Planning to breed my yellow lab, I was advised to get what they call the Penn Hip test which shows the hip dysplasia tendencies that can be passed on to the the pups they breed. Riley test was positive to the test so breeding was out of the question. It was only at 2.5 yrs. old when Riley developed severe skin allergies the dermatologist at Penn suggested we try neutering him at that time. I did so reluctantly but I knew breeding was out of the question. The poor guy had a hard time with the operation but then things calmed down some. The severe allergies continued into his 6th year, cyclosporine being the only drug that helped to some extent. Last year Apoquel came out and after some supply issues with the manufacturer Riley is as good as new. It is truly a miracle drug at 7 yrs. old but Riley the poor guy had a long time suffering between 2.5 and 6 yrs. I feel if the specialist at Penn would not have recommended the neutering Riley would still be in tact today.
Hello there, and a very warm welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear that you regret what happened to your boy, but glad to hear he is comfortable now. And a big well done for testing before breeding and deciding not to go ahead on the evidence - if only everyone did that, much heartache would be saved.
Welcome to the forum Glad that you have found some medication that has helped a lot with Riley's allergies. I'm sure he feels so much better. I wonder why the dermatologist recommended neutering in response to a skin allergy though. That seems a bit odd. Well done on not breeding from a dog with hip problems. You did the right thing, even though I am sure it was a big disappointment to get the test results.
Hello and welcome to the forum. It sounds like you made the right decisions based on the information you had at the time. There's a whole load of "what ifs" in dog ownership, and life in general. I'm sure it must feel now as if it was an unnecessary procedure, and that must be galling, but I'm sure Riley is as happy and loved a dog as he would have been with his berries intact. If you have a picture of him, we'd love to see
Tried uploading a picture attachment of Riley but it wouldn't let me post reply !! ?? How do I post the photo requested of my lab ?
Hi and welcome from Harley and me You need to use a photo hosting site such as flickr or something similar. Check in the technical section for details on how to post photos
