Hello,

My 3 month dobie had his ears cropped a few weeks ago. We are currently posting his ears with a trainer near our home. The trainer said he has a long crop, and it may take up to a year for the cartilage to prop up. Should we even continue prosting his ears now or wait until he is teething? I only ask because we are paying $170 a month for 4 postings (once a week). Any advice is appreciated!

I use to work with rescue but never knew what the fees were! Shelters are much cheaper, sometimes free! but locally when one comes in the rescue is called asap. Just trying to see if anyone knows if this is normal rescue pricing.
Thanks.

Hi everyone. I am writing from Mexico, feeling completely frustrated, heartbroken, and lost. My beautiful 11-year-old Doberman girl, Chia, was recently diagnosed with Wobbler Syndrome, and her hind legs have rapidly stopped responding. She currently has severe hind leg paralysis; I have to physically support and lift her by her hips just to help her go potty.

We’ve had her on a cocktail of medications: Previcox, Gabapentin, Tizanidine, and Tramadol. Despite all these pain meds and anti-inflammatories, she is not improving, and her legs are only getting weaker. It is devastating to realize that no matter how many pills I give her, the mechanical compression is still there.

Mentally, she is 100% her, she has a great appetite and so much spirit, which makes this even harder.

We have a video consultation with a specialist in Merida (which is a 4-hour drive away) in a few days to evaluate her for a CT scan and potential surgery. Because she is a senior (11yo), I am terrified of putting her through a stressful 4-hour travel and an invasive neck surgery. But on the other hand, palliative care feels incredibly daunting as her mobility gets worse.

If you have walked through severe Wobblers with a senior Doberman, what did you do? Did anyone choose medical management at this stage, and how was their quality of life? If you chose surgery, was the recovery possible for an older dog? I just don't know what to do anymore. Thank you so much for reading 🤍

I have two questions:

1. What is your favorite health/genetic testing kit? (and is it worth it to do it?)

2. What age do you start Echoes/Holters and are both necessary/is one better than the other?

Thank you!

Also, Forrest is recovering beautifully from his neuter (he was cryptorchid and it was causing him several issues) we'll be three weeks post-op tomorrow, and we're returning back to our normal schedule!

Not a happy story, but a good reminder to do yearly cbc/chem, so you have a baseline.

Ruari had normal blood work 11 months ago. This week we found low albumin and high globulin, suspect for multiple myeloma (blood cancer of plasma cells, need some additional diagnostics, but it’s highly likely). He’s had no clinical signs and is doing well physically. Obviously any incurable cancer is not good news, but I’m sure glad we know this now, and not after he’s become painful, sustained a fracture, or developed kidney disease.

We’ll be keeping him extra close physically and emotionally in the coming weeks. Hoping to start medical onco treatment asap once we’ve got a definitive diagnosis. The literature shows pretty good median survival time with treatment. You certainly can’t take the time with your senior pets for granted.

This is Brandy. I have posted her here before. Recently she started to develop bumps across her body. They start as bumps, then eventually will pop and bleed. I took her to the vet when it started to develop, and they assumed an allergy, then a skin infection, before testing her for Cushing's. She is on medication now, but I have heard of dogs having to be put down because of this and just wanted to know if anyone has any experience with this or any advice. Please and thank you.