ESCS

Panzer, I feel for you too as we have had similar experiences with our first tibbie, Miki. From the time he came to us as a 14 week old pup, he was an anxious edgy fellow who became fear aggressive with dogs. He could also be snappy and grumpy with children when he felt overwhelmed by them. He has come a long way with the help of a wonderful behaviourist, time and patience but we need to manage him carefully and have accepted that this will likely be forever. Like Scooter, Miki isn't an overly affectionate dog. He has moments when he enjoys interacting with us (not keen on cuddles or sitting on laps) but is generally quite aloof and standoffish preferring his own company and guarding our home. We had plans to do agility with him but while we managed to get to the required level of obedience for agility, he just did not have the temperament for it. He is, howver, a great guard/watch dog, loyal and devoted to us in his own way. It was a difficult journey for us to appreciate him for all the wonderful traits he has while dealing with our frustration and disappointment that he wasn't the dog we expected. We have wanted a dog for so many years but waited until our children were a little older and more independent so we had time to devote to our dog. We had all this love stored up to give to our pup and it completely threw me when we had a tibbie who was an independent spirit who just wasn't too interested in giving or receiving affection. I honestly felt at times we had a snappy, wound up alligator disguised in a sweet looking tibbie body! When Miki's issues with other dogs had settled somewhat and we had a handle on how to manage him, we decided we wanted a second dog ( deep down we still really wanted an 'affectionate' dog) but was very apprehensive that we would end up with another with Miki's personality. Two Miki's would have been a challenge too much for me! I got in touch with Mita who has been an absolute treasure and great support for us. She suggested a well socialised adult female tibbie (retired show dog) and found us our beautiful girl, Helen (from a wonderful breeder). She is everything we imagined and hoped for.She is loving, incredibly affectionate, enjoys cuddles, steady as a rock(gentle and well behaved with humans and dogs) and gets on like a house on fire with Miki. She is my little shadow! Miki now has a permanent four legged friend to play with and we have a dog that we can cuddle to our hearts content. Apologies for the long post but I just wanted to say that getting a second dog (another tibbie) was the best thing that we ever did. It may not be the right answer for others but it worked out well for us. Our two tibbies are very different but we love them both. I hope you find the dog of your dreams who will relish all the love you have to give.

Aussie Pet Resort at Woodford was recommended to us. I have not used them ( too far for us) but they may have vacancy as they are not in Brisbane. We useSamford Pet Resort. They could be full but they have sister resorts elsewhere. If you call them, they can give you contact numbers. Hope you find a place.

Would probiotics help? It seems to help our tibbie when he was recovering from a bout of gastro. Pig ears was the culprit especially when it has been buried for a few days. No pig ears for ours anymore (which they are pretty sad about!) or anything edible outside which can be buried. Hope your little one makes a speedy recovery. It's awful when they are miserable and unwell.

We have a tibbie with similiar issues. I have used Apex Cream which she has licked off on occassions. It didn't do her any harm but unfortunately, didn't help her situation as the cream didn't stay on long enough to work. I had the area around her armpits clipped to allow more air to dry the area out. I also used Curash powder as well as the cream and it has worked for us. I am not sure why but she is less likely to lick with the powder on (not sure if it tastes terrible or it offers some relief). Calendula tea (as often recommended on here) also helped ease the itch.Dreading the wet, humid Brisbane summer!

Congratulations! Lucky you. I use the skin & coat supplement for itchy/allergic dogs and it has worked well. I have also used the complete mix with raw meat and my tibbie loved it. Her coat looks great. I really like their products.I wouldn't mind winning a VAN voucher!

Our first came with a name chosen by the breeder. It's on his limited register papers. We kept it and just dropped the breeders' prefix (too much of a mouthful otherwise) but he thinks his name is ' dinner' (in English and Chinese)!. I call out 'dinner' and he always show up even if no one else does.

Thanks for your reply on psyllium husk, Persephone. It makes sense.

Can I ask the reason for soaking the psyllium husk?

There's a fenced dog park at Lake Windemere near the Rocks Riverside Park in Jindalee. It's 2 dog parks next to each other (one for small dogs and the much bigger one for bigger dogs) . I was there on a Sat morning and there was only one other dog using the park. If you're considering the Gold Coast, I love the off leash beach at Fingal Head ( close to the light house). It's a beautiful stretch of beach and wasn't crowded during the week we were there. It was wasted on our tibbies who did not like the sand or surf. One of our tibbies took off back to the house when he got wet from a wave!

You could cover a canvas with some nice fabric ( I use a staple gun) and sew the ribbons on to the canvas. I use felt sticker letters to create a heading. I have done this for my daughter's dance ribbons and old ballet shoes.

Thanks for the information, Nowstarin. My tibbie reacts to Advantix. It looks like he has been burnt with his skin going red. He was also yelping with pain which is very unlike him. The vet said it was a reaction to the treatment. I have used Frontline Plus on a couple of occasions when the tibbies were at the kennels and he was fine. I will try the Kiltix collar. The stats are helpful, thanks.

Would frontline plus be more effective than a tick collar for tick prevention? I have been using proban but now running out. I can't use Advantix, unfortunately.

