puakenikeni

awwww thanks gummie for your kind words. my thoughts are with you at this heartbreaking time and i can only hope that as the days go by you will find a bit more strength to carry on with life. In memory of all our loved and lost ones.

Bartok: So sorry to hear of your loss

dogz: Hi. wow.. memories flooding back now Kiara was a pomeranian. Thats her in my avatar. I went to bed one night and she went outside [to mess around and go potty], but she had been gone awhile and hubby was still up pottering around in the kitchen. he must have noticed that she hadn't come back in and when he went outside he found her laying near one of the small bushes in the yard. he brought her in and we didnt even have a chance to take her in to see the vet. by the time i was screaming for the car keys to take her to the vet she was taking her last breaths.. It was heartbreaking the swiftness with which she left. here one second and gone the next. No obvious signs of a bite, no frothing, nothing... she was just still on the floor and she had her eyes on me the whole time we wanted to get an autopsy done on her because i wanted to know why... why did she leave.. why weren't there any signs... why did she have to leave. I would have cut a limb free that night if it meant that she could have been saved. I asked about it when the vet opened the next morning.. they told me because rigour and mortis had set in well and truly, they wouldnt be able to give me an accurate answer. she was our 'only child'. have entertained the idea of getting another one recently but im just scared.. scared of what may happen and scared of loving and then losing all over again. we had her cremated and she holds court in our living room... perched on a table, beneath a huge pink frangipani painting and surrounded by her pictures and her favourate toy. Adding: http://forums.dogzonline.com.au/index.php?...topic=25853&hl= when she passed away i was beside myself... couldnt think... couldnt do anything but wish that i could relive the day all over again and maybe do something different.. i came onto DoL.. trying to seek comfort and i found it. The ppl here helped me so much.. so many kind hearted ppl who understood what i was going through. Thats my thread about her passing.

Gosh... here come the tears Little girl, its been 6 months and 2 days to the hour since you left me for the bridge. Not a day goes by that i dont think of you . You were only 10 months old :p . Kiara, little one i know you're still here.. i know you can feel the love i have for you still and im sure you can see my tears. I miss you so much and the pain still hasn't subsided. I miss your cheeky face and the way you could always, always make me smile. I know i have to let you go, set you free but a deeper part of me just cant bare to do that.. not yet at least. I love you and i know you knew this. I wish i could have had a bit more time with you and i cherish every single minute that we had together. Rest easy little one.. always and forever in my heart. Gone but never ever forgotten RIP My baby girl.. Love you.. always

Awww Rugerfly my thoughts are with you. In memory of your gorgeous Blaze Saane

haven: Thankyou for your kind words. I agree - its so hard to read anything in Rainbow Bridge without shedding a tear or feeling that lump in your throat. ;) I know for me - i will only dare coming in here when im at home and in the solitude of my little office. Where i can read, reminisce, cry and litter the floor in tear soaked tissues. My little girl left us 6 weeks ago tonight and it would have been her 1st birthday this Sunday. [Gawd - here come the tears...] I think the one thing that helped me immeasurably was this forum. People understood how i was feeling and shared their stories of loss with me and thats where i found the most comfort. After 6 long weeks the pain is still there and the tears - well they're always there. There were times when i would wake up in the middle of the night and just bawl... hug Kiara's little urn and cry all the while feeling like my heart was about to explode all over again. Sometimes the memories just spontaneously push themselves to the front of my head and i can remember so clearly the first second that i laid my eyes on her... the drive home from the breeders house when she was nestled in my husbands chest.. shivering a little because she must have been a little frightened... how i cried when i took her to the vet for her spay because i didnt want to leave her in a strange environment. ;) I guess thats the heartbreaking thing about loving an animal and a dog especially-because all they can do is give you unconditional love and loyalty and when you look back on your time together all you can remember is the good and never ever the bad. One things for sure - i love the stories in here and the memories people are good enough to share. Thankyou everyone for sharing and thankyou to every single one of the members here for being there for me through some of the most traumatic and darkest days of my life.

Kaye: My. You must have some wonderful memories of your Maya. RIP gorgeous one. ;) Your post made me cry a river of tears. The love you shared was beautiful.

Shelby: So sorry for your loss ;) Your avatar made me cry. What a beautiful boy.

RIP Jessica. :rolleyes: My thoughts are with you clover *hugs*

Hi Sue Just thought i would join with everyone else in saying that its fantastic news to hear about George getting back to his 'ole self again. Great news! :rolleyes:

Oh your post and your tribute to your little boy made me cry :rolleyes: . I know exactly how you feel - about the grief and the gaping hole left in our hearts when our furbabies make their journey to the bridge. I lost my little girl just this week and whilst the pain is still as poignant as the moment she passed on i will always always cherish the good times and the memories of my baby girl. jesomil - my heart goes out to you. RIP to your beautiful little angel.

Oh how sad and tragic. No words to offer you but lots of hugs. RIP Jake :rolleyes:

Margaret, What a beautiful boy he was. Treasure the memories and all the happy times. He will always be in your heart. :rolleyes:

Hi Tommy I dont know if i should give any advice because i have my own little issues with my little one, but im thinking that if you think his barking has probably gotten worse.. then its because of a lack of consistency. My little one is becoming a handful right now because of stuff that i let her get away with every now and again and because i would correct her in one situation and then let her do the exact same thing in another situation so now she thinks that barking all the time is fine ;) . I know now that doing that sends mixed messages and doesnt help you try to manage the problem. Maybe you could try to correct him each and every time he starts yapping and see if that alleviates the problem any? Obviously changes wont happen overnight and I know you've said that you dont agree with this method of training but if it was your only option you'd be prepared to see if it would work right? Good luck..

