westiemum

Nope!

Everyone here is praying for you and your little girl tonight RMS. You will get through it , knowing this is the last great gift you can give her. Mac will look after her for you until you meet again. Take care.

Yep agreed. My Andy, a puppy farm rescue has come such a long way - but he's never got over his fear of strangers, dark-haired men or people he doesn't initially recognise. And whatever I've done to help him on this particular fear has never worked. The latest episode was we walked to the local shop on the seafront and I thought 'A coffee! Good Idea'! Wrong! I didn't think, its summer here and the local deli at lunchtime is packed. The moment Andy walked into the shop (dogs are allowed) and saw it was full of strangers he absolutely freaked out, slipped his harness and bolted for the footpath. Thank goodness a quick thinking man behind me grabbed him. Some years ago, Sarah was really frightened by a white dinner plate which rattled onto the floor next to her. So of course for the next few years I couldn't feed her from white plates of any type nor would she go near any white plates. In my experience fear is never unlearned - so don't use it to teach in the first place.

And just to show I'm actually not losing my tiny mind. I just opened the new tub of Protexin - and its white. While the photo isn't perfect, I wasn't imaging it when I thought the other earlier one looked a strange greyish colour. Here they are in the same light : The first problem tub is on the right. The one I opened and will keep this afternoon is on the left with the yellow spoon poking out. I remember the powder being white, not greyish. I have no idea why there is such a variation in colour but I'm not prepared to risk it. DD suggested I return the earlier greyish one to the problem supplier and I think I will. I know they won't do a refund - but at least I've done all I can to stop this happening to anyone else. Take note Protexin users!

Apologies Troy - should have been in off topic. Cheers, Westiemum. Hi All, As it says - I appear to have some mould on the grout between the tiles in my shower alcove. Apart from the commercial spray thingos, what other tricks do people have for removing it? (I'll be having a rental inspection next month). TIA

And some good news - I re-ordered the Protexin from Country Vet in East Bendigo https://countryvet.com.au/ on Wednesday (afternoon IIRC) and it arrived either yesterday or today to my Post Box. Yay!

Yep I saw them DD. Bit annoyed actually as the listing makes it seem that having them would be really onerous - and it wouldn't be. To start with you'd need to get on top of things - but they would be easy peasy in the long run. If Sarah was younger and I wasn't in a rental I'd have them in a heartbeat.

Just gorgeous DD. Can't add anything more to the wonderful posts and advice you have here DD. Just all fingers and paws crossed for you here She's a lovely old girl and just love those photos. Its so important to take a stack of them - here's a similar one I took of Sarah earlier in the week who is 16.5 years - and yes her time is coming too - but at the moment her quality of life is good - if a bit wobbly! So important to have these wonderful memories of them.

Thanks all for your recommendations and advice - really helpful as usual. The real depth and strength of a company is how they deal with complaints as occasionally things do go wrong - and sadly this company only does well as long as things go well. For me they have fallen down badly in what was a a relatively simple customer service issue. Companies who treat their customers like this and operate online don't serve our support IMO. So beware.

Thanks MM - thats a good recommendation - and its good to know people like Blackmores Pet stuff - its easily obtainable and usually well priced. I've already ordered more Protexin through Country Vet in Bendigo but will review my guys supplements in view of everyones recommendations. Yes they do like to chow down on dead stuff - and the smellier the better!

Thanks Spotty - I already use 4 cyte for both westies - and I have some Omega oil which I'd forgotten about but can start using. I'll have a look for the Blackmores Probiotic - I really like Blackmores as a brand generally - usually high quality stuff I find. I find I need to be careful of Sarah's tummy though - it seems to get upset very easily - and then she gets the runs. So I'll take it quietly.

Are there other brands you would recommend Spotty? I have been using Protexin for some years so its probably time to see what other general probiotics are around? TIA.

Nope! Thanks PK

Thanks Spotty and Diva - will look at them.

