Maddy

Not that we have been advised of, nor the APVMA advised of We withdrew Advantix from sale of the 21st of December and have been in contact with both our supplier (who is has other customers with the same issues) and Bayer, heck, we have sold large quantities of there product and they didnt want to hear anything about it. Simply saying it is a matter between them and the user… ummm, hello, who has to give these people there money back. Easiest way for us to show our displeasure of this whole situation is to stop selling the product. Whilst every medication has risks, in 16 months we have had 3 issues with reactions from customers, 2 with Frontline (1 Cats, 1 Dogs) and one from Comfortis… then to have 7 issues in 3 weeks from 1 product…. strange This is what made me think that maybe there has been a change to the formula, it does seem the reactions have been to more recent batches than what was available previously...although I would have thought that Bayer would have informed people of a change I think it's worth pointing out that when one person has a bad experience with a product (and are very vocal about it), people tend to watch the product more closely and react differently to side effects, even if it's something they've used for a while and have always trusted. People will also over-report the severity of side effects when the product is under scrutiny.

It may work out fine but ethical rescue is about carefully managing risks to ensure the best outcomes for the animals involved. Is it better for a dog to be bounced from home to home just to keep it alive? I'm not convinced that's really in the best interests of the dog or the rescue/s involved.

This answer? I'll write the bleeding obvious. 'We research our groups'....but no criteria given for what factors are researched. '...and are advised if they are NOT reputable' Advised by whom? Groups that make evaluations have to be transparent to provide those ratings with credibility. I'd ignore the ratings of any group which is based on anonymity. And which provides no criteria for their assessments. With no further information to go on than that one answer I found (I assume it's the one Aphra was talking about, couldn't spot anything else), I don't think I'll be recommending that page to anyone unless the people involved are willing to step up and make the process transparent If it comes down to "You'll just have to trust us".. erm, no thanks. We all know how that ends.

Ah.. perhaps this is why doctors have to wear trousers when they treat people?

I bought some QuickBayt a few days ago and finally got around to using it today and I have to say.. the results were impressive. I painted it onto the clothes line in the dog's area (which is out of their reach and in an inside area so that the rain doesn't wash it away) and even as I was still painting it on further down, flies were already dropping. Seems to take only about five seconds of feeding. The bait has an attractant in it and also dries really quickly (but it dries a pale white so you can see where it is) I swept up about sixty dead flies over the course of the afternoon so it was definitely worth the $30 the bottle cost (for 62.5g of powder) and apparently if it stops working as efficiently, you just have to spray it with a bit of water. I was using those sticky fly strips (which work well enough but they're pretty gross to have to look at) but given how awesome the Quickbayt was, I think I'll be sticking with that now. Vetnpet sell it.. http://www.vetnpetdirect.com.au/QUICKB?sc=9&category=162652 but apparently not the small bottles. Might be cheaper elsewhere But I didn't really look too hard*. *Didn't look at all >.>

*facepalm* She sounds just.. bat-sh*t crazy. What theraputic reasons is there to put trousers on a kangaroo? What condition that a kangaroo might suffer require trousers? Pantlessitis? And the rest.. well, she just sounds paranoid and delusional.

If you keep an eye on some of the greyhound forums and ebay, treadmills come up quite a bit from trainers and usually at a decent price. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Greyhound-Dog-Walking-Machine-Val-Ward-/220925689735?pt=AU_Pet_Supplies&hash=item3370327f87 This is probably the most expensive one I've ever seen on Ebay but you get the idea. That sort of thing but cheaper. Thanks, I've seen a few of those come up :D I'll have to keep looking when I'm more cashed up. Are there some dog specific treadmills that go faster than 5kmph I'd assume there would be. Most of the ones I've seen have actually been newer than the example above and usually about $300. Some are manual but don't know if that really makes a huge difference to overall fitness. If you have a reasonable large yard, you might want to look at the.. I forget what they're called.. like a clothes line except you attach dogs to it and they walk/run around in a circle... possibly harder to buy but maybe easy to build if you can find plans for one and have some reasonably handy about.

This answer?

I did. I meant the people who buy dogs to use for fighting. I was agreeing with you, mong But it's fawn and has a black muzzle. No other breed of dog could possibly also be fawn and have a black muzzle. Next you'll be suggesting that dogs other than rotties could be black and tan, crayzee.

