westiemum

Sorry to hear you're in the market for a doggie wheelchair. Friends of mine bought one for their Westie from Walkin' Wheels in the US. Their product is fantastic and their service was superb - five days from order to arrival in Adelaide. www.walkinwheels.com And here's Hailey day 2 with her new wheels. Here and there are other videos which are worth watching of Hailey and her wheels on you tube under 'Hailey Westie'. She's since gone over the bridge but as you can see they made a huge difference to her quality of life. Hope it helps. :)

I like it! Trust Sheridan to be the ultimate practical one!!!

Thanks very much Arcane. Very kind of you. Have passed the info on. Cheers! :)

Oooh they look great- and like they would last with a 16kg kelpie climbing up them which most don't!! Thanks for posting J - they are the best I've seen and might even look at one myself . :)

They look much better :)

I have these steps. They work well getting up on the bed but not on the way down. The westies do a little jump up onto the bed from the top step. But they won't use the step to get down as the distance between the top of the bed and the top step is too great. So the critical distance is the distance between the top step and the top of the bed if you want them to use it both ways. I think the top of the bed and the top step need to be very close if you want to use it on the way down. Hope that helps. :)

Of course! Arcane! Sorry I should have thought of you!! I'll pass your details onto them. Thanks for posting!!

Hi all, Quick request - anyone able to recommend a groomer or mobile groomer within cooee of Mile End for an elderly Maltese Shitzhu cross who doesn't want a couple of hours of play as well? She gets stressed out by too many other dogs so one on one or a mobile is probably best? I have a vague memory of someone called Kerry out that way? Can anyone help please? TIA

Thanks Bianca. Looks very interesting. :) Might be helpful for Mac. Is it registered for use in Australia or did you buy from an Australian website? If not you may have trouble with AQIS getting it into the country. I lost some Aktivait through not realising the requirements. Hope I'm wrong and you have it all under control. :) Will you let us know how you get on on all counts? :)

Yep Jed this seems to be the general consensus. Its a shame as the Airedale is a lovely dog and its all gone so well to start with - only going pear-shaped in the last 24 hours. But if the old Westie and Airedale don't get on then they don't get on. Thanks for replying - very helpful. :) You're very welcome. But don't be too down on yourself, they don't let all the animals in the zoo roam around on a whim. Too true! :)

Yep Jed this seems to be the general consensus. Its a shame as the Airedale is a lovely dog and its all gone so well to start with - only going pear-shaped in the last 24 hours. But if the old Westie and Airedale don't get on then they don't get on. Thanks for replying - very helpful. :)

Thanks Tralee - thats very helpful too. :)

Cosmolo it varies but averages a week every two to three weeks at the moment. For example he was here last week for two nights, went home for the long weekend and came back again last night. Thanks for the advice. I think I'll leave the westies inside with the doggie door closed during the day and put the Airedale in the back garden (he's very relaxed and comfy out there) and see how we go. Thanks very much C. Appreciated :)

I was afraid that would be the advice and yes the size difference is a problem - but thats wise advice - thanks Aussie :)

Hi All, You probably remember I have a visiting old Airedale Terrier at the moment. This is his third or fourth visit. All has gone well until he arrived yesterday evening and then at 3.30 or 4 am this morning there was an almighty row between the Airedale and my Mac, my 13 year old westie, who occasionally gets the night wanders because of his dementia - so maybe he surprised the Airedale in the lounge. No blood drawn and some rough and tumble which I easily stopped and separated (yes I know... but I couldn't allow the racket to continue at that hour of the morning) - and they separated and stopped very easily. I arrived home at 6 pm tonight, let the Airedale in from the backyard where he spent the day happily with plenty of water and shade - the westies have a doggie door and probably spend the day inside on the lounge or my bed! Yet no sooner had I walked in the door then they were at it again in the kitchen - a drop or two of blood only - I think from Mac but can't be sure - so no major damage. I suspect there is an alpha dog/pack settling issue going on here? But I'm no expert. I'm a little suspicious it possibly is also a fight over my attention (Mac is very very attached to me and the Airedale is quickly becoming very attached as well after his (human) Mum died unexpectedly back in April. His Dad reports he is far more relaxed here than at home now and appears to love the back garden which he doesn't ahve at home I need to manage this and avoid any further injuries. Is this likely to settle or will I need to stop the Airedale coming over? I can leave him in the backyard while I'm not here but there is a doggy door - which I can close if needs be for complete separation. I really don't want to come home to a badly damaged dog - and its likely to be Mac. I'm really not quite sure what the best thing to do here is. So please could I have some DOL wisdom and advice? Thanks all :) ETA: I need to go out for a couple of hours - will come back to the thread later this evening :)

