westiemum

Yippee Girl you've picked up on something that really alarmed me - there was little concern or even awareness by the people on the footage that this activity is completely unacceptable. Which means that this industry is unlikely to be able to successfully self-regulate or change.

Yes... as I said in my post, our neighbour who represented best practices was a decent & intelligent man. His day job was as public servant. Nobody's yet answered my question why best practices, which I witnessed, do not get presented in the public arena. The public is left with the notion that these pathetic excuses for human beings are the only ones. It's not a case of who's in the majority or minority. It's a case of expectations of what must be regulated as the norm in greyhound racing....i.e. best practices. And examples also presented to the public so they know that decency & intelligence can (& must) exist in greyhound racing. Dispelling the notions that cruelty is required for an owner/trainer & his greys to be successful. If steps aren't taken to be proactive, then the public can hardly be blamed for joining in the chorus of those who want greyhound racing banned. Because it's the media. Just look at what the same program did with Indonesian Abattoirs. They didn't mention that they were showing very few and the vast majority are actually at a world class standard. What they show is disgusting and very wrong, but it won't do any good painting everyone with the same brush. Agreed Lisa - but Whippet is suggesting that it is widespread and systemic across the greyhound racing and training industry. So it may not be a minority. I guess the investigations announced in Victoria will show if thats correct or not as it was clear this morning that Sal Perna, the Victorian Integrity Commissioner means business and intends to run a wide-ranging and thorough investigation. He hinted that a previous investigation probably missed evidence that went underground - I doubt that will now happen this time. I hope not.

Whippet if thats true then the whole industry must become heavily government regulated or completely shut-down - preferably the latter. Any form of dog racing is now illegal in 39 states in the US - its time for us to go the same way.

Hi Krislin, The Victorian Integrity Commissioner is calling for people to come forward - you might want to consider making a submission - and I hope you do.

To be aware is the first thing and you are that Regarding the deafness, just make sure she is aware you are there before you touch her. If you have wooden floors walk heavily so the vibration will alert her to your presence. My oldest dog is Danny who is approx 16. He is going blind and deaf as well and has less sight in one eye than the other, so I always try to make sure I am on the side with better sight if I want to gain his attention. As for sleeping ----- it is what they do best LOL. As hard as it is when we recall their younger selves, we need to get used to it. Some mornings, I can hardly wake Danny up to give him his multitude of medications. I empathise as many DOLers would. The hardest thing, I think, is recognising that our dogs are getting old and many are on borrowed time. ETA a pic from this morning of my old boy DD Danny is just divine...

Headily thanks tons for posting. Snap! Sarah had really runny yellow diarrhoea which was just disgusting but not like the cow pat on the web site. But her wind can clear a room - its shocking. Although Sarah has put on weight of late her weight plummeted last year and i was really worried about her - she was investigated but we found nothing - but clearly didn't connect the dots well enough.Thanks for the Enzplex advice. After I talk with the vet on Tuesday night I'll go from there - but I'll be surprised if Creon isn't on the cards. Couple of quick questions if you don't mind - is the cTLI test expensive? And I assume Tylan is an AB? (I haven't heard of that one before). And who made your GSDs diagnosis? Was it a specialist? (Please feel free to PM if you prefer). Thanks very much again for posting - really appreciated.

Good excuse to introduce myself to the new neighbours! ('Here's some dog food - welcome to the neighbourhood'! )

Thanks DD - I'll see if I can get in touch with them - but I must admit I'm tempted to try the cheer Purina stuff first that was mentioned in Angela's thread!! I'll take her to the vet on Tuesday night and go from there. Thanks tons again

I'm suspicious that chicken is part of the problem with my Sarah too - and I'm also suspicious that chicken makes her itchy. Since I switched her to turkey mince and rice she's been much better itchy-wise. But she's still having trouble tummy-wise. So we're off to the vet on Tuesday night and we'll go from there.

