Quirkyhound

Oh yes, I agree, people with animals of any kind need to plan ahead and get the animals out early. I helped to pay for the facilities at the RNA over the past 34 years with entry fees for poultry, waterfowl, birds, horses, sheep, cattle, dairy and angora goats, not to mention dogs. It's absurd that acres of stables, pens, aviaries, etc. cannot be used by those that made them possible in the first place. Lets take the poultry pavilion for one. It could serve as a cattery or boarding kennel in this emergency. It's only ever used for 2 weeks a year, such a waste. Row after row of cages could house a cat with a litterbox, a small dog, a parrot, a guinea pig. The larger pens used for geese during the show would accommodate a large dog. There would be plenty of people around to act as the stewards would act during an exhibition to keep things running smooth. I see no reason why people should not be allowed to turn up there with their dogs etc for a few days, it's exactly what we do during an exhibition.

I see no reason the RNA can't accept pets, even if they ask that they be kept in a separate area. I'd gladly throw my swag amongst other pet owners, my goodness, it's a disaster. Us exhibitors literally pay for those RNA grounds with our animal entries. Fair is fair!

I also prefer something like a Dremel or Oster Nail Grinder made for dogs. What I didn't like about the little Wahl nail clipper was that while it might have been high quality, I knew it wouldn't have much power if powered by a battery. The main put off is the fact that you can't exchange the stone for the sandpaper cylinder, the space won't accommodate it. I prefer the sandpaper because it doesn't heat up as fast as the stones although they are nice for a beautiful finish on a show dog. The Dremel unit has an accessory that is fantastic to have, that's the stand that allows you to hang the unit up and use a downtube to which you attach your preferred grinding head. If you are doing a few dogs, you are not holding the full weight of the unit in your hand, merely the thin end to the downtube which is much easier to hold for an extended time. The only draw back is that the Dremel accessory costs about $100---the same as the Dremel itself so it makes it a $200 investment. I found a cheaper alternative. Supercheap Auto Supply has a tool similar to a Dremel that retails for under $50 and if you wait until they have a 20% off sale you can pick it up for about $35 and the beauty is---it comes with the downtube accessory and the unit hanger. In heavy use, in a salon, they last for about 2 years. It's a really inexpensive way for everyone to have a professional tool at their disposal.

As a groomer I will clip a lot of hair away from the ear area, sides, below and underneath it so that air can circulate more freely. Experienced groomers will be able to do this for you without spoiling the look of the dog too much, just ask them. I will thin some of the hair out of the ear to let more air in, but I don't pluck 'clean' any longer like I was trained to do a million years ago. I decided that some hair in there has to keep bugs and things out to some degree and it's more natural to have a few hairs present. If I was presented with say an American Cocker or a Poodle who swam every day and had masses of hair in his ear canal, I would pluck some of it out so the ear can dry out more easily. If the dog was prone to fungal infections I would also suggest to the owner that we strip the ear leathers down with a 15 blade at least on the inside if the dog was going to constantly swim, just to facilitate drying. I think we have to keep in mind that these 'hairy eared ' breeds are 'man made' and might need some hair removal to bring the ears to a more 'natural' state. For the life of me I don't understand why groomers are constantly blamed for getting ears wet and 'causing' infections. If 'wet ears' alone was the cause then 'all of my dogs' should have ear infections 'all of the time.' How can 'water alone' be blamed? Sure if a dog had a solid plug of hair in it's ear and it got wet and couldn't' dry out, it would set up ideal conditions for fungal growth. Sure, water 'feeds' an existing fungal growth the moisture it needs to survive so care needs to be taken not to add to that but for people to blame 'water alone' seems bizarre. It's more the 'inability to dry out properly' that should be blamed rather than just the 'getting wet', that's why I am big on doing what ever it takes to make this possible so if that means plucking, I feel I have to do some out of common sense. Let's not mention neglect, the ears that are nearly packed solid with not only hair but crud and mites and bacterial infections as well as fungus. Dogs have the ability to violently shake their heads and the velocity alone usually empties the ear of any water sitting in there provided there isn't a mass of hair blocking the way out.