Rozzie thats interesting. My three westies are all different and I think it's the boys puppy farm origins which makes them food obsessed. The two boys hang around any sniff of food and follow me or anyone else who heads to the kitchen hoping they'll get lucky - evertytime anyone moves! The boys are very food driven. Andy absolutely hoovers his food - I've never seen a dog eat so fast and always look for more. Whereas my girl who came from a registered breeder has to be called at mealtimes and seems to be only driven by genuine hunger. Their behavior in relation to food is really different. So I think in my case the food behaviours are learnt. Sarah is relatively laid back (she's never known hunger or had to fight for food as far as I know) whereas the boys learnt to be very food driven in the puppy farm as I suspect they learnt to grab it while its there as they never knew when their next meal would be.

Great summary Mita. Now everyone needs to get online and encourage more discussion like this to continue to educate the public.

Michelle Williamson from Pet Rescue is on this programme apparently. Its also made page 13, Tory Shepherds column in the The Advertiser in Adelaide too - and its a good article - sticks very closely to the general DOL line!

Is there a cut- off age or owning a dog. IMO no there isn't. In fact some young(er) people should be barred from dog ownership for life - but that's probably another story. IMO the criteria are things like good reasons, capacity and ability to look after a dog - not age. :)

Couple of years ago I had an offer of a fantastic home for a quiet westie with an 80 year old. We just went about it slightly differently. We talked openly with the family and made plan b and plan c. This turned out to be a fantastic dog for an elderly lady and it worked really well for 4 years. When the time came for the lady to go into aged care, plan b was activated and the westie slipped straight into her daughters family where she had previously spent time, knew the house, knew the family. Perfect . If that hadn't been possible then plan c was to the sons family who also had a rescue westie. The last resort was back to me for re-homing. The key for elderly folk is reliable support and back-up (in fact it's a good idea for everyone). Fix that and I've found it can work brilliantly. :)

Sure beats the high density foam I used for Sarah to start with when she was so carsick. Where did it come from? :)

There you go CC - all good recommendations. Will be interested to hear how you get on. :)

Glad to hear Grumps is still top dog. Mac had a dental today - and prior to his procedure we had extensive discussions about the required GA. I basically said please keep it as light and as short as possible, given he's an old dog with dementia. Not only did they do that but they were incredibly careful with his hydration, pre-med and oxygen. ( Not that they aren't with all their patients but they just took extra care with him because of his old age). I can't remember the exact routine but apparently he recovered better than the 11 month old who went in for some surgery afterwards! Great stuff and really gives me confidence when I put my precious old man in their hands. :)

Welcome to Adelaide CC. I use Derek McNairs practice on The Parade at Norwood - about five minutes in the car from you. I have been using them for years and IMO the four vets there are all so good I don't worry about who I see there anymore. Was there this afternoon picking up Mac after Jim did his dental - brilliant. And I think their prices are fair. They also have a very good visiting surgeon, Richard, for more complex surgeries but also refer on to the Magill specialists when required. I couldn't be happier. And I have inside info that all the vets and nurses love working there which I think is a really good sign - they've all changed very little in years. Hope that helps. :)

My gorgeous cat came to me as a six year old and then a month later the first westie arrived - also as a six year old - and they got on fine - the cat was boss and one swipe across Mac's nose and the pack hierarchy was well and truly established! :)