Stitch

Hi again Persephone, that's pretty much what I teach now, waiting for them to look at me before they can eat. We form a triangle, ie, me, the dog and the foodbowl. Can you think of any other exercises? I suppose really ALL dog training exercises teach self control to some degree but I was hoping of putting together about 3 or 4 exercises that I would teach routinely and that I could reasonably work into my daily dog time.

I actually asked my repro vet about that and he is open to the addition of magnesium in conjunction with calcium. I have had a fair amount of experience with Calcium Sandoz with post whelping bitches and whilst it is good I can only add my own (human) experiences with calcium sups and say that the addition of magnesium has really helped me especially in the area of muscle relaxation. I have found my breed has quite a heavy drain on calcium directly after whelping. I feel that it would be helpful to have one that was already 'mixed' as what I don't want, as you say, is to get the ratio wrong and Calcium Sandoz/Syrup seems to only be, as it says, calcium.

I am after some basic self control exercises to teach puppies by degrees some form of self control. Currently I teach my lot to wait for their food or wait for a treat but I would like to put in place a program that gradually builds on this. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Normally I give Calcium Sandoz/Syrup however I want to try giving a calcium supplement with magnesium for bitches after whelping. Does anyone know where I can get it or perhaps can recommend a calcium supplement that really works for them?

Well I had a conversation with my normal vet today and I have decided that I am going to continue on as I have done for many years now....ie. I am not going to dose her with ANYTHING until she delivers her pups. Vets opinion is that they very rarely see dogs in our area with heartworm anymore. He estimates that she would have a 99% chance of being safe if I don't dose her whilst she is pregnant. After weighing everything up I think that is the safe option...well I hope so anyway. It feels like the right decision! Once she delivers I usually wait about 3 or so days before I re treat. Not had any adverse reactions that way.

Thanks sooo much for that info. Alyosha. That's great!! I was told a long time ago not to give anything in the first 3 weeks and then if you wanted to dose do it between weeks 4 and 6. Presuming this still holds true!

Parkeyre I have always had the policy of not giving any chemicals to a pregnant bitch but after talking to one vet recently it got me a bit worried. I always in the past treated for monthly heartworm just prior to mating the bitch but don't dose during pregnancy. The repro vet has always agreed not to give a pregnant bitch anything that can be absolutely avoided however I note that this time when I asked him he said to contact the manufacturer....wonder why?? Previously I have had them on Interceptor but recently changed to a Ivermectin/Prazyquantil mix. Apparently the Interceptor will actually give 2 months protection...mental note in future will have breeding bitches on Interceptor....but now I have the dilema...to dose or not to dose??

As the title says, I have a pregnant bitch (5 weeks). Specialist said that I should ring the manufacturers of the monthly heartworm preparations to ask which one is guaranteed completely safe in these circumstances. Previously I have never given heartworm to a pregnant bitch but there are a few mozzies around at the moment and I am getting a bit cautious as I don't know if the neighbours dogs are treated so there may be an increased risk of mozzies carrying it at the moment. Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks a lot for your responses. I feel a bit more confident now....I hate dealing with diahorrea or tummy upsets!

DLE is an immune system disease. Sometimes the nose can heal ie the lesions can close but the nose never resumes a normal architecture. The VERY BEST treatment is to totally reduce the amount of sunlight the dog is exposed to ie. the dog lives inside and goes out to poo and you take evening or night walks. Ointments (steroids etc)applied to the nose are very problematic as the dog will usually lick them off before they can do any good. Sunscreens are no use either for the same reason and also you don't want to poison the dog. Vitamin B3 in conjunction with antibiotics seem to be the best treatment however they can be long term and the antibiotics are of the stronger kind. Some dogs will respond very well and for others it can be seasonal or permanent problem. Some success was had with applying a particular liquid dye product to the nose but not to open lesions.

I have just bought a bag of Earthborn Holistic dry dogfood...it is the one without grain....and I have never fed a grainless dry dogfood so I don't know what to expect. Can anyone tell me if there is a special method of transitioning from a premium dogfood with cereal to a cereal free dogfood? If you have done this I would like to hear from you to see if there was any tummy upsets or things to be careful with? I am planning on doing the usual ie. 1/4 new 3/4 old food, then progress to 1/2 & 1/2, etc. Is there more of a propensity to cause diahorrea with grainless dogfoods?

