stormie

Ah the power of 'the walk'

Erny NOOOOOOOO!!! Don't ever say things are good!!! Whenever someone asks how Orbit is during a good time, and I say he's going good, he usually has a melt down within 24hours of me saying it. Just last night I said he wasn't too bad. Then about 5 hours later, it hit and the poor thing was up scratching all night and was such a wreck this morning. The only thing that could have set him off were my silly silly words. So whenever anyone asks how he is, you must answer either 'no change' or 'terrible'. Then they get better

We recently were given a stack of Sea Flex samples to hand out to clients and the response has been really positive. So far everyone has seen a noticeable improvement in both their dogs and cats. Joint Guard is a flavourless powder but also comes in treat form, made with Vets Best. They source their glucosamine from beef. Sasha's Blend is a fishy smelling powder. They use shark cartilage. Sea Flex comes in a long stick/treat. They use sea cucumber. Also has a skin claim too, due to the omega oils also in there. Paws Osteo Support - comes in capsules. Sourced from Green Lipped Mussels.

I worry I'm going to be back on the hunt for a new place to live when the lease is up on my current place. The RE have been nothing but a pain in the arse and I've only been here 3 months. I told the PM that Orbit was an inside dog when I viewed the property and was told that was fine, 'the owners were really cool about everything.' I then had the landlord come and introduce herself to me on day as I was coming home, meeting me at my front door. She saw Orbit through the window and told me she never allowed an inside dog. Naturally I contacted the PM straight away and her response was that she didn't remember me mentioning the inside factor. Thankfully my lease doesn't specify he isn't allowed inside so I think I'm ok there. The property is also for sale and the last 3 times they've tried to bring people through it's been a pain. The first time they gave me less than 12 hours notice, the second time they didn't bother to tell me it had been cancelled and the third time, just today, I received no warning and was asleep on the couch to wake up to an agent walking in my front door. When I first viewed the place I asked about the lease period and was told 12months. So I applied and when I was accepted and went to sign the lease, was told it was now only 6 months, but it was just an initial period to see how things went and the next period would be 12-18months. But I don't believe a word of that now and think they're just doing 6 month leases so that if the property sells, the new owners don't have to wait as long to kick me out. I love living here and IMO, have been an awesome tenant. I've done so much work around the place and really cleaned it up. Yet the dramas the agent are causing me, resulting in me needing to put my foot down, I worry is making me look like I'm difficult and they won't want to resign me. It took me months to find this place and I have no idea what I'm going to do if I have to try find somewhere else, especially seeing my lease ends a couple of weeks before Christmas.

Thanks for that. I was wrong before and the letter to the editor by Richard Malik was actually in response to that one by Antony Moore. It's in the Aug 2010 edition. He is a bit more open minded about it and mentions he spoke to owners as well as vets who were involved with cases and was impressed by some of the results. He says he is excited about it and thinks its very possible the drug may be useful in certain cases. But he also says its early days and like Antony and his co writers he is keen to get a better understanding of how the drug works at a cellular and immunological level as well as its effects on other tissues etc. So it seems its probably too early to know how its all going to pan out and that vets and specialists are all a bit torn over the idea.

I thought it was a supply and demand problem They have excellent customer service so if you email them they will get back to you within 24 hours. They will also tell you which store has stock. There seems to be more EP available in NSW than Vic. They just aren't bringing enough into the country. Our wholesaler has told us they'd love to increase their EP stocks by 10 but that EP just won't supply them with that much food, so what they are supplied with is sold very quickly and again they're left with nothing until the next container. It's very very frustrating.

I nipped Orbits digging in the bud when he was a pup by putting his poo in any holes he had started to dig. I know you say she just loves digging which I am sure she does, but the way you describe it, as frantic quick digging still sounds like it could be an energy release, or was once and is now a habit? Sort of like an obsessive sort of behaviour. Could she even have some sort of anxiety about being outside and vents this on your lawn? Does she destroy anything when she's inside with you? All I can suggest is up her exercise and maybe see if you can get someone else to take her out for you whilst your unwell. Offlead running is all good and well but it's not really structured and IMO, doesn't tire them out as mentally and physically as a good half an hour run on lead.