Hi All, Hope this is an easy one - where do you buy your Protexin from? I need a new supplier. I've been using a Qld supplier for some time who up until now has been very good. However the last lot of Protexin which arrived yesterday was open (the serrated teeth thing which breaks apart when you open it was already open) and it went everywhere when I opened the box which was jam packed (two packets of 4 cyte as well). Its also a funny greyish colour - not the white powder I remember. Anyway, long story short I wrote a nice email explaining what had happened and asking for a new one, which has never been a problem with other suppliers of damaged goods in the past. Upshot is they've dealt with it badly and are not prepared to help me as I didn't take insurance (have never needed it for plastic non-breakables in the past) and they accused me of accusing them of tampering with it! Which is just bizarre! How they got that from my polite email I'll never know! So I need to find a new Protexin supplier and buy again. Any suggestions of where to go that doesn't cost the earth? Thanks all.

If there is a voice/bark change, its also important to rule out laryngeal paralysis, particularly with any hind end weakness (LP-GOLPP).

No worries everyone - its really good discussion as there are variations depending on jurisdiction, all over the country. I've learned soooo much over the last few days - particularly about how to manage these things from the experts. It will probably be a few weeks , but when I'm in position to 'report back', I'll come back and let you know what we did and how we got on, as there have been further complications. It might help others in the future. Suffice to say at this point, your advice has been incredibly important to this family - so thank you all.

MM the owner reported of their own accord but I'm not sure how much coercion there was or as I said earlier whether or not she was confused by s56 of the Act.

Hi All, Just an update - the owner now has some very good advice which she needs to work through confidentially, thanks to you guys. So when its all done and dusted, so we can all learn from it I'll come back if I can - but I can't at the moment. Thank you all - you've all been incredibly helpful. Sit tight!

Yep DD I must try and get some video - but I'm normally too slow!

My thoughts are with you too and the beautiful Rosie as her time comes. Its never easy. My Mac returned to God on 20 November 2015. He was was a very old westie of 16 years and a couple of months. While he was old and doddery he had been doing well up until the day I came home, he was half in and half out of his bed, lying in poo. He clearly had tried to get out of bed towards the doggy door and couldn't move. That was the day I decided it was time. So we made preparations for a week or two after my Mums birthday in early November, he said 'goodbye' to his favourite vets (he had lots of them and his favourite one sat on the floor with him and cried, - he had looked after Mac for 10 years). On the day he went to the park, ate blue cheese, spent time with his favourite person on the face of the planet and he slipped away quietly and peacefully at home in my arms surrounded by the people he loved. I think I got the timing right. So my suggestion is plan the day for you as much as Rosie so it will be memorable in as good a way as possible - as you'll remember it for years to come. Good luck and our thoughts are with you.

Chain mesh? Did someone mention chain mesh? I may have to re-do my temp fencing so I might have a look at that too. Thanks RP and Marg for your comments on the cheap Kmart one using pads. While I know its not as environmentally friendly, my hands are not fabulous these days so I have had to start thinking in terms of what I can also manage physically - and spilling dog wee everywhere cos my hands are not what they used to be doesn't thrill me greatly! I passed on buying a tremendous old fashioned cast iron baking tray the other day as I was worried I literally could't handle it beause of the weight - if only I was ten years younger! As an aside, my old girl Sarah who is 16 years 6 months last Saturday, was bounding around on the lawn this morning like the energiser bunny!! Couldn't believe it! Came up the lawn ramp at the side of the garden like a two year old! (Well a bit of an exaggeration but you get my drift!) While she's still very wobbly at times, and she slept the whole day on Saturday (maybe thats where it came from!), she really is incredible for such an old dog. Happy, mobile, smiley old girl. Which is why I'm so keen to find her a toiletting solution for the 'top tier' of the back garden if I can.

Hi HRD, not sure about other states but I think if I read the SA Act correctly, yes you can rehome a declared dangerous dog here in SA but the new owner must be fully informed of the order and the order follows the dog. Councils then are informed and on and on it goes. So yes its possible but its also a big deal.

Yep thanks TF - sadly that about sums it up. You know I trust my westies implicitly - but not around small children. I hover like a hawke if there are small kids around - or parents I don't trust to effectively supervise. And the number of those I've come across is frightening.

Thanks all. Update - the owner has put in calls to ADO and K9Pro. ADO said they hadn't done an SA case before but would look into it and get back to her tomorrow. Similarly Steve from K9Pro is on leave but his colleague was going to try and get back to her tomorrow too. I'll send AVBS details on as well - thanks Ness and PK - once we have all the info and opinions we can go from there - hopefully Monday or Tuesday. Thanks everyone - really appreciate your help. Its hard being objective when you are friends with the family and the dog.