jamesanddean

We have an 8.5 yo Golden Retriever who has been relatively healthy his whole life other than a couple of mast cell tumours he had removed approx 4 years ago and a couple of bad bouts of gastro. Approx 4 months ago he started getting a scaly red rash mainly in his belly and underside, and the vet believes it is an allergy to something but we haven't been able to work out what. It doesn't bother him too much although he does try to lick the spots but generally can't get to them. We apply neotopic ? cream and they tend to go away, but they keep reappearing in other places but we haven't been able to get to the bottom of what is causing them. We have been to our vet twice about them and he said that it was on the low end of the scale for allergies dogs experience but we don't like to see him like this when he has never had a skin issue before and never any hot spots. Does anyone have any advice or comments on what might be causing it and how we can get rid of it? We haven't changed his diet or food so don't think it is food related, The second issue we have is a raised red lump on his lip which looks similar to a wart. He had these when he was a puppy and they eventually cleared up themselves. Does it look like a wart to others? Are warts normal in older dogs? I would have thought he would have built up resistance from when he had them when he was younger. He does like to chew on sticks so maybe it is a sore from that, but as we have already been to the vet twice regarding the rash so don't want take him back a 3rd time if this doesn't seem serious. Again, any comments or advice welcomed!

Thanks all for your responses. Staffyluv and RobynH you have both had a lot of experience in this topic unfortunately. With Hunter's first round in Oct when he had 2 lumps removed in Oct last year they came back as grade 1 and benign with clean margins. I wasn't sure you could be benign if they were mast cell tumours but am happy to take it if that's what it was! The lump we found last Sat night has now gone down as any insect bite or mast cell tumours can, and it makes you wonder if he has had others we may have missed. My concern is about missing them and what they could be doing internally so I want to take as many precautions as we can. When he was sick in Oct I did some research about holistic vets and oncologists but never did anything further. Now I would like to talk to one or both before it gets too late and we regret not doing it. I may be worrying too much as Hunter's initial MCT were grade 1, whereas RobynH and Staffyluv's experience has been with grade 2 but I wold rather take preventative action now. Do you have a view on either holistic vets or oncology vets? I would like to discuss diet and other lifestyle info eg whether to vaccinate again with someone who know something about this subject. Our vet is good but can't really give any specific info or advice. We have him on a claratyne tablet daily at the advice of the vet and we will continue this if that will help. Do you know any politic vets or oncology vets that you can recommend in Sydney? Thanks for responding and sharing your experiences, it is much appreciated

In Oct last year I found a small lump on the side of our then 5 3/4 year old male Hunter and I booked him in to the vet to have it checked the next day. When it came time to go to the vet the next day the lump had disappeared and we couldn't find it! We went to the vet anyway and while I was holding him as she examined him I found another lump under his neck. She aspirated the lump and came back and advised it contained mast cells and needed to come off. We booked him in for surgery to take place 2 days later and I went home to research in more detail what mast cells were and the implications for our boy. The morning of his surgery the original lump on his side reappeared which was a blessing as they were able to test it and also remove it at the same time as it too contained mast cells. I was totally shocked when I picked him up from the vet that night to see how significant his wounds were and I felt terrible for putting him through it but it was for the best for him. The pathology results came back a few days later and fortunately it was a benign stage 1 with only a 10% chance or metastasis. We were ecstatic and have enjoyed the last few months with a different perspective on how fragile and volatile their health can be. On Saturday night I was patting him and I found a large lump on his right hind leg thigh. I was immediately nervous about what it may mean and took him to the vet on Sunday morning to have it checked. She checked him over and also aspirated the lump and after checking under the microscope she advised it did contain some mast cells but also had more other non dangerous cells. She gave him an antihistamine injection and advised us to give him an antihistamine tablet each day and monitor the lump. If it didnt go away it would most likely need to be removed. It has now been 4 days and although the lump has reduced in size it is still there although relativey small (less than half the size of a 5c piece). I don't want to have to put Hunter through more surgery to remove the lump if not necessry as it is not in a place where it can easily be moved and his skin stretched, but I also don't want to risk it metastasizing and causing something worse down the track. The fact he has had another incident with mast cells less than a year after the first time worries me about what lies ahead in future. Will this be an annual thing? My question to those who have also had experience with lumps and mast cells is when do you make the call to remove the lump? Should I wait and have it aspirated again in a week or 2 to see what is happening? I don't want to jump in too soon and put him through surgery if it is not necessary, but don't want to risk his long term health either. The vet just says if it hangs around we should remove it but how long do we wait before we do something if at all? If anyone has had experience with this I wold appreciate your feedback and advice.

