My Dog Is Ill

[Longsands]

I have a Golden Retriever, 2.5 years old.

A month ago we had her mated and since then she has become extremely lethargic - we put this down to the fact that she could be pregnant. However in the last 10 days she has started scratching a lot and 'chewed' the hair off her front legs in two places, and stopped eating. I just came home and her eyes are closed - she can open them for a while put prefers them closed. I'm off to the vet now, but any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[elfe]

sorry to hear (read) your dog's sick

might be a hormonal thing, is she really pregnant? licking/chewing on legs or paws normally indicates a nervous disorder and/ or boredom or emotional neglection. the itching could also be a skin condition like fleas, ticks, mange or fungus. that she doesn't want to open the eyes anymore seems rather serious though.

would be interested what the vet said. hope she'll get better soon.

[Longsands]

^^^ Thanks Elfe

Unfortunately the vets was closed. Back there 8:30 am tomorrow.

Her exercise has been reduced considerably since we mated her. We were told she mustn't do anything strenuous so it came down to chasing after the ball in the backgarden, though after a few throws she would take the ball and lie down.

She always has someone around her and she is always around someone so I can't see it being any emotional neglect - she really is part of the family.

We had a major problem with ticks for the best part of a year. In December the vet put some drops along her spine and that appeared to eventually rid her of the ticks, although a couple reappeared this week (I think the ticks are embedded in the garden and became dormant due to the cold weather up here).

Hopefully the vet will be able to confirm whether she is pregnant or not.

Edited February 8, 2005 by Longsands

[elfe]

thought the vet would be closed by this time...

the ticks are a major problem, I refuse to give these drops(Frontline, revolution, etc) onto my dogs as they contain a substance which can affect the nervous system of your dog... usually it's just one drop on the neck behind the ears... might be the reason for the change in your dog...

ticks are transmitting blood parasites which can lead to life threatening diseases after some time, so the ticks have to be eliminated. though most dogs here got the bloodparasites,it just seems that 'farang' dogs can't cope with them as well...

normally I could fight the ticks with putting neem oil lotion on my dogs once a week but 3 weeks ago some hundreds of eggs must have hatched and it was a real plague. got someone who sprayed the house and garden with a certain insectizide which does no (?) harm to pets and the dogs got ivermec injections. one day later the ticks were gone but the procedure has to be repeated after 15 days and then you should be free of ticks.

make sure always check your dog after walks so it can't bring back a new family of ticks!

[lampard10]

I have a Golden Retriever, 2.5 years old.

A month ago we had her mated and since then she has become extremely lethargic - we put this down to the fact that she could be pregnant.  However in the last 10 days she has started scratching a lot and 'chewed' the hair off her front legs in two places, and stopped eating.  I just came home and her eyes are closed - she can open them  for a while put prefers them closed.  I'm off to the vet now, but any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

We have a Golden Retriever as well and the fur has gone from one of her front legs,but she is only 6 months old. The symtoms sound like what one of our Thai dogs has that we are nursing back to health,and that is Gastroenteritus of the intestine. We keep her at home at nights and in the vets by day. She is on a drip to feed her cause she won't eat. Also every time we move her she is sick. She prefers to keep her eyes half closed most of the time. The vet says she is slowly recovering,but it will take time. She has been sick for about 1 week now,and the vet at first said she had the flu. Hope yours recovers.

[Longsands]

^^ thanks

Bloody vets are closed as it's Chinese New Year.

Hopefully there'll be one open this evening.

Elfe, what is the name of the insecticide you used, as I'm determined to get rid of the little buggers? Found a couple more on Mimi this morning.

[sbk]

Beware tick fever. It made my dog lethargic and uninterested in food as well, but don't remember any chewing. Has your dog had all her vaccinations? Distemper is a major problem in Thailand as well, which also involves lethargy and lack of eating. It can take about a week to kill a large dog, about two days to kill a puppy.

Get her into the vet asap, If you are near a major city you might try to see if they have a vet hospital or a vet clinic at the university.

[lampard10]

Beware tick fever. It made my dog lethargic and uninterested in food as well, but don't remember any chewing. Has your dog had all her vaccinations? Distemper is a major problem in Thailand as well, which also involves lethargy and lack of eating. It can take about a week to kill a large dog, about two days to kill a puppy.

Get her into the vet asap, If you are near a major city you might try to see if they have a vet hospital  or a vet clinic at the university.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That is what the yet was trying to tell me..........my dog had distemper. I think she's over the worst now. She is only 12 weeks old and has been sick for over a week. I think we must have caught it in time.....thanks

[Longsands]

Good news as the vet states the eye closure is just an allergy (when I got home at 5pm her eyes were back to normal) The food could be causing the allergy that's why she doesn't want it.

The skin sores he called hotspots and mentioned mange. He has given us some topical cream to rub on them twice a day as well as some anti-biotics for her to take for a week.

And she is pregnant!!

Thanks for all your input. Any more info regarding getting rid of the ticks would also be appreciated.

And Lampard, I truly hope your dog is better real soon.

[bina]

mange: there are two kinds for dogs, and one kind is a really nasty kind.... and is possibly hereditary (the propensity for developing it)so double check your litter once they are older; you may not want to breed your bitch again if this is the case (responsible breeding); and antibiotics do not cure mange, mange are scabies and usually ivomec or similar is given plus some nasty creme but if pregnant not all things are good..... hot spots are often due to hot, moist weather and lots of furits a type of wet excema, keep her combed and give her toys and long walks to prevent the obsessive licking that become steraotype behavior (habitual behavior) over time;

u can go to http://netvet.wustl.edu/ they are pretty good for basic info, i use it for the goats etc occasionally, i'm just not up on the latest in dog meds... (raised trained for 15 yrs; own two boxers and three canaan mixes)

and its a myth that she cant do everything while pregnant; all mares, donkeys, and bitches do work except for super strenuous activities as search/rescue units until they are too heavy and cumbersome, and they need exercise , just in the heat, do it when less hot and for less time but more frequently; when in last month, can feed more meals, less often ....

