westiemum

Damn! Not the response you (and we!) were hoping for. You need a vet who will work with you. With Sarah's lump, the vet was erring on the side of not bothering to test it, I preferred pathology, he went along with it and yes he was right it was benign, but I was mightily relieved of further worry. Petal roughly where are in the Vic Alps if you don't mind me asking? (It will help us be more realistic with suggestions)? Can Vic DOLers help out with further suggestions? The only things I can now suggest are the Vet Schools - and they might not be within cooee of you.

Mita she is absolutely gorgeous. Tibbies are on my breed bucket list! Here's Andy's first clip from February 2009 - he can't wipe the grin off his face!!! (Click to enlarge too - its priceless!)

Mine get wormed but certainly not every six weeks... And if I'm honest more like when I remember...

Poor Hunter!!! ( mind you he doesn't look like he's starving either ! Forgive my laughter L - but I admire your spreadsheet Hmn... Lets just say mine get meat, fish, bones offal, veg, eggs yoghurt and whatever is on special. I don't get too hung up about it or I'd drive myself crazy! Anyway Mac's asleep in the crook of my arm - so it's bedtime here. ' Night all. Talk tomorrow.

Really must do a run up your way with the westies one day !

Or on the lounge... Or once on my bed!

Yep forgot chicken hearts - cheap and make a great meal - buy in bulk when reduced and throw in the freezer. But sheep heads... - not sure I could come at that... Perse where are you? This is your territory!

1.50! Boy I've never done that well! Well done! Yep it is funny when I'm buying their veg and the checkout person looks at the quantity ( I buy 4-6 kgs at a time) and packs up laughing when I say its for the dogs. Although some are very interested so they get the westiemum 'raw / rescue' one minute blurb! I've got that down to a fine art - and in talking about food: I make sure I throw in 'expensive dog food' and 'much cheaper to feed human grade food' - conquer the world one check-out person at a time!

You're doing really well L. The photos of your dogs in the other thread are superb - their coats are so shiny. Yep the mackerel is cheap healthy and handy to keep in the cupboard - with veg one can does three westies. And yes my westies are little piggies too! But I find it much easier to keep them at a good weight on raw. And lucky you finding salmon heads - and if Juno is anything like Sarah she'll bury hers for later and eat everyone else's - then retrieve hers later - preferably for eating inside - the mankier the better!

Great job everyone. What a beautiful boy!

Great Petal. Hope it all goes well. Will you let us know how you get on?

Paddles I feed raw and my elderly westies ( 12 and 14) are thriving. The vet couldn't believe that their yearly blood panels back in June were 'perfect'. (His word not mine). At the risk of being howled down, here's how I do it - and best of all its unprocessed, raw, cheap, human grade, no preservatives, colours, flavours or stuff to mask stink, and very simple and easy to manage. All I do is plan a bit for the supermarket for them just as I would for me. If you are in Adelaide, try some of the raw mix from Adelaide Dog. Karina there also has great bones ( for sale that is ) - lamb necks etc. To change over do it gradually and Bulk it up with mainly the dry food you are using and add veg. Gradually over a week or so reduce the amount of dry you mix in until they are on raw meat and veg. Add bones or a chicken wing for breakfast a couple ftimes a week. And keep an eye on their poo - if it gets too soft go more slowly. When you forget to unthaw the meat, open a can of home brand mackerel in oil, mix with veg and watch them scoff it! Or if you're at the supermarket and they are specialing chewy casserole meat (gravy beef, chuck) then treat them with that. I buy soup bones, veg ( carrots, zucchini are favs) on special from the supermarket or use black and gold frozen mixed veg warmed in the microwave. (it also makes a great treat thrown out on the back lawn). Apples and carrots work well for treats too. I keep a small packet of grain free dry on hand for emergencies. Yoghurt, chicken frames (whole), sardines and eggs are also really good for them too. If you haven't got a place like Adelaide Dog near you then I suggest you find a good source of raw meat and offal, a friendly butcher who might even chop it for you, portion and freeze, deepening on your size of dog. Perse is a great fan of kangaroo tails - not easy to get here but a great idea if available. Most of all keep it simple and manageable and IMO don't get wound up in the 'high science' and 'clever marketing' of the pet food companies / dog food zealots. Mine are happy, healthy, and love their meals - and the vet is impressed too! Hope that helps. Would love to hear how you get on. :)

Congratulations luckypup. Well done. I'm not a groomer but a frequent user of grooming services. And in my mind this award is now the most important award in the grooming world. And you're the inaugural winner. Brilliant.

My Sarah, now 12 year old Westie, started having infrequent accidents from about age 10 - sometimes in her bed overnight, other times on the lounge. And it really distressed her. I managed it OK for a little under two years with UTI checks, regular toiletting etc. Then it got more frequent so I've started her on Stilboestrol. Has worked like a charm and she's a much happier girl.

She's just lovely Mita. My two Westie boys had to be completely shaved off after they came out of 'that' puppy farm with the most terribly filthy matted coats (apart from the fact they both stank to high hell). I have no doubt it ruined their double coats but genuinely had no choice. The wiry top coats have gone. Yet I'll never forget the grin on Andy's face as he got clipped for the first time - I'm sure he was truly comfortable for the first time in his life. So to keep them comfortable in Adelaide summers I clip them short in the summer and grow their coats for winter. It's a routine which seems to work well here. But if I had a Westie puppy from small, I'd try never to shave the coat. Will see if I can find that photo of Andys first clip - his smile is amazing

Oh my goodness L, they are simply stunning! Can see why you are so besotted! :)

Thanks Sandra I stand corrected. And its not just well bred pedigree staffies, but well bred pedigree dogs full-stop. Which reminds me, wonder what happened to Willow, a beautiful SA staffie who used to hang around here? Just thinking...

