Need help in caring for Diamond

[Nikis2]

you are absolutely right and I certainly do have enough on my hands nor do I like other animals around my Yorkie's. I don't need my girls getting upset and I do not know anything about these dogs but what I have said on earlier posts. This is the first time I even saw the male Pom. I had no knowledge I was watching these dogs until they came knocking at my door late Saturday night but that is entirely another story. They are here and now I have to do my best to do what I can to make a difference in this darling little dogs life. But, I do no they love their dogs and have no intentions of giving them up. I think they just have the attitude now it is what it is and they just deal with her just like she is and it has been working for them for years until Aunt Bonnie come into the picture now I know through all the great information I recieved their are reasons she is like she is and things I can do to possible help Diamond

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by Nikis2

As I said earlier Diamond is 8 yrs old this is my 2nd time ever seeing the dog. I live hours away from where they live so we obviously are not that close of friends. They feel like Diamond did get the proper care and they feed her all the special food their vet told them to she cooks for her. She has drawers of outfits the dog wheres everyday. She puts skin so soft on her everyday. They were under the the assumption as I was when I first posted this that it was from the surgery and medicine. Their vet led them to believe he did everything he could for this dog. This happened years ago and she has been this way since. I can not answer why people do not spay and neuter their pets or why everyone and their Mother thinks because they have a female dog they can breed it and everything will be fine. They always tell me it is too expensive to spay and neutered their pets anymore in the vets so a lot of people now a day just don't do it. I have to deal with the matter I am dealing with at the moment. Judging people does not help Diamond either educating does. I have their un neutered male here too and I am certainly not crazy enough to allow anything horrible to happen to this baby in my home.

it could very well be the vet did run all the tests too and then came up with alopecia x as ruled everything else out. We do not know unless we know what tests have been run. The spaying may help with this too

It is not cheap to spay and neuter but i know there are clinics that do it much cheaper as well as i think they have a clinic near us that does them less than 100.00 but I personally do not cut corners with mine but it is out there.

I think the best thing is to find out what tests have been done first then you can go from there as maybe it was all ruled out since the owner spent alot of money it sounds like but at least you have more info on what could be going on if tests were not done to help educate the owner. I would hate for this dog to go through any retesting if it was all done already but things can change as they get older so maybe some retesting has to be done as well

You are a good friend to take care of them and seek more info to help

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

Don't blame the vet for her not being spayed. A vet cannot spay a dog without permission from the owner.

I find it very depressing that your friend has left this dog intact and around intact males after all she went through. It is her responsibility to care properly for her dog....not her vets.

but maybe the owner does not know much about breeding as we see on here daily and they did not know this was dangerous to have her give birth to the puppies if the dad is much bigger. It is in my opinion up to the vet to educate pet owners of these things to keep a dog safe from being hurt as the vet has more knowledge of what can happen in this situation. So maybe this owner had no clue a pelvis could shatter in this case. There are alot of uneducated pet owners we see it on here daily in the breeding section.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by dwerten

but maybe the owner does not know much about breeding as we see on here daily and they did not know this was dangerous to have her give birth to the puppies if the dad is much bigger. It is in my opinion up to the vet to educate pet owners of these things to keep a dog safe from being hurt as the vet has more knowledge of what can happen in this situation. So maybe this owner had no clue a pelvis could shatter in this case. There are alot of uneducated pet owners we see it on here daily in the breeding section.

I will bet that the vet informed them at the time that this occurred! I would find it extremely difficult to believe that a vet would not suggest a spay after such a horrific event.

Forget about what happened previously....surely the owner knew this pup should never have puppies again after that!

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Nikis2

you are absolutely right and I certainly do have enough on my hands nor do I like other animals around my Yorkie's. I don't need my girls getting upset and I do not know anything about these dogs but what I have said on earlier posts. This is the first time I even saw the male Pom. I had no knowledge I was watching these dogs until they came knocking at my door late Saturday night but that is entirely another story. They are here and now I have to do my best to do what I can to make a difference in this darling little dogs life. But, I do no they love their dogs and have no intentions of giving them up. I think they just have the attitude now it is what it is and they just deal with her just like she is and it has been working for them for years until Aunt Bonnie come into the picture now I know through all the great information I recieved their are reasons she is like she is and things I can do to possible help Diamond

It is very possible that the vet did do all of the right tests. If this is pseudo cushings, there really is no treatment.

