I have been sort of recuperating from my last disastrous picking-up day this week by doing absolutely bog-all with the dogs or with gardening or with anything else that might drain my energy reserves.....even including going fishing ! I did this in order to have enough energy to deal with tomorrows picking - up. Today I put my gear ( a whistle, three leads, a gamebag , a priest and a jacket) into my car with the idea of not expending energy doing this early tomorrow morning. My wife watched me doing this then asked what I was doing so I told her.
She point blank told me I was not going ! I got a bit ratty and told her very firmly that I was going ! ( I know how to deal with bossy, stroppy, wummen !) She calmly waited until I'd finished ranting then told me to look at the calander….. the next day's shooting is on Tuesday !
Typical bloody wummin, she always has to be right !
Wullie
If at first you don't succeed .....find out if there is a booby prize !
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Don't do what doesn't work - do what does.
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I could have been picking-up yesterday and/or today but felt too unwell to go to either day. Then my daughter appeared almost in tears. It seems likely that Kurt has H.D. in both hind legs. He is to be x-rayed before she decides what to do from there. I noticed him lifting one hind leg about two months ago and just thought he'd pulled a muscle or something due to be being a fast growing and very active dog. Then he developed pain in the other hind leg too and was taken to the vet. Poor dog … I hate seeing dogs ill or in distress.
I am aware that to have a dog surgically treated for severe H.D. is possible but personally, I would have a dog PTS if the condition was serious. That is up to my daughter however, not me.
I hope I feel well enough by Saturday to go picking up by then. My favourite dog "Charlie" isn't doing too well either. I think he has eaten something out in the woods, he has not vomited but he is refusing food, even treats.
It never rains but it pours.
Wullie
If at first you don't succeed .....find out if there is a booby prize !
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Don't do what doesn't work - do what does.
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I had a GSP who damaged his hip and he had a hip replacement, was as good as new afterwards. I met a Collie on the hills before I had my GSP done and this Collie was so fit, you would have never known there had been a problem.
Local farmer has a Yellow Labrador who was diagnosed with bad hips at 3 months old, nothing done except some swimming exercises and now she appears to have no problem with lameness or pain, though I guess she still has a bad hip score. So some options to think about for your daughter's GSP.
The good news and the bad news.
The good news is that Kurt does not seem to have h.d. . He was x-rayed etc. and nothing could be seen. A specialist was then called in by the vet. It seems likely that Kurt has a thing called Panostitis.. I've never heard of it but it can cause , if I understood this correctly, inflammation of veins or arteries as they pass a dogs leg joints ? In most dogs (usually active pups) it isn't too severe and soon passes but Kurt got a particularly bad case of it.
It does sound about right to me. My first male GSP pup behaved as Kurt has been doing but in him, it only affected one hind leg. It never lasted long in my pup. He would raise a hind leg for a day or so then put it down again and he was totally free of it by the time he was into the teens of months. At the time I was thinking H.D. but a friend who had owned GSP's for years told me he'd seen this quite often and it would go away in time - and it did.
The vet says Kurt should have his exercise restricted for a few weeks until the condition calms down and meanwhile he is getting pills to take. He already seems to be considerably better . That was the good news.
The bad news is that I think I've about had enough. I can hardly walk 20 yards now and will have to stop going to shoots or at least cut back even more on what I do there. I've burned the candle at both ends for many years and made sure there's not much left in the middle that will go to waste.
Wullie
If at first you don't succeed .....find out if there is a booby prize !
-----------------------------------------------------
Don't do what doesn't work - do what does.
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Sorry to hear this, I met, well actually I was overtaken by a guy exercising his dogs using a segway. It was incredibly quiet and I only heard him coming when he was about 20 yards behind me, he stopped and we had a bit of a chat and he told me he was surprised at it's range and what it could cope with. I thought of you
Unfortunate Wullie. Frustrating, to have passion and be limited. Maybe, you could get a clicker and train all sorts of behaviors not limited to just gundog training. That could create another interesting and fascinating blog.
I did this in order to have enough energy to deal with tomorrows picking - up. Today I put my gear ( a whistle, three leads, a gamebag , a priest and a jacket) into my car with the idea of not expending energy doing this early tomorrow morning. My wife watched me doing this then asked what I was doing so I told her.
