Second dog

[MyPemCharlie]

I did wonder what her definition of "champion dog" is, or if she really is so clueless about the "reputable" dog world that she doesn't know that no one is going to sell her a true champion dog for her to breed. In three years, no one in the family even taught Desta "sit" or "down". Think the woman is ready for the champion dog show circuit? Hrmmmph...

Anway Desta seems to be feeling a little better today than yesterday but is still mostly tired and probably a little sore from the treatment. No coughing yet...at all. The vet's office told me to expect a lot of coughing. No problem with her appetite though. She is much more food motivated than Charlie has ever been. She's little miss Hoover mini-vac.

[Moviesnob]

Sending happy thoughts your way. I'm sure Desta will fully recover under your care.

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by MyPemCharlie

I did wonder what her definition of "champion dog" is, or if she really is so clueless about the "reputable" dog world that she doesn't know that no one is going to sell her a true champion dog for her to breed. In three years, no one in the family even taught Desta "sit" or "down". Think the woman is ready for the champion dog show circuit? Hrmmmph...

Most champions have not had obedience training, so that is not unusual. Shoot, Blaze can't sit or lie down on command eitehr. (Yet anyway.)

And yes, I think she's clueless about the reputable dog world. Very clueless.

Anway Desta seems to be feeling a little better today than yesterday but is still mostly tired and probably a little sore from the treatment. No coughing yet...at all. The vet's office told me to expect a lot of coughing. No problem with her appetite though. She is much more food motivated than Charlie has ever been. She's little miss Hoover mini-vac.

Glad to hear she's feeling a bit better. And tired is probably good, since she won't want to be as active if she's tired. And since she shouldn't be very active...

Peggy

[MyPemCharlie]

Originally Posted by Peggy

Most champions have not had obedience training, so that is not unusual. Shoot, Blaze can't sit or lie down on command eitehr. (Yet anyway.)

And yes, I think she's clueless about the reputable dog world. Very clueless.



Glad to hear she's feeling a bit better. And tired is probably good, since she won't want to be as active if she's tired. And since she shouldn't be very active...

Peggy

With Desta not going to shows, not going to agility, not going to anything; just being bred and bred and bred; I would think that between two adults and three teenagers that someone might have at least enough interest in her to teach "Sit".

I expect when she finds she can't buy a "champion dog" to breed, she'll get another pet-quality BYB dog to keep breeding. Sad state of affairs.

I read that the bad side effects of heartworm treatment usually don't start until 3-14 days after the injection, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll have a smooth week.

[Bienchen]

Desta looks really pretty. I
'm sorry to hear that she has to be treated for heartworm. I hope she will recover full and quick under your care.
Ein got in heat the first time during her recovery. The only thing we did was putting down an old towel wherever she was lying. We didn't use any diapers or anything.
It's so horrible how some people are treating their dogs/animals. Desta is really lucky to have found a good home
Best wishes for her!

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by MyPemCharlie

With Desta not going to shows, not going to agility, not going to anything; just being bred and bred and bred; I would think that between two adults and three teenagers that someone might have at least enough interest in her to teach "Sit".

Well since she was outside, I suspect she was more of a money making puppy producer not a pet. It doesn't sound like they thought of her as a pet.

I expect when she finds she can't buy a "champion dog" to breed, she'll get another pet-quality BYB dog to keep breeding. Sad state of affairs.

That's what I expect too. And yes, it's very sad!

I read that the bad side effects of heartworm treatment usually don't start until 3-14 days after the injection, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll have a smooth week.

Keeping fingers crossed here too!

Peggy

[LaRogue]

She was hurrying to work and preferred that I come up to see the dog "as soon as possible". The teenagers would be home, and if I didn't want the dog, she wanted to call the next person of 7 who replied to her ad.

Being the cynic I am, I wonder if she had some sort of inkling that all was not right with Desta, thus the rush to push the poor dog off onto someone else to deal with.

I hope the treatment is working. How is Desta today?

[MyPemCharlie]

Originally Posted by LaRogue

Being the cynic I am, I wonder if she had some sort of inkling that all was not right with Desta, thus the rush to push the poor dog off onto someone else to deal with.

I hope the treatment is working. How is Desta today?

