Worried About My Dog

LucyBliss

I would just tell them what she was doing last week, that she seemed to be moving out of that phase but you wanted her to have a check up to make sure everything was all right and that you felt it might be beneficial to have her spayed.

Personally, I wouldn't mention anything about online reading simply because it leaves you open to be dismissed as someone who gets crazy because they read it on Google! If pressed, you can say you spoke to other people with dogs and that phantom pregnancies came up in the conversation and you wanted it ruled out.

Zapperzy

SigersonCup wrote: »

I told her then to make an appointment tomorrow and all she has to do is bring me down and I'll go in myself. She said she would and want's to know what I should say is wrong. Should I just say it's a check up or what?

Just say she's off form and you just want to get her looked at, all it is really is just so that they have a general idea of how long to allocate to each appointment and so the vet has a rough idea as to whether he's (or she's ) looking at a dog with it's leg hanging off or possibly a pup with a contagious illness. If you want you can mention that you want to talk to the vet about getting her neutered also.

Fair play to you for pushing to get her to a vet and I hope all will be ok!

ppink

SigersonCup wrote: »

So should I just say that she was acting odd last week but is improving now and I want to get her checked to see if she would be able to get spayed because I was reading online that un-spayed dog's are more proned to serious infections.

Yes I would do that. I would leave out the online bit too as people can form opinions and think you are a fruitcake before you even start;), but just say you were reading up on it and worried about her.

pinkdaisy

Can I just add not to be worried about bringing the dog on your own, now or in the future, even if your mother changes her mind you can go ahead as long as you are 16 and can legally consent to medical procedures for your pet.

The vet has taken an oath to protect the welfare of all animals in their care, and they will not turn you away if you come into them with a sick animal. Money,etc can be sorted out after the animal's suffering is relieved. At the very least the vet can give first aid (pain meds, antibiotics, good old fashioned advice), and it sounds like it's in your dog's best interest to be seen now. Best of luck with it.

boomerang

OP I read something last night that I'd forgotten - letting down milk can be a sign of mammary cancer (breast cancer) in dogs. So please definitely have her checked out, especially seeing as she's been more lethargic than usual as late.

doubleglaze

I wonder if the mother is doing all she can to save herself the €35 consultation fee with the vet?:rolleyes:

For the life of me, I don't understand why this dog wasn't brought to the vets a long time ago!

SigersonCup

Just to let ye know I always said that I was going to pay for whatever had to be done.

Just back from the vet now. I told the vet what her symptoms were, and he felt the dog underneath and asked was there any chance she could have been mated, which there wasn't.

He then did an ultra-sound and confirmed that there was no pup's.

I pretended that I wasn't talking to anyone about this so I didn't mention false pregnancy or pyometra etc.

He said that what she had was a false pregnancy.
Then he talked about what the options were. He said that getting her neutered wouldn't be ideal because of her age.

He then told me that he could give me this liquid that I have to give to her for a week, he said that it would dry up the milk in her and cure her faster.

I asked him would I have to give this to her every time she goes into heat and he said yes and that it would stop her from going into false pregnancy.

ISDW

SigersonCup wrote: »

Just to let ye know I always said that I was going to pay for whatever had to be done.

Just back from the vet now. I told the vet what her symptoms were, and he felt the dog underneath and asked was there any chance she could have been mated, which there wasn't.

He then did an ultra-sound and confirmed that there was no pup's.

I pretended that I wasn't talking to anyone about this so I didn't mention false pregnancy or pyometra etc.

He said that what she had was a false pregnancy.
Then he talked about what the options were. He said that getting her neutered wouldn't be ideal because of her age.

He then told me that he could give me this liquid that I have to give to her for a week, he said that it would dry up the milk in her and cure her faster.

I asked him would I have to give this to her every time she goes into heat and he said yes and that it would stop her from going into false pregnancy.