My 6 yo Golden Retriever was shaking his head and scratching one of his ears more than usual, and as we are about to go away for a month and have a friend move in to mind him I wanted to get it checked out and fixed before we left. The vet checked him over and then checked the ears and tested some off the gunk under the microscope and gave him Dermotic to use for the next 3 weeks. It has been 3 days now and he is not scratching his ear anywhere near as much but he is still shaking his head more than usual. It could be that he just doesn't like it in there but he now has a constant wet ear, and the Dermotic is quite oily. Has anyone else used this product and found the same reaction? The vet said try it for a week and bring him back if no improvement and then after 2 weeks (which inconveniently is while we are away!), but I am not sure if it is performing as expected. Maybe I am not getting it in deep enough? I would have thought his ear would need to dry out to clear up fungal infection but it seems to be constantly wet. Advice from others who have experience with this product would be appreciated. Thanks

We have a new car that has a leather back seat and need to buy a car seat cover so that our Goldie doesn't scratch the seat. In our last car we had fabric seats and placed a pet seat cover and towel down which worked ok but wasn't perfect. With the new car we want to find something that is very sturdy and provides good coverage of the seat and seat back if possible eg strong PVC or similar? Does anyone have any recommendations on products we should look at? Thanks

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. I tried Crickets' suggestion of putting him on lead around the pool whilst the kids were swimming and he was a different dog. He has always been good on the lead and I was surprised he calmed down as much as he did that quickly. It is going to be something I am going to have to work on ans train him on as I don't expect it will happen overnight but it has been a step in the right direction. Thanks!

I have a 5 year old Golden Retriever who loves the water and will do anything to get wet when he is off lead. I take him to the beach regularly in summer and he would swim and play in the water for hours if I let him. My issue is at home where we have an inground pool and if anyone is in he pool he starts barking and does not stop. He gets quite worked up and anxious and wags his tail a little below horizontal so more of a submissive tail wag. We have put him in the pool previously but he swims to the side and gets out straight away. We bought a dog pool ramp so he could get in and out but he wouldn't go near it. We have tried floating treats on the water but he just won't come in and gets very anxious. I assume it may be related to him not being able to walk into the water as he does at the beach and he is scared of being stuck in there? I have done some research and it appears it could either be because he wants to join us in the pool and can't, or it could be due to him thinking we are in trouble and need help. Does anyone else have experience with his or have a suggestion on how we can stop the anxiety and barking? When we go to the beach I do not get into the water with him but we spend an hour or so of me kicking the water for him to jump up and try and catch (He is obsessed with this game!), so I was thinking I might try swimming with him at the beach to see if that helps. Appreciate any suggestions! Thanks

I have been reading your posts since you picked up Harper and it has bought back memories of when we bought our boy home (he is 3 and a half yo now). We were first time dog owners too and I remember the feelings you are going through. I am not an expert in advising you what to do in relation to training (fortunately there are others on here more qualified to do that), but can give my feedback on how I felt at the time. The first few days (and weeks) can be quite overwhelming (particularly after the first night) where you wonder if you had done the right thing. My advice is if you feel like that in the early days persevere - dogs are intelligent and adapt quickly into their new homes if done right. The difficult first days will pass quickly and once you get Harper and yourself into a routine it is a lot easier. How you are feeling now will pass and it will get easier if you decide to keep him. If you decide the right thing is for him to go to a new home, don't feel guilty or bad about the decision. It will be the best thing for both of you at this time, and doesn't stop you from getting a new puppy when the time and situation is right. Good luck with whatever you decide.

Dee Lee, please bring Honey over to my place for a visit. We have seen rats running through our back yard (we back onto a golf course) and have always thought they run through our yard to and from the golf course. Our GR boy is always alert at night when we are in the back yard waiting for them and then he wil suddenly be off in the dark after them but has never caught one thank God. We have laid traps and poison previously with no effect, so I bought one of those plug in things that is meant to drive them away. I just want them to travel via a different back yard between the golf course and the street. Well in the last 72 hours our GR has started sniffing the floor boards in a specific spot in our living room and we have started hearing scratching noises under the floor!!! I didn't think they were living with us!!! I hope the plug in hasn't attracted them to us and it is doing it's job and the noises are the rats packing their little suitcases to move on.