I wondered if she was sick or perhaps had a temperament problem with other dogs. She had been banished to the plywood run in the backyard, but the woman's other two dogs were in the house. I asked if she was housetrained, got along with other dogs, general health, would she allow someone to brush her (she was very matted and dirty), how's her general health, current on shots, and did she have fleas (she was scratching furiously). It was very perplexing. The teenager said his mom gave her Frontline and "other immunizations and treatments" at home. She did have fleas, and of course now the heartworm diagnosis. The vet records only showed that she had been in one time in her life for one rabies shot early this year. I had my vet tech neighbor call the other vet just to check if that was the only record they had. It was. I guess she never got any prenatal or postnatal care (or anything else).

Anyway, I don't think there is any way the woman knew she had heartworm. Never taking her to a vet, how could she know? Desta's only symptom was a very slight wheeze and sneezing, which I figured was probably a mild airborn allergy until the diagnosis last week. It did seem like the woman was "mad at her" though. I can only assume that something went wrong with her last litter of puppies, like she didn't produce enough, had a hard time whelping, maybe some puppies didn't thrive or something along those lines.

She's doing great today. She is more awake. I've got her with me on a five foot leash with the handle looped under the chair leg. She's been calmly chewing on a stuffed toy all morning since our potty break and breakfast. I can see where it will get harder to keep her quiet. She doesn't "seem" sick. Thanks for asking.

[Corgi Kris]

did you end up getting the little guy? Haven't seen you post for a while on MyCorgi. I don't get here very often, but saw I had a message so I jumped in.

[Corgi Kris]

It takes me a while to find where I am going on this site. I guess I don't visit often enough. Your Desta is a beautiful little girl. And...what a lucky girl she is to have found you and Charlie. Charlie will keep her young. She is about the same age as our little puppy mill rescue and Brodie and Fergie seem to have turned her into a puppy again. I love Cairn Terriers, but didn't realize that grooming could be so intensive.

[MyPemCharlie]

Originally Posted by Corgi Kris

It takes me a while to find where I am going on this site. I guess I don't visit often enough. Your Desta is a beautiful little girl. And...what a lucky girl she is to have found you and Charlie. Charlie will keep her young. She is about the same age as our little puppy mill rescue and Brodie and Fergie seem to have turned her into a puppy again. I love Cairn Terriers, but didn't realize that grooming could be so intensive.

Hi Kris,

Glad you stopped back here at GoCorgi! I dropped out on MyCorgi for awhile to pick up a Cairn Terrier forum. Too many forums, too little time. It took two or three days of reading about Cairns just to figure out how to get Desta's coat and skin healthy. LOL Her coat is pretty managable to maintain now that most of her dead coat is stripped.

That's funny the your Fergie has turned Brodie into a puppy again. I think Desta is helping Charlie calm down a tiny bit and get over his teenage crazy phase. Although Charlie may be bringing the puppy out in Desta.

Don't be a stranger! I'll try to check back in at MyCorgi when the new two-dog routine becomes...more routine.

[MyPemCharlie]

This is a very good day for Desta!

On July 12th, my neighbors who are vet techs at my clinic invited me over for dinner. We were talking about Desta's heartworm when it was mentioned to me that the vet had had a difficult time reading her SNAP heartworm test results. A "spot" had appeared that he had never seen before, in addition to the 3 spots which indicate a strong positive heartworm test when they appear. This fourth spot led him to the conclusion that she had the "strongest positive" he had ever seen. The vet did not mention anything "odd" to me when he called to tell me she had heartworm and discuss treatment options.

I had looked up everything I could find about heartworm during the day or so after her diagnosis, including the testing methods. These SNAP tests are almost 100% accurate and just about as easy to read as a home pregnancy test. The day after visiting with my neighbors, I again looked up the manufacturer's package insert online to re-read how the test works and how to read results. The fourth "spot" might mean a positive, or it might mean an invalid test...one that wasn't run right or something wrong with the test. If the fourth spot was a dark color, then the test should have been scrapped as invalid and a new test rerun.

I printed the pages, took them to my neighbors and asked them to talk to the vet on Monday and have him call me. My neighbor called Monday and said that the vet remembered the color of the spot and "Desta is definitely positive". (I thought, "He didn't know what the spot meant, but he remembers the color-intesity of the spot. Hmmm.) He would do another test which would be sent to a lab, instead of in-house, for an additional $25 test charge. But he "guaranteed" that a second test would also show strong positive and did not think it was necessary.

