bark

I was thinking along those lines and thought there might be something to assist with breaking the bone He isn't stressed at all, just wants to play, go for walks, chase the birds and eat.

Hi, I'm introducing more meaty bones to my dogs diet and find that he doesn't chew/gnaw the bones enough so they are broken down into tiny pieces. For the past 2 days he's been retching to bring up what I suspect are large pieces of brisket bone. When he retches his whole chest heaves and he tries really hard to bring something up but all he gets is a small pool of yellow mucous. Once he's vomitted the mucous he's fine and continues on as if nothing has happened. Is there anything I can give him to help break down any bones in his stomach? He continues to poop so there's no blockages. For the time being I've stopped giving him any brisket and roo tails.

That would have been so traumatic for you. After encountering an off lead staffy (male and not desexed) which was then followed by a choc labrador attacking my dog all within 1hr, I decided that I wouldn't walk in those areas again. I now walk my dog in the very early hours of the morning before the birds awake, yes it's dark but at that time there are no loose dogs wandering around. Some owners don't give a stuff about what their dog gets upto and probably think it's "good that their dog goes out for his/her own exercise".

Just checking with everyone to see if those living on the North Shore have experienced a worse bout of fleas than normal? My dog has Advantix applied monthly unless we're going in a bad tick area then it's fortnightly and he's never had fleas. This week he went to a dog park, played with a few dogs and picked up some hitch hikers (fleas) even though he was into his 3rd week of Advantix. Call me niave but I thought Advantix was good with fleas for the whole 4 wks ...

thanks everyone for your great advice

I've tried the cows, pigs and sheep ears. As everyone has mentioned pigs ears have a high fat content so not really a good option for dogs with a weight problem. My dog didn't really like the cows ears, not sure why but they were very brittle and alot thinner compared to the pigs ears, so probably not as chewy. I bought the sheep ears because of the chondrotin content which is good for joints and arthritis. He doesn't have any arthritis but I thought it couldn't hurt.

I already feed raw and am considering a prey model diet but am concerned about hydatids with the offal. For those feeding raw offal have you had any issues?

Hi I'm looking at getting a set of Ruff Wear Skyliner dog boots (yeah it's wanky but better than having cut paws), but don't know which size to get because my dog's back and front paws are different widths. The closest size to fit his back paws is the XXXS or 38mm width - my dog's back paws measure 40mm and the XXS or 51mm for his front paws which measure 48mm width. The information about the boots says if the boots are too big they will swing around which defeats the purpose of wearing the boots. Does anyone know if these boots are a relaxed fit so I can get away with buying the XXXS for all four paws or should I get the two different sizes a pair for the front and a pair for the back paws?

This is a interesting point, especially with the varying replies received. I was talking to a dog trainer who is very experienced in dog behaviour and he said that alot of dog owners who frequent dog parks probably shouldn't be there because they don't have sufficient control over their dog. Having said that this guy warned you to keep away from his dog and given that he had gone at an off peak time, he was doing what was reasonable to avoid contact with other dogs whilst exercising his dog. Under these circumstances I don't think there's anything to report; it would be a different matter if he'd gone at a peak time.

Thanks everyone for the fab ideas, which I will be trying out.

Hi If you work and your dog is left at home, what do you do to keep him/her busy/entertained?

It's really unfortuante that this has happened and traumatic for your dog and you. After my dog was attacked and being of a highly anxious nature, I consulted a vet who is also an animal behaviourist and he advised me my options were: to use a DAP diffuser at home Clomicalm for a couple of months (it took 4 mths before I weened him off it, which is longer than normal) Gentle Leader collar (apparently having something around the nose is calming but it takes a while for the dog to get used to the collar) The A. Behaviourist also advised that it would be acceptable to keep my dog away from other dogs for the rest of his life, because the incident has really traumatised him. It's now been 1.5yrs ago since the attack and despite loads of monitored resocialisation, my dog is still very wary (to put it mildly) of all sized dogs, even the tiny dogs. I used to see a man walking his GSD off lead around the streets in the early morning. One morning, without my dog present I approached the man and told him I frequently walk my dog at the same time and because he was attacked, he's now really wary of all dogs and it's amazing the damage a larger dog can do. I then asked him to put his GSD on lead should he bump into us again ... I haven't seen the guy since but there are still a few other men who walk their dog of lead in my area. I may have to put my dog in a kennel during Christmas and the Behaviourist has prescribed 2 types of drugs which need to be in his system a couple of months before going to the kennel, to make it a less stressful/anxious experience for my dog. I don't like the idea of putting him on drugs but at the same time I want to reduce the anxiety and make his stay more comfortable.

