Mas1981

Yip it was, have u managed to get all the dust off Ella? I tried with Mason but no luck so far lol. This is how we found him sleeping after tracking...

Thanks for all your replies, he hasnt been shaking his head at all today so the ear wash and head shaking must have somehow dislodged it

Stormie why didnt the owners do anything sooner?

We don't need them while training - our normal leads are fine but later on we can buy the leads and harnesses from them yes. I have a couple of lunge leads, I am going to ask if these can be used instead of buying yet another lead I was told that the lunge lead I had was fine but that I might be better with a cotton one as well as some gloves to save my hands, have gone out to the horse shop and got both and will use the car harness which they said was OK. Have also hopefully got my flags arranged (have to double check the site to make sure they are alright). I'll bring the other long lead as well so someone else can use that tomorrow if need be. Don't forget to bring water for your dogs as they get very dry tracking and you may have to carry it with you, not sure. Excited about the tracking but not the early start, but I guess I'll get use to it. Will organise it all tonight so that I can stay in bed an extra few minutes. Thanks Valley CBR, for my signature hopefully it will be at the bottom of this post if I've done it right. Ozjen I cant see your sig..... see you tomorrow, I am only buying a harness next week, this payday i had too much to pay! Edited to say that I can see it now!

Oh gosh .... our 'problematic' dogs do seem to have the knack of getting themselves into one health issue after another (related or not), don't they? Fingers crossed that the ball of hair in his ear manages to work its way out over the next few days!! Good luck too, Stormie, with the Essential 6 spot-on. I really hope it works for you. That his coat is looking and smelling better is a good sign .... just hope the itching reduces as well I cant believe that its hair causing all of this! What i did since his last infection is I use colloidal silver in his ears 2 or 3 x a week, before I did this the infection never went away at all and his ear canal was actually discoloured and not a fresh healthy colour but today they said to me his ears are looking 100%, they couldnt see the canal of the one ear the last time we went in so it a huge huge improvement

I used to feed my previous dogs warm cooked food all the time and no side effects that I know of

Thanks I will try make it down to one of them! Just depends which day my hubby and I are driving the club van, whichever day we wont be driving I will come to the trial

Masons Mom - I know of a number of people who have informed me their dogs are allergic to pollen/plants. I cautioned them about using the Calendula Tea wash carefully (eg. test patch). Yet they've come back to me to advise it helped immensely. Yes, I do have a lot of faith in the Calendula, but I am very aware that whilst something might work successfully for many, "many" doesn't mean "all". If there is no change for the better in terms of rash/red skin (if that's what your dog shows as a symptom) once you've applied one more time and certainly, if the itching is also not reduced inside 24 hours of the next application of it, then I would question its effectiveness on your dog. Foremostly, if there is any worsening of either skin or itching, cease use completely. Remember too that the Calendula only serves to reduce/ease the symptoms and that it is not a cure. I will try it again tomorrow, I wanted to do it today but Mason was shaking his head so much this morning I made a vets appointment for after work, I thought it was an infection starting deep down in his ear but its actually a ball of hair stuck in there. We have to try flush it out or else next week he has to be sedated and have it manually removed. I am so hoping it comes out this weekend!!!

You do get dogs that cant tolerate the Cortisone though and it makes them feel worse than what the ailment its supposed to be treating does. My dog just cannot tolerate cortisone it doesnt agree with him. Oh for sure, same with AB's and every other drug. And its the same with natural remedies too. Calendula tea didn't go well for Orbit, but he's highly allergic to plants and pollens, so I had a feeling that would happen. Oatmeal is another thing that I can't put on his skin - allergic and makes him worse than before we started. I was just giving an opinion more so on why it seems it is prescribed so much, because it's often the first course of treatment to fix the problem. If it doesn't work, then it's time to look at working up the problem to find out the cause and going from there. As for whether or not people chose to go down that path, well that's up to the owners and I can tell you from experience atleast 75% don't because they can't afford it and just don't see the point in putting so much time, effort and money into something that for a lot of people, is 'just a dog'. I myself cannot take AB's and now that you mention it oatmeal makes my dog itch too....I bought him Aloveen because it looked nice and natural and it makes him itch like no other. I have only put calendula tea on once and that was last night, he seemed the same but I would like to try it a few times and see but now I am worried as my dog is allergic to pollen and some plants too.