Thanks for your time Staffyluv, Just what we needed to hear, another good solid honest opinion. :D Those journeys are never easy are they. All the best, QH

Thanks for your input Cav. :D That's one thing I did notice, that there was a big call for alternative therapies. I'm actually working with a friend who is a vet, on this idea and this is exactly what she needed. We wanted to see if there was anyone needing such a service. I think in general, many people on DOL might be like yourself, full of knowledge and experience and it might possibly be a service that would be more valuable to the more 'uninformed' general public out there without access to or knowledge of the support found on DOL. Thanks so much for your time and honesty. You really put a lot of thought into answering this for us. I hope others will also give their opinion. Maybe we should say 'would like to hear from all members and perhaps especially those without any nursing experience.' All the best! QH

I have read with great interest, all the questions everyone on here is seeking answers to and I was wondering what you thought of an idea like this: An in-home palliative care service offered by a vet and possibly followed up by her qualified nurse. Kind of like the old fashioned Doctor who made House Calls or like Blue Nurses for Dogs. I know vets with busy clinics to run probably won't want to race out and start doing this, but there are a few vets and vet nurses out there who have taken time off the job to have a family or are not working for various reasons and they could easily do a 'palliative care run' since they have some free time. Some of the services they could offer would be things like pain management and checking to see that proper hydration levels are maintained, etc. Basically they would drop by on a 'run' to check in on you and this would keep you from racing off daily with your dog to the surgery. You could avoid having to move the patient which could mean a lot for a sick dog, or cat who at the best of times usually doesn't take kindly to a trip in the car. How often would you want a visit and how much would you feel comfortable paying? Would you also want telephone advice? Would you prefer email advice? What would everyone want?

It's not normal. Most male pups manage not to pee on themselves, even long coated and very fluffy boys, not on a regular basis anyway. I've known two dogs who were both like this as puppies and they both continued to always smell like urine even though there was no evidence they were peeing on themselves as adults. One developed kidney stones at age 8, (rare Cystine stones) and the other one died at age 5 with acute kidney failure. Coincidence---maybe, but I'd be getting him checked by a vet. If he is just careless and un-focused he will outgrow it as he gains the coordination to aim properly. If he doesn't, I'd be watching his kidney function on a regular basis throughout his life, even if your vet finds nothing wrong now. It would be good if you could let us know the outcome. Best of luck!!!

I just love the old fashioned Irish Setter. One actually followed me home when I was about 12 years old----yes it did, don't ask me Mum cause she will say I probably pinched it from someone that was not looking after it and that might be closer to the truth No one actually came forward to claim the dog. I spent weeks grooming it, loving it, feeding it, until one day someone answered an ad in the paper to adopt the dog. I was so happy my parents let me keep her in hopes of finding the owner, instead of taking her to the local pound where she would have been put down if not claimed within 2 weeks. How good was that, now they give them 24 hours if not micro-chipped. I still get warm inside when I think back to the days when I dreamed of showing a 'Red Setter!' That could still happen, lol. Back in the early 60's this dog didn't like the new Dog Chow on the market, she preferred our leftovers. She had a full mouth (adult teeth) when I found her and I kept in touch with the people who adopted her, she lived for another 16 years. They often brought her over to visit me, and my parents became card playing friends with them, so I grew up knowing what this dog, as well as our own dogs ate. Back then, it was basically the same as what we ate. I didn't live to be 100, give or take, by eating a diet of rice crispies, no matter what the cereal company tells you about how good they are for you.

So sorry for the loss of your great friend Goldens. Welcome to the forums Down-under. I'm old fashioned, I'm sticking to the 'once a month' heart-worm prevention with the Ivermcetin type drugs, they seem to be fairly 'non-toxic' for the dogs, (except for the Collie/Aussie/Sheltie breeds that are intolerant) I always tell my puppy buyers to avoid the yearly injection if they can. I don't know why really, I have not looked into it very far, it just does not feel right. Thanks for your information. Input like this alerts all of to the possible dangers of the unknown really.