I noticed this group has had a fair bit of activity and I'm pleased to see they've stuck with just recommending reputable groups rather than posting a list of "dodgy" groups. That said.. I had a quick look through the list and could only see one Tasmanian group- RSPCA Tas. I have to assume all the state RSPCAs were added without really any checking because the RSPCA down here has a pretty horrid reputation, especially the Launceston branch. If each group isn't going to be actually thoroughly checked out, all you really have is a list of groups and that.. well.. plenty of pet directories for finding that sort of thing. The other issue is with transparency still. Who are these people, are they affiliated with any particular groups in a way that might cause bias, how exactly do they decide on who's good and who's not? I like the idea of supporting ethical rescues but this info really needs to be supplied. After all, what's to stop someone setting up a group like this and claiming to provide fair and accurate information and then being dodgy themselves?

If you keep an eye on some of the greyhound forums and ebay, treadmills come up quite a bit from trainers and usually at a decent price. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Greyhound-Dog-Walking-Machine-Val-Ward-/220925689735?pt=AU_Pet_Supplies&hash=item3370327f87 This is probably the most expensive one I've ever seen on Ebay but you get the idea. That sort of thing but cheaper.

I doubt dodgy-looking skinheads would be the ones turning up to buy the pups anyway. These people aren't stupid and it doesn't take a genius anyway to figure out that most breeders would want to see their pups go to nice, family homes and not possible dog fighters. Grab a kid, put some tidy clothes on and make sure you say the right things (which are all easy enough to figure out). Back on topic.. As for the size of operations down here.. I think it's a little unwise to assume they're just small, backyard jobs. There are plenty of places here where you could keep a tonne of dogs without anyone ever noticing and betting or watching is not limited to those that can actually be there. The internet makes it very easy to privately broadcast video and collect money in a variety of ways that would raise no local attention (because no actual cash would ever change hands, all done electronically).

that was great! After seeing that I think there's quite a market for dog jockstraps. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who thought that :p I have to admit I cringed a few times.

Can't say this is news to me >.> Bull breed dogs are constantly being reported as lost or stolen from secure backyards and then never seen again. Nice of them to finally actually warn the public though, I guess.

You can't just be put in touch with a staghound breeder, sheesh :rolleyes: It's an elite and very secretive society where only those proven worthy will be contacted for initiation (I believe they send you a message with an owl? Something like that). As for the rest of us muggles.. I guess we'll have to put up with our horrible "new" greyhounds.

well it's a fail on point two isn't it ... Rofls.. Seriously though.. if they wanted a dog to look like a stray dog, why not go to a shelter and actually get a stray dog?

I'd stashed a whole heap (about 30kg) of lamb in the freezer for the dogs to last once their mince mix ran out but I get the feeling I dropped a zero or something in the calculations Sally (my old girl) will eat the starlings she ninjas off the lawn if I don't retrieve them fast enough but the look on her face when I offered the roll was like.. "How could you? I thought you loved me.." Kind of worrying that manky dead bird is more appealing than dog roll.

We normally feed raw but my pet meat place is closed for christmas holidays and although I thought I'd ordered enough meat to last us, we ran out yesterday and had to get something from the supermarket. There was only one packet of chicken necks left so the OH got dog rolls.. The dogs were not impressed :rolleyes: Neither of the girls would go near them (can't say I blame them, dog rolls smell vile) and the poor boys didn't get much say in the matter because the chicken necks had to go to the girls. I'm really not looking forward to cleaning up what comes out after eating those rolls so this weekend will be spent trying to find an alternate source of good meat (not supermarket junk) to last five large dogs for six more days :/

I'm not sure the trampoline beds are actually all that suitable for a dog with unsteady legs. My old guy won't even step on them anymore and I assume it's because he feels unstable. We just got one of the waterproof beds (he has a bit of an old man bladder) that are the same as the ones sold by a online store that someone (a Dane person, perhaps?) actually linked to here a few months back- can't remember the name.. Someone with Kelpies has the same sort.. Hoover and.. Elbie? Anyway, those beds. The cushion could probably be padded up even further with a couple of crate mats stuffed in underneath to raise the bed but also make it softer. You can actually buy crate mats that fit the bases of those beds on Ebay but.. I also can't remember the store name for those

