₦airaland Forum

thenairama:
hi guys i have a basenji hound currently suffering from ear inflammation i have no idea what is causing this
and antibiotics are not working. please has anyone of you experienced this with your dog how did you treat it and how do i get swelling to stop?

That's an aural hematoma. It requires minor surgery. Call your vet asap your dog must be in so much pain.

festaclanre:
I lost your contact

I can be contacted via email:

drgbaksthevet@gmail.com

sunny15:
N
ice thread. Following keenly

Thank you

festaclanre:
missing your write madam.

Awww...
Thanks sir.

Something is cooking...

okikiosibodu:
I can't believe I never saw this thread since my stay on Nairaland. I thought the "diary of Shadow the destroyer" was the heights of it. I took my time to read from page one to this point meticulously (took more than an hour of my time, and I don't regret it).
Your thread brings mixed feelings. I created some threads on my experience with some lovely canines (I am a cynophile, but I don't have the financial capacity to cater for any canine companion for now, but I sure will get some at the right time). Before I got my current job, sometimes last year I really wanted to get close to many dogs. This birthed a desire to work in a vertinary clinic or kennel even if it is to be cleaning the kennels and getting some financial appreciation monthly to keep soul and spirit together, but I have considered not reading anything close to vertinary an issue ( I read Geography and Regional Planning). If I had gotten a placement, I would have had sweet experiences (and several bites that would have brought laughter to the lips later) like your.
I so much appreciate our canine friends cos they are always honest. They kind of give you clue to know your status: whether or not you have been accepted into the pack... And once you are accepted into the pack, you remain a pack members cos they are loyal.
I enjoyed your thread, and I must confess, you have an excellent command of diction and excellent choice of words. Kudos to you.
May I know your location in Ibadan?
If you don't mind, here is a link to one of my threads.
https://www.nairaland.com/3289738/diary-last-visit-dogbreath-kennel
That reminds me, what is your opinion -What breed should a first time dog owner like me start with: Boerboel (the brindle been my favourite), a Rott ( cos the black and tan colouring is kind of generic) , not a GSD (the Sable coated GSD been my favourite), and state your reasons... I hope I am no digressing the thread...

Hello Okikiosibodu,

Thank you for taking out time to read the thread. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I'll endeavour to go through our thread when I can. I'm sure it will be great.

As regards your question,
The choice of a dog for a first-time owner depends on a number of factors:

1. Maintenance - Some dogs are low while others are high maintenance dogs. What this means is that some dogs require less/more attention and probably cost less/more to maintain. This could be due to their coats, colour; specific breed needs etc.

2. Popularity - Some dogs are more popular in a region then others. The more common a breed is the better the adaptability to that region.

3. Children - Some dogs are more suited to children than others. Friendly etc.

4. Aggression - Some dog breeds exhibit more aggression than others.

All these factors and more should be put into consideration when choosing a dog as a first timer.

I'll recommend the GSD- because they fit the bill ever so nicely.
They are relatively low maintenance, are a popular breed in Nigeria, good with children (of you have any) and typically not so aggressive.

Hope this helps?

JoinMarco:
3 ques dear drgbarks;
How regularly should I -
1. Deworm
2. Give antibiotics
3. Give abtirabies
Thanks

Hi JoinMarco,

Thanks for your questions.

1. Deworming regimen depends on your dog's age.
Puppies should first be dewormed at 2 weeks of age because puppies can get worms from their mother via the placenta. Then every 2 weeks till they are 3 months old.
From 3-6 months, they should be dewormed every month.
7-12 months- every other month.
1 year and older- every 3 months.

2. You shouldn't give your dog's antibiotics. That is your vet's job.
Antibiotics is only administered when there is a bacterial or viral infection (if needed) and should not be abused to prevent antibiotic resistance.

3. Antirabies is given at 3 months of age and every year thereafter.

aywhy93:
I'm just reading your Thread for the first time, A-Z... It's so interesting and you've really showed how almost perfect you're in your profession And I was like 'Thank God. I've seen the best Vet ooh'... Cuz I stay in Ibadan too and I just got my puppy 2 weeks ago.

I was about to suggest this @bolded straight up and on getting to the last page of the thread, saw you are already working towards it.

I'm a tech blogger/Web developer and I own two top&active blogs in Nigeria. Feel free to ask for help if you need any concerning your blog, small or big, I'll be more than willing to help someone who is voluntarily sharing vital info with others. Cheers..!

Thank you so much aywhy93. I appreciate the support and I'll definitely get in touch.

nadalion:
I'm just loving the feeling your stories bring. Please if it's not much of a bother, I'll like to see you throw in a few tips once in a while ON ANY SUBJECT regarding did (how to groom, care, etc) for would be owners of dogs.
Good job, keep it up.