Thanks for the ideas. Hi Moo, I agree with the fish oil and other good oils and a good natural diet. Of course you may need pain killers in the interim. I reversed arthritis in a 12 year old Border Collie years ago by switching from the commercial diet I was led to believe was COMPLETE, to a natural diet of raw meats of all kinds, (except pork) raw bones, veges and a few fruits and some GOOD OILS. The veges consisted of some OMG---table scraps-heaven forbid---left over mashed spuds, sweet spuds, beans etc. When the kibble was tossed, she blossomed! She virtually ate from our table, only I didn't cook her meat, that was served raw. Be VERY wary of LITE DIETS----they are LIGHT on nutrition, and nutrients is what any dog needs, especially one suffering arthritis. I feel it's better to 'diet' a dog by giving it the right amount of nutrients it needs to be healthy, and curbing a 'crocodile's appetite' with some very lean bones to chew. The bones will take their mind off an empty stomach as they create a kind of 'bone bliss'. The chewing satisfies them to the point that they will not miss a big bulky feed of biscuits loaded with grain as filler. You can then feed them small amounts of things that actually have good nutritional value. Be careful with the oils, they are full of calories and they are an oil, which can bring on a bout of pancreatic stress, as can bones that are too fatty. On the above diet, give or take, more or less, my 8, 9, 10, 12 and 14 year old dogs still barrel around the paddocks like two year old racing dogs so it must have some merit. Best of luck.

Hey guys, has no one studied basic physics? Radiation is everywhere. The sun irradiates us every day. The earth re-radiates the absorbed radiation as heat. Please be specific about what sort of radiation (frequency, wavelength, or whatever) and what magnitude . . . otherwise the whole thing collapses into mumbo jumbo with no scientific merit. Thank you for enlightning us. ;) I realize the term "zapped" is 'mumbo jumbo' for trained scientific minds but it's easier to read than things like: 25 kGy, 28.9-34.4 kGy, 38.4-48.7 kGy and 1979 -the effect of ionizing radiation on the fatty acid composition of natural fats and on lipid peroxide formation. INT J RADIAT BIOL RELAT STUD PHYS CHEM MED 35: 323-332. and instantly brings to mind dog biscuits exploding in the microwave and I doubt too many dog owners would have engaged in reading a page full of information like that, they just want to know what is WRONG with the food. For those of you who want the information on the 'amounts' and types of radiation being used on the pet foods, it's all on the website. http://www.championpetfoods.com/Australia_...lease_Dec20.pdf No offense meant Sandgrubber, I was just having a bit of fun with this

Dr. Dodds is a fairly well respected veterinary immunologist and recommended Orijen when here on her seminar tour last year so I thought she might be able to shed some light on the problem. She is very concerned and informed about nutrition. I really hate the sensationalism of the TV reports, I'd rather search for the facts myself than to just believe what they broadcast, so that's why I went to her first. Yes, maybe she should have said "all pet foods coming into Australia that are processed at low temps" instead of just "all pet foods", a slight oversight of a very busy lady answering emails from around the world late at night. The way I read Champion Pet Foods information on their web site says any food not processed at high temps has to be zapped when coming into Australia only. ( apparently Orijen isn't processed at high temps in order to maintain some natural goodness in it) It's all explained on the website, that's why I supplied the links instead of giving you my version. www.championpetfoods.com. I don't use commercial foods for my dogs or cat. I'm lucky enough to live on a farm where we grow all our own organic meat, veges, milk and eggs. I am not promoting commercial pet food of any brand, I simply wanted the truth. Most of my puppy buyers will at some stage rely on commercial dog food and I have recommended Orijen as well as a couple of Aussie made foods, so I am interested in what is causing the problem.

Certainly not having a go at you Quirkyhound - your source (Dr Dodds) is excellent ;) No offense taken at all, I only posted what I managed to grab as far as information goes, it's all good, we just have to separate the wheat from the chaff. It's only pet foods that are NOT COOKED and PROCESSED at "high temps" that are apparently zapped when they come in according to information on the web site.