Isn't that interesting! I can only speak for my experience of RCH and say that it is a much better fit for my girl than Hills Z/D. The problem is when I asked the specialist vets about changing to a different food, the only way they say is to try it and see. Not very scientific!! They also say that testing for food allergies is not reliable at this stage although I know that Ernie has had testing done in the USA, the specialists I spoke to do not rate that method.

Hills was the only prescription diet available for so long it has become the natural recommendation of vets. This doesn't mean that it is the only choice. For my girl who has IBD and is intolerant to all normal dry dogfoods, RCH has proven to be far superior to Hills Z/D. After her last hospitalisation she was still not 100% using the Hills Z/D, but when I transferred her over to RCH she really improved. On Hills she still had a small amount of pain and also loose motions.....on RCH she is back to normal. She will probably remain on RCH for the rest of her life but that's OK as long as she does well on it. RCH can only be purchased from a vet but maybe it is more easily available!

It is the centre pedestal type. I don't have a problem with it wobbling ..... yet, but at the price I paid compared with others that I have seen, it represents great value and I LOVE being able to turn it to access the other side of the dog without moving myself. If it does eventually wobble I will worry about that then! :laugh:

Got a new Aeolus grooming table recently from Groomers World and I am very happy with it. It is round so I can turn the table/dog around when I am grooming and it also has a hydraulic lift....wonderful!!

Your dog...no, not at risk....the blue tongues around your place...now they're definitely at risk!!

Can't help you with Hills however my girl was on the Hills Z/D and after about 4 weeks on that I switch her over to the Royal Canin Hyperallergenic as the Hills still aggravated her sensitive gut and found the RCH suited her soooo much better!! Both the Hill Z/D and the Royal Canine Hyperallergenic are hydrolised so they are very similar. Both can only be purchased through a vet but the RCH for us was just so much better than the Hills. I would never go back to the Hills now so she will probably be on the RCH forever.

Well I have looked at them all and I think the Aeoleus one is the only one that will fit in the back of my car, be light enough to lift easily and be the easiest to push over rough terrain. Does anyone have any experience with this brand?

Thanks for the PM Zeebie. I have emailed them for some specs. Ashley B, the OK ones look very similar to the Vebo trolleys.....how do they differ do you know?? I can't go back to the steel trolleys, even though they are more robust, they are just too heavy. It is going to have to be an aluminium one but I would like some decent wheels on it. I wonder how difficult it is to get some new wheels from say Bunnings and put them on myself?

Oks lightweight show trolley??? Haven't heard of that one. I have had a C crate trolley but it was too heavy for me.

Thanks for all your ideas. The one I have at the moment looks like it might be a Vebo or very similar. Problem I have with that one is that it isn't easy to push and doesn't like rough ground....not 4 wheel drive at all!! :laugh: However the Vebo ones are good value and I like the idea of the nicely fitted cover which you can get to fit them. Does anyone know if you can fit different wheels to the Vebo? Has anyone tried the Aeoleus brand trolley?? I agree the weight of them is a consideration when lifting them in and out of the car....hmmmm...still can't decide!!

I would welcome DOLers experiences with show trolleys as the time has now come for me to get a new one. At the moment I am trying to decide between a Vebo trolley (2 door) and an Aeoleus (2 door) with 6" air wheels. I thought the air wheels might be easier to push but am not sure how heavy or how robust the Aeoleus trolley is? Anyone have any thoughts?

Yes, housetraining revisited. Maybe give him a bit more general attention too and enrol in dog training classes if you don't already do so....so you build up more understanding between you. This may help if he is feeling a bit threatened by the other dog....also desexing the other dog may help too. If appropriate you could try using a belly band on him.

When you can get a good used grooming table on DOL classifieds why would you bother to make one yourself?? Sometimes making an item especially one like a grooming table is false economy.

I can't give my older girl any bones at all as fat makes her very sick. All bones have marrow, even the smaller ones ...but of course it is a smaller amount of marrow ....however marrow = fat.