OSoSwift

Thank you all for sharing I find it very interesting as to how people can do such different things and they all work

Yep looks really good to me too :)

A girl I know had a young stumpy tail. Unbeknown to her, her place of employment - on a property where she could have her young dog - placed ratsack all around the stables and feed sheds. She had no idea her dog had consumed any and had never seen her dog eat any. As they were on acerage the dog went out into a paddock to poop, so had not seen any coloured poop. She rang me - at the vet hospital where I worked - to say there was something very wrong with her dog and she was bringing her in. In the 50kms it took her to get to town her dog went from lethargic and not quite right to floppy, unable to stand and barely responsive. She had a RBC of 17 - possibly less brain is a bit fuzzy on that. She was admitted and started on very aggressive treatment as well as transfusions. She had a bleed into her brain (she was also bleeding into her abdomen) she lost her vision for a time but over time she came back to full health and vision with no long term effects from her brain bleed. I have seen MANY dogs with Ratsack poisoning and this girl would have to have been one of the worst I have ever seen. Very very few have died from it and those that did it was usually becasue the owner had no idea they had had access until there were visable symptoms. Yes wrap her in cotton wool and the fact you found her quickly and got her treatment quickly definately goes in her favour.

You caught it early and she wouldn't have had much of a chance to digest it - thank goodness. Keep her quiet and keep a very good eye on her, but many dogs eat ratsack, have symptoms ( and very bad ones) and recover well. So fingers crossed it all goes smoothly for you and all is well. Our dogs are just a bit silly and stressful sometimes!

I would expect even if she does have a very low pain tolerance that she should improve if only a little each day. Dogs ( and other animals) can have allergic reactions to suture and other materials used, something like that may be going on. If she isn't improving by tomorrow I would see a different vet.

I was just thinking - have you had her thyroid tested? And yes it is OT :) Rommi is currently off her RHVC but will go back on it withing around 3 to 4 months hopefully :) Worked very well :)

Heh, spot on. That's the goal for a few years now. It's only once in her annual visit to the vet that she said this weight looks good. Every other time is "too fat!". We are working on it. More runs and eating less. I must declare we do often see labradors fatter than mine! Out of interest is she not losing the weight fairly quickly because you find it hard to resist her and restrict her diet or do you feed her very little and her weight doesn't shift?

Sounds like another great testimony. By any chance if you can share the breed, the weight and why did your dog needed help (was it surgey/accident/old/)? My fat 10 year old lab is a bit hard to put my finger on. After 3 weeks of start up and a few days of maintenance, I'm still not sure it's improving but one thing for sure, it's not getting worse. I would think in your dogs situation the very best thing for her would be to get rid of the excess weight. That alone would make her far more mobile, more energetic and much more comfortable. I am sure the supplements would be helping relieve some discomfort.

You did the right thing and I wouldn't be allowing the dog to come up to mine. Your dog is lovely now but if this or any other dog has goes at him or pins him then he won't stay that way for long. My dogs do not go to training to say hello to other dogs and talk to them. They go to learn how to be have around many other dogs, people and distractions. Making dogs put up with having another dog in their face is in my opinion completely unnecessary and potentially harmfull

Thank you we missed last time so hopefully will have some success this time :)

This is the bit that really got me. Just disgusting. They would willing hand of their dogs to the first person with the cash, but not only that are happily advertising them to be bred to death and boasting about their wonderful turn over and client base - enought to amke you cry.............

Yes I have been :) Fingers crossed it is all systems go this time :) EDD of around the 14th of July - as long as I have read my calender correctly

Add us for around the 14th please - Whippets

There are many working (as in sheep) border collie breeders all over Australia.

Our bitches are due around the same time if we have bubbies in there :) Fingers and toes crossed!

If they had little bedding and coats, yes they would feel it but plenty of soft fluffy bedding and rebanne said a couple of coats and they should be fine. My house gets cold enough once I have gone to bed that the dogs would be freezing with no coats so wouldn't be any different to a good draght free house outside with blankets and coats.

Oh ......would they take her back? I to wonder given the age and the I don't have time anymore we are having a baby, if they actually engaged their brain before buying her.

I would try a heat pad and see if that helps

With our council you don't pay a fee to have a permit for extra dogs and you don't have a yearly fee. It applies to you on that property until such time as there are complaints or you move. Here you get a third dog permit easily, just go in, they look up for complaints there are none so you get it, 4th dog they look at your property speak to your nieghbours then issue. Out on the farm even though legally I can have 4 without a permit many farmers have up to 10 and no-one cares. I currently have a permit for 30, didn't cost me anything just had to write a letter asking for it, they knew I had the kennels and it was in conjunction with that, I got a return letter and was all good.

Having picked up after between 18 & 22 doggy bums for 6 weeks solid, three poops a day would be lovely - hehehe I know of a couple of dogs that have done well on the VIP grain free food :)

All my vets use gloves, if it is a non-sterile job they use non-sterile gloves and sterile ones for sterile surgeries, changing part way through etc. Some other vets I worked for didn't wear them all the time though..............

Years ago Strychnine and Lucijet were the poisons of choice, both nasty but both with antidotes or successful treatments. There are no such things for 1080. The father of my now decesed Stafford died from 1080 after licking a tray that had been washed off with water but left on the back of a ute. They lost a working dog bitch with 4week old puppies, a young working dog pup around 8 months of age and a 2 yo Stafford, all from that tray. I am quite sure he is out of the woods now :) thank goodness. We had box poison plants on our farm - they have naturally occuring 1080, and one to two leaves was all it took to kill an adult sheep. we earnt pocket money by walking paddocks and scrub and picking it from the tiny two leaf stay. We got 20 to 50 cents a plant.

To many it is one on a list of prefences, and yes a low shedding coat was part of mine and a good part of why out of my three shortlisted breeds I decided on Whippets - apart from many other things I liked about them.

Agreed. If it is important and means the difference between the dog being inside following you around or not coming inside as much then choose what you are happy with so you and the dog have the best lives you can. I had a British Shorthair cat, as much as I loved him I will NEVER have another one due to the massive amount of hair they have and lose. I am not a really house proud person as such but having that much hair around got to me. I have breeds I love come into the kennels and as much as I love them I couldn't cope with that much hair in my house so I wouldn't own one as it wouldn't come inside as much as I would like. I now have Sphynx cats and Whippets along with a shorthair Border Collie - hmmm theme happening there :)I I would have a non-shedding breed I could groom before I would have a breed that took shedding very seriously.