And the vet didn't mention pyometra to you at all? Getting her spayed at her age wouldn't be ideal, but would be preferable to her getting pyo.

SigersonCup

ISDW wrote: »

And the vet didn't mention pyometra to you at all? Getting her spayed at her age wouldn't be ideal, but would be preferable to her getting pyo.

He said that the risk for her not getting neutered would be an infection of the womb but that's all he said about it, I think he said that as long as I give her this liquid when she goes into heat it would stop the risk of her getting pyometra or any other infection.

ISDW

SigersonCup wrote: »

He said that the risk for her not getting neutered would be an infection of the womb but that's all he said about it, I think he said that as long as I give her this liquid when she goes into heat it would stop the risk of her getting pyometra or any other infection.

Can I ask what the name of this liquid is, as I've not heard of a medicine doing this before.

SigersonCup

ISDW wrote: »

Can I ask what the name of this liquid is, as I've not heard of a medicine doing this before.

It's called "Galastop". He told me to give her 2ml once a day for 5 day's, and he said she'll be back to herself after that.

doubleglaze

Well done on bringing her to the vet, SC.:)

anniehoo

Good stuff for bringing her to the vet Sigerson, at least she'll hopefully be more comfortable for future heats. Money and time well spent

carwash_2006

Glad to hear you had her checked out

I would still be inclined to spay her unless the vet really feels that she is not in good enough shape for the op. While the risk of a pyo is not huge if it were to happen it becomes an emergency operation and there is always the risk of not noticing in time as can happen with a closed pyometra where there is no real outward signs until they collapse. Emergency operations are always riskier than planned ones as the animal is likely to be in a bad way at that stage.

We had 2 bitches years ago that never got spayed when they were younger, both of them developed pyos at between 10 and 13 years old, they were the only bitches we ever had unspayed at that sort of age, so I'm a bit paranoid about it.

I would ask the vet what level he would place the risk of the operation and what the risks of a pyo are, I would double check the pyo risks online too though. It's a matter of weighing the risks against each other and making the decision. I don't understand how the Galastop could stop her getting a pyo as all it does is prevent the secretion prolactin which causes them to lactate. Nothing there that could stop an infection getting into their womb.

toadfly

Did the vet say her weight was a factor in not spaying her? Or mention if she needs to lose weight? If you can try and get her down to a more ideal weight over the summer it would be better for her.

SigersonCup

She is bigger than a terrier dog, my friend has a terrier himself and she is longer than him and taller than him aswell.

We weighed her and she was 19 kg. The reason he said that it would not be ideal for her to get spayed was because of her age.

I started bringing her out for walks now since Sunday. I have the rest of the Summer off obviously from school so I'm going to try and get her weight down so that I can ring the vet again to see would he be able to neuter her to stop the risk of her getting pyometra.

toadfly

Beat of luck OP, fair play for all you have done, it's not easy when you don't have full support of your parents.

Will you let us know if there is any news with her?

SigersonCup

TillyGirl wrote: »

Beat of luck OP, fair play for all you have done, it's not easy when you don't have full support of your parents.

Will you let us know if there is any news with her?

I will..I've sent an e-mail to the vet now asking him would I be able to get her neutered even though she is 9 years old and 19 kg. I said my reason behind wanting to get her neutered was I would be worried that she could pick up infections in the future. I told them who I was and that I was down there today so I presume they'll remember the dog since this morning and write back on whether or not she will be able to get done.

SigersonCup

SigersonCup wrote: »

I will..I've sent an e-mail to the vet now asking him would I be able to get her neutered even though she is 9 years old and 19 kg. I said my reason behind wanting to get her neutered was I would be worried that she could pick up infections in the future. I told them who I was and that I was down there today so I presume they'll remember the dog since this morning and write back on whether or not she will be able to get done.

I was going to ring and ask could I speak to the vet about it, but I didn't know whether I would be annoying them or not.

