Ali Baba

Great advice from everyone here; I had a chihuahua that was diagnosed with a heart murmur at the age of 6, she went on to live to the grand old age of !7 years; a heart murmur does not always indicate a shorter lifespan...of course, it depends on the severity of the murmur.

Good for you for carrying out a titer test!!! Your dog will be far far healthier for it rather than to be routinely vaccinated and being subject to the nasty side effects of that darned yearly booster!!

I have tried all the dog foods that are on the market and the proof is most definitely in the pudding - nothing beats a raw NATURAL diet!!! On a raw diet the dogs are healthier, their coat glistens, their teeth are snow white, no skin problems and their poo is practically odorless which, no doubt, can't be said of a dry or canned food diet. Raw chicken carcasses, raw chicken necks & wings, cooked brown rice & vegs, fish oil capsules, brewers yeast.

I am sorry to hear about your friend's dog. In australia it appears we are behind the 8th ball when it comes to vaccinating dogs. In the US dogs are not vaccinated yearly as to do so it is considered as OVERVACCINATING. Most people over in the states prefer to carry out a titer test which measures the level of antibodies in the blood and thereby gives an indication as to whether immunisation is actually required. Yearly vaccinations are totally unecessary and, in fact, DANGEROUS with a myriad of side effects, mainly auto immune problems which can manifest itself in a range of different ways. The fact remains, and this has been proven, that if dogs are given their puppy shots and are then followed up by a booster 12 mths later they are protected for life; the business of vaccinating dogs every year is nothing short of a money making venture; I shudder when I see elderly dogs at the vet's waiting to be immunised YET AGAIN! If you do a google search on "side effects of overvaccinating dogs" you will be met with a selection of links that will provide you with ample information. I can assure that dogs do NOT require to be immunised every year of their lives! ALL THE BEST WITH YOUR MATE'S DOG, HOPE ALL GOES WELL.

So sorry to hear about your ordeal. You are doing your very best, good for you....sending positive vibes your way...hope that tomorrow is a better day and that he is back to his normal, sprightly self. ALL THE VERY BEST.

Ali Baba, This is why we suspect the culprit was thorn in pad from showground. Plenty of horse poo in that dirt and perfect environment for the bacteria. Thanks for kind thoughts all. He is almost back to his old self in looks and cheekiness So glad that he has conquered this terrible ordeal. Many hugs for him

Lolafolata, glad to see that your dog is on the mend, poor boy, really feel for him and what he has been through. All the best for continued recovery.

There is a bigger risk of dogs ending up with tetanus if they live in an environment that also includes horses. Worth keeping this in mind for those that have both.

Eye staining in general can be caused by blocked tear ducts most commonly found in breeds such as the maltese, bichon, etc etc. I have never heard of sibes having blocked tear ducts but that is not saying that they are not prone to this. Sometimes eye staining can be caused by conjunctivitis. I do know that sibes can be prone to glaucoma.

Good advice given so far. I had a chihuahua that was diagnosed as having a heart murmur at the age of 4 years, how she wasn't diagnosed sooner I will never know! Anyway, suffice to say that she lived a happy and long life and passed away at 17 years of age. Some pups can be diagnosed with a heart murmur at 8 wks old and then when seen again a month or two later they no longer have a heart murmur. Best wishes for your furball, hope it's nothing serious.

Totally agree and I also believe that a little at a time over a long period of time can also cause damage so the best approach is not to give them anything that is known to cause problems. I also believe the same can be said of garlic, it's related to the onion family and is also known to contain thiosulphate. No onions or GARLIC in this household for our pets!

It's disturbing to think that there are individuals out there that truly believe that masturbating a dog will make it more devoted to you, how do these ideas get started? just plain sickening.

I worked at a processing plant for a short time and unfortunately there are lots of unexpected goodies going into the mincer. I dropped a knife on the wrong belt once, it made a heck of a noise but the mincer got it in the end! While some whole pieces and meat go in it was mostly fat and bone. Undersized were not killed. It was pretty foul (no pun intended) seeing what was dropped in on a busy day. I used to feed chicken mince but after seeing first hand what goes in for pet supply - no way. I am confused by your post - if whole chickens are minced then why would you then say that the mince mostly consists of "fat and bone"? I'm sure we would all like to know what it is that is "dropped in on a busy day"? I have a friend working in a chicken processing place and he told me that they just mince entire chickens (excluding feather, feet and bowels as the chickens are slaughtered elsewhere) so what could be so foul about it all? If you think that mince from a chicken processing place is foul then imagine what goes into tinned or dry food, lol :rolleyes:

Jed, careful about what you do buy from pet shops. I would not even accept it if it was given to me for free. They do use Sulphur Dioxide and as soon as the meat appears to change colour and starts to look off they add even more SD. They may deny it but it is a fact. There was a story on Today, Tonight some time ago in which a lady nearly lost her beloved golden retriever due to a SD overload which causes a severe Thiamine deficiency and they advised not to buy from such places. Here is a website that provides more info on this subject: http://www.kangaroo-protection-coalition.c...roopetmeat.html