ESCS

Our dog has contact allergies too and this summer has been bad. We do what we can to keep the grass cut and remove offending weeds such as wandering jew but his allergies still flair up. He is on cyclosporin daily and this has made a huge difference. Antihistamines were not working for him. I also found that washing him in a hydrobath helped as it was more effective in washing off pollutants. We use QV wash as it is fragrance free and was recommended by our vet.

I used Pets in Peace recently when we had to PTS our cat. They were very professional and compassionate especially the person that brought her ashes home to me. I was very upset and he was so sympathetic. I would recommend them.

Thanks very much for the advice, everyone. We use Sentinel Spectrum and Proban (for ticks) as well but have to use capstar on the odd occasion when he comes home from day care with a flea or two. It will be much easier to pick up Capstar at the supermarket when I'm doing the grocery shopping and it is a little cheaper as well. Sunnyflower, I will definitely think about Comfortis. My only concern is that our dog has sensitive skin and stomach. I've heard that Comfortis can have some side effects for some dogs and have hesitated to use it in case our dog reacts to it. He cannot tolerate any of the spot ons so we've been using the combination of Sentinel and Capstar.

I am just wondering if anyone uses Exelpet Capstar which I've noticed is sold in supermarkets and K-Mart. Is it the same thing as the other capstar? Thanks.

We've had no problems with marking with our desexed male. He was also very easy to toilet train.

Our little Miki has changed all our lives but he has made the most difference to my daughter's life. Our daughter is naturally shy and reserved and had difficulties forming friendships at school. As a mother, it is heartbreaking to hear that your daughter doesn't have anyone to play with at lunch and doesn't have the confidence to join in with existing groups. It was about this time that Miki came to live with us. From the time that he joined our family as a 13 week old pup, he has been a devoted and loyal mate for my daughter. His love for her is unconditional and constant. He waits for her to come home every day and is always there to give her tibbie kisses and cuddles. No matter how hard the day at school may have been, she has him to come home to. Those beautiful doggy eyes literally shine with love and it is pretty difficult not to feel special under such an assault of love and attention! While we did everything we could to give our daughter the love and security she needed, it was Miki's unconditional love, friendship and devotion that helped her grow into a confident and secure person. She is now having a great time at school and has many lovely friends to play with but she never forgets her little furry friend who was always there for her when times were tough. I'm sure most people say this but we really could not imagine life without Miki. He is a star even on his naughtiest days!

When our dog had a yeast infection in his paws (he was doing lots of paw chewing and licking too), our vet told us to wash his paws with Malaseb shampoo daily for about a week or so. I left the shampoo on for about 10 minutes before washing it off. I only washed his paws as malaseb can be drying to the skin if used too often. It cleared up his infection.

I dilute the Bio Zet similiar to if I was hand washing clothes (which is not very often!). I sponge the area with the Bio Zet solution first and then sponge it again with clean water. After that, I use either a chamois or paper towels to pat dry the area as much as possible. I haven't noticed any residue. I don't use too much powder and make sure it's all diluted before I wash the carpet. I'm a big fan of Bio Zet as it has saved our carpets and sofas from all the times the kids threw up. They were definitely messier than our tibbie who only had a couple of accidents when toilet training. Our tibbie can be a bit of a chucker and I have used Bio Zet to get rid of the smell.

I have also used Urine Off on light colored carpet and had no problems with it (carpet remained the same color). It worked very well. I have also used Bio Zet washing powder (which is meant to have enzymes that neutralises odors) and it has worked as well. It is also cheaper as that is the washing powder I use for laundry and I always have some at home.

We have a tibbie in Brisbane where it's often hot and humid. You do feel for them in this climate but our breeder told us not to be tempted to clip him as his coat is meant to keep him insulated. We have the area around his bottom clipped ( hygiene reasons), fur around his paws trimmed and nails clipped every 3 to 4 weeks but that's about it. Grooming him daily has helped to keep the shedding under control. I use a blunted slicker brush first and them a bristle brush. It also helped to give him a hydrobath (instead of a bath in the laundry tub) from time to time. It seems to get a lot more loose hair out and he definitely looks cleaner. Our tibbie does feel the heat so we have to keep him cool in other ways ( A/C on hot days, walking him early in the morning etc). Nothing to do with grooming but they're great dogs, aren't they?

We have a tibbie too and he plays very well with our friend's toy poodle. The poodle has higher energy levels than our tib which means that when Miki has had enough running around, he will flop down and nothing the poodle does will get him back on his feet until he is absolutely ready. Even as a puppy, our tibbie was laid back but playful; affectionate but not clingy (he's pretty independent). Great indoor dogs as well ( clean and generally speaking, can be relied on not to wreck the house when left alone). Mita, I am hoping to do agility with Miki sometime this year. We have one more level of obedience training to get through and then he will be eligible to join agility training. Recall is our biggest challenge! I haven't thought about the issue with their body shape being unsuitable for agility work. Will have to see how he copes as I wouldn't want to cause him any discomfort. You're right about how swift and agile they are (they run like a hare)!

Orange? Although, I am one of those who think purple is fine for a boy! Our SWF boy is always mistaken for a girl so he wears orange, brown and black (not that he cares!).