Wishing you and Juno all the best. Great decision and in a same but different way I've been where you are - and I'm sure, like me you'll be pleased with your decision. I look at my beautiful girl and thank God for her everyday. Can't remember who it was - kelpiecuddles? Anyway someone laid out a great path for you to becoming a registered breeder - and once this is over and things have settled, you'll be able to sit down and work that through properly - and you'll find no end of help here if you go about it the right way. :) I suggest 'lurk' here, read and learn as much as you can before you decide if breeding is really what you want to do - its not as easy as it might first seem and doesn't alwasysgo smoothly. After 'lurking' a long time here, I decided breeding wasn't for me and Sarah. Also suggest you keep in mind that as others have pointed out staffies, while a fantastic breed are hugely over-represented in pound populations and euth data. While I know staffies are your favourite breed, if you do decide to go down the breeding path maybe consider a different breed? If you lurk long enough here you're sure to find another breed to fall in love with (my breed 'bucket' list is long enough for ten lifetimes! :laugh: ). Anyway please will you let us know in the next couple of days how you get on with Juno? Oh and on't forget the pics!

I bought an Ezydog harness at the local market yesterday for $5 (I also bought a $3 fishing rod but left it at the stall!) The harness fits Penny really well and she is pretty happy to trundle along with it on, It also had a brand new car restraint clip with it which I will not need so if anyone wants the clip (FTGH) I can post it off, it is the same as this one--> http://www.ezydog.co.../car-restraint/ I think the postage will be about $9 What size harness did you buy Boronia?

Yes agreed Yonjuro. I think we need to be fair - there is no evidence at the moment that the OP intends to do anything other than abort or spey - and she has clearly said they are leaning towards speying. If she comes back in a couple of months time with puppy happy snaps wanting more information about raising and homing puppies or we see them listed on those dogs for sale websites or gumtree, or she comes back looking for sympathy having lost Juno during whelping,then we slap both her and her boyfriend - but not now. In fact some of these more unfriendly posts may do more harm than good IMO.

Thanks - yes feeling a bit whimsical! I was so proud of her on her birthday - don't usually celebrate all birthdays but this year she turned 12 and every year from here on in is precious. Reading your last post I didn't realise that Juno was more BF's than yours - that does paint a slightly different picture as I was assuming the dog was more yours. And we do get a lot of BFs who have no idea! And the truth is L, that on this forum we do get a lot of people who want to pick the brains of the breeders and posters here for nothing and then think they are going to make a killing financially through indiscriminate BYB. Its refreshing to find someone like you who is brave enough to admit a potential mistake, show they are going to at least consider the advice and follow-through - and you're absolutely congratulated for it - but I'm sure you understand people's weariness, wariness (and shortness!) with it as well. Good to hear you've decided on the injections or spey. Will be very interested to hear how you get on with it all. Good luck!

Just re-reading your post and this jumped out - the suddenness of it and lack of good response to medication can still mean bladder stones or the wrong medication for a UTI. Still think you need to change vets as others have said and get an ultra-sound and maybe a urinalysis from a lab (not a dipstick) - stops all the frustrating guessing and 'try this ' and 'try that'.

Thankyou for your advice westiemum .. that was my feeling as well that the consulting Vet has taken the view that it is hormonal straight up but Bella's symptoms don't seem to meet all the criteria for age related incontinence, particularly as she is not speyed and has not had pups and this problem has manifested overnight and is not responding as I see it consistently to the medication. Other options were not offered and I really do want to find out what is the reason for the problem. Not knowing how long this medication should start showing improvements and is taking effect if the Vet is on the right track, am I getting the correct response with her incontinence getting worse then the odd dry time is confusing. The Vet did not answer those querys just upped the medication and said each patient is different (obviously.. ) Making the trip to either Albury or Melbourne is fine, getting the right 'specialist' is the question. I was doing some research on the net and one practice I found near Melbourne require a referral which would mean another consult with the current Vet. I see you are in SA. Apart from the suggestion of Christine Gee , vetinarian for Acupuncture treatment in Wangaratta(which I am not sure Acupunture is helpful for incontinence but was interested to know if anyone has used it in such conditions) can anyone suggest a practice in Albury that offers "endocrine - internal medicine/neuro/surgical". Your suggestion of the Vet School I have taken on board ... any particular Vet there that is recommended? The diary idea is an excellent one - I think we sometimes make it hard for our vets by inadvertently not being able to report accurately - with my Andy's epilepsy a diary was invaluable. As to Vet Schools, I worked at the University of Adelaide vet school in an HR role for a while which is what made me think of it. Or you might be closer to Wagga and Charles Sturt? I like the vet schools for this sort of thing as they are usually fairly up-to-date with the latest stuff because of their obligations to their students and they can be a one-stop-shop - and will usually be quite thorough in following things through - and you'll get ultra-sound there as well if none is available locally. But no idea who is where in Victoria - hopefully a Vic DOLer can give you advice - but even so it would be worth some ringing around. After years of trying to save money by trying odd bits and pieces I really believe you are better off getting this diagnosed properly in the first place even if it costs - as it will save you and your dog a lot of stress in the long run. My westie Sarah (now 12) was incontinent occasionally and it really distressed her - she's now on Stilboestrel and is doing very well - much happier.

Must be a tremendous sight OSS! Pics??

Some excellent posts. I think you have your answer. I look at my beautiful 12 year old Sarah and thank my lucky stars I decided to have her desexed. I still have her and she is recognised widely as a smiley happy and incredibly healthy girl - yet it all could have been so different. Get Juno desexed and hopefully look forward to 12 year old birthday happy snaps like these: