Stanley

Emily

Emily

Location
Melbourne, Australia
Jen said:
So we’ve been to the vets.. might as well have not bothered with the gabapentin 🙄

We saw a different vet who said if we’ve seen an improvement it probably is a bit of joint soreness/stiffness but he thinks it’s mild as he’s not limping or showing any signs of discomfort when he’s moving his legs around.

He was reluctant to keep him on metacam long term as he said about his kidneys etc so he wants us to try joint supplements for a few weeks and see if the change continues. If not go back and they will look at metacam.

In terms of the lump on his face he said he’s confident it’s a cyst, and if he’s had it for a year and it hasn’t really changed he would say it’s nothing to worry about. He told me to take some photos of it and if it changes to bring him back as he didn’t want to put him under sedation for nothing.

I asked if he was going to do bloods and he took one look at the Tasmanian devil hurricaining round his office and was like no.. no I’m not 😆
Click to expand...
Sounds like a positive result.

Although I feel the same frustrations that we have with Ella. It's been years since she's been properly checked by the vet.

Hope the joint supplements make a difference xx
 
Jacqui-S

Jacqui-S

Moderator
Location
Fife, Scotland
I think my vets are quite low tec, only once had bloods and had anti inflammatory meds for years when younger.

A tip for photos.....take it with a ruler or tape measure near, easier to judge if size increasing or not. And good to get a photo also which shows the location easily, not just a bit of fur.....so show an eye or elbow, or a panned out shot of your dog.

Glad Stan is a bit more himself 😊
 
Granca

Granca

Jacqui-S said:
I think my vets are quite low tec, only once had bloods and had anti inflammatory meds for years when younger.

A tip for photos.....take it with a ruler or tape measure near, easier to judge if size increasing or not. And good to get a photo also which shows the location easily, not just a bit of fur.....so show an eye or elbow, or a panned out shot of your dog.

Glad Stan is a bit more himself 😊
Click to expand...
My vets take bloods during the check-up annually after the dog’s 7th birthday, included in their monthly payment plan (not the same as insurance). All consultations and nurse clinics are also free, as well as discount on food, etc, but medication is extra. Then, of course, there’s insurance in addition to that…!

Thanks for the photo tip - just trying to work out how I can get a good photo of a lump I’ve just found on Tuppy’s shoulder. I need to persuade her to doze off under a good light, then not notice me put a ruler by the lump! She goes into excited wriggle mode if I try to look at it!

She’s such a quivering wreck when going to see the vet that I’ve just started taking her to see the nurse for confidence sessions, as I did for Wispa. I can ask the nurse about the lump during our next visit on Monday, but I wish I’d noticed it before her annual check a couple of weeks ago.

Does your vet have similar nurse sessions where you could take Stanley, @Jen? It was really helpful for Wispa, eventually making vet visits far less stressful for her (and for me!). Tuppy’s ‘vet behaviour’ is different, but I’m hoping she’ll learn to be brave!
 
SwampDonkey

SwampDonkey

Yumove and the yumove extra for older dogs are good. I've used them with all my dogs. There are other brands just take a look. They are expensive so I shop around and look out for sales. They also do monthly subscriptions. I used them for Moo and notice a definite improvement in her. The key thing seems to be to start as early as you can so that you limit the damage to the joints by protecting them as much as possible. You can also use simple meds like paracetamol but you'd need to speak to you get about that. Anything that protects and helps his joints is something which will make his older years more comfortable.
 
Jen

Jen

Granca said:
Does your vet have similar nurse sessions where you could take Stanley, @Jen? It was really helpful for Wispa, eventually making vet visits far less stressful for her (and for me!). Tuppy’s ‘vet behaviour’ is different, but I’m hoping she’ll learn to be brave!
Click to expand...
No I don’t think so. He’s fine if it’s just them checking him over, he gets a bit stressed but will let them. It’s when they start having to actually do anything that he hates it which is luckily rare.
 
SwampDonkey

SwampDonkey

Jen said:
They are expensive! Especially for Stanley needing more due to his weight.
Click to expand...
I get them a lot cheaper I buy in bulk when they're on sale at yumove or from Amazon or one of the pet drugs on pine companies. Last time I paid £50 for 360 tablets that would have been £80 from yumove itself. Shop around or look at some other versions. I get the senior ones for Rory and they are a bit more expensive but he's struggling so anything to keep him on his feet. I don't get stuff at full price and yumove do good sales themselves
 
Emily_Babbelhund

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
Location
Regensburg, Germany
I’m glad to read that Stanley has some of his naughtiness and zip back, and that the second vet isn’t worried about the cyst on his face. That’s really good news.

I’m kind of baffled by the blood draw challenge, though. I guess I didn’t realize how lucky I’ve been to have all dogs that just stood there looking bored during the process. Good for Carbón as he gets 4-6 draws a year.

In Germany (only in Germany) they do this weird technique where the vet inserts a needle into the vein and then catches the blood into the open vial. If it comes out too fast and the vet isn’t quick enough, that means getting splatted with blood spray. I can only imagine if they tried that on Stanley - it would look like a crime scene. 🫣
 
MellowYellow

MellowYellow

Emily_Babbelhund said:
In Germany (only in Germany) they do this weird technique where the vet inserts a needle into the vein and then catches the blood into the open vial. If it comes out too fast and the vet isn’t quick enough, that means getting splatted with blood spray. I can only imagine if they tried that on Stanley - it would look like a crime scene. 🫣
Click to expand...
Ooh, yuk, they've never done that at my vets!!! Just a normal tube and connected vial. Why on earth????
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top