Brigantia, Pet Deli is an online pet store. They are the ONLY online store [that i know of] that stock EP. I know that in metro sydney there are only a few distributors of EP so pet deli is it for me for the time being.

hilaryo, I emailed Danni who i think is manager of promotions for EP. Her email is [email protected] I think Malamum gave me the address here on DoL. Danni was brilliant. She sent me a list of distributors and stockists and even sent me some sample packs to try out! I emailed her my address and she had the package couriered from Victoria and i received it the very next day. Onya Danni and EP!!

The beauty of EP is that their ingredients are whole and their meat etc.. are human grade. It is a complete diet and their Fish and Lamb formulas are excellent for ones with allergies.

Yes! Have the eagle pack and i have to say it is brilliant. I love it. The little one loves it too so its alllllll good. You're lucky you can get yours at a pet supplier. I have to order mine through Pet Deli. Kiara is currently on their Holistic blend. - Chicken meal and Rice formula. She was previously on Royal Canin and i switched her because i wanted something more nutritious.

Hi again Yes Frontline Plus does fleas as well. And you're right - there are so many products out there and its very easy to get confused. You might want to do a search and read some of the old threads on "fleas", "heart worm" etc etc.. I know Rappie helped me make my decision on flea/hw treatment so u might want to get more technical advice from her?

Much appreciated. Thankyou very much.

HarleysMum You live in Coledale? Is that down in the gong? If so - can you tell me if dogs are allowed on Coledale beach? Ive emailed council 3 times and no response. Good to hear your setter bounced back after the tick incident Now. Onto your query. If i remember correctly - there was some sort of incident about Proban in that some dogs got violently sick on it? I think the best thing you can do in your situation would be to use Frontline Plus and apply it every two weeks to keep the ticks at bay. Not too sure exactly what other "spot ons" do ticks but im sure some of the cluey ones will be here soon to give you a better answer.

I agree with what NicoleL and witheverythingiam have just said... If you're really keen though you might want to look at taking up a franchise with Aussie Pooch Mobile. They offer a comprehensive traineeship and you get all the equipment you need to launch your own little business! Other places you could check out are Jims Dog Wash [and yes - this is the same company that has the lawn mowing/landscaping franchises!] Box Hill Tafe also run two day grooming courses for the ones who are really interested in learning all you need to know about how to groom your pooch at home. Course costs $285 and their number is 03 92869490. There are also a handful of grooming courses you can do via correspondence but like witheverythingiam has said - if its not accredited - its a waste of money [unless of course you wanna do it to attain skills and knowledge etc etc..]. I do know that the fellow who runs the Box Hill Tafe course is working on developing a nationally accredited course - Certificate IV in Training and Animal Services which would fulfill a need to train professional groomers and create an industry standard like what they have in countries like the the US of A. Good luck and hope this helps..

katetk Gosh Harvey is soo cute. Love that picture of him and his little bone. *awwwww* mollycat Youve been given some good suggestions. You know i saw they sell turkey necks at the supermarket so u might want to try that? As for the smoked bone you suggested - i dont think there is anything wrong with it. I bought one for my little one and she didnt pester me all night because she was obsessed with her yummy bone. Pooka37 You're right - COOKED chicken can splinter and cause havoc but if you feed the raw ones they're fine because dogs can break down the bones in their intestines so it doesnt pose as big a risk. Good idea about Nutro treats

Do you have a source for this info? Ive looked around and didnt find anything anywhere about it. I have been told though that the formula for Royal Canin can vary in different countries and with that being the case - BHA/BHT may be found in some of their food in some parts of the world. Yes i agree - BHA/BHT's are known to cause cancer but they are also found in all sorts of food and cosmetics too. Tocopherol is Vitamin E and from what i know the only reason why alpha tocopherol is more popular is because it has a higher profile? It is also only one form of Vitamin E no? Hmmmmm.... do u have any other info to substantiate this? You know i read through that article and it didnt seem to finger out alpha tocopherol as being far superior to mixedtocopherol [iMHO] I may have missed something though [its Friday afternoon so you will forgive me. ] You're right though - Nutro is a good food. As is Eagle Pack Holistic, Innova etc...

Here is the link for anyone interested The study i found was done in 2002 - where they listed some of the market leaders as being stuff like "Chum" , "Pedigree Meaty Bites", and "Pedigree Pal" . There is no doubt that since then better foods have emerged on the market. Maybe not on our market but certainly overseas where their pet food industry isn't self regulated like here in Australia. But then on the flip side - the AAFCO feeding trials are all done inhouse by the "Big Ben's" so where's the transparency there? In a simplistic way you could say this. But i would say that the reason that there are some foods that are more expensive would be because the quality of their ingredients was better no? For example - some of the cheap supermarket brands give a vague run down on their ingredients by listing stuff like " rice flour, corn" etc etc.. whereas with some premium foods they actually give you a specific breakdown of whats contained in their food. For example: "contains.. chicken meal" RATHER than saying something like "poultry" etc etc.. If i was going to pay decent money on food for my little one i would seriously eyeball what i was proposing to feed her to ensure that she was getting everything she needed and to also ensure that i was getting a better bang for my buck. True - and with a bit of sniffing around its easy to uncover these ones but mostly - the big companies - Nestle, Mars etc.. all make Iams, Euk, Purina and the supermarket brands too! Of course - the difference in prices equates with disparities in the quality of their ingredients. True to an extent as well [iMHO that is ] What about the better tinned stuff on the market? Natures Gift for example. I read somewhere that tinned is good sometimes for palatability and that the canning process itself preserves the foods so perservatives [per se] weren't required? Just my thoughts on the issue. Feel free to throw a dagger my way so we can dance.. LOL