Our Tibetan spaniel also had a bad reaction to Advantix (similar to burns mentioned by Donatella). I have been using Proban for ticks and Sentinel Spectrum for fleas and worms. It's worked well but we'll need an alternative soon for tick treatment.

One of our tibbies needed her anal glands expressed monthly. I read an article on the VAN website about anal glands and decided to change our tibbie's diet based on some of the information in the article. She is now on raw food (BARF and chicken wings/frames)) mixed with grated carrot and a tablespoon of whole oats (husk and all). She was also on VAN complete mix for awhile. Psyllium husk didn't make any difference for her as it may have been too finely processed. The combination of raw, bones and additional fibre from the oats has helped quite a lot. She has to work harder to relieve herself which perhaps is helping express those glands. We have been able to stretch out our visits to the vet. She's also not itchy anymore which is a big bonus!

I am so sorry for your loss and the pain and suffering you are going through. May you find some peace in your memories of him.

Mita found our second tibbie for us. She was retired to us when she finished her show career and Mum duties at 3years. She really was the whole package. A real credit to her breeder and upbringing as she is so well adjusted she just fitted right in. Only barks when someone is at the door ( very handy as my doorbell is temperamental)and is socialized with everything. I agree tibbies work things out for themselves and are also happy to do things on their own if we're busy. Unfortunately, mine have not worked out how to do the laundry which is where I'm headed now while my tibbie continues to sleep the day away on the porch swing. Such is life!!

We have a couple of tibetan spaniels who would be very happy to live in a flat. They are independent, fairly laid back but playful. They are clean and well behaved indoors. I don't have cats but I think they are a breed that should be ok with cats. They don't have a high exercise requirement but ours enjoy going for a walk daily and we also spend time at the park a couple of times a week. They have a 'wash and wear' coat ( brush 2 to 3 times per week and bath every few weeks) . Generally, they just enjoy being around us and are happiest lounging around with us, watching TV .

Thanks VAN. I will see if I can find human grade rabbit. I was concerned that the nutiritional balance may be off using both BARF and VAN. I might try her on the pre mix VAN with the kangaroo meat. Kangaroo didn't agree with my other tibbie but it might be ok for this one. It would be fantastic if it suits her as it would be very convenient.

I am using the complete mix with rabbit BARF patties as the meat component. Is this ok? I have been usingVAN products including the sensitive skin supplement and I very happy with them. Itching, hot spots and anal gland issues have disappeared. Coat is shiny and soft.

I have also called upon Jane to help us with our tibbie who has issues with anxiety. She was brilliant. What I liked about her is the time and effort she takes in her assessment of the problems and the cause of them. She was very good at helping us to understand what was happening with our tibbie and trained us in managing his anxieties. She is always happy to provide advice and support even after we have stopped seeing her. Nothing is too much trouble and she has an encouraging and positive approach. Our tibbie went from being so fearful of other dogs that he would not want to leave the house ( and was also aggressive towards other dogs ) to being a happy, confident dog who now loves his walks. He can still be reactive when he comes across dogs he doesn't know but with careful management, we can now walk past other dogs without hysterics! We had to send him and our other tibbie off to Samford Pet Resort last week and it nearly brought tears to my eyes to see him go off happily with the carer. There were other dogs around and quite a bit of barking but it did not bother him one bit. Without a doubt, we would not be in this situation if not for Jane.

When we had only one tibbie, he used to get anxious when we went out even when he was left inside. I found giving him puzzle toys with treats inside help distract him and keep him occupied. Treats and yogurt frozen in a kong was a favourite as is treats in a kong wobbler. I put in large and small treats in the wobbler as the small pieces come out easily and keeps him motivated to keep working for the big bits. I don't use it anymore as we now have 2 tibbies and he doesn't care if we go out as long as his mate is with him. However, he found the wobbler the other day and it was like he found his long lost friend. He kept smashing it around even without treats in it!

I have not tried this so I am not sure if it will work but a Brisbane vet told me that if our vet can write us a script for cyclosporin, I can order the medication directly from the company that makes them. They apparently deliver interstate. The vet said it is cheaper this way. She gave me the name of the company that makes this medication but I can't remember what it is as our tibbie's dose has now reduced to 3 times per week and it has become much more affordable. It might be worth looking into although I have not tried this myself and it was a couple of years ago when I was given this information ( I could be completely wrong!). While our tibbie doesn't have food allergies as such, the diet we have him on seems to have made a difference as it has allowed us to reduce our use of cyclosporin and cortisone. Sweet potato was recommended to us as something that may help allergic dogs. I wasn't sure if this was helping until I stopped giving him sweet potato a few weeks ago and he has become quite itchy again. It's not a cure but for us, it has helped so he's now back on it again. All the best in finding something that works for you. Skin issues can be so frustrating!

If it's not too far away, Fingal Head (near Tweed Heads) has a beautiful off leash dog beach ( the beach near the Fingal Lighthouse). Even our tibbies loved it in spite of the fact they don't really like sand and water!

My tibbie also had the same reaction with advantix.

Thanks for the advice.