westiemum

Jase good on you for not being afraid to take the oldies on. As to your old bassett girl, she will likely repay you a hundred-fold - but do your homework and go in with your eyes open. This girl is likely to require some rehab and a lot of love and patience - and the vet work will cost. Her 'undercarriage' (non-breeder here!) will likely eventually return to normal. I would suggest that you have her vet checked as soon as you get her - and be prepared for her needing some initial treatment (eyes, ears, skin etc.) Then once her undercarriage is 'up' have her desexed ASAP. My westie girl had had her last litter before I got her (I didn't know at the time) - so I waited a couple of months for her undercarriage to go up and then had her desexed. Similarly with a cavvie who had been used for breeding who a friend took on - initially her undercarriage was on the ground yet after a few months she was back to normal. So good on you for considering her - its a wonderful thing that you do - and I'm sure with some TLC she'll be a marvellous companion for you and your daughter. Good luck!

Yep the worst tenants I have ever seen didn't have pets - in fact in my experience the best tenants are those with pets as they are extra careful and grateful for somewhere where they are allowed their pets. Friends of mine own a great B and B in the Adelaide Hills - and they said that when they decided to go 'pet friendly' all their B and B colleagues said they were mad. And yet since then their business has boomed and they said they have never once had a problem with people's pets (dogs mainly) - and its for the same reason - people are so grateful they are extra careful. In fact the worst people were non-pet people!

My 10 year old girl westie is an obsessive foot licker - particularly at 3 am :rolleyes:. So this week I'm going to try soaking her feet in diluted apple cider vinegar... so you could try that too... suspect it will work to get rid of the itchy yeast between her toes...

Gem! That's it! Thanks tons!

Thank you B, thats really helpful - as its her ears and feet I need to do and just couldn't remember the ins and outs. And how much do you add to their food (or is it water)? Is it best by weight or is it just say a capful? There was a thread though which had littel discussion and was more a list of posts on the uses of acv which I was hoping to find...

I love my vets - they work with me and when I told them about Mac's 'herbal tea' for his dementia they were very supportive. They also are not pressuring me into vaccinations for the old boy (nor my old cat for that matter). They only recommend vaccinations for my insured dogs as otherwise claims can be rejected. So go see Christine or Derek on the Parade... I'll be surprised if you aren't happier there...

Hi All, Have searched high and low for that old thread on apple cider vinegar uses - and I can't for the life of me find it. It was a really terrific thread. Please can anyone help out? TIA.

anniek who did you buy through? Your post makes me a bit nervous as I'll need to order some more shortly. And having inadvertently lost some canine dementia medication through AQIS (my fault for not thinking, not theirs), I'd hate for it to happen again. I bought from amber_wolf_pets from ebay... And this stuff is fantastic!

Are you talking about the local supplier? If you are, yes they are expensive. I bought a 180g container from the UK and even including postage the price seemed reasonable to me. And it sure beats the price of a GA and dental - aprticularly for my old boy with early dementia who really shouldn't have anymore GAs if at all possible...

OK - just reporting in - Mac has been on Plaque Off for 3 - 4 weeks - and I can't beleive the improvement. The plaque which was covering his back teeth is almost gone! And his breath is better too!! Well I'm a convert! I was sceptical but this stuff actually works!! Thanks tons to whoever suggested it. You have saved my dementing old fella another GA... and his mother is eternally grateful!

I was talking to an SA rescue service about one of their 5 year olds... and then the hot water service blew up... so I had to pull out... Then a few weeks later I was early to a work meeting (unheard of!) telling a colleague I was looking for an adult dog to give a home to. She flipped me an email that she had just received about some dogs who needed a home and I answered it (Turned out to be a number of ex-Freedom Kennels dogs who had narrowly avoided a bullet). I had a nice few emails from the man on the other end of my colleague's email and yet I doubted I'd hear from him again... I was wrong. I received an email from him a few weeks later asking would I be interested in meeting a 6 year old westie who needed a home? Would I what! My dream breed which I never thought I could afford, let alone find the adult that I really wanted. (I had fallen in love with a neighbours elderly westie some years before). Apparently, I was the only one who asked any questions and they picked me out of 30 or 40 enquiries! (Yes there is a God!) So I met my darling Mac on the Adelaide Cup holiday in March 2006 at his foster families home and it was love at first sight. I sat on the ground and he crawled into my lap and hasn't left it since. He came on a two week trial (to see if he would get on with the cat - he did!) and of course has been here ever since. And the bonus is his foster Mum and Dad have become two of my most treasured friends. I love all three of my westies deeply - but Mac is my heart dog - he was my first westie and I adore him. Absolutley nothing I wouldn't do for him.

Hi Gayle Gayle thats odd - I've never heard of a high-shedding westie, but I suppose there is always a first. I always describe westies as low-shedding (mine shed a bit after a clip or a bath),as I genuinely don't believe there is such a thing as a no-shedding dog. Anyway I agree with the poster who said this trend towards no brushing no clipping, no shedding diadvantaging gorgeous long-haired breeds... well maybe those people should get a stuffed toy instead... The list of non-shedding dogs includes a Westie. A friend of mine had one, a very, very nice pedigree boy who shed more than her 3 Aussies combined.

Done! Very interesting

Gee she's gorgeous!! look at those eyes - and I don't normally say that about BIG dogs!!

