westiemum

Yep my Sarah was yeasty and very itchy on Black Hawk and it resolved when I changed her dry food. As much as I think Black Hawk is a good food it has a lot of grains in to and doesn't seem to suit many yeast infection prone dogs.

Well its all here for you Melissa - just wanted to add my support and congratulations for doing your homework, taking your time and thinking things through. As for a kelpie x - only if you are a really active family who run a couple of times a day!! Friends of mine, against my advice I might add, bought a BYB kelpie cross - told it was a collie/kelpie x - the poor thing is in a suburban backyard, jumps six foot fences, looks to me like a whippet/kelpie x (not much collie there if its there at all!) and the dog is turning into a menace. This busy family can't exercise this extreme energy dog and the poor dog is bored out of its brain without a job to do in a suburban back yeardand its driving them nuts. So I suggest you slap hubby with this thread and tell him unless he's prepared for at least an hour and a half a day of exercise and training to not even consider a kelpie x - beautiful as they are. I think the suggestion to describe the temperament you want so we can see if its more chi or jrt - or maybe something else and go from there... well done and good luck!!

Thanks tons coogie - you're very welcome!! And so are Danny updates - particularly since Mr Mac appears to have over 47,000 lives and every time I think we are at the end he bounces back - 'Not ready to go yet Mum'!! So his mother is feeling a bit of a fraud... but lovely to share a thread with anyone who's interested as we look after our oldies...

Boronia - Penny the little tart!! Sarah can be a bit tarty occasionally but isn't really fuill-on. But Mac is terribly interested in her girly bits - apparently its the Stilboestrol. One thing I forgot to mention - at some stage we changed Mac from Stilboestrol.to Propalin Syrup - can't remember why. I noticed Mac was becoming quite aggressive but didn't connect the two until I suddenly twigged - so did some research and aggression can be a Propalin side effect - took Mac off the Propalin and back onto Stilboestrol and problem solved. SO be careful if you are prescribed Propalin.

Farewell Mini - keep Mr Grumpy company - I'm sure he's waiting for you. Bug hugs Sheridan from me and the westies.

Thinking of you Rozzie - farewell little Sue.

Thinking of you ricey and family at such a hard time. And hoping I have your bravery, kindness and good sense when the time comes for Mac. Yes it hits you like a train doesn't it?. Lulu you were a lucky girl to have such loving family. As ricey says 'Go well little girl'.

Thank you DD and Mita. Thanks for the tip Mita - great idea - he has to go back to the vet for a check-up next week - so I'll get some then. And the way Mac is going a girlfriend is not out of the question!!

My Sarah who will turn 14 next week had the same problem as a 12 year old - it was as if her bladder sphincter would let go when she was deeply asleep - and it used to really distress her. So off we went to the vet, checked it wasn't a UTI - it wasn't - and she started on Stilboestrel. I also make her sleep on a Conni pad (with her blanket of course!) and wear pants and a pad when she's on my bed. She's never really thrilled with the pants but it means she can still sleep on the bed with me. So problem solved. Good luck and will be interested in what you find and decide.

Yep I was wondering too DD - and the only thing I can think of is that he rolled in some poo and got it in his ear doing his favourite thing - rolling on the lawn. I'm pretty vigilant in picking up the poo but might have missed some. The vet said it could have been anywhere...

Well we had an interesting night last night. I was in jarmies and getting ready to go to bed about 11.30pm. Mac had been asleep most of the evening. Got into bed with the westies down one side as usual and Mac won't settle - I mean really won't settle - he's pacing around the bed, stomping all over me and really keeping us all awake. So I get up and take him outside in the freezing cold hoping a wee will fix it. He does a big wee and then rolls on the cold grass but I notice that he is trying to scratch the RHS of his face. Back to bed we go and he starts shaking his head and rubbing the RHS of his face again. Still won't settle. Hhmn... Slow tired mother finally twigs - its his ear. I have look at it, pull out a mixture of grass, and gunk and his pinna is really red. And it pongs. So at 12.30am I get dressed and head off to the emergency vet. Luckily for both of us our favourite emergency vet was on. (She was supposed to go home four hours prior but a major surgical accident case meant she stayed.) I'm sure Mr Mac knew his favourite vet was on and manouvred the whole thing!! She was very pleased to see him even if it was 1.45 in the morning. (I had to wait). The vet takes a swab and puts it under the scope - bacteria but no evil rods thank goodness. But she still couldn't see if there was a foreign body in the canal - there was too much gunk. So she gave him some pain relief and put a good dose of Demotic down there. Worked like magic and he was asleep in the car before we got home. I left him wrapped in his rug and he went straight to sleep and didn't move until morning. I've continued dosing him today and we'll go back to the vet for a check in a weeks time. Note to Mr Mac - please can you 'go clinical' during normal business hours next time??!! And his tired Mum is about to go to bed!! 'Night all! ETA: And to assuage my guilt I cooked him Maggie Beer's scrambled egg this afternoon

Strictly speaking, state law will override council regulations every time - except where state law is silent or vague on an issue - then the council regs come into force. And Mrs RB is right - local councils IMO live in a perpetual state of confusion. Some might unkindly say they are too stupid for words. So its often useful to get advice and see what type of truck you can drive through council regulations.