ISDW

You couldn't get her spayed for another 3 months now anyway, give her hormones time to settle down, so I think you should do what you've said you're going to, get out with her, lots of walks, get her weight down and get her fit. Then in a couple of months, maybe go back and talk to the vet again, even just take her in and ask a nurse to weigh her, they won't charge you for that, just so that you can see how she's doing. Then have a chat with the vet, or with one of the nurses, it won't be a consultation, so hopefully they won't charge you for it, I know my vets wouldn't, they'd just be pleased that someone was taking such good care of their pet.

Then, even if you don't get her spayed, she'll be far healthier anyway, and will be in a better condition to fight off any infections she may get.

SigersonCup

Hi guys, sorry now for writing again but as I said, I wrote an e-mail to the vet this evening about whether or not she would be able to get neutered and he wrote back(fair play to him) already tonight and said that it would be the best thing to book her in for it. I mentioned in the e-mail her weight and he didn't comment on it, so I don't think it is an issue with the surgery. And he said if I want to ring the clinic and book the surgery there'll be no problem. So should I book it, yes?

carwash_2006

Just don't book it before October, as ISDW says give her hormones a chance to settle down.

If you can get her out for walks and maybe look at how much food she is getting and if it could be cut back a bit. Getting her weight down a little will be much healthier for her. Also the extra walks will help to keep her mind off the phantom pregnancy and she will get over it quicker.

Best of luck with everything.

DBB

Hi SC,
You've played a blinder getting your dog to the vet in the face of adversity!
Unless your dog is very old in herself, I can't see any reason why she can't be spayed to stop all this unpleasantness of phantom pregnancy and, increasingly likely as she gets older, pyometra.
It's already been posted that there are super anaesthetics available now for older dogs... not that 9 is that old for a smaller dog!
What sort of dog is she? I almost feel like I know her now! I'd love to see a photo of her!
Spaying her even at 9, as long as she's healthy enough, could extend her life simply due to the reduction of stress of coming into heat! Neutered dogs are healthier and live longer.
Again, good on you for sticking by your dog. Have you any plans to work with animals? You have a great compassionate approach!

Whispered

Just wanted to say well done to the OP. Delighted to hear that your dog is ok.

SigersonCup

DBB wrote: »

Hi SC,
You've played a blinder getting your dog to the vet in the face of adversity!
Unless your dog is very old in herself, I can't see any reason why she can't be spayed to stop all this unpleasantness of phantom pregnancy and, increasingly likely as she gets older, pyometra.
It's already been posted that there are super anaesthetics available now for older dogs... not that 9 is that old for a smaller dog!
What sort of dog is she? I almost feel like I know her now! I'd love to see a photo of her!
Spaying her even at 9, as long as she's healthy enough, could extend her life simply due to the reduction of stress of coming into heat! Neutered dogs are healthier and live longer.
Again, good on you for sticking by your dog. Have you any plans to work with animals? You have a great compassionate approach!

She's like a small rohesian ridgeback, like a miniature version. I'll take a pic of her there tomorrow or maybe I'll knock a bit more weight off her first LOL.

Thanks, I would like to be a vet but as far as I know you need very high leaving points..not sure if there's any other jobs to do with looking after animals

DBB

How about vet nursing? It's a degree course now!
Other courses available include diplomas and foundation degrees in dog training/behaviour, degrees and upwards in animal behaviour/welfare... there are a lot more options out there in the past few years that weren't about when I were a young one!;)

Zapperzy

SigersonCup wrote: »

She's like a small rohesian ridgeback, like a miniature version. I'll take a pic of her there tomorrow or maybe I'll knock a bit more weight off her first LOL.

Thanks, I would like to be a vet but as far as I know you need very high leaving points..not sure if there's any other jobs to do with looking after animals

There are loads but obviously I'm going to suggest vet nursing! Seriously go for it the points are fairly achievable and trust me you'l not regret the decision if you love caring for animals!