Nope, the ones you find internally would not be related to UV exposure. Unfortunately these tumours can grow and produce no symptoms until its too late. We recently had patient who was completely normal at night, but woke up unwell and had died within about 2 hours. He had one on his heart also that just ate away until a hole was suddenly made and the blood leaked out. We couldn't determine this until an autopsy either. Sorry to hear about your boy ;)

I know one Specialist who was involved in many of the surgeries to remove the tumours on the trial patients that didn't work. He wasn't impressed one bit. Apparently too, many of the patients involved in the trials had to wait until their tumours were more advanced before trialling the drugs. So when it didn't work, the prognosis was much poorer than if the tumours were taking off as soon as they were discovered. Supposedly it's been beaten up by the media to be much better than what it really is? There is another one that's being trialled which I believe is showing positive results but I'm not sure of the name of it. (Everything's Shiny, I'm pretty sure the letter to the editor was Richard Malik's article? I think he's been using this other one and so far has been impressed)

Steve are you able to provide a link to that? All I can find in the act in relation to housing is that it can be specified by each particular council. For eg, Kogarah specifies no more than 2 dogs (excluding offspring up to 12wks) but has no specification in terms of housing distance from a dwelling.

I should think any vet would be happy to write a note saying a dog shouldn't be revaccinated with another C3 within 3 years, if they have given the one licensed for every 3 years. Vet wouldn't get in trouble since that's the the manufacturer's recommended dosing interval, & so they'd be backed both by the vaccine manufacturer & the WSAVA. The council can't do anything to the vet, the vet is doing their job correctly & not breaking any laws or codes of practice. Yeah but I mean if they're using an annual vaccine. The AVA just specifies that core vaccines don't need to be done annually - there's no mention of using specific vaccines, but just that the core vaccines no longer require being done annually. But yeah I guess either way, it would come down to the vet recommendations.

Yep but the law says that if you dont want your dog vaccinated yearly according to manufacturers recommendations you have to have written advice form your vet that you shouldnt. So where would a vet stand with regards to the law then, by offering clients 3 yearly vaccination with a vaccine with manufacturers recommendation of annual use, because the the documents provided to him from the AVA saying annual vaccination is not always necessary and that triennial use is accepted? It all sounds pretty messed up; especially the housing of 2 or more dogs 15m away. I've never seen or heard of such a law before.

I don't see how annual vaccination can be enforced when a) the AVA has published documents stating that annual vaccine is no longer necessary and b) there are vaccines registered for 3 yearly use???

I don't understand how she got her bottom jaw, which would include the bottom teeth and canines, into the hole???

Huh? Hemangiosarcomas are most often found on the spleen, the pericardium and the heart itself. I've never heard of sunbaking as a cause for them?

Minced chicken frame is a good place to start. It's pretty cheap too. Otherwise things like chicken wings or turkey necks are great too. But just remember they must be raw and best to supervise. Also, if she's not had a lot of raw meat/bone before, start off in small amounts as it might upset her tum.

I agree with adding some more meaty bones to her diet. It will firm up her stools and she'll have to work to push them out, which helps to express the glands as well. Fibre is good at adding bulk, but if its not firm enough it may be useless. If her only problem is them filling up, and no chronic infections, there's no need to think about removing the glands yet. This is a big operation which IMO, most vets prefer NOT to do if they can, so to suggest it after two occasions of simple, full glands, seems a bit hasty to me.

They can get melanomas but not usually in those areas. They get another type of tumour, often from sunbaking, - Hemangiosarcoma.

I have considered this too!! But I believe it's very difficult to get approval and to meet the regulations? There is a bit on info on the net about setting it all up.

I think, by the looks, that it's on top of the skin - there is one that is kind of a bit scabby??? hmmm... just edited my post.

Is the colour under the surface of the skin? The last one looks a bit red, sort of like a red bruise? Other look like they have formed a crust which would be more like an infection which would also fit in with the sudden onset. Hard to tell from the pics but anything new that comes on suddenly, it isn't a bad idea to get it looked at.

Glad to hear it wasn't distemper - strange to put that as a first guess too! Can I ask, was your boy vaccinated recently?

I don't see anything wrong with them being inside that much but I would be looking at trying to increase their exercise. Fresh air and sunlight is good for everyone, not to mention exercise. Personally, I believe that regular exercise is just as important for a dog as food and water. On weekends, weather permitting, I take Orbit to different places for walks. It's fun finding new places, especially when you hit the jackpot and find somewhere awesome, but also walking in different environments is good too, getting out from the usual routine of street walks.

Wow, it is hard to explain just how angry this makes me. x2 eta - Could something like this be handy to have to deter people from either BYB, to show the potential costs involved, or from buying from a pet shop/puppy farm, so show them the sort of testing many Reg breeders do ad all the possible things their DD could have?

yeah see I think that's ridiculous. I know our triennial is about $10 more than our annual. Lots of vets are worried they'll lose income with the reduction and are probably trying to recoup losses that way. But really, if the vets are good, honest vets with good client relationships, I just don't think it'll happen. The KC still needs to be done annually and much of the general public still want this, with the idea they may need to board in the next 12 months. We just started doing the 3 yearly regime since taking over our current clinic just on 12months ago, so it will be interesting to see what happens for us over the next 12months, but I think we'll be fine.