westiemum

Bl**dy Facebook - don't have an account. Can someone please vote to save the Scottie for me too please? :D

Trifecta and Erny I agree - the place to start is good diagnostics for this dog IMO. She reminds me of a number of children I used to see as a Speechie - absolutely no control over their behaviour, extremely hyper and no abilty to control it due to brain damage. Heart breaking for their families. You could spend a lot of money and time and effort on this dog without a proper diagnosis - so suggest a neuro vet specialist. Good luck ES. You are one of the most sensible experienced DOLers and if you are having trouble with this dog and at your wits end then I suspect the problem is medical. Will look forward to hearing how you get on. :)

This. If I can't get Mum to look after them or my Westie savvy friends (who were Macs original foster parents) to look after them then I don't go either. But I do understand that sometimes others have little choice but to kennel.

As an owner of older dogs, my only additional advice is insure your puppy as early as possible while it has a clear health history. That way most things are covered (I think!). :) ETA: I'm with Petplan as well.

I keep a few cans of home brand mackerel in oil in the cupboard and mix it with mixed veggies from the freezer. Failing that I whip down to the local supermarket and buy human grade meats on special and failing that its my scotch fillet from the freezer! I have been known to make them 'pasta bake' - canned fish, juice from the can mixed through pasta. ETA: I keeps a small bag of grain free dry food on hand - buts its an absolutely desperate last resort. :)

No I haven't - but I'd certainly be interested in hearing from anyone who has.

Yes I was pretty sure this was the case, you sign up for 12 months of insurance and nothing can cahnge until that 12 months is up. Unless maybe this is a monthly thing? Problem with pet insurance compared to house/car etc is that if you decide you want to change and the dog is an older dog, you may find you either cannot get insured or you'll have to pay more than the original amount anyway. They have you by the balls. Errr... Correct. :)

Had a lot of success with a raw diet for weight loss with my oldest Westie. Meat and veg. Worked well for us and he wasn't tooooo hungry! :)

SA when I first insured my new 5 year old Westie girl with PetPlan, because she'd had one bout of HGE they excluded all gastro type stuff for twelve months. After 12 months she was covered again and then had another bout of HGe at the 14 month mark and they covered the lot. So it's not a huge drama IMO and is better than a permanent exclusion. :)

Yep couldn't work out why Mac suddenly started sleeping belw my feet - finally realised he was placing himself under the overhead fan!

And just to add... yesterday it was 45 degrees here. So in the morning before I left for work, I put a little dry food in half a bowl of water for the westies breakfast to make them drink. All three scoffed the lot - water included. I think its a good trick so you can have a better idea of how much your dogs are drinking. :)

yep I agree Sheridan. I've noticed Mac seems to have bouts of more 'puppy-like behaviour', which while endearing, I know is part of his dementia.

Kirty you're very welcome :) Im sorry to hear about Maisie. Unfortunately she's not too young. I can't remember where I read it, but over 60% of dogs over 10 show an early symptom of canine dementia. Like us they are living longer which is good, but its also predisposing them to diseases of aging - just like us. I think the best thing to do is grab yourself a coffee and a comfy seat and read this thread from the beginning. There has been heaps of good discussion - hopefully something will jump out at you, given there is relatively little around to help these dogs. With my Mac, its been a process of trial and error. His routine is Hills B/D (1/4 cup x 2/day) in a herbal tea base (sprinkle of Herb Robert, which has highly anti-oxidant properties in about 1/4 cup of hot water - cooled). He also has 1/2 a Vivitonin and half a cholodin in the morning and 1/2 a Vivitonin at night. I also work really hard at keeping him really well hydrated and well stimulated with walks and visits outside home. I use belly bands for his occasional very mild incontinence. So I think its really a case of trying and seeing what works for your girl. My vet and I genuinely don't know what about his routine seems to work - maybe I've just hit on a good combination for Mac, I really don't know - but the latest addition of the cholodin really seems to have helped. So that might be a good place to start if the Vivitonin isn't working for you. Hope that helps. :) ETA: It would be worthwhile to get in touch with deerhoundlover here on DOL. She has been studying canine dementia and has a good self-administered test on her website which will really help you define what you are dealing with.

dougal years ago I put in an offer on a townhouse in Coffs Harbour with a clause in the contract that a letter from the strata approving my two cats be available at settlement - no letter of approval = no settlement. This took the emotion out of it and the owners agent worked hard to get the approval. I made it very clear it was a deal breaker and was prepared to move on if needs be. My animals were not negotiable (and I was under pressure as an old friend was babysitting them for me while I purchased). I got my approval. The interesting thing is they became much loved community cats in the complex, known by name and well looked after while I was at work by the elderley couple in the front unit where they made themselves right at home during the day! And missed when I moved out... (They even got Christmas cards! :laugh:) Good luck!

Bless you. I was worried about it as my timing really couldn't have been worse.

Thanks Bianca - keeping him in a couple of rooms to start with is a good idea too. Thanks. :)

Thats a really good idea S. Might get some for Mac for the new house. He seems to be night wandering a bit at the moment.

You're kidding!!! Almost three weeks from Adelaide to Canberra must be some sort of record. Was it opened??? I hope the fact that I addressed it to the gorgeous old man didn't distress you too much S.

Wishing all dementing old dogs and their owners a peaceful and happy 2013. Mac continues to do well. Thanks Bianca, the cholodin is really helping. The next challenge we face here will be a major disruption as the house comes down (literally) to make way for a new maintenance free (relatively!) house and provision for retirement (hopefully before I'm 80)! So demolition is tentatively scheduled for 7 February - but we'll see. So we are all, three westies included, moving into a dear friends house who works interstate to house-sit during the build. Very kind of him to let me take over his house with three dogs while he is away. I hope this will be an easy move for Mac. Hes been in this house for just shy of seven years. He seems to cope fine with change as long as I'm around. So I'll schedule our first night there for a Friday night - say 11 January. . Then once I've moved me and the westies then I can concentrate on packing up the rest of the house. Tips from anyone else who has moved house temporarily with multiple dogs? :) Or anyone with general house moving tips ? I'm taking as little as possible to the house sit - just enough for us all to be comfortable. TIA. :)

RIP Grumpy, our lovely friend. This thread will seem very empty without you. Wait patiently at the Bridge old man. See you again. Take care Sheridan and call anytime. Big hugs, Mac and Westiemum.

Run free gorgeous man and enjoy your Mum's gift of pain free freedom over the bridge. Big hug Sheridan

Thanks everyone for your great suggestions. It's gone to good home with a private rescuer. :)

Thanks everyone for your great suggestions. It's gone to a good home with a private rescuer. :)

Thanks everyone. I've cross posted in general and the marketplace to see if there are any takers. If no one wants it in the next couple of days, I'll ring the Hahndorf Shelter and see if they would like it. ( Good suggestion - thnk you) :)

Just re-posting from the health and nutrition thread to see if I can find this a home... Hi all, As I discussed in the Black Hawk thread I've had to take my two older westies off BH as although I think its a good value product, it doesn't seem to agree with them - particularly my Westie girl who was scratching herself silly. So I have about half a bag of the 20 kg Adult Lamb and Rice, maybe a bit more, to give away to a good home! Unfortunately it's an open bag so pick up is really the only option from Adelaide inner suburbs. Anyone like it? :)