westiemum

Tara I think that's right. I went to insure Mac as a six year old (when I first got him) and they were going to exclude everything but his right big toe. I cheekily asked if with so many exclusions the premium would be reduced??!! So I simply save into my mortgage for him. (Sarah is insured with PetPlan - and they've been fine) But if I'd had Mac as a puppy I would have insured him the day he came home - when he had no history. So I think thats the trick.

Same here. Mac is bright, perky and surprisingly 'with it'. He's very spritely for a 13 year old and trots around with his ears and tail up looking very happy! :) I don't know and probably will never know what's producing these good results - except to say he continues on his 1/4 cup of hills b/d soaked in his herb robert tea twice a day, plenty of water in his food so he's very well hydrated and his raw diet at night. He was growling in the kitchen tonight - and when I went to see what was going on he was growling very purposefully at Andy - and hungry!. So the behaviour I see is very purposeful - which is such good news! :)

thanks for your kind words- but I've only done what the majority of DOLers would do

Sheridan how is the Grumpy man doing?

Airedaler thanks for the information. I'm going to tuck that away for future reference. It's a great Plan B - felt this time it was easier to suggest a routine I was already using rather than something completely new. Although having said that I might give it a trial run with the westies... And then later suggest it to the Airedales Dad. Where's the best place to buy it from? :)

Hi Everyone, Thanks so much for your replies and advice. Well that all went very well. I did exactly as you all suggested, honestly told his Dad that I hadn't been able to get to the supermarket so I fed him the westies senior diet - and he seems to do well on it. He was really pleased to hear the poo volume had reduced! The deal clincher was the home delivery as he said as we suspected that it was the convenience of the supermarket which was why he bought the food he did. So I gave his Dad 4 kgs of the Adelaide Dog formula, and some Black Hawk to try. And the delivery details and prices. So hopefully, we have a conversion to a raw diet and premium dry - and a happier old boof. He'll probably be back to stay again in the next few weeks so will see how he's going (one step at a time). So thanks again everyone. Mission accomplished! :)

I'm on my own and and I have three westies and a visiting Airedale - fine for a week or two but wouldn't want to do it by myself long term. I find it too hard to give all four adequate attention. When it's just the three westies it's fine, but will probably down-size back to two when someone falls off their twig. Will increase the quality of their attention and care, ease the vet bills and mean I can more easily rehab rescue westies (which I find pretty much impossible at the moment). :)

Sorry I havent been back to the thread - getting home very late at the moment. Thank you so much everyone - great DOLer advice as usual. Excellent ideas. I need to buy some more of Jo/Karinas dog formula so I'll get some to send home with him on Saturday. You're right dogmad - the contrast in smell between the clunkers and the food I use is staggering. And the poo volume is definitely better in the last day or so. And interestingly , I think he's moving a little better too. Ness and I'm sure youre right - I'm sure his Dad feeds for convenience. What do people think about his patchy coat? Diet related? Stress? Or just age? ( I'm so not well enough informed about Airedale coats and big dogs! ) Much as I'd love to, I won't post any piccies until I ask his Dad on the weekend. You know, this is the most divine breed - I could become a big dog person yet!!!! (But don't tell the westies!!!!)

