Garloch

Are the paws "hot" to touch? If so, that may indicate some sort of infection. They could be cut, or could have a splinter in them. Will she let you go in between her toes with a bit of silky material? If there is a splinter or such, it can sometimes be found as it snags on the material. Of course, if the pads are very rough - it'll snag on every part of them. Pawpaw ointment is magnificent stuff. Lucas brand in a red tube.

A dremel is a powertool, used mainly for cutting and grinding, but can be used for many things. Dremel (the actual brand) is somewhat pricey, and you buy different heads to go on it, from powertool shops. Cheaper ones can be noisy and offputting. Spend the money and get a quiet one. One method that may help when you go to grind down the nail, make sure you grind it down the way it sits when your dog is standing. Som e people make the mistake of grinding it the wrong angle, and if you do it wrong, its like you trying to stand on your long fingernails. Elementary - yes, but I have seen what its done to a dog. Another hint is to put a pantihose kneelength sock over the paw, and stick the nails thru the material. This keeps the hair away from the rotating head of the Dremel, otherwise it can get ripped out, and you'll never get near him again with the dremel. Or, you could look at the way a farrier picks up horses hoofs. Comes in from behind, picks them up, and holds them backwards. You can then clip his nails quickly. You are going to need to do anything a few times first (with treats and no cutting) to make him trust you. He is probably just entering a fear period, so things that were fine yesterday, frighten him today. Yes, you can use a very rough human nailfile, but it takes a while to do 20 nails. Good luck. Hope this helps.

Scottie - you poor things - to not be able to find a cause is frustratingly difficult. I use advantage, have always done so for the past 2 years. About a year ago, they changed the wording of the contraindications on the packet. (Not sure if the chemical makeup changed, or just the wording changed.) The wording relates to sensitivity, or a buildup and progressive sensitivity, or something - haven't got the original packet anymore to compare it to. It could be related to a particular chemical in the product (which are identical in many of the products), or.........it could also be coincidence, but maybe schip breeders could help you. Suggest you phone a few and ask them. There may be a breed sensitivty?? I was concerned about it, my breed has skin issues, and I just feel that they do better on something else. Interested to know what you do. If you put it on them again, then suggest you change to a different formulation at next worming date, and see if there is any change. May take a couple of months on a new formula to ascertain if there is any change.

Oh, and, play with her in the back room when she is in there. Make it a treat for her, not a punishment. People work better and learn faster with praise - dogs even more so! Good luck.

Siobahn, Crating at night is definately the way to go, as Miranda suggests. The thing with the citronella collars is that they do not train the dog not to bark (no matter what their literature says!) When the dog barks, the tremble in the vocal cords makes the unit emit a whiff of citronella, as a means of getting the dogs attention. You still have to go out and give the dog the command not to bark. People think that once they put the collar on, the barking stops - definately not so. And I have one. Happy to use it, but under the strictest supervision. After quite a while the dog associates citronella with not barking, because that is the command that you give, but the time and effort MUST be put in. And a 5 month old pup will do much better with being crated at night. Its their personal space, they feel safe and happy there. (BTW - never put them in their crate and chastise them - it needs to be a place of sanctuary for them.) There are plenty of crates on the market, some quite cheap. There is a thread about crates, where to buy, and what sort to buy. In saying all this - my breed go nuts over possums. Crating them or bringing them inside is the only way I've ever been happy with the possums. You can't get rid of the possum, and dogs WILL bark at them. It got so that we knew the times the possum crossed our fence, and brought them inside half an hour before. Possums are creatures of habit and run virtually the same route, the same time in relation to when the sun sets, so timing is different from summer to winter. We manage the situation, rather than change it. And we told our neighbours what we were doing, why, and asked them if barking was a problem at any other time. The Static collars are, in effect, delivering an electric shock to the pups neck. This is inhumane, and most states have banned them. You can't import one from somewhere like an american seller on ebay either. Load up a charge on a 9 volt battery and stick it on your tongue and hold it there, before you ever think about putting a static collar on a baby. Yes, I do have strong feelings about this subject. Don't forget you have a baby there, and positive reinforcement is the way to go. Its hard work, but as little as 10 minutes a day training goes a long way.

Frenchie, What a dreadful vet! They should be ashamed. Imagine a human Dr doing surgery without a prior consult - they'd be de-registered. Can't help that now, but a specialist vet sounds the best idea. In teh meantime, I agree with Morgan - Calendula is great stuff. Another very good cream to use is Pawpaw ointment. The brand is Lucas's Pawpaw Ointment, and it comes in a bright red tube about 10cms long. It is sensational stuff. I have a scottie that is constantly scratching her snout, and has a big itchy red angry looking welt with no fur left on it, and nothing has helped so far, except the pawpaw. She was on antibiotics, then a daily irimine tablet, bathing, lotions, potions etc - none of which did a damn thing. The the pawpaw ointment materialised. Coincidentally, most teenagers around here use it as a lipgloss! Go figure. Its magic stuff, non-toxic, cleans up her dermititis inside 24hours, and relieves the itch as well. Can't have high enough praise for it. Only about $4 a tube too.

