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Post by puppypal on May 1, 2013 19:57:41 GMT
he still seems to be drinking quite a lot but other than that he is back to normal ish, he might go to the vets just for a check up if he is still drinking a lot, but it has been rather hot where we are, but i am still monitoring it, he is drinking about 1 1/2 bowls of water a day, but it is hard to check as he has 4 water bowls 1 inside and 3 outside and they all get filled up at diffrent times by diffrent people, he is fini9shing his inside bowl every two days so drinking about half a bowl at least a day. his legs seem a bit better since he has started back on his joint supplemnts but we are looking in to some stronger stuff for him, but we have got 70 days worth of free GWF joint aid for dogs sample packs to get through (4 from discover dogs, 4 from crufts 1 from show) we have been saving them until he has finished his current supplement, if it works then we might move onto it for good but it does also depend on wether he eats it.
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Post by caz2golden on May 1, 2013 20:36:03 GMT
If you go to vet get a guide to how much supplementation is required.
My vet gave me a dosage of Glucosamine to work by and then I went away and found a product that fitted in with the dosage. The one I went with also has and Chondroitin and MSN in. Higher amounts do not instantly = the correct thing to do and it depends on the underlying cause as to what will help.
It may be that he needs a different type of joint support program which only the vet can advise on. A family mutt is amazing on the support program the vet has it on, you have to give your vet the chance to help and advise. There are a lot of things that can be used to help joints. I know Rubyroo uses something else for her SBT than the standard mix.
Perhaps you need to correctly monitor what he is drinking. You have the advantage of only one dog! Measure out a jug and only fill up his bowls with this and see how many re-fills you and your family do during a 24 hr period. I have two dogs and they are drinking less than one bowl a day which holds 2 ltrs of water. However my girls are 1/2 the size of Barley at a guess!!
I would not call ~15-18 degrees hot!!
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Post by cazypops on May 1, 2013 20:47:51 GMT
Don't want to scare you but our last dog and similar symptom, ie lagging behind and increase of drinking. To be honest we just put it down to old age, then she started going blind. We took her to the vets and it turned out that she had diabetes, which was untreatable as she also had liver failure. What I'm trying to say is if we'd taken her earlier then we may still have her now. Just one other thing, when she'd had her feed she always wanted to play, like she had a burst of energy.
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Post by puppypal on May 1, 2013 20:56:12 GMT
His bowls are 1lt each
15-18 C is high compered to the temperatures we have been having barley above 10 degrees the last few months
he is on a maintenance supplemt at the moment and will be on the joint aid for dogs stuff, but at times this would have to be increased as he does injure himself quite a lot no matter how much you try and prevent it he will injure something, mainly at agility falling of the see-saw several times as he has poor balance, tripping over in the flat tunnel and leaping of and onto the a-frame aslo falling out of the car, slipping on wet grass or the laminate floor if it is wet, getting bowled over by another dog, the list is endless. We initaaly started him on joint supplemnts due to him limping on his front leg which just turned out to be a shoulder injury but we put him on them anyway and has stayed since and this was over a year or 2 ago now and his back legs seemed to have got worse, they were good last summer when we ran him a lot and he built up all his muscles but since winter has come his muscles have wasted away. we have asked the vet before about it especiallywith his front leg as it was a promanet limp but she did not suggest anything for him other than synoquin that is very expensive as it worked out for the first month it would cost over £70 and about £40 every month after that.
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Post by puppypal on May 1, 2013 20:56:32 GMT
His bowls are 1lt each
15-18 C is high compered to the temperatures we have been having barley above 10 degrees the last few months
he is on a maintenance supplemt at the moment and will be on the joint aid for dogs stuff, but at times this would have to be increased as he does injure himself quite a lot no matter how much you try and prevent it he will injure something, mainly at agility falling of the see-saw several times as he has poor balance, tripping over in the flat tunnel and leaping of and onto the a-frame aslo falling out of the car, slipping on wet grass or the laminate floor if it is wet, getting bowled over by another dog, the list is endless. We initaaly started him on joint supplemnts due to him limping on his front leg which just turned out to be a shoulder injury but we put him on them anyway and has stayed since and this was over a year or 2 ago now and his back legs seemed to have got worse, they were good last summer when we ran him a lot and he built up all his muscles but since winter has come his muscles have wasted away. we have asked the vet before about it especiallywith his front leg as it was a promanet limp but she did not suggest anything for him other than synoquin that is very expensive as it worked out for the first month it would cost over £70 and about £40 every month after that.
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Post by caz2golden on May 1, 2013 21:08:31 GMT
I still think PP that if I was you my dog will have already been taken to the vet.
I would never forgive myself if I held off and then found that cos I had that I had made treatment more difficult / impossible.
