noisymina

Thank you! Yes. I had by-passed the Sentinal - assumed it was a flea thing, but they must make more than just flea treatment. Yes - she would need two tablets - and if there are only 4 per box, then not a good deal! So far....................... I have ........................... Option one: 6 Heartguard (chewable) $29.80 (@ six week intervals gives 9 months) Drontal Chewable all-wormer 2 for $30.35 (every 3 months will be $45) for the 9 months Total would be $75 Option 2: 6 Sentinal Spectrum is $78 (at six weekly intervals) BUT dog is getting twice the drugs needed every six weeks. If used monthly, then two out of three months. And every dose would include flea treatment she does not need.

Glad I am not alone, then. Hehehe

I'm looking to order the next lot of wormers for the dog and the two cats. And came across this one. I looks like it could be very economical as it covers both the intestinal worms and the heartworm. I do have questions, tho. It says it is for dogs to 20kg - the large one - but my dog is 33kg - can I give her two tablets? How many tablets come in the box - it doesn't seem to say?

Thanks. Yep - the arms got VERY tired after a while. No tripod. I found the fence very helpful, tho. You are certainly right about the focus - I think they will get a bit sea sick watching it. Fortunately, I just have to hold and shoot - they get to edit later. I have yet to hear feedback on the first attempt. But I think it will be better next time. It was a case of hold and shoot for long periods. Horses just will not muck up until you turn it off. They must know, the buggers.

A friend wants some videos taken and I've said I am game to give it a go, am willing to learn etc. Never touched a video camera in my life! Can someone direct me to any good links etc to give me a start on the basics of using a video camera, please?

It would be interesting (and more significant) if those stats coudl be compared to the total population of each of the "breeds" mentioned. I see no mention of Dobes there.

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An old timer once told me that if a dog drinks from your pool, take it as a compliment 'cause it means the water is OK! Yeh - mine drinks from dirty buckets, horse troughs, fish pond, the dams, puddles in the driveway after rain etc etc. All our dogs have done this over about 28 years and never once have they come to harm. Don't worry about it. Sometimes I suspect they may get trace elements they need from drinking the muddy water.

Reminds me of the Xmas that our old Wei got into some After Dinner Mints. She got through Xmas wrapping and ribbon. Outer celophane wrap Cardboard box And each mint was in a brown envelope thingy. She was though one box when I got up (very early morning) and, through bleary eyes, wondered what all the bits were out on the grass. I got our there in time to find her getting into the second box! No other gifts were unwrapped - so she SMELT them out before she even started! The bitch! I'll NEVER have another scent hound! At least each box was only 125g net - and that was not all chocolate. I didn't know then just how toxic chocolate could be to dogs!

It's not Midols fault. There is indeed someone greater than god on DOL. I think your "gooblies" would be what we call the chicken giblets. That is, liver + heart + anything else that comes form in there. They used to chop it all up and use it in the stuffing. Yummmmm. My adult, older Dobe needs no more than about 2% of body weight in her raw diet. I've been using various mixes. BUT I have found that sardines do not agree with her - make her sick. So maybe, when a dog rejects something - like liver or sardines, it might be better just to forget it and use something else. There are lots of options to choose from. Edit: 'cause I was in a hurry when I posted.

Interesting thread. I came in to check out any more recent incontinence info and see if I could ask about something. My Dobe is now about 8 and has been slightly spey incontinent since about 4/5 years old. She was on stilboestrol 2 per week for quite a while - until the beginning of April last year. It was then the vet I was taking her to became a bit "difficult" about replacing her meds between annual checks and I decided I would not be "over-serviced" and told them where to go. So .......... after doing some googling etc, I started her on a herbal formula of my own. These days she gets each day: !/2 teaspoon each of Rose Hip Granules, Fennel Seed and Dolomite and about 1 teaspoon Corn Silk All mixed in with a bit of mince and water. Co-incidentally, the Vet's All Natural mix I am presently using has Garlic in it as well. When I am organised, the herbs go in and soak with that over night. Now she is about 95% ok, with only occasional problems, usually (it seems) related to occasional stress - eg a particularly active day and/or over-excitement, heat etc. But.... I have recently found a new vet who is happy to put her back on stilboestrol and not "over service" etc. I am happy to take new urine sample etc and set it all up properly. NOW............... She's been going 9 months without the stilboestrol - and still doing ok - they said 6 months would be the max they can go before the affect of it fully wears off - which means that my herbal regime is actually working. Now I have to make a decision. Seeing she is getting on in age etc, I'm thinking I might take in a urine sample and get them to do bloods as well and see if anything shows, particularly any contra-indications re either form of treatment. Any ideas/suggestions would be appreciated, please?

Keep it in the fridge, and it will probably last a lot longer. There is also the option of slighltly increasing the dose once it reaches or goes a bit past that date. Most of these thing gradually decline - they don't have a self-destruct button that says "On this exact date I become 0% effective and go up in a mushroom cloud." Maybe you can team up with another DOLer - and share the tub?