You do get dogs that cant tolerate the Cortisone though and it makes them feel worse than what the ailment its supposed to be treating does. My dog just cannot tolerate cortisone it doesnt agree with him.

I took my boy to the vet this evening as he has been flapping his head and shaking his ears so I thought he had a yeast infection BUT it turns out the vet could only see what looks like a clump of hair down his ear. I have some ear wash and we were told to try flush it out, if it doesnt work they will have to sedate him next week and remove it. Has anyone got any other suggestions and or advice??

What area are you in? I live in Ellenbrook but I travel back down to Dianella to go to the Bedford Dianella vet centre, Claire and Beryl are both awesome ladies. Hi Masons Mum, I am in Edgewater. If I can find something closer to home that would be fantastic. Though I don't mind travelling a bit further for a great vet. If you like I can ask around at my club where most people take their dogs as they all live in that area

Yeah I'm interested in knowing what a T turn is aswell ? can anyone explain more ???..................... Where you are making a right turn - so you take a step with your right foot and your left foot makes the top of the T as you turn right...... The same for left turns so step with your left foot and as you step with your right foot you place it so it forms the top of the T as you turn. yeah I know what I want to say - just can't put it in words - sorry...... I am going to have to practice walking like this..... the people who live opposite the park near me are going to be watching me as if I am nuts, they already stare when I train Mason out there.

What area are you in? I live in Ellenbrook but I travel back down to Dianella to go to the Bedford Dianella vet centre, Claire and Beryl are both awesome ladies.

I would also love my dog to have a title one day but I am not holding my breathe Tiggy I was wondering the same thing about those t-turns??

Thank you I will give him a call.

I was wondering if anyone in Perth has used a homeopath or naturopath that they could recommend?

If you were you would so win the trophy for obidience dog of the year, if I remember right last year no dog had results submitted. (ST is that right?) Oooh now that sounds intriguing! But it also doesn't sound like something to be proud of winning when you're the only one submitting results I wish the Labrador Retriever Club of WA would offer members more than just conformation and retrieving stuff. I would join then. Would be really nice if they offered obedience trials and perhaps obedience Lab of the year or something. I think clubs like the Rotty club offer this. I am a member of 2 obedience/agility clubs because they offer me things of benefit to me. Other clubs unfortunately don't seem to benefit me in the slightest! Which is a shame, I like being apart of clubs ;) I would also love it if the lab club did something like that, however for me it would be a waste unless the offered a price for the most DIS-obedient lab of the year. Or a prize for the lab who runs off to greet every other single dog

He does sometimes even though he has 2 beds etc.

I have heard a lot of dogs get skin problems after the yearly injection....... I use Sentinel Spectrum

I have seen a clicker here at Big W in WA and all the pet shops have them, I would also just google it though as I have seen them on the online pet stores I just cant remember which one's.

My year old lab has developed a callus on one of his elbows, can i get rid of it and if so how??

I have one of these .... http://www.petcollars.com.au/embroideredcollars.php My dog wears his when I go out or when I walk him etc, I dont think he could get out unless someone jumped the fence and let him out on purpose but just in case I would rather he wear his collar.

I dont know why but I just cannot put any wet slimy food into my pocket, think its my OCD streak I was the same but you just have to take the plunge , it's really not that bad I promise, and from a trialing point of view it's best to train without a treat pouch. I just cant bring myself to do it :D I will try change over when my dog is anywhere near good enough to trial but that will only be in about 18 months time anyway.

I think they are training us beginners for only about 4 weeks and then we get put into groups so you will miss out on all the training as such. Oh well Next season Lincoln won't be showing so much so I will be able to get properly into tracking. Yip, I am going to try take mason to retrieving next year as I wont need to go to obedience every single sunday hopefully by then I will be able to train him on my own