loulouB

And while I'm asking about Fruit... i was also wondering about mushrooms?

THanks.. that's good to know.. i won't give them the core - just in case!

Hi there.. just wondering - are bananas and apples ok to give dogs? My two seem to love them, especially banana, and i was wondering if there was any harm giving it to them as a treat every few days?? Thanks

When you buy bags of them, if you separate them into individual freezer bags before you freeze them, it makes things heaps easier. Then you have the option of giving them a single one frozen, or just defrosting a small number of them at a time etc. I hate it when you have to defrost them in bulk, and then by the time you get round to feeding them the last few carcasses, they have gone all rank & stinky

Might be a good idea to check with your vet friend. It's supposedly a sign of a dog being unwell. The one time my 2 dogs got really drooly, was when they got a bout of gastro.

Thanks Persephone! I wish Tuesday would hurry up so i can hopefully find out that it's something harmless & and can stop worrying!

A few weeks ago i noticed a big lump on my 2 year Golden Retriever's ankle. It kind of looked like her ankle was really swollen, on the inner side of her ankle. She hadn't been limping or anything on it, so i have no idea how long the lump might have been there for? Took her to the vet, she went on anti-inflammatories for a week, and the lump went down a bit, however it was still there, so she is having an xray and biopsy on tuesday. She limps on it ever so slightly, but it's barely noticeable. Other than that, she seems in tip top health. I am so stressed about it being an osteosarcoma.. (tumour on the bone i think..). The vet says he would be surprised if it was, coz she is so young, however, it is a possibilty, as it does sometimes happen in young large-breed dogs.. Scared! i am really hoping it will be something else... non-cancerous! any one had any experience with this kind of thing? Any ideas about what else it might be????

I am insured with petsecure for one of my dogs, but I am thinking about cancelling it. So far, i have been able to claim absolutely NOTHING, and feel like i am wasting my money paying the monthly premiums. My dog had a urinary tract infection a few months ago, and they wouldnt let me claim anything back on the treatment, because she had a urinary tract infection once before, a year or so ago, before i had insurance, so they counted it as a pre-existing condition! That is ridiculous. I have a golden retriever, and i was worried about hereditary joint diseases, so when she was a puppy, i asked the vet to examine her joints, and the vet thought one of the hips felt like it might possibly have a problem, but that they could only know for sure with an xray. Anyway, she has never had any problems with her joints and is totally fine. But i'm pretty sure that now if my dog is unlucky enough to develop any joint problems, petsecure will never cover me for any kind of joint condition, because they will claim it may have been a pre-existing condition, because the vet noted down that she 'may' have a problem with one of her hips (even though it turned out to be fine). I haven't even taken out any insurance for my 2nd dog, because i am feeling really disillusioned with it all.

I would try the elimination of Chicken as well as it could be what make her scratch and thus once she has scratch hard enough to break the skin bacteria gets in there and starts a hot spot going. Loulou - Do you dry your dogs thoroughly once they have had a swim in summer? See double coated dogs trap humidity under a damp coat which is an excellent breeding ground for bacteria. I towel dry them as much as i can, but they still remain pretty damp for awhile - maybe that is contributing to the problem?

Teal'c - it only causes them discomfort in that they are scratching, niblling or licking themselves all the time. It must be annoying for them.. they are still happy dogs though. i definitely wont taken them to the vet again unless it gets really bad. i will try some of the mentioned home remedies and see how they go... thanks! Hmmn.. they do like to roll in grass a lot - perhaps that is it... SBT123- Good luck with your process of elimination to determine what your dog is allergic to!

Hi there, i'm not able to shed any light on you dogs hot spot problems unfortunately, but i will be interested to hear if anyone else can - my 2 dogs have been itching, pretty much since the start of summer, and have been getting hot spots on and off. I have treated them both for fleas, but that doesnt seem to help. I am wondering, like your dog, if it is food allergies? I feed my dogs raw chicken, lamb and beef. It seems unlikely though, that 2 unrelated dogs (one is a labrador, one is a golden retriever) would both be allergic to what i am feeding them? They swim at the beach every day, so perhaps it is the salt water irritating them? But they swam through winter too, and didnt have any problems then???? I just have no idea.... and i really dont want to have to take them into the vet for any more courses of antibiotics and cortisone - it cant be good for a dog! they are both young - one is 1 and a half, the other 9 months

Ok.. thanks everyone! i dont think i'll clip her again...

I have a 2 year old golden retriever. Last Summer we had her coat clipped quite short, because we thought she might be getting hot... I have seen quite a few golden retrievers with short hair cuts during summer-time. However - someone told me that you should not clip a golden retrievers coat?? They said the long coat doesnt make them any hotter, because it acts like an insulator, and clipping them wont necessarily make them any cooler. And they also said that it means the coat grows back more coarse & rough. Any one have an opinion on this? Thanks!

When i brought home my 8 week old puppy, for the first month or maybe more, my submissive 2 year old dog, would just lie on her back and submit to the tiny & aggressively playful puppy. I was a bit worried about it, because the puppy really seemed to believe she was boss! But as it turns out, i think my older dog was just giving the puppy a bit of a grace period, because then she slowly started laying down the law a bit more over time, and now at 6 months old, the puppy knows her place is bottom of the pack. I tried to help establish the pecking order, by always feeding my older dog first, patting first etc. My dogs are similar-sized breeds though. Seeing as your puppy is going to be much bigger than your older dog, it may be a good idea like people have been suggesting, to try and help the situtation along a bit yourself, to help teach puppy his place...