We had the same problem with our GR. We also had the clam shell with sand in one side and water in the other on hot days. We tried the poo in the holes as well as other things but these did not seem to stop him. What did finally stop him was building him a larger sandpit sunk into a place in the garden/lawn with some shade and lined with wood. He now has somewhere to dig as well as to dig and lie in the cool sand. He has now stopped digging up the lawn and he loves it there. It does require a bit of work to build it but you can always just dig a big hole and fill with sand from Bunnings. He loves to lie in there watching me mowing the lawn or any other work in the back yard!

Does anyone have a copy of the instruction manual for the 4 meal automatic pet feeder? I think it was a single sheet. I am now selling it and need the instructions and cant find them anywhere. I was wondering if anyone has a copy they could scan and email me? It does not have a brand name on the box but has 4 feeds, microphone to record your voice and timer settings. Thks Dean

We crate trained our Golden Retriever and didn't experience this specific issue, but my comments would be to check firstly he has enough space in the crate but obviously not too much. It could be that he is getting too hot. Our GR (who is now 3) will move from our bed to his own bed by the sliding door (which is open on hot nights) or to the floorboards outside the bedroom which are cooler. If he is sleeping on his mat and/or moving between the crate and his mat and you are not having any issues with this I would encourage you to keep doing it and not worry about crating him all night. If you are not making him stay in there he will be more likely to go in on his own accord. As he gets older he will become easier to manage and his behaviour will be more reliable and consistent. He could also just be going through a rebellious stage and challenging you on everything he doesn't want to do. You could persevere and make him sleep in there but you may have to be strong for a long time and put up with his barking. If it was me I would give him the freedom to come and go from the crate and his mat as he sounds like he has the hang of it now and he is not getting up to mischief during the night. Good luck!

We were first time dog owners and I already knew I wanted a Golden Retriever. Once we moved into our house and had a backyard with room for a large dog I did more research to ensure we could handle the commitment and responsibility. 3 years on I can say it was one of the best decisions of my life. We spent time with him at puppy preschool and other dog training classes when he was older and we now have a very chilled out and perfect dog for us. It also ended up being much easier than we expected. Being first time dog owners we went through a breeder and purchased a puppy as we were not confident in taking on a rescue dog first time around who may have had specific behavioural training requirements. Even with our boy we made mistakes but nothing stays the same for long with dogs, especially when they are puppys. I would suggest you listen to your breeder (I am amazed at how accurate our breeder was with what she told us, she knows her dogs!) and ask questions on this forum - there is a lot of experience here. We did things thoroughly eg crate trained, dog training, etc but it has paid off. In our case, a Golden Retriever was perfect for us (couple no kids) but just be prepared for the hair everywhere . You can't avoid it so once you get used to it you learn to live with it and vacuuming every day

How easy is it for dog's to get in and out of the pool? Is there a ramp or easy access in/out eg stairs? Our Golden Retriever would live in the water if he could and loves going to the beach for a swim. We are fortunate to have a pool at home but he will not go in it and barks constantly when we are in it which notrmally results in us getting out because he is so worked up. We have taken him in but he freaked out and I think he stresses because he see how to get out. Perhaps if we take him to this kennel/swimming pool and he sees other dogs swimming there and learns how to get in/out he may get more confident and will swim at home? Any suggestions? Our pool is of course fenced so he can't get in when we are not there so no risk of him drowning.

We use a Dyson which is very effective, particularly on floor boards and tiled areas. It is also great on carpet with the turbo head, but my favourite tool for picking up hair off the carpet before vacuuming is this brass comb. It is very effective at collecting the hair and makes the vacuuming much easier. I cant speak highly enough about how effective it is. I bought it from a pet show but have found them online here...you may be able to find them on other sites as well. http://www.fabriccare.com.au/cart.php?targ...;category_id=65

Good on you Simple, good to see you will be looking after your dog so well. If she doesn't like it she will let you know by not staying in there, but when the alternative is hot and humid weather she will learn quickly where to be.