People see these pups and automatically assume something is wrong; but honestly there is no treatment for pseudo cushings. It is not a systemic illness....merely a cosmetic one.

IF they have not done all of the tests, then perhaps you can suggest they look into Care Credit to help with the cost of them.

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

I will bet that the vet informed them at the time that this occurred! I would find it extremely difficult to believe that a vet would not suggest a spay after such a horrific event.

Forget about what happened previously....surely the owner knew this pup should never have puppies again after that!

i agree 100% but too bad spay was not done during pelvic surgery but maybe there was some reason why i guess either financially or medically

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

It is very possible that the vet did do all of the right tests. If this is pseudo cushings, there really is no treatment.

People see these pups and automatically assume something is wrong; but honestly there is no treatment for pseudo cushings. It is not a systemic illness....merely a cosmetic one.

IF they have not done all of the tests, then perhaps you can suggest they look into Care Credit to help with the cost of them.

agree

here is the website for care credit - not all vets accept it but when they do it is really nice to have and being in the financial business for 20 years it is always easier to get money when you do not need it so i think all pet owners should get this when financially able so it is available in a financial crisis situation as we never know what life is going to throw us from one day to the next

CareCredit Healthcare Finance - Payment Plans and Financing for Cosmetic Surgery, Dental, Vision, Hearing, Veterinary & Other Medical Procedures

[Nikis2]

You are right at this point and time we do not know what the vet did or didn't do. She told me the vet was only selling them medicine to make the hair grow back. She was on it for almost a year and she grew about 10 pieces of hair back so they stopped giving her the medicine and just deal with her as she is. I know how people are believe me I deal with a lot of sad stories and I see a lot of horrible things that people have done to their animals. Believe me you would not believe the amount of people I have come accross that no longer want their animals so they starve them to death or just leaved them chained to a tree or even worse. I know these people love their animals but just did not make wise choices and were obviously not educated on what they did. I have so many people that call me wanting my smallest yorkie and when I ask why they say cause I want to breed her and get more tiny yorkies. So, I than have to have a long conversation and explain to them that they are misinformed blah blah blah. Of course never selling them any of my babies but everyone and their Mother wants to get a female dog and breed it now a days. It is crazy I have had 3 calls this pass year from people who own a yorkie they bred which should never have been and has died in labor due to them being too small to breed. I even had an arguement on the phone with one of their vets who told them their dog would be fine to breed.
The dog could not push those babies out so 63 days later we have a dead dog and her litter of puppies. I have 1 now that decided she wanted a larger female puppy from this adorable 3# female so she could breed the puppy. So, she went and bred her to a larger male I found out had the dog taken to the vet to have a C- section. She had 3 puppies only 1 small male made it. Cost her $1000.00 and of course I made sure that dog didn't get off that table without being spayed. I can sit here all day as I am sure some of you can to. But, all we can do is try and educate people and help the poor animals that have been put in these situations that cross our paths. I tell you one thing she is a heart breaker the more I am around this Pom the more I am falling in love. Totally the sweetest baby she just sits there and lets me wash her off and put her clean outfit on for the day. I love her already and it just brings tears to my eyes to watch her try and run around the yard......and of course she is trying to sneak in to where I have the male Pom since she is in heat....which is never going to happen in my home.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by Nikis2

She does have a pot belly but she does not walk that much due to her hips not being right.

If she has a pot belly that seems truly disproportionate to her intake etc. (and the rest of her body shape), then again, I'd stress the need for testing as pot belly is very common in the signalment group for Cushings.

If it does turn out that she *only* has Pseudo Cushings (alopecia X), she can be given something so cheap and available - Melatonin, twice a day. No need to go to into mg. at this point - but really, if she has X, that over-the-counter pill is one of the few things that might work grow fur. But, if she has Typical or Atypical Cushings, it's a completely different ballgame.

This poor girl...really sad that she is in this shape. Sure wish we knew what lab work had been done previously.