Yonjuro read my mind - it may be an intolerance to chicken. My Sarah's stools were exactly the same - very inconsistent and her full-on but inconsistent diarrhoea was really gross for both of us - other times she seemed to be constipated and struggle to poo. And since I took her off all chicken including the meal in dry food she's been fine. And the problem with dry food is that the vast majority have chicken meal. I've also taken her off all grains - so if she has dry food she has Earthborn Coastal Catch without any chicken or grains and it seems to work. Her raw meals are turkey and rice which seems to help her tummy no end. Hope that helps.

Love it Willowlane! And they say I like my westies to 'match'!

I use EzyDog Zero-shock here. I use a short one and a coupler for Andy and Sarah and a single reular length lead for Mr Mac. Love them - they cushion really well.

Thanks Helen and all - he really is the most incredible little dog - I'm sure he has 47, 547 lives.

Yep I'm hoping for some good news too Powerlegs

Any news FF?

Yes so much for his so-called dementia! He problem-solved pulling the pillow down and plonking himself on it in front of the fire!! He's not silly!!

i won't look as I'm finding as I get older I'm less able to handle it. Animal cruelty is widespread in China: bears, dogs, animals skinned alive for their fur... seems to be accepted more widely than they will admit.

As someone who lived in Darwin for 18 years in total, why does this not surprise me?

Yep good post Christina - thats my point too - until FF has a definite diagnosis its impossible to tell what it is. They got it wrong with Mac clinically at first - easy to do but important to get the diagnosis right so you don't spend a lot of money punting on treatments. Good luck with the vet in the morning FF.

FF I've just noticed you are in SA. If you are in Adelaide PM me and I'll give you the name of Macs surgeon who was terrific and experienced with tie-back in case it comes to that.

Oh yes and as Perse said for safety for the moment avoid anything around the neck and continue to use a harness. And that includes no neck restraints at the groomers if you use them.

FF two years ago today Mac went into respiratory crisis - he was literally suffocating to death. It was the worst day of my life. The first queried diagnosis was tracheal collapse which I'm sure you know usually has a grim outcome. At 11 pm that night Mac had an emergency endoscopy to at least confirm the diagnosis of tracheal collapse so I could make good decisions - and yes I was expecting to lose him that night. The endoscopy showed it wasn't tracheal collapse. . The phone call came through and it was laryngeal paralysis and the vet surgeon immediately went to tie-back one of the paralysed cords (arytenoid cartilage actually) at 11.30 on a Sunday night to clear Macs airway so he could breathe. He came home two nights later a completely new dog - the difference was incredible. And he's still here two years later to the day - a doddery old fella with good quality of life. Although he needs specific daily management to protect his permanently open airway, particularly from aspiration pneumonia. The trouble with the symptoms you describe is there are a number of things it could be - tracheal collapse or laryngeal paralysis being just two of them. So the most important thing to do is to get an accurate diagnosis and assessment first. And that will most likely be through endoscopy. And you are then in a better position than I was where I was making on-the-run decisions under great pressure at 11 pm on a Sunday night. So I strongly suggest you stay in control and start on the diagnostic road now so you can stay in control of the process and not get backed into an emergency corner like I did. And make sure the specialist vet who does your endoscopy is also experienced in tie-backs in case that's what it is and you decide to go straight to surgery under the same anaesthetic (assuming that's what you and your vet decide). Getting a vet experienced with this surgery is critical so don't be afraid to check that out and move on if they aren't. But getting an accurate diagnosis if the most important next step for you. Hope that helps and once you let us know what the diagnosis is we can help further. Good luck!! ETA: there seems to be a strong school of thought around that surgery is almost always a last resort. But with laryngeal paralysis IMO. it should be a first consideration not the last as its a structural/neuro disorder - and although some people try stuff like acupuncture, Chiro etc first, often to save money this is one time where I think you need to consider surgery early on. It's not cheap but I think it often ends up cheaper than months on end of unsuccessful alternative therapies. It is also less stressful for an LP dog who most end up having surgery anyway, assuming they are good candidates for surgery. I'm a member of a group of owners of LP dogs and the vast majority of new comers end up going the surgical route, sooner or later. And the vast majority who delay surgery almost all come back and say they regret the decision as it becomes obvious the stress the dog was in after the airway is cleared. Anyway just some further late night thoughts. Hope it helps.