dog geek

I gave up on Elizabethan Collars - once my vet mentioned bitter drops to me, that is. The drops are FAN-bloody-TASTIC! They are also CHEAP. The bottle says they are Dimethyl Ph(label got wet here and I can no longer read these letters)e and they stop the dogs Immediately from having a go at the stitches. Highly recommended for anything you want the dogs to avoid!

Oh, no! You caught my Alzheimers!!

That is interesting, Anita - what was causing the problem with your boy? So - the consensus seems to be (correct me if I am wrong) that it is appropriate/caring to carefully ascertain the owner's awareness of the dog's apparent knee/whatever problem, and direct the owner to have it checked by a vet?? And that it is better to get these things early, to have a better/cheaper chance of fixing the problem? And the damage to growth plates is likely going to require surgery; or it could be a fracture, or luxating patella, which also require serious vet work? ... the Ridgie was not at the Dog Club per se, just at an informal gathering at our local offleash oval... and I would certainly hope that someone at his next show/show training would point out his problem to his owner...

Well, now I am REALLY concerned!! At the 'informal dog group' last night, I saw an absolutely magnificent Rhodesian (sp?) Ridgeback puppy, seven month old - and with back right knee not working properly! This is a show puppy, but that is all I was able to find out about him - too busy keeping an eye on my Afghan in case he buggered off - but he was skipping almost every step he took on that leg. So - now I really need to know: will that sort of thing heal, if it is brought to a vet's attention?

Well, the other dogs I have noticed were a Lab and a GSP; the Lab was described as 'too boisterous' by his lovely owner, one of her various solutions to this was to walk him daily, at a fast pace, for two sessions per day of a half-hour each. By the time I first saw him he was eight months old and again it was his rear end that was not working properly... The GSP was another 'boisterous' dog, and similar routines were in place to tire him out also - he was exercised vigorously with retrieving work and daily forced marches. Oh - and both these dogs got walks of an hour on weekends! I do approach getting this information as unintrusively as possible, trying not to interrrogate the owners - the owners of the Lab and the GSP are both conscientious dog owners, but in each case this was their first dog. Perhaps amongst all the information about their respective breeds of dog, the need for lots of exercise was put across well; but the need to delay the vigorous exercise until the dog was older was not absorbed?

:rolleyes: I was at the Dog Club yesterday, and met The Sweetest Tricolour CKC Puppy In The World. God he was gorgeous!!!! Would have taken him home in a flash!! Thing is, almost immediately I noticed he was skipping with one hind leg; and he was not strong in his rear end... So for twenty minutes I watched Very Carefully how he was moving. Whilst chatting about how long he had had his puppy, and how gorgeous the puppy was, and how hard it must be to walk with everyone wanting to pat him! The pup had great difficulty using his right back leg; he seemed to have trouble from his hips back when walking or running; definitely he was having trouble picking his legs up to 'track' through a step; and definitely there was weakness in his hips. So I took a deep breath, and decided I HAD to ask his nice young owner "Do you walk him much?" The answer: "oh yes, twenty minutes to an hour" and after hearing that I am afraid I I was so shocked I didn't even hear the rest of the sentence... Even WORSE, I winced, poor guy - he didn't need that sort of reaction. He asked (he was a nice guy, he was not defensive or cheesed off at me) how much he should be walking his puppy, so I started to explain that puppies are like kids, they have growth plates that can be damaged by too much exercise yada yada and at the end of about ten or fifteen minutes (after exploring who his vet was, whether he could contact the breeder to check the pup's bloodlines' propensity for hip/knee problems ETC) he was going to ask his vet to look at the pup's hips and knees at the check up his puppy was due for shortly.... oh, and I asked if he knew about Dogz Online (he did - this was where he found his breeder!) and recommended the health and puppy forums to him. This is not the first time I have seen young dogs moving stiffly at the dog club - I have in a round about way asked about those dog's exercise regimes and yes, their owners do walk them for at a minimum of twenty minutes every day... but this is the first time I have ever said anything about limiting the amount of walking. The puppy is only just five months old - do exercise-related injuries like this heal, if caught in time? The owner said they had only been walking the puppy for extended periods for a month or so... And, is it a good thing to express my opinion on matters like this??

Here is another tip - DO NOT apply lip balm before beginning to groom your dog....

I am confused - I used Advocate Spot On Treatment when my girl had mange... worked beautifully; and although I wouldn't use it monthly - instead I think these things are like immunisations, and should be used only every three or four months - it would protect against the next hatch of mites, wouldn't it?? So, my question is: why wouldn't you use it for this???

Question: why would you NOT use Advocate Spot-On treatment???

Bwaaaahahahahahaha! Siv, you will get a reputation for talking too much!!! Although, excellent advice, want to fix my mother/daughter relationship?

Er - that would be great, a self-poisoning Whippet!!! Thanks, I will - I know that the rhizome is poisonous, as are Daffodil bulbs....

Hey, Manny eats various greens too - at the moment he busily grazes on the Iris leaves that are just starting to come up.... What a pretty whippie you have - I LOVE her colour!

