# What is your most feared health issue?



## Keithsomething (Oct 31, 2009)

Like you said they're all equally horrible, but I know for me personally addisons (just because of how quickly it can be set off) and immune issues scare the bejesus out of me...ever since Elphie's pseudo seizure we have a Blood panel ran every 3-4 months just to make sure everything is running smoothly, we've gotten lucky with her health and we're hoping for many more years of that same luck!

But as someone that may decide to breed, the ones that do not yet have DNA tests petrify me :/ 
If in fact these diseases are polygenetic than they could potentially pop up anywhere at anytime...and that's terrifying


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Bloat, hands down. You can go to work in the morning with a healthy, young, vibrant dog and come home to a dog that has passed away. And, to make matters worse, we really have no idea what causes it or what actions, short of surgical intervention, we can successfully take to prevent it.


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## schnauzerpoodle (Apr 21, 2010)

For me, it has to be acute pancreatitis. You could easily think it's an usual episode of diarrhea. The dog could go into a coma within hours and it is VERY VERY painful for the dog.


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## Rowan (May 27, 2011)

I've had a rescue with diabetes and another was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma. I'd have to go with the latter--cancer--because a poodle can live and even thrive with diabetes and many of the autoimmune diseases. Brandy was blind as a result of the diabetes and he managed just fine. (And in many cases of blindness, such as Brandy's, cataract surgery is an option.) 

There is little that can be done in most cases of hemangiosarcoma tumors. 

I don't ever want to hear that diagnosis from my vet again.


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## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

Bloat and Addisons are the two things that terrify me. Addisons can be managed to some degree and the dog can live a relatively normal life, but just the fear that it CAN happen, regardless of how careful a breeder is, is just too scary. And bloat...after recently watching my Mother's beloved boy suffer through two episodes in five weeks, I pray I NEVER witness this again. And you are so right CM....if it should happen when the dog is alone, it is most likely doomed. If we are home, even rushing it off to the vet for surgical intervention may be too late. It is horrible that just the build of a Poodle puts them at risk.


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## Ruth (Nov 18, 2010)

To me, Juvenile Renal Disease, cancer, bloat.

I've lost two very beloved and very special dogs to the first two, my 15 month-old German Shepherd puppy to the first and my almost 14 year-old toy poodle to the second.
Both were horrible and devastating diagnosis, and while my toy baby was in treatment for two more years and did pretty well til she went downhill pretty quickly, the JRD was even worse, as nothing could be done. After two weeks the vet finally discovered what was the real problem, her kidneys were too far gone by then, my baby was gone way too fast, too early, too unexpectedly.

I don't wish neither of these upon the most terrible person in the world.


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

Bloat.. you can never predict when it'll pop up, and even in lines that it's never shown up before, a dog can bloat under the right circumstances. This is something that can kill a dog FAST! So what if you're at work all day? What if you don't wake up at night? This is what scares me.

I've met an addisons dog in person, and she's living a very healthy, happy life. This doesn't scare me as much. You would have never known she had it if her owner didn't tell you.


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

bloat terrifies me. 

that's followed by autoimmune hemolytic anemia which is what got my beloved german shepherd 6 years ago. he was healthy and beautiful then a week later he was dead. i still cry over it.


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## Trillium (Sep 1, 2009)

IMT or any of the immune mediated diseases. I lost my much loved spoo Sport to one and I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy. It could have been a horrible end and it was a heartbreaking roller coaster ride that ended in us having to put him down because his liver was failing from the meds. 

There are so many possible causes and I just don't see many reports of it on phr. However there is a link to over vaccination so all of you out there please be careful about it.


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## Siskojan (Mar 13, 2011)

Bloat terrifies me. Sisko is a belcher par excellence but I reckon it's better out than in. He has a slow feeding bowl and a grain free diet and pet insurance and I watch him like a hawk. I never knew about bloat until after we had agreed on having him and I tend to get a bit bent out of shape over possible harm to my loved ones . I regularly practice the acupressure point on him just to keep my hand in - in case!


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## 2719 (Feb 8, 2011)

It seems to me that the most feared health issue of posters so far is those in which they have personal experience with.

Totally understandable. I fear bloat..for all the afore mentioned reasons (luckily I do not have personal experience with bloat).

But I really really fear cancer. Let me clarify...untreatable cancer.

I have had many dogs, in the past, who have suffered a myriad of health issues. But the worst, worst, worst was cancer. We were helpless...from the moment of diagnosis until we made the heart wrenching decision to let our beloved Suzy go we could do nothing to stop this incidious disease. Slow its progress, sure...but the end result was going to be the same....The End.


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## onlypoodles4me (May 18, 2009)

Bloat/Torsion!


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Truelove - Cancer is terrible! I lost my first family poodle, Tony, to cancer. He was 11. It was so hard to see his health deteriorate. It had metastasized and there was nothing we could do except try to extend his life with a homemade diet and keep him comfortable. He lived about another year. It was horribly devastating. 

For me, I think that bloat still is far more terrifying, personally, because it can happen out of the blue and you cannot prepare. Also, not being able to say goodbye is what scares me most. I don't know what I would do if ANY health issue happened to any of my poodles when they would suddenly die without me having the time to accept that fact or to get that one last kiss or cuddle in.