I don't give any of my dogs plastic toys. They do get rubber toys, as its (generally) a natural product. Plastic chew toys were banned years ago for human babies because they were considered to be carcinogenic, yet our fur-kids are allowed to have them? Not in my house. There is a brand of dogtoys that zoo's give to tigers. Cant think of the damn name of them though. Amstaff's make short work of most things. If you go to www.mydogtoy.com you might get a better idea of something appropriate for them to chew. www.maadipets.com.au also (I think) have a range of Amstaff-Staffie-tough toys. Hope this helps! Good luck with it.

Sarcoptic mange and human scabies are the same thing, so I doubt it can be only got from live foxes. 1 mite left anywhere a dog brushes up against is enough to start off an infection. Check out human remedies for scabies too - might help. Good luck.

Guys, I can't imagine what you and the animals are going through! Sounds dreadful. In the first post you asked about dogs that had been oncortisone for long periods of time. I have no vet experience, and I don't know what the disease your dogs have is, so I wouldn't dare comment on it or its treatment. Naturopathic vets are worth their weight in gold though. My input is from the point of having a dog on long term cortisone. My breed tends to suffer from skin disorders, and years ago I had a gorgeous boy who was sick from about 3 months. Perfect in every way before that - no history (that I was told). It started with an itch that he scratched, it got infected, then picked up mites, and mange, despite drenches, dips, washes, medication, weekly trips to the vets (who were brilliant). Used specialist advice from melb uni etc. The mainstay of his treatment was cortisone. It did help. Unfortunately, it did make him susceptible to Cushings Disease. (Over-use of cortisone can create a problem in susceptible dogs - its a type of cancer.) He was so sick, and died of a brain tumour before his 2nd birthday. I wish I'd known about natural treatments then, and a predisposition towards Cushings. May not have made any difference in the end, but at least it was something I could have tried. I am not trying to panic you, or suggest you go against your vets advice, or stop any treatments. But please talk to your vets about the doses of cortisone, and the possibility of Cushings. Your breeder should be able to help with information about what diseases are prevalent in your particular breeds, and may be un otherwise untapped source of information. Good luck with your beautiful animals. I wish them (and you) well.

My breeder cooks for her dogs, and I bllieve she gives them mushrooms (button) in the mix. Would suggest you see if you can find a vet that specialises in animal nutrition and ask them. There are homeopathic and naturopathic vets around. Suggest you also ask in the breeders section. A lot of us cook for our dogs. As Miranda says - some are poisonous, so maybe just don't feed them mushrooms, unless you know categorically.

Guys - thanks for your replies. (Yes, Kambah is a suburb name). Mine don't need to go to a vet for anything at present, but you never know...... Updating records is what I wanted the names for. You can never find the name when you need it!!

Brilliant - thanks Shoshana. I'll give him a call. I searched the internet for ages and didn't come up with a thing! Garloch

I have scotties which are a double coated breed. Harsh outer coat on downy undercoat. I use the Mars stripping knives, both regular (blue handle) and fine (red handle). You can also get left-handed ones which have a yellow handle. I find the fine knife gives me the best results, and as the hair on Lakelands heads is similar to scotties, that'd be my choice. Do you show your dog? Regardless of whether you do or don't, may I suggest you cross-post in the "Show Forum" as well. I'm sure the lovely Lakeland show people will be ever so helpful! I also stand by my Mason and Pearson brushes. They are damned expensive, but I brush will last you 30 years. Seriously. They give great results, much better than anything I have ever used. I went through a lot of cheap, then expensive purpose-built brushes, then finally bit the bullet and got an M&P Popular size bristle and nylon brush. (Cost me around $70 on sale). The best prices I've found are from from www.petersofkensington.com.au which is in Kensington, Sydney, and they do a brilliant mail order service. I've spent heaps there, had lots freighted to me, and never had a breakage or been unhappy with their service. Hope this helps! I own a Wire Haired Fox Terrier (I may be the only person here who does ), but I gave up hand stripping as it hurts my hands I don't show Zedley so I groom him with electric clippers and scissors. Did/do you use an undercoating brush on him? I just use a stiff brush to release the underneath dead hairs. Due to a skin problem he is supposed to be getting a bath once a week and I usually take care of his grooming then. Right now he is 8 weeks post bath and groom, and he is filthy. I had an operation on one hand and have been splinted for weeks so unable to gorrm the ratbag. This week is his week for bath catch up time

Does anyone know of a homeopathic vets in Canberra or region?

