westiemum

Hi All, Not that I want to enable or anything... BUT... there are some seriously good savings on the Orvis website at the moment if anyone is interested here DD where are you??!! Click on that link!!!

Mine are always 'starving'!! Their bad mother never feeds them of course... (roll eyes here!)

I hung out some washing earlier this afternoon and it was absolutley putrid. I haven't been out since! The westies race outside for a quick wee and then barrel back in through the doggie door as fast as they can!

Thank you both. It really helps to talk about it.

Yep I remember that!! (Yes this heat is definitely pickling my brain... has the cool change arrived yet??!!)

Blink blink you're a woman after my own heart - I'm a hydration nazi - I do the 'westie soup' trick too as I like to make sure my guys are really well hydrated - particularly since they've been on the dry - its a 'dry soup'!!

I'll ring Karina on Monday, Thanks ness.

True Snook. Its just you should see the performance that has been getting worse here in the mornings over the past month!! Anyone would think I was trying to poison them the way they mope and carry on!! Which is why I think its time for a change. But yes you're right - you do what your dog does best on - maybe a raw/dry combo in the mornings to change them over might work or maybe I could just add some raw to the dry?

Hmm... didn't know prey packs were on offer ness - I'll ask about them too. My guys would absolutely love that.

Yep I'm not heavily into blood and guts either! Thank goodness for Karina and Ben at Adelaide Dog who do the 'dirty work'!! Yep my guys get the 200g end of that range or they get too fat! Packing up in sistema containers is a great idea.

Thank you all so much - they are great ideas - I swear this heat is pickling my brain. I might start switching them back to raw in the mornings gradually by mixing in your suggestions and see how it goes. Snook the whole sardines is a great idea. I'll see what Karina can offer thats 'chicken-less'. Thanks and keep the ideas coming - I feel like a bad mother feeding dry food in the mornings - I think its like giving them Maccas every day - and if I was getting that I reckon I'd turn my nose up at it too!

My westies have never been terribly keen on dry food - but early this year (?) for breakfast I switched them to VIP grain free (Andy) and then to Earth Born grain free coastal catch (Sarah) to see if it was the chicken necks which were at the bottom of Sarah's itchiness/possible allergies . (Yes I've done a strict elimination diet with her and it didn't help - I still really have no idea why she seemed to scratch). I also switched them to a combo of turkey and rice or turkey and mackerel at night which they wolf down so they haven't had any chicken of any sort for months. Since Mac died (coincidence?) Sarah has really been really turning her nose up at the dry in the morning - and I mean really flatly refusing to eat it.(I have two types and she's not keen on either). They do the westie dance for their raw meals at night and for their occasional bones but are really mopey and unimpressed when the dry gets put down in the morning (and no I'm not humanising it - they really mope and have to be physically picked up and put in front of their bowls) And to be honest she still paw licks in particular and scratches a bit and always has. (Andy is no problem - he eats whatever is put in front of him and doesn't appear to itch or scratch). So while I was at the supermarket this afternoon I bought a packet of chicken necks for the first time in a very long time - and you'd think the way they danced they'd won the lottery. They wolfed them down. So I think I'm going to try them back on raw breakfasts - what else could I given them in the mornings that's raw and not chicken? ( I don't want to give bones as I'd need to leave them unsupervised - I think). Or do I just give them the necks? Other ideas? TIA.

Thanks T. I find the weekdays a little easier simply because they are so busy. On the weekends where I get down to a slow gallop its harder and I think of him more often. Its funny, I was in the car this morning heading to the supermarket and I was suddenly crying after the thought of him popped into my head.

Well it will be a month tomorrow since Mac went to God. In some ways its gone very quickly, but in others it feels like it was yesterday. We're all still adjusting to being a family of three not four and I'm still missing my amazing little man terribly - I still find it hard to believe he's gone and miss his funny snugly ways. I so miss his snuggles and his sleeping and snoring on my chest in the evenings . Those evenings were really special - precious memories. But it is good to be able to spend time with Sarah and Andy who have taken such a back seat for the last 12 months. And I admit it's so much easier with just two westies - Mac was very 'high maintenance' for the last year of his life and so while his departure brings a funny sense of relief it also brings with it an underlying sense guilt. I know intellectually I couldn’t have done more for him and its now Sarah and Andy’s time - but it still hurts - they don’t need me like Mac did! And maybe that’s part of the problem - that loss of feeling needed - so there’s quite an adjustment when such a dependent family member departs. So at an intellectual level its interesting and quite unexpected - there's a sense of guilt that I feel relieved that I don't have to work as hard looking after him now - and yet there's a great sense of loss, a huge hole as Sarah and Andy don't need me like Mac did. But I know I will see him again and that gives me hope and great comfort.

Yes its happened here too - Andy is a clever little man and he somehow learned that if he steps on that button the window goes down if his stupid mother has forgotten to put the child lock on! (Or there have been visitors in the car). LG to be honest I think you got lucky or the autosenosr kicked in - its very easy to crush the trachea/break the hyoid. You might have hit the soft tissue between the cartilage rings - which while they can be damaged are much more flexible. But wouldn't want to make a habit of it!

