sheena

Cat grass is a permanent grass & you buy the plants in Bunnings. It has a lot of vitamins & minerals not found in lawn grass. It grows well in pots. While you are at Bunnings buy some Catnip too. Your cats will love you for it

Nexgard can be used for puppies. My two have been on it for at least three years without ill effect. We live in a high risk zone & the only ticks I have seen are dead ones. I guess ALL tick products come with a tiny bit of risk, but weighed up against what happens to the dog when it does get a tick & I will go with prevention anyday.

Thanks, I will ask the vet about it. There was another one that someone recommended too....but I can't remember the name...4 something..4site ?? ETA...4cyte

Her blood count this afternoon was 36, just one short of perfect Still on the pills for another 6 weeks but in 4 weeks the vet will see about putting her on those injections for arthritis. No more anti-inflams for her. Some dogs can be on them for years without ill effect, but she is not one of them

She is carrying on like a mad crazy border collie & eating me out of house & home. She has an appointment this afternoon to check her blood levels again. I mainly have her on tinned dog food, eggs, yogurt, sardines & a bit of the kibble she loves & whatever vegies we have for dinner

This morning, she is going around sniffing all the food bowls & is almost back to be BC active. I took her for her first walk (on lead). She is still on the AB's but the vet said to try putting them in the freezer, as it slows down the release. Just a small thing, but has made the world of difference to her appetite

Good news (I hope) I gave her boiled chicken with a bit of yogurt tonight. She scoffed it down as if she hasn't eaten in a week & then licked the plate. Now to see if she can keep it down. She has plenty more energy too

Thanks everyone, some good advice there to take on board, especially the Nutrigel. She brightened up quite a bit yesterday afternoon & I was able to get her to eat various bits & pieces in small quantities all throughout the afternoon. I did her a poached egg for dinner & shopped it up, but she wouldn't look at it. She ended up eating some cut up grilled sausage followed by a bit of kibble. Unfortunately, when she went to bed last night she chucked the whole afternoon up on her bed...none of it was digested.

Thanks Barb, I cooked her up some lovely steamed chicken with rice & sweet potato on the first night, but she wont touch it. She is drinking OK. I have tried all her favourites, raw egg, sardines, nice tinned dog food, but I havn't tried the cat food. I will try her on some cooked egg tonight & maybe a bit of yogurt. Just worried the yogurt might be too acidic.

In February I took my girl to the vet as she was limping, holding up her back leg & had swelling on her hock. The vet did xrays & diagnosed arthritis & put her onto Carprofen dose of 3/4 tablet up to one tablet daily. As she didn't appear to be in any pain, I reduced it to 1/2 a tablet a day. About a month ago I took her off them completely for a week but put her back on them as she started shaking & shivering with her tail between her legs & ears laid back, obviously showing signs of pain. She has been back to the vets twice since February, with the latest being just 6 weeks ago for her annual check up. I am surprised that they didn't notice that she was anemic. Last week the swelling in her rear hock reared it's ugly head. I couldn't get to see my normal vet so, by chance, went to another practice & I booked her in for a GA with a joint tap. She had blood test done including PCV as her gums were pale & it came back abnormal. She put her on Clindamycin for the infection in her hock which has really upset her appetite. The only thing she will eat, reluctantly, are pieces of kibble fed one at a time. The vet suspected a stomach ulcer as she had been on the anti-inflams for so long & her stools are dark & tarry, indicating a bleed from the stomach. She has been on Sucralfate for 5 days & repeated the test yesterday. My girl has lost another point & now only has a blood count of 27, whereas it should be 37. So now she is also on Omeprazole. She is still on the AB until she finishes the dose. She has lost over 1.5 kilos in a week. Any one else gone through this? Is there any foods that I should avoid with her? She ate a tiny bit of yogurt this morning & some bits of kibble & a few mouthfuls of milk & a couple of pieces of cheese. She sleeps most of the day. I have given up trying to hide the tablets in food as she just wont touch them. So they are going straight down her throat, which I hate doing

Do not buy from Boomerang Pet Food. Apparently they have closed down but are still taking people's money https://www.productreview.com.au/p/boomerang-pet-food.html

We raised both our children their whole life with electric fences. We have all touched it on occasions as it runs all around & through the farm. It has never harmed the children, & like dogs, cows or horses, they only ever touch it once then they have a good respect for all fences. Do you understand how electric (farm) fences work?

There are a couple of supermarket foods which I will buy if I run out of the Meals for Mutts, which my dogs love. The two that I will buy are Natures Goodness & Farmers Market

We are on acreage (220) but we still have a securely fenced house yard for our two border collies. The fence is only 900 mm high but we have an electric fence wire running 18cm from the top & if they were to ever try to dig under (which they don't) then we would run another electric wire just a few inches from the ground. They will only touch it once & then they learn not to go near it. Not only does it stop them escaping, but it stops any wild dogs trying to get in. We have the same set up around our chook yard. Roaming dogs in rural areas usually end up either getting shot, taking a bait or getting beat up by wild dogs or kangaroos.

Would it maybe be better to ask the Vet??

I just bought one & OMG....I love it. The dogs are going to think they are in heaven. Aussie made & free postage too https://www.slingguard.com.au/?gclid=CjwKCAjwmufZBRBJEiwAPJ3Lpiz8HeHFJkXGCGIh7rf1wqtYg0hFGjT-sRLJAjhGtGncyxzkajUJ7xoCpiQQAvD_BwE

Why are we surprised ?? A very interesting read & I often wonder if this extends to fancy human diet trends with GF DF MF FF when people embrace these trends without having a medical condition

Wow...expensive dog food.....$50 a kilo

Oh that looks just like what I want & Australian too. May I ask what sort of car you have it fitted in ??

To be successful in agility your dog needs to have good handler focus, have a good solid stay, good back end awareness, release only on the verbal release cue (of which there should be only one) good reliable recall, & more that I can't think of at the moment. He/she needs to have all these with distractions & in an exciting environment & be able to work off lead around other dogs. If you can teach these behaviours BEFORE you start agility training you will be off to a good start. At our club we require you to have had at least the minimum obedience training in the basics before you start with agility at a minimum age of 12 months. It sounds like you are doing just great with what you have taught her

Cold down your way ??

Yes, I agree entirely. I teach a Foundation Agility Group & these things taught are a real asset. There is so much foundation that you can teach in the lounge room. I am a bit of a clicker nut also & incorporate the clicker in all my training.

Any body tried it?? The 6.8 kilo bags are half price at Woolies this week. I have just opened a packet of their treats & they look & smell pretty good

Any body tried it?? The 6.8 kilo bags are half price at Woolies this week. I have just opened a packet of their treats & they look & smell pretty good

I really like that one with the mesh window. However they want almost $70 A in postage to ship to Australia We are getting a new car so I want to get a good cover to stop the border collie hair getting all over the carpet. I gather the Hammock style ones would help stop the hair falling on the carpet.