Rascalmyshadow

The plastic Laube combs are very good, I wouldn't bother scissoring a poodles body unless you were doing it for showing. I would recommend a number 1# or 2# for the body and a 0# for the legs.

I would say Artemis and Nutrience, years ago our dogs were fed Nutrience before it was readily available and they did very well, now both dogs and cats are on Artemis and they all look great. We did try Eagle pack but found it was hard to keep weight on them and they didn't seem to like it much.

I would recommend investing in a decent force dryer it is a life saver in managing poodle coats, no matter what the length is bath and fluff dry once a week to once a fortnight it straightens and separates the coat making it easier to brush and comb. I would also use a blocking blade/snap on comb number 1 or 2 to clip her all over. Never let a coat like this sit wet or air dry.

Having poodles yeast infections in ears is something I have to be very wary of. I had problems with my oldest girl when she was younger, one vet told me to try malaseb rinses once a week permanently she is now 8 and her ears have been great. Now if any of them have a flare up they get their ears cleaned with the rinse and surolan once ears are dry. The malaseb rinse is 1 part malaseb to 30 parts warm water gently syringed into ears.

What you are experiencing is quite normal for the breed, often happens in samoyeds and pekes as well. How old is she ? how many times has she been clipped off?

My dogs have their puppy vacc's usually c3 then maybe every 3-4 years after that, we tend to do it less as they get older. Heartworm I have never used and never will I don't feel their is enough risk of them catching it to warrant using it, even in a high mozzie area. Intestinal worming we do every 5-6 months I think it is the most important thing to treat for as it is easily caught and passed around.

Don't worry I understand, I don't trust my dogs with almost anyone. Luckily I groom in a vet clinic so when they have needed surgeries etc. I have always been there. What breed/breeds of dogs do you own? Will PM you with some more info.

PM'ed you, let me know if you didn't receive it.

I am in Moorabbin not sure if that would be too far, it is only 10mins or so out of the city.

I have had 3 of my 4 dogs do quite poorly on Eagle Pack, 2 were ocaasionally vomiting and all 3 have lost too much condition. I am in the process of changing over to Artemis.

I have recently put the poodles onto Eagle pack, the first one we tried was just the standard aduly formula, the standards and mini were quite happy with it but my toy wouldn't touch it. I have now brought the holistic anchovy and sardine, none of the dogs like it, luckily I mix it with fresh and cooked meat, sardines, egg etc otherwise I don't think they would eat it. two of the dogs have also lost condition. Once this bag runs out I won't be buying it again.

I use a 15# on my poodles faces but use a 10# on my grooming clients poodles. Using a more narrow blade actually makes the job harder and more dangerous around they eyes, maybe you could do a ring around and see if one of the local groomers would be willing to show the best way to do it.

After hearing no plucking was supposed to be better I tried a little experiment on my own dogs and stopped plucking them, 3 of the 4 ended up with ear infections something we rarely experienced while keeping them plucked. I also started to pay attention to the dogs that came in for grooming with ear infections, majority had a huge amount of hair in their ears. I now pluck any dogs ears that are really hairy but if it's only a small amount I leave it.

IMO the force dryers work better than stand dryers for fluff drying. I bought a stand dryer years ago but ended up selling it because it never got used. I keep both my standards around an inch to two inches all over (same with the little guys) and if I groom them at home I use my MDC Hurricane which is very compact but reasonably powerful but at work I do them with my ezy coat twin motor which is much more powerful and dries them quicker.

I am another one that tried a complete BARF diet (BARF patties and meaty bones) without success. Two of the dogs did quite well but the other two lost a lot of weight and would refuse to eat for days at a time. I persued it but gave up when I thought their health was suffering. I now feed a mix of dry food and raw plus bones a few times a week. They are all in great condition.

I am in Seaford but I am sure she travels to most areas.

We have a great physio for Bosun her name is Nicola Reynoldson, she does home visits and only charges $50 per visit. If you would like her number feel free to PM me. I

I have seen this in a few double coated dogs samoyeds,pekes,keeshonds etc. It should eventually grow back if you have a younger dog but the texture will probably not be the same. The more often they are clipped the worse the coat will get and the less likely it will grow back.

As others have advised go and do some work with a proffesional groomer. I do the occasional dog from home and the only time I didn't was while I was very pregnant and on maternity leave. Things to keep in mind are hair all over your house (even in rooms you aren't grooming), dogs being left in your care for a longer period than you expected, dogs in your house with bad manners. Do you have dogs of your own? If you do make sure they aren't being put at risk with other dogs coming into your house. I would recommend you wait until you are over having your baby, it is a very heavy job (even doing small dogs) and it requires a lot of patience (something that can be hard when looking after a newborn). If you decide to go ahead good luck.

Great news, Christian is a really nice guy. Did you get to meet his gorgeous rotti?

We used a wonderful Bowen therapist located in Frankston, his name is Christian. He also does a lot of work on horses. I have also found a great physio, she does house visits and is very affordable. We had her work on Bosun and two days later he was a different dog, it was the first time I have seen him move comfotably and freely in over 12 months.

My first poodle was an epileptic, he had really bad seizures that scared the hell out of me to start with. I could always tell when one was coming because he would get a glazed look and behave like he was in a trance. He was diagnosed when he was about 2 years old (I got him at 4 1/2) he was put on phenobarb and did very well up until he was about 7-8, they did get worse over time he was PTS at 10. He did have a wonderful life, it never stopped him from doing anything, I did however rarely leave him on his own (apart from going shopping) luckily he was able to come to work with me every day.

rovaround thanks for clearing that up, I wasn't having a shot at you. I know how difficult some dogs can be, I started grooming where I work now by taking in all the dogs other groomers refused or couldn't do. If the dog is starting to behave worse there is definately something going on, what sort of grooming are the owners doing inbetween? I had a situation a few months back where I was bitten, the dog lashed out unexpectedly and it meant business. I was a little confused at first because it was a 5month old malt x and I have never in 14years of grooming seen such a young dog be that aggressive, really caught me off guard. Turned out one owner had been pinning the dog down while the other pulled out it's knots (this had been going on since the brought it home), left the poor thing terrified of brushes, combs, scissors etc.

I think if a dog reacts so badly to being muzzled it should have been taken straight off and not let it get to a stage where it damaged itself. After an incident like this it will probably be a whole lot worse to manage next time. I believe if someone leaves their dog/cat etc with you whether it is for grooming, babysitting or vet work, you are responsible for any injuries that occur.

We have had the same problem with my desexed standard girl for ages. I use malaseb once a week and it seems to be easing up. I have had a few vets look at her and they all said they have never seen it in a female.