Use something that works for your situation? I don't really see what the drama is, to be honest. Products with with actual active ingredients (as opposed to the "natural" crap, although that can be even more dangerous anyway) all come with the risk of drug allergies and/or side effects. I've been using Bayer products for parasite control since I first got a greyhound and for all the foster dogs we've had since, we've never had problems and the efficacy has been awesome. Side effects suck but I'm not sure what you're going for here. I think you'll find any company that manufactures parasite prevention products for animals are already well aware of potential side effects (because these thing are always tested first) and staff on the phones are instructed to advise people with problems the best way of dealing with the problem for minor reactions (which obviously is to wash the product off). What side effects is your dog actually exhibiting, anyway? You make mention of neurological side effects but it sounds like you asked Bayer for advice to treat a skin reaction to the product. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt so I'm going to assume you've just not mentioned something and the neurological business isn't just something you found on Google while searching for "Advantix side effects".

The question is.. is your vacuum cleaner really up to hoovering up huge amounts of foam? I have bought so many dog beds and have found that the majority are really only suited to dogs who do nothing rougher to their beds than maybe jumping on them. We have a bed tester at the moment (the lovely Doug) whose record for killing a bed is about five minutes- Four minutes and thirty seconds to notice the bed was there, thirty seconds to reduce it to a pile of shredded fabric and chunks of foam. A lot of manufacturers have a slightly different idea of "indestructable", I think.

AA...there are some people on DOL that would attack you no matter what you said....In my house we call them "Pisards" not sure if that is a true word, but a pisard is someone who will argue with you about anything, no matter what. No point in arguing with pisards, you just simply ignore them. For Hardy's A to say you should have put a disclaimer in when quoting someone elses testimonial, then why didn't HA require that I put a disclaimer in when I posted the link to "80 different uses for coconut oil". Ignore them....I am interested in what you are saying & I am sure others following this post are too. That doesn't mean I am going to suddenly throw out my tick prevention & slather my dogs in CO as HA implies. HA implies that we are all stupid. There are a couple of posters here which from now on, I am not even going to bother reading, as they are clearly just trying to interrupt the thread. :rolleyes:

Assuming that everyone who reads this would go off and research for themselves is (you'll have to excuse my bluntness here) plain foolish*. You post completely lacked objectivity or even a disclaimer (something along the lines of "probably best to ask your vet before withdrawing tick prevention from your dog") it was entirely one-sided and presented in such as way as to lead someone to believe the coconut oil was responsible for the changes mentioned. Have a look at the number of guests who read this forum every day and consider that some of them will be willing to take things at face value without any further thought. If even only one person fails to provide the correct preventatives for their dog and it dies as a result, are you cool with having that on your conscious? I really hope so because coconut oil is NOT a tick preventative. Period. To imply it is foolish, to defend those claims is knowingly causing harm. *Not my first choice of word, I can assure you.

I'm going to sound like a bitch here but.. whatever. This is something I feel very strongly about. I have no issues with some posting their own experiences, even if their perception of the results might not reflect the actual efficacy of the product. What I do have a problem with is individuals or groups implying that products may have some benefit that there is absolutely no evidence for (beyond the very anecdotal), especially when failing to provide actual treatments (such as proper tick prevention) could cost dogs their lives if their owners are gullible enough to buy into the stories. Implying that coconut oil may (the weasel-word often used to avoid liability) prevent ticks is just plain skeazy and irresponsible. It's a shame threads like these can't be reported for deletion because I honestly think it gets to a point where they could potentially cause a lot of harm. Be passionate about your product by all means but when you lose all objectivity, you're putting other peoples' pets at real risk.

Some pet food places actually do their own treats and that's mostly what our dogs get. The place near us does dried roo tendons, air-dried bones, liver treats, air-dried roo bones/small tails and pig ears/snouts. The dogs seem to really prefer these over other treats and they contain nothing but meat or bone. The cost is about the same as the more heavily processed treats or less, depending on where you buy (about $1 a bag for oven-dried liver treats) and there's no worry about melamine or dangerous levels of sulfur dioxide. If that source wasn't available to us, I think I'd just be making them myself. I imagine one of those things for making dehydrated fruits and jerky would do the job just fine. Given food contamination from that region isn't always accidental (a friend who visited said they actually put melamine in quite a few food products for human consumption) I'd be very wary of anything produced there, even if it actually had proper labeling (which it rarely does).