Anne Grose

Hi Dawn, whilst I none of my dogs has had Cushings I have known at least three dogs belonging to friends and obedience competition folk that have had the disease and all have led a normal length life albeit having to have medication every day for the rest of their lives. There are two types one that is caused by a tumour on the pituitary gland and another that is adrenal gland caused. I wouldn't necessarily get depressed and feel bleak because there is lots of information out there and support (including yahoo groups) for dogs with Cushings and if you research enough you will find hope. It may turn out not to be Cushings and be something else - I am sending you a huge hug just to get you through this horrible period in your life. Much love Anne, Barty & Chloe

Regarding amounts - have a look at how much she should be eating as a full grown adult and feed that much over how ever many meals she has. Certainly that is what we do when we are raw feeding. ie a 20kg adult dog should have between 400g and 600g a day as an adult so a pup would have the same amount over 4-6 meals a day. I don't know if this equation works with dry food but it might be a starting point for you, or compare the protein and calorie values on the puppy food she won't eat with the Wolfit one and then feed the amount the puppy food suggests with relevant adjustments.

Probably not, depends on what you are feeding Laney. I agree with your theory and also in the wild dogs would all eat the same prey that was killed. Pups might have smaller pieces and the mum may have selected certain cuts for them but they didn't have any specially killed for them.

What a cutie. Play nice Mr Jack

I am so sorry to hear us, run free Jumble and have fun at the Bridge. (((((hugs))))) to you Jumblewitch it is hard to lose our furbabies.

Hi, I don't worm regularly as my dogs aren't scavengers. If Jumble doesn't go around eating things while he is out ( horse poo, food off the ground) I wouldn't worry about it too much. If he does I would use a herbal wormer like Four Seasons or Grapefruit Seed Extract or DE (Diatomaceous Earth) - food grade and that popped into the food on a regular basis will get rid of any worms. Ticks can be dealt with by giving high strength garlic oil (I use a human one) - we live in tick kingdom here in the summer and it isn't uncommon for some dogs rounds here to 30/40 a DAY. I usually have to pick off 3 or 4 a SEASON. HTH and love and hugs to Jumble

Hi, boosters are a known trigger for seizures and to be perfectly honest absolutely not giving him any more protection that he already has.Our first dog used to have mini seizures after having boosters and my vet at the time told me not to do them again. I blood titre tested my current dogs to see whether they needed any boosters when I was in the UK and up until the age of 8 they were showing full protection. I just titre for rabies every year now and again one shot has been enough to provide full protection. I have read a great deal of information that says routine boosters are not only unnecessary but can be positively harmful to our dogs. I certainly will not be boostering Barty ever again because of his health issues and I can't see why I would need to do Chloe again.

Sue, Amy - thanks for the reply. I am glad it is a normal feeling. I will meet our Freddie again because he has gone to live with friends of ours. I have backed off meeting him again too soon as I want him to bond with his new owners and not "fret"for me. We are going to see him again in about 10 days time when he will have been living with them for nearly a month. I can't wait to see that reaction Sue, it will make me very happy.

Two weeks ago we said goodbye to a dog who had arrived in our garden as a badly bitten, very much worse for wear collie cross. He has gone to the loveliest of homes after spending two and half months here getting well, confident and happy. I miss him dreadfully, this is the first time I have ever "fostered" a dog and I got terribly attached to him. Is it normal for foster mum's to want to rush over to the new home, snatch back their foster dog and tell them they can't have him. I have two beautiful dogs of my own and really didn't want a third permanently, so I know in my heart of heart's that this was the right decision, especially as I hear that Freddie is so happy. How do you other foster mum's cope with saying goodbye. Is doing it all again help?? Or, is it just as bad the second time around?? Anne

Hi Steve Are you worried about your dog because he is still looking undernourished or just because he still eats like he is starving all the time?? I have a rescue who has been with me for over 7 years and still gobbles everything in sight. She is not undernourished and in fact at the moment is too heavy after a cruciate ligament injury. Some dogs never forget their beginnings and will always hoover their food, some do it naturally even when they haven't been though that trauma. However, if you dog is not looking in shiny, healthy condition with beautiful white teeth, no odours from either end, then you do need to look at the diet as it will be lacking in something. Whilst a dog can live on a vegetarian diet, do not do this to a cat as they are unable to eat just vegetarian food. Anne

I don't have an ex breeding dog, but I do have one that was semi-feral when I got her. She had been living wild for about two months since she was around 4 months old. When we got her at just 6 months old, she was virtually a wild animal, terrified of all humans, didn't understand houses, leads, cars and a killing machine around small furries and birds. She is now around 7 years old and the sweetest, gentlest creature you could ever wish for. It took a long time to gain her trust and eventually tame her - she was probably 5 before she turned into what I would call a normal dog. Certain things will still spook her and she still eats like a wild animal but to all intents and purposes a happy, well adjusted and calm dog. She is also 99% chicken safe (not cats, never cracked that one). Hope that helps your curiosity Anne, Barty & Chloe - the wild one