We very recently crate trained our 2 year old tibbie so he can be in our air conditioned room on hot nights (he is not allowed in the bedrooms otherwise). Our dog is used to having access to most of the downstairs as well as the landing at the top of the stairs. I was very worried that he would not take to being contained (and he can be very stubborn) but after the initial hiccup, he adjusted very quickly and sleeps quietly (other than the snoring!) in his crate until we let him out in the morning. What made a difference for us was the size of the crate. I bought one of those extra large soft crates from 'Top Buy' after reading that fabulous thread posted on DOL about how cheap these crates were. I thought I had gone overboard when the crate arrived (it was huge and our dog is a small one) but it has worked out really well. The large size meant he could move around freely in the crate and I was able to put his favourite donut bed and soft toys in along with a bowl of water and treats to chew on. I left the door open initially and let him find his way there on his own. Once I saw him lying comfortably inside, I closed the door. Our children were told the crate was off limits to them at all times. He did bark on and off the first time but he stopped when I ignored the barking. When he was quiet for a while, I let him out and gave him a treat and lots of praises. He was fine from then onwards. Good luck with the crate training. It has worked for us and has made it so much easier to ask friends to look after him when we are on holidays as they know that they can put our dog in his crate at night so he is not wandering around their house when they are sleeping. I also feel better that they can keep him safe in his crate if there are young children about who may not be familiar with dogs.

I would recommend a tibbie too for a small fluffy family dog. My girls are 8 and 5 and our tibbie is devoted to them as they are to him. We did a lot of research on the breed that fits in best with our family and lifestyle and have never regretted getting a tibbie. Our tibbie has a medium length coat that satisfies my children's love of brushing dogs without needing a huge amount of effort on my part to keep it looking good. My youngest daughter was crying because she fell over. I was a little slow in getting to her but our tibbie was with her in a second and would rub and smooch her until she stopped. It was very obvious that he was trying hard to comfort her. Great breed for kids as long as they are treated with respect and can be indoors with their family.

I was diagnosed with whooping cough last year. It was constant, dry coughing which was similiar to asthma. I didn't have the distinct whooping sound just lots of coughing. It was difficult to tell between whooping cough and asthma but a blood test will diagnose whooping cough. I also had asthma as a child which I outgrew until my mid to late 30's. It came back and the doctor said it is common for children to outgrow asthma and for the condition to re appear later in life.

Our tibbie is atopic and suffers from contact allergies with the main culprit being wandering jew. Very hard plant to get rid off. We ended up pulling out as many as we could and using Round Up ( on a hot day) for the rest and it seems to have worked. The vinegar treatment didn't work although was really good for other weeds! We also use a combination of Atopica (cyclopsorin ?) and cortisone (when allergies flare up) as well as claratyne. During the winter months, the allergies are kept controlled with just Atopica and anti histamines but we have had to use cortisone as well in the summer months. I have noticed a big difference since we started using Atopica. We also wash him every 2 weeks at least with QV wash and fragrant free Alpha Keri oil as recommended by his vet. Neocort cream and paw paw ointment has worked for us in clearing up the red, raw spots from scratching. Along with keeping him on a diet suitable for his skin allergies, we have finally managed to keep his itching under control. Hope you find something that works for your dog.

Congratulations to Judy and her support team for a great outcome. If she still need funds to cover legal costs, I would be happy to make a contribution ( not sure where to find her bank details). Our tibbie is from Judy and we will always be grateful to her for our lovely, little guy.

Jane is based in Caboolture but will travel. We have used both Jane (behaviour issues) and Wagtails (obedience classes) and both are very good. Jane is brilliant with behavioural issues. Our dog is fear aggressive with other dogs and he has come a long way with Jane's help. Obedience classes at Wagtails have also made him more confident.

We have a tibbie who regularly needs the fur around his paw pads trimmed as well as having his nails clipped. I use Four Paws at Bardon (Macgregor Tce) and have found them very good. Our dog doesn't like anything done to his paws but they are great with him and do a neat job. He attends Day Care at this place so I have been able to watch the dogs being groomed when I collect our dog. The dogs always look well groomed although I am no expert. At any rate, I haven't noticed any strange hair cuts! They are also located next door to the best cupcake shop which is a bonus for me!!!

There's also Imparra Pet Resort at Ipswich which was recommended to us by the day care that our dog goes to. The people at Samford Pet Resort are lovely and very accomodating. I tried to book our tibbie into their individual suites for the Christmas holidays but they were booked up. November might still be ok. My cat has been a regular at Brookfield Pet Chalet for many years and I really like them. Our cat loves it there as she never wants to come home. We haven't tried the kennels but the carers there are very professional and the place is well kept.

I use Proban tablets as my dog reacts to spot on treatments. So far, it has worked to keep ticks away. It has to be taken every couple of days.

I managed to get my fussy dog to eat kibble by mixing some natural yogurt through it. Mind you, he only likes the Greek style yogurt!

If you still want to use the puppy pads, you can get trays that you attach the pads too. It's pretty hard to drag one of those plastic trays around until they are a bit older. I found mine in either Woolies or Coles. Also at pet shops but much more expensive. Mine use to tear up the pads. The tray stopped him tearing it up but he never learnt to use the pad. I also ended up focusing on taking him outside and he picked that up very quickly.

It may also help to be careful where/how you socialise him. If he's a bit anxious, having positive experiences with calm friendly dogs will be helpful but negative experiences with reactive or over the top dogs may add to his fears. It is something we should have been more careful with when we were socialising our pup who has a tendency to be anxious and fearful around other dogs. Taking him to an off leash park was a mistake for us as he couldn't cope with all the dogs rushing up to him.

I haven't used any kennels yet but have been checking them out recently for our small dog. The ones recommended to me are Imparra Pet Motel at Ipswich( has the Li'l Doggy Fun House for dogs under 10kg which I am considering), Samford Pet Resort ( has individual suites that can house more than 1 dog), Moggill Pet Hotel (Anstead?) and Pet Chalet (Brookfield). They all have websites and welcome visits.