T-Touch might help relax her a bit. It was good for Kaisie - but, again, residual "issues" and hereditary temperament issues seem to be par for the course when there is an unknown backgound. They are no big deal for her either, thank goodness. But at least she enjoys her bath now (without snapping at me) and doesn't freak at the broom, vacuum or hose.

When Kaisie came here at 4 years old, she was already on the annual heartworm injections. Which I then continued until this year. Then I put her on monthly chewables instead. She will be 10 years old July next year! At the same time, I also decided to forget the annual vaccinations - as she is not a show dog and does not usually come in close contact with other dogs etc. So why the chemicals etc. ? All our previous dogs were vaccinated for the first year or two and that was all. None of them came down with anything contagious. So, for us, the risk seems minimal - just going on experience. To be honest, I think she is "happier" now. Her coat is excellent, she has a new lease on life. I really think that stuff is a load on their system. We do worm for intestinal worms every three months. I had a dog along time ago before Heartworm prevention was available. She was treated for it successfully - but it is pretty rough on them. One other dog I knew that came down with it actually turned quite viscous. He might have been like that anyway, but personally, I don't think the heartworm helped. So, in spite of the chemical load, I do think heatrworm prevention is desirable. However, I have heard of dogs contracting it in spite of the prevention tablets. Thus, I would be rather doubtful about any "spot on" treatment - as you just don't know if the right dose is getting through. We have never used flea prevention treatment. Seldom have seen fleas - actually, not at all at this house until recently. And it is usually the cats that attract them. So we just put flea collars on all the animals, wash the bedding etc religiously etc until they seem to have been "beaten", then back to nothing except for new collars for the cats about once a year. And that is mainly because we need something to hang their bells from!

We did not have fleas here for over 25 years - but got them this year. I already had two shampoos - so just washed her in Maleseb, rinsed with some vinegar in the water, added a flea collar from the supermarket, washed all the bedding, vacuumed and mopped the floors (she only goes on the hard floors anyway) hosed the pathways. Put flea collars on the two cats and washed their bedding. And that was it. I just got them another round of flea collars - just to be sure. In the meantime, we have saved 25 years worth of "flea prevention". Sometimes it might seem to work - but who knows - a lot of the time there probably aren't any fleas for it to work on anyway.

Colloidal Silver has been wonderful for my horse's eyes. They were treated at first (when I got her) with a traditional antibiotic - but then I moved on to using the CS - Thanks Morgan - and every time they look at all like they are starting to discharge, I just give them a quick bathe with it and it's gone in one go. Just got keep an eye on her (so to speak) and catch it before it gets a hold.

OK - here goes! To clarify - I was with them some 3 years before all this started. Before I even started with them, I asked about these meds that she was already on and about the protocols they would follow etc. I was assured that the yearly check was sufficient and there would be no problem. And there wasn't. At the annual check before the one mentioned here, the other vet did run tests and it cost a fortune that year for all the stuff I had done and all the wormers etc I bought from them. The following year, got different vet and there was NO mention of tests. I wondered after I left, but just accepted that she SHOULD know what she is doing. That is the same one that, 6 months later is telling me she needs THREE month checks. No warning at the annual check that the rules were to be changed, no correspondence - nothing. The dog was on the same dose for many years. As I said, no tests were done at the annual prior to this "change". The main criteria being that they were working and dog was happy, which she was/ is. I won't go into detail - but I'm not silly. I know when any creature is not 100%. I will take her to the vet at the slightest indication things may not be quite right. Their record show that - even if the individual vet has never even met me! The meds were not random. The records show the history. If she was really "conscious of doing the right thing in terms of diagnostics" she would have run "tests" at the annual consult - or at least mentioned them. Apparently that "code of ethics" does not cover the idea of warning clients about "policy" changes. It also says that it is OK for the vet to hide out the back and leave the receptionist to deal with the client when conveying new rules that the client will obviously want to question? I thought that was bad form and told the receptionist so - very politely, of course. The receptionist was very good. We did not have a problem with each other. I made it clear that what I was saying was to be conveyed to the vet hiding out the back and the poor receptionist went back several times to get instructions as to what to tell me. This was not fair on the receptionist either. I remember thinking at the time that she would have been dealing with far worse clients than myself. That did not make my mood any better, you can be sure - and was one reason I stood my ground. The way the whole thing went down was verging on blackmail, IMO. They were playing on my reasonable attitude. I am sure half the stuff they said would not have been suggested to a really angry client. It's not a matter of objecting to changes. It's a moot point whether or not I would have acted differently if it had been done differently. As is often the case, it is not WHAT you do, but HOW you do it. When the something the client asks for has been supplied happily for years, you can't blame them for getting narky at having to take the animal down (and pay for) for a consult every three months - which is what they originally told me I had to do. When they back stepped to six months PLUS tests - it was clear to me it was more about getting money in than it was about my dog's welfare. I know you don't know me and all. But please realise that the fact that their "requirements" kept on changing, that there was no warning, that no tests were done or even mentioned at the annual with the same vet - and so on - it all reflects badly on their ethics and their motivation. Just to add an interesting side line - the clinic is now owned by a publicly listed company. It is interesting to follow it up and look at who owns it, who is buying shares in it .....and how the share price is going etc. If it's not about money, I'll eat my hat! :D Yes- they are on paper here for all to see. If I were wanting to continue a relationship with them, it might be worth the time. As it is, it's just not going to happen. I don't continue to deal with people I have found to be dishonest or unethical. As it turns out they may well have done me and the dog a HUGE favour. For less than half the cost of the annual vet visit, I have the dog, the horse and the cats covered for wormers for the next year. The dog is on a herbs (which were heaps cheaper than the meds, even without the consult fee) and is happier than she's been for a long time. If she look like she needs a vet .......well some poor vet is going to get the inquistion before I let another one within a mile of her! If she suffers in the meantime for any reason - well .................. So much for her "welfare".

