morgan

Sounds like he has serious issues about food - often if they have been badly underfed for ages, they will treat every scrap of food like their last. Can you leave some good quality dry food down for him 24/7 for a while in addition to meat, sardines etc? This way he would learn not to bolt his food, and there wouldn't be so much to clean up at the other end..

Unfortunately, many fleas are now resistant to Frontline Plus - had a cocker here for a week a while ago that was crawling with fleas - Frontlined him, and 5 days later he still had fleas. As he was kept confined on concrete the whole time I was able to see how few dead fleas there were (Had to do this as I have never had fleas here, and didn't want to start!) Ended up giving him Capstar to kill them, then a hydrobath before he went home. When I commented on the fleas, they said they had been Frontlining him every fortnight, and bathing him following the directions, but he always had fleas. Apparently they wanted to use up their supply before they tried a different brand

Ditto on the flaxseed oil! Fish oil is much better in capsules, for obvious reasons Wouldn't touch standard vegetable or canola oils with the proverbial ten foot barge pole - as they are dangerous for people, I wouldn't give them to a dog - they simply cause far too many degenerative diseases! This includes sunflower, safflower, cottonseed etc. Even olive oil should be extra virgin or nothing (no chemical or heat extraction)

Homoeopathic "Bryonia" usually gets rid of it in 2 or 3 days, especially if you get it very early. No need to be paranoid at all!

Vit c - you can buy "Nature's Own" Sodium ascorbate powder at most health food shops and a lot of the bigger chemists - it is very salty in taste, so you need to put a teaspoon of it (about 3gms of vit c) in enough water so it isn't too strong, and syringe it down the pup's throat several times a day. Also give a zinc tablet daily, plus some flaxseed oil (or keep up with the fish oil) for omega-3s. If these don't help, try a homoeopath, but skin problems can take a while to sort out this way unless you are lucky!

Can't help with advice on Phenergan, and have never had a dog with allergies in 30 yrs (no annual boosters!) but have had lots of success treating human allergies with vitamin c. Maybe it would be worth a try? Several doses of a non-acidic vit c (eg sodium ascorbate powder) each day works on all sorts of human allergies, even had success with an allergy to cats, so I don't see why it wouldn't help with dogs.. as for dosage, I would try dosing to bowel tolerance first, just to see how much the body needs, then drop back a little. At least there are no side effects, and in large doses in puppies helps prevent hip dysplasia by strengthening connective tissues!

So sorry to hear of your loss. Is the vet sure it was Wobblers? Normally it needs a myelogram to be diagnosed - I have had a false positive from a spinal xray alone. As Wobblers is normally a progressive syndrome it seems a bit strange to me - was the vet just using the breed's problem with this to give an answer? In all the breeds it strikes, most breeders are trying very hard to eradicate it.

Dont' worry about what the vets say - if they want to follow the mantra of processed foods/grains, annual vaccinations and early desexing, that is their choice, after all, that is how they get their income! And it is your choice to do your own research and work out what is healthiest for your dog. Vets are great for medical emergencies - just don't ask for advice on how to keep dogs so healthy that they don't need vet care.. My pups all start on chicken necks at 5 weeks, and hopefully finish when they die of old age in their teens. Haven't used marrow bones in over 20 years - was sick of out of hours visits to vets to extract bits of bone from their palates - another easy, nice little earner for them

What is her diet? She may be allergic to something there - many dogs constantly chew or lick because of what they are eating. If she is getting dry food, does it contain wheat, soy or corn? These are common allergens in people as well as dogs. Soy is especially toxic. Dogs do not need grains. Are there any artificial colours, flavours or preservatives? Ethoxyquin? BHA? Any chemicals can upset an immune system that is trying to cope with an allergy - just puts more strain on it. Try some cold-pressed flaxseed oil each day to provide lots of omega-3s to help itc hy skin - works very well with terriers! Also a single zinc tablet each day should make a huge difference. It is very helpful with all sorts of skin irritations, even flea allergies. (They even put zinc oxide in "Curash" baby powder for nappy rash) Try these measures first, before resorting to any chemicals - sounds like her system is already overloaded. As skin problems usually indicate something is wrong with the system, try to treat the whole dog before the symptom.

You'll find that many boarding kennels these days use superpremium dry foods, and no canned food unless requested, because they don't want to waste time, water and disposal costs thru cleaning up lots of sloppy poo from cheap dog food!

