Red Fox

Thanks for all the replies. I have passed them on and my friend is now looking elsewhere.

Yeah I couldn’t find them on any breeder list. They do have a website that looks reasonably legitimate though? http://northchihuahuas.com/available

Is anyone here familiar with or have feedback on ‘North Chihuahuas’? I think they are located in NT. A friend is considering buying a puppy but can’t find any info. Thanks

Pet Insurance Australia Yes it is worth it. No it's not cheap, $200 per month for two large dogs aged 7 and 10 $10,000 + this year in vet fees. I got 80% back minus about $400 excess ($100 per condition). If I didn't have insurance one of my dogs would have been euthanized this year and the other would have been suffering.

It's been a bit of an ordeal. And yes, hoping that's it for a while! Thank you for the well wishes. We have a vet check tomorrow.

Just a quick update for anyone interested. Pathology results came back clear 2 weeks ago. Both tumours were fortunately benign. Sutures came out on Thursday and apart from some minor complications due to a reaction to the silk she had been doing really well. Her vet and I made the decision not to desex her at the time due to the major surgery and prolonged anaesthetic associated with the mastectomy. Plan being to look at doing so once she had recovered. Last night she went into emergency surgery for open pyometra. Not even 3 weeks into recovery from her op. It was very aggressive, but also caught early enough. She is home today, sore, confused, but okay. All I can say is thank God for good vets and pet insurance.

I have two dogs, one 10 years old and the other 7. They have both been covered since the day I brought them home. Both with Pet Insurance Australia. Initially their insurance was about $35 each per month, with a $100 excess and 100% cover. It's now climbed to around $200 per month for the both of them and reduced to 80% cover. Have I thought about cancelling it? Yes. Will I? Probably not any time soon. This year alone I will have claimed in excess of $6000, no questions asked. January one dog needed stitches in her face after an altercation through a fence with another dog $1500 August my other dog needed a large mass removed from his eye, suffered some complications with an ulcer and required a second surgery (which my vet didn't charge me for) $2500+ Then this week my girl needed a huge surgery after discovering a large mass in her mammary area a few weeks ago. $2800 so far. In total, after insurance costs, excesses and co-payment I'll maybe be out of pocket $1800. Over the years I've probably claimed a few thousand more for bits and pieces including specialist treatment for IBD in one dog. So is it worth it? 100% yes! I think if you were able to put away say $50 per week, per dog from the day you brought them home and not touch it apart from vet expenses you might come out on top. But if you were unlucky and your dog suffered and injury or severe illness in the first few years then you might not. Keep in mind that it is impossible to insure an older dog and that insurance wont cover any pre-existing conditions. So waiting until they are older to insure is not really worth it either.

Good to know. I’ve used it before for my male, so will definitely look into it if needed. Thank you for the well wishes. She is sore but so far doing okay. Sleeping next to me now <3

Just an update; Elka had her surgery today. She wasn't desexed, as both myself and her regular vet thought it would be too big a procedure and unnecessary at this stage. The x-ray showed her lungs to be clear. Unfortunately her vet found another tumour, resulting in the removal of her entire mammary chain. We should have the results from pathology by mid next week. She's home. very sore and has a lot of stitches, but she's okay.

It’s been years since I was on this forum. My dogs are now a lot older... Elka is 7 year old Malinois. On Monday i found a large, firm, somewhat lumpy, misshapen lump on her belly. It’s around 2 x 2.5 inches wide and flat like a pebble. I can guarantee with absolute certainty that the lump wasn’t there (or at least was not at all prominent) 10 days prior. She was taken to the to the vet on Tuesday morning and diagnosed with a mammary tumour. There aren’t any other obvious lumps. Her mammary chain feels clear apart from this. Her lymph nodes seem okay. Her heart rate was normal. The soonest she can get in for surgery with my preferred vet is on 6th December. This will obviously be brought forward if need be, in which case I would have to allow another vet to do the surgery. I know the odds are 50/50 on whether the tumour is malignant. It will be sent off to pathology so I’ll know either way. But im concerned at the rate it’s appeared. Ive been told to watch for ulceration, growth, tenderness, etc. At this stage she seems fine... The vet I saw was also pushing me to desex my dog. I’m not against this if need be. But not keen on having it done along with major surgery. It just seems too much risk if it’s not absolutely necessary. What I would like to know is if it fits the description of Inflammatory mammary carcinoma? Or if anyone else has been through this? Can tumours which do NOT fit the description of IMC grow at this rate?? I can’t speak to my regular vet that I trust as she is on leave for another 2 weeks due to having surgery herself. Just need some some advice I guess...

There's no problem putting IPO titles on the Vic dogs. Just trial in another state. We have had quite a few gain their IPO1/2/3 in SA.

The dogs either have the drives and nerve to do the work... or they don't. It's really that simple. Contact Eagle Heights Sportdog Club in Vic if you're interested in Schutzhund/IPO. PM me if you need details.

Are there any vets doing lap speys in SA? Thanks..

Any dry food here goes into large zip-lock bags (hold about 2kg each) and stored in the fridge. No ants ;)

.