Thanks mackie - yes I had some experience with that myself in early January - and hell did my tummy hurt - and that sucked! I've always had pretty much a cast iron stomach so it all came as a bit of a shock. But interestingly nothing since. So i'm hoping it was a once off. And yes again now I've started connecting the dots I'd really like to get to the bottom of Sarah's tummy troubles. I hate the thought of her in pain - and I'm now feeling a bit guilty as this has been going on - off and on - for a long time.

I used to be a raw feeder too, Westimum, but I guess like all things to do with stomachs of any creatures, age and illness bring on changes. Bunter is no yard stick as he will eat virtually anything that is called food, but when Jeune and Tamar will eat something straight off without carrying on as though it needs to go to the Royal Taster in case it is poisoned and then walking around it and sniffing with the greatest of suspicions, I reckon it must be okay. :laugh: Danny wasn't too keen on the green tripe medallions, and his BIGGEST FAVOURITE EVER is the chicken breast . In the past if I have tried to get him to eat anything in the mornings, he has totally turned his head away because he obviously wasn't feeling well, but this morning he has had some dried chicken breast and goat wafers. AND has kept it down. Until Valbitz put me onto these suppliers, I had reached the stage of not offering him anything before late afternoon because he would either refuse it, or if he did eat it, he would bring it up. Valbitz bought my latest supplies for me because my previous order took eleven days to arrive . She included some of the dried turkey (which her dog didn't like) and my dogs loved it. Another food Danny will eat - just a small amount - is the Natural Balance sensitivity kibble. Trinabean meantioned it in a thread when I was getting desparate and I had to google to find a vet who stocked it, but it was just in the next suburb and was well worth trying. Frankly, I know it is drummed into us that raw is best, but all things are general, specifics are more important where diet and health are concerned. Look at ActuallyAngela's thread where she has been trying to find a kibble which suits her dog with tummy problems. :laugh: Keep us informed. I hope that you have the good fortune I have had. OK - have an appointment at the vet on Tuesday night. So I'll get her tested and go from there. Sarah has always had a bit of a dicky tummy so it will be good to get to the bottom of it - so to speak! Interesting that your order took a long time to arrive. I've just tried to use their contact form through their website - twice - and its not going through. So maybe they just need to improve their processes. And yes I think you're right - they do change with illness and age. Anyway before I do anything else I'll see the vet on Tuesday. Thanks all - this has been really helpful.

Thanks tons brightstar123 - sorry I missed your post. I'll get Sarah back to the vet this week. At my regular vet there's a new vet who I've seen twice and I was impressed with the way she worked with me - and was very sensible - she actually understood the need to get Mac onto ABs very quickly if he's showing signs of AP. She gave me a small supply to tide me over until I can get him back to the vet when it happens again - and it will happen (he has an open airway after tie-back surgery) - I was impressed with her as its been a sticking point with other vets. I do understand why they are reluctant but I'll always advocate for what I think is best for my dog. And I'm not silly - I know when he shows signs of AP we need to get him to the vet - but it always seems to happen when the vet is closed - and in such an old dog hours can make a difference. . So I'll see if I can get an appointment with her and ask her about those tests. Thanks tons for your help. ETA Sarah's HGE was some years ago and I don't remember her being tested for pancreatitis. You know its funny... over the years we have queried pancreatitis on and off but its been really mild and intermittent so we've never really followed it up and she's always recovered quickly from whatever it was. And I must admit I've been suspicious for a long time that the HGE might have been the source of her 'tummy troubles' - she's always seemed to have a bit of a 'sensitive' tummy. Maybe it is all connected.

Thanks DD - yes I am getting a bit weary with it all. I'm a raw feeder but if it will help Sarah I'm willing to get her a suitable dry food. DD I've had a quick look at their website and I see they do a duck and turkey variety whichj would be good for Sarah and the salmon and sardine would be good for Mac. How have you found it with Danny? I'm also wondering if some green tripe might help Sarah? Thoughts? TIA

Thanks cavNrot - yes it is - very interesting. Will do some research tomorrow. Thanks very much for posting.

