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Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along
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AmberLops
Herd Master
Ha ha I think I would offend the dogs owners by wearing a clothespin 
and usually my face is buried in the dogs fur when I restrain them so the ointment would be...hairy Good ideas though! I'm sure they both work.
I hope his vision problem is minor and that it can be fixed
Maybe the doggy eye doctor can express his glands?? ha ha!
If you can stomach this, and if he'll tolerate it...going in and expressing them internally is a lot easier and faster.
You just need a glove and tons of paper towels If you lived closer I would do it!
and usually my face is buried in the dogs fur when I restrain them so the ointment would be...hairy Good ideas though! I'm sure they both work.I hope his vision problem is minor and that it can be fixed
Maybe the doggy eye doctor can express his glands?? ha ha!
If you can stomach this, and if he'll tolerate it...going in and expressing them internally is a lot easier and faster.
You just need a glove and tons of paper towels
If you lived closer I would do it!
Bruce
Herd Master
Sooooo, if they move to TX, you'll drive all the way from TN to express the dog's glands??You just need a glove and tons of paper towels
The funny part of this is that over on BYC there is a woman who calls her son Bubba. When I read you were going to express Bubba's glands ...Bubba, not DS1.
AmberLops
Herd Master
Ha ha! I would if I could
Baymule
Herd Master
Then we would throw a Texas Party!Ha ha! I would if I could
AmberLops
Herd Master
A Texas party...that sounds like fun! Don't start it without me
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Ridgetop
Herd Master
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Ridgetop
Herd Master
Well back from the vet and the news is not good. Only minor quiet growling at the unknown lady vet who was shining bright lights in his eyes and then sticking drops in to deaden it, poking it, etc. Final verdict - poor Bubba has a cataract in that eye and a detached retina as well. His left eye is blind with no hope of sight recovery in that eye. On the other hand, his right eye is perfect. I was worried about this being a genetic condition since he has not had any injury lately - the doctor kept asking about injuries. He was kenneled for a week, Josie the mule was moved to another pasture where he was nowhere near her, then suddeny his eye dilated and would not contract! No injuries - but suddenly I remembered that Erick had called me very upset about a bad injury he suffered to his face and eye when he was about 12 weeks old. He was bitten in the face by either his mother or another adult dog. The bite was at his eye socket, and his eye was swollen out of the socket for several days. Erick was afraid he was going to be permanently maimed but it eventually healed with no sign of the bite wound or eye trauma, as both Erick and we thought. The vet opthalmologist said that puppyhood injury was most probably the cause of this. She said that he probably suffered trauma to the eye structure in that wound as a puppy and that it has taken this long to show up. She felt that the original injury caused either the early development of the cataract which then caused irritation to the eye causing the detached retina, or the detached retina causing the cataract. She lost me at that point as to which came first. Her original recommendation was to neuter him thinking it might be a genetic abnormality, but after she heard about the injury as a puppy she reversed her opinion and said that it was probably a delayed reaction to that injury. That was good news since I was worried he might eventually suffer the same problem in the right eye.
I immediately called Erick since I was planning to have him OFAed before we left for Texas and my contract requires I allow Erick to collect him depending on the results of his OFA x-rays. I explained everything to Erick and after we discussed the injury (which he remembered as one of the most horrible things he had seen) we have decided to go forward with the OFA and eventual collection. He really wants Bubba's genetics since he doesn't have anything out of Bubba's mother and she has true Anatolian character - IOW she is very suspicious of strangers! LOL So is Bubba. His father is super mellow like his litter mate Rika. Akis is not, being really watchful and not trusting any strangers (and some acquaintances) at all - just like Bubba. LOL
Hopefully, Bubba will adjust to only having sight in his right eye. He has the other 2 Anatolians to back him up in any predator battles (so glad we got Angel) and he will do just fine at his job of LGD. DH brought up a possibility about his licking the hair off his feet and lower legs. Dr. Star hadsaid the "hot spots" were actually granulomas caused by him obsessively licking all the fur off his paws and lower legs in spots. He thought it was a nervous OCD. He said that it could be made worse by stress - like when he was kenneled when the film people were here. We did notice that he had a lot more raw spots then. Anyway, DH suggested that the licking might have started when Bubba began having vision problems in his left eye some months ago. We couldn't see these changes or the cataract until his pupil dilated and refused to contract last week, but the cataract had to have been forming for some months and the retina detaching would have caused vision loss too. Hopefully, he will eventually adjust to the change in his vision and the obsessive licking will stop. The medication we got from Dr. Star has already caused a lessening of the licking problem and all but 2 sores have healed up. The last 2 open sores are much smaller and seem to be closing up too. I am going to order some spray on anti itch antibiotic non-toxic stuff from Chewey and also my prescriptions for the stuff Dr. Star gave us and the eye salve and drops that we have to use on Bubba's left eye now - forever. Poor boy. 
It could have been a lot worse. It could have been some type of degenerative eye disease that would have eventually left him blind in both eyes. However the vet today said his other eye was perfect so he should be able to cope and live to a ripe old age with sight in just one eye. We will just have to put salve in his bad eye 3x weekly, drops 1x daily, and the Atrip??? stuff for the licking 1x daily. He is worth it - my sweet Bubba.
The trailer is back from the repair shop. tomorrow after bridge DH wants to go to Camping World and get some stuff for our trip. Then we have to repack the underbelly, clean the interior, make up the bed, check the supplies, and start loading our clothes and STUFF for Texas. Time to make lists . . . long lists . . . many lists . . . .
I immediately called Erick since I was planning to have him OFAed before we left for Texas and my contract requires I allow Erick to collect him depending on the results of his OFA x-rays. I explained everything to Erick and after we discussed the injury (which he remembered as one of the most horrible things he had seen) we have decided to go forward with the OFA and eventual collection. He really wants Bubba's genetics since he doesn't have anything out of Bubba's mother and she has true Anatolian character - IOW she is very suspicious of strangers! LOL So is Bubba. His father is super mellow like his litter mate Rika. Akis is not, being really watchful and not trusting any strangers (and some acquaintances) at all - just like Bubba. LOL
Hopefully, Bubba will adjust to only having sight in his right eye. He has the other 2 Anatolians to back him up in any predator battles (so glad we got Angel) and he will do just fine at his job of LGD. DH brought up a possibility about his licking the hair off his feet and lower legs. Dr. Star hadsaid the "hot spots" were actually granulomas caused by him obsessively licking all the fur off his paws and lower legs in spots. He thought it was a nervous OCD. He said that it could be made worse by stress - like when he was kenneled when the film people were here. We did notice that he had a lot more raw spots then. Anyway, DH suggested that the licking might have started when Bubba began having vision problems in his left eye some months ago. We couldn't see these changes or the cataract until his pupil dilated and refused to contract last week, but the cataract had to have been forming for some months and the retina detaching would have caused vision loss too. Hopefully, he will eventually adjust to the change in his vision and the obsessive licking will stop. The medication we got from Dr. Star has already caused a lessening of the licking problem and all but 2 sores have healed up. The last 2 open sores are much smaller and seem to be closing up too. I am going to order some spray on anti itch antibiotic non-toxic stuff from Chewey and also my prescriptions for the stuff Dr. Star gave us and the eye salve and drops that we have to use on Bubba's left eye now - forever.
Poor boy. It could have been a lot worse. It could have been some type of degenerative eye disease that would have eventually left him blind in both eyes. However the vet today said his other eye was perfect so he should be able to cope and live to a ripe old age with sight in just one eye. We will just have to put salve in his bad eye 3x weekly, drops 1x daily, and the Atrip??? stuff for the licking 1x daily. He is worth it - my sweet Bubba.
The trailer is back from the repair shop. tomorrow after bridge DH wants to go to Camping World and get some stuff for our trip. Then we have to repack the underbelly, clean the interior, make up the bed, check the supplies, and start loading our clothes and STUFF for Texas. Time to make lists . . . long lists . . . many lists . . . .
AmberLops
Herd Master
I'm sorry about his eye...but it could be worse as you said that it could have been genetic.
Have you thought about doing an enucleation for that eye in the future? It makes the process a whole lot easier, especially for you guys. He could be the one-eyed bandit on your farm!
Have you thought about doing an enucleation for that eye in the future? It makes the process a whole lot easier, especially for you guys. He could be the one-eyed bandit on your farm!
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Baymule
Herd Master
That's what I was thinking. If he is blind in that eye, wouldn't it be easier on all involved to have it removed? Slap me down if I am wrong, I don't want to hurt any feelings here. It has to be a terrible shock to get this diagnosis on your beloved Bubba. Poor baby, he sure is a majestic dog. At least now you know and can give him the care he needs.I'm sorry about his eye...but it could be worse as you said that it could have been genetic.
You might want to look into doing an enucleation for that eye in the future. It makes the process a whole lot easier, especially for you guys. He could be the one-eyed bandit on your farm!
