sjl79

My boy had slight dandruff before the desex, and really awful dandruff after the desex, for about a fortnight, I put it down to the anaesthetic and gave him doses of olive oil (slugged over his chicken necks) and anchovies (tinned in olive oil) as well as his usual home made barf mix and it cleared up in a couple of weeks. I know when I have had anaesthetic, my skin and scalp were very dry afterwards. Keeping up the BARF principle and a quick brush more often (he is a smooth coated MF) have improved it, almost non existant now.

I paid $300 roughly, but that was for male desex (2.5kg MF), antibiotics (preventative) and the heartworm injection. She advised against pain relief as the aneasthetic wearing off covers that, and aside from being wonky he was comfortable. My boys balls were so tiny though he only got one stitch! :rolleyes:

No time off work here, we did the opposite and brought the pup to our office (he is a permanent fixture now, coming to work each day with us). You will be amazed at how much time they actually spoend snoozing when they're bubs!

Thanks for that Tess32, I am interested in the Sentinel that Clifton Park talks about as it seems to be an all round solution. What is ivermectin free?

We found it stopped when we switched to BARF diet - literally overnight, his next BARF poop was left sitting proudly on the pet loo (unlike the previous weeks where we would come home to find just a smear of poop on the bacony tiles ... ewww!). ETA: Someone once recommended adding cooked mashed pumpkin to their food too.

It's done now so no chance of reversing the 6 month one, I'm just struggling on the net to find really solid data. Would I just switch back to tabs at 18 months of age? I loathe the back skin applicators (I can never get it to absorb onto the skin, I must be clumsy!), and we use that for fleas (I can't for the life of me think if it covers worms too, thinking not?). Any good recommendations on a once a month to cover fleas / worms / heartworm? Also, at what age would the adverse reactions present? Are they conclusively linked to the vac? I will talk to my vet again about all of this as I find it really worrying no data was presented to consider (from 3 vets too!).

Yep it is. Sometimes the side effects aren't after the initial shot. It's been responsible for MANY problems, no reason to risk it. http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=65494 This thread is almost two years old, I wonder if there have been any further studies / changes to the med? I have had three different vets since getting Timmy (finally found an excellent one on the third go) and they have all recommended the shot.

Excuse my ignorance but what is BARF? I feed them half a cup of Pedigree puppy dry food and a few spoonfuls of tinned food at night. My boy dog is outside during the day and my girl dog is in her crate as she escapes the fence. She never soils her crate. I take her outside as soon as I get home around 5 then every two hours after that until I go to bed. I take her outside in the morning as soon as I get up then before I go to work. I always treat her when she goes outside. Not sure on the toiletting as my dog has a pet loo in close range and no fence to escape! Sorry. But BARF = Bones and Raw Food. It's a way of feeding and it has worked wonders for us - appearance (coat and teeth are great), behaviour (a lot calmer than dry) and toiletting (stools are really firm and small so less cleaning and great for anal glands, plus he drinks a lot less than on dry so less urine). PM me if you want my feeding regime / recipes! :D

Is the needle very unsafe? I have seen no adverse side effects, would I be wise in 12 months time to do the monthly tabs? Also where do you get them in chew form?

Poo eating is often a sign of diet. My pup ate his, and LOTS of possum poo at my folk's house before I changed him to a BARF diet. Can you describe the set up you have for the housetraining? Are they allowed access to inside / outside? Do you have them on a potty schedule? Always treat results?

I make my own BARF mix as it is cheaper (PM if you want my recipe) as I can store a fair amount in my freezer but keep a roll of the pre-made for emergencies. I also mix it up with chook necks and have just introduced sardines (tinned in oil) - he has never been so shiny!

Our dog used to whine when left home alone (he's 6.5 months old now, and we seemed to have stopped it, at least for the last few months at least!). I think the neighbours talking is reinforcing the negative behaviour. We were told by our trainer, to test our puppy by setting him up alone (but where we were within earshot, but out of sight, like through the door) and to verbally correct the whining as soon as it starts. Second it stops give a praise. We did this consistently and it worked a treat. So if your neighbours are willing to help, get them to use whatever verbal correction you use (we used Bark Busters and their method is to low deep BAAARGH) as soon as the whining starts, then to praise (not too much) the quiet. Practice this yourselves too. It worked so effectively for us. Hope that helps?

We had the injection done at 22 weeks when our puppy was desexed. He hasn't had any adverse reactions.

Great advice Persephone! We used the bathroom, then built up to the bedroom, then added the balcony and now pup at 6.5 mths has free run when we aren't home. The key for us was the "puppy paradise" or doggy heaven as we called it :rolleyes: We made it so great to be left home alone (including giving a stuffed Kong right as we left), so great in fact that sometimes Timmy sits and waits for us to leave. He sat and gave me the tired "almost asleep" look before I went out the other day and I caught a sneaky peak at him happily mosying on over to his special cushion to devour his Kong stuffed with biscuit. Equivalent of me kicking back with a chardy, trashy mag and my feet up when hubby goes to golf! ;) Make it so he associates going outside with GOOD things, then he will practically crave that time alone.

Slightly OT, sorry, but I am really curious. I use a harness on Timmy as he is tiny (2.8kg) and has a very slender neck (it seems to be the only bit of him that hasn't really grown). I have had pressure from trainers to use a ltd slip to train and walk him. I have decided against as one day last month we were walking him (on harness) and a big dog came charging across causing Timmy to try to bolt. He moved so quick he actually took flight! I shudder to think what would've happened had he been in a regular, ltd slip, or choke collar. It is really putting me off enrolling him in obedience club and my current trainer (they have been great to date, BB) can't even get a ltd slip to fit Timmy. Thoughts???