MadWoofter

... Im thinking he's obviously got an allergic reaction to something. I do have a problem with wandering jew, which I try to keep at bay as much as I can. Fleming loves to hide in the garden, and he has a couple of spots where he lies and I make sure they're clear of the rotten weed. He's never shown any signs of itching or rash before this, but I noticed yesterday he was scratching & biting. Having only one hind leg, he's often 'wipes' himself down the wall on his missing leg side, but he's been really scraping himelf down the wall on that side. He was not really himself today, and the itch seemed to be getting worse. Early this afternoon I noticed there are a couple of patches where he's chewed himself raw. I've given him a bath in malaseb, and sprayed the raw spots with an antiseptic/iodine solution. I'm making sure he's near me and stop him from scratching, and he does seem a little bit happier within himself already. I'll take him to our vet on Monday (when they're open), and will of course take him to the emergency vet tomorrow if he's not feeling any better. He's had access to the yard stopped completely (apart from toilet breaks), I'll keep up with the antispectic spray on his raw spots, and bath him again tomorrow morning. He's got a double coat, and being black he's feeling the heat as well as the itch. Poor boy. Is there anything else I can do for him in the meantime?

A few more.... Any changes to his shampoo? Does he eat cat poo? And if so, have you changed cat food recently? Does he eat his own poo? that could be exacerbating the problem Dog water - do you use bore water? Could there be a chemical/treatment that's been added to the bore? From a neighbour? Flame-retardant treatment on anything? (new sofa, rug) Another long shot, but I read an article (from the US) that said cicadas are bad for dogs if they eat them... has he eaten any? Got any toadstools or dodgy mushrooms in the garden he might have eaten? Used ant killer powder recently? Anything he could have chewed on that is made of bamboo?

Any weed poisoning going on? Any plant nutrition/supplements added in the last few days? Snail bait? Mouse/rat bait? Citrus food? Blood & bone? Has he eaten tinsel off the Xmas tree? Has he eaten any part of the Xmas tree (if you've got a real one - it could have been treated in some way). Using a new furniture polish / cleaner? Fabric cleaner / spray? Sorry, I know these are obvious, but maybe it might be something simple that's been missed, so I'll keep adding anything I can think of

Another thought... do you have any new indoor plants in the loungeroom? Or any new plants outside a window? Long shot, but maybe there's a pollen reaction

Aaahh Trish, I was just about to offer congratulations. I have no idea. Could there be a chemical treatment in the plywood? ARe you using any new treatments in the home for fleas, flies, bugs etc? Loungeroom - what are you using to cool the room? AC? Maybe there's something in that (like Legionnaires?) What did you use to heat the room? Any stale heating stuff around? Crate? Any changes to bedding? Have you washed bedding in a new soap? New toys? Sorry, these are all pretty obvious & I bet you've already excluded them, just thinking out loud now

I would never take my dogs anywhere unless they had been specifically invited. To me that's just completely rude & selfish to turn up with a dog (or children) uninvited & without checking first. I had a birthday/anniversary party the first year I had Tess. A very good friend of mine brought her dog along, but only because she thought it was a doggy party and not a human one :LOL: Was fine as her dog is well behaved & socialised, and she was absolutely mortified when she realised. I'm meeting a group of people on Sunday at a kids playground which is within the big park I go to. I will be there in the morning with the hairies, and so asked if they minded if I bring them along. If even one person had expressed concern then I either wouldn't have gone, or wouldn't have taken the dogs. I'd tell your friends that it is a human, and adult event, and that pup is not invited. If they don't want to leave him home alone, well, they miss out. That's one of the choices you make when you become a dog owner, particularly a puppy. Good luck slk

