westiemum

Oops trying again...

So sorry to be so late on the scene Caz - I don't come in here often.. Thats such a beautiful tribute to Charlie - he was so lucky to have you and you him. Have fun with Mac Charlie!

kirty you are amazing! Gorgeous photo. I guess you are sleeping on the floor tonight!

Thanks powerlegs - which protexin do you think? Powder? Paste? Liquid? And do you buy direct from IAHP or elsewhere?

Thanks all - thanks Gruf - brilliant advice - I'll find myself a sauce bottle. And thanks SM - as you were posting about vinegar I was reading about it - the dilution for dogs is 1:1. And good to know about the hydrogen peroxide showdog - I'm sure I have some somewhere. And the great thing is all these options are cheap and easily available.

Thank you so much everyone. Really appreciate your posts. Gruffly I had similar concerns about shaving her feet - but - as showdog says, her feet are constantly moist and smelly. And I'm finding it much easier to bath them shaved. But I take the point about itchy grow back between her toes and. resistance to Malaseb. I have some of the medicated Selsun (yellow bottle) which I'll give her a bath with to see if it helps. And yes I think my poor old girl is having everything treated - inside, outside, ears, feet, coat. Anything I've missed?

Sarah my 15 year old westie still has some residual vestibular symptoms some three weeks later after a long course of ABs and Valium - which really seemed to help. She's nowhere near as bad as she was - just a bit wobbly still, some very minor head tilt and a tiny bit of residual nystagmus. She's generally happy with good quality of life. She is also very itchy - again! Luckily I've found a vet who is not a dermatologist but has an interest in skin and we've stated working again to get it under control. I've at last got a proper diagnosis of malassezia. So she has a course of anti-fungal tablets, demotic for her yeasty ears and I've started back giving her some greek yoghurt in the mornings, malaseb foot washes at night and the vet shaved her paws poodle style so we can monitor the licking and paw staining better. I'm really keen to treat this systemically and reduce her level of discomfit if I can. So would a probiotic help? Acidophilus? Protein? Something else? Anything I've missed or not thought about? TIA

Pretty much what TSD said. I had to keep Mac's weight under control for a multitude of reasons - and sweet potato, zucchini, pumpkin and carrots and beef bones and frames really helped. Just recently Sarah's cholesterol got a bit high so chopped out her beloved morning chicken wing - she thinks I'm the meanest mother in the whole wide world!

This. Excellent post Perse. I too second Animalovers suggestion - I found the adaptil spray used on dog beds very effective - in my case more so than the collars.

And my beautiful departed Mac in his prime...

And Snook's beautiful photo of my Sarah - she is a smiley social butterfly!

Snook's beautiful photo of my smiley rescue boy Andy... When I can find the matching Mac and Sarah ones I'll post them too.

Nah! Keep 'em coming!!

Oh my goodness she is adorable. Glad the bed situation has turned out to be a non-issue but it was good to think about and work it through.

Does anyone know if there a scent work class in Adelaide? I'd love to try something like that with Sarah and Andy even though we'd all be absolute novices!!

She's better tonight, her nystagmus and head tilt are still there but much less severe and while she's still circling its usually when she gets up from lying down. She's often able to walk fairly straight and hasn't had any vomitting since last Saturday that I know of. She's been back to the vet tonight, got more ABs and valium, wolfed her dinner down and is snoozing on the lounge. Thanks everyone for your help.

Love kind stories like that.

Thanks griff and rubicon. Yes I'm really hoping this is a once off. She didn't seem as good last night. Circling seemed a bit worse. We're back to the vet on Friday night so will see how she is by then.

Thanks all. Good to know we're all of similar thinking and I'm not overlooking something obvious that might help her. Off to acupuncture ASAP. ????

Well my beautiful 15 year old westie, Sarah, has vestibular disease. She fell off the bed about 7 am last Saturday morning, woke me up and when I went to pick her up I discovered she could barely stand - scared the cr*p out of me. I raced her outside to the pavers and she was able to stand but madly circling right , wobbly and unsteady on her feet - yep, vestibular I thought. Had a wee on the pavers - very unusual for her. Rang the vet, phone diverted and got him out of bed (I thought they opened at 7 am not realising its later on Saturdays ). He was lovely and rang me back with an 8 am appointment then and there with the his vet with a neuro bent. Anyway, Sarah is getting better. I'm hoping it will all completely resolve by the end of the week. My question is apart from acupuncture, how do I give her the best chance possible to avoid a recurrence? Or can't I? Any suggestions?? TIA

Yes no advice here Jelly - but welcome back - I remember you and Roo's journey well.

Suggest you edit the bolded part. Anyone can see this post. :) Thanks sars - careless late night wording. Please could you edit your post too?

Lhok I have no doubt that you are right - there no doubt will be some unintended consequences of an industry shut-down. However I have no doubt that these things will be considered in the transition planning that is about to start. I understand the NSW government has appointed the highly credible John Kennery to oversee the transition. As to having 'no idea' why lure coursing has been targeted as well, I suspect the answer is in the report (which I'm still wading through as time permits) But IMO lure coursing effects and other consequences can be dealt with and are not a reason to pause the greyhound industry shut-down IMO. I would hope that genuine lure coursing without gambling, prize money or live game would continue - unless of course the Commissioner is concerned that lure coursing will simply evolve into a facsimile of the greyhound racing industry - ie that lure coursing will fill the industry gap and attract the bad element - and yes its probably a reasonable concern in a self-regulated sport like lure coursing. But haven't actually read that in the report - that's just late night surmising on my part. Anyway I have to work tomorrow so I'm going to bed. To be continued.

Sorry but this could not be more wrong. I have earned my living helping organisations shift and re-align their cultures, and the factors for successful culture change do not exist in this industry and probably never will. And that's clearly what the Commission of Inquiry found if you read the report. You can't force anyone or any organisation to change and be accountable. It has to be driven from the top internally and its tough work to get each and every individual on board with any change and requires huge and prolonged commitment. I know - I've done it over years in organisations desperate to change (unlike this industry) - and its still shockingly resource intensive, requires high levels of know-how, rock-solid executive buy-in and hard work over a long period of time. Dragging an organisation or industry kicking and screaming to the change table doesn't work. And yes you can check the literature if you like. The silence from the large-step change organisations who have the capacity to attempt something like this (eg McKinsey's, Deloitte's) is absolutely deafening. I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole either (not that I could). This industry has had years and years to culture shift and has chosen instead to hide, duck, weave and consistently state 'move on, nothing to see here'. However now it can't avoid the evidence, its 'we're changing, we're changing - just give us time' - and then people like the Commission of Inquiry and Dr Bryant pop up with evidence that that's clearly not the case. Changing this industry is a lost cause. And yes I'm sorry for the good people - but they too clearly stood by and did nothing. So time's up. The industry now needs to get on board with an orderly shut-down and transition. The public and now the government have clearly had enough. It's too late for anything else - and time to make greyhound racing illegal as it is in much of the rest of the world.