Hi dear,
It's no bother at all.
I'll share my blog details soon.
There you'll have tips and so on.
Thank you.

mercytripletz:
Dear Doctor, I so much love your write-ups. You are such a great professional..

Can you tell your readers things about yourself? Stuffs like How you came to have passion for animals. like, was it from young-age or
What are your Hobbies? Have you gotten awards yet?(Because you should really have many awards oo.)
.
You mentioned finishing from UI. how much I love UI,always producing intelligent graduates... have you ever had challenges studying Vet.Med in UI? When did you graduate?

please please tell us so many things

Hi,
Thank you for your appreciation for what I do.
I appreciate that you want to know more about me and my profession and I'm willing to share.

Watch out for my blog coming soon.
I'll be sharing more details about me and the Nigerian Vet School there.

Thanks again.
Cheers!

Seun:
Has this thread been derailed?

Oga Seun, not at all sir

ThatIgboBoy:
So far so gud,you have been discussing mostly on dogs.
Are those the only animals vets in Nigeria attend to? There is this vet that has a programme on Nat-geo wild,Dr Pol and i see him attending to different animals. He delivers cows and horses finding it difficult to deliver. He attends to dogs,cats,just name it.
But it seems most vets in Nigeria just handle dogs and many eventually become dog breeders and sellers

Hi ThatIgboBoy,

Thanks for your question. Just like in medicine there are different specialities in Veterinary Medicine. I'm a companion animal doctor so I treat mainly dogs and cats, occassionally birds and monkeys.

Large animal veterinarians handle horses, cattle etc and there are many such veterinarians in Nigeria. Go to any large animal farm you'll see them. Same goes to the vets that work in the zoos- they are called exotic veterinarians or the ones that work with poultry. Occassionally you have all- purpose veterinarians same way we have general physicians.

Similarly, veterinarians play an active and very important role in public health. We are usually at the abbattoirs to ensure that healthy animals are slaughtered and that you, the populace get safe and wholesome meat fit for consumption. I was privileged to work at an abbattoir while serving our beloved country, Nigeria.

The title of this post is "Dog Chronicles"- so all the stories you read here will be about dogs. It would be weird to see a "Dog Chronicles" title and read about horses or cows, wouldn't it?

Finally, it's worthy of note that most of the vets in the UK and the USA are companion animal doctors. This is based on the simple fact that more people have cats and dogs than they do horses and cattle.

Hope I have been able to enlighten you?

#DogChronicles #Day15

I returned home one fateful day to meet an urgent message from one of my clients. Apparently, said client had sent "his boy" to my house severally while I was away, all in a bid to inform me that there was an emergency with one of his dogs.

I hurried to his house, which thankfully was nearby only to find out that the youngest dog- Bruno (a puppy of about 11 weeks) had suffered a large injury to his head. I was dismayed!

Let me give a little background story here. This client had six other dogs- three of which were Lhasa Apsos, one an Alsatian, another a Caucasian and finally a Alsatian/local mix. His Caucasian was a really big and aggressive male that was frequently used for stud services. My client preferred to be paid with a male puppy (instead of cash) after a successful mating.

It so happened that when Bruno was delivered, it turned out he was NOT at all a Caucasian breed. My client felt ripped off but accepted the dog anyway.

The first time I saw Bruno, he was barely 6 weeks. I noticed he hadn't been properly introduced to the other dogs and as a result he was being bullied and attacked by them. I expressed my concerns to the handlers and the owner but they were still bitter. He wasn't what they expected. "He was a local dog", they said.

Somehow, I believed the other dogs sensed this animosity towards Bruno. It was evident in the way they attacked him; oftentimes, he was left alone in a corner looking sad, while the others could almost always be seen playing together. I felt for little Bruno. He was unloved and he knew it.

Fast forward to that fateful day. I found out that one of the older dogs had attacked him as i had feared. I did the best I could and stitched him up. I also cautioned his handlers to keep him indoors for the time being.

When I went for his follow up treatment the next day, Bruno was dead. His handlers had woken up to find Bruno eviserated. Oh! How I mourned Bruno! My one regret? I should have adopted him.

Pidgin2:
Why the sudden change? I'm sure some trolls have been bothering you

Hi dear,
Not at all . All Nairalanders that have contacted me have been nothing but decent and courteous. My phone was actually stolen and I didn't bother to retrive that line since i had 2 glo lines prior to the incident.

Thank you.

Abra4real:
Eewo!

I have a question, doc! Can I breed the female dog in the pictures below with a German Shepherd?

Hello Abra4real,

You can! {Meaning it is practically possible to do so}.But I would advise you not to.

Why is it advisable not to breed your dog with a GSD?

