Danois

Malaseb can be too harsh for a lot of dogs.

Thank you! I didn't think of that. Would a pig's ear be better or should I just skip that and stick with the kong and ball filled with kibble? Pig's ears are My pup swallowed a chicken neck and it scared the @#$% out of me.He was ok, thankfully. Chop the necks up into little pieces instead. Pig's ears are good - don't know about leaving a small breed with a whole one however remember pig's ears are high in fat (and probably salt) therefore should be an occasional food only. Best to stick to kongs stuffed with kibble and peanut butter/ cheese spread etc (sparingly). Other thing to do is to fill the kong with broth bbq chicken or chopped chicken neck and the like and freeze it. Those giggle treat balls are really good too - again with kibble.

Hi! Personally I would not leave a puppy with a chicken wing or neck because of risk of choking.

I would be incredibly careful of feeding rich foods like Satin Balls to a dog who is on prednisone. Prednisone itself can be a cause of pancreatitis and so can rich food.

Astrobella - unfortunately there is nothing that can be done re the frequent urination and please do not be tempted to limit water to control it - it is the unfortunate side effect. As the dose reduces then the frequency etc will decrease.

From memory the 'standard' treatment is 1mg per kgs. Angs was around 12 months when he started on cortisone and was 21 months when I lost him. And he had not had any vaccinations after the 16 week one (ie no annual vac). I don't recall Angs 'catching' anything - not even KC. Edited to say - it might be different because of the meningitis but if it solely based on the fact of the cortisone

Hey Ish - by no means second guessing your vet here but I had Angs on cortisone for 9 months before he died and I was never told not to take him out. I knew his immune system was suppressed so was more selective where we went. So no random dogs at the dog park but played with ones we knew and walked him on the pavements etc. Edited to add - at his worst Angs was on 160mg, stablising dose was 120mg and everyday dose was 40mg (70kg dog).

With steroids I assume you mean prednisolone/ cortisone - little blue tablets? I had a dog on this for an extended period and there was a minimal side effect of polydipsia/polyuria but nothing major. I never noticed any behavioural changes like you have described but what you have experienced may relate more to usual puppy behaviour. It is important for any dose of cortisone to be reduced gradually to allow the adrenal gland to kick back into production - also important not to miss a dose. One thing I did notice was being more susceptible to changes in temperature so take care in the heat.

They are at places like Hot Dollar, Bargain Variety etc

Give them a clam shell pool filled with sand and teach them to dig there. Try hiding treats under the sand and if they dig the garden, reprimand (within that magis couple of seconds) and redirect them to the clam shell and praise them when they dig there.

I always avoided using newspaper for toilet training etc as I usually have newspapers around the house - ie on couch, beside couch or on/ beside bed etc. If pup learnt it was ok to pee or chew paper then there was a chance this was be transferred across to any newspaper in the house and I did not want this to happen. Instead I used pee pads. I found you could get these in the Discount Shop for a lot cheaper and did the job even for a large breed. It also meant that when he was a puppy and I took him somewhere, I could take a pad and he knew that was the place to go.

At the moment with it being flea season I have been treating about every 2 weeks with a spot on. I would recommend using the capstar too as it kills the live fleas on the animal which helps break the cycle.

I found the Frontline useles too and my vet recommended Advantage. I am using this in conjunction with Capstar every 2-3 days. Fleas are bad around here at the moment (as I watch doofus sitting on the arm of the armchair scratching). A few in the dane thread have been talking about washing dogs in eucalyptus wool wash.

I was at pet shop today and there was a girl there with a 13 week old SWF on lead. I was chatting with her while they sorted out a problem with the tills and she confirmed she'd not long had the 12 week injection - I commented that I would be cautious letting her puppy on the ground in places like petshops as it is parvo season etc. She said her vet advised her that she could take puppy out straight away

You can still socialise a puppy without going to high risk areas such as dog parks, areas with large numbers of dogs, pet shops and the like. Do things like playdates with other puppies in your own backyard or a friend's, puppy pre-school and the like. Walking on a lead at that age is what you call 'forced' exercise - its not a case of enjoyment or not - it is simply the opposite of 'free' play.

12.5 week you mean? If he had a 12 week injection then you should not be taking him to dog park until 2 weeks after the vaccination as the immunity has not fully developed. Personally at that age I would be having no more than 10-15 mins of free play at a time and this can be several times a day. Certainly not 'forced' exercise of walking on lead. A puppy will not necessarily show signs of tiredness at an early enough stage as they are running on excitement - I know my puppy would play for several hours without showing signs if he got the chance. Get lots of lead work in now while he performs cos it can go out the window when they get more confidence!

It is the same but different. Essentially Pet Insurance is 1 of 2 types of policy: 1. Either you get reimbursed 100% of your actual costs less an excess; or 2. You get reimbursed 70 or 80% of the actual costs (no excess) In both types of policy, there is an annual limit - usually split between Accident and Illness (budget policies allow you to cover only 1 of these) so for example the RSPCA policy I have has a $6k annual limit of accident and a $6k annual limit for illness. Within this there are certain sublimits so for example, there is a $1,200 sublimit for medication. Also - there is a cap on the amount paid for a single illness over the life of a policy. So if you treat an illness for 3 years then the maximum amount you get for that illness in the 3 years is $6k. It only covers vet treatment and prescribed treatments - it does not cover specific diet food, elective procedures (from memory) or reproductive medicene costs (ie breeder's costs) or flea treatment/ worming medication etc There are certain exlcusions like treatment for paralysis ticks. So yes - your vet costs are considerably cheaper if you have insurance - simply because you can claim the costs back. I spent $800 on a policy over 2 years for Angs and got back nearly $6k in that time.

They are but I believe they use all manner of training methods

Hey! Give Jules & Trudi at doglogic (www.doglogic.com.au) a call. They are Inner West and travel all over Sydney. Highly recommend them

I got mine of another DOLer but it is from NFS Pet Supplies here in NSW. Go to a big dog show - the suppliers are usually there.

Every vet does not have the same overheads and expenses including paying off machines, staffing costs, rent etc etc etc. It is these things that influence the prices which they set.

Can you tell us what you are doing when the puppy reacts/ shows fear?

Hey Loraine - I hope I clarified earlier that my post was not directed at you in anyway! I saw your post for what it was - a comment re what we do for our pets but it was the following posts I was commenting on!

Would you be complaining if it was your animal that the vet was taking an extra amount of time to examine or urgently needed attending to in its hospital cage?? I get a little bored of people bagging out vets here for charges. If people think their vet overcharges or overservices then change vets. Edited to add not aimed at OP as I don't read her post that way!

Is California Natural the one you can only buy in Pets Paradise? There are plenty of other choices out there - Nutrience, Advance etc