Staff'n'Toller

Think about a training roster with the other intermittent instructors you do have. Hold a meeting and see if everyone is happy to change to a fixed roster. You can structure it as Agility Dogs does, or you could try a 6 weeks on 2 weeks off, or 4 on 4 off - possibilities are many in that regard. If you are a very small club you could also think about a complete overhaul and run fixed length courses for people, that way your clients get the continuity and instructors know they get time off at the end of their allocated course to bum around with their dogs or take time out with their families. For the above- if you only charge very minimum membership is it possible to increase it by charging per course with a small admin fee and then pay your instructors a donation fee? I know there becomes issues once you are paying people but perhaps you can pay them in fuel vouchers or something...your accountant is best to speak with about that. Otherwise if you can organise for instructors to get their own training sessions before or after classes or on a completely different day then everyone wins - you could just meet up as a group and pick things to work on- might keep up the instructors motivation. On the client setup etc. sometimes you have to be a bit more assertive and tell them that they will have to organise to discuss their specific problems at ..... time maybe that is 10mins before setup so then they are there. It's ok to say "umm this is going to take a while so we'll need to talk about it after class, everyone here deserves an equal amount of my attention". Alternatively they can email you or organise a phone call when it suits YOU.

I did see it as a trailer so it was released at the movies but I don't think it got a long screen-time.

I want to see photos....... Sure, when I'm home in the daylight on the weekend I will take some.

I-squeaks are the new favourite ball here, I'm quite surprised that he has located it two nights in a row to use as the ball for throwing. They may actually turn out great being slightly bigger, dudie won't be able to push them under the fence and watch them roll down the driveway!

Drontal has a Giardia claim on it now, so you can use it to treat Giardia. We had a dog with another exotic type of parasite she picked up from eating all sorts of poo in the park and it was treated with another type of wormer that was listed as a treatment and the problem resolved.

I have that too with some dogs that come into the clinic occasionally, so I can see where you're coming from.

I've never heard of dogs being allergic to other dogs hair or saliva, so I wouldn't worry about separating him unless the specialist suggests it. You do need a full workup by a Derm specialist to find out what's going on.

Got mine today! Cheers Sandi!! Geordie has spent some time appreciating the squeaking of one of them, and now he is asleep! (Lucky b/c it's late here and I thought I may have to trade it for a pigs ear. )

Nawww how gorgeous were her crosses!! Thanks for posting that.

Yeah...I told someone in the house today: Me: There should a parcel coming for me pretty soon. OPerson: Ok Me: It'll be squeaky! OPerson: Uhuh *crickets*

Must take an extra day to *bounce* them across the border into Vic I reckon. Then another day to get out to 'the country' (55mins out of Melbourne).

Looks great!

I know NDTF said probably no dvd, but was someone videotaping?

Try Sydney Animal Behaviour Service they would be the best to phone up and speak to I think. If it keeps up they will recommend you go there for a consult. It may be possible for a home visit. For some Bully's there can be an epileptic component, but this may not be the case in your dog. :rolleyes: Mel.

Geordie would be good at it too, I will drop into the club next Saturday and see if they have any articles. Did you actually start with metals as the article says Ptolomy?

twosmallpuppies (on dol).

Most Vet Clinics should be able to access it for you. We're not listed as a stockist because we don't have a Tucker Time fridge out the front but we stock some of the varieties for our regular customers.

My Stafford girl is on the Turkey, she seems to be doing quite well on it, but it's hard for me to know these days as the anti-inflams she is on for arthritis seem to help her stomach and allergies a fair bit too.

Kidneys- illness- unless it was caused directly (and you have clear proof) from a poison of some sort I would think, then, they may say it's accident but you'd have to call them and clarify it. It really is up to the insurers discretion for each and every case. I would think PPL would be an illness but can you genetically test for it? Not sure about how they would go about covering it, again you'd have to speak to them.

Well not always. I had to have surgery 2 years ago> I wont go into what or why as it is not relevent but it was urgent and I didn't have a choice in the matter. It cost me almost $10,000 and I had to raise that money myself. Pets are a responsibility and if you dont have the money you shouldn't have one. But it is understandable if they made that choice out of consideration for the puppies long term health rather than the money side of it. You should move to Victoria then, I have had 2 emergency operations and havent paid a cent other than our hefty taxes. Emergencies and Urgent can be two different things though. I could have had free surgery in the public system but wait 12mths, to have surgery with a surgeon I didn't know, and possibly cop being back on the list in 6mths if they didn't have enough specialist knowledge to fix my problem. My other option was to be able to pre-book my surgery, within 3 weeks, with a specialist that is published several times on my condition and travels overseas to attend symposiums on it, and I would be assured of a much better outcome, but I would be $3500.00 poorer for the priviledge. I chose the latter and I still pay hefty taxes....

Agree with showdog, sometimes there are other factors. It depends too on perceptions of ownership. A lot of the general public have no idea of the real cost of fixing something like a foreign body until they are placed in that position and handed the price estimate. Going back about 16 years we had a young cat that we adopted from Animal Aid and developed diabetes due to an insulinoma, my parents spent over $500 trying to stabilise and diagnose the condition on one wage with a mortgage and 2 kids in early high school education. Luckily they could also pay it off but really, there is a limit to the money families can pull out of nowhere. If they had have asked my grandparents for a loan we probably would have never heard the end of it!! Now having had a few more animals and us kids all grown up earning our own money my parents have a no expense spared kind of attitude once upon a time they just didn't think that way.

I'll have a girl red coat, Ptolomy's 4 look really good all together, I feel like I should have a matching pair.

No probs, just PM me if you decide to go ahead.

I used to buy mine at Horseland stores here in Vic. Now I just order what I want from the Veterinary wholesaler we use as soon as the info comes out. The trick is to order them as soon as they are available because I think we get allocated stock to Oz then that's it... I can order Landa for you and post them up if you get stuck, I order a couple of Kennel rugs and polar fleece for my guys each year, but you would have to know exactly what sizes you wanted as we can't return ours.

I have asked both my Dad and my BIL for weave plates and I'm still waiting.....they've conveniently forgotten!