so sorry to hear Zena is still not right. Are you sure she is not being a typical shepherd girly and making life awkward? She knows you are worried is she may be ppicking up on your feelings? You know how sensitive they can be....also dont forget shepherds are wusses

As for the no eating stick with one thing, she might just be waiting to see what you produce next . Is her mouth still swollen? may be they tied the breathing tube fastening too tight and the black was bruising? If she managed kibble today I would suggest she will eat it again, may be soften it with warm water so at least you know she is getting the proper goodness. Also she has had a big ordeal the squits could just be a stress factor rather than a tummy prob.

If it was me I wouldn't keep tempting her to eat (hard I know ) just leave food down that you want her to eat and when she is ready she will eat. Zeita has food down all morning to graze then has it lifted after dinner and then has a bowl with dry and meat for tea.

Hope she is tip top soon

mel xxx



Samson had black gums all the time though..

Sounds like a plan, she is so norty, now she better keep it up for the weekend at least, do you think threatening to take her back to the vet might help as you typed she may have seen it and thought oops I will be a good girl now, i know I am just being silly, I do hope she stays that way for good or at least the weekend. Fingers are still crossed for you and Zena

God H I'm so sorry you are still going through the mill with your beautiful girl. Hopefully she continues to be her usual happy self over the weekend and that's the end of it. Everything crossed here for you xx

Lol, oh how I know all about that one Mel, especially with Cassie! I wish I could say yes to that, but I can't, because of the way she was when I came downstairs this morning , because I just KNEW there would be that horrible yellow diarrhea outside yet again, even though I've had two days of quite normal poo because she didn't want her dab of breakfast live yoghurt (that always tells me there'll be a big pile of yellow poo out on the drive),because she didn't pester me with her ball when I sat at the table drinking my tea, because of the curling up in a ball all morning in her bed apart from our two walks and then of course when it got to lunchtime when she had to have something to eat having not had ANY food since yesterday at 4pm apart from her bedtime markies, oh I just knew Mel, that I was on yet another downward turn with her

Her mouth is NOT black, apart from the pigmentation, and I know it like the back of my hand coz I'm looking in her mouth about 6 times a day, I know what pink gums look like up against white teeth, so I know when I have black gums going on right up to the edge of the white teeth, and I'm darn sure that vet is going to have to answer that question for me when I go on Monday, it cannot be right!

The strange thing is, although a good thing, she had a little play with me and ate like I said, then she slept, she got up, she is her normal bouncy self again, bringing me more toys to play with, she's hungry although I won't give her anything until 6 o'clock another half a cup of kibble perhaps, I just gave her a mini markie coz she went to the drawer when she came back in from a wee, she ate it quite normally, none of this dropping it in a big crumbled pile like she has been, and she's now chewing on a her big, solid, chew!!! So if it IS her mouth, it's something very weird that comes and goes, and bruising doesn't act like that does it? I know she'll stay like this now, I could even get a solid poo later on this evening if I'm lucky, but this is how it's been going on, one day like this, and another like she was this morning, but I always, always know, and it's not her playing up, she has no need to play up, and I know the difference, I'm well used to these gsd bitches believe me, and you know me well enough I stand no nonsense around here with them either, much as I adore them!

I can't leave any food down, Georgie's a dustbin, and anyways, I know within 30 seconds if she's going to eat or not, and today, after about 2 minutes it all went in the bin, because I just KNEW, she was having one of those days yet again It's kibble from now on, take it or leave it!

I'm going to draw up a long list of my symptoms she's had, and take her off to the vet on Monday, when hopefully she can look in that mouth or give me a swab to swab it, and if she's still being off colour one day and fine the next, then I want blood tests done at the very least, I've got to sort this out, this isn't a speying op problem, this could even be a return of that Giardia they had back in the summer, because apparently it can live in the gut for months and months if they've had it, and it could have flared up again, and just a coincidence it's the same time as after that spey. I still say though, it was from that Thursday night trip to the vet for that checkup coz she had been fantastic right up until that night, then 5 am. next morning all this started and hasn't yet gone in my view.

Of course Emma, she must have heard me on that phone speaking to the receptionist about it, the timing's right after all!!!!! This dog is too darn clever for her own good!!!

She's absolutely NORMAL now, she would eat if I wanted her too, so when I feed Georgie, she's gonna have some kibble and if she's not interested it goes in her ball for when she is coz Georgie hasn't sussed out that big treat ball yet!!!! Oh please God let this last, I think I've been through enough stress this past fortnight, 2 weeks of playing vet nurse with Zena, not forgetting old Georgie with his worn out pads!!!! Blooming 'eck it's enough to turn anyone to the bottle

Perfick! That's just what I'm after!! The wound is healing beautifully now, I just want my big, bouncy, crazy puppy back, not the sickly, vomiting, sleepy one with yellow diarrhea and black gums on and off!!! I'll get there don't you worry, might take a while, but if she stays like she is NOW over the week-end, I won't be going to the vet on Monday, there's no point, I hope!!!!

Helena, can you take pics of her mouth? Im wondering if its growing pigmentation or not? or bruising.

Good idea Dawn xxx

I'll try over the week-end Dawn, but what is growing pigmentation, and if it's growing, surely it would STAY the way it had grown, not all disappear again and turn pink??? I think bruising personally too! I think they were very rough with that tube going down the throat, that's my opinion, and she's paying the consequences. What is this strapping business that Mel mentions to hold the tube in the mouth, I'm going to have to look that one up, coz that could explain a lot of things here if it was too tight?! Especially if it goes around the top half of her mouth coz that's the very first thing I noticed about her, how swollen and mishapen one side of her mouth was but at the top!

Things are still good, but I won't hold my breath!!!

I just remembered, I met a lady two days ago with a dog who she said had been very ill with yellow diarrhea Zena had said hello to it, and I thought then, thanks for telling me that AFTER they have said hello!!!! Maybe it's another bug then coz of course, the immune system is very low after an op isn't it!

Awww...Atich. Sorry to hear poor Zena is still not back to herself. Hope you get it sorted soon! xx