Much easier operation for a male - sorry girls you draw the short straw when it comes to this one!

What a beautiful reflection, yet confronting as the reality of the last few days hits home. It is difficult when it is their time to leave us. But you will always have your memories of your time together and although you feel sad, always remember what a great life and the love you gave him, and how much love he gave back in return. It was a short life but one full of love and happt memories. Thinking of you both at this time

When our boy has an upset tummy he goes onto rice and chicken or rice and beef mince for a couple of days until it settles down. Skip a meal or two and then feed her small amounts every few hours. I find it better to feed the same thing for a couple of days as it tends to settle quicker than changing the meals frequently. if we do change his food it tends to give him an upset tummy so sticking with the rice/chicken or beef/chicken works for us. It won't hurt for her to fast for 12-24 hours either while it settles down. You will get to know what to do when they have an upset tummy when it reoccurs. It can be difficult to know what causes it each time.

Our Golden also loved to dig holes in the lawn from time to time. We tried most of the things suggested on here to stop the behaviour but the thing that worked for us was building a sand pit which is long and deep enough for him to dig and lie in. Our boy likes to dig frantically and then will often sit/lie in the hole he has created watching the world go by (us!) before he dozes off. The clam shell is good when they are puppies, but if they don't have the ability to dig deep they will get bored and move to other less desirable spots. We built ours approx 3ft wide x 5ft long x 3 feet deep and lined it with wood. We bought the sand from Bunnings and top it up from time to time. You don't need to go to this much effort though, just find a place that is acceptable, dig it out, fill with sand and hide some treats and/or toys in there and he will get into the habit of going there.

Congratulations on your new GR puppy...they are the beautiful dogs. We were first time dog owners when we bought our GR puppy home 2 and a half years ago and I was only reflecting last night while we were at the park how far we had come from the first few weeks at home to the dog he is today. Here are some of the things that worked well for us: My advice to you is that the first few days (and weeks) can be quite overwhelming (particularly after the first night) where you wonder if you had done the right thing. All I can say is if you do ever feel like that in the early days persevere - GR's are intelligent and adapt quickly into their new homes if done right. The difficult first days will pass quickly and once you get him/her and yourself into a routine it is a breeze, and the love, affection and loyalty you receive from your puppy is amazing and outweighs any difficulties in the first few days. We crate trained and he took to it straight away and not only helped with toilet training, but gave us somewhere to put him when it was time for a time out or you needed to go out for a while. I took a week off work when we first bought him home and eased him into us not being there during the day by going out as I needed to for increasing amounts of time. As long as they have toys to keep them occupied and chew toys in particular at that age they will keep themselves busy. We had bought a number of toys and some he palyed with and some he didnt (eg Kongs). He loved pigs ears initially but now couldn't care less about them. You really need to just work things out once you have him/her home as every dog is different and you have to learn as you go. You will find the things that he/she will like playing with. While he is chewing and mouthing just make sure he has a toy or two available as an alternative to you or something less desirable eg couches, clothes, hands, etc We also created a puppy run in the back yard to contain how much of it he had access to in the early weeks. Like the crate, if you can contain them they tend to feel safer in my experience and he actually liked the boundaries it set him. Make sure you do plenty of socilaisation while they are young being careful with other dogs until he has had all his shots. I carried him down the street in the early stages before he was fully vaccinated to get him used to traffic, sounds, etc. If you have friends with dogs who you know have been vaccinated then you could let them play together as long as it is in your back yard or somewhere safe. To be safe you should wait though. Puppy pre school is really important where puppies can socialise together before final vaccinations. And make sure you have lots of friends drop over to meet the puppy which is normally not hard to do! In the early stages is that they grow in size and change behaviourally so quickly. Many of the things you get concerned about one day are gone the next week or month and there is something else to address. So don't get too stressed about things as they will change! Just get ready for the hair on the floor, clothes, etc but it won't be long and you won't care about that because you love them so much. Good luck and enjoy. Having been in the same position as you I am more than happy to answer any other questions you may have.

We are looking at using Top Dog Minders or Don't Fret Pet (or anyone else recommended) to place our dog in a good home while we will be away. Does anyone have any experience with these companies and can provide a recommendation?

