25. The home-breeder vaccinates once and sells his Golden Retrievers

One vaccination and sell. Good luck to the pet shop operator

"The pet shop operator takes the risk," the home breeder said. His 4 big-sized Golden Retrievers came for the first vaccination and then they would be sold to the pet shop. A tall man who is in the pet whole sale business, he had operated a pet shop before.

"You get your money," I said. "The pet shop operator gets ruined if the puppies die. There seems to be an outbreak of parvovirus recently. The pet shop operators blame the breeders and vice versa."

The puppies at the first vaccination will be active, eating well and normal. Otherwise they will not be vaccinated.

"These Golden Retrievers are like your children," I appealed to his paternal instincts. "You don't want your children to die from parvoviral infection at the pet shop or after being purchased. Sell 1-2 weeks after the second vaccination if you can't wait longer."

The second vaccination is 4 weeks from the first although 2 weeks will be the earliest date. The home breeder looked at his puppies. He appeared to be receptive. I shall follow up. Education of the breeders and pet shop operators is through deaths of puppies and subsequent economic losses. This is sad but may be a common situation all over the world.

24. The parvovirus is a lethal puppy killer

TIPS FOR SINGAPORE DOG BREEDERS - Parvovirus kills puppies. Many breeders sell their puppies the next day after the first vaccination at 6 weeks of age. However, the puppies are not fully protected till 2 weeks after the 2nd vaccination. Within 10 days at the pet shop, the puppies vomit and pass watery stools, sometimes very smelly. Or they show such symptoms at the owner's residence. A lot of unhappiness. Many of parvoviral gastroenteritis puppies die within a few days. If you sell 2 weeks after the second vaccination, such deaths are unlikely.

Therefore, it is your decision to balance getting a premium price for your puppies or deaths. Build up your reputation by selling puppies that do not cause health complaints or die, rather than making good money.
http://www.toapayohvets.com

23. The veterinary assistant wrote:" Negative for parvovirus".

SHE WROTE 'FAECAL PARVOVIRUS NEGATIVE' ON THE TEST KIT

"No parvovirus," the veterinary technician declared. The adult dog had shot out lots of watery diarrhoa splattering the surface of the examination table. Yellowish, with lots of tissues. As if the intestines were rotting.

The dog belonged to a breeder. Strong built and excellent body condition. Suddenly it had diarrhoea. No vomiting. Looked normal.

I asked her to do a test for parvovirus by swabbing the anus for stools and using the faecal parvoviral test kit.

She was new in her job and had done a few tests before. If there were 2 lines seen on the test slide, it meant parvovirus. But 1 line meant negative.

As simple as that. Well, I asked to see the slide.

"There is a faint line," I said to the soft-spoken lady. "We need to take a repeat test later."

Probably she could not understand me. She wrote "negative" on the test slide. Without my knowledge.

The dog vomited a lot. It died overnight. A purplish tongue indicated a heart and respiratory failure.

"Check for parvovirus again," I instructed. There were 2 bold purplish lines on the test kit this time. Faecal parvovirus positive. I asked to see the first slide.

I saw some words blacked out by the black marker pen ink.

It was "negative" now blacked over. We all learn from experience from real life cases. Some cases need to be re-tested.

22. The coincidental spay

SPAY THE DOG WHILE THE DAUGHTER IS AWAY?

"You should get the terrier spayed," I said. "The false pregnancy will recur again, sometimes as often as 4 times a year. The anti-false pregnancy hormone does have side effects like infection of the womb, if given over the life of your dog."

The father with broad shoulders and broad chest, aged around fifty years old had come for another prescription of drugs to stop the behaviour of the terrier cross suffering from false pregnancy. He wrinkled his forehead and lamented, "My daughter is against spaying because she feels that the female dog will not be active and dynamic after the surgery."

He must have been a body builder before or a national competitive swimmer. I did not ask him as he seemed to be in a hurry and there were other patients waiting on this Monday afternoon. But definitely he was a good father taking time off to get some medication on behalf of his busy teenaged daughter.

