Latest News & Updates

We had a nasty scare yesterday. Following a very sedate walk Florence collapsed with very laboured breathing. She has had a partial laryngeal paralysis for some time but at her last vet check a few weeks ago there was no cause for concern. Yesterday however, for whatever reason, she went into a breathing crisis which is very scary. The emergency vet (why do these things always happen out of hours?) on ascertaining that in spite of her laboured breathing she was getting sufficient oxygen, advised that she be kept calm and cool at home. It was the best advice – moving her or bringing a stranger to the house would have stressed her and she needed calm. Interestingly the problem did not effect her appetite which was encouraging. After a lot of TTouch and rest her breathing calmed and by this morning she was more or less back to normal (which for her is heavy rather than laboured breathing).

The normal treatment for laryngeal paralysis is surgery but there are complications which occur quite frequently. Because the flaps in the voice box are tied back in the surgery, there is more likelihood of inhaling water or food which can lead to pneumonia. Given Florence’s age (she’s 12 but an elderly 12) and her other health issues (thyroid, very weak rear end needing assistance now to get up, and cognitive dysfunction) we are very reluctant to put her through surgery, so we have an appointment with a homoeopathic vet next week to see what support we might be able to give her that way. With that, her collar replaced by a harness and lots of TTouch we will see how she goes.

We are always of course mindful that this was the condition that killed Bruno, although his LP was acute and sudden leading him to have to be sedated and intubated to allow him to breathe at all. He didn’t improve and at 14.5 we weren’t going to subject him to a tracheostemy (the only option for treatment for him) so we had to let him go peacefully. Hopefully Florence’s LP is not so extreme and we will be able to control it for a while yet at least.

Keep her in your thoughts – she’s a special dog.

We have had some lovely feedback after Orsa’s appearance on Sharon Osbourne – especially from many people in the breed who thought as we did that Tony did a great job getting across the essence of the breed in a short time and that Orsa was thoroughly gorgeous and beautifully behaved. Most agreed that it was just the right sort of publicity – hopefully one or two folk will decide to get a Maremma because of it. Sarah has already had some people asking her more about the breed and she is going to put some links on her website when she has time.

Only one rather strange response. Apparently Charlotte Walsh stated in her breed notes that Orsa’s litter was discussed! I am not sure which programme she (or her informant) was watching but it certainly wasn’t the one Orsa was on! Completely bizarre – someone needs to get their hearing checked that’s for sure! LOL
But the general consensus was that it was a jolly good thing and that Orsa and Tony are to be congratulated on some excellent breed publicity!