morgan

Go for it! Shouldn't think the liability insurance would be much at all - it's not like you are doing anything life threatening like horse riding or motorbikes. My public liability ($10m) and business insurance for over $100,000 of equipment only costs $340pa. You might not have the time at the moment for paying customers, but there might be a time in the future where it would be worth having a morning a week for paying customers! Very handy option if you suddenly have ginormous vet bills etc - you could tell friends that it is your insurance policy in case of lost jobs, vet bills etc. Non doggy people always understand that idea

I always keep vit C in case, as it is hard to get AV out my way, even for people - but I would have a lot of trouble injecting it unless the animal was already collapsed. You would certainly have a fight on your hands! I have only ever injected vit C into a drip line myself. Having injected many syringes full of refrigerated, viscous antibiotics into horses' muscle tissue with 18 gauge needles over the years I know how much it hurts an animal that is conscious. Finding a usable vein in a snakebite victim could be easier said than done. The only time I ever had an intramuscular antibiotic shot I fainted from the pain, so I know exactly what it feels like.

So how was this conclusion arrived at? Were all cases of vit c successes attributed to the 25% who would have survived anyway? Were vit c failures assessed for timing, amount given, subsequent vet treatment etc - all variables that could have a huge impact? How many of the 75% who die without antivenom are given vit C? Or are they just left to die? From my experience of orthodox medicine, practitioners tend to think that anything over a few thousand mgs is a massive dose, which is sheer ignorance. An average goat manufactures 13,000 mgs of vit c daily and will make over 100,000mgs daily if very stressed, so giving 5,000 mg to a bitten dog would probably make little difference. It is just like the studies that "prove" that taking 1,000 mgs a day doesn't prevent colds - of course it doesn't, more is needed than that, but to use this to prove that vit c doesn't prevent colds in general is manipulation of the truth. A friend of mine is married to a vet who studied and worked in Holland - they have both used vit c for snakes, ticks etc for years. She said even Adelaide Zoo always uses it. PS - I would never give anything by mouth to a snakebite victim either, unless it was in the first few minutes before any symptoms had appeared.

Kennel cough is viral, so antibiotics won't help. These are only indicated if the dog ends up with a nasty secondary infection. Kennel cough doesn't last more than 3 weeks anyway, so why give antibiotics for 3 weeks? When the dog does cough it is usually worse with exercise, not just a cough every now and then. The diplomatic thing to say is that the vet was erring on the side of safety, in reality the vet sounds like he/she doesn't have a clue My vet says he prescribes ice cream to soothe the throat! :p

Early desexing increases the chance of cancer in dogs. From - Long Term Health Effects Of Spay Neuter In Dogs As hemangiosarcoma is a problem in boxers you would be better off waiting until he is at least 12 mths. Also he should almost have finished growing by then so you will not damage closure of his growth plates, which would alter his height and increase his chance of cruciate ligament rupture. As boxers are a very active breed they are at a higher risk of CLR than more sedentary breeds. Conclusions from the above site -

Completely off topic - just noticed you were from Kuttabul - do you still have that amazing Anzac Day dawn ceremony up there? Blew me away when I was there! Well, the ceremony and all the traditional rum and milks afterwards :rolleyes: Cute pub too...

Here's a US vet's comment on the Hills recall -

There is some talk in the US that the cause might not be as simple as rat poison - some people are calling for vets to do tox screens on affected dogs to look for other possibilites. Apparently the symptom pictures don't quite fit. Much easier to blame an accidentally contaminated imported ingredient than look for other problems.

The unpublicised joys of absolute versus relative risk There is always a suitable risk percentage to suit their argument!

Dogs are designed to be able to eat raw meat that has gone off - that is so that they can bury meat for later if they have too much to eat at once. It is a survival mechanism - not pretty, but doable. Cooked meat that has gone off is highly toxic, and can cause food poisoning in dogs as easily as it can in people. Your dogs are simply being sensible refusing off ham, and obeying their instincts on food safety.

I have had many, many bitches over 30 years, and my mother before that. In all that time we have only ever had two bitches get mammary cancer, both were subsequently spayed and both lived to ripe old ages. Certainly nowhere near 26%, but then my bitches were never spayed, so I guess that figure doesn't apply to them. I also never vaccinate after puppy shots, which keeps their immune systems much healthier and able to resist cancer better. Their systems are also free of all the chemicals and toxins put in the vaccines, so less chance of getting cancer in the first place.

Protech is actually only needed once if given after 12 weeks. My latest litter was vaccinated with Parvac (parvo only) at 10 weeks and my new vet said that a single Protech C3 four weeks later was all they needed. She was very happy to be giving them their first shot at 10 weeks - said she hates being asked to do 6 week old pups, and advises against it.

