Golden Rules

How do you know what to recommend if you don't know what it actually is and where to get it? Listerine is an antiseptic mouthwash and is available at any chemist or supermarket. I don't like using it on hotspots because it generally stings and I don't think it's necessary. Curash Powder is drying and doesn't sting. If the hotspot is 'advanced', you'll need vet attention, no amount of Listerine, Curash or other over the counter products makes much difference. Do you know how bad the hot spot is?

Beautiful cat and beautiful photos. Gone too soon RIP little Ellie.

No, you don't need to be worried I remember when I had Witchetty Grubs at a restaurant, they were very cleverly placed in an apple to look like they were coming out of the apple. All it lacked was movement!

If he's not all that well, he'll just sleep shmoo. Hopefully he'll feel better in the morning. Yep, if he's really not too well, he won't mind being where he is, and if he's feeling better, he'll be keen to see you! Roll on the morning huh?! Best wishes

Why don't you just feed her more? I'd double the kibble or raw food until she put on a couple of kilos and then cut it back again.

I use it for treats, dogs go mad over it and it works out to be a very inexpensive treat!! :rolleyes:

Then go with your heart, and honestly, don't stop to think how YOU will handle it, focus on how the dog is right now, and that you would be doing the kindest thing for him no matter how you feel. You need to focus on the dog, not yourself, it will make it a lot easier. sorry, i think you may have misunderstood... I meant i dont know what i will do without him - im sure everyone whos ever owned a dog can say that - once u fall in love with them u just cant imagine life without them... please dont judge me or be harsh with me on this topic, its very hard for me and i'm posting this because of that... I don't mean to sound harsh or judgmental, I have faced your situation twice in the last couple of years, so I know how hard it is. But I also know how hard it is for the animal to exist like that, and it's just not fair on them to prolong such an existance. You said it yourself, you know in your heart it's time. And I'm pretty sure everyone here will agree with you.

Then go with your heart, and honestly, don't stop to think how YOU will handle it, focus on how the dog is right now, and that you would be doing the kindest thing for him no matter how you feel. You need to focus on the dog, not yourself, it will make it a lot easier.

What sort of quality of life do you think your dog has? Very little from what you have written, especially your last paragraph. You sound like a very caring owner but if that were my dog, I would give him his wings

That vet has an ego by the sounds of things. You have been very courteous by all accounts and you have no reason at all to feel bad. I'm so glad you got a second opinion, the new cream seems to be working quickly and while burns are always slow to heal, it seems you are on the right track now. Gentle hugs to your wee fella By the way, are you NOR? Just wondering which vet clinic you went to (you can PM me if you like)

Wow. I think you could safely say after 3 weeks that it was definitely a burn. Anything else would be far more healed by now. If the area is dry, I wouldn't be too worried about your fella licking it, unless he does it constantly. How often does he try to lick when you are around?

Add some cooked pumpkin to his meals, it will fill him up and it has no calorific value to a dog. If he's still hounding you for food, then you know it's not because he's hungry ;)

I love those usernames as well! Reminds me of some of the names from Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree books!

Was the wound as big Arty?? My uncle (who is a nurse (for humans though!)) did say that if an injection is given too shallow under the skin or if it's still being injected as the needle is coming out may cause a burn like reaction so it is possible I suppose. Moose is pretty small (only 1.8kg) so I imagine it might be a bit more difficult judging needle depth than in a larger dog. But what do I know??? Glad to hear your boy recovered well. I need to hear these encouraging stories at the moment! The patch on my dog was much bigger than the area on your fella, it would have been 2cm x 4cm easily. It had to be covered because it irritated him so much he licked it which made it worse. At lease your boy's patch is in an area he can't reach!

That last pic of your wee boy's back looks very much like my old boy's front leg where they injected the anaesthetic. He had a reaction to it and it seemed to burn his skin. He's not a dog that suffers from sensitive skin either so was just a fluke. It healed well anyway and hopefully your little chap's back will heal quickly too, whatever the cause of the wound is.

I'd leave it alone. It will heal itself in time and the pink should return to the black.

when you say carcasses, do you mean the chicken frames you get? that are just left there? cheers bret Yes, frames and carcasses are the same thing - I get them from a chicken supply shop very cheaply but you can sometimes get them from a butcher, or supermarket, or Lenards usually have them.

Hi Bret Bonnie is made by Purina here in Australia and I think is available everywhere (except supermarkets), if you can't get it, most places will order it in for you. Extra veges particularly cooked pumpkin will fill her up without adding weight. Chicken legs and wings without the skin would be fine but maybe just give 2 or 3 as a meal. There's not much to crunch in those for a medium to large dog, so I prefer chicken carcasses. It's not hard to get weight off a dog without starving them, you just have to be consistent with portion control. Don't let any sooky looks get to you either, go play a game with her instead! :cool:

Indeedy!

My big Goldie is on a diet at the moment because he has HD and buggered both cruciates (not because he is overweight, he isn't at all). I normally feed a prey model diet, but because one of his knees has become sore again, I decided to use Bonnie Light as I know the weight drops off very quickly with this. In 4 weeks, he has gone from 33kg to 29kg. That's 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup at night and if I have cooked pumpkin, he'll get a big piece of that at night as well. He also gets a couple of diet free days per week where he gets chicken carcasses for breakfast instead of kibble. As well, he gets one raw hide chew each day and gets to clean up any leftover catfood (not kibble). He might also get a small bone once a week. He isn't a hugely active dog so he is eating quite a lot, and losing weight quickly. We are aiming for 27kg - he'll be a very tall and lean boy then So I give Bonnie Light a big for weightloss, and once he has reached his goal weight we will go back to the prey model diet where he maintains his weight well.

Yep, a worming treatment can indeed give them the runs, poor wee Jayco. Ah well, she gets to have gourmet food for the next few days!

You go to more trouble than I ever do, I just poach the chicken until cooked. Willow, BBQ chook is perhaps a little too salty, I'd stick with boiled chook. Hope it's not Jayco??!! Nah, he's a tough little blighter. My little Maine Coon sometimes gets 'dire rear' but it's usually because I have given her something a little different to what she normally eats. You haven't fed anything different?

Sorry, when I said Mega Oil, I actually meant the Omega 3 stuff you get from pet supply stores or the vets. It is fantastic stuff. If you find a dog gets the runs or whatever from using something like that, just decrease the dosage until you get to a point where it doesn't affect their digestive system so harshly. Alternatively, give half a dose in the morning and half at night. How often do you brush your dog? This may make a diference too. Brushing stimulates the hair follicles and massages the coat and skin. Still think you should ask your vet for a scraping though

Well I guess you need to find the actual cause of the itching so you know what to treat. Maybe a skin scraping at the vets to see if they can identify anything? One of my Goldies had dry flaky skin for a while (no itching) so I gave him Mega Oil every day which did the trick. I'd also suggest not bathing too often as this can dry the skin as well.

Tuna is not a particularly oily fish (very low fat hence it often appears in human diets ) but there would be no harm in feeding it if yoour pup likes it. Sardines, salmon and mackeral are all oily fish and have a far higher content of Omega 3 fatty acids than tuna does. I feed a tin of sardines at least once a week as a treat. An extra special treat but not one I am recommending for your pup, is sardines in tomato sauce