I got an email off to Dr. Jean Dodd's and this is her reply with permission to post here. There is nothing wrong with Orijen in North America -- but there is a problem in Australia -- it apparently has something to do with the regulatory requirement concerning how meats are allowed into the country -- this necessitates irradiation treatment of the food which has altered the nutrients in the food. I was told last week that Orijen will not longer be sold in Australia as a result. All pet foods shipped into Australia must be irradiated – treated with radiation – before they are sold. Orijen has no control over this, this is a mandated issue from the government of Australia. See website www.championpetfoods.com. Food is irradiated – treated with radiation – to kill bacteria and molds. In the process, much more is destroyed. Not only is the nutrition destroyed, but far more research than the FDA lets on to, tells us much more damage can occur. Irradiation breaks chemical bonds, and it is suspect that broken chemical bonds within foods containing numerous ingredients (a pet food) can alter the entire ‘food’ in many ways. A very interesting article, explaining the history of food irradiation and some serious side effects can be found here: http://www.iicph.org/docs/food_irradiation.htm Jean This is the one reason I don't eat any garlic from China. It's a good idea I think, not to eat any imported foods, our farmers here need our business anyway, and we have no idea what changes are happening to food that is zapped with radiation, but I guess we know now. It's been my policy for a long time, to only give my dogs and cats and myself what was produced here and is in a fresh state, this just makes me more committed. It is however hard to buy some varieties of produce that is grown here, like tinned asparagus for me to take to dog shows or frozen spinach in those little blocks to ad to the dogs diet. The other day I told my local IGA that they still had the recalled chicken treats on the rack, when is someone going to care about our pets. We just have to be so diligent now, I spend a lot of time in the supermarket just reading labels. I trust no one whose motive is to make money off us and our pets.

I've been grooming pro grooming since 1969 and I reckon you can't beat the KM2 and a couple of 10 blades. Get a 7F for winter. Use them on low speed and they don't heat up as fast. Dirty gluggy coat will slow them down and make them heat up faster so always clip a clean dry dog and your blades will stay sharp forever.

The link: http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2008/s2464272.htm

I feed as much meat, on the bone, on the hoof, fur included as I can. I supplement with a biscuit that has no artificial ANYTHING, because I can't access enough fresh meat. Plenty of bones, as long as they are not pork, and have very little fat, I believe, are what keeps dogs interested in life. I make a bit of a party for the dogs, by giving them a fish oil capsule once a week. They once resisted taking them-------------Yuk!!! They now love them, and they can be used for training, as long as you make sure each dog only gets one fish oil cap per session, otherwise it could be hard to judge how much they each get if you have a few dogs. I'm quite sure my Hoovers have scoffed more than one or two during a session where I've had dogs new to them leave them on the floor, but no side effects so far. Don't use the "smell free" tabs as they seem to have citrus in them. I don't know for sure, it just smells that way to me. They are the odorless capsules. If you are buying the big containers for you and your dogs, just get the regular ones that smell like fish-----they are more attractive to dogs lol!!

I hope that was a joke??? That's not at all what we have been talking about. I'm a vet nurse, and I can tell you, that there is still a bit of Parvo around. Unfortunately I'm under oath, and I cannot disclose all the puppy farms still turning up with cases.

I don't use them personally, I've had them caught in a dogs jaw several times. I don't like anything to do with Pigs because of what I know goes into the production of pork. Also, think not twice, but three or four times, before giving dogs any rawhide product not made in Australia. Do you know what they use to bleach the hide out??? Do you know what a proper "raw" hide looks like---not white and bleached by chemicals. We ask why our dogs are sick????????????????? Surely a fresh bone with some real meat on it would be preferable to 'imported' chew sticks and even 'pigs ears'.