"You can get the dog spayed when your daughter goes overseas on a holiday," I suggested. "When will she be on holiday?"

"In July," the father said.

"For how long?" I asked.

"3 days."

"That is too short a period of time. The dog needs around 14 days for the skin wound to heal."

This is 2005 in a modern Singapore. Fathers do not have the dictatorial head-of-the- household powers anymore. Most fathers are no longer authoritative parents.

"I just had 2 cases of teenaged girls saving the older dogs from euthanasia, over-riding adult wishes," I said. "In the first case, the uncle wanted to put the Shetland down because it had maggots in its backside. In the other case, the parents wanted to euthanase a 15-year-old Miniature Schnauzer with bad breadth and bleeding mouth that had grown up with the daughter."

"It is not so easy to be a father without powers of decision nowadays." I commiserated. "The grown up children's feelings must be taken into account. They seem to have their own powerful minds. You don't want your daughter to hate you to your old age."

I was wondering why he need drugs to combat false pregnancy. "Most dog owners just leave the dog alone."

The father said, "The dog is very aggressive during false pregnancy."

"Is it protecting a toy or an object?" I asked. "Just remove it from her."

"It is not so easy," the father replied. "She will just find another object to protect." Dams with puppies have a strong protective instinct and can bite strangers coming near their puppies. Usually, they don't bite family members. But this dog had no real puppies to protect. However, she behaves as if she has, due to the influence of pregnancy hormones.

It seems there is no solution to his problem. At least he has an excellent relationship with his daughter and that is good.

21. The 15-year-old Miniature Schnauzer had 40% of survival

40% of dying under general anaesthesia is too high a risk, the young lady accountant wavered. She would prefer that her dog not take this option. But he was in great pain and the parents wanted to relieve his suffering.
http://www.toapayohvets.com

Story continued in another article.

20. The puppy would die, the pet shop operator said.

SURVIVAL SECRETS FOR PET OWNERS. The Maltese coughs like an old man.


"The puppy would die, the pet shop operator told me," Ms Lee's eye suddenly reddened and many tear drops cascaded down her porcelain clear face.

She had visited the naughty Maltese on this Sunday morning with her tall and muscular boy friend. The newly Maltese puppy was warded for observation for a persistent cough overnight. She said that my medicine was not working to stop the cough when she consulted me two days ago.


Kennel cough. Barks a lot aggravating sore throat. Coughs a lot.
http://www.toapayohvets.com


I did not prescribe anti-cough medicine as a complete cage rest, multi-vitamins and antibiotics would have cured this puppy. The key to the management of kennel cough was a "complete cage rest" rather than doping the puppy with anti-cough medicine. It would take time for the puppy to recover. Definitely not within two days. This was the usual advice to all puppy owners with coughing puppies.

However, Ms Lee was worried. The puppy just would not stop coughing all night. As if it had something stuck in the throat. Gagging to cough out. But nothing. It was distressful to the owner.

"Was the puppy confined to the cage the whole day and night?" I asked Ms Lee.

"No," she said. "It kept barking to get out. Once it is out, it stopped barking and followed me around."

"It is hard for the puppy to recover fast if it was active," I said. "Barking would also irritate the throat, the vocal cords and aggravate the coughing."

The puppy made sounds "cough, cough, cough." As if it had a very sore throat and just could not get rid of the water inside the throat. The heart and lung sounds were normal. No pneumonia. No fever. It was still eating.

Obviously, it was not practical to confine the puppy in the home as barking loudly disturbed the neighbours of the condo. In addition, Ms Lee just would not want the puppy to be barking a lot. So, reluctantly, she let it be kept in the Surgery.

The next day, she visited the puppy and told me that the pet shop operator had forecast that coughing puppies would die. Just the thought of the forecast caused her tears to flow another time.

