State of the Bobbington
Jan. 26th, 2011 07:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bunnCheckup time. Vet felt Bob was looking a bit better, particularly his coat, but that there was no obvious major change in his physical condition that would account for his no longer crawling or screaming.
Although she says that they would be prepared to neuter Bob now if that's what we want, she feels that it's been a fairly short time since he was having problems, and really too soon to be sure that he is out of the woods : she'd rather hold off at least a few more weeks. She also pointed out that on previcox, he's an expensive proposition (£45/month at their prices) and it might be worth trying him off it to see how he does. Or reducing the dosage.
So, I guess the options now are:
1) give him a few more weeks ( if so, how many?) before concluding that he is doing OK and getting him neutered and on the website, and in the meanwhile, experiment with taking him off previcox (and maybe trying the metacam again, though for long term daily use in a 9 year old dog, previcox is probably preferable).
2) get him neutered and up on the site now, on the grounds that there's no real evidence it will do any harm, and say that he's on previcox but may not need it longterm.
3) rehome him with a contract that says he must be neutered in 3 months time (say), and give him another week or so and try him off the previcox before putting him on the site.
Or some other combination of those ideas. I really don't know which to go for. I think the vet would go for 3) but I am slightly concerned that Bob is a very pretty dog who is only 9, sure there will be people out there who would look at him and see visions of pretty lurcher puppies, and with testicles, he will also be more nickable. We'd have to be very confident that the new owners really would get the neutering done.
I'm slightly swayed away from 1) on purely selfish grounds, by the fact that Az would really be happier if Bob were either sans plums or off to his new home. It's not a huge problem, but Az definitely prefers neutered male dogs and is just a tiny bit grouchier than he would otherwise be as a result.
Also, if we take him off the Previcox and he goes back to crawling and screaming - do we then MRI scan (£1500 & might not show anything), or put him back on the pills?
Oh, while I am doing a dog-related post, here's an article about dogs in the middle of controlling relationships. Nothing to do with Bob, but made me go :-o. The world has some very odd people in it.
Although she says that they would be prepared to neuter Bob now if that's what we want, she feels that it's been a fairly short time since he was having problems, and really too soon to be sure that he is out of the woods : she'd rather hold off at least a few more weeks. She also pointed out that on previcox, he's an expensive proposition (£45/month at their prices) and it might be worth trying him off it to see how he does. Or reducing the dosage.
So, I guess the options now are:
1) give him a few more weeks ( if so, how many?) before concluding that he is doing OK and getting him neutered and on the website, and in the meanwhile, experiment with taking him off previcox (and maybe trying the metacam again, though for long term daily use in a 9 year old dog, previcox is probably preferable).
2) get him neutered and up on the site now, on the grounds that there's no real evidence it will do any harm, and say that he's on previcox but may not need it longterm.
3) rehome him with a contract that says he must be neutered in 3 months time (say), and give him another week or so and try him off the previcox before putting him on the site.
Or some other combination of those ideas. I really don't know which to go for. I think the vet would go for 3) but I am slightly concerned that Bob is a very pretty dog who is only 9, sure there will be people out there who would look at him and see visions of pretty lurcher puppies, and with testicles, he will also be more nickable. We'd have to be very confident that the new owners really would get the neutering done.
I'm slightly swayed away from 1) on purely selfish grounds, by the fact that Az would really be happier if Bob were either sans plums or off to his new home. It's not a huge problem, but Az definitely prefers neutered male dogs and is just a tiny bit grouchier than he would otherwise be as a result.
Also, if we take him off the Previcox and he goes back to crawling and screaming - do we then MRI scan (£1500 & might not show anything), or put him back on the pills?
Oh, while I am doing a dog-related post, here's an article about dogs in the middle of controlling relationships. Nothing to do with Bob, but made me go :-o. The world has some very odd people in it.
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no subject
Date: 2011-01-26 07:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-27 12:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-27 03:56 pm (UTC)*Assuming they aren't pre-booked by other visitors. Or we are down with a lurgi (although you could nurse us!) Or we are away (but you could still stop, given a way to get keys etc to you).
no subject
Date: 2011-01-26 08:11 pm (UTC)Good article and sadly very true.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-27 12:14 pm (UTC)We will pay for the neutering, but once Bob is rehomed, it would be hard to enforce it. If he needs the previcox longterm, we may end up having to pay for that too...
Bob's breeder produces large numbers of dogs, many of which end up in rescue centres, so even if he were healthy, we'd want to be sure not to add to that problem. One would HOPE nobody would dream of breeding from a 9 year old half-blind dog with possible neurological problems - but people do that sort of thing. :-(
no subject
Date: 2011-01-27 11:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-27 12:03 pm (UTC)The committee aren't happy with the idea of rehoming him entire, even on a 'neuter later' contract - he's altogether too tempting a prospect for someone who was interested in producing pretty saleable pups without any concern for their longer-term health - so that's off the list. Looks like he will be here for a while longer!