Gordon Vet Blog

Pippy has been suffering from arthritis in her wrist joints. This has been getting more and more painful and she has been struggling, despite being on Tramal, Gabapentin, Sashas Blend and Metacam. Lots of medicines!

Her owner was asking if anything else was possible. Surgery was not something she wanted to do as Pippy was getting old. We had tried just about all the different types of medicines.

We decided to take a different angle and ordered some supportive, warming bandages for her wrists. These carpal support bandages are imported from the US and came with some good reviews. After an easy measure up, we ordered the bandages in. They were wetsuit material with velcro strapping, so very durable and easy to wash.

Pippy was happy to wear the bandages and they did not seem to get in her way at all. She did not even think about trying to rip them off. After a few days of wearing these bandages during the day, Pippy seemed more mobile and happier. She seemed to be asking her owner for them to be put on.

We will keep you posted with Pippy but the warmth and support seem to help her, especially as the weather cools down.

Jaime recently had a knee operation. She came from quite a way away because we do so many knees at Gordon Vets. All went well. Here is what her lovely owner had to say…

Her knee seems great – she’s full of beans and has a puppy like spring in her step that I haven’t seen in AGES! She must feel great as she wants to bound and run everywhere – we’re always holding her back!! She’s a lot more ‘bouncy’ in the way she moves so seems like she’s using the leg well.

Of course I would love to be able to do the rehab better, but she has at least one walk a day and we’ve been progressing like the notes suggest. We hardly ever see a limp after exercising (usually only very minor on the days we increase the walk or the strength work etc) She obviously still needs to build on the muscle strength as she still seems to find it a little tough getting up after lying down (but that’s the only time I’m reminded that she’s had a knee operation!)

So overall we’re EXTREMELY happy with her progress and the awesome work you’ve done!! We have a VERY HAPPY dog and can’t thank you enough for all your effort and it’s only because of your extra work with your website/documents that allowed me to find you!!

Thanks again!!!
Kirrilee and a very happy and active Jaime

Aggressive animals are a real problem for your family and our society. Nobody wants their family or pets to be involved in these tragic, sometimes fatal,
situations. Animal aggression manifests itself in many different situations; here are just a few examples:

• The gentle family dog that is growling at a child, exerting its dominance in what can become a tragic (and avoidable) event.
• The otherwise happy dog that starts to bark and bite at the park, resulting in traumatic (and expensive) dog ights.
• The cat that is scared of visitors and swipes or bites at the unsuspecting child that comes to pat it.
• The old pet that is in much more pain than we realise, causing it to bite or growl defensively when someone comes near. We often shrug this one off
as saying our pet is getting old and grumpy.

Download this free guide to aggression in your pet. The advice and techniques can make a huge difference to your and your pets’s quality of life.

Lily is a very sweet and gentle dog…but very excitable. If there was a dog equivalent of ADD, Lily would be there. Her energy and exuberance overflow and she can be quite trying for the other dogs and the rest of the family.

Training has not been effective (Lily’s owners are sensible, experienced dog owners). Time has not settled her yet.

She is a handful. So much so that her owners were not enjoying her company.

Things had to change or Lily might be rehomed.

After speaking with Dr Chris, Lily was given a new drug called Reconcile. This is similar to Prozac, though tested, made safe and optimised for dogs.

Although the results were not immediate Reconcile has made a huge difference to Lily. In her owners words, “She is still herself, still fun, just a little more calm.” Her owners have been delighted with her progress.

Rest in peace Xei. You were the most wonderful, good natured puppy anyone could ever hope to have. You were, and are, my guardian angel. You lit up the lives of everyone who met you and you left your paw print on their heart. I’ll love you forever and am sincerely grateful for having you in my life, even though the time was very short. I wish we could have had longer but apparently it was not to be. You have changed my life forever. I will never forget you. Rest in peace now my baby girl. You deserve to live without pain, I just wish that could have been here with me! I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!!! Your mummy, xx

Follow these ten top tips to help your pet cope with firework and thunderstorm fears:

1)      Ensure your pet is safely inside and secure doors, windows and cat flaps.

2)      Allow your dog or cat to hide in a bolthole where they feel safe.  You can further increase this feeling of security by plugging in an ADAPTIL™ or Feliway^®diffuser.

3)      Speak to your vet about using a product which can be sprayed onto a bandana tied around your dog’s neck or on their bedding to give them additional support.

4)      Make sure your dog or cat is microchipped.  If they do escape, frightened animals can easily get lost.

5)      In the few days before fireworks, ensure dogs are used to be taken for a walk early in the evening and cats have litter trays.

6)      Close all doors, windows and draw the curtains, play music and / or have the tv on to help mask the noise of fireworks.

7)      Comfort your pet in a reasonable manner.  Promote calm behaviour by displaying calm behaviour yourself.  Cats prefer to be left to cope on their own.

8)      Don’t get cross with or punish your pet, regardless of their behaviour, as it will only make them more distressed.

9)      Try not to leave your pet alone when fireworks are going off.  Pets may hurt themselves or cause damage when not supervised.

10)  After the fireworks season speak to your vet about treatment for fear of fireworks.  ADAPTILand sounds desensitisation CD’s have been scientifically proven to be an effective combination for treating firework phobias in dogs.  Your vet may also wish to refer you to a qualified veterinary behaviourist.