"You saw your Maltese and it is still barking loudly,"I did not know what to say to Ms Lee who was now at the waiting. It has recovered a lot as yesterday, it could not even bark when you left her here. I gave it a 50:50 chance of survival as I don't know whether it would progress to pneumonia and pneumonia is bad for 2-month-old puppies. They may not survive if their cough continued without treatment. That is probably what the pet shop operator had shared with you her experiences."

Just 12 hours of complete cage rest. The Maltese had so much vigour and such a loud bark for the owner.

"It would take around 7-14 days for it to recover," I replied to Ms Lee's query on how long the puppy should be warded. "It could not recover in your condo as it just would not waste time recuperating and its immune system had no chance to repair the kennel cough damage caused by bacteria and virus. Could you take back your 7 days' leave and continue flying?"

It was not possible. "Just enjoy your weekend," I advised. "Your puppy would not die from kennel cough." Well, the probablility of it survival was now over 99%. And just because it was forced to rest in a crate. The recovery was short of a miracle. Without anti-coughing medicine. Without having her to seek a second or third opinion.

19. Money back if your puppy coughs was unacceptable

THE MONEY BACK GUARANTEE WAS NOT ACCEPTABLE

"Why did you tell the lady buyer that she did not need to get her Chihuahua checked by the vet even though it was coughing?" I phoned the amiable pet shop operator who prided himself to be a very professional marketer. "She was not pleased with your advice. The coughing could worsen and the puppy could develop pneumonia and die later.Yet, you insisted on her returning the puppy and giving back her the money. She said to me that she had just asked you for advice about her puppy's coughing. You kept saying you would return her the money. She had no desire to get her money back.

The pet shop operator was surprised that the buyer had contacted me. He thought he had neatly resolved any complaint from the buyer by offering money back if the satisfaction was not there. Money back. No questions asked. That's the best sales tactic in the world as it demonstrates that you sells only top quality goods.

The buyer phoned me because the puppy had my vaccination card.

"I did not tell her not to see the vet," the pet shop operator said. "I said that if I were the owner, coughing is a minor thing and I would not consult the vet."

I had no comment. I did not want to be pedantic. The buyer was worried. She lived with the puppy. Probably this Chihuahua slept in her bedroom. Maybe on the same bed. The coughing would have kept her awake. That would be worrisome as the puppy could get sicker and die of pneumonia.

"In addition," the pet shop operator elaborated, "The buyer was complaining about having to pay veterinary fees for the coughing puppy."

Many buyers don't mind paying for the puppy but balk at paying veterinary fees if the new puppy was unwell.

This was understandable. But should the pet shop operator insist on money back all the time when he perceives the buyer as fastidious? Taking too much of his time and too much trouble. Not willing to spend more money when the pet is sick?

But she did not want her money back. So, what was the solution now? He said he would phone her and I hope he could find a satisfactory solution for her.

18. The breeder says: "No hope for the Jack Russell puppies."

"No hope," the breeder's face was solemn. "The Jack Russell must have birth difficulties overnight. She has a dark green vaginal discharge. Puppies will be dead"

This was a professional breeder. Experienced in dog breeding for a few years. So, he knew what he said. Usually a dirty green discharge meant the puppies were dead as the placenta supplying them nutrients had separated.

His bronze-tinted hair was flying all over his head, as if he had just got out of bed at 10 a.m, put on his white T-shirt and grey shorts to rush to the veterinary surgery. His eyes were wide but they were bleary. As if he never had sufficient sleep.

"You live your life as a person who burns a candle at both ends," I said to the thirty-year-old man. "You need an assistant to help you." He did have one assistant but the last employee was cross-breeding his dogs. It was not easy to find committed Singaporeans interested in breeding work. The hours are long and the smells are not exactly perfume.

The Jack Russell's tummy was like a balloon about to burst. Maximum size. Her skin was taut. One small cut and the abdomen would burst out. I put her under general anaesthesia.

