ANAL FURUNCULOSIS - Page 1

Has anyone ever had a GSD have anal furunculosis at the age of 18 months or younger??
I bought a bitch this February(2010),she was 11 months old.I bought her with the intension of breeding from her.With a verbal agreement between her breeders and myself,it was agrred that as long as I had her hips and elbows scored and they were within the breed mean score,then it would be alright to breed from her.
Hip and elbow scoring was done,they were of a very good standard,I informed her breeders and her breeding restrictions were lifted.
I have last week had to take her to my vets as she was licking her anus,she was diagnosed with a large anal furunculosis.Although this condition has not been proven to be hereditary I feel she should not be bred from her,even if she was successfully treated,this was the suggestion put to me by her breeders after saying they were not responsible for this happening,neither would they replace her or refund me.
I have sought legal advice and because I wasn’t given a contract,although I did ask for one,I have no case against her breeders.
I am in a position were I don’t have a bitch to breed from,I cannot get anywhere with her breeders,because I have no contract.Treatment is expensive and does not guarantee me a 100% cure.
My only solution is to have her put to sleep,lick my wounds and try to get on with life.The lesson I have learnt is not to trust anyone ever again,no matter how well I know them!!

I know of a bitch that started with AF as young as that, she was put down by the time she was 3, yes her mother had it and yes a half sibling had it too - AF has familial tendencies.

The breeder needs to stop the line dead now

You need to not look at a dog as a commodity - get your bitch treated and let her live her life until or if it becomes impossible for her to do that.

If you aren't prepared to do that, give the dog to a rescue org that is willing to find a home for her that will treat her as and when is neccassary and love her for being a dog, not a prospective breeding machine deal that went south!

AmbiiGsd.i full heartidly agrre with yu there.the breeder should never again breed from this sire/dam and if other relatives have had this affliction then the line must be stopped and the pedigree sent to Dorothy Cullum and Chris Harvey.scousemouse i am disgusted at your attitude and agree with Ambii gsd.this young lady is flesh and blood,a living creature,not a throw away commodity that needs to be put down just coz yu dont want to spend money and time on trying to treat her condition.SHAME ON YU.i for one would never sell yu one of my puppies.i would go to the ends of the earth for this female if she were mine.at least give her a chance and offer her to a rescue,as someone somewhere will have the compassion to give her a chance to live her a life for as long as she has.it seems to me that yu are only interested in the money she would have provided yu from the puppy sales.YOU DO NOT DESERVE THE LOVE AND AFFECTION FROM THIS WONDERFUL BREED OF GSD,AND NO I WILL NOT APOLOGISE FOR THIS POST.A DISGUSTED GSD OWNER OF 2 OLDIE GSDS AND BREEDER OF RHEINMEISTER GSDS.Carole Spelman.

Are you 100% sure it as AF, i ask this because i had a bitch many years ago diagnosed with AF after months of treatment she was to have surgery.I left her at the vets and by the time i got home 20 mins later  recived a call stayting that as she was being prept for the op they flushed the fistular(sp) and out came a grass seed, i had flushed the fistulars all the time they remained open, so make sure it is a 100% sure.
It is sad to hear that your plans have gone down the pan, but even more so to hear you talk about the bitch being PTS, because she is a comodity, i agree with AmbiiGSD if you can't be bothered ask the rehoming centers and give her a chance, The line should be cut, and hopefully you won't concider getting another GSD or any other breed just incase it can't be bred from, too many people that don't care out there already,

Thank-you the pedigree etc has been given to the Info Group.

It is all very well stating give her a chance, but the operation costs a great  deal of money and so far the treatment certainly is not  fool proof as SCARRING occurs in the bowel and around the Anus, the result is the animal then cannot successfully pass its motion.
Research is on going and at present it appears there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

I presume the results of the pedigree check were received  Scousemouse
 

 

AF treatment is expensive and it's a horrible condition.... but, I have had a dog recover from it, with no problems passing motions etc!

The OP should have tried stocks and shares if it wanted a return on its' money!  What an ass!

If it is a large fistula as you state that it requires operating on WHY did you not notice it before it got to this stage? It can be operated on successfully and the dog can defecate normaly, if caught early enough It can also be managed conservatively without the need for invasive treatment I have a 5 1/2 year old male who was first diagnosed at 14 month, he has had 4 Episodes none requiring surgery as it is treated immediately

OP

I really hope your GP has a different attitude to yours, should you ever suffer with piles....

I have an eight year old bitch with AF since age 3. Her AF was really bad at one stage, as she didn't respond to the cyclosporin, which she was being treated with. Her treatment was changed to Azathioprine and Medrone (which is much cheaper), with the addition of tacrolimus ointment when it was particularly bad. She has been in complete remission for around 3 years and now only has her tablets every 4th day.

My friend had a male GSD that went down with AF at about 18 mths, maybe less.  He had it really bad & needed 3 ops by the time he was 3 yrs.  But that cured it & it never returned.

My current GSD is just 4 yrs & she has it & is being successfully treated with Atopica (cyclosporin) & Antirobe antibiotics.  I also know of several other GSD's succesfully treated with cyclosporin, who have lived to good ages with it in remission. Non eof these had cryo, as it's mostly treated with the cyclosporin these days.

When I got my GSD I wanted to show her & maybe breed from her, but as mentioned many times here she went on to suffer seizures, severe food allergy & HD before the Af manifested.  She has cost me a fortune in vets bills & loss of earnings as i'm self employed, even though she is insured, it takes so long to get the claim processed that the interest rates are rocketing.  I'm on a very low income, so this means no luxuries for me, but I woul dnever have her PTS for of this.

I think to buy & keep a dog purely for breeding/money making is immoral & heartless.  And to have her PTS now when she needs you most is really cruel.  AF doesn't need to mean the end of a dogs life, you should see how mine is living it up & enjoying being totally spoilt rotten.