Well, the vet we WERE going to was filling my dogs ongoing medication for about $25 every 3 months. With a check-up annually (unless we needed to take her for something else during the year). Last year, at the 6 month re-fill they said no, there would be a need to come and do and pay for a consult as well. I questioned this, so they filled the meds and said that next time they would not unless we did a consult. At the 9month request, they said no, that I would have to come for a consult as well every 6 months. Well, in 3 months she was due anyway - for all her annuals. Then they added that there would be tests to pay for as well - every 6 months. Well, at the last annual there were NO TESTS done at all. So I queried that as well. They stood by it. I told them they could re-consider and let me know within the next 24 hours or they would not be seeing us back. Didn't hear from them. Dog is now off her meds and on herbs instead and I have fingers crossed! BUT they did send me the notice for the annual visit. With some blurb about heartworm meds that she isn't even on! I've bee forking out for the annual one with them. I'm going in tomorrow to pick up my parcel from the post office with all the cut-price wormers etc that I used to buy from the vet as well. I knew it was more expensive, but I also felt they were due some loyalty. That has well and truly gone out the window now. Well, if they were not overcharging before, they certainly would have been by now if I had gone along with their blackmailing agenda. Yes, BLACLMAIL. Because during our last interaction they had the hide to suggest that I would not be doing the best thing by my dog if I did not comply. So what changed? The only thing that changed was the ownership of the vet practice itself. And the vet I used to see there does not appear to be there any more. So yeh - at least SOME vets are definitely chasing the bucks - and not always in an ethical manner.

I'm thinking I might try vets All Natural as a replacement. Any opinions on that? Such a pain. My girl has been doing so well in Nutro. We have a few months supply there now, thank goodness. I just happened to lob into the store to restock and managed to score a 15kg bag. The last one.

Thanks for the replies. I have been getting the meds between the annual examine for ages. The "ground rules" were changed. I have to find another vet and was wondering if they were ALL going that way - or just the one I was dealing with. So I know what is "reasonable" to expect. In the meantime, I have a list of natural type stuff to try. Who knows - they might have done us a favour!

I am bumping this to ask if there are any updates on this subject. And to ask how you all go with getting repeats on the Stilboestrol (or other drugs you may be using). Have any of the alternative recipes been useful? The vet I was going to now has been "sacked" for saying that I now have to take the dog in an pay for a consultation every time we need more of the medication - every 3 months. That is inconvenient as well as expensive! I said no, that is not on. They came back to every 6 months - but added that tests would also be needed. Interestingly, on the last annual visit NO TESTS were done at all. So that just said to me they are after $$$$ - not the animals "welfare"! Then there was the suggestion that I could not know if the dog was not well. Umm...if I always knew when my little kids were not well, why would I not notice if the dog was not well? And the vet knows my dog better than I do? Right. I now have a list to get from the health store to see how it goes. Who knows - maybe she will be ok without the meds after all.

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Where are you? Was there any frothy stuff involved? If you are up our way, you will find there are lots of small Cane Toads coming out after the rain. That can cause a problem if she has been playing with them. But she will have been frothing at the mouth and a bit distressed as well if that is the case.

I fed cooked chicken bones to our dogs for over about 20 years. They never came to any harm from them. No need to panic. Just watch for a day or two.

Raw meaty bones are great. But..... Lamb can be very fattening. Some chicken can be too ... eg the wings are very fatty. So - keep to lean beef, lean chicken such as the necks, frames (pull the extra fat off if it is still attached to the frame as sometimes happens) and pull the skin off other pieces (as most of the fat is just under the chicken skin). The lean meat can be fed as a major part of the diet, thus greatly reducing kibble bills. It does wonders for their teeth, too.