Skruffy n Flea

i always scissor trim both bella's and byron's pee feathers --- i never cut too short tho leaving about a cm in length :) consider if you will that it's like a human's eye lashes that protects the eye from debris... efs

thanks leslie :)

hello :D bella's latest alt level result [jan 2012] shows a reduction --- 339 [down from 596 last month (dec 2011)] curiously, that was also her nov 2011 reading!!! irrespective :D it's impossible to know what aided the reduction [or whether it's just naturally happened] but i've had her on a diet of 1:2 [30gm protein/60gm veg derived from dr dodds' liver disease diet]--- the protein consists mainly of bland fish, whole egg [but not shell]/cottage cheese and raw or cooked chicken, with raw red meat every third or fourth day... since her dec 2011 test, i've also put her on 5gm daily [of a 10gm whole serve] of glucosamine/chondroiton/msm... i spoke with her vet about milk thistle and SAMe and she was more inclined to go with SAMe but supply has been difficult to come by and suggested i purchase it online --- being content to continue with my current routine, i'll revisit that if her levels stabilise at 339 or again rise when she is next tested in feb 2012... bella's vet is also happy to provide a referral to SUVH if and when i request it.

i bathed both dogs tuesday last and the result with bella was remarkable --- but then on wed, i clipped her [and byron] and i reckon the spikey sharpness of their fur irritated them *buggar* so, no true reading yet... next bath scheduled for tmrw :)

staying on the sub-topic of mixing bh with raw/other food, is there not a concern that the mixing creates an imbalance [in that, bh is balanced nutrition in and of itself]!?!? i read too much, this is true

k, so yesterday i used half a household sponge with 5mL of malaseb in a small amount of water, along with a wee bit of malaseb in my hands a few times and on the sponge and it was sooo much better than the last time using just my hands she is smelling less yeasty but there is still an occasional hint of it so i'm upping the frequency of baths... i am also mindful that it could be diet and i am addressing that too thanks everyone for the replies, excellent tips and advice --- i know i'll get this licked soon

i am sooo very glad i asked the question cuz up until reading the pro mixing posts, i was always reticent and somewhat anxious that i was totally upsetting diet balance!!! hello do you actually mix the kibble in with the raw!?? Yeah I do for their breakfast. BH then raw lamb on top. my two dogs don't find dry food on its own that appetising so i've been adding about 5gm cooked chicken and a half teaspoon of low fat cottage cheese to their 25/30gm dry and they no longer hesitate thanks to everyone that answered

i was typing my reply as you two were posting

hi and thanks for your replies I laughed out loud at this, Hugo was also giving me the stink eye when I was soaking his yeasty feet and had him sit between my legs with his front paws dunked in a bowl of water/malaseb. Luckily he doesn't have to endure that treatment anymore, but the withering looks he gave me could melt the flesh off my face I just squirt it in too, because I'm lazy to measure both your bolded comments made me laugh out loud! bella hunkers down into a tight little ball and gives me puppy eyes dju, it's good to hear success stories did you use a particular ratio for your foot soaks? and once you'd finished the soak, did you then have to rinse hugo's feet? i think i've read or i was told that a diluted malaseb foot soak didn't require rinsing! thanks again for your replies

i recently started using malaseb on both my dogs [as recommended by their vet] and it was mentioned that the ratio was indicated on the bottle, but it only goes as far as saying 50 mL for a 30 kg dog and 7-10 mL for a cat and to apply the shampoo directly in several spots on a wet coat... would measuring and using only say 10-15 mL on each of my two 7 kg dogs be roughly correct? does using too little malaseb render it less effective? they both seem a bit more comfortable since i started using malaseb [and pyohex lotion] they both suffer yeasties and other itchies. tia and happy new year

my two don't seem to have too many issues with their ears; they can get a bit yeasty occasionally and so i just treat that when necessary but mostly i just wipe out their ears with a wet one or a tissue moistened with ACV... good luck

hello do you actually mix the kibble in with the raw!??

By using the PlaqueOff I haven't had to brush or clean. thanks oakway that's really good to hear! Hi shantiah, details are on a previous page, $39.99 plus postage from online pet warehouse. It really does depend on who you purchase it off and what the exchange rate is at the time. I can still purchase it overseas with freight included far cheaper than here and all from the computer and it is delivered to me. that's a YUGE selling angle from my perspective --- it cost me aud$20 [postage included] for 60 gm and unless troy drops it's price, i'll continue buying from the uk If they will let you brush i would. I brush my poms teeth with an oral b electric toothbrush, i swear by it for her, its so much easier than doing it with a manual. thanks alibi i was using an oral b electric on both my dogs before proden and they objected to it --- the proden product would make it less work in any event if i were to use the brush again and even tho it appears it's not necessarily necessary in the short term, in the long run it wouldn't be a bad idea even if it was only once a month or so