My dog had a benign cyst on the side of his chest which was getting bigger and given the location, the Vet recommened removing it; he had about 8 stitches which were removed 1 wk later and it healed very well. Once the stitches came out, I took him for walks but no strenuous exercise until I could see he was ready. Mind you the day I brought him home after surgery, he jumped out of the car before I could stop him and luckily he didn't tear any tissue!

Alternatively get the DAP spray and put on a bandana around her neck (8 sprays lasts about 1 hr) and on bedding.

I know exactly what you mean as a similar thing happened to me but it was a full male staffy without it's owners in sight & no collar. The staffy came rushing up out of nowhere, I let them sniff but could see my dog was getting scared so I pulled him away so our backs were towards the staffy. When I turned around to see what the staffy was going, it was in a drop position with his back to us. I was glad to put some distance between the dogs!!. If the dog is aggressive, you could tell your dog to drop which is submissive behaviour. I myself keep a constant look out so if I see another dog approaching with or without owners or lead, I either cross the street or turn back to where I came from, so the dog loses interest. In terms of whether it's normal for a dog to react that way, I think it depends on how the dog approaches if the body language is "alert" and heads in a direct line towards your dog, then yes I would say it's normal for your dog to feel wary and perhaps threatened, especially if your dog is of an anxious nature, like my dog. When I located where the dog lived, the owners denied their dog had escaped and I must be getting it mixed up with another dog - yeah right!

Hi Kirty, I'll PM you.

Hi Does anyone use the canine DAP collar and spray? I know it's not available within Aust and would be interested to know where I can both products from at a reasonable price; any help would be appreciated.

Will be heading out to Windsor, Wilberforce and Colo Heights area in Dec with a group of friends and our dogs for some bush walks. We will be applying Advantix fortnightly but I'm unsure whether this region is a "bad tick" area or not ... or any worse than other bush areas of Sydney. Does anyone know what the ticks are like in this area?

Hi DOLERS, If you have used any of the boarding kennels in the Duffys Forest area, I would be interested in your feedback/comments or feel free to PM me. Thanks

I've used both and I think it comes down to working out what is right for your dogs. I would dread the times when we'd get a knock on the door in the evenings, knowing it was our neighbour coming to complain about the barking. Not sure whether you've heard of Robert Holmes, a vet and animal behviourist, recommended I use DAP because my dog was unsettled, barking at birds and annoying the neighbours. I bought a couple of bottles of DAP but can't say I noticed a difference in his behaviour probably because the main room where he spends most of his day doesn't have doors to enclose the DAP pheromones. I have a new bottle I haven't use going cheap, if you're interested and it expires in Nov (pm me if interested). I also tried Rescue Remedy and Australian Bush Essences, plus a special blend made for my dog but it's hard to know if it made a difference. After experimenting with the "subtle" options, I progressed to intervention where my dog now goes to a dog carer for 2 days a week and I have happy neighbours. In hindsight I think my dog was barking out of boredom, despite a walk before and after work, different toys each day and hidden chews. This routine works for him, me and the neighbours.

I feed one boiled egg every week and started giving the whole egg with shell which he'd eat but then he worked out the best part was inside the shell; now he only eats the egg and leaves the shell behind

My dog would get really anxious when I left him with friends to go on holiday. They would distract him with treats (my dog is food mad), lavish attention on him, play with him and take him out to parks, normal dog stuff so he didn't of me. It got to the point where he enjoyed his stay with my friends that he got depressed when he came home. I had also built up the rapport over a number of weeks so that he'd get used to staying at this friend's house.

I heard about this in humans and was told it's caused by a virus. One person I know who contracted it woke up with half his face paralysed - couldn't blink so he had to use eye drops, couldn't eat properly because he had no control over the muscles in his jaw/mouth/throat. He was prescribed quartazone (excuse the spelling) and some other drugs. On the bright side it is temporary ie couple of months. This person had a really bad dose of the flu just prior to contracting it.

I did have a suspicion I would have to broaden my search to include other areas if I couldn't get a share place within my price range; but I had to test the waters to make sure there wasn't an unused room in someone's house in an area I'm used to living in. Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

Max $200