Some of you may be interested to know that Michael (previously Complete Cutting Solutions in Waramanga) has moved to new premises in Phillip. He has a "shop" in the old bus depot in Phillip, just inside the main gates. He still does all the normal sharpening for all clippers, scissors etc, and will sell you the best grooming scissors I've used in a long time. Hairdressers scissors too. No, I'm not Michael, nor am I related to him, or even a friend. He just provides a great service at a great price, and I was beside myself when I couldn't find him anymore. So glad to find him again, I just had to have a new 7" curved pair of thinning scissors..........

I have 4 dogs and they don't have food left out all day. I used to do this until recently with the dry food left after a meal (mine get homecooked 1/3 mince & veg, + petvite, + 2/3 premium dry food.) They would scoff the wetmix, and graze on the dry kibble. I was washing my old slightly overweight malt, when I noticed his abdo was very taut and hard, his breathing seemed to be laboured, and he was very uncomfortable. Fearing the worst, it was off to the vets in double quick time. (He's an old dog, arthritic, incontinent, has bladder stones and a few skin cancers excised, has cataracts, bad breath, and can't be trusted not to get angry and bite small people.) He cohabitates with 3 much younger scotties and they just about all have differing kibbles. They are fed in seperate corners, but I'm under no illusion that they don't sneak each others food when no-ones watching. Anyway - back to the vets - after the xrays, and the full checkup, it was found that he had eaten so much that his stomach was forcing itself up his throat so he couldn't breathe properly. $190 later, told he was technically a pig. So, no, I don't leave food out when their is a pack present.

Guys - very sad indeed, but you all need to know know that Parvo can be spread by the wind. Its spores can get unsettled when someone, thing, dog walks by, spores fly up and settle somewhere else. Parvo can remain inactive but still alive for about 7 years in soil. The active outbreak times are in spring, and autumn. Vaccinate your dogs and keep them safe - as said before - its still possible to vacc, and get parvo, but to a lesser extent than unvacc'd dog. Parvo is contained in and then dropped in faeces, which when left on the ground will eventually disintegrate, and thats how the spores get into the ground. Make sure everyone knows to pick up your dogs poo, and vaccinate your dogs. This keeps everyone in better health.

Willow, You can get the same results using std human Omega 3-6-9 oil capsules. Much cheaper than buying the others from vets. Check out the nutrition and ingredient panels on the std ones on sale at health food places or Coles, or Woolies and if they are equal dosages, go with what the wallet likes. You can also feed sardines in oil instead - chop up for a little dog though. My old boy get needles when it starts to get cold. Cartrophen. Magic stuff. Takes about 3-4 needles, a week apart, enough for it to build up in the body and take effect, then a monthly injection keeps him bouncing. I think they are about $25-$30 per injection. This, combined with an oil capsule each meal makes for a very happy boy! Everyone in the house furkids and skinkids alike all get them. Doggies think they are a treat and gobble them. Hope this helps.

Hi Redmum - No such thing as a silly question! Our darlings deserve all the education we can acquire. If your breeder shows, they may have some, and I'd expect they'd be happy to give you advice. Otherwise, if you are in a big city, phone the local dog assn (ie DogsNSW) and ask where and when their next big show is on. They have showvans there and you can buy just about anything your little ones heart will ever desire. I have a couple of crates in varying sizes. The bigger permanent one I got from "The Warehouse" - used to be called Clints. HaveAHeart I think was the brand. Its classed as "drop-pin construction". That means that there are little loops on each side of the crate, and to put it together you have to "drop" the "pins" (metal stakes) supplied down thru all the holes to keep it all together. Need 3 hands to put them together, but its a very secure stable crate, and the medium size was $45. Petshops I find are useless (here in Canberra anyway - but I would SO love to be proven wrong). They don't carry the range, and as crates are reasonably expensive, they don't make a lot of money out of them, so tend not to stock them. My wire crate is one of the black collapsible ones with a plastic handle on top. Word of warning - the plastic handles ALL break, so don't go carrying crate by handle when dog is in it. (You'd have to be he-man anyway.) I got this from a showvan and it was about $65ish. I have scotties, so it'd be considerably smaller than what you'd need. By way of size guide, the full grown animal needs to be able to lay down flat in it, and turn around, and stand up without their ears touching the top. Its more economical to buy the proper adult size, and put a couple of thin boards thru the wire gaps to make it small and cosy when they are little, and remove as they grow. If you have a huge crate, they could/will toilet in the opposite end of where they sit/sleep. If you are going to use the crate in a vehicle, may I suggest ones with a side opening as well as a front opening, both with 2 latches. My little white crate slips a latch (cause its a bit loose) when my car's moving, and you open the back of the vehicle to find the dog is actually loose! Nice surprise. 2 openings allows you to face the crate either sideways or lengthways in the vehicle, and you always have access to a door, without having to turn the crate around. And you can buy crate covers to make them cosy and cave-like, or make one if you are handy with a sewing machine. Take a pattern and keep it though. Mine get a bit chewed if I have pups around. They generally have no respect for gorgeous sewing! Hope that helps.