Apologies for the long post but need to explain what's going on. On a semi-regular basis I have a visiting 11 year old Airedale for 5-6 days at a time. His human Mum, an old friend of mine died unexpectedly in April and he seemed to really mourn her for weeks afterwards. His Dad works OS regularly which is why he comes to stay with me. He is a marvellous smoochy old boy who settles quickly and well when he arrives. He's on cartrophen tabs for arthritis and his gait still looks pretty stiff to me. He comes with his own food - lucky dog clunkers and purina dry - he won't touch the dry - and the poo volume and smell is horrendous - huge soft smelly logs. But this time when he arrived there was only one nights food (no drama and Dad apologized - he got caught short on a Sunday morning :) So as Ive had no hope of getting to a supermarket (running an EA ballot at work and getting home very late) I've been feeding him the same diet as the westies but in bigger quantities of course - including a cup of Black Hawk in the morning - he's wolfing it down. And I give him a fish oil ' treat' each morning when he lines up with the three westies. This time his coat is shorter (has obviously had a clip) but is now showing large very obvious patches on his belly and legs where the coat is gone. So I hope you're getting the picture - gorgeous boofy old stiff Airedale with a patchy poor coat and smelly voluminous poo! I'm loving having a big dog around the house (never thought I would!) and it's good for the westies too. His Dad clearly loves him,walks him everyday, medicates him and goes to a lot of trouble to ensure he is well cared for while he is away. But I wonder if his poor coat and arthritis are simply age related - or might a change in diet longer-term improve it ? I know his Dad well enough to discuss it with him but of course don't want to hurt or offend him or inadvertently over-step the mark I'm becoming very attached to this gorgeous old boofa who is now spending 1 - 2 weeks a month with me but what do I do about his diet? If anything? I really just want him to have a comfy old age - and to reduce the poo volume and smell would be a bonus! Would really appreciate some big dog DOL wisdom. Is the care any different to small dogs cos of their size? What would you do? How would you handle it? TIA. :)

when I forget to defrost the westies meat, I make what I call 'fishy in a dishy' - a third of a 1 kg bag of frozen black and gold mixed veggies heated through in the microwave for four minutes on high. Then mix the can of mackeral with the oil through the veggies. This makes a main meal for three westies - and costs about $2.00. Hope it helps. :)

Just amazing - beautiful Jess - the resilience never ceases to amaze me... she will find a wonderful home... I just know it! :) :)

Yes so would I - pronto. That photo is not doing him any favours.... :)

Gorgeous photo - yep know what you mean - it gets awfully crowded! I swear I need to buy a kingsize bed next time - its incredible how much room three westies take up - and ones a compact little man! :)

You betcha! Well done! That's a great price. I paid $215 from memory for a medium back seat buddy' three or four years ago and thought that was a good price - washes like a rag and still looks like new. And not a problem if you need to put hoomans in the back as well.. Worth every cent IMO. :)

If you put 'car sickness' into the search on the health and nutrition forum a lot of threads come up which are pretty good discussion - one quite recent. :)

Lovely story. And I'll be she's never forgotten you... Which is why he's settled in well... :)

Yep I get the same. 60 kilos of greyhound that take pillows and doona and I'm perched on the RHS holding on for grim death :laugh: As summer approaches Stan will bail and sleep on the lounge but Maddie will hang in there...after all that's when the fan comes out. Yep me too! Some nights I wake up with a westie in my back, about to go over the edge... Then the 3 am re-arrangement happens... Then we all go back to sleep until the alarm goes off... And then I get up to get Mac his pill ( 30 minutes before breakfast in a little cheese of course), and bring them all a snippet back to the bedroom as three sleepy westie heads emerge from the blankets... Not quite breakfast in bed but close enough.... I then have a shower and dress and then give them breakfast and go to work so I can support them in the style to which they've become far too accustomed... (where's rolly eyes when you need him!).... As I said before... The things we do... :)

That's wonderful news Lilysmum. So good when our seniors do well. :)

What bed? :laugh: I get the Gaza Strip down the RHS of my queensize bed if I'm lucky... and Andy even insists on putting his head on my pillow!! The things we do...

Bailey is just beautiful - such a gorgeous face. Westies and I have all paws and fingers crossed for you that he continues to recover well. :) More photos please!

Oh Sheridan, poor Grumpy man. A very typical dementia behavior And must have been upsetting for you. Are you able to minimise coners and spaces he can now get caught in?

Phew! Glad she's feeling better this morning. Its hard as they get older...

My old westie tolerated it really well - and it really helped him after a massive very painful 4 hour op (full ear ablation.

Yep it is so nice to have such a good story in the face of so many sad ones... :)

Come to think of it, I think you need an internal medicine/neuro specialist... if the symptoms persist or get worse and the vet isn't helping don't delay - get to a specialist fast - for example if its a neuro-bacterial infection the sooner you get to it the better the outcome... Good luck GG...