1. There are different categories of dog based on body size. A GSD is a large breed of dog while yours is a small to medium breed. What usually happens is that when a small/ medium-sized dog gets pregnant, because of the bigger breed that mated her, her foetuses sizes are usually unknown. The puppies, might not necessarily be large but could have heads too large for the female dog to give birth to naturally. This can cause difficult labour, unnecessary strain/stress and inadvertently the death of your female if she is not handled properly.

2. Because you are a responsible dog owner.

#DogChronicles #Day14

The day was almost over, I looked forward to the close of work after a hectic day at the clinic. The clock read 5:50pm. Ten more minutes I silently chanted to myself, smiling delightedly. Ten more minutes and i could go home, relax, have a good dinner and surf the net. A perfect end to an incredibly busy and tiring day. Alas! It was not to be.

At precisely, 5:55pm, my boss called me to go on an ambulatory visit. To say I was upset was an understatement. All the same, I packed my things and went to see my patients.

On getting there, I discovered that there were 9 dogs - a mixture of Rottweilers and brindled Boerboels- all male.

Their handler called me aside saying, "doctor, there is one, hin tin don big." Not fully comprehending, I asked him to show me the one. I couldn't believe my eyes! It was the biggest scrotum I had ever seen on a dog. Up untill then, I hadn't witnessed a case that bad. I examined him quickly. His temperature was sky rocketing, he could barely walk and was in obvious distress. It was painful watching him try to walk. I knew immediately that I had to take the poor dog back with me to the clinic.

I got to work treating the other eight dogs quickly. It was a routine treatment- deworming and vaccinations.

On getting to the clinic, every one was startled. "What is that?" - was the question on everyone's lips as they pointed at the poor dog. My colleague was almost convinced it was a hernia. It was that huge!

We put him on the table, examined carefully and properly and concluded it was indeed Orchitis- inflammation of the scrotum. Antibiotics and pain relievers were administered daily for a week. By the 7th day, our dear boerboel was ready to go home with a normal-sized scrotum.

His handler was so relieved when he came to pick him up and I learnt that sometimes great opportunities happen at the least favourable times.

drgbaks:
You can contact me on 07055250210.

Hi all.
Please note: this number is invalid now.

I can be reached via email:

gliters4jc@yahoo.com

Thank you.

Oluseye20:
the first time I took my first Bichon to a reputable vet in Abuja years back, I gotta register her n the vet attending to her wrote Lhasa as her breed even before I could say a word so I corrected him immediately which bought about d attention of all the vets available and they all claimed I didn't know dogs like they did. I stood on my word since I knew what I owned so they brought out a dog dictionary (didn't know one existed) and they discovered I was right after all.

my point is many ppl mistake Bichon for Lhasa (even the professionals). The OP for example said "she's a mixture of Lhasa and Terrier" which means she acknowledges the fact that the dog ain't Lhasa (at least not a full breed) but she might not realize it is a full breed Bichon Frisé. Bichon Maltese are easily identified than Frisé. I'll like you to Google then. lovely pets they re

Hi.
Thanks for initiating this intelligent argument. There are a 1000 and more dog breeds out there and dog breeds is hardly a topic covered in Nigerian Veterinary Schools basically because the course work is so extensive for the 6 years of study.

Any day anytime, I'll be the first to let you know that veterinarians are not necessarily breeders. I've found out from experience that very good breeders are better at identifying dog breeds than a number of vets- which makes a lot of sense since vets are primarily concerned about caring for the health of dogs ( and other animals)which is a lot in itself.

That being said, the onus is on every professional to be ahead of his or her game and the call for continuing education is repetitive and important.

As for the dog in case study- Snow- there's a possibilty, he's Bichon but don't they usually have curled tails? Another Lhasa-look alike breed is the Coton de Tuléar and there are several more.
I've attached more pictures of 'groomed' Snow for your perusal. Do let me know what you think?

Thanks.

Sacluxpaint:
Please I don't know who that is.

He is here on Nairaland. If you don't mind sharing your contact. I'll ask him to contact you. Thank you.

Abra4real:
Is that really a mongrel? Our vet identified this dog in the picture below as mongrel. Maybe it's a mixed breed.

Hi.
Yes it is. Contrary to what most people think a mongrel is not necessarily a local dog but a dog of uncertain or mixed origin.
So calling the dog in the pictures you posted above a mongrel is not incorrect.

Sacluxpaint:
How much is a dobberman pinscher going for?

