~Anne~

I have two desexed male Pugs. One was desexed at 6 months and the other was just over 2. The guy that was done early has far less hair then the guy that was done later to the point where I have to put a coat on him even on days like yesterday because he gets cold..... so the 'hair' theory seems to not work here. As for longer in the legs, he is longer in the legs then the other guy without a doubt though but this could also be due to breeding (as could the hair). This argument of the good and bad of early desexing needs to be weighed up against ALL of the good and bad in each particular situation. Obviously having a dog slightly longer in the leg doesn't mean much if the dog is desexed because you are not going to breed or show it. If it affected a working dogs ability to work or a sporting dogs ability to hunt or whatever then I guess it might be a concern for people in these groups. In rescue, I would advocate desexing anything that was physcially big enough to and healthy enough to desex regardless of age because the good far outweighs the bad in this arena.

I always remove mine myself. I use a stitch cutter. You can use nail scissors just as effectively. Cut the stitch on on side of the knot and, holding the end with the knot, pull the thread through and out.

I would ring my vet and speak to him about my concerns and then follow his advice. Afterall, he is the expert in these matters and we are only offering the advice that we know and opinions. Vets are best for the final word in 99% of cases.

And this is how she looked after 6 weeks of treatment (edited cause she looks even better now which is around 5 months after the first pic!)

Here is a pic of how bad it can get if left untreated or if not treated correctly..... this is a 15mth old Pug bitch that was notcied to have demodex at 8 weeks.

If the scrape was confirmed then I would follow their advice even though, personally, I think it might be alittle over the top. But, on the other hand demodex can spread very quickly and easily and can be very difficult to get under control so I guess they are just being cautious.

Why has he been put on antibiotics? Unless there is a secondary skin infection (usually initiated by all of the scratching) then there isn't a need for them. They are also in unusual spots.... normally it starts around the face. Did your vet do a scrape to confirm it was demodex? If it is demodex then the Ivermectin is important. This can be given by injection of orally as well. Sebazole is only a bacterial wash.

Getting rid of your carpet works even better!

White vinegar is great for cleaning and removing odours I have recently discovered! I also use nilodour and mix it with the spray I use to clean my floors.

1.Would you feel that paying 4 times as much for one over the other is justified and if so which one. ? Based on the limited information you have supplied I would say at this point no, I wouldn't be prepared to pay 4 times as much for either becuase the information is too limiting. The technique that appears to have been used to list the ingredients could give the impression that product B is better quality as they have grouped the cereals whereas product A has listed them individually. If product A also has the same percentage of meat products as product B then I would put them close to equal each other in value as they both appear to have equal or close to equal nutritional values as listed. 2.Would you choose to try the most expensive or the cheapest first ? If they were comparable products I would opt for the cheaper version providing it was a brand I trusted. 3. Do you choose your dog food based on something else? Trust and knowledge of brand and referral.

I give mine their eggs mixed with pet milk and lightly whisked to mix the egg in. (Do a chook a favour and steer clear of eggs from caged chooks)

Thanks Rusky! I wonder if this will help my epileptic dog. He wakes me every day anywhere between 4.30am - 5.30am and we have tried everything for more then 2 years trying to stop him.... it might make him more relaxed perhaps?

K9: yes, & there lays the problem with Internet advice. Your initial description left out the humping & marking, but did say he is barking to find company? This would be a stress issue if the marking etc wasnt present... There could be other signs that would give us more direction, hence the advice, read the dogs body language... I assume the DAP Defuser is available from Pet supply places? I thought perhaps the marking may have been related to him 'mapping' out his area..... so he knew where he'd been and he was perhaps marking his spot so he didn't get lost. He only does this when he thinks he is on his own because no-one is near him..... he kind of wanders around aimlessly as if looking to see of he can come across company (even though we may be only a few feet away he can't hear or sense us). He's been desexed since he was 12 months of age and is now 7 years old.... not sure if he had issues with marking before as the person who surrendered him kept him outside all the time and he was an only dog. Now he is with two other Pugs and is inside most of the time. He has never humped humans, only the other dogs.

Do you mean 'rank' as in his place in the pack??

Ummm... yeah I guess I did but I thought that by following this with; "He is not barking just for the sake of it or because he can hear a noise (coz he can't hear noises...)..." and "As he can not hear me if I growl at him or tell him to stop I have been using a water spray..." and "How on earth do I control his barking when he can not see or hear me?" I thought it would be obvious he wouldn;t hear a little bell. Thanks for this. What is a DAP Defuser?

I did this last night and made a real point of letting him know what a good lad he was when he was being quiet (and not marking in the house or humping... which are the other two exasperating things I am trying to change) and he did show improvement so perhaps this is the only option I have to alter his behaviours???

He's deaf...................... Unless I put cow bells on the dogs and play the music up very loud he won't hear it.... and all it will result in is very upset neighbours and my other dogs requiring physio after their necks being put out of alignment.

Do I ask hard questions or is it nobody wants to offer suggestions?

Thanks for your response Dog Logics. Ralphy is 7 years old. There is no obvious reason for his deafness but his sight is due to pigmentary keratitis. The damage to the cornea is from sever and chronic dry eye and so neither disability is age related. His health check was all clear and so he isn't in any pain or discomfort.... just lonely I think as even tho you may be only 2 feet away he doesn't know you are there if you are still and quiet. When you say 'vibrations' do you mean acutal movement or a sense of movement? The cube might be a good idea although he still will not chew on toys or smoked bones (I am yet to try a fresh bone) so it may not work for him.

I have rescue that is almost completely blind and has very little hearing..... and is an avid barker. He is not barking just for the sake of it or because he can hear a noise (coz he can't hear noises...), but rather, it appears he is barking to find company? When he is put outside he immediately starts barking at the door wanting to come back in. He does this off and on non-stop ALL day. He is put in a puppy pen at night inside to sleep and wakes anywhere form 3am to 4.30am and barks. He does this off an on until he is fed breakfast. As he can not hear me if I growl at him or tell him to stop I have been using a water spray everytime he barks (obviously while I ma not around during the day he can bark all day and no-one sprays him). The water spray is only resulting in him becomeing very wet! It stops him in the short term only. How on earth do I control his barking when he can not see or hear me? Am I being too impatient perhaps? His barking habit has no doubt built up over the 6 years so that he has been blind and I have only been using the water spray for 5 days. Can anybody offer a solution? He is being rehomed this Sunday and his new owners are keen to work with whatever I tell them.

Is this because many people are using heartworm preventative, just as vaccines have reduced the incidence of other diseases? Yes. And mosquitos have to bite a dog infected with heartworm larvae to become a carrier of heartworm as far as I recall. So, once the idea of preventatives took hold, less dogs had it which meant less mosquitoes carried it which mena tless dog were infected by it and so it goes.

A quick call around to the vets in the area will give them an indication of the prevelance of heartworm in the region. I was only having a discussion myslef about this last night with my vet. He stated that he had not treated a case of heartworm for over a year and that the prevelance of heartworm has reduced dramatically over the last 20 years.

Mine too. They only get a small fistfull of kibble per day and, as i said earleir, I've never had a problem. I've just bought a pack of Nature's Gift kibble to trial but I haven't opened it yet. Has anyone tried it yet?

Good god... that explains our stand-off... I am an Aries as well!

I use Optimum and have never had any issues with it.