I always think in the back of my head that if its a lot more than my insurance excess then I will just make a claim, that's why its there!! I have only claimed once so far!
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Post by caz2golden on May 1, 2013 21:27:14 GMT
oops overlaping post, I had left it open on the post while I did something else and then replied!! Synoquin is seen as one of the better brands on the market. Why don't you find out whats in it (amount wise) and then try and match it with another brand which is within your price range? Hopefully link to leaflet works, my links seem to always go wrong! www.vetplus.co.uk/PDF/LEAF/synoquin_leaflet.pdf
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Post by gladys on May 2, 2013 11:05:42 GMT
How much water should a dog of Barleys size be having daily?? Cooper is 8kgs and should have 400ml a day. He doesn't drink this much, probably about 250ml. I would find out how much he should be having. Call the vet and the receptionist might be able to tell you. And then do what Caz said. Measure that much out and see what he drinks? With just him in the house it will be quite easy to tell. I have two cats that would rather drink from Coopers bowl than their own!?!
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Post by caz2golden on May 5, 2013 12:51:24 GMT
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Post by puppypal on May 5, 2013 13:00:55 GMT
he seems to have stopped drinking as much, he now only drinks about 1 bowl a day, i gave his ears a good clean yesterday with wipes, his back legs are still not right but are better since his joint supplements have kicked in, we are keeping an eye on them and if we think they have got worse he is going straight to the vets cause it is not fair on him to be in pain or in discomfort
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Post by bextull on May 5, 2013 14:01:54 GMT
he seems to have stopped drinking as much, he now only drinks about 1 bowl a day, i gave his ears a good clean yesterday with wipes, his back legs are still not right but are better since his joint supplements have kicked in, we are keeping an eye on them and if we think they have got worse he is going straight to the vets cause it is not fair on him to be in pain or in discomfortIt is a pity that they(I assume that when you say 'we', you refer to your parents and yourself) did not take that view when he was suffering with his skin issues. I suppose late is better than never.
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Post by puppypal on May 5, 2013 14:08:30 GMT
Yes when i say we i refer to me and my parents, dad is just concerned about all the bills and how much it costs, he does not see things to be serious the way that i do, and when other people say that he needs to go to the vets he says that he does not, it is really fustrating
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Post by gladys on May 5, 2013 18:12:02 GMT
I was just going to link this:- www.dogster.com/dog-food/how-much-water-should-a-dog-drink - SNAP!!! I worked it out that Cooper should have up to 500ml but the vet said 400ml was good. I have noticed Cooper is drinking more. bextull - If you are sensible about it you can sort problems out regarding skin problems without going to the vets. I sorted Cooper out and his got lovely skin now. But saying that PP does seem to say that Barley is unwell a lot?!?
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Post by charlottte on May 5, 2013 18:27:30 GMT
If your dad is so against the vets then can you not ring yourself and ask for advice? Is barley not insured? If not do you (or your parents) not have a bank account to put some money away into?
I can tell you that me and my mam are skint. We are literally on the bare bones of our backsides money wise but if Jasper has suffered for more than a couple of days with something, he goes to the vet. I know it's not as easy for you as you don't have any income yourself. Your dad seems a bit unfair, he shouldn't toy with Barleys health. After all, he's a big dog, around Middle aged, when problems can start to occur.
Hope Barley's ok.
However, I don't wan to sound arsey, but on another thread you said you're getting a Toller next year but if your dad seems to think that you can't even afford £30 odd for a vet consult and possible antibiotics, is it really sensible to pay £800+ for a puppy then have to pay for two lots of potential vet bills? Just a thought.
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Post by caz2golden on May 5, 2013 18:45:12 GMT
PP I am not being nasty here and please don't take this the wrong way. You keep posting that your folks don't like taking Barley to vets. Assuming this is to do with cost. Insurance can be a real buffer if you are prepared to claim. Your concerns that you express on here are important and if they are as bad as sometimes they sound then sometimes I do think Barley should be seen by a vet. However none of us are sitting looking at what you are seeing so its only my perception of the situation. You also keep posting about getting a puppy next year. If money is an issue how are you going to afford two lots of food, vaccinations, insurance, de-wormer, de-fleaing ......... A second dog costs money and an active breed like a Toller can require quite a bit of food as it has high energy requirements! I can honestly say I underestimated the cost of my second dog and I was very organized What happens then if Barley needs the vets then? Money will be even tighter meaning greater reluctance to see the vet!! Your family need to be able to afford to take him (or the new dog if it requires). As dogs get older there is a tendency for more money being required for their care!! All I am saying is very carefully cost out how much the second dog will cost long term as well as the continuing care for Barley. Glad to here Barley is a lot better now
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