Thanks everyone for your replies....we are located in Eastern suburbs near Maroubra.

We have a beautiful 2.5 year old Golden Retriever and we are going overseas for 3 weeks in July. Since we have had him as a puppy we have always had someone home to mind him when one or both of us was away but I am anxious about what to do with him when we go away for 3 weeks in July. It would be preferable to have someone move in and stay at our house and mind him in his own environment but it is a long time and a big commitment for someone to take on. Alternatively I have had a look online at some of the dog boarding facilities, and also at dog minder websites. He is a beautiful boy who has a great life (spoilt) and lives inside with us, sleeps in our bedroom (and on the bed with us on cold nights!), goes to day care a coouple of days a week, etc. I am after any advice on what is the best option here 1) Do we look at getting someone we don't know to move in and look after him at home (OK but prefer not to have a stranger in the house) have others done this and it worked out OK. 2) Do we put him into a boarding facility (eg Hanrob, Pet Resorts Australia, etc) are these good, do they get good individual attention, any you can recommend? 3) Place him with a dog minder at their place. I have had a look at a couple who were great but I would really prefer he was with someone or a family that will let him sleep inside with them if possible - does anyone know of any in Sudney that will do this for the right dog? As this will be the longest time we have left him I want to make sure we do the right thing...yes he is spoilt!

Congratulations on your (soon to be) new Golden Retriever puppy. We were first time dog owners when we bought our GR puppy home 15 months ago and similar to you had done a lot of reading and research before he came home with us. One of the most significant things I can remember is that the first few days can be quite overwhelming (particularly after the first night) where you wonder if you had done the right thing. All I can say is persevere - GR's are intelligent and adapt quickly into their new homes if done right. The difficult first days will pass quickly and once you get him/her and yourself into a routine it is a breeze, and the love, affection and loyalty you receive from your puppy is amazing and outweighs any difficulties in the first few days. We purchased a full size adult crate from vebo pets on ebay. It was reasonably priced and we placed cardboard boxes inside to restrict the space and slowly increased the space in the crate as he grew. Our puppy went in from the first night and was very comfortable with it and never made a sound. We put the crate in our bedroom with us for the first night but I hardly slept a wink as I was listening for him to take him out to the toilet. All I could hear all night was his tail wagging and hitting the cardboard divider we had put in there to restrict the space. From the second night we moved his crate into our kitchen because I couldn't sleep from the anxiety of listening out for him! I would set my alarm and get up in the middle of the night to toilet him. He was sleeping through from 11.30pm to 6.30am within 2 weeks of getting him home. For the first couple of weeks we had to get up in the night to take him out, but he learnt so quickly. At least it was summer and not the middle of winter for those middle of the night trips outside. It is important you restrict the space available in the crate (we used cardboard boxes) and cover it with an old sheet or blanket as it makes them feel more secure - I think this was one of the things that really helped us. It is also good to have somewhere to put them when you want them safely away when you can't give them your full attention (or you need a rest!). We had bought a number of toys and some he palyed with and some he didnt (eg Kongs). He loved pigs ears initially but now couldn't care less about them. You really need to just work things out once you have him/her home as every dog is different and you have to learn as you go. You will fing the things that he/she will like playing with. We also bought a puppy run (two of them combined) from soldsmart.com.au which we kept him in for the first few weeks when we were at work. We would come home at lunchtime or one of our neighbours would let him out to toilet in the middle of the day and he was fine..he actually liked the boundaries it set him. With socialisation I carried him down the street in the early stages before he was fully vaccinated to get him used to traffic, sounds, etc. You do have to be cardeul with other dogs at this early stage but we took our boy to friends who didn't have dogs to let him run around and get familar with other people. If you have friends with dogs who you know have been vaccinated then you could let them play together as long as it is in your back yard or somewhere safe. To be safe you should wait though. Puppy pre school is really important where puppies can socialise together before final vaccinations. The other thing that happens in the early stages is that they grow in size and change behaviourally so quickly in the early stages. Many of the things you get concerned about one day are gone the next week or month and there is something else to address. So don't get too stressed about things as they will change! Just get ready for the hair on the floor, clothes, etc but itwon't be long and you won't care about that because you love them so much. Good luck and enjoy. Having been in the same position as you I am more than happy to answer any other questions you may have.