stormie

I'd put up my other one but I don't think Troy would appreciate it

He's too short for you, Stormie. I can kneel

I find the whole thing really scary

I don't have my qualification but have way more knowledge about medical problems than our other nurse who has her qualification. I regularly have clients asking me if I'm a vet because of the information I am able to give them. But I shouldn't do this because I don't have a piece of paper??? eta: I did get part way through my qualification but stopped because it just seemed pointless at the time. We were learning how to mop a floor, for goodness sake. I have done training days with Anaesthetists in Advanced Anaesthesia, gone to many Specialist Seminars on all sorts of topics, studied Vet Text books (simply because I'm a nerd) and spend countless hours learning from my boss. But again, none of this is recongnised as a qualification... I consider myself competent in all aspects of nursing. I take bloods on my own, put IV's in on my own, do all our anaesthetics, wound treatments etc. I have a sound understanding of what I'm doing because I've learnt it. So yes I consider myself a nurse regardless of the fact I don't have a Certificate on the wall. Tell me you're not serious with your rebutal? I don't understand this question? Which part would I be not serious about?

Sometimes dogs just have chronic ear problems due to the general shape and position of the ears. No amount of drugs, diet changes etc can help. I have seen a few dogs go through this and their quality of live improved 10 fold. In a lot of cases, people reported having 'a new dog' and they realised how much discomfort their dog must have been in prior to the surgery. The polyps will be growing due to the constant inflammation and are only going to make things worse. Her ear will have thickened making it very difficult to resolve further problems. A Dermatologist opinion isn't a bad idea, but if they also suggest it, I'd do it.

I don't have my qualification but have way more knowledge about medical problems than our other nurse who has her qualification. I regularly have clients asking me if I'm a vet because of the information I am able to give them. But I shouldn't do this because I don't have a piece of paper??? eta: I did get part way through my qualification but stopped because it just seemed pointless at the time. We were learning how to mop a floor, for goodness sake. I have done training days with Anaesthetists in Advanced Anaesthesia, gone to many Specialist Seminars on all sorts of topics, studied Vet Text books (simply because I'm a nerd) and spend countless hours learning from my boss. But again, none of this is recongnised as a qualification... I consider myself competent in all aspects of nursing. I take bloods on my own, put IV's in on my own, do all our anaesthetics, wound treatments etc. I have a sound understanding of what I'm doing because I've learnt it. So yes I consider myself a nurse regardless of the fact I don't have a Certificate on the wall.

People may not give them that much, but the chews are flavoured. It's not uncommon to get a call saying the dog has found the box of something and eaten it all. The vaccine tests are just as bad, if not worse. It's why I find it frustrating when people complain about the current vaccines still being registered for annual use. The process needed to increase the time is not a simple matter of titre testing. They need to do a proper scientific study which involves a control group. That control group needs to have absolutely no contact with any pathogens etc for the period they're trialling for - so a 3 year registration study involves dog in isolation for that period of time (no vaccines, no human contact - nothing) and then given Parvo virus. It's unpleasant.

My bowl is in the shade and goes green too. I also use tap water and that hasn't stopped it. I just give it a scrub out on the weekends and change the water every few days.

Animal testing is unpleasant, but its necessary to determine the safety thresh hold and learn of possible side effects. Every product is tested on animals - all flea products, heartworm medicines, vaccines, drugs. It's a legal requirement in order for the product to be registered. Even food companies have testing facilities. When people accidently double dose their animals and call up to ask if it's ok - this is how we know. Because we know what the toxic doses are because of testing. It's also how we know how to treat them.

I make up big liver ice blocks for Orbit when it's hot. I boil up the liver, or sometimes mince, in some water and then put it all into a big ice cream container to freeze. The ice tastes like liver and he also gets chunks of it throughout. I don't like using commercial stock because it's often quite salty. I also give him his meals frozen - so a big hunk of frozen mince or frozen carcasses. Takes him a while to eat and cools him from the inside

Did the vet give you the drops with Cortisone in them at the first visit? Why would they give you those drops if they weren't suitable?

mmmmmmmmm Cesar

Bad here too - Orbit has never had problems with flies on his ears but the last few days have been shocking. I'm using Fly Repella cream and Repel-X spray.

