Golden Rules

I have been trying to locate Beta Valet in Canning Vale. I have found their old details in Welshpool, but the phone number has been disconnected. Can anybody help please....... I think they have changed their name - or the company was bought out by someone else....... I just recall the lady I was talking to on the phone as being very unprofessional but she did give me directions to the place some 6 months ago. I will try and do a drive down there this weekend and see what I can find.

I have no suggestions other than feed your dogs separately meantime. Hope everything settles down soon.

And that causes the constipation. Try more meat and less bone (eg human grade chicken mince, lamb mince) with some veges. I'm not quite sure which part of my suggestions you're saying causes constipation Are you saying that adding blended vegies to the chicken mince causes constipation? Or are you saying giving the dog some paraffin oil causes constipation? Neither is correct. It's the pet grade chicken mince without added vegies that causes constipation. LOL!!! I was agreeing with you! Pet chicken mince on it's own is nearly all bone (the bolded part) and too much bone causes constipation Sorry, I was just too lazy to edit your whole post. We're on the same page

And that causes the constipation. Try more meat and less bone (eg human grade chicken mince, lamb mince) with some veges.

Loads of great responses here harold, just a matter of trial and error as to what works best for your dog. Supercoat - the name itself implies wonderful things but that's just good marketing IMO. There are better quality foods for sensitive skin as others have suggested. With any skin/allergy issues, most commonly it is a suppressed or compromised immune system that is the cause. Unfortunately steroids assist greatly with the symptoms but further compromise the immune system. So if it were me, I would be looking at the best quality food for skin sensitive dogs but preferably feeding as much raw as possible. Some dogs react to certain meats eg Beef and Lamb. Chicken and Turkey are generally low allergy foods, so if you keep feedng dry, check to see what is in the food. I would also increase the Omega tabs to 3 a day for a larger dog. I was given a new 'miracle' supplement today by my 'conservative' vet - she gave it to me free to try but said it has had excellent results in America. It is called Duralactin (an immuno-nutritional aid for management of chronic inflammatory conditions in dogs) and the active ingredient is MicroLactin (dried milk protein derived from hyperimmunized cows). I don't know if this is commonly available here in Australia yet but might be worth googling to see if there is a similar product available here, or maybe get some ordered from the States. I obviously can't vouch for it's effectiveness as we only started it today. Another treatment for topical application is Manuka Oil and Honey Antiseptic Gel (made by Living Nature in NZ) - I can vouch for this product as my dog had an awful hotspot under his tail earlier this week and has completely disappeared after 2 days of applying this gel twice a day. Miracle stuff! Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide to try.

My dog skips when he walks. He has hip dysplasia and two cruciate replacements however I believe the skipping is due to the cruciate issues (he is still recovering from one of them). I think your dog probably is in pain if skipping and then slowing down towards the end of your walk. This is just what my boy does and yet if there is food to be had he will behave as if he's a healthy puppy! Ask your vet again to look into it. Quality of life is so important in older dogs.

Yes I know what you mean..........RR isn't going to helpp much there LOL! Keep all stimulation to a minimum (no visitors etc) and maybe speak with your vet about a mild sedative for a couple of days? My first boy had to have part of his tail amputated and he kept ripping off the bandages. The vets gave me some pills which made him a bit sleepier than usual and it worked a treat to get his tail healing......can't remember what they were called now..... :rolleyes:

I'd love to hear more about this treatment, if it really does make a difference there'd be many a happier dog in this world. Even the cost isn't prohibitive if you have insurance. I just took my boy to have accupuncture for his HD today and can't claim insurance because it is regarded as an 'alternative' treatment.

I fed Coprice to my dogs about 8 months ago - it was fine but they would eat anything anyway. I prefer to stick to as much raw food as possible these days, lessens the chances of hotspots.

The KC vaccine only covers the two most common strains of KC out of about 38 strains, so is no guarantee. I had one dog with KC and the other one never got it, so it's not 'automatic'. As previously mentioned, anti biotics will only help if there is a secondary infection, it doesn't make any difference to a virus which is what KC is. Cough mixture at night is a godsend. I gave it twice daily and my boy was clear of coughing within a week.

See that confuses me I've been looking online casually for a while now and none of the pet meat suppliers or butchers that have websites have price quotes, so how am I supposed to know what to order if I haven't seen the stock? and I don't know the prices? and Midvale is totally drivable, but from Hammy Hill Byford is actually closer. Because they are butchers and not too internet savvy! I think you will find if you get their phone number, they will happily fax you a price list and then it's just a matter of trial and error as to the quality of the product you are happy with.

