Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - swells

Pages: 1 2 [3] 4 5 ... 7
31
Introduce Yourself to the Forum / Re: new member
« on: August 12, 2006, 05:48:32 am »
Awwwww. Chunky is a cutie pie.

Welcome to BPO. My name is Stacie and I am mom to Sheba (14 year old GSD), Harley (5 year old St. Bernard), Ozzy (4 year old English Mastiff) and Sully (alomost 6 month old Newfie)

Can't wait to see Chunky grow into a big handsome boy.

Stacie

32
Old English Mastiff Discussions / Re: My poor Ozzy Roo...
« on: August 11, 2006, 03:10:01 am »
Thanks everyone for your replys.

Ozzy has been on Glucosamine/Chondroiton/MSM since he was about a year old. I haven't tried Vit. C supplements though, I will look into that.

I am taking him to get another set of x-rays today and send them off for a second (actually third) opinion.

Deramaxx is in the same class as Rimadyl, only it is a little easier on their liver. He still gets his bloodwork checked every 6 months.

Stacie

33
Saint Bernard General Discussions / Re: Saint's as a family member
« on: August 10, 2006, 04:31:49 am »
Sounds like your house is more than adequate to live with a Saint. Like everyone else said, they just want to be by your side. A good daily walk and some off leash excercise would be perfect.

Definately educate yourself on the health issues (hip dysplasia, bloat, torn ACL) and be prepared for a dog that's life span is not as long as your past frisbee dog.

Once you get a giant breed, it is hard to go back to any other breeds. Their love and devotion is overpowering.

Stacie

34
Old English Mastiff Discussions / Re: My poor Ozzy Roo...
« on: August 10, 2006, 03:03:56 am »
Oh, I forgot to add. He is currently on Deramaxx (NSAID) to help with the pain although I only see a slight improvement.

Stacie

35
Old English Mastiff Discussions / My poor Ozzy Roo...UPDATE
« on: August 10, 2006, 03:02:31 am »
Ozzy (4 years old) started limping last week so I brought him to work with me and we did xrays. The vet looked at them and said he had moderate hip dysplasia and severe arthritis in both knees. He sent them off to a board certified radiologist and to top it off, he thinks that he has torn both crucites (not sure if they are partial or full - it was hard to tell with all the arthritis) and he doesn't think surgery will help much because of the severe arthritis.  :'( :'( I am supposed to meet with him next week to go over the percentage of improvement he thinks ACL surgery would help. I can't bear to see my Ozzy in pain. He is staying strong but it is obvious that he is in pain.

The one good thing is that the vet didn't notice any muscle atrophy in his hind end yet. We just had an Hydrotherapy place open up for pets so I want to try that. They have a heated pool with resistance and an underwater treadmill. Has anyone tries these?

He is on a strict diet and has about 10-15 more pounds to lose. He is also on excercise restriction (now if I can just keep him from climbing on the couch). It is hard for him to watch all the other dogs play so we try to stimulate him in other ways.

Please keep my Ozzy in your thoughts. I love him so much. I will keep everyone updated to his progress.

Stacie

OK. So here is what we found out from the radiologist. It is definately a bi-lateral chronic ACL issue. The good news is he does think that, despite his arthritis, the surgery should help him get back to 90%. Not to bad. The bad news is, I sent some recent x-rays of my Saint Bernard and he also has at least one knee (only had xrays of his left knee) that has chronic ACL injury. So now I have to somehow come up with $2800 x 3 to cover each knee. My hubbie has offered to sell his boat, so that will definately help.

I could use anyones experience with recovery of ACL surgery. I know I can only do 1 knee at a time with Ozzy, but do you think I should do Ozzy and Harley at the same time so they can recover together. We also have a very energetic 6 month old newfie that is not going to appreciate not being able to play with his buddies for so long.

Stacie

36
Newfoundland Discussions / Re: Newfies and water
« on: August 09, 2006, 01:09:05 am »
Hi. I live in Minnesota also. Just outside of Minneapolis. We too are looking for help in water training. I am a member of the Northstar Newf Club, and usually they have a water workshop in August, but no one in the club that I have talked to has heard anything about it. They also don't seem to have regular training anywhere that I can find. There is someone in the club that has mentioned wanting to get a group together for training, but I know she is very busy with showing and kids.