My two never get the zoomies on at home, and Fleming has only ever done zoomies once..... but Tess does it on our weekly walk in the big off-leash park. I do get worried, as she gets the zoomies on when walking through bush with ponds, creeks, tree roots etc, (usually after drinking bracken water), and I'm scared she's going to trip or catch a foot in a fallen log, or something similar. She's a big girl (wolfie x & 48 kgs) so I know that if she does hurt herself it's going to be pretty serious. I usually take them first thing into the swamp area - it's flat, with lots of puddles & water holes so she can get her fill of doggy druggy water and go flat out without being too worried she's going to hurt herself. I must say she's never run into anyone, but it has come bluddy close sometimes ! As much as it scares me, I love watching her go full pelt, with sheer exhileration written all over her face. As I said, Fleming has only done it once & it reduced me to tears - my pinup boy for rescue showed pure enjoyment and it only took 2 years!!

Awww f*** Trish, that just really sucks. Sending healing vibes here to Grover..... and to you & Steve. Dunno what else to say. Everything here is crossed

I can't believe I missed this. So glad to hear that Grover is on the mend and coming home. You & Steve must be soooo relieved !!!! Here's hoping Grover continues to improve.... and learns not to eat bitey spiders !!!

Hugs to you and your family Fiona. A gorgeous girl who will be sadly missed.

Muffincav with Spice, Oscar & Muffin rastus_froggy & her pooches Don't know who owns this happy smiley BC, but it is a very happy smiley BC Shell's Zero Poocow & I think that's one of the lappies behind her

Muffincav's Muffin MrRedDog's dachies (didn't get their names sorry) The couple who own the Sheltie, and a pack of pooches Serket's Gypsy

Muffincav (with Oscar & MUffin), Poocow & TerraNik, luvsdogs & some hairies Sezy & Sezy's OH with Carter & Muffincav's Oscar I didn't get the names of the young couple with their lovely Sheltie, but here is the lovely Sheltie

OK, here's some pics. I think I've got everyone correct, but please feel free to tell me off if I'm wrong !! Although I may have got ~Shell~ & TerraNik mixed up ! Katdogs, rastus_froggy and assorted hairies (I think that's ~Shell~ in the background?) MrRedDog & his gorgeous dachies (who are very lucky there weren't scooped up & taken home with me) luvsdogs & Tilba

Well I am home with two happy but completely cream-crackered hairies. It was lovely to meet everyone.... and the human's too !! What a gorgeous bunch of hairies, and all so well behaved. I'm downloading pics now so will post some up when they're done.

So sorry to hear you're not feeling well ILTBY. Hope you get better soon. I only have a poxy little camera but I'll try & get some pics for you - but by the sounds of it there will be a heap of cameras there. Packs are packed, hairies are going berko with excitement, and I am on my way in about 5 mins - just came in to make sure I've got the right location (and therefore directions LOL )

I was so excited on Saturday, and packed up my doggy back for the big trip to EP.... only to realise I was a week early. Thank goodness I realised Sat night !! Will def be there, and am soooo looking forward to meeting not just the hairies but the humans too ! I've not been to EP before - can someone confirm that there is an off-leash area? Tess is fine 99% of the time if she's on lead, but sometimes she can be a touch protective around too many dogs. If there's somewhere I can give them a big run before-hand (with Katdogs by the sound of things ;) ) she'll be too knackered to care ! Do we have a roll-call of who is def attending?

I've got a wading pool thingy I can bring - so long as I can put it in the boot - it's pretty big and may not fit. Although I may be able to tie it on the roof-racks. Katdogs - I've probably got space in my car depending how hairies get along, but lab may have to sit in the front with it's owner. Depends if it's dominant or not. If not won't be a problem. I can go in to Centenn park and then back out to if needed. If your friend does need a lift PM me her details - I am in Centenn most weekends so can meet up to see if woofters get along.

Count me in !! Tess & Fleming love outings. I agree with the earlier morning time - afternoon is just way too hot.