Ask Osomegbe. He has high quality imported dobberman pinschers.

beewhy009:
Great work doc, keep it up. Btw i have some questions that I don't still seem to get an answer to after i lost Tessy(It was 6 weeks old) and the VET failed yo convince me enough. When it clocked 6 weeks and 2 days, i took it to the Vet as his first time visit as i was told earlier by the VET to come. He was given 1 shot of DLHPP, an injection to treat a bacterial infection as was told(cuz of watery eyes), treated with a chemical for ticks and also given one other vaccine injection (can't remember its name). I took the dog home afterwards and by evening he kinda lost appetite. By morning, he ate a little and i went out. I was later called while still out that he has vomited more than thrice already and he got so weak he couldn't stand up nor even sit. Then i was rushing back home to see it and meanwhile i had called the VET since he started vomiting but he said he will get to normal or call back after a while. When i got back home, i met my pup having seizures and it was such a gory state. I quickly drove down with him to see the VET and i was told he was showing signs of poisoning. Either food poisoning, snake / even scorpion bites. He was given an injection(to stop the probably poison effecta) after getting some drips earlier on and i was told to leave it. Yet the dog was still on the ground with no improvement, still having the seizures, off balance, head rolling and hypersalivating. I left and went home amidst tears and prayers but i received the bombshell by 9.am the following morning of his demise. I now asked the VET if it was as a result of vaccine failure that i lost my dog but he said NO. I lost tessy under unclear circumstances and it hurts. If you have any possible observation as to why i lost him, explain to me please...

Hmmmm... . Tessy's passing was so sad and unfortunate. I sympathize with you.

From reading your surmise, I can only give an informed conjecture. But before I do that, let me clarify somethings.

1. DHLPP is a vaccine given to prevent 5 diseases: Canine Distemper; Hepatitis; Leptospirosis (which is Bacterial in nature and the only one which is); Parainflenza and Parvovirus. All of these apart from the one italized above are viral diseases.

2. The DHLPP Vaccine ideally should be given at 8weeks of age NOT 6 weeks. Sometimes in Nigeria, veterinarians give to puppies (whose dams (mothers) are of uncertain vaccination history) earlier than 8weeks to provide protection after maternity antibodies might have waned off. This should not be the norm.

Back to my conjecture, It's likely your dog had insecticide toxicity. How do I mean? At 6 weeks, the chemical used on Tessy to kill the ticks could have been too strong leading to those signs you saw hypersalivating, vomiting, weakness, seizures, tremors etc.
Also, because Tessy was earlier vaccinated that day; her immune system would have been temporary weakened, making it easier for her to succumb to the effects of the toxicity and eventually death.

It's also highly probable that she was somehow in contact with some insecticide poison (e.g sniper) after getting home from the vet.

A lot of possibilities really.
Only a post mortem immediately afterwards (including detailed history) could have given you the answers you seek.

P.S: Please always ensure your vet is a trained, qualified, experienced and registered veterinarian with the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Assocation(NVMA) and Veterinary Council of Nigeria (VCN). Ask for his/her registration number.
There are so many quacks out there disparaging our profession.

Hope I have been able to answer your questions somewhat?

Once again, accept my deep sympathies.

DocAdray:
Great job doc, making our noble profession proud and, you write well too... Keep up the good work!
A.B.U. DVM (2013)

Thank you dear colleague.

teejaypee:

wow wow wow!

So glad to be here!

I can't wait to start practicing too though ...

Drgbaks, great job...

Glad you are inspired.

soath:
#WehdoneSir

Aywire:
Amazing, simply amazing...

Thank you

raphy:
I have never seen a woman so passionate about her job like this my God .. I love dogs so much I have not gotten any yet but am plannin to buy soon.they are better than a security guard at your house at night.5 wicked dogs in your compound can be a treat to robbers at night.

So thanks fir sharing your joy with dogs to us.uiu must have schooled outside I guess.nice job

Your words warm my heart. Thank you so much. And FYI, I studied at the Prestigious University of Ibadan (UI)

mercytripletz:
Wow.. I so much Love this!!!!!!!

Thanks

ChiefSweetus:
AMAZING thread! Accept my highest regards, Doctor..

I'm honoured to. Many thanks.

kechywillz:
I love dogs alot,but I don't have one,when I will be ready to buy one, I'll contact you Doc...More especially those little hairy ones

The Toy Breeds? Yes, yes no problem at all. Thank you.
Whenever you are ready please contact me via:
Email: gliters4jc@yahoo.com
Thanks.

HyDef:
I love dogs. When i was much younger, I wanted to be a vet. It's great to see the work you are doing. Keep it up.

Many Thanks

multibalotel:
u just made my day ma'am. Thanks for showing dogs all the love and care they deserve.... gracias

I'm glad I made your day. Thank you too for reading.

rayforjay:
That is true,she is sure a good writer.Don't even want d chronicles to finish.Am just wowed about her stories.

Many thanks. Dog Chronicles continue next week.