Crisovar

Vets make a small profit margin on selling dog food exactly the same as they do on any other product they sell. It is not a commission thing. Vets are a business like anyone else that sells things or provides services. Anyone that sells a product is making something out of it. Even holistic whiz bang imported foods are sold at profit. The reason the majority of Vets carry the brands that they they do is availability through the wholesalers they deal with, and also certain brands produce products that are designed to treat specific problems. Convenience of supply, overnight delivery from the wholesalers, and owner compliance also come into it. It can be easier on the owner and the dog if you can hand them then and there a diet to suit. Most Vets deal only with the large Vet wholesalers who provide them a fast supply, and the food companys normally supply a great deal of information on the products making it easy to choose a product to suit. Generally pet food takes up a lot of space in a clinic, and is not a great profit spinner.

If the animals didn't have owners it would not be too bad at times. I cannot fathom though why some people simply cannot do some basic maintenance on their dogs coats, nails, ears etc at home. Do some of them have no sense of smell. Dogs with stinking ear infections, shit caked on their butts etc, mack caked under their eyes should not be up to the groomer to point these things out or fix them. Why is it the groomers fault when the red ulcerated faces become obvious because you have had to cut the hair away from the problem. It is not hard to have a daily/weekly routine where all these things are checked and dealt with, as far as I am concerned it is part and parcel of owning a pet. It is not something that you simply leave for months and expect a groomer to fix. It is frustrating also dealing with owners who do no work at all on the coats between grooming visits and expect to take lassie home. It is impossible to scissor matted clumps of hair into a 2 inch long fluff ball. I'm sure these people don't only have their teeth cleaned at the dentist, surely they brush at home? Why can't they maintain a dog.

Nothing like a room full of shitting dogs to start your day off. Cockers that crap on the table, shihtzu that craps in the tub aaaaaaaaaaaaargh!

Read your labels, try the ones that interest you then use the one that suits YOUR dogs the best, the one that they do best on. If it turns out to be a supermarket brand so be it. The crap that goes on here about dog foods is amazing. No matter what the brand, or how much it costs or if indeed it has gold nuggets in the bag, somewhere some dogs will not do well on it. My neighbours rottie looks like a BIS winner and is as fit as a fiddle, healthy as, and it lives on coprice and table scraps. He looked like crap, and had constant ear troubles on an imported brand that I feed to some of mine. Read, try, then stick to what suits. Feeding a lower price, locally produced product doesn't make you an uncaring owner, just as feeding the top of the range fully imported all the bells and whistles food does not make you a better owner it may make you feel all good inside but at the end of the day it is what YOUR dog does best on. It's got me beat how dogs lived happy healthy long lives before all these whizz bang brands came along, and they did, really they did.

The actual drug in Metacam is Meloxicam, they are exactly the same.

The product is marketed to the Vets by the manufacturer as being safe to use at that age. Personally I wouldn't use it.

They (large animal clippers) can be hard on the hands and arms too, lots of vibration is common as well, and noise. Oster and Wahl handle any of the large breeds that are clipped off here and many of them are cruelty cases. Matted OES are no problem at all.

They would work of course but would be overkill in my opinion.

Oster clippers should be more than capable of clipping an OES. In fact any of the clippers, Oster, Wahl etc should be fine. Have never found the need to use horse clippers to clip any breed.

Why? Can I ask?

C5 vaccine is commonly required for admission to Boarding knls, simply because it covers more strains of Canine Cough (aka Kennel Cough), nothing to do with where your dog lives. Canine Cough is easily transmitted wherever infected animals are in close contact with other animals, so kennels, dog parks, dog shows, training classes etc. If your dog is going to be in these situations you may consider c5. Whenever you look at the name of the vaccine the number 3,4,5,7 etc simply refers to how many different viruses you are vaccinating against.

They don't normally require surgery as such, as most can be simply kept rasped/filed smooth, which stops the pressure, you do need to keep doing it however, or they can be shelled out by the Vet, normally no anaesthesia required.

Deals Direct had one, no idea if they still do, but worth a look.

How big was the syringe used to administer the drug? A 50 ml syringe is HUGE seriously HUGE. We are talking horse dose here. Depending on the accounts program the Vet Surgery is using the details on the receipt maybe a bit weird to read. ie in the program the drugs are entered in the quantity they come in and a billed out as a portion of that, or the wrong item has been selected when billing is another possibility. But seriously I cannot believe that any vet could administer 50ml to a dog, by mistake, it just isn't a easy mistake to make. A reaction any drug is possible but I can't believe the dog was given 50ml.

50ml of injectable Metacam???? Me thinks someone is having someone on or has a serious case of crossed wires.

You will also find references to cotton wool, in relation to humans swallowing foreign objects. It is not unknown.

[quote name='Puggles' date='5th Feb 2008 - 07:58 AM' post='2392922 Sounds like the testing method has changed? Quite some years ago actually.

An in house Heartworm test is the usual method of testing, small amount of blood is taken and the Vet is able to test it immediately using a special test kit. You have the result straight away.

She is obviously still in contact with or eating something she is allergic to. Just because you are feeding a premium brand of food does not mean that one of the ingredients cannot cause an allergic response. All dogs are different and their reactions to products and foods etc are all individual. What was in the previous diet that you felt was causing the problem? What are the ingredients of the current food?

Many dogs are sedated to have their ears examined if they have a painful ear or they cannot be kept steady enough to allow the Vet to properly examine the ear. If you are searching for a possible grass seed for example you then need to have it removed, under sedation you can spy it and grab it the one procedure normally. A thorough exam and cleaning of infected ears can sometimes only be achieved under sedation.

Check these out, excellent products great for hydrobath use, white dogs come out white and bright. Best of all safe to use for you, your staff and the dogs. Pet Shampoos

There is a lot of internal damage caused to tissue and muscle etc when a dog is affected by snake venom. The kidneys have to work extra hard to filter the wastes and toxins, kidney damage is not at all uncommon after a snake bite.

Dr K Smith Animal Referral Centre Unit 2, 10 Compton Road Underwood Phone: 61 7 3804 3533

He is a baby and cannot be expected to be spot on just yet, he will have accidents, and it is only to be expected, during these early weeks. There are so many exciting things for puppies to do just exploring their world that yes they will have accidents because they just have to go right there and then. You have to be watching them all the time to catch them before it happens and stay outside with them until you see them go.

The yeast infections certainly sound like she is sensitive to something in the food. Despite some of the "does everything including the ironing and folding" claims it is possible for an an animal to be sensitive to an ingredient in any product, no matter how expensive or superior in quality. Just because maisy blows dogs do marvelous on brand XZY does not mean every dog will and as a result, my own animals and manyother who have multiple animals find that they do not all eat the same products. Animals just like people are individuals and the reaction to products ingested or applied are the same, individual.