and she gets siezures.I grew up with dogs we always had one or two around the house as kids , they were all just mutts but never had problems with them,they all lived long happy lives.

The 'Hummer'
06-16-2006, 11:44 PM
Glad your dog is ok. I'd die if something happened to my dog, shes my kid !

I know what you mean & how you feel. This little 'blond dog' means the world to me. She has become a very important part of our daily life but, although getting her through it all wasn't easy, it was worth it.:D

The 'Hummer'
06-17-2006, 12:48 AM
Glad to hear your dog is doing fine, any one who cares for their pets can relate to your plight.

On a related note is it just me or has anyone else noticed our pets seem to be contracting more and more weird and unusual problems in recent years. In times gone by, most pets we had in our family died of old age, or not looking both ways before playing in the traffic. And what's worse is that modern purebreds seem to be more prone to things you never even heard about 20 years ago. Maybe its advances in medical sciences being able to detect more, but some how l think its more the result of our own doing ........the food chain (chemicals and addivitves) and breeding programs.

I think I know what you mean. In days past, most of our pets were the result of 'natural selection' for the most part. Today, things being what they are, we seem to have a tendency to 'go for' specicic qualities we desire, our take-off attempts at 'selection'.
In addition, a lot of our food & pet food is specially formulated & genetically engineered, where as our pets existed on table scraps.
One of the guys on my crew that breeds & shows dogs has strongly suggested I give my dog glucosamine to help minimize joint problems in later life. Apparenty a major problem for larger breed dogs. I take it, so once she gets to her second birthday, I plan to start her on a capsule/meal.

416
06-17-2006, 06:58 AM
Hummer....they sell dog food now fortified with glucosamine and other other additives to target certain degenerative ailments in the bigger breeds.

The 'Hummer'
06-17-2006, 08:47 PM
Hummer....they sell dog food now fortified with glucosamine and other other additives to target certain degenerative ailments in the bigger breeds.

That's what I've been told so I brought it up with people from a couple of Vet clinics. Their response was the amount of glucosamine added to most dog food was far less than sufficient. I have her on Iams Large breed puppy food at present as the main part of her diet and will probably continue that untill her second birthday. In addition, she also gets some raw veggies & fruit fairly regularly. After age two, I'll have to find something more appropiate.

Ozone
06-17-2006, 09:21 PM
My 9yr old 95lb lab had a bad fall getting out of the truck onto ice 5 years ago and has swollen wrists from it, her back end is starting to stiffen up with time as well. I have been feeding her Nutro Large Breed Seinors but when she starts to slow down I give her a teaspoon a day of Renewal Joint and Coat Support and this seems to help alot. I got the Renewal from the local Share Kare feed store. My sister also uses it on her horses.

Another thing I keep on hand is Asperins in 81 mg dose which are coated and small enough that they can take a whole one(I give 1 in the morning and 1 in the after noon). My freind has a 15yr old mixxed breed that he thought he was going to have to put down to ease its suffering so i gave him some of the Asperins now this dog can jump up into my full sized ford 4x4 were before he was having a hard time getting up.

Hope this helps. Kerry

The 'Hummer'
06-19-2006, 09:30 PM
Thanks Kerry, I appreciate the info. It all helps, not only me & 'Tikka' but also others reading this thread. She is doing well at the moment and I want to keep it that way. Thanks again.
Johnn

Broncomarco
07-03-2006, 07:09 PM
Glad to see that your dog is o.k. I have a male german shorthair pointer and he was recently very sick as well. He was having trouble doing his business. Everytime he tried he would cry BLOODY MURDER, and barely nothing would come out. He would vomit constatly. Tons of test went by and finally a ultrasound found out that he has an abcess in his pelvic area. They figure he ate something that perferated his digestive track and caused a infection that abcessed. The abcess was huge and surrounded a artery and was not able to be removed. They drained the abcess and now he is on ten thousand kinds of antibiotics to see if it will shrink and not re-abcess. Hopefully that is the end of that!

The 'Hummer'
07-03-2006, 08:12 PM
Glad to see that your dog is o.k. I have a male german shorthair pointer and he was recently very sick as well. He was having trouble doing his business. Everytime he tried he would cry BLOODY MURDER, and barely nothing would come out. He would vomit constatly. Tons of test went by and finally a ultrasound found out that he has an abcess in his pelvic area. They figure he ate something that perferated his digestive track and caused a infection that abcessed. The abcess was huge and surrounded a artery and was not able to be removed. They drained the abcess and now he is on ten thousand kinds of antibiotics to see if it will shrink and not re-abcess. Hopefully that is the end of that!
I know what you're going through and so does anyone who cares deeply for their pet. They become part of the family. I've had German Shorthair Pointers previously and found them to be a great family pet in addition to an excellant upland bird dog. Soft mouth, work closer than an English and love the water. Too bad their coat isn't heavier to handle the cold water for duck hunting. I'm sure the antibiotics, modern technology and your care will be sucessful.

The 'Hummer'
07-14-2006, 11:05 AM
Glad to see that your dog is o.k. I have a male german shorthair pointer and he was recently very sick as well. He was having trouble doing his business. Everytime he tried he would cry BLOODY MURDER, and barely nothing would come out. He would vomit constatly. Tons of test went by and finally a ultrasound found out that he has an abcess in his pelvic area. They figure he ate something that perferated his digestive track and caused a infection that abcessed. The abcess was huge and surrounded a artery and was not able to be removed. They drained the abcess and now he is on ten thousand kinds of antibiotics to see if it will shrink and not re-abcess. Hopefully that is the end of that!

Hi guy. How's the dog doing?

The 'Hummer'
09-17-2006, 08:26 PM
The wife & I spent the last few days at Tofino & Long Beach and stayed @ Crystal Cove with another couple that are friends of ours. We had our Yellow Lab pup with us and it must've been a Yellow Lab 'convention'! There had to have been about five other groups with the same breed there. Our pup seems to have survived her bout with Cryptococcus but it wasn't easy. A very sad point of the weekend is one of the other couples, from Naniamo, with a Yellow Lab, their twenty-six year old son had recently passed away,:cry: from Cryptococcus. So, even though my pup has lost a lot of her sence of smell, at least I still have my dog. I can live with that.