My vet charges $100 for titre testing, but as the samples have to be sent to Perth, where you live alters the cost of getting it there. He agrees with me that annual boosters are absolutely unnecessary and even with ordinary vaccinations are not needed more than every three years. Of course he still sends out yearly reminders to all his customers - he says that if they want it done, who is he to argue?

Why is it called a vaccination? It is an injection of a long acting drug designed to poison microfilariae if an infected mosquito bites - it does not stimulate antibodies against heartworms! Admittedly every single vaccination against a virus on the market contains poisonous chemicals as well as killed or live virus, but these injections are designed to produce antibodies, not poison the system. Manufacturer's Warning Letter

Can thoroughly recommend Designer Dogs in Waitara - know many people who swear by her (and she is a registered breeder/showie of over 30 years standing herself)

$$$$$$$ Maybe they figure they can surprise newbie puppy owners and trick them into it before they have a chance to find out the adverse effects of Proheart (like death)

C3 every 3 years is the maximum your dog needs unless you need to put him in a boarding kennel that insists on annual C5s. There are boarding kennels that accept C3s. A C7 is pointless for an adult, as Corona is usually only fatal with young pups, mostly before vaccination age. Leptospirosis is only a problem in a few areas in Australia, and I doubt that yours is one of them. The more separate components in a vaccine, the more potential for serious adverse reaction, which is why many people now give single vaccines to their dogs overseas - you can give the parvo component, followed up by the distemper one a fortnight later, minimising any harmful effects. These two vaccines are the only ones you need, as canine hepatitis has been a non event in this country for at least 2 decades.

All our dog droppings go into an enclosed bin, and if I forget to sprinkle diatomaceous earth on them, maggots appear within 2 days. These dogs are fed superpremium food plus raw bones - flies are very determined critters, and we have a few around because of the horses.

The only time mine have ever had KC was from a show at Castle Hill where the dogs sitting next to us were coughing. By the time I could find somewhere else to sit it was too late Managed to fix it in a few days, but not before every single dog at home had caught it. Seeing as this is the only KC incident I have had in over 30 years of showing, I could have wasted a helluva lot of money on C5s for all the dogs I've had here, not to mention seriously damage their health.

Why do you vaccinate pregnant bitches? I thought that one went out of fashion twenty years ago? I would be very scared of injecting toxic preservatives and adjuvants into a pregnant bitch in case they crossed the placenta, as well as the immunological assault at a very vulnerable time for bitch and puppies. None of my dogs has ever had a post puppy shot since the seventies, and have only had 5 cases of cancer in almost 100 dogs in that time, only one of which was fatal. No epilepsy, diabetes, arthritis or any other chronic disease in that time, apart from a few with ear infection problems (a problem in the breed)

The cynic in me says that vets are less concerned with losing annual vaccination income than they are losing the income from treating the chronic side effects of annual vaccination, many of which need lifelong management and medication, like epilepsy etc. Which AVA adopted Jean's protocol, was it the US one? I spoke to Sydney University Vet Dept recently, and they were adamant that they would not recommend a 3 yearly protocol, unless it was a specific 3 yr vaccine, and only if this tested out ok (they are still running trials on it apparently)

Renters across the road have a rotty that barks every 2 minutes for a couple of hours in the evening, and then again from about 11pm to 1am or 2am - have complained several times without success. It stands barking at the front gate directly across the road from my bedroom, which is only a few metres from the road. Their lab x often joins in and regularly escapes, coming into our place - nothing changes. I consider this to be extremely excessive. It barks other times during the day, which doesn't concern me - it is at night that it really cheeses me off.

I buy it by the pallet! Cheaper that way...

One of my dogs was debarked years ago - although a very large bitch, she had an ear-piercing pitch to it when she got worked up. At home this was not a problem - I only had to pick up a hose and she would smile and trot off, knowing she had my full attention! However at shows it was another story - she would start the moment I walked away. I could be standing six feet in front of her, showing another dog and she would eyeball me, barking the whole time. Everyone else complained bitterly, as it had a particularly ear destroying note, and without a hose there was nothing I could do to stop her. She was done by a vet who was an expert at it, and she was only done fairly lightly, more to alter the pitch rather than silence her. We always used to call her "Marlena Dietrich", as she had the lowest, sexiest, huskiest bark you ever heard - still fairly loud, but not ear splitting ;) She went to shows for a number of years after this, and we never got abused again ;)

Am just curious as to which over the counter medications are used to cure distemper or parvo? BTW - paralysis from polio almost always only occurred in those who had had tonsillectomies, as it was the tonsils that protected against the polio virus. When the doctors realised the connection they stopped doing the routine tonsillectomies that had been the custom since the 1920's, but they sure as hell didn't publicise this! ;) Just google polio+tonsillectomies!