Hi sdegg, welcome to the forum. I am mum to 5 year old Lilly who is a black lab girl and we live in Scotland. Tell us a little about yourself.
Hello and welcome to the forum from me and my two - Willow, a black girl and Shadow, a yellow boy. They are both ten months old and we live in chaotic bliss in Andorra. Do you own a Labrador?
Hi and welcome from me and Juno, my chocolate girl who will be 1 year old on Thursday - wow time flies
Hi again I 48 female and have 3 labs. black male 13 nearly 14 (douglas who has SLO) a 12 year old black female midge and the new recruit 19 month old chocolate Rory. I live in the east midlands. I dont have a very exciting life but love having my labs and all the enjoyment love and fun they've bought into my life. Sar
Yep they are very sweet but the oldest was having difficulty breathing yesterday. Just too hot for an old dog with damaged throat muscles. Just have to sit with him keep as cool as possible and will him to keep breathing. Then number 2 as we call her (old british war movies we have wing commander then number 2 ) started to have difficulties too, I was very worried as she's 12 but has never shown any symptons of this before, but it was just so so hot so it was damp towels all round and the paddling pool full. This got better after the heat peaked but it was still a very worring afternoon. Was everyone else Ok? I didn't dare take any of my guys out at all yesterday it was still too hot a about 9.00pm. Luckily all the oldies want to do is rest and paddle a bit but the young one has to be entertained with toys splashing about and hiding things so he can slowly search for them without getting too hot. I also did some chicken stock ice cubes sounds bad but they love em just to try to keep their fluids up. Hope everyone else was ok S
Hey there Sar! Douglas, Midge and Rory - love those names - a very Scottish sounding clan! We haven't been quite so hot up here in Fife, but had an awful and prolonged thunder storm last night. We have been having our usual walks just not so far and keeping to woodland rather than the open field. I have also been avoiding opportunities that might tempt my Lilly to escape off in deer-hunting exercise - NOT a good idea right now! Our house is an old stone built affair so generally nice and cool, though the loft conversion upstairs would be like a furnace if it was hot here as down South. Think I would hate to live in a city right now. Keep yourself and your clan cool Sar, jac
Hi Sar.... Sorry if I'm dim,what is SLO? Sounds like you took great care of your gang in the heat ,the older ones must have given you a worry....I live in the Middle East and it is crazy hot here but we are very lucky to have great AC and tiled floors,that really helps keep them cool x
hi dexter I knew someone would ask. he's had it so long I've forgotten how to spell it. i think its Symetrical Lupoid Onychodystropy. He was diagnosed at about 5 which is usual for this condition. Its a bit like Lupus and he is almost like a human with MS now. His own body did not recognise its own tissues and his toes nails exploded forceful off his toes. It was so painful for him i dont know how I got him through, he has such character but even his stength was failing. It affected his joints his blood and his mood. He's now nearly 14 and still going for small walks he is a truly wonderful dog the best I've ever had. He is so sorted and seems to be thinking yep I seen it all before. The vet who treated him got to know him well and has never meet another like him. He takes lots of fish oil supliments and heavy duty vitamins anti inflams and tramadol. He has breathing difficulties because slowly his nevres are dying back and it has affected his laryrnx the most. He now is starting to lose his control of his back end and I can see loss of feeling in his feet. I do daily massage and stretching of his legs twice a day and i use heat and cold packs in order to reduce his pain and keep him mobile. His physiotherpist sees him once a week and has done for the last 8 years. He has hydrotherapy every week too. He's doing well and is a very happy dog, thats all i can ask for. I miss the big long walks but I do that with my 2 others. He's truly a dog of a life time but he has been a bit of a worry. Every dog is affected differently but this condition some get it mildly but it can and does come back. Some just get nail loss and other get really bad problems. Doug fell in between both. I just cant get over the fact that he's nearly 14! How do you cope with the heat? how do your dogs/ is it just good planning and pool?
Hi and welcome from Fred my black lab and me. Don't worry I don't have a very exciting life but I think that is normal
Goodness me Sar,you and Douglas have not had it easy.Thanks for explaining SLO.You've done a marvelous job caring for him through such a chronic condition.Did it take a lot of time to diagnose?I can tell that you love him very much xxx We manage well enough in the heat....I'm up and out by 5 am and Dexter gets a really good off lead walk before the heat of the day really sets in.He literally is housebound then until 6 pm apart from a couple of 5 minute leg stretches in the garden and his toilet breaks across the road in the park..... I have a pool in the garden but he doesn't go in it,he doesn't actually love the water or seek it out.This is our 3rd Summer with him now,every year I say if I'm struggling to excercise him or occupy him,I'll start him swimming but with a bit of ingenuity and changes to routine we've managed. My friend's retriever is boarding with us at the moment,she gets in on the shallow step and lies down to cool off,Dexter just stands beside her on the side looking at her as if to say 'that's not allowed' x
Morning Dexter, Its not been easy but its not been terrible either, just had to aim at keeping him happy with a good quality of life. Like many weird auto immune stuff it took at least 6 months to sort out what was going on. Its often black dogs(male) that get it so its genetic linked and its a lot more common than people realise sometimes a broken nail is not just a broken nail and sensitive feet can mean something more too. its not breed specific either its affects crossbreeds as well. One of my other dogs is his half sister so I was worried about her until she got to about 6, she shows no symptoms but I have not breed from her because of this. to be honest though I can't image her as a mum she's far bossy. Sounds like your dog a very adapable clever boy thats labs though isn't it. They seem happy as long as we are considrate with them. I too am up at 5 i love spending time with my dogs before work. S
Morning Cath and Fred I keep saying normal is good normal is good if I keep saying it will it be true? both my oldies are black too but my young boy dog is a brown un, he's made all our lives a lot more interesting I can tell you! I forgot what puppies were like. He's just 19 months and I think i getting over the shock...just about, well for some of the time Sx .
Hi jacqui and lily yep my celtic roots are showing a bit there the anglo saxon dye my dad introduced keeps wearing out. I wish I was up there with you in this weather. As soon as the rain started yesterday I grabbed the dogs and headed for the park. I dream of snow S