I found an Animal Wellness Clinic and spent three hours in the waiting room with Desta this morning to get a second opinion/test which only ran $15. The test came up completely negative...no heartworm. On the way home, I dropped off the contact info of the second clinic to my vet's office so he can call and confirm the test results... and to cancel Desta's appointments for further Immiticide treatment.

I'll never feel like a total whacko overprotective worry-wart doggie mom again! I feel horrible that I ok'd having Desta injected with arsenic treatment on her first diagnosis (wasn't easy on the ol' pocketbook either), but I am very happy that she is healthy and can run and play again and not be on exercise restriction for the next couple months.

The scary thing is that if my neighbors weren't friends and vet-techs, I would never have known the difference and would have continued (and paid mega-bucks) to finish her treatment.

[Moviesnob]

That's awesome news - very glad that she's healthy!

Will this incident have any repercussions on your relationship with your vet? How long have you used him?

[Corgis4me]

Originally Posted by MyPemCharlie

I'll never feel like a total whacko overprotective worry-wart doggie mom again! I feel horrible that I ok'd having Desta injected with arsenic treatment on her first diagnosis (wasn't easy on the ol' pocketbook either), but I am very happy that she is healthy and can run and play again and not be on exercise restriction for the next couple months.

The scary thing is that if my neighbors weren't friends and vet-techs, I would never have known the difference and would have continued (and paid mega-bucks) to finish her treatment.

Don't feel guilty, you did what most anyone would have done, including me.


I am very happy to hear that Desta is okay!, Goes to show that it pays to be your own detective at times and to not always assume a vets diagnosis/opinion or treatment is always right. I find it sad nowdays that sometimes we can't even feel confident in the competence of some of the vets treating our pets, when they insist that there couldn't possibly be anything else going on or that "you" as the client couldn't possibly be right or onto something else that differs from their thinking.

That's great that she will be able to now play with Charlie and run around.

[Peggy]

Originally Posted by MyPemCharlie

This is a very good day for Desta!

On July 12th, my neighbors who are vet techs at my clinic invited me over for dinner. We were talking about Desta's heartworm when it was mentioned to me that the vet had had a difficult time reading her SNAP heartworm test results. A "spot" had appeared that he had never seen before, in addition to the 3 spots which indicate a strong positive heartworm test when they appear. This fourth spot led him to the conclusion that she had the "strongest positive" he had ever seen. The vet did not mention anything "odd" to me when he called to tell me she had heartworm and discuss treatment options.

I had looked up everything I could find about heartworm during the day or so after her diagnosis, including the testing methods. These SNAP tests are almost 100% accurate and just about as easy to read as a home pregnancy test. The day after visiting with my neighbors, I again looked up the manufacturer's package insert online to re-read how the test works and how to read results. The fourth "spot" might mean a positive, or it might mean an invalid test...one that wasn't run right or something wrong with the test. If the fourth spot was a dark color, then the test should have been scrapped as invalid and a new test rerun.

I printed the pages, took them to my neighbors and asked them to talk to the vet on Monday and have him call me. My neighbor called Monday and said that the vet remembered the color of the spot and "Desta is definitely positive". (I thought, "He didn't know what the spot meant, but he remembers the color-intesity of the spot. Hmmm.) He would do another test which would be sent to a lab, instead of in-house, for an additional $25 test charge. But he "guaranteed" that a second test would also show strong positive and did not think it was necessary.

I found an Animal Wellness Clinic and spent three hours in the waiting room with Desta this morning to get a second opinion/test which only ran $15. The test came up completely negative...no heartworm. On the way home, I dropped off the contact info of the second clinic to my vet's office so he can call and confirm the test results... and to cancel Desta's appointments for further Immiticide treatment.

I'll never feel like a total whacko overprotective worry-wart doggie mom again! I feel horrible that I ok'd having Desta injected with arsenic treatment on her first diagnosis (wasn't easy on the ol' pocketbook either), but I am very happy that she is healthy and can run and play again and not be on exercise restriction for the next couple months.

The scary thing is that if my neighbors weren't friends and vet-techs, I would never have known the difference and would have continued (and paid mega-bucks) to finish her treatment.

It's a good thing you talked with them and questioned the results and had it in you to go for a second opinion!!

YEA!!!! Glad to hear she doesn't have heartworm after all! Now you can have her spayed and won't have to worry about her being in season!

Peggy