Clyde - I'm not quite your only scottie member. Couple of others around that I know of. Shy quiet little people we are....... I'm only new at all this, and probably for this reason I have a funny way of looking at things. I'm very happy to help people and to guide them on which way they can go to source some educational materials about my wonderful breed! I've seen some interesting clips on scotties too - some look like Westies and some look like schnauzers, but although I'm sure you and your book are doing the right clip, if you want to run a pic past me, I'd be happy to have a look over it for you. I've never seen a grooming book that's used by groomers, so it would educate me as well! Please don't use hairspray on scotties. Their skin can tend to be somewhat prone to itchy's, and the perfumes used in hairsprays can exacerbate any problem that may be in the background. In saying that, the show world is full of people that use gel or the like on them. :D The feint brown tinge is quite normal. Suggests that there is a brindle somewhere in the background breeding, and after all, brindle is the original colour for scotties. Most people assume its black, but that's a secondary (but stunning) colour. I have a pure black, a silver brindle, and a brown brindle. Alas, no wheatens........ My upcoming litter should all be silver brindles.......send puppy dust! If your owner wants a chat about whether her darling might be suitable to breed or not, I'm happy for them to run a couple of ideas past me too. Sometimes it helps to have an independant look at your animals, give you some feedback, to enable you to make a more balanced decision. Might be the same decision as you were moving towards, but could be different too. Just a thought........ Garloch.

Hi Clyde - Perhaps its just one of those genetic issues that turn up with various matings. Even a repeat mating with the same dogs can produce very different litter offspring. Scotties should look like a solid little brick shaped dog, with a narrower (but still brick-shaped) snout. Can you tell me how old the scottie is please? Most of us give the pups a headclip before they go home, but not much done to the body apart from brushing. Its obviously a pet, as a showdog wouldn't be clipped - they are hand-stripped. They have a double coat - soft minklike inner layer, with the harsher outer layer. Together the two types make for a waterproof covering for the dog. The furnishings (skirt) on the dog take a long time to grow long enough to reach the ground, and as with any dog, is individual in their coat growth speed. (My youngest scottie is about 11mths, and her furnishings are almost down to the ground.) The short answer is - the coat can be soft to begin with. You can bring a coat up, only by careful hand stripping though. And it can take a while for it to come through this way. A soft coat to begin with, generally means a softer than normal coat at the end. True scottie coats should be harsh and wirey, but not curly. Breeders do their utmost to produce a better dog every time a mating is done, but sometimes a soft coat does appear. Brindles will generally be harsher than blacks, with wheatens the softest (IMHO). Not everyone agrees with this synopsis though. When you dry the coat, don't fluff it sideways with your hand to get the coat dry. Brushing straight down towards the ground will get the best result on a scottie coat. You will soften the coat if you use conditioner on it - most just use a little on the furnishings as they tend to tangle if they are soft. Please advise your scottie owner to take great care with daily brushing - soft coats tend to knott VERY easily, and in summertime a hotspot can very quickly occur under the knott, effectively burning the skin, and can kill the dog. Does that answer your question? Regards, Garloch

An oldie but a goodie is to buy a squirt bottle, and fill it with a solution of diluted vinegar / or citronella oil. Squirt him when he barks, with a sharp "no Barking" or whatever your command is to be quiet. Keep to exactly the same command every time, so he knows what you mean. Dogs don't like the smell of vinegar, or citronella, so will associate it with barking, therefore thinking that barking is bad and I should really stop this. Never, ever, make the solution too strong, or use anything caustic. Some people say put chilli in it, or bleach, but that is cruel and can never be condoned. Citronella bark collars work on exactly the same principal as the vinegar solution. And don't overlook the benefits it brings you as the "shooter". Your aim will get very good very quickly, and next time you go to paintball, you'll ace everyone!

Oh, and I forgot to say - she is Gorgeous!

As long as you are expecting to be taught how to teach your pup, then go home and put it into practice, several times a day, thats great and it works brilliantly! If you expect them to teach your pup, and it be perfect, you are in for a let-down. Have a look at the top thread of the forum - puppy calender. It tells you what stages they go thru and around what age. Helps to understand the disobedient loveable little blighters. Go for it, practice, and have a long lovely life with your family friend!

Poor poor Cody! If you were by chance looking for something to stop him scratching his face, Maadi Pets (internet and several shops) has a collar type thing that blows up around their neck (no, it doesn't choke them) and they can't scratch. I think it was made for dogs with an injured paw, and the collar stops them chewing it, or stitches, etc, but might just work in reverse?? Its listed on their site under first aid. Super purple socks though! I'd wear them, if they came in my size!