Thanks tons T - I'll discuss with the vet next week and go from there. I'll be surprised if it turns out to be anything else - she really looks pretty text book to me. Will post back when I have some news. Thanks again. In the meantime, I'd still be very interested to hear from anyone with a dog with EPI and how they managed?

Thanks tons T, very kind - my research suggests that Creon is the only pancreatic enzyme for these dogs available in Australia - so yes I'd love them. I'll PM you...

Hi All, I've been having a lot of trouble lately with Sarah, my 13 year old westie who was desexed at the age of 5 after two litters with her breeder and had two bouts of HGE at ages 5 and 6 - I'm not sure if any of that is connected to her current gut/GI/continence difficulties. She is wee incontinent overnight almost every night for the last week - a huge increase on the occasional incontinence she's had for some years. It seems to happen when she's really deeply asleep. Wondering if the Stilboestrol has stopped working. I had to put 'pants' on her last night and the pad was wet this morning. She is on a bland, turkey mince, ground turkey bone and basmati rice diet as anything else - especially red meat seems to make her worse. She walks hunched as if she has a pain in her belly. She has terrible wind that can clear a room, rumbly tummy, occasional yellow diarrhoea and vomiting. The occasional vomiting is bright yellow, foamy and has undigested 'bits' in it. Similarly the intermittent watery poo has a yellow tinge to it too and - and she has become more 'snappy' than usual around food. Last year she lost a lot of weight but since we've been 'home' in the new house she's put it back on again to the point where I think she's almost too heavy. Still eats well and wolfs her breakfast and dinner. Otherwise she seems happy enough and she's still wagging her tail. A friend who is very knowledgeable about dogs and food suggested that I should check for EPI - I'd never heard of it. And certainly when I did a search it seems its a possibility. But I thought I'd check the DOL brains trust first. Has anyone any experience with this or can help me shed some light on what's going on here before we head back to the vet ? As in hindsight, I may not have given the vet enough to go on the first time. so we haven't got to the bottom of it. TIA

IF DD and VM are I'm not even going to look at it.

Here's the link to the 2014 Canstar Report on Pet Insurance - makes interesting and surprising reading. I'm with PetPlan - have been for years and can't move now as my westies are too old to insure elsewhere - but PetPlan didn't rate at all. Friends with a new Mini Schnauzer puppy have gone with PIA Accident and Illness cover - their thinking is that insurance is for stuff they would struggle to pay for - so didn't want cover for routine stuff. Anyway hope it helps.

Excellent post sandgrubber. Couldn't agree more. You post well when you've had a few! The amount of stress and rot that goes into dog feeding debates is ridiculous IMHO. My westies do very well on raw and I actually agree with Gruf - the less processed the better - and for me and Gruf its soooo much cheaper and Adelaide Dog is so convenient! Yet others find their dogs do well on dry food ( whats this 'kibble' stuff??!! ). So feed what your dogs do best on and stress less!

Oh S -I'm so sorry for you and Kenz. I've just seen this thread. Fly free gorgeous girl - and S if there's anything I can do for you please let me know. Take care. Mac, Sarah, Andy and me all send you our love and best.

Thanks Maddy - good explanation.

^^^^ Excellent advice Mavis.

Just be wary of Easotic drops and ask lots of questions if its prescribed. It contains a form of gentamicin which can be ototoxic in humans. I'm suspicious that it might have caused my Sarah's sudden late onset deafness... I really must learn to ask many more questions and read the labels in future.

Lola12456 theres a lot to be said for introducing the dog to the neighbours - then your dog becomes an individual they know not just that noisy anonymous mutt over the fence who's driving us nuts. My Sarah (westie) would bark at the previous neighbour when she was hanging out her washing in her backyard - couldn't see her but heard her. The neighbours knew my dogs. The neighbour used to poke her head over the fence and tell Sarah to stop barking and it worked. I know it shouldn't have - reinforcing through attention and all that - but it did work for some reason. Maybe Sarah was barking for attention because she was lonely (very social girl my girl!) Not sure. But the point is that through knowing my dogs if there was ever any problem with them the neighbours came to me first rather than to the council.