Surprisingly, 8 Jack Russell puppies were delivered live and vigorous by this just-in-time Caesarean section. Green vaginal discharge in a mother usually portends the death of puppies as the life-supporting placenta had separated or melted away. In this case, the breeder was in the nick of time and it was a great joy to see 8 puppies full of live and vigour.



8 vigorous pups. If the breeder had waited another hour, many pups would be dead.
http://www.toapayohvets.com


But the poor dam. How was she going to cope? Fortunately, this was a professional dog breeder and there should be other dams sharing the burden of providing milk to the young ones.

17. The Golden Retriever sees the vet for the 3rd time

The Golden Retriever passes blood for the 3rd time.

"This time, the blood in the stools is black," the young lady said. "My Golden Retriever had not been out in the garden. He was all right for 2 days and now, the stools are soft and there is blood.

"Blacker stools just mean that the bleeding is higher up in the intestines or stomach," I said.

This was the 3rd time the dog had been brought in within the last 4 weeks. I had shown the owner the normal brown firm stools 4 days ago when I asked them to take back the Golden Retriever. I advised feeding a particular brand of premium dog food which I had given to the 6-month-old. But now, the same problem surfaced. Why was the problem recurring?

It seemed to be something at home. Since the dog was now confined to a place, was it the drinking water? Water was from the tap. In Singapore, tap water is drinking water for people. But was the water in this house contaminated?

"So, what exactly is the name of the dog feed?"

"The pet shop just gave me the plastic bag with no name," the owner said. "The puppy had been eating this food from a young age."

"How do you know that it is the same brand?" I asked. "The puppy could have been given a different formula or he could have become sensitive to the same formula."

There was something wrong. The puppy was warded again. He was full of life, barking for attention. However, the bloody diarrhoea for this puppy must be resolved. Otherwise, he would die later.

It was a case of food allergy as changing to a different formula resolved the problem.

16. Can an outside vet perform Caesarean on this Bulldog?

The Bulldog could not wait another day

Just 24 hours to freedom. She had to give birth. One stilborn delivered at 9 a.m.
She had more than 1 puppy judging from her swollen belly. I recommended Caesarean section as bulldogs seldom give birth naturally. But she was in quarantine. Would I be able to perform Caesarean section in the quarantine, Mr Formicelli asked?

I cancelled my afternoon appointments. Cut short my lunch date at Allson Hotel's Chinese Restaurant as I had to rush back to the Surgery. I had persuaded Mr Goh, a man who loved anaesthetic machines more than sales. After much persuasion, Mr Goh was able to assemble a mobile gas anaesthetic machine. But he needed to use my Surgery's anaethetic vaporiser and so I had to ask my lunch date to forgive me.

Now, there are rules and regulations to be complied with. The Bulldog had another 12-20 hours of quarantine left. Would there be regulatory challenges to perform Caesarean section in the quarantine or in my Surgery?

"Don't get into the taxi," I stopped Mr Goh from going to my Surgery to get the vital vaporiser. "I need clearance from the Official to perform Caesarean section in the quarantine and to find out if there are facilities to do surgery." There was no table and the consultation room was locked. What to do next?

The Official was contacted at 12.58 p.m in his office. He understood the predicament of the Bulldog. He said he would revert back to me soon. No news. His mobile was switched off. It was 2.15 p.m. now. "Did my boss contact you? I will talk to him." the Official said.

"Your Surgery is not the approved veterinary surgery for quarantined dogs. Mr Formicelli can either wait or go to the approved surgery for the Caesarean."

"You should go to the approved surgery," I phoned Mr Formicelli. "The pups are most probably dead by now. Save the mother. Don't delay. Save the mother as dead pups would decompose. They bloat and bacteria inside them form toxins. Toxins spread to the dam and may kill her or weakened her if you wait till the next day."

He was hesistant. "If not, give antibiotics to the dam," I advised.

"How about an oxytocin injection to help the mother to contract her womb to give birth?" Mr Formicelli requested.