Our biggest problem has been finding lakes/beaches that dogs are welcome at. Feel free to email me at skramlinger@visi.com and we could discuss further. I would love to get together.


Also, I would highly recommend the Judi Adler book. It is great.

Stacie

37
Giant Schnauzer Discussions / Re: cropped ears
« on: August 02, 2006, 03:13:10 am »
Ear cropping. Grrrrrrr. I think all owners who want to put their dog through ear cropping should have to be present at the surgery. No matter how much pain meds you give before and after surgery, they all wake up in excruciating pain. The worst part is, that even after everyting, there is no guarantee that the ears will stand. Luckily, the vet I work at now will NOT do ear cropping. Hopefully more vets will step up and do the same.

I love the natural look, and even if I didn't I would never put my dogs through such an ordel.

Sorry for the rant. I have just seen to many ear cropping surgeries in my career.

Stacie (Certified Veterinary Technician)

38
Newfoundland Pictures / Re: Wilbur's Eulogy =(
« on: August 02, 2006, 03:02:23 am »
So sorry to hear about your loss.

Maybe Bear would like a real life Wilbur to help ease his pain.  ;)

Stacie

39
Newfoundland Pictures / Re: A Few More Beach Pictures
« on: July 27, 2006, 11:41:53 am »
What great pics and a beautiful beach! Sully wishes he could join in on the fun. We don't have many dog-friendly beaches that I know of here in Minnesota, so we have to sneak him in anywhere we go and trying to sneak an 80 lb, 5 1/2 month old pup can be quite challenging.  :D

Stacie

40
Newfoundland Discussions / Re: Chester is a TRUE Newf!
« on: July 25, 2006, 08:00:33 am »
Great job Chester!!! Cowboy probably just didn't want to get his handsome head all wet.  :D

Stacie

41
Newfoundland Discussions / Re: Angus graduated...........
« on: July 25, 2006, 07:57:02 am »
Great job Angus. What a good boy.

Sully graduates from Obedience 1 next week.

Stacie

42
Newfoundland Discussions / Sully's First Water Rescue
« on: July 24, 2006, 08:00:28 am »
We took Sully to a local lake for some swimming this weekend. Usually I just wade out with him, but on this day I decided that I also needed a swim. My hubby (Dave) was playing with Sully in the shallow water (throwing his bumper on a line, untangling him then throwing it out again - one of Sully's favorite games) and he didn't notice me going out into the deeper water. I made a splash when I went under and when I came back up I saw Sully making a bee-line towards me. He swam behind me then started pushing me towards the shore. He also tried tugging at my shirt. When that didn't persuade me to head for shallow water he swam back to Dave, grabbed the bumper and line from his hands, then swam it back out to me and proceeded to pull me in.

I was so proud of him I had tears in my eyes. We are just starting his water training by just letting him get comfortable in the water. I never imagined that his instincts would take charge and save his mommy. I guess he was saying that he is ready to go to the next step of training.

On the same day, we also thought we would see if he would jump off the dock. Dave positioned himself at the end of the dock and I was in the water. I expected him to be hesitant about jumping, but he just plowed off the end of the dock like he had done it a million times.

I only wish I could have gotten pictures. I only had my digital with me and didn't want to get it wet. We will definately be investing in some underwater cameras so we won't miss this moment again.

This is the only pic I got of him retrieving his bumper.


Here's another of him on dry land (after his brave rescue).


Stacie

43
Newfoundland Pictures / Which end is up?
« on: July 17, 2006, 04:26:36 pm »
Here is Sully in one of his sleeping positions.



Stacie

44
Newfoundland Pictures / Then and Now
« on: July 17, 2006, 04:24:54 pm »
I can't belive how much my baby has grown.

16 weeks old


21 weeks old


Stacie

45
Newfoundland Pictures / Re: Puppy Kindergarten Graduation
« on: July 15, 2006, 04:50:05 pm »
I know. We got the picture taken before we got Sully. You can get all the details of his arrival if you look through the Newfoundland Discussion/Pictures.

He is 5 months old and weighs 70 lbs. He has worked his way right into the family.

Stacie

Pages: 1 2 [3] 4 5 ... 7