This place has been highly recommended previously. I used to get excellent chicken carcasses (huge carcasses with loads of meat) from Beta Valet when they were located in Welshpool - they have now moved to Canning Vale (off Nicholson Road) - try googling them and see what you come up with. I used to get 20 huge carcasses for $6. One carcass was more than a meal for each Goldie. When they moved, they agreed to deliver to me for an extra $3 but I wasn't doing a weekly order so they weren't that keen. You'd be fine if you wanted to go and do a pick up though. Very cheap and they have other cheap pet foods as well (they sell wholesale) I now get my chicken carcasses from Cheapa Chicken in Osborne Park - they are cheap too but the carcasses are almost half the size and less meat so you almost need 2 for a meal. Still good value though.

Armchair vet here :D Looks like the beginning of a hotspot to me, just got rid of one on my goldie before it turned pussy, looked just the same.

I'm in the middle of rehabilitating my goldie after his second cruciate ligament op in 8 months so this is just an idea of what we have been through so you can compare. Each time, my boy would hop on 3 legs for the first week only if that, and then limp on 4 legs, with the limp gradually improving over time. We are about 7 weeks post the second op now and I am walking him daily, increasing his walks by a few minutes each day. It is possible the nylon ligament is irritating your dog, however, he should be given the opportunity to get used to it. You are not at the stage of walking your dog yet (I hope!) so maybe just lead him around the house on lead as much as possible. It's quiet short periods often that will help. If by 6 weeks when you are about to start 5 minute walks, increasing a minute or so a day, your dog is not walking on all fours by then, then I would suggest perseverance for another few weeks before going back to the vet to discuss other options. As someone mentioned, it may be psychological - he expects it to hurt and so walks on 3 legs to avoid the possibility of pain. I got a lot of useful information from the Yahoo group Orthodogs - google them and see what you can find. There's many experts there worldwide with loads of great advice for caring for dogs after cruciate ops. Good luck.

Just got home from a walk with Dougal yesterday and as we walk into the drive, there is this gorgeous black dog woofing at us from across the road. Owner brings him over to say helloo......he is a Newfy x GR!!! Well, he melted my heart!!! Newfs are now on my list of 'dogs to own'!!

Awwww, what fun are Kongs with nothing in them? Try a little smearing of vegemite in a Kong, no calories there I am also a huge advocate of cooked pumpkin with a doggy diet. Having had 2 rescue goldies with a bit of a weight problem, roast pumpkin as part of their twice daily meals worked a treat.

I will be interested to hear people's responses. Such a good question for anyone with an old dog. I would think a few fish oil capsules daily might be good for arthritis etc.

Interesting to hear this guys. It was a chinese herbalist who told me about rice heating the blood up as well as an Asian friend - along with other foods, one of which were mandarins (not that you'd feed those to a dog). The yahoo group nznaturaldog is loaded with nutritional tips and info and the list members there also seem to prefer oats over rice. Breeders on that list add soaked oats to their version of Tukka Thyme - as opposed to rice for the reason mentioned above. I guess it maybe comes down to the individual dog - and what works best for each dog perhaps?

I agree with the others, you don't need the rice (or rather your dogs don't) but as rice is a grain and oats are a grass, I would be inclined to try the oats as a supplement - ie 20% as you are doing already. The bulk can sometimes be beneficial depending on your dog.

My inderstanding of it means your dog NEVER has to be vaccinated again. Once they have the antibodies - they are there for life. If it were me, I'd be having a titre test every 5 years or so.......personal preference.

Yes that's pretty much it in a nutshell

Yup, dremel is the way to go here

I use "Hi Potency" Omega 3 fish oil 1000 capsules which are mercury tested. I get them from the Health Food shop for $20 - 400 capsules - 1000mg per capsule I give my Goldie 3 capsules per day (whole, I don't cut them open) as he has awful hip dysplasia and is recovering from his second cruciate ligament op within 8 months. I ran out for a few weeks and to be honest, I didn't notice a difference in him but I still give them regardless.

Because you can watch TV and your dogs can't? Have been told to feed my dogs frozen bones as a way of keeping them occupied for longer. And you do everthing you are told? I'd rather take the dogs for a walk to keep them occupied than feeding frozen bones

I would say it is the raw diet as well. Don't know about the preservatives thing, it could be anything in a commercial diet. I have never flea treated my dogs either and have never had a flea problem. Just keep on doing what you are doing and suggest the same to your family's dogs