Sheridan I'd be there in a flash if I was a bit closer Hopefully a kind closer DOLer will give you a hand?? I know what its like to have certain things you simply can't do on your own (suspect we will get to a point where I'm going to need a hand with Mac too... )

Hi Sheridan, Hmn... that doesn't sound good... I think I'd be going back to the vet. I've forgotten the name of it but there is another drug that you might try if the Vivitonin doesn't seem to be helping - and it doesn't always help some dogs. Good luck and let us know how you get on?

Hi All, I'm with schnauzer . Having had a number of rescues through my home, this study confirms my small scale experience. My 12 year old westie who has been out of the dog factory (Freedom Kennels) for 5 years, while now generally well adjusted, has NEVER got over his fear of big dogs. Similarly, my younger ex dog factory westie thought to be about 6 now (but who really knows), is making slow progress. He is a brave little alert barker at home and incredibly timid ball of fear outside home who sits on my foot and won't leave my side. This is in contrast to my registered breeder girl who if anythign is a little over confident :rolleyes: (hussie that she is ) The psychological damage in my two westies is severe and of very long-standing. It doesn't seem to matter how hard I try to rehab these boys, their fear behaviours remain .

Hi Mita - your vet is a smart man! And yes these poor little doggies who wind up in rescue all deserve homes as much as any p/b. I'm only against the mass breeding of these genetically unsound dogs who as adults look so odd . Westie, you've said something very close to what a vet once remarked to me. I used to take our p/b tibbies to his vet surgery....& he really loved and admired them, for all the characteristics that had been bred into them, by registered breeders who were passionate about the breed. He said that it frustrated him, how so many people were bringing 'designed' oodles to him & those poor little dogs often had so much against them. He could not understand why anyone would buy in that direction, when fine examples of purebreds exist (& other smalll purebreeds as well as tibbies). Like, that very day, our tibbie girl had palled up with the loveliest little p/b poodle that was in the surgery, too. Another example, that made him shake his head....why people would go past such delightful creatures. And it's not those dear little crossbreeds' fault. As spyke's pointed out, they are so likely to turn up in rescue, where they deserve a loving home, like any dog. But it's why people breed & sell & buy those little mites, in the first place.

Missymoo I'm not sure what you mean? Before FK shut down, they had a notorious reputation for selling puppies with problems over the net? Kia didn't know FK had closed. Can you calrify please? How and WHY do they get away with this then???!!!

Yes it has closed DBT - a couple of years ago - and I believe the RSPCA took the remaining breeding dogs (in late 2009?) - but there seems to be remnant of a website rising from the ashes - although it hasn't changed in the last almost 12 months so hopefully it will never see the light of day again...

Yep Kia agreed - and rehabbing Mac (a former Freedom Kennels breeding westie) has cost a fortune as well - I estimate his first foster family spent at least 1k on him in the 6 weeks they had him and I've spent between 13 - 15k over the last almost 6 years. And I'd do it all again in a heart beat. And yes Freedom Kennels is no more - thank goodness.

Just got back from the dog park (Conyngham Street for any Adelaideans reading this thread - its huge!) - and its a gorgeous spring day in Adelaide. I was there an hour and couldn't believe it - it was chock a block full of purebreeds - Welsh springer spaniel, a cocker, dalmatian, old english sheepdog (what a superb boofer), an overweight french bulldog,gorgeous schnauzer puppy, bc, a couple of cavs, a couple of retrievers, a couple of labs, my three westies... and one solitary spaniel x poodle... Anyway long story short... I started talking to the lady with the spaniel x poodle cross (never one to lose an opportunity!) When I explained my two boys were both puppy farm rescues, she rather sheepishly said her dog came from a puppy farm but she 'didn't know it at the time'. Turns out the dog came from Freedom Kennels, was incredibly ill when they first got him and cost her a fortune in vet bills. I gently said 'well you won't do that again will you' and something along the lines that her chances of winning the low shedding genetic lottery twice were not high. She said 'never again' while wistfully looking at a park full of beautiful purebreeds... I watched her for a while and she seemed to be looking at each of the other dogs in turn... I took the opportunity of suggesting if in the future she really wanted a crossbreed then to consider a rescue service or the pound - she agreed. For me it was also another opportunity to look at one of these crosses at very close range, side by side with a number of purebreeds - it was ratty, 'brainless', poor coat, gangly looking thing - although the owner said he was 'a lovely dog' - and he certainly appeared to be nice natured . And yes I know I'm biased but the difference was stark... and the crossbreed owner could see it... and I continue to scratch my head and wonder how people choose these dogs with all the myths that surround them... It also got me thinking - the fight for purebreeds is not lost... if every DOLer made a point of doing one or two 'dog park conversions' a year, then I think we could turn the tide... And in case anyone is wondering I was unfailing polite! (Even though I felt like asking how she could be so stupid!) :D

My girl westie would 'snob' me for 24 hours if I'd been away for a couple of days - she'd literally turn her back on me - while the boys would be all overme like a rash the moment I walked in the door! :rolleyes: So KenDOL I'm sure B will come around. Hope you are feeling better and healing well

RIP you very beautiful boy. And so pleased that you were with him at the end and got to say goodbye. Take care Jacquie.

Leema don't forget Jo's home brew at Adelaide Dog - although its a bit of a hike for you I suspect, if you're ever up on Payneham Road I suggest that you stop in there. Here raw mix is fantastic and only 4.50/kg. My guys love it.