[AddieandMiaMom]

Sorry if I repeat, but I haven't read all the posts. I don't know anything about the Cushings, but if spay/neuter is too expensive for them, they should go to www.friendsofanimals.org. They can look up vets in their area that will accept a low cost spay/neuter certificate from Friends of Animals, purchase the certificate through the website, receive it in the mail and get their pups the spay/neuter they need. They should call the vet clinic first to verify that they still accept these certificates. For my area, they charged $90 for a spay, and $64 for a neuter.

[Nikis2]

I will go out and get the melatonin today. She doesn't seem to have a huge belly but she has guts I have to say. She walks right into the room where all the Mom's are with their babies and starts trying to eat their food. Of course they are letting her know to get out and she just stands her ground shows her teeth and goes over eating their food anyway. I take her away and give her some of the food they sent her with Nature's Recipe venison and rice recipe and she just goes right back to the nursery room. But, she is a sweetheart and I am not worried about any serious problems. I do animal rescue and my dogs are very use to other animals just as long as they keep away from their babies and I am experienced enough to know how to keep all babies and animals safe no worries there guys. I wish I could take this darn male right now and get him fixed. That would certainly end one problem. I wonder if the local humaine society will do it cheap and maybe I can get in contact with them to get their permission but of course I do not have his shot records here either. Well, I will call them and see can't hurt asking.....so what would be a good shampoo and food to feed a dog with these kinds of problems. I can certainly change all that starting today. Thanks for the information on the website that is good information to hand out to customers and other pet owners.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Nikis2

I will go out and get the melatonin today. She doesn't seem to have a huge belly but she has guts I have to say. She walks right into the room where all the Mom's are with their babies and starts trying to eat their food. Of course they are letting her know to get out and she just stands her ground shows her teeth and goes over eating their food anyway. I take her away and give her some of the food they sent her with Nature's Recipe venison and rice recipe and she just goes right back to the nursery room. But, she is a sweetheart and I am not worried about any serious problems. I do animal rescue and my dogs are very use to other animals just as long as they keep away from their babies and I am experienced enough to know how to keep all babies and animals safe no worries there guys. I wish I could take this darn male right now and get him fixed. That would certainly end one problem. I wonder if the local humaine society will do it cheap and maybe I can get in contact with them to get their permission but of course I do not have his shot records here either. Well, I will call them and see can't hurt asking.....so what would be a good shampoo and food to feed a dog with these kinds of problems. I can certainly change all that starting today. Thanks for the information on the website that is good information to hand out to customers and other pet owners.

I would not give melatonin without speaking to the vet! You need to know the dosage for this pup....and honestly you don't even know what she has.

[Nikis2]

this was just to help see if her hair will grow back it doesn't have anything to do with her illness right? That is what I thought I read in the previous information. I will go back and read it again though just to make sure. You are so right I do not want to give her anything where as I could be causing more harm than good. That for sure!

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

I would not give melatonin without speaking to the vet! You need to know the dosage for this pup....and honestly you don't even know what she has.

i agree i would not give without having all records and knowing what is going on. I never give anything to mine unless i double and triple check out everything. It is just info you have to put together for owner and she can check with her vet and maybe you can consult with vet and her as well to see what has and has not been done.

The first thing is she needs to be spay as that may correct the problem right there per info. Then if that does not work and you have ruled out thyroid and cushings then you can discuss melatonin with vet.

If it is alopecia x then not sure i would even do melatonin as it can sedate some dogs I would just look at it like she has a shnauzer cut and put a tank top on and no one will be able to tell - she will be a stylin girl

[Nikis2]

Hi all just wanted to give you an update on Miss Diamond. Her parents came home and I made up a list of all the information and web sites for them to educate themselves on what you guys suspected was going on. They told me their vet never did any of these tests and never told them anything that would lead them to believe that Diamond lost her hair for any other reason than what they were told it was from the surgery and all the medicines she was on. The veterinarian office we are speaking of has since fired this vet. So, they were exstremely upset to learn that Diamond might have a serious thyroid problem and they had no clue all this time. They are planning on taking her to another vet and start getting the tests you all told me about. Thanks again I will let you know when I hear any of the results Thanks again for all your help. I am still furious with what these people allowed to happen to this little dog. I often wonder if some people have a thought in their head when it comes to breeding their animals but it is what it is and poor Diamond is certainly feeling the blunt of her owners stupid decisions. All we can do now is educate them and pray they do the right things by their animals in the end.