Gundogsgalore

I've replied to your pm, but am posting here too in case anyone else needs this info. IF it is IMPA the initial treatment is 2 - 4 mg per kg prednisolone over 24 hours, split into two doses, given with a gastroprotectant. It's not a disease you can treat lightly, its a difficult disease to treat and it often recurs. It also causes shifting lameness - from one joint to another. The dog can limp on one leg in the morning, and another leg in the afternoon - it changes that quickly. Reduction of the drugs is a careful and not always easy regime. It's quite possible your dog wasn't on the correct dose, and /or the drugs have been reduced too fast, or too drastically. If the disease has returned, it probably was not got under control in the first place. the reason the swelling went down is because the steroids did their job(and suppressed the immune system), not because your dog was not moving around. The reason it came back was because the drugs were reduced too soon and probably weren't high enough in the first place.

It sounds like Immune Mediated Polyarthritis (IMPA). I run an online support group for owners of dogs with auto immune diseases, it's a Yahoo group, called CIMDA support. If you'd like to join, pm me or email me on [email protected] Treatment for IMPA is steroids (prednisolone) and sometimes also another immune suppressant called Azathioprine (or Imuran). IMPA usually affects multiple joints, they can become hot swollen, sometimes the dog has a temperature too. The fact that your dog is what we call steroid responsive, would point to the diagnosis of IMPA. Tbh I'm surprised your vet is having problems diagnosing this but obviously I'm not a vet, I haven't seen your dog or the test results - I'm just working on what you've written above. Let me know if you need help. Penel

Hi - tis me who does the Lurcher Fairy cards ! I've got 8 packs still available. I also have some packs with English setter - Angel Setter and Santa Setter. and also some with a very cute cocker spaniel puppy on them. I'll stick a post up in a more appropriate place with the pics. £1 from every pack sold goes to Many Tears. Penel www.malbyphotography.co.uk

Hope it's ok to post this here ? I don't know how aware people are about the method of using Teaching dogs to teach other dogs how to learn to behave nicely. There is a great need for adult socialisation groups as there are so many adult dogs that have issues with other dogs (or people). Most trainers only cater for puppies, and wouldn't even consider taking dogs with issues into their classes. Our groups are different - most of the dogs that attend our groups originally came as they had 'issues' ! Dog Communication is our website if you would like to read more about our methods. We give substantial discounts for dogs currently in foster or rescue, as we hope attending our groups will help these dogs be more sociable and therefore find a new home sooner. We have two teaching dogs, both naturally able to work with difficult dogs, which make such a difference. Rather than just putting a group of dogs together with human supervision, Beama and Gracie do a far better job than we ever could, as they speak the same language ! our venue is a very well fenced large field, with lots of space for the dogs to behave naturally. My colleague Laura, and I, have been training with Angela Stockdale (www.dog-partnership.com) for a long while now, and we will continue to do so. Angela has actively encouraged us to start a group in Surrey as so many clients find it hard to get down to Somerset and there are so many people and dogs who really need this kind of help. Penel www.dogcommunication.co.uk

Just to update this, Lucy has gone to her new home.

Yup he'd been in there a week, with no food.... he is 4 kgs now - usually 6.5kgs (he is a very big cat !).... so he's on 4 meals a day - and he is sooo exhausted - he's just sleeping, eating, rushing outside to go to the loo, and then back to sleep. He's lost loads of muscle, his back legs are really scrawny - and his little face is all pointy. I am sooo thrilled to have him back - it was a very traumatic week without him.

Tate is home. He was shut in an empty house down the road from us - idiots had left their flap on "IN" only - so he had got in, and couldn't get out. All the curtains were shut, blinds were down - and I didn't even realise the house wasn't occupied.... their neighbour heard him crying in the night and alerted us... long story but we eventually got to him. He has lost loads of weight but he's fine - we had the vets check him immediately. Anyone going away or moving - please lock your flap totally !!!!

We have three cats - Tate is our big friendly cat who loves everyone and loves the dogs. We were on holiday this week, with someone coming in twice a day to feed the cats. Tate didn't appear for food on Weds morning, we came home early - on Thursday, to see if we could find him , as this is incredibly out of character for him - he's 7 and has never gone AWOL before. I've phoned the local vets, the street cleaners - and no RTAs or bodies. I've flyered about 150 houses locally, put posters up all over the place... been to the post office so the postmen are aware. Phoned the local rescues (he's chipped anyway, and had a collar on). Nothing - no one has seen him anywhere. I've had an animal communicator do a session for us - and he says he is shut in somewhere, either a shed / playhouse or summer house type wooden structure. He said he can sense him pacing, and he is very anxious Here's a pic of Tate in case there's anyone reading this that might be able to communicate with him in any shape or form.... or even just to send "Tate get out and come home" thoughts please. We live in Redhill, in Surrey. Tate has FLUTD (Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease) which recurs in times of stress. He cannot live on dried food, and he needs a water supply so that crystals don't reform in his bladder. He will be really ill if he can't get access to water He also had an operation on his eye a couple of weeks ago, it was nicely healed up when we went away but still I need to know he's ok....

How about doing some Ttouch on him before you go into the ring ? where's Tracey I am sure she can advise on this.

I would keep her at a distance where she feels safe with other dogs around. If you leave it til she has got scared, then it's too late .... waiting for hackles to go up is too late IMO because that means she has got close enough to be scared. So, keep her far enough away that she is happy, and reward her with lots of praise and treats. Gradually you will be able to get her closer and closer to other dogs that she will feel comfortable being around them. How is Ollie now Jules, is he any happier ?

erm Jo - Kathy says she has never seen a behaviourist with one of her dogs, and never intends to.... so she has no experiences with behaviourists, good or bad. Kathy - I cannot believe that you can actually believe that taking the dog back to the car after he has "misbehaved" and leaving him in it on his own, will make him "realise what he has done" ..... are you serious ? I expect everyone else knows but I don't - what breed is CB ? how long have you had him and where did you get him from ? perhaps the rescue that homed him to you would want to help you with these new behaviours ? do you know much of his history ? I certainly know with my two rescue lurchers that they develop new behaviours for a long time after they came to live with me - Gracie is still unpacking her bags shall we say. I think you owe it to this dog to be kind and try and understand why he is doing this.... dogs are not by nature spiteful or nasty - and certainly not without reason - so if you could find it in your heart to understand him, rather than just punishing him, I am sure you will develop a far better bond in the end. Maybe you should consider as the others have said, keeping him on a long line and muzzling him (while you are retraining him) so that there is no danger to anyone....

Very small world, tell her I said hello (she knows me as Penelope - yes that's my real name !)....

hey that must be Andrea - I know her : )

ohh yes I'm a witch didn't you know !!!!!!!!!

Evening Primrose oil, and Vitamin E together would be the best thing.