hello i have nothing to add but to wish you good luck the following posts made me laugh or giggle and i just wanted to say that too When we moved in here, the dogs were going ballistic one afternoon. There was a guy on the other side of the fence and he started complaing about the dogs barking. He came back about a week later and began to yell out that it used to be a nice neighbourhood before I moved in. I followed him to talk with him but he walked away. Turns out he doesn't even live here, he only walks past occasionally, and if he did live here he could hardly miss the busses and trucks, with a whole lot of other cacophony, that is our nice neighborhood. tres eloquent ms swift True.. Any chance it would respond ok to a crate or perhaps the laundry? Not too hard to clean up and with some toys and the radio on pup may settle better and less barking? (remove all shreddables first as ososwift is right you may come home to a few less than ideal surprises if you don't know how this dog will react ;) ) solid advice and i just wanna add that i love your name

happy to hear from you leslie i collected from kel when she did shows at either erskine park or castle hill so i'd be looking to maintain that [or other locations within reasonable distance] --- do you have a website that i can check your attendance at shows!?!? thanks

is anyone doing anything else to assist their dog's dental health? are you brushing? i've got both of my dogs [and bob the cat] on dental bikkies, bones and other longtime chewable products --- should i be brushing as well!?!?

hi jules, bella is part maltese and apparently, bile tests [within the maltese breed] are inconclusive in any event and in fact, could account for some of bella's elevated alt level [but obviously, not the continued rate of elevation] --- i'm told that a bile test would be pointless... you're correct; bella's vets aren't concerned at all; her levels are at the low [to medium] end of the high scale. time will tell and i hope this change in her diet makes a difference

hi again i'm a bit of a green freak so unless it's fly sprays [using which i am very careful and mindful], i can't imagine what other pesticide if it's pesticides! could exposure occur during our walks? and if it is, could the exposure be that intense? if this doesn't resolve by diet modification then SUVH is my next step [thanks again for the tip ] um, what about body sprays [daily]? air/fabric fresheners [once a week or so]? incense sticks [every so often]? yup, but i guess it's sometimes like that too for humans --- it took my doc months [after a raft of tests] to be only 80% sure i had CFS and she still won't commit... bothersome in any event i'll report again when there's something to report

i spoke with bella's vet this morning and she says there'd be no harm in altering her diet but recommended that i alternate between fish/veg, whole egg/cottage cheese/veg, and her usual diet [meat/veg], to avoid any chance of her diet becoming deficient. the plan is to reduce the meat/veg to say twice/three times a week with the rest made up of the other two. i'll talk with her about SAMe next time if bella's levels haven't dropped or at least stabilised. i've read lately too about the possible toxicity of dry food ingredients... Amber is too sick for the homemade diet. She is on Hills L/D tinned and dry. thanks and i'm sorry to hear that amber is that sick i hope it's going well as an aside, my OH tells me that his blood results show increased alt levels following a gym session and that is [apparantly] due to the breakdown of muscle cells and tissue after having been worked during strenuous exercise [when i research elevated alt levels in dogs, one of the words that keeps coming up is necrosis and that scares the bejayzuz out of me cuz to me that means dead and or dying and my OH said that made sense to him!] if there is any correlation, i don't overly exercise my dogs, in fact they are quite sedentary and a daily walk could be anywhere between [usually] 20 minutes/a half hour to say [rarely] 45! i am suspicious tho that she is feeling some discomfort in both thigh regions --- she licks both the inside and outside areas of each and munches along the bone edge of each; she has visible fur growth lines on each, roughly in the same place but the vets don't consider there to be any connection [just something in the forefront of my mind]... thanks again

hello bloods taken yesterday and the result is bella's alt enzyme has elevated to 596 [up from 339] --- to say that i'm feeling a wee bit afraid for her would be an understatement... i've now printed up dr dodds' liver diet and taken notes of the egg white/cottage cheese diet anticipating that i will discuss these with bella's vets. i've also noted the foods to avoid. rappie, thanks again for your advice jules, thanks to you also for your input

Yes a seven month old Pom is certainly old enough for adult formulation. Also the Puppy mix may be too rich a mix for an elderly dog and it could become fat on it. if you want, feed the puppy [or older dog] a lower portion of dry and supplement the daily dietary quota with an amount of other food [raw perhaps] that balances the intake for the day...

my first order arrived tuesday 29/11 [posted 14/11] and i was too excited to see what they'd written on the package so i just ripped it open to get a look at this wonderous product!!! and what a cute wee spoon --- both dogs; no probs [cuz i can mix it in with their vegies] but bobbie [the cat], she be way too wary altho she did eat all her dinner 2 nights ago [none of it last night] and ate most of what i gave her tonight... not meaning to hurt your feelings at all boldenbeau, but I laughed at your " plague remover." Customs wouldn't have opened it as they would have known there was, perhaps, a rat trap inside. :-) *giggles*

you're a bloody star!!! thanks soooo much for that link --- totally not found when i performed a search!!!

fwiw, amazon.co.uk also has the product listed...

fwiw, amazon.co.au also has the product listed...