ADAPTIL (Dog Appeasing Pheromone) is a synthetic copy of the natural appeasing pheromone that puppies are exposed to after birth when feeding from their mother.  When used on any age dog it mimics the properties of this natural reassuring signal, thus reducing anxiety and preventing fear and stress related behaviours.  ADAPTILis scientifically proven to reduce the intensity of fear felt by a dog during firework exposure.

ADAPTIL is available in three convenient formulations.

Feliway^® is a synthetic copy of the natural feline facial pheromone used by cats use to mark their environment as safe and familiar.  When used in the home it signals to cats that they are in a secure environment. Feliwayis scientifically proven to reassure cats and may help to reduce fearful reactions to loud noises and prevent stress due to indoor confinement.

Feliwayis available in a diffuser and a spray.

Shelley and Dr Boulton

The tick season is upon us at Gordon Vet. We are seeing numerous cases of tick paralysis each day now, so you need to be super careful.

Meet Shelley, a little stray cat that was found up at Killara High School. She was in a very bad way from tick paralysis. We pulled just a single, large tick off but it was enough to cause all the problems we come to expect from tick poisoning.

The symptoms to watch for are:

• Loss of coordination in the hind legs. This will start with mild signs like slipping on the stairs or being weak to jump into the car.
• Change in voice (or bark if a dog)
• Retching, coughing or vomiting. This again can start mildly and will progress. Not every pet will show all of these signs.
• Loss of appetite. Most pets with tick paralysis will not be interested in food.
• Progressive paralysis to include the forelegs.
• Difficulty breathing or rapid breathing. This is a very important sign as poor breathing is responsible for most deaths associated with tick poisoning.

Shelley was given fluids and supportive care. She was sprayed with Frontline, was kept warm and slowly nursed back to good health. Once she was able to eat again she started eating ravenously and has not looked back since.

Bones, an adventurous young cat, presented to Dr David recently with a badly injured hindleg. His owner wasn’t sure what had happened to him to cause this damage but either a motor vehicle accident or getting his leg trapped in a fence were suspected. 

On examination Dr David  found that the leg was badly fractured with fragments of bone actually poking out through the skin. We call this a “compound fracture” and it is one of the more difficult fractures to treat because of the risk of infection.

After consultation with|Dr Chris it was advised that the best way to repair the fracture and so save the leg from amputation was to use an external fixateur device. This device looks from the outside like a meccano set & uses pins and rods to hold the leg together while the bone heals. Dr Chris performed the demanding surgery and was meticulous in repairing the leg, keeping it the same length as the other leg so that Bones could get back to his mobile self.  

Bones has gone home and has started his rehabilitation and so far he is progressing very well.       We will keep you posted with Bone’s progress when we X-Ray the leg next month.

2.9.11 – Bones was Xrayed this week and good news!!!……….the fracture looks like it is healing well and the pins in the leg are not causing him any concern. Hopefully in another month his leg should be healed and all the metal work can be removed!  

Luther is a handsome, friendly 4 year old Great Dane Cross dog owned by clients Michael & Jill Hawker and is listed on our volunteer blood donor registry. Luther is very handsome very brave and has given blood twice now. On July 13, 2011, Luther came to the rescue as an emergency blood donor when one of our patients, Piper, had a near fatal bleed from her spleen.

Piper, a 9 year old female Staffie, came in for a routine check up and vaccination with Dr Gretta Howard and a lump was found in her abdomen. The lump ruptured and Piper started haemorrhaging into her abdomen. She became very pale and the situation became critical. An ultrasound showed that Piper had a bleeding mass attached to her spleen which was abnormal. Piper needed surgery to remove the spleen immediately but she wouldn’t survive without a blood transfusion.

Gretta called Luther’s owner, Jill, who willingly brought Luther in for a blood donation. Luther was so well behaved during his blood donation and 450mls of blood were then transfused into Piper, who immediately started to turn pink again and looked happy. Piper survived the surgery to remove her spleen and would have died if it wasn’t for Luther’s blood donation. She is still recovering from the surgery but luckily for Piper, the mass was benign so after her recovery, she should have no further abdominal bleeds. Piper’s owners are extremely grateful to Luther and his family for their generosity.

Percy, a 9 year old toy poodle, presented to Dr Gretta on 30th May 2011 with difficulty urinating and passing some blood.  He already had a history of this last December and it was thought to be a urinary tract infection but unfortunately, did not respond to antibiotics. Since the symptoms had come back, an ultrasound of the bladder was carried out. On ultrasound examination, Percy had numerous bladder stones ranging from 1 to 2cm in diameter – large enough to get stuck during urination and cause significant pain! Poor Percy. He needed bladder surgery to remove the stones or else he risked a life threatening obstruction.

So 2 days later, after some blood and urine testing, Percy was anaesthetised and prepared for surgery. Percy’s surgery went very well. The stones were removed and the bladder and urethra (tube connecting the bladder to the outside) were flushed with saline to ensure that no stones were left behind. There were 3 larger stones and 2 tiny ones removed. These were sent to a special lab in the USA to be analysed. Percy woke up smoothly and recovered very well from surgery, urinating normally on the same afternoon.  He was kept on intravenous fluids to make sure that his bladder continued to function well and then sent home on a special diet to stop the stones from coming back.  Percy will continue to have ultrasounds in the future every 6 months to ensure that there isn’t a recurrence. Percy’s owners, Elizabeth & John are very happy with his progress and are very dedicated towards Percy.