Hi Anita Sounds like more fun than a barrel of monkeys over at your place - AND you hurt your ankle, how is that going? Question: does your Saluki bitch have a pre-existing condition that rules out GA? Because if it is that 'breed sensitivity' thing, then nowadays they gas them down and spey. They did Miffy (despite her being "very underweight", yes I told them she had just come from a show kennel and that is showing weight for you, oh no, tsk!) and she went home in the afternoon with no problems at all. Was at the Dog Club today and looked in vain for Salukis or Afghans.... :rolleyes:

Call me crazy, but I have just read the latest National Dog, and they have a new dog cleaning 'vacuum' that looks pretty spesh to me... I think I want one, for my Whippet - but also to use on some of the neighbourhood dogs (you know - 'Kidnapped And Shampooched: Neighbourhood Crazy Lady Caught Bathing Neglected Dogs - More At 7'....)

Chopped fine, if you can stand to handle them, and then freeze in small portions to add to their regular food? Warmed a little before feeding to them makes it much more appealing, too... ...I would be careful of mixing too much liver into their regular food, it can make them a bit unwell if you given to them in large quantities....

Oddly enough, there is another dog lover with that type of problem, check out her thread for my advice there, I did lots of research before I tried this remedy and can probably find the links again if you would like to look at the info yourself. :rolleyes:

Advocate protects/controls lots of extra nasties. Demodectic mites, ear mites, heartworm, ticks, fleas... haven't got my packaging handy, but that is what I can remember. It is pretty good value for money, too. Mostly, the Dermaleen shampoo used every three days with the Peanut Oil massage afterwards helps. The shampoo needs to stay on for at least three minutes; it contains a sulphur compound which breaks down the scaly derm gunk that builds up on the skin. I use a cocoanut oil-based dog shampoo first - my dog is a long-caoted breed - and rinse, then apply the medicated shampoo and lather, making sure I thoroughly but gently scrub all over the dog - just be aware that you should not get it in your dog's eyes. Let the dog stand with the shampoo on for ten minutes before rinsing it off; I use conditioner on the long coat, rinse that off, then massage a minimal quantity of peanut oil into the areas most affected. For instance my girl's back is 53cm long, and I use one tablespoon of oil to cover that area (pour it into the palm of your hand, rub your hands together, and use both oily hands to apply to the dog). Then, using warmer water, rinse the oil off. I finish off with a rinse of 1 cup of apple cider vinegar oil in 2 litres of water poured all over the dog. It is the constant bathing that helps - it removes the excess skin oil and flakes that are a result of the irritants. That said, you should be able to taper off after a couple of weeks; I no longer do this 'every three days medicated hoo ha' for my bitch, within the month she was much, much better. Now, just two months later, she has grown hair back to completely cover the previously bald areas.

If your vet hasn't recommended something like Advocate, then I'd be wondering why not... Fish oil capsules administered like a tablet (insert by hand down the the throat ) should help; also after bathing with a dog-specific medicated anti-itch shampoo (I tried several and found Dermaleen to be good value for money) massage Peanut oil into the affected areas. Peanut Oil was recommmended on an Australian vet site as safe for dogs, and it contains Omega 3 + 6 which are beneficial to the structure of the skin. I found these three things (Advocate, Dermaleen, and the Peanut Oil) cleared up my bitch's problem; good luck with yours.

Oooo! Ooooo! I want one too! Can we have details pm to me? Please!

Actually, the hot towel bath is a great idea - maybe if she has some really grotty spots just a little shampoo on a face cloth to scrub those bits, then wipe with the towel??? I actually fill my tub up with warm water, rather than stand in containers - and to be really economical I will retain the water from my son's bath and reuse on a dog. But I am careful with that one - if there has been lots of soap/shampoo use by the son I won't use the water on a dog, just in case it causes a problem with the dog's skin. I feel for you, cold and draughty is horrible.... maybe some carpet offcuts as rugs?? I have been in cold houses and not been able to afford to buy a rug even - a carpet supplier might be approachable or you could check the tradies and see if anyone is selling relatively new carpet?

With my long-coated pets (2xAfghan Hounds, 1XPersian cat) I blowdry usually, unless my arthritis is playing up, then they air-dry in the loungeroom while I brush them (I don't have a good dryer, just a hand-held one). But the short-coated pets (1xWhippet, and an Oriental cat) just air-dry in front of the heater. Towel dry firstly after their bath, then they are blissfully happy to toast in front of the heater for a while....

Hi Have you tried filling the tub with water already mixed to the right temperature before you put your pup in? Then use a recycled margarine container (or similar) to pour the water over the dog - if you have a shoelace (or similar) threaded through the soap dish to tie to the collar you can keep them in the bath and still have two hands free to wet them down etc. This is how I do my cats (in the laundry tub) as they are not at all keen on the water running out of the tap. I lower them in, and I keep the water quite warm and they relax after a couple of minutes... uh, sorry that was off topic, but the point I was trying to make is that the tub is filled before the pet goes in...