One of Millie's sisters suddenly passed away recently. Out of nowhere. 18 month old dog found dead. This reminded me that there are no guarantees and that we cannot take everything around us for granted. I give my dogs an extra squeeze whenever I remember this.


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## phrannie (Jan 8, 2011)

ChocolateMillie said:


> Bloat, hands down. You can go to work in the morning with a healthy, young, vibrant dog and come home to a dog that has passed away. And, to make matters worse, we really have no idea what causes it or what actions, short of surgical intervention, we can successfully take to prevent it.


*Me too....it's a RIGHT NOW emergency...and so many what if's go thru my mind....what if I was at work, what if it was the middle of the night, and Moj didn't seek our help....and then there's the "specific to MoJo" parts of the what if's....what if he couldn't get into the Jeep....he's almost 130 lbs, and if in pain, might not be very cooperative....what about his aftercare....he's hell on wheels at a Vet's office....SO many things with him.

He's already got a chronic illness, but we are able to pretty much control that without multiple Vet visits....however, if he ever got anything that required him to go the Vets often, I would probably have to put him down....a VERY scary thought.

p *


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## jasperspoo (Feb 25, 2011)

Bloat for me, too. It's so unpredictable and like others have said, it's a right away emergency with no guarantees that even the surgery will be successful. Jasper was gastropexied when he was neutered at 14 months, but that doesn't mean that I don't watch him like a hawk!


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## fracturedcircle (Aug 19, 2010)

cancer terrifies me, in anyone.


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## Apres Argent (Aug 9, 2010)

All are horrible, 
HD= a young dog in pain, greatly shortens life span
Addisons= if caught early and treated dogs can and do live long lives
Bloat=terrifying, and most will bloat again even if tacked. 
SA= This is the worst thing in my eyes, no treatment that works in most cases.


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

I fear them all. I lost a beloved 8 year old dog years back to Auto Immune Hemolytic Anemia, despite the best efforts of five veterinary nephrologists at The Animal Medical Center in NYC. My next dog was blessed to live to 16+, basically dying of old age. I don't even begin to know what to worry about most. Just anything that would cause suffering, and/or premature death. I am _definitely_ going to have nightmares tonight!


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## Spoofer (Sep 12, 2009)

Chagall's mom said:


> I fear them all. I lost a beloved 8 year old dog years back to Auto Immune Hemolytic Anemia, despite the best efforts of five veterinary nephrologists at The Animal Medical Center in NYC. My next dog was blessed to live to 16+, basically dying of old age. I don't even begin to know what to worry about most. Just anything that would cause suffering, and/or premature death. I am _definitely_ going to have nightmares tonight!


I'm having nightmares every night right now... my 3 year old Spoo L.E. Belle was diagnosed with IMHA May 24th. We caught it very early (all because she came in from playing and laid down on the floor in front of us and started shaking - very odd). She is on massive doses of Prednesone, Azathioprine and started cyclosporin 4 weeks ago. She started at a 28 blood count down to 11 and is now back up to 30. She sees a specialist every 2 weeks now and they're going to give her human immunoglobulin(?) next week if she isn't better. We have to get her off the steroids, or we'll lose her from that....This is where i say that i don't know what we'd do if we didn't have pet insurance - this has been incredibly expensive. She is such a sweet dog - not suffering, the vet says...and we're in it for the long haul with her. Our vet says that some dogs do make it, and she is young and strong... It is a hideous disease...


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Oh, spoofer, I am sorry you are dealing with this.

My worst fear is cancer. That's what ultimately took my last spoo at 11 years old. Before that she was nearly blind, had hip dysplasia, skin problems, etcetera- really a mess of poodle diseases. I felt lucky we had her as long as we did. This was one more reason we were so anal about health testing for our new poodle.


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## papoodles (Jun 27, 2011)

We've already experienced toe cancer in our black poodle at 9 yrs of age, and hemangiosarcoma, which took him from us at almost 12 yrs of age.
My 11 yr old was diagnosed three years ago with SA, which is a PAIN to mange, but it can be done, with for us, very good results.
Toe cancer, if caught early, does not condemn a dog to death..and neither does SA.
But cancer generally, as well as bloat- might not have such good outcomes, and so these dignosis those scare me a lot.
However- I would say that any genetic illness that is dignosed at a very early age, with potentially traumatic outcome, that would be the 'worst' for me..


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

Spoofer said:


> I'm having nightmares every night right now... my 3 year old Spoo L.E. Belle was diagnosed with IMHA May 24th. We caught it very early (all because she came in from playing and laid down on the floor in front of us and started shaking - very odd). She is on massive doses of Prednesone, Azathioprine and started cyclosporin 4 weeks ago. She started at a 28 blood count down to 11 and is now back up to 30. She sees a specialist every 2 weeks now and they're going to give her human immunoglobulin(?) next week if she isn't better. We have to get her off the steroids, or we'll lose her from that....This is where i say that i don't know what we'd do if we didn't have pet insurance - this has been incredibly expensive. She is such a sweet dog - not suffering, the vet says...and we're in it for the long haul with her. Our vet says that some dogs do make it, and she is young and strong... It is a hideous disease...