My guys Sarah and Andy had their summer clips (read crew cuts!) on Tuesday and it was very hot. But the facility was air-conditioned and I asked them not to blow dry but let them dry 'au naturelle'. They were fine - and I'm really pleased I got it in just before this four days of over 40 degrees as they have been so much more comfortable.

Yes I think Propalin is a good drug but it does have side effects in some dogs - it made my Mac quite aggressive - and he settled the moment I changed him to Stilboestrel. The Propalin just didn't agree with him.

And you sleep with the soft toy for a day or two before giving it to your puppy - it will then have your scent on it and he'll be familiar with your scent when its time for him and his toy to come home with you. Friends did this with their schnauzer puppy - worked brilliantly!

Sorry Scottsmum - but it takes a lot to impress me - but yes I'm seriously impressed with this bed - and that waterproof cover for the foam insert is just awesome - you have no idea how pleased I was not to have to try and wash the foam as well!

Oops I forgot - yes I used disposable toddler pants (or nappies?) on Mac at one stage during a particularly bad spot - I think the 6-12 month age ones but I forget - but I didn't find they worked as well as the pants and pads for poo incontinence. But you could certainly try them. You can also get some disposable toddler bed mats - called 'Dri Nites' or something - and they were handy to put into dog beds or on lounges etc as extra protection - assuming your old boy doesn't rip them up!

nelsona you could have written my Mac's story - he was incontinent of both wee and poo for the last few years of his life before he went to God on 20 November. The way I managed it was he wore a bellyband inside with a poise pad in it (You might need the bigger ones). If his poo incontinence was particularly bad I would put a pair of Sarah's pants with a pad on him as well as the belly band - but it was very bulky and disrupted his already wonky gait - so he only wore pants as well when absolutely necessary. OK now heres the really grotty part. I had to weigh up his discomfort wearing the pants to catch the poo (as well as a belly band) against my inconvenience in toiletting him regularly (particularly after meals) and picking up the occasional log. (Because of his neurological disorder he would not always realise it was coming out before it was too late - I often found them near the doggy door in the laundry). So I decided to pick up the occasional logs and only put him in pants when absolutely necessary. I kept a couple of small containers of the disinfectant wipes around the house, along with a roll of loo paper and become pretty adept at picking it up with the loo paper and wiping with the wipes. The truth is I'd rather pick up poo than clean up a wee. I had a small compost bin with lid in the laundry with a plastic bag in it to put the used pads in which then went out with the rubbish each week. We managed like this for some years. The bellybands I liked the best came from Glenndarcy in the UK - they were the right shape and the velcro didn't fall apart after a couple of washes. Most importantly Mac seemed to find them the most comfortable. Link here Don't be tempted to buy the cheaper supermarket brand pads - I found they leaked like crazy. The Poise Pads were far better and still a reasonable price if you stock up when they are on special. Poor Mac got to wear female dog pants for his poo incontinence when needed - but I think you can buy pants for catching poo for boys too. So basically I used a combination of regular toiletting (really important), bellybands, dog pants, good quality pads, disinfectant wipes and rolls of loo paper. With a belly band on Mac slept on my bed until the day he went to God. Hope that helps.

Great news Perse - glad she's got a good job and is happy

And an update - yes the battle for the Orvis lounge bed is in full swing here! Andy has decided this lounge bed business is a damn fine thing and seems to prefer it to the flat bed - he's even sleeping with his head on the bolster!! Hmm... looks like I'll have to get another one eventually for winter. And after this weekend I'm even more of a fan of these beds than I was before. Yesterday Sarah had a bad day continence wise - twice she accidentally wee'd while deeply asleep - one on the lounge and once on the new Orivis lounge bed. Oh well I thought - was bound to happen at some stage. So I cleaned up the lounge and then took the cover off the bed to wash wondering what sort of shape the memory foam was in - and was delighted to find it was in a brilliant zip waterproof cover as well which stopped the wee going through to the foam!! So wiped over the foam insert, washed the cover, it dried really quickly and is now back on the bed good as new. Don't know about anyone else, but this is the first time I've come across a dog bed so well designed that even the foam has a waterproof cover. Just brilliant and worth every cent. And here's the wonderful surprise I found when I unzipped the cover...

Exactly Tassie - well said. I was just looking at Mac's thread - and I started that back on 19 April this year - never knowing how long he would have. And it turned out he had another 7 months - and I treasured everyday and knowing a wonderful group of DOLers was there for us too. So gilly I'd really encourage you to keep 'talking' with us - there will be incredible ups and downs - and I found it really comforting to share with the people here - no-one understands like DOL people do - and damn I'm crying again...

Gilly I'm so sorry to read about Anna - while I'm glad she's at home and feeling better, having recently got off this roller coaster myself I know just how hard and emotionally draining it can be. Yes it does sound like something that is spreading but I'm no expert. There does come a time when you know its time to simply be comfy at home. I hope you can have some really special time with Anna now - you are an incredibly courageous sole to so bravely put her needs first - as I know how hard that can be.