Staycalm

I can highly recommend Murray Sykes at Strathmore (near Essendon) 333 Napier St Strathmore Vic 3041 9379-3438 If you go straight down Bell St, it's not far from where it crosses the Tulla Freeway. He is a terrific vet, loves all our animals and is a kind gentle man. We had a Persian cat with blindness caused by high blood pressure and she ended up with Cocciditosis (can't remember exact name) of the nose and he was marvelous in his treatment of her. He came to our house when it was her time (age 15) and made it bearable. We have now had 5 pets see him and he's been wonderful every time. ;)

I don't know what grade. The vet has been happy about them so they can't be too bad (he walks with a very strange gait) but we feel it is inevitable he will need them done eventually. I'd like to be prepared mentally and financially.

Thanks. Yes I mis-typed that's all.

Our little ShihTzu x has some pretty dodgy joints so we've been keeping a close eye on them. Can anybody give me a ballpark example of the costs involved? I am suspecting we'll be needing to take care of at least one before the end of this year. He's in no pain or discomfort atm and I will be talking to the vet next time we see him.

I really like reading about May and can understand why you want to help her. She deserves some care. Well done!

Can I also add that my two love love love an addition of canned sardines and oil onto the dry. The bowls are licked clean and sparkly. I just use Aldi brand. Another addition they like is plain natural yoghurt. Either of these added might spark their interest in the dry kibble. Good luck! Mine aren't fussy so I'm lucky.

Just thought I'd add that not only did Alfie (little 7 year old Shihtzu X) learn to go in and out after 3 days of taping the flap open and then holding it lower and lower, my two cats (one 8 and one 15) also now take advantage of the access. Gracie (GSDxKelpie) learnt within a couple of days and we have the small one! It is funny watching her go through.

Had one for over a year. It's been fantastic! The two dogs and the cats all learned how to use it. The only thing I found is that in the summer it can sometimes allow a few bugs to get inside (the gap between it and the screen door) when we wanted the sliding door open. You can move it to the track with the screen door but this is not secure. We are thinking of going up a size as our new dog is a lot bigger than our other dog. She's starting to struggle a little when using the door now that she's put a little weight on. :cool:

We've recently taken on a gorgeous rescue/stray. GSDxBCxKelpie? Gracie's about 18 months old. Has some training (sitting, dropping, possibly recall) but we think she was kept in a backyard and not walked much before she became a stray. She wanders and pulls. She is bright as a button so I think she will train well. I will get a 1 on 1 training session through the LDH but won't be there for about a month. In the meantime can people recommend: Some great basic training references (online or book)? A decent dog training group in the Glenroy area? Any tips you find effective would also be most welcome. I need to provide socialisation (she has been good so far with our other little dog) and she needs work on her confidence (although she is almost a different dog from Saturday when we got her out of the pound). Because she has developed such a close bond to me, what should I do to encourage confidence but not allow her to develop separation anxiety? Thanks!

OMFG. If my dog had done this he would have been raced off to the vets there and then. Not doing anything after two or more of these "attacks" is neglect in my book. I would have thought epilepsy or a tumor. What is it with these people? Take him to get checked out by a vet!!! :shakehead:

Ohh that would hurt and burn. I won't be doing this. The skin is slightly red and raw already. The curash sounds like it could help.

I've looked to see if there might be a grass seed or something but it just seems to be sore on the surface. What are hot spots again?

I know I've seen posts about this but can't track it. Alfie has been licking at his leg for a few days to a week and I see it has become a little inflamed and raw. What can I do to help this clear up? Keep distracting him when he's licking?

I read quite a good book that I borrowed from the local library: Dog friendly gardens : garden friendly dogs by Cheryl S. Smith.

I'm the original poster and I received a lot of great advice from other DOLers as well as stuff I found on the Net. Alfie's crate was made comfy and I have his water bowl suspended on the door. His food is given to him just at the entrance. I enticed him in initially by throwing in liver treats and before too long he would spend time sniffing around it to see if there were more to be had. He now realises that it's a great place to snooze, especially as we have made it out of bounds for our 6 year old. She can't pat him or disturb him if he's in there or she's in big trouble. :D We have left the door wired open so far, as he has proved to be not so anxious when I am gone for a few hours and seems quite happy to sleep on our bed in order to watch out the window. We will be traveling in a few weeks so he will be in it for a couple of hours in the car and will have it to sleep in while we are staying at relatives. Should be interesting to see how he goes.

Excuse my ignorance... but what is a BARF diet? Currently, the only reason I feed dry food is because I was of the beleive that it contains the vitimins & minerals that help puppies develop??? I beleive in giving dogs variety and much prefer feeding her raw foods like chicken necks, chicken mince and tuna. (although in saying that, I went to three butchers on the weekend and none had any chicken necks... its very frusterating because I work full time and can only shop on weekends, butchers open after I leave for work and close before I get home, it seems they seem to sell out of chicken necks very quickly) If I stopped feeding the dry food, would it effect growth at all, or can i buy a suppliment or something? Our local Coles has chicken necks.

Found this at: http://www.thevets.com.au/desexing.htm Fasting: No food after 8 pm the previous night, leave a water bowl down but remove it first thing in the morning. I would set a time a few hours earlier. Let your vet know that's what you did.

He's having a wellness visit with our vet next week and I'll get some groomer recommendations from him. I'll be asking the groomer lots of questions Thanks for the information.

Hi all, We have a new dog and I am still learning a lot about him. His name is Alfie and he's a 6 year old black coated Shih Tzu X. I think he has a quite Shih Tzu face. Just wondering what I should do/use to clean around his face and eyes? So far we've been using just water and a wet washer but I'm not sure it's being terribly effective. What do others use?

We are about to get our first dog and I am very excited. He's a lovely six year old shih tzu X who was rescued after his owner died and no-one wanted him. By all accounts he is very quiet and well behaved and generally has been looked after and loved. However he is showing some anxiety related to separation at his fosters. I was wondering if we would be able to crate train him and whether this might be of some help re his anxiety. I don't know if he's used a crate before. It would also give him a dedicated space away from my six year old who is likely to love him to the point of annoyance if I don't keep a lid on it. Any feedback here would be most helpful.