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Hi all, Zilla was diagnosed today as having spondylosis. On a scale of 1-10 (with ten being the worst she had seen), the vet said his was about a 6-7. We are making an appt with the specialty ortho/neuro vet tomorrow. He is able to walk, but has developed a pretty severe hump in his back and shuffle...

I haven't been on here lately due to work and school, but I wanted to thank you Kiwana for the link. We started massage this week in addition to the acupuncture. I know they told me to expect him to possibly get worse due to soreness, but he is acting really shaky and in pain since we did it. I gave...

Update: I don't feel like the adequan did much for Zilla. We started the acupunture after a month of treatment of adequan, with little results after the first shot. We go for our third acupuncture session today however, and I feel like the acupuncture is doing more for Zilla than any medicine or the...

I think you have to do what is best for your baby, and that may not be what is best for someone else's baby. Many of the things we have tried are probably "unsafe" in other's minds, however they provided relief and quality at a time when we thought the end was near. We monitor his bloodwor...

Aawww, thanks. He's my big sweetie, and his personality is even more spectacular. He is the sweetest soul, and he has endured so much in his life and yet always has hope and love to give. All of your chows in the banner are just beautiful!

My baby Tango took Deramaxx during the last few months of her life, and she was like a puppy again. For Zilla, it hasn't done much. We just started him on Adequan two weeks ago, and are seeing some improvement but not a ton. Zilla is an enigma though, as his arthritis is combined with pemphigus, and...

Thank you for the info. It's much appreciated!

We ended up waiting on the accupuncture because we started adequan shots on Tuesday at the regular vet appointment. We didn't want to start two new treatments right together, as we wouldn't know which one was working if we saw a miraculous improvement. We still plan to start the accupuncture in a co...

Thank you both for your experiences and input. Zilla has an appointment tomorrow, and for anyone else who might be thinking about accupuncture for their Chow, I will let you know what I think about it.

I'm so sorry to hear this news. My heart is with you!

Hi All, I know that some of you on the board have tried accupuncture on your Chows, and I was wondering if you could give me your thoughts on it. I would like to know what to expect, and if you think it helped. We are debating it for Zilla with his Pemphigus and Rheumatoid arthritis. He has good day...

This makes me so sad to hear this, but I am so happy at the same time that she found her wonderful adoptive family.

Did your vet ever tell you what he suspected was wrong? Also, and this may be totally unrelated to pemphigus, biopsies in pemphigus/autoimmune cases are often inconclusive. They can be hard to pin down. What Jeff suggested about the university is a good idea. Please let us know what you find out!

Hi Donna, I'm so sorry to hear what you are going through with your vet. You don't need this on top of having a sick baby! I've had good vets, bad vets, and exceptional vets. A good vet will welcome you Googling or doing whatever you can to find out what is wrong with your baby. He/She may explain w...

Hi, I'm so sorry to hear about Zeus. I have a 10 year old male named Zilla. We adopted him when he was 4, when he retired from showing. When we adopted him he had all the exact symptoms you mention. With a lot of investigative work,by myself and our vet, we finally diagnosed him with pemphigus. Pemp...

Hi Jacqui, I've been off the board for awhile, and just logged in today and saw this thread. I'm so sorry to hear about Chyna. I know where you are coming from-with Zilla it's hit and miss. I don't know if you've ever tried this, but recently my vet put Zilla on a combo of tetracycline and niacinami...

Susan,
I'm so sorry for your loss. Please accept my deepest condolences.

Jeff,
I'm so sorry for your loss. Just know that every day of happiness means a lifetime for Chows that get a second chance! You did such a wonderful thing bringing her into your home!

I shave Zilla mainly due to his autoimmune disorder skin condition. The sores heal better when the air can get to them. I thought Missy was going to have a heat stroke when she first arrived from Canada, so I gave her a good clip and she seems to enjoy the coolness. I only clip them short in the mai...

Here are some more recent pics of Zilla and Missy together. She has her summer cut in these pics, it's a little short in these pics but is more of a short cut instead of a shave now. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/tanaratige/IMG_3211resize.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y169/tanaratige/...

What a beautiful boy! You did such a wonderful thing for him!

Zilla got like that after we had a raccoon visit the backyard one night. Now I just turn on a nightlight for him if we get up in the middle of the night and he is fine.

Thank you all for all of your kind words! She really doesn't look or act 10 years old-Not a drop of arthritis or gray hair, and lots of energy! We went to the vet this week for a senior wellness checkup and the vet told me she was in fabulous health and all of her bloodwork was perfect. I was so rel...

Hi Guys, Sorry for the lack of contact lately, I've been up to my ears in homework! I wanted to introduce my new little girl Missy. She came to us back in June through a rescue in Canada. She is 10 years old, and just such a sweetheart! She has had a rough life, so sometimes she is a little scared o...

Also they can lose pigment. When I first adopted Zilla, he had a deep purple tongue and was a BIS and freshly retired from the ring due to getting sick. 5 Years later he only has a few dots of purple left on his tongue. Apparently pemphigus attacks the pigment, and he happens to have it bad in his m...