I have heard of puppy mills. I suspect Coco came from one.

I know about backyard breeders. Missy came from one.

I thought Brandi came from a "breeder", but I was told otherwise.

Angel was shipped with 4 siblings from Oklahoma to a Texas friend to be sold, so who knows.

What I can't figure out is how to determine over the internet from a website from someone claiming to be a 'Breeder', if they actually are?.

Does a puppy from a champion bloodline that is bred, make that person a "breeder"?

Do "breeders" walk around with a sign that says "I am a breeder"?

What makes someone a "breeder" ?

Need to know so my next one, if there is a next, will be legitimate.

I am posting this in the hope that someone very familiar with the breed may have an answer for me or could point me in the right direction.

Last Saturday I picked up a Shih Tzu, estimated at 2-3 yrs by my vet, who had been at the shelter for over three weeks. He was perfectly sound when I got him, though matted to the skin and filthy. In the last week he has become increasingly reluctant to walk and my vet has seen him three times without a diagnosis. I have an appointment with a dog physical therapist on Tuesday to see if she can figure out what is wrong but in the meantime I am hoping someone familiar with the breed perhaps has an answer. This is long and detailed; I hope you have the time to read it.

According to shelter staff there was nothing unusual about Elmo when he was there. I looked at him on Friday the 8th and he was a bouncy little dog. I picked him up on Saturday and on Sunday morning got to work with the clippers. I had to take him all the way down all over as he was such a mess. Both before and after I clipped him he trotted around smoothly, in fact moved nicely, like a breed dog. He played with toys and generally was a normal dog. On Monday he started occasionally whipping around to look at his rear as though bitten by something. He seemed to be looking at his tail or where the root joins the back. I checked him and couldn't find evidence of fleas or a clipper burn. The behavior increased until he was doing it frequently and then started occasionally yelping when it happened. He was not scratching, scooting, licking or biting any area.

I took him to my vet on Wednesday morning and he expressed the anal glands as he couldn't find anything wrong. That didn't help at all. Elmo started to get increasingly uncomfortable; what he does with his rear end when this happens makes him walk in a U shape. He brings his rear around toward his front, like a dog that has an itch for a moment. He does it either way, to left or right, fishtailing.

We gave him some Metacam and Tramadol with no effect. Now Elmo didn't want to move much and was trembling if he did move. He wanted to be picked up constantly. My vet saw him again on Thursday afternoon and checked his prostate, which was normal. He thought it had something to do with Elmo's hormonal status which I disagreed with. Just because Elmo was 'excited' at the vet didn't seem the reason to blame hormones as at home he was relaxed. However, I sometimes see or feel a twitching from the perineum area down his penis (not an erection) and do wonder if there is some kind of a stricture in that area?

Elmo was neutered on Friday and had his hips and spine x-rayed. Both areas are fine as are his patellas. My vet was convinced that once the hormones died down Elmo would recover.

Now Elmo only moves a few steps at a time then does the curling of his body toward his head and looks at his rear (rot of his tail area). If he moves too fast he cries out. He is roached a lot now and tends to just sit watching the other dogs. He does not seem to be in discomfort unless he moves though sometimes I see the curling slightly as he sits there. He pees and poops normally though he is reluctant to move around to find a spot. The issue may be slightly worse just before defecation but I'm not sure about that.

Interestingly on first getting up in the morning, he comes out of his crate moving straight and free for about thirty feet before crying and doing the curl thing. He jumps up on chairs and I even caught him in the middle of my dining room table (the better to see out of the window) so he is still able to jump.

On the advice of an experienced rescuer I gave him Prednisone and Benadryl (she thought it might be a reaction to having the hugely matted coat removed) last night and this morning with no visible improvement so far.

I am at my wits' end to help this poor little dog. In a week he went from an active, retrieving pup to a dog that doesn't want to move . The pain killers not doing anything makes me think it's mechanical but the x-rays being normal and his lack of lameness per se puzzle me. Some suggestions from others have been a pinched nerve or a foxtail inside that hasn't formed an abscess yet.... Someone else suggested that people in the breed might know if there are any odd genetic diseases with these symptoms.

Any advice or ideas would be appreciated. Other than the appointment tomorrow with the physical therapist/accupressure person I don't know what to do next.

Sorry this is so long!

Pat

This is the 3rd. story I've read in the past mth. or so regarding eagles and other pray coming down from the sky and taking furbabies. It's Horrific even furkids that are in their own backyards vanish.

http://teddyhilton.com/2011-05-19-poodles-...om-sky/?from=PH

So Finners has a tag that looks like this.


I've never really thought about this being a problem. I've also never thought it was a problem that my very hot-blooded babykins likes to nap and chew his bones on the air conditioning vent.

Until today.

Poor Finners had his first puppyhood trauma today. He was eating his granola chew under the end table, hiding it from his brother, on top of the AC vent. That's his spot. Suddenly, I hear this CLANG, and Finn shrieks, then I see him GALLOP past me, with the air conditioning vent bouncing off the floor and his head respectively.

Oh Noes!

I run after him, he's PANICKING.. I can't catch him. He races past me again, and no matter what the baby does, he cannot escape the ebil, scary metal monster, that's chasing him. I finally catch him, he's wide-eyed, heart racing.. I flick the clasp on his collar and get it off of him, and hold him, and rock him until he calms down.. OMG, my poor baby. I'm so sorry.

Apparently, his tag slipped down in between two slats of the AC vent, and twisted, and got stuck, and he couldn't get it out, and freaked right the heck out. In his fright and flight of fancy, he ripped the air vent right out of the floor, and had his first little puppy heart attack.

I'm now considering one of those tags that attatch and lay flat against the collar. It was one heck of a.. "he couldn't have done that again if he tried" moment, but I don't know what ELSE he may get stuck in next, so I don't know.

What do you all think? Has your babybug ever gotten his tag stuck in something? What did you do afterward?

This is a wonderful reference. I thought it might help someone. http://www.windyhollowvet.com/Document/inf...FailureDiet.pdf

Just wanted to remind everyone to watch out for antifreeze since winter is here. It smells and tastes good to dogs, but will kill them very quickly if it's not caught in time. An amount as small as a small leak from a car can make them deathly ill. A person on another board I look at has just lost a dog and has 2 more who are very sick from antifreeze and they don't know if they'll make it. They haven't figured out yet where they got into it. Here's some links about it.

http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/diseasesan..._antifreeze.htm

http://www.vetinfo.com/dtoxin.html

I just want to say that I am really thankful and happy for all the friendship, experience, advice, comfort, laughter, and support that this little community offers to all of us.

We rock! Thanks to Sunlite and the mods and everyone willing to be here and share so well.

So...
Lullaby just finished her puppy shots today, including rabies. The vet mentioned a couple other vaccines that are optional: giardia and lyme disease. I'm concerned about overvaccination. What do you guys think about these vaccines? Should Lullaby get them? What did you get for your pups?

Thanks so much!
Kay