[Longsands]

Yeah, the vet told us to not to lay off the exercise despite the sire's owner telling us the opposite. Another thing we were told not to do was to wash/shampoo her throughout the pregnancy. The vet again told us the opposite!

Thanks for the link. ^^

Edited February 10, 2005 by Longsands

[bina]

ive been breeding training etc and now manager of petting zoo, if u need help, i can give u some good sites and good advice; sounds like the stud owner is an idiot: go to a good golden retriever forum, the boxer ones were always helpful if not a little nuttty (their dogs are their children sometimes.... )

[Longsands]

Cheers Bina.

I'm going to be swotting up all things about GR's and their litters in the next month or so. I have been relying on the information given by the sire's owner and now I've realised she knows jack.

[bina]

there is a big difference between a backyard breeder and a responsible one: also, no one makes money on breeding unless they have a superfantastic dog... i should know, i imported my male boxer from finland, certified stud, but in israel they change the regs,. and his hip dysplasia cert was not considered good enough (for once israelis being more catholic thatn the pope)... and after one litter w/my bitch (an israeli army offspring) i spayed her.... didnt like the types that wanted to by a boxer here....good luck dont know much about dogs/breeding in thailand apart from some guy who breeds thai ridgebacks who had a good site on the web...

[dvk1951]

Great to see Goldens in Thialand. When in the States I raised, trained and breed them and considered it a labor of love. Have yet to find an all round better breed but then of course that can be taken with a big grain of bias.

Have always wanted to have a golden here in Asia but was reluctant due to the high temps because of their thick coats, felt that they would lead a less than desirable life in such conditions. Also found that ticks and fleas can be a big problem over here due to the great breeding conditions for them.

As far as the pregnancy period, I found that an active lifestyle was far more conducive to a successful litter and gave the female every opportunity to do so. The average ltter size was 8-10 so Longsands you can expect to have your hands full of little fluffy loving pups in our near future. I wouldn't trade my experience raising them for anything.

BTW.......what do you plan to do with the pups when they start hitting 8 weeks. I refused to allow any pups released from the nest before 7 weeks and found that 8-12 weeks was a good window. After that they start eating you out of house and home. Don't forget that you will need to give them both series of immunizations before releasing them to their new homes.

Definitely educate yourself as much as possible as I found that it greatly inhanced my abilities to raise them properly and be prepared when things went a bit wrong. Did a quick Google search on Golden Retriver Website and was inundated with a propensity of them so getting info should not be a problem.

Bina you sound like you know your way around animals and show a lot of love and caring for them, nice to see. So many out there don't practice good breeding practices.

Good luck with the new family and have fun

[dvk1951]

there is a big difference between a backyard breeder and a responsible one: also, no one makes money on breeding unless they have a superfantastic dog... i should know, i imported my male boxer from finland, certified stud, but in israel they change the regs,. and his hip dysplasia cert was not considered good enough (for once israelis being more catholic thatn the pope)... and after one litter w/my bitch (an israeli army offspring) i spayed her.... didnt like the types that wanted to by a boxer here....good luck dont know much about dogs/breeding in thailand apart from some guy who breeds thai ridgebacks who had a good site on the web...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Excellent points in that first sentence Bina, i concur

[sbk]

Good news as the vet states the eye closure is just an allergy (when I got home at 5pm her eyes were back to normal)  The food could be causing the allergy that's why she doesn't want it.

The skin sores he called hotspots and mentioned mange. He has given us some topical cream to rub on them twice a day as well as some anti-biotics for her to take for a week.

And she is pregnant!!

Thanks for all your input.  Any more info regarding getting rid of the ticks would also be appreciated.

And Lampard, I truly hope your dog is better real soon.

Our dog Donut

has had troubles with hotspots most her life, she has long, thick hair and gets the hotspots around her tail, sometimes back of her neck. We have found keeping her hair very short (I cut it off with scissors and then shave it to give it a more even look) when the weather is hot has not only helped her with the hotspots but helped her feel a bit more energetic. It's a bit tough to play with a heavy fur coat on in this heat. We had to give her antibiotics for over a month one time because it had gotten so bad. So be careful!

Ticks are tough, I am not fond of the drops also. Plus I have found that after 3-4 applications their effectiveness wears off rapidly and you find your dog has ticks and fleas within 2 weeks instead of 3 months as advertised. I pick them off my dogs every day, I have a small cup I fill with dishwashing liquid and a bit of water, drop em in there and they die. Disgusting job but has to be done.

[elfe]

hi longsands, happy to see mimi is recovering

interested what food is it she might be allergic to?

the chemical is called responsar and from bayer. it has to be mixed in water to some percentage and sprayed with a special device which is very expensive, pest control might help you there. the people who do it for my hose are doing it since quite long time and have only good results. and since then my house and garden and of couse the dogs are tick-free.

sbk, i used to do the same as you, picking off the ticks every day but as i've got so many dogs it was a real hard work and too much time spent and they won't be eliminated as you cannot find them all, they sit in every corner of the house and lay their eggs. also they bite your dogs already and so the blood parasite and tick fever can spread. i was quite successful keeping the ticks off with tick collars and neem oil for some years but it seems these things don't work anymore, maybe the ticks got used to that

as for breeding dogs , well, I hope you will find responsible owners for your little pups