Stitch

Does anyone know the answer to my last question please?

Is the 3 yearly immunisation for parvo, distemper the same as it used to be when they recommended immunising every year?? If it is then all I really need to do is get the kennel cough done yearly??? Trouble is some of mine have been done by one vet on the yearly regime and others have been to another vet and had the 3 yearly parvo etc. & yearly KC - that's why I am wondering if it is the same C4.

I can't recommend a vet as I live in Qld however I can recommend that you go to a dental specialist. I was concerned about my older girls teeth which I had done last year & I was soooo pleased that I paid the extra to get a dental specialist to do the job as she needed two extractions and had been in pain for a while. I had got the local vet (that I used to think was OK) to look at her teeth every time I took her to him and he just kept saying they were OK and didn't need any treatment. She used to sit in front of me and lick the air (pain). I took matters into my own hands and took her along to a dental specialist to get his opinion. He said she needed urgent attention!!! After the specialist had cleaned her teeth and done the extractions she stopped licking the air!! Also the dental specialist used a special kind of 'human grade' anaesthetic that was more readily tolerated and she came through it just fine. I know not all vets are the same but it did reinforce my belief of going to someone who specialises in a certain problem whenever I can.

Any idea on the approx. cost for titre testing?

I have always continued to immunise my older dogs but I am now thinking that maybe I don't need to when they reach 9-10 years. Can anyone tell me what the accepted/safe way to address this is now?

Best/most socialised dog I ever got I got early at 7 weeks (from a registered breeder friend). However as a responsible breeder I follow the guidelines of not letting my pups go before they are 8wks old. Sometimes if the pup is flying interstate it doesn't leave here until it is 10-12 weeks old. I have imported pups from NZ at 12 weeks old - no problems with temperament even after that long flight. I have bred, socialised well and followed the 'socialising timetable' and ended up with a dog with socialisation issues sometimes and other times not. IMO it really depends on the individual pup, genetics & fate - don't think you can hold the socialisation timetable up as gospel - we do our best but sometimes we don't get the results we expect. I have taken all mine to puppy preschool then dog training and ended up with socialisation issues in the odd one who doesn't appreciate having to put up with confronting situations. I have done nothing special with some and ended up with a dog that is totally balanced and loves other people and other dogs - totally bombproof. If someone out there has hit upon the perfect way to end up with the perfect dog - I am all ears!!

This seems to be across the board for Hills as I bought the Sensitive Stomach from the wholesaler last week and they said the same thing - so I got what they had which wasn't many.

If the dog has recently been desexed then when they were doing the desexing the vet should/could have noticed any problems with the airways. Debarked dogs often have restricted airways due to the scarring - I don't suppose it happens all the time but I would have thought the vet at the time would have noticed the difference between a debarked dog and one that wasnt.

It may be that your dogs have picked up a stomach bug and may need a visit to the vet to get something to sooth & settle the gut. I have fed Uncle Albers to my Dobe and it has never caused any problems.

After the 6 week mark, let the bitch eat as much as she likes (within reason). I usually have the opposite problem of the bitch going off her food - which always worrys me!! However, it is not a good idea to feed premium puppy food as overnutrition can increase the size of the pups and cause whelping problems if the pups themselves get too big.

Marrs Coat King 20 blade is very good for thinning the coat and also very easy to use.

I have found Black Hawk is very similar to Eagle Pack.

Every summer when the mozzies get too bad I get the 'pest guys' in. They spray over the shrubs, trees, under verandahs, on all side & overhead surfaces in the kennels and exercise yards, gates, etc. It is absolutely fantastic and guaranteed safe for pets once it is dry. Even so I am very particular where they can spray - I make sure the spray doesn't go on grass or the ground where the dogs would run. I usually get 2 treatments during the summer period and I can't recommend it enough! Advantix is also supposed to keep mozzies away from dogs but I found that side of things only lasted for about 2 weeks if that.