Egg Xactly! Sometimes dogs do come in to the salon with matted 'poo bums" and all you can do is wash the mess off. Many times it's too late, as irritation has set in and bacteria has set up an infection. The situation continues to get worse when the dog goes home, most groomers mention a problem and suggest the dog is taken to the vet. It's kind of like 'nappy rash'! Not many groomers empty anal glands these days, as it's expected that owners have information re feeding the kinds of food that make a firm stool, hence one that naturally exercises and empties the gland with the normal passage of stools. Back when all dogs were fed "canned dog food" there was a reason for all groomers to routinely empty anal glands ---but not now! The emptying of the anal gland should naturally occur with a passing of a stool. If what you are feeding your dog does not naturally empty his glands, then you should do some research on this subject and think of changing your dogs diet. There are special cases, where groomers will empty glands, at the request of the owner via their vet. If you are not one of those special cases, then it's time to look at what you are feeding your dog.

I have a small and a medium, both used for well over 30 years. I think if you pay a substantial price for a brush, you tend to look after it so they do last a long time. I do know there are others on the market that won't set you back as much and not to put M&P brushes down at all, I love mine, but if you look after any brush as if you had paid as much for it as you had for the M & P---I think you will find that a lot of them will last for 30 years. For instance, I still have the first Slicker brush ever in our home--and used every weekend on three dogs for 20 years. 30 years down the track from that........It's still quite usable. Makes me think about charging the right price for a puppy----hopefully---they pay enough---they look after it, but sadly, it does not always work this way. Pity dogs are not as treasured as dog brushes.

Yes of course this is the case. You would have your hands tied for the time being. Let's just hope it all works out in the end for the sake of our dogs and we are not all herded into a pen like sheep and made to be at the mercy of vaccine companies whose motives we are questioning. I don't think there would be a person on this forum who did not have the welfare of their dog utmost in their mind. I think all we want is the truth.

Totally agree with you and can't wait for these days to arrive here in Australia. We must keep up the fight and not give in to pressure from those that 'do not comprehend' :D I say that if you can get a titer level done on your dogs and it shows immunity, but your club still won't let you participate---then start a new club------you could ban all dogs without titer certificates!!! Seriously! What they don't realize is that just because a dog has had a vaccine---does not mean he has immunity and therefor is at more risk of spreading a disease than titer tested dogs. A vaccine certificate is just that---'proof of vaccination' but a 'titer certificate' is proof of IMMUNITY. I know which dogs I'd rather hang with. If I was forced to board my dogs I would be terrified, because they would be in close proximity to dogs I consider possible risks. Same as when we go to shows, dog parks, trials, whatever--we are mingling with vaccinated dogs---not necessarily immune dogs. If a vaccinated dog has not taken up immunity and is harboring a disease he picked up somewhere---he is capable of giving it to all other dogs there who also did not get immunity from their vaccines. Without titer testing---how do we know what dogs are safe, including our own? This alone should shine a very bright light on the 'titer certificate' and leave 'vaccination certificates' in the dark.

'Another angle to consider re the yearly vaccine issue is merely the fact that the dog gets an exam he wouldn't otherwise get. I don't see how it's really an issue. Good owners would have and want semi regular check ups anyway. . Yes, I do agree with you when it comes to Good owners, I'm just worried some people will adopt the old "If it ain't broke---don't fix it" attitude and some dogs will never see their vet again. I know breeders, professionals and Good dog owners are less likely to overlook potential problems and would seek a vets opinion at the slightest inclination something might be amiss but when I was working as a vet nurse I witnessed a person that had called themselves a 'very knowledgeable breeder' for over 20 years, obviously considered themselves a Good dog owner, pop in during our morning tea break and ask the vet if a certain 'oral sheep worm drench' was now, as he believed, the preferred drug to topically treat the ringWORMS that his cat had now transferred to his show dogs.? I took one look at the vet's face, bit my cheek so I wouldn't spit out the sip of coffee I had just taken and excused myself from the room. So called Good owners like this are why dogs still need vets. Yes, they walk among us, and this is why I vote YES to the wellness clinic. I understand that they have a system in China where doctors are paid if their patients stay well and are docked if they become ill. That's different. Apparently people turn up to a type of 'wellness clinic' on a routine basis where they are prescribed herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine. These herbs along with the fact that the doctors routinely see patients so are aware of slight changes, are what keep the people healthy.