Personally I think DentaStix are awful things. My dogs get a nice raw meaty bone from either the butcher or the supermarkets a couple of times a week. Both dogs have beautiful teeth. Barty will be 9 in May and his little sister Chloe is 7. Barty has some tartar on one eye tooth because he doesn't like to chew both sides but Chloe's are gleaming white. I have done this for about 18 years, my first dog who left us when he was 13 still had lovely white teeth when he died. The real bonus is that these bones come free - as butchers have to pay to dispose of them. HTH Anne, Barty & Chloe

Have a monstrously wonderful birthday Charlie - he looks adorable

So sorry to hear about Tiz and Cooper but at least they have both had full and happy lives. Rita looks absolutely adorable and Norris - well you know what I think about the gorgeous Norris. Anne

Jane, my heart is breaking with you. But what a wonderful person you are to be able to send him on his way with his dignity intact and without being in agony, You will have some wonderful memories and in time you will look back with fondness on your time with him. All my family sends love and hugs for you this afternoon. Anne, Nick, Barty & Chloe

So sorry to hear this but as you say at least now you know what you are dealing with. Gentle hugs for you both and I hope Ben has a long time yet

While I agree that dogs do produce their own vitamin C, it can be extremely beneficial to boost as some dogs can't make enough and any they don't need will be peed out. I supplemented Barty with Vit C for quite a long time when he was young and this has reminded me that it might be beneficial for him to have it again. Also my husband who has a blood disorder too !!!!

Yes Celeste the Fercobsang was prescribed by my vet down here in France. Fer is iron in French so I am assuming it is a French thing. I was suggesting as I thought there would probably be an English equivalent. Give me a bit and I will find the exact ingredients and then you might be able to find an English equivalent

Hi you, long time no talk. I wonder if the supplement that the vet has given me to help Barty might help your boy. Like you, here in SW France there is no pet insurance so we can't do endless tests to get to the bottom of things. Barty has something wrong with his kidneys and he is getting more and more anaemic. I have just started him on a supplement (that is a liquid we put on his food) called Fercobsang which is iron/Vit B12 and something else I haven't to hand at the mo. It is too early to tell whether it will help Barty in the long run as he has only been on it for 3 days but it doesn't cost the earth €10.30 for 100ml and he gets 1ml a day for 5 days every fortnight or so. Might be worth talking to your vet about giving him a palliative supplement without ever getting to the bottom of the cause of the problem. Hope that might help a tiny bit. Love and hugs from all of us Anne, Barty & Chloe

I don't know which Skinners you are using but the couple I checked the ingredients of there are no additives in those either. Not all foods suit all dogs and it could be you need to have Jumble on a different one to the other dogs. I have to do that with Barty now - he has a kidney problem so while Chloe is still on her raw diet, Barty has a home cooked kidney specific diet. If the growling and staring problem has become pronouncedly worse on the new food, it could well be worth your while changing back Anne

I am so sorry to hear this about the lovely Jumble but I think gooster has a good suggestion. Hopefully he would be less stressed by that and it would at least rule out any physical cause for his problems, The stance could well be hip related - Barty also stands like this most of the time and as you know his hips are awful too.

Fantastic news Jayne, Keep up the good work Ted and continue to behave like a nutter Anne

It could well be that he won't be allergic to raw meats that he was allergic to as cooked. One of the things I would start him off on raw is one sort of raw meat and then gradually introduce others. The first one I am thinking of is Tripe. A lot of dogs that are allergic to other stuff can tolerate tripe with no problem at all and I once knew a GSD that could eat nothing else but tripe and lived on it until he went to the Bridge aged 13 !! Raw feeding is pretty simple - you simply feed between 2-3% of adult body weight per day split into at least two meals for a sensitive tummy . I am rubbish at maths and without a calculator at this early hour I will give you the simply example. If Ted should weigh 10kg then he would have been 200 and 300g a day which would be 100g or 150g at each meal. I am happy to send you some information and will drop you a pm with my email address so that if you want to pick my brains some more you can. I am away in the UK from Monday for about 5 days but will have intermittent email access. Don't worry about raw feeding, it isn't rocket science, I have been feeding my dogs like this since 1995 and all of the generations have been fantastically healthy. I live down here in the tick and flea capital of France and because my dogs are so healthy they never get fleas and have only had 3 ticks the entire year. Will pm you now Anne

Thank you to everyone who has replied. My friends have decided to give it a go and Fifi is now being slowly introduced into the household

Thank you Amy et al. That is a really good piece on your website. I found the Dogs Trust leaflet too and have passed it all on. I really hope we can get this to work as the dog in question really needs out of the home it is in and the likelihood of finding such a good home as this potential one is virtually nil down here. Anne