Stitch

Does anyone know where I can get a new folding grooming arm in Brisbane area? I think I have tried all the usual suspects online but maybe there is someone local?

What do you think.....raw wings or raw necks for a medium breed puppy? I worry about the choking risk.

Yes, I am hoping that once I establish an eating pattern then I can manipulate the food intake. Often the stress associated with going to a new home just upsets everything. Mine was an angel yesterday and today she is a little devil.

Thanks for your reply RP. All the initial dry dog foods were grainfree. After reading all the ingredients I came to the conclusion that maybe less was better than more when it comes to ingredients and so I bought some Natures Gift at the supermarket. I was also thinking that I couldn't have worse results than what I had had with the 'better quality' dry dogfoods. Yep, you have probably guessed, Natures Gift has much better tolerated.....at this stage I am mixing it with 50% Wellness. Natures Gift is NOT grainfree but hey, it is producing better result that the others. I really prefer to feed BARF so I will be working towards weaning her off the dry and onto BARF morning and night but at the moment I am just happy that she is eating.

My normal routine is to feed dry food in the mornings and BARF of an evening for all my dogs however I now have a 12 week old pup that has a problem with dry food. It goes through her very quickly and is usually a bit soft sometimes with mucas which tells me it is irritating her gut. Over a gradual period of time she has had Canadae, MfM & Wellness. It is the Wellness that gives the best results but it still goes through her very quickly, etc. I have considered just feeding her BARF but again she is the first puppy I have had that isn't really keen on BARF either. She is definitely a picky eater and getting enough into her is a challenge but she will always eat dry food unfortunately it seems like dryfood doesn't like her! Anyone got any bright ideas on what to feed?

When my girl was diagnosed with allergic rhinitis (hayfever) she was put on a course of Iridine from the vet. If human grade meds can be substituted I prefer to give them as they are usually cheaper than getting meds from the vet....so I asked the vet what I could use. He gave me the active ingredient and my detective work found that I could buy Loratadine over the counter at the pharmacy. I give 1/2 to 1 tablet daily just before she goes to bed at night so any drowsiness is gone by the morning. It works for her.

Hmmm, 6 meals a day....I suppose that makes sense for small dogs. This pup is not a big eater, I wish she was. She does like variety though!

I usually only feed eggs ie. scrambled to my adult dogs every now and then but I notice that my new pup (10 wks) seems to love them. Our chooks produce lots of eggs so I am hoping that they are something that pups can tolerate well without developing allergies to them. Would appreciate hearing from anyone else who feeds eggs to pups ie. how much & how often etc.

You can only be guided by those who do this on a regular basis so my advice would be to find an animal transport company that you like and be guided by them. After all they should be the experts and part of the reason you are hiring them is to guide you through the sometimes difficult process of importing a dog.

I've imported quite a few times from NZ and also USA but never needed or engaged a broker. Maybe things have changed but if it was me I would be phoning as many animal transport companies as I could find and talk to them all about your needs. By the end of all those phonecalls you would absolutely know what the best way to do things would be.

Is there a reason you are not going with an animal transport company who will do all this for you?

Thank you for that Boronia.

Or failing that, the name of a good book on the subject?

Can anyone tell me the name of a GOOD Herbal Medicine for Dogs person in Brisbane preferably northside? Thank you.

Oh please...of course Metrozine isn't a probiotic and the problem was not related to exercise, poor feeding regimes or muscle control. In hindsight it is now easy to see that it was a 'stomach bug' ..... what kind I don't know but it must have been picked up when we went to a dog show. The course of Metrozine quickly and completely brought things back to normal. I know when a dog is sick and needs attention. and for those who are interested Metrozine ie. Metronidazole is used to treat protozoal infections in dogs and cats including Giardia, Entamoeba, Trichomonas and Balantidium. It also is used to treat anaerobic bacterial infections. Metronidazole has immune modulating activity and may be prescribed to treat inflammatory bowel disease. It may be used to treat colitis caused by other antibiotics, periodontal disease (especially in cats), Clostridium perfringens enterotoxemia, tetanus, diarrhoea of undetermined cause, pancreatic insufficiency (with small-intestinal bacterial overgrowth) and complications of severe liver disease. Metronidazole may be used with corticosteroids to treat inflammatory bowel disease or gum disease (gingivitis/stomatitis) in cats. Topical metronidazole gel is used to treat skin infections, such as feline chin acne. It can also be used long term in certain cases.

