~Anne~

I heard this on the radio this morning and then a few seconds later, drove past a dead cat on the road. Why can't people contain their cats. It is so much safer for them. Please, please, please cat owners. Keep your cats contained and keep them safe.

Wow. Poor little guy. That is certainly a change in diagnoses. He'll be ok with one eye. I have had two Pugs with only 1 eye and they coped fine.

I can answer on her behalf, no, it applies to NSW only.

I hope he is ok.

Ooops, just saw this was already mentioned. This is correct, dogs need Vit D. Send them outside every day. Fresh air and sunshine will do them some good.

Dogs have a vitamin D need just as we do. Many indoors dogs do not get the requirement of sun that they need. I'd force them out, depending obviously on weather, for a few hours every day minimum.

I have wanted one for sooooooo long! I am tired of playing 'doorman' in the throes of Winter and Summer. Spring and Autumn aren't too bad as I just leave the sliding door open. Hopefully I'll get one from Santa this year.

Firstly, for dry eye to cause a corneal ulcers, it is usually severe. I would have thought that you would have noticed an eye issue before now?? Dogs with dry eye commonly have mucky eyes and you'll notice that dirt will actually stick to the eye itself (dirt, not soft muck). The Optimmune is to help reverse pigmentary keratitis and the dry eye. It has worked very well on Pugs that I have had through, even reversing some loss of vision. The whiteness you are noticing may not be permanent and will probably fade as the eye heals. As stated above, dry eye isn't just in byb dogs. It is a common ailment in breeds with prominent eyes.

the schools system for a while went along the lines of "have a go" and chucked out teaching spelling. soo a whole generation of kids spell "like it sounds" its not their fault but it can leave you with the screaming jim jams when it comes to trying to teach em how you REALLY spell words. What an absolute load of rot. I mean seriously.

There would be someone they could ask to proof read. It has nothing to do with computer literacy really. Obviously there will always be exceptions. Impressions count whether we like it or not. People will and do judge.

Agree. Sorry, but if you are aware that you are not fabulous with english, regardless of the reason, then you should have someone else proof read or you should utilise things like spellcheck. Plain and simple. Communication is a very important tool and it should be effective. To not have it checked is simply laziness and poor management. I would be wondering what other lazy or poorly made decisions they would be making when it came to their breeding programs and the care overall of their dogs.

thanks anne, yes, i mean the human kind I'd say she simply hiccuped. As Jaxx has said, it is quite a distinctive sound when they reverse sneeze. I t can be very alarming for people to witness if they don't understand it. It is quite harmless though in 99% of cases and it is a very common thing.

The dogs I have seen hiccup don't tend to make a sound with it. You only see a visual of the spasm.

When you say 'hiccup' are you meaning like a human hiccups? ie and invluntary spasm of the diaphram? Or are you more referring to the sound??

The terminology isn't just harsh for me, it is harsh period. I would suggest that if your dog is that bad, it needs further investigation perhaps? Dogs can drink when reverse sneezing also, I have seen many of them do it because it is one way that I fix the issue when it occurs for more than a few seconds. Dogs do not continously reverse sneeze without respite, if they did they would lack oxygen and collapse... which usually would fix the palate issue if it were one anyway. Living and rescuing dogs known to reverse sneeze on a regular basis has afforded me the opportunity to try many methods to alleviate the problem. At the very bottom of my list would be to forceably hold a dogs mouth closed. If it works for you, then all is good. I am sure we all have our methods but I would not ever recommend it.

Cindy was what you would consider a tad 'broad around the girth'.

no need to be alarmed its not clamping and the dogs is very happy to have this done as it reassures her. dont read too much into something that is hard to explain It wasn't you who used this terminology and that I was quoting. You said "....when i hold her mouth gently closed...." which is a little different. The term 'clamping shut' would give readers the idea they should use force to close the dogs mouth. Nothing needs to be done and doing this may stress the animal more.

Cindy, the Kelpie cross Lab that was owned by my first husband, was 16 when I met her and 19 when she died. She was fed dinner scraps, canned food (can't recall the brand) and no-name kibble from Franklins. No-one knows where she came from, she simply wandered into my ex's work as a pup. The oldest Pug that I have ever known died last year (I think it was last year) at 17 years of age. She was fed Natures Gift tinned food. Two of my current dogs are all heading into the early part of their senior years at 8 years of age, and almost 8, and Olivia is now 6 (but looks 100). The two eldest are fed primarily a raw and natural diet with kibble as well and sometimes Naturs Gift canned food. Olivia eats only her prescription kibble. I doubt Monte will live to be a very old dog due to his ongoing epilepsy, and possibly not Boof given that he has already had one low grade MCT removed... and I am not so sure Olivia will live forever either given her previous condition and treatment before she came to me. I 100% agree that the longevity of a dog is primarily luck and genes.

I am alarmed at the thought of 'clamping' a dogs mouth shut that is reverse sneezing Many dogs are distressed when this occurs and the more forceful actions such as holding their nose or clamping their mouths will only stress them more. It is thought to be cause by an irritation with or around the soft palate. Bracchy breeds are more prone usually becuase of elongated palates and other issues relating to the respiratory system. It can happen in any breed however. Sometimes, windy conditions, spring and dust can exascerbate it. My advice is to leave the dog alone when it happens or gently reassure them. You can not make it stop until the irritant (be that a soft palate that is hanging in the airway or soemthing else) is gone. If it persists, give the dog a drink and this will hopefully settle the palate, if this is what it is, or wash away any irritant.

He'll need loads of reassurance as he adjusts. Agree with everything everyone has said above too. He is probably feeling very stressed, disorientated and unsure.

Did they test for crystals? There is an easy way for you to do this too. Put paper under her next wee and then let the paper dry in the sun. If you see crystally bits, then I would think she might have struvites or similar and an associated infection. Dogs urinating often, and only small amounts, sounds like a bladder issue of some sort. Perhaps wait and see what the ABs do and if nothing changes, leave it for 48 hours after the ABs have finished and get another urine sample off to the vet.

I often wonder, when reading the comments of those who determindedly push barf or raw diets for dogs, just how much commercial food they eat themselves and also feed their families. McDonalds anyone? Hmmm, butter chicken? What about a jar of pasta sauce with that pasta.... or even a slice of bread? Perhaps you'd like a biscuit or muesli bar? No? What about a glass of cordial, cola or even a coffee with white sugar? A beer or wine perhaps? Lets put some of those canned peaches with some cream for dessert or grab that bar of chocolate. Now, finish off with a ciggie and all is right with the world...but damn, you make sure your dog is crammed full of natural ingredients less they get cancer or be poisoned in some other way. Commercial food for my dawg, never!

Durability, plush and no small parts that can come off and cause choking.

I agree that the environment we now live in, and our dogs live in, has to be in the debate somewhere as a detrimental factor, however both dogs and humans are now living longer on average. There is a much larger picture in the debate then simply environment, diet or genetics. I would think it is a combination of all three, and others as well. For anyone to single out commercial food (this one seems to be the most common thing blamed), genetics or environment is wrong and giving an inaccurate view im my opinion at any rate.

Sardines - once each week, in water. Eggs - this is mixed in their raw mix - 1 egg to around 500gms mince and veges. Sometimes I will give them egg and yoghurt or egg and water/pet milk as a drink although this is only around once a month and it is 1 egg between 3 of them.