Would sewing machine oil be OK on the blades?

Interesting Poodlefan, I will add Proheart to my shopping list and give that a go plus only administer meds once they have something in their stomach. Yes Lally, dogs are like us, they are all different and what suits one doesn't suit everyone. It is great to be able to share experiences about these things on DOL - there is always something we can learn!

Is there any hearworm medication that doesn't have the side benefit of eliminating all intestinal worms other than tapeworm? Perhaps if there was one it would be kinder on the gut.

Yep, I have never been in favour of the 12 monthly ones but I think there would definitely be instances where they would be OK. I don't like to do anything that may affect a breeding bitch so I err on the side of caution. Looks like I will be sticking with Interceptor but watching out that all mine eat well prior to dosing. If this doesn't work I will have to change this particular dog over to the spot on variety. Many thanks for all your comments!!

Yep, I have never had the urge to try the injections on my little guys after all it is a low grade poison. I usually give the heartworm med at the same time as feeding, maybe I need to change that to giving it just after feeding however this dog is a picky eater in the first place and you can get old and grey waiting for the food to be eaten. Mental note that I must pay more attention to that. Might have to make the meal especially tasty when I am going to give the heartworm med. so that it is completely consumed before the med. I am very happy with Interceptor as most of my lot don't have a problem with it but I was just finishing the packet of Heartguard Plus last night however I have noted that she still gets the same reaction on Interceptor. Myst, now that you mention it, I think you are right about the spot on stuff, it is a restriction on what the dog can do if it needs to be on the skin for a month without being washed off.

Maybe, I will get some ProHeart and try it on her. Mystique, what makes you think it would be the chew part of it?

I agree, Interceptor is good but still upsets the gut of this particular dog. If Revolution isn't great then I might just have to accept that she will have an upset stomach once a month but I was hoping to find one that was better for her. I haven't tried ProHeart on her although I have used it in the past - didn't remember what its active ingredient was.

Missmoo, I have tried it on my Dobe but not on my little guys. Value Heart is Ivermectin which makes it almost the same as Heartguard Plus so I am thinking I would still have the gut problem with it.

I have one of mine that now stops eating after every monthly heartworm dose. I have tried her on Heartguard Plus and also Interceptor and both obviously upset her gut. I prefer the monthly ones - so has anyone tried Revolution which I believe is applied to the skin??? or has anyone any ideas on one that doesn't upset the gut? Any idea on costs too? Would really appreciate all your feedback.

If you had asked me this question a while back I would have said to feed something like Dr Billinghursts BARF mix which is sold frozen, just thaw it out and feed. It is the complete raw mix. However after breeding several litters and using raw to raise them etc. over several years I would now say to feed a combination of raw and a good quality dry dogfood. The reason - large breeds can have nutritional problems with just raw, others may not agree but that is what I found. For small to medium sized breed - some of these dogs raised on raw, as adults, were/are not great eaters, preferring raw food, especially nutritionally incomplete chicken necks..... plus there are times when you will have to feed dry food eg. if you put them into boarding kennels. Now many breeders I know prefer to feed a dry dogfood to a pregnant bitch because the good quality dry is nutritionally complete which is very important at this time. I also found whelping was easier in most cases if the bitch had been on dry. Thats my opinion and my experience - you do what works best for you and your dogs!

All dry dogfoods are preserved with something. If it isn't chemicals then it will be salt which I would think would not be what you would want. So if you want to feed dry dogfood then it should be just a food that your dog likes and does well on. One of mine has gut problems but does well on Hills I/D or Sensitive Stomach but I know that Hills is not liked by many here. Personally I have never liked feeding Eukanuba after having problems with it years ago. Other dogs of mine do well on Royal Canin, Black Hawk or Eagle Pack so it really depends on the dog and the amount of money you want to spend - the rest is just trialling to see what your dog does best on.

Can you tell me where she is located please?