What a lovely post!!

Well you get a gold star from me, Stormie, because from the quality of your informative posts I thought you were a Vet. don't worry - stormie deals with most of my enquiries - I only see the vet if I need the anal glands done I personally think it would not be the easiest job as they're frequently dealing with people who are concerned about their pet - need to calm them down, get information out of them and make an assessment about what course of action to take. They also have bad days - who knows, you might have got someone who's just had to help put down someone's pet or dealt with a cruelty case. My vet has fantastic staff and even the other nurse who I don't know, now knows me by voice :D And the Vet knows everyone's DOL names ;)

Well you get a gold star from me, Stormie, because from the quality of your informative posts I thought you were a Vet. thanks Erny.

I would say that at the majority of clinics, the Receptionists are actually Nurses. It might be that they do a rotating shift, so one day they're nursing, another day they're receptionists. Or maybe like us, they do reception duties during consult hours, but do nursey stuff during surgery hours. I know there are some shocker nurses/receptionists out there. But there are also some really awesome ones. I'm probably one of those 'wannabe vets', because I strive to learn as much as I can from my boss, so I can confidently handle most calls and know I'm giving the right answer. We have one vet who is usually busy treating people's pets, so it's important for us to try and see if we can answer the call so as to not need to interrupt surgery/treatments etc. More often than not, those who ask to speak to the vet, usually have a question easily dealt with by the nurse. I've had a person call me up and lie to me, saying they need to speak to the vet about their pet and refuse to give me details. When I put the call through, it was actually a member of the public calling about some wildlife that came in earlier - something I could easily have answered particularly seeing wildlife cases are generally my responsibility. Sales reps also do similar things to try and get onto the Vet/Boss so it's important we screen calls first. Sometimes, the vet just can't see you. Perhaps they're dealing with another emergency? Imagine if your dog was at the vet's getting emergency treatment and didn't survuve and you found out it was because they left them to go and see another animal/do a house call etc? Surely it's better to be honest and tell you they're too busy? They can only do so much. As for Snook's mum's dog, what a terrible situation to be in. It's a real shame you don't have Emergency Centres like us. Our Specialist Centres are generally all 24hr emergency centres too, so it doesn't matter what time it is, you can go and they will do whatever needs to be done, there and then. That's what the equipment is for! I can't believe you'd have to wait 3 weeks for an appointment to have them use their equipment. Just sounds completely ridiculous!

I'm not sure of the dose rate for Telfast or even if there is one for dogs??? I have one for Teldane but that's a different ingredient. Really not a good idea to give tablets without knowing if they're safe.

double post

Found this place that sells it http://www.respirator.com.au/site/877994/product/RP2008247 Otherwise try your vet - its not cheap though!!

The stomach distribution sounds like a contact thing. Wandering Jew? That tends to affect the belly, underarms, muzzle etc. Keep in mind too that with some plants, like WJ for eg, it's not an allergy, but more than the actual plant is an irritant to dogs, sort of like stinging nettle is to us. I would be looking in the garden or also think about washing powders, cleaners etc you may have used recently.

I'm lucky - we have a pool at work so Lorp and I go swimming during lunch and then again at the end of my shift. If it's cooled down enough, we'll go for a walk after the sun is down, but on the hotter days it can still be 30 degrees then and he'd get way too hot doing that.

Some Valium might make him feel a little less anxious? If you call your vet they may be able to help - just don't use ACP - it sedates them, but doesn't calm the mind, so they are still freaked out but just too sedated to be able to do anything about it.

trying to pm you but your inbox if full

There's ACCESS (North Ryde) - 9888 9800 SASH (North Ryde) - 9889 0289 ARH Homebush - 9758 8666 ARH Baulkham Hills - 9639 7744 Ummm.... those are all I know off the top of my head!