stormie

Sounds like it could easily be fly bites. Often the ears go crusty and scabby around the edges. The ears are probably itchy/irritated from the flies and the dog has likely been scratching the ears, resulting in a secondary bacterial infection. Sounds to me like ok advice from the vet, though some fly repellant cream wouldn't hurt either. Scabies mites can also cause crusting around the pinna of the ears and are usually incredibly itchy. (spelling)

I've got a price list somewhere... will try and dig it up... found it... its roughly about $28.00 for inhouse parvo, and about $45.00 for combined inhouse parvo and distemper. These tests are run twice weekly and results would be same to next day I would assume. they also offer hepatitis, which is sent offsite, and also offer the parvo and distemper tests can be sent offsite (gold standard methods) and are quite a bit more expensive (its about $100 for all three with a 2 week turnaround time). So add onto this the cost of the courier from your vet to WA, plus the extra bit your vets need to earn... For those whose vets are telling them it isn't done, tell them to contact VetPath.

Do you take puppy outside to toilet before going in the crate? Maybe a bit of play outside and make sure he has done a wee before he goes back in, that way he may be more inclined to sleep and hopefully his bladder won't fill up enough to need to go within that time.

Still can't believe the C8 We looked it up at work today and found a vet in australia who advocates the C8, and refers to it as the 'latest in vaccines for dogs' and also pushes for an F5 in all cats. Wonder what they think of the 3 yearly C3....

My breed is the same as Miranda's. We can see the pasterns become a little more slopey during the teething stage and it usually rights itself. What breed of dog are we talking about? Is it both pasterns or is one noticeably worse than the other? Are you able to post a pic?

Our 15y/o golden retriever wears a coat in winter. Orbit has a couple of different coats. As to whether he NEEDS them, probably not, but even when he's inside he likes to sleep right in front of the heater, so obviously he's seeking warmth. So during the night and the early mornings at work he wears his coat. He also wears one after a bath. I don't keep them on all day, though, otherwise they would lose their purpose when its cooler at night.

Orbit seems to have a problem with Kikeyu grass. Unfortunately though, the majority of the problem is the pollen, rather than the actual grass itself, so ripping it out is not likely to have any affect if thats what the problem is, as its still going to be carried in on the wind from somewhere else. Our dermatologist had us rule out scabies mites, fleas and food allergies first. Sas is right with the skin tests - usually from about 11months old they will do it. The newest blood test is called the Heska Allercept test and its far more accurate than the existing ones - its pretty much on par with the intra dermal tests. Problem is, these tests don't actually diagnose Atopy (allergies), as the dogs serum can still react to the things being tested for, however it doesn't necessarily mean that's whats making the dog itchy. For example I could test my non itchy golden retriever and have a whole panel come back as 'positive', however she just doesn't have an itchy reaction, if that makes sense. So the idea is to rule out as much as you can at first. Try keeping her inside only for 3 weeks, and then outside only for 3 weeks. This will give you an idea if its dust mites or not. You'll need to do a food trial to rule out food allergies and you'll probably need to do a period of time on drugs to rule out yeast and fungal infections. It's a long process, but the earlier you start, the sooner you'll get an answer!

Thyroxine is given to dogs with HYPOthyroidism, not HYPER. Hope all goes ok, isiss. I believe that if it is thyroid carcinoma, they can successfully remove the glands.

my 10month old never grew out of it! Soon as he gets a tiny bit excited he grabs the lead and wants to drag me for a run. We stop, I make him 'give' the lead, then we sit until he is settled then we carry on again. If he tries to grab it again, he gets a correction.

That is very funny ! Perhaps it's some new cult of fruit worship he's into?! Hail the mighty mandarin I'll try get video of him. Very funny!!

Orbit's likes to play with mandarin. Won't eat it, but will play bow to it, do zoomies around it and then roll all over it. But he is very strange....

Hi Jedda, I found this. Not sure if its what you are after?

Our dermatologist has told us that a reaction following Malaseb, (red and sometimes itchier), often means the malaseb is in fact working, and the dog is reacting to the yeast dying etc. Maybe there was some irritation which has now become a bacterial infection? I agree that another vet visit might be in order.

I have some here for Orbits allergies and found it only seems to work if the itching is mild. One night after a play in the park he was itchier than usual (ie we were up during most of the night) and unfortunately it did nothing. But on mild days if he's at a particular area I can give it a spray and it does take the inflammation away. It's label dose is only for use for 7 days - using it more than that and you can start to see side effects, such a thinning of the skin.

Is there any swelling, Cosmolo? Has the vet suggested sending away some of the joint fluid to the labs to get an idea of what might be going on in there?

I think its simply because the super premium has been tried and tested with this condition, where as the holistic hasn't yet.

Personally I think this sounds more like HD than DM. How much exercise did/does the puppy get? I know everyone has different opinions on diet, and whilst I feed my older dogs raw, I prefer to feed a high quality commercial diet to growing pups as they are nutritionally balanced for growth, with a correct calcium/phosph. ratio.

Definately one for the vet i think....

Squirt not sure where in Sydney you are, but Burns Pet Foods in windsor has a great variety of different meats. You can get horse, beef, lamb, mutton (meat and briskets/flaps) as well as chicken and turkey frames. Very good prices too. As for liver and kidneys etc, I just get these from my local coles. They often have heart too.

What about a waterproof coat for her? That way she can still go out in the rain but not get so wet.

Orbit and I play WWF Smackdown...

I take my hat off to groomers. Knowing how repulsive untreated skin infections can smell, I don't know how you cope with the bad ones. We see our fair share of cats in the clinic that need to be clipped to remove the carpet from their skin :rolleyes: I realise some pets can be a bit of a handful to brush, but really, it just takes a little bit of time every day to get them used to being groomed...

Orbit always had access to water overnight in his crate. Personally, I didn't like the idea of him getting thirsty and drinking large volumes of water when he gets access to it. I prefer him to know that water is always available and he doesn't need to stock up on it (bloat risk factor). I bought bowls that can be attached to the side of his crate, for the elevation purpose but also to keep them secure. Never once did he manage to tip the water out of it. All the best with your new puppy! Don't forget, we need puppy pics too!!!

You take them outside and wait for them to go to the toilet and then place a container underneath to catch the wee. an old saucepan is good cause it has a handle for easy reaching. its very helpful if you teach your dog a command to go pee too!

Yep, our Derm says its actually quite normal not to find mites in a scrap, even when you go deep enough to draw blood and for them still to have the mites... ETA: Zayda had a really bad case of generalised Demodex and they still didn't find that many mites in the scrapes... This happened to my vet. His dog looked like it had demodex and he scraped and scraped but got nothing. He ended up doing a biopsy and sent it off the the labs. Low and behold - demodex!!