Yes, another vet...got Metrozine (which I suggested)....no more diarrhoea so far!

No he didn't! I find that many vets are just happy processing the easy options and lack either imagination or interest in problem solving. Over the years I have solved more dog problems myself and with the help of friends than I care to remember.

I don't know why I bother to go to vets sometimes. Went yesterday and took a poo sample and vet said there was nothing untoward in it. Came away not knowing any more than when I went there.

My old girl has been battling with IBD/s and/or pancreatitis for many years and she was mainly on Hills I/d but also on z/d as she also has skin allergies brought on by the diet. We have a permanent stock of metrozine and amoxyclav for the times that diet doesn't control everything. Approx. 6mths ago I moved her onto Meals for Mutts Sardine & Salmon (blue bag) and she hasn't looked back. I really can't praise it enough.

It may very well not be a lack of gut flora. It is strange that it is totally random..the wanting to poo overnight I mean. I would have thought that a tummy bug would be a continuous thing, not wait three days then occur then wait a few days then occur again overnight. It's not like I am feeding anything different.

One of mine is having a problem that I haven't struck before. He is crated overnight (which he loves) and up till a few weeks ago he was absolutely perfect overnight. Approx. 1mth ago he was injured and required a course of antibiotics. Recently he has been waking me up through the night to go outside to poo...something he never did before. It is not every night and doesn't seem related to what he has eaten which is 1/2 cup of Meals for Mutts in the morning and BARF in the evening. I am thinking it might be related to a lack of flora in the gut but he does not have diarrhoea. Stools are a little soft but relatively well formed. If it is related to the gut flora being diminished by the antibiotics what is the best probiotic? I have used Protexin on other dogs in the past but never really thought much of it. Maybe human probiotics might be better? Anyone have any thoughts on what it might be?

Have you considered a barking collar...either citronella or e-collar? You don't have a lot of time to get things sorted so this might be something you could use whilst waiting to consult a behaviourist.

Yeah I can't remember the name of the syndrome, it may be along the same lines as medicamentosa which is a bit more serious but it is what happens if people use nasal decongestants for more than 3-4 days, I don't know. No PK not talking about steroidal meds. I used to take Polaramine for hayfever and in the end they did nothing for me. Other people have told me how strong they are and I wouldn't believe them. Maybe that's the problem, you just get used to them and they don't work properly for you? Vet says that if long term use is required then we have to keep changing the tablets. Anyway, Allergic Rhinitis is what she has and the course of antihistamines lasts for 4 days.

Went to the vet this morning. He tested her breathing and said her nose was indeed blocked...suspects allergy ie. hayfever...which accounts for her doing a lot of breathing through her mouth. Unfortunately she can't take steroids because of her elevated enzymes/pancreas so we are trying the least effective method of a antihistamine injection followed by a course of antihistamines (Iramine). If that doesn't work he will try the non-steroid alternative. He left it up to me whether I give her a course of antibiotics but I don't see a need for them yet as there doesn't seem to be any infection. Vet is happy for me to use human grade antihistamines after this course if necessary and will tell me the appropriate dose of the one I decide on if I ring him which is good. As you may gather I know this vet really well. Anyone know if there is one that is better than the rest for use on dogs? I know from my own experience, and it is the same for dogs, that you can only take antihistamines for about 5 days and then they have to be stopped for a while.