RubyStar

I was in my garage today and saw one of my oldest i-squeaks sitting on the bench. It has a 2008 trademark moulded into the rubber. Doesn't squeak anymore, but rubber is in fantastic shape!

Ruby's allergy level is minor, so barely worth doing anything drastic about it (unlike the bees where it is rather serious). I'm just hoping an ear flush then changed diet will help in the long run :)

Yeah, my gut tells me to just book in with Murdoch this week. Not sure the best path to go down to avoid these issues again once the flush is done! Looking into trying out the 6 week food elimination diet to see if the underlying cause is food allergy. If it's not and it's environmental, then we'll just have to deal with it like we've been doing the past 5 years. Dermotic as needed! I'm not subjecting her to another round of desensitization!

Thanks raffikki :) That's a significant difference. Less than half price. But Murdoch apparently have the best equipment for it to get right to the ear drum... I am not sure what to do!!

Millie used to be ok, until the vet nurse up at the local vet cut 2 nails too short, causing them to bleed. Then stopped the bleeding by dabbing it with something even more painful. Hasn't let anyone near her feet since. Mum scoffed at my bright idea of trying the thundershirt. She ate her words when she saw Millie stand still and I cut a nail unassisted! Mum then held her gently and talked to her while I finished the rest of her front feet :)

Has anyone had it done NOT at Murdoch? Just looking to compare prices. On another note, if you have a dog who absolutely will not let you cut their nails... magic cure? Thundershirt + soft muzzle = success!! It was like witnessing a completely different dog

Would anyone be able to give me a ballpark figure of what it generally costs to get a dogs ears flushed under a GA please? Anyone's dog had it done? Ta!

Hey CC, because I can see how free you are () if you're ever interested in doing a portrait sitting for a couple of Labs and a Mini Schnitzel, I'd be keen to hire you :) I will pay :)

I am not sure what a boomerang tag is but no fixtures are allowed on the collar at all. A flat collar with a D-ring to attach the lead. A Boomerang tag is a flat tag that threads onto the collar, so it doesn't dangle. Less dangerous than the D-ring on a collar, but if you say no fixtures are allowed then I guess these are disallowed as well. Only example I can find of them in my photos (as my dogs very rarely wear a collar!) It's the flat shiny silver thing on Ruby's collar. This should be a dock diving thread, not an agility one :laugh:

Not sure if you meant it this way, but just wanted to say that an obedience trained dog shouldn't be afraid to make a mistake, either. Those that have been exposed to a lot of shaping/clicker training definitely shouldn't!

Or even a Boomerang tag might be acceptable. And they are pretty :) Good luck in your first trial!! I'm having an absolute ball training up my new project. She did her first full sized tunnel with a slight bend in it last night 2o2o training coming along well, and restrained recalls with her are a hoot :D Not sure how her little legs make her go that fast Her tugging away from home is coming along too, yay! I'm still using a lot of food for training things like 2o2o but I'm hoping to build her tug away from home enough to carry over to rewarding for jumps and stuff :) Just wanted to share how much fun I'm having with her

Ahhh but the trains will be quieter, roads in peak hour quieter, no school kids to block the footpaths in the city. School holidays for me = BLISS :D

There's an open air ice skating rink in Freo? NYC eat your heart out!! I've got a retrieving trial out in whoop whoop on Saturday (which I'm contemplating wagging, too cold for a 6am driving start with a dog who is likely to put us out on the first run with her hard mouth!) and on Sunday I am going to have a nice sleep in and hopefully do some gardening if the rain doesn't eventuate. But if it does, then SFA on Sunday is on the agenda! :D

Woah so many replies since I made my last post a few hours ago :laugh: Thanks, I am sure all of us here concerned with what appears to be a quality reduction are appreciative! Ah ok, makes sense now! YES! This is what mine look like, too. The ones with the "nipple" on the left in the pic, much better quality. Even when the squeaker pops out a bit, I can usually shove my finger in and pop it back in. One of mine has lost the squeak altogether, but the rubber is still fantastic. My newer ones I can't fix the squeaker as the lip is different, and the rubber is cracked. Not to add to the confusion, but my newer ones personally have the quack sound (but the sound isn't a bother to me, but dogs love them regardless of squeak type, or no squeak at all! They just go nuts for these balls!) Maybe we shouldn't focus on the tag type or squeak type, it looks like the way to differentiate between the old and new is the actual squeaker appearance. Old ones have the "nipple"!

Squeak noise aside, we're paying the same price, why should we be happy with lower rubber quality so they break easier? The squeak fortunately doesn't matter to my dogs, but the rubber quality matters to me! I still have some old ones not used from 2010, but I still don't think they are as good as the ones older than that! I'll have to check their tags, I'm not sure...

Thanks :D Nick, I'm doing Health Science at Curtin. Want to get into OT.

for Rommi and a speedy recovery, OSS! Know what you mean about the insurance form! So relieved I am getting paid for Ruby's treatment. Received my 2nd cheque last week, thanks very much! One more hefty cheque to come, then I will be claiming for smaller ongoing ones for her monthly at home injections. She only has 2 more vet treatments to go, then we move to at home ones. That 19 weeks has gone by very fast!!

Uni brags!! Final results day today! HD's all round, woot woot!!!

Thanks, EI. I hope so, as I've put one of mine on Eagle Pack Holistic grain free in the hopes it helps her constant yeasty ears. But it's rather expensive, and would much rather be feeding both kids the same thing, so much easier!!

Mine are losing weight, too, with no change to the amount they eat or exercise. I too put it down to winter, and have increased what they get.... I hope it doesn't change. Things that get popular start to morph into something completely different after a while

Gosh well done!! If you have any on video, please share the link here! I'd LOVE to see your dog working :D

My dogs don't seem to care about the squeak difference, they still go nuts for them (even when the squeak is gone, it's still their favourite ball!) Agreed though about the quality dropping. I got my first lot of i-squeaks in 2009 I think. I've had 2 orders since then (approx 2010 and 2011) and the new ones are breaking while my old originals are still going rather strong! Out of the 4 I had in 2009, only 1 has lost the squeak, but the rubber is still in fantastic shape! The new ones all have cracks in them around the squeaker hole

Another one here with the same problem. Started out as a severely dried/cracked nose (cause unknown, as she came to me as an adult already like this). Biopsy performed, no diagnosis given, but that piece taken from her nose for biopsy left a pink mark, which rapidly spread and soon the entire nose was pink - still is. 2 vet opinions later, still no diagnosis. I just bought some Invite brand Vitamin E oil, it's in a sticky liquid which is meant to help with cell regeneration, dried/cracked skin, scarring, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'll give it up to 6 months to see if it works - I'm not that hopeful and have sorta come to accept it, but I thought I'd give it a shot :)

Too many posts to sort through so I'm hoping I can ask this in case it has been asked before! Does anyone know if Black Hawk are going to do a grain free version?

My girl was sired by what I think was a 12 year old dog at the time (or thereabouts), natural mating, but sadly it was his last hurrah. Maybe too good a time was had