Fleming is a Belgian Shepherd and he's got a double coat, so I bought a coat king specially for him which I use regularly to get rid of clumps in his undercoat. It works a treat, and he loves standing out in the backyard and getting combed. Fleming had a hind leg amputated about 12 months ago and while he's healed perfectly and his hair has grown over the scar line really well, I find that the area around his scar line and on his stump gets really quite matted, and the dead clumpy hair doesn't pull free very easily. He's not very comfortable having the area brushed or combed and while it doesn't appear to hurt him it seems to have an impact on the nerve endings in his stump. The problem is that this hind area gets really matted and yucky and very quickly becomes like dreadlocks. On a personal level I'm not worried - he's not a show dog, and I am very adept with a vacuum cleaner, but I do notice that he tends to 'worry' the area, in that he bites and chews and pulls out chunks of hair himself. OK that sounds bad - he isn't overly worried by it but I can tell it gives him the shits - a bit like having dandruff and wanting to scratch the area but not that bad that it really drives you mad. Occassionally I sit there and try & get into the undercoat and slowly works the real clumpy bits out, but I would love to hear if anyone has got any suggestions on what I could use to get rid of the clumpy undercoat. I've tried a normal comb, a soft brush, my hands, the coat king..... I wouldn't be bothered by it myself except that it does seem to cause him a bit of distress. Any suggestions gratefully accepted

I was blessed to meet the gorgoues Huck a number of times. A gentle, lovely natured boy, he loved the other dogs, people, but most especially his mum CL. I can't even begin to imagine the heart-ache you must be going through. All of our dogs are special, but I know just how special Huck was, and what he meant to you. Huckie will live on in the hearts of all who met him. I know he will in mine. Hugs to you my friend.

Are there any problems if a dog gets more than one C3 vaccination in a 12 month period? Say for instance a dog is accinated in January. The dog escapes (no microchip) in October & is collected by the ranger & taken to the pound. After the required period the dog is adopted to a new owner and the dog is vaccinated by the pound before going. Are there any known probs with vaccinating twice in 12 months? This is purely hypothetical and is based on the assumption that the pound vaccinates on release to a new owner. Just want to know if there are any medical probs in doing so. Thanks

This post couldn't have come at a better time. Tess' nails are so long, and all of a sudden she won't let me near them. Please explain the dremel - do you just grind them down?

Thanks again for all the insightful comments. Squeak - I've been quite spoilt with my fosters. While they've had their own inherent problems, I've not had one quite so demanding, or quite so vocal about it - I'm so used to being able to wander about my own house without a horrible banshee sound screaming from another room that I'm sure part of the problem is me 'expecting' his behaviour to be better. I really like the idea of slowly getting him used to it, and thanks for suggesting it. Sometimes it's the solutions right in front of your face that you miss ! KW - I'm not sure about clicker training, only because at the moment he is still so completely unfocused on anything else except being out in the big wide world I'm not sure I could gain his attention long enough for it to be affective. Saying that, I am a novice at clicker training so if someone with more experience thinks it would work of course I'd give it a go (and learn more myself). Dougal - I've tried that ! I've gone from making 'interesting' noises to making other distracting noises to giving the other two dogs huge amounts of attention when he starts up. All that happens is the other two are quite happy when the s**t starts singing as they now expect more pats . I don't think I've ever met a more demanding creature ! Will work on the long lead, and the increased distance and reward. Thanks again everyone for all your suggestions.

Cosmolo seeing as he was confined for a long period he is absolutely petrified of crates or anything restricting like that. I am worried that crate training him will scare him and undo all the work that's been put into him. Quite happy to give it a go if you think it could work though. The situation is only like this when I'm at home and indoors. Poodlefan, I don't know whether it's because he "can't" find me or because he "won't". I have a feeling it's more the latter. He will come to me when I call him, and sit at my feet, then he will get up and move around again, go back to 'his' spot on the sofa and start howling. It gets to a point where no matter how much I call him he will just sit there and sing. When I leave the house he sings for a while but not constantly like when I am here.