*

Spoofer:* So sorry you are dealing with this! I hope things will go well for your L.E. Belle. Right you are: some dogs_ do_ overcome IMHA, all good wishes for her to be among the lucky ones.


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## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

I am very sorry Spoofer to hear about L.E.!! It is wonderful that she is doing well and has lasted this long. Its great that you are able to treat her and do whatever it takes. My thoughts will be with you on this difficult journey. Good luck!!


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## fidelity (Sep 24, 2014)

Spoofer said:


> I'm having nightmares every night right now... my 3 year old Spoo L.E. Belle was diagnosed with IMHA May 24th. We caught it very early (all because she came in from playing and laid down on the floor in front of us and started shaking - very odd). She is on massive doses of Prednesone, Azathioprine and started cyclosporin 4 weeks ago. She started at a 28 blood count down to 11 and is now back up to 30. She sees a specialist every 2 weeks now and they're going to give her human immunoglobulin(?) next week if she isn't better. We have to get her off the steroids, or we'll lose her from that....This is where i say that i don't know what we'd do if we didn't have pet insurance - this has been incredibly expensive. She is such a sweet dog - not suffering, the vet says...and we're in it for the long haul with her. Our vet says that some dogs do make it, and she is young and strong... It is a hideous disease...


what's that accupressure point? 
where can i learn more about accupressure ot any other ways to prevent or ease discomfort? 
my boy diagnosed with imha and is suffering from the drugs: it's so hard to watch! scared to tweak food or anything else because the chemistry is so mysterious.
we have a frantic episode every couple of days; he's getting skin lesions now; the vets don't know why (reaction to drugs? immune system so suppressed that some opportunistic bacteria is intruding?) and they don't seem to have any idea how to find a solution. would be grateful for any suggestions


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## fidelity (Sep 24, 2014)

Siskojan said:


> Bloat terrifies me. Sisko is a belcher par excellence but I reckon it's better out than in. He has a slow feeding bowl and a grain free diet and pet insurance and I watch him like a hawk. I never knew about bloat until after we had agreed on having him and I tend to get a bit bent out of shape over possible harm to my loved ones . I regularly practice the acupressure point on him just to keep my hand in - in case!


what's that accupressure point? 
where can i learn more about accupressure ot any other ways to prevent or ease discomfort? 
my boy diagnosed with imha and is suffering from the drugs: it's so hard to watch! scared to tweak food or anything else because the chemistry is so mysterious.
we have a frantic episode every couple of days; he's getting skin lesions now; the vets don't know why (reaction to drugs? immune system so suppressed that some opportunistic bacteria is intruding?) and they don't seem to have any idea how to find a solution. would be grateful for any suggestions


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## fidelity (Sep 24, 2014)

Spoofer said:


> I'm having nightmares every night right now... my 3 year old Spoo L.E. Belle was diagnosed with IMHA May 24th. We caught it very early (all because she came in from playing and laid down on the floor in front of us and started shaking - very odd). She is on massive doses of Prednesone, Azathioprine and started cyclosporin 4 weeks ago. She started at a 28 blood count down to 11 and is now back up to 30. She sees a specialist every 2 weeks now and they're going to give her human immunoglobulin(?) next week if she isn't better. We have to get her off the steroids, or we'll lose her from that....This is where i say that i don't know what we'd do if we didn't have pet insurance - this has been incredibly expensive. She is such a sweet dog - not suffering, the vet says...and we're in it for the long haul with her. Our vet says that some dogs do make it, and she is young and strong... It is a hideous disease...


we have had two transfusions of blood AND human IG transfusion.
after 60 days on meds (prednisone, mycophenelate, azathioprine plus stuff for nausea, diarrhea, clots, acid reflux) pcv is stuck at just barely 35, vets added another immune suppressant and we got skin lesions -- pus oozing out in no particular pattern but creating open sores. nightmare. and they have no idea what causes it? 
There must be an expert out there somewhere!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

fidelity I am sorry you are having such problems, but this is a really old thread (last posts before yours were in 2011) so I don't know that the people who you quoted will necessarily see or respond. I suggest you start your own thread to ask your questions. A fresh start on your specific issues may get you more answers.


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## fidelity (Sep 24, 2014)

lily cd re said:


> fidelity I am sorry you are having such problems, but this is a really old thread (last posts before yours were in 2011) so I don't know that the people who you quoted will necessarily see or respond. I suggest you start your own thread to ask your questions. A fresh start on your specific issues may get you more answers.


Thanks. I have no idea how to do that, obviously don't spend a lot of time on-line. Feeling inadequate in a number of ways, appreciate your kindness


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

fidelity said:


> Thanks. I have no idea how to do that, obviously don't spend a lot of time on-line. Feeling inadequate in a number of ways, appreciate your kindness



Go to the forum home page and scroll down to Poodle Health. Open that section and you will see the list of threads. At the top left above the list of threads you will see a button to click on that says start new thread. Click it and you will get the window that you can make your entry in. It will look a lot like a reply box.


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