Click on the Links below to see health stats, issues, vet recommendations & costs at each life stage:
Health, Foood, & Vet Recommendations at 8 weeeks
Poop & Pooping at 8 weeks old
Health & Food at 10 weeks
Health, Food, & Vet Costs and Recommendations at 12 weeks
Health, Food, & Vet Costs at 14 weeks
What food we use for our Mini Aussies
Our Neuter Story: Why we waited & Dealing with Cryptorchid Testicle
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Indie's Specs:DOB: 10/22/12
Breed: Miniature Australian Shepherd
Breeder: Timeless Aussies
Year 1 Vet Costs
(to date...we're only half way through his first year right now! o_o)
Graph Key:
Green=Required Visit
Blue=Misc./Unplanned Visit
Red=Year to Date expenses
8 weeks: General health check up, meet vet
11 weeks: First round of shots, stool sample
14 weeks: Second round of shots, flea/tick meds, anal glands expressed
16 weeks: Last round of shots, more flea/tick meds
19 weeks: Anal glands expressed, fecal sample, get flea/tick meds.
21 weeks: Jaw injury. Indie couldn't open mouth all the way without pain. Diagnoses: strained a ligament by chewing something hard. Visit incl'd meds: Arnica & asprin for the pain/swelling.
22 weeks: Got weird bump on his head. Lasted two weeks. We think it was a bug bite?
23 weeks: Got a foxtail (barbed grass seed) stuck in his ear canal*
*This usually requires anasthesia to get out because they need to stick tweezers deep in the ear grab it. But, luckily through our training Indie is so calm and trusting, the vet was able to nab it right then and there!
I was on the Growth Stats page a few minutes ago, when I mentioned some health issues in our new pup Maggie. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteThe gist of my comments are that we have learned it is a good idea to take a new pup to the Vet and have it checked out thoroughly, especially is there seems to be something wrong.
As you can see from my comments on the Growth Stats page, Maggie may need surgery later to graft more skin onto her tiny protruding tailbone. Once we take care of other more urgent health issues, I hope to have a positive update. Our little Maggie is so precious, we would go to the moon and back to give her a good quality of life. The Vet costs are painful right now, but a good investment in giving our dog a healthy life!
Update on Maggie: So far the lack of skin on her tailbone is not a visible defect and does not appear to be causing her any problems. Initial pain with pooping was related to the breeder's use of adult dog food. (Breeder told us she was 8 wks old, but paperwork showed she was only 6-1/2 weeks. Breeder was trying to sell her as a small Mini, but it looks like she will be the regular size.)
ReplyDeleteDuring our early days with her, Maggie was squealing as she pooped. We took her to our VCA vet clinic immediately and asked them to run a radiograph (xray) which was inconclusive, but showed something else: Somehow Maggie had managed to swallow a metal washer, and it was floating around in her stomach! The radiograph showed it was too big to go through her small intestine, so we were referred to an excellent animal hospital for an endoscopy. It worked! Thank goodness! Otherwise, Maggie would not have survived. Now she is very healthy, and we can breathe a sigh of relief.
Her pain with pooping soon stopped, after we switched her to a natural dry puppy food and soft puppy treats. (The adult dog food had made her stools too hard.)
Early attention to her needs, combined with excellent veterinary care, made all the difference!