"No use," I replied. "Bulldog pups have large heads and if the mother could not give birth after the oxytocin injection, the contractions would jam the pups further and caused her more pain. Give her some food and honey to drink."

Mr Formicelli booked a Caesarean at 9 a.m the next day. He helped the Bulldog to deliver a stillborn at 3 p.m. He stayed till 8 p.m. There were no further pups. Overnight, a stillborn was born. 3 dead. The other pups would not be alive now. Why would Mr Formicelli not want an immediate Caesarean delivery to save the dam?

At 9 a.m, the Bulldog was operated. 3 beautiful pups on the left horn of the womb. A greyish green thin bag on the right side. That was the large swollen bladder full of obstructed urine.

3 stillborn puppies in one side of the womb.

The dam had a normal temperature of 38.8 deg C and was well. She was eating the next day, Mr Formicelli's assistant reported. So everything was all right.

"6 precious Bulldog pups lost. Around $12,000 lost, just in a twinkling of an eye. If only the Bulldog had waited just 24 hours to give birth," I said to the assistant as I vaccinated the puppies in the afternoon at the kennels.

"The pups were beautiful,"Mr Formicelli explained to me later. "Such things can't be helped. If they were born alive, they and their dam would need to be quarantined for 30 days. I would have to pay a large sum of money."

I must say that his judgment and handling of the case was excellent because his bulldog was alive and well. It was better late than never as he promptly went to the quarantine to bring the dog for the Caesarean and had booked the appointment yesterday.

15. "The Labrador Retriever is not deaf," the Seller said.

THE BOY WHO LOVED THE HEARING-IMPAIRED LABRADOR RETRIEVER

"A lot of bull!" the pet shop manager said. "I have never heard of such nonsense in my whole life." She was a wiry sun-tanned and lean sixty-five-year old woman and had sold several thousands of puppies over the years.

"So what did you do?" I asked the buyer who reported the above encounter when she returned a 5-month-old Labrador Retriever puppy within the 24 hours after purchase after I certified that the Labrador Retriever was partially deaf.

"I felt so bad for causing her so much trouble," the genteel Mrs Tan said as her 15-year-old son put the replacement Labrador Retriever on the examination table. "I see her daily. I am her neighbour. But she persisted in giving back my money"

I was surprised as the pet shop manager was a very shrewd businesswoman. Puppy selling complaints are part and parcel of this pet shop operation and usually she would have an amicable solution. In this situation, the buyer did not even ask for money back.

"My husband and I just want a replacement puppy, not money back." Mrs Tan continued as my veterinary nurse took the rectal temperature of a Labrador Retriever. "The manager said that the replacement puppy would cost more. When I had no objection, she said that it would several weeks to find me a replacement, but this was all right with us."

I could not believe what I heard. A puppy buyer who was so accommodating and a seller who just wanted to get rid of her. Success has its rewards, I must say. If you are successful in your profession, you can pick and choose who you sell your puppies to.
And the pet shop manager was the top dog in this business.

But this rejection of a customer seemed emotional. Did Mrs Tan antagonised her with the rejection, accusing her of selling below standard puppy? I think not but I would not know as I would not be able to know the other side of the story.

Now, Mrs Tan had a replacement sibling for examination. This puppy came from another branch and was with her for 2 days. Would this puppy pass the veterinary examination?

Mrs Tan's mobile phone rang. Her elder 17-year-old son who was now not present had asked whether the puppy had passed the examination. Her younger son said it had passed because the puppy could hear very well.

"Not yet," I said as I shone the light of the opthalmoscope onto the retina of the puppy. "The eye examination is not completed." The puppy passed all the tests as a pet. Mrs Tan was told that the slightly overshot jaw and the half-black nose were not health problems as she did not intend to breed.

As for the half-black nose, the younger son who was close to her mother and even accompanied her shopping said, "We could use a can of black paint spray to blacken the whole nose."

"It is best not to jest in such a way," I advised the young man. "If the smaller boys hear this, they may do just what you say and spray the puppy's nose. The spray would splatter onto the puppy's eyes and blind him."

"Why is the elder boy not present?" I asked Mrs Tan.

"He does not want to experience the same sadness," Mrs Tan said. "He cried the whole night when the puppy was returned. And we had it for only a day."

I said, "The elder son would make an excellent veterinarian." It was a happy ending. As to how Mrs Tan got the replacement puppy, it was the boss of the pet chain who promptly sent one to her.

So, a business was sewed up. Goodwill with a neighbour was enhanced. And a boy who loved the hearing-impaired puppy got a second choice.

He would have got the first choice if the boss had not told me over the phone that he preferred to return the money rather than let the family keep the first puppy for 5 days as proposed by me after the examination. I was hoping he would be flexible but he must have had bad experiences and complaints with fastidious puppy buyers. And why should he put up with a lot of bull when he did not need to do so?

I am sure that the elder son preferred his first choice after his mum described about his heartfelt loss. His heart was with the hearing-impaired puppy but his parents did not want future health problems.

I am sure that his first puppy was not a puppy love. If only the boss had been flexible with 5 days. But he told me later that he had not known that the buyer was his neighbour.

In any case, the reason he was so successful could be that he turned a bad situation right and the story had a happy ending for the buyer. This teenager who would not reject a partially deaf puppy just because it was not able to hear well with the right ear would be an excellent veterinarian. I wondered if he had top exmaination grades in school as it is extremely difficult to get into a veterinary school overseas if you don't have the top grades.


PUPPY LOVE - A transitory affection felt by a boy or girl for one of the opposite sex.

14. Crotch Rot in an Internet Chihuahua

SKIN PROBLEMS IN AN INTERNET CHIHUAHUA - Crotch Rot.

"What is crotch rot?" a Singaporean phoned me on behalf of his Japanese friend who had consulted me to do a veterinary check up on a new $1,000 Chihuahua his wife bought from the internet. This 4-month-old Chihuahua was a tea-cup sized, slightly bigger than the palm of his hand.

"Crotch Rot?" I said. "Never heard of this medical condition. I did not mention this word." There is a veterinary medical condition called foot rot in the sheep. But the crotch? Well, I know what the crotch is but I doubt many readers do.

The chihuahua had all hairs lost around the anal area and near the crotch (an angle formed by the parting of two legs) and in his right hand near the elbow. The bacterial infection in puppies could be itchy and this Chihuahua must have licked the affected areas till the hairs were depeleted.

Not a fatal condition but I had not stressed to the Japanese owner that the puppy was not suffering from a deadly disease. He was using his hand-held English-Japanese dictionary to translate during the consultation and had not asked whether the skin condition was fatal to the Chihuahua.

Later in the night, the Japanese phoned me as he was worried that he might have paid a lot of money for a sickly dog. I told him that the Chihuahua should be cured in 3 weeks after giving medication and wash.

This case showed that it is important to tell the buyer whether the skin condition is curable or not. His translation software must have given him the diagnosis of "crotch rot" and lots of worries for his wife.

13. The Golden Retriever puppy had locked jaws

The Golden Retriever with locked jaws

"How to prevent hip dysplasia?" the owner phoned me one afternoon. It was surprising as his Golden Retriever puppy was just 3 months old and he was concerned. Next morning, a SMS saying the puppy was sick. Could not move. Lethargy.

Saw him at 9.45 a.m. Slight fever of 39.3 deg C. The strange thing was that it was impossible to open the mouth of the puppy. No puppy ever resisted me. So, was this a case of locked jaws? The puppy had free access to garden and soil bacteria might contain locked jaw bacteria. Something like tetanus.

Very rare and unusual. Warded the puppy for observation and given injections. In the afternoon, the jaws were opened with some difficulty. Not eating at all. Sent home for observation and confinement. Puppy recovered in the next 2 days.

Any owner with similar problems, e-mail to judy@toapayohvets.com