Think I must be missing something here Who says that it is mainly entire animals who stray? Are there any statistics on this? Is this just the personal opinion of refuge workers? If it is the case, are the dogs entire because they have irresponsible, non-caring owners who don't contain their dogs? Or are they responsibly owned dogs who have managed a one off and escaped? I personally know MANY desexed dogs, very responsibly owned, who are absolute houdinis - they simply want to get out to explore the world! One is a basenji, desexed as a pup - as he can climb 3 metre fences he is now contained by an electric fence system (the very expensive dog "containment" system. He is smart enough to check it constantly, and every time there is no power to it, he escapes! He is known on a first-name basis at several pounds. Another dalmation bitch, desexed at 4 mths, could get over 2 m fences - her yard ended up looking like a concentration camp, complete with barbed wire, she could squeeze thru the tiniest gap and disappear for days - one time she ended up on a freeway before being picked up by the pound. Her owners spent a fortune trying to escapeproof her yard and give her a complete life - she ended up being pts. I always considered her to be somewhat brain-damaged. Maybe the general anaesthetic did cause a brain injury at such an early age? Another is a JRT who regularly sits on top of a 4m high shed in the yard - he climbs up fences, runs along the top of the pergola, and jumps onto the shed - he then frequently jumps down into adjoining land and disappears for hours. Another desexed kelpie x still manages to escape despite extensive electric fencing - he is a regular visitor to the local pound. His owners are at their wit's end! He too was desexed as a pup. Some dogs are genetically predisposed to want to get out to explore the world at all costs, others are couch potatoes who wouldn't even consider it if the gate was left open and the red carpet rolled out. Desexing really doesn't make ANY difference with these dogs! As for desexing a giant breed - as these breeds are usually absolutely incapable of breeding before 15-18 mths, why on earth should they be desexed early? They don't even need to be vasectomised, because they are too physically immature to breed! I can understand desexing toy breeds at 6 mths, as the bitches often come into season at 7 or 8 mths, and the dogs mature very early too, but just because it is ok for a toy doesn't mean a large or giant breed needs the same treatment? I have tried to get matings from very large breed dogs at 14 mths - forget it! Yet I have heard of a whippet siring a litter at 5 mths - not all dogs are the same!!! Sometimes I simply don't comprehend how a site for "the pure breed dog community" gets so one-eyed about desexing - the rescuers amongst us seem to be hellbent on indoctrination - I would have thought open minds would serve our beloved companions better...

Which comes back to my original post - to desex is to be politically correct in this day and age of unwanted dogs. It is far more expedient than teaching people how to be responsible for their pets. We all know that the majority of pet owners neither have the knowledge nor the interest in doing the right thing, but why should owners with the knowledge, experience, facilities etc be coerced into it when it plainly isn't always in the best interest of the animal? Surely the information should be available to those who are motivated enough to check it out? Of course we don't want Joe Public saying he won't do it cos it's bad, then producing umpteen puppies, but why should responsible owners have the health of their pets damaged because of the idiots? I don't include kittens in this argument, as their reproductive physiology and management is totally different to that of dogs, and they must be desexed! If owners are so worried that they can't contain their dogs and might allow them to escape to impregnate bitches, why not have them vasectomised? Plenty of stud cats are vasectomised to assist with the management of breeding queens, which must be mated to prevent disease, so don't tell me that vets can't do it! For breeds prone to BYBs fertility is a huge issue, but I'm sure that if pet puppies were vasectomised instead of neutered prior to sale it would be far less invasive and stressful for them. Then if neutering is still desirable at a later stage for aggression or management issues, it can be done post puberty. And no unwanted puppies, ever, and no ending up in BYBs hands further down the track.

If this pup has been unwell since his vaccination he MUST have the homoeopathic remedy "Thuja" which is used in cases of vaccinosis. Some vets use it, most have never heard of it, but any homoeopath in the yellow pages can provide the remedy, which you can administer yourself. One or two doses of Thuja are often sufficient to start the healing process. Colloidal silver is excellent as well - it kills viruses, fungi and bacteria, as well as helping with internal parasitic organisms. I have used it many times on very sick animals, usually getting a noticeable improvement within 2-4 hours. It has the bonus of absolutely no side effects - one side effect of antibiotics is appetite depression, which can be quite severe. Flagyl in particular has some very serious side effects. Robert McDowell sells colloidal silver and does mail orders all over the world as well as here in Oz.

Hi Jodee - there are a lot of studies that show serious concerns with early desexing, particularly in larger breeds. For instance the incidence of Hip Dysplasia is higher in dogs that have been desexed by 6 mths. The different growth rate of the leg bones alters the ratio between them, increasing the rate of cruciate ligament ruptures in dogs that have been desexed by 6 mths. (Also affected by muscle tone being deficient due to lack of testosterone) Cognitive impairment in older, neutered dogs appears as there is no testosterone to protect brain function. "Humping" or sexually inappropriate behaviour is greatly increased in males desexed early. Personally, I would never neuter any male prior to puberty, but large or giant breeds most definitely not, for their health's sake. As these breeds do not reach sexual maturity until much later anyway, accidental matings really aren't a problem anyway (and here management rears it's ugly head again) You only have to look at the performance horse world to see that many of the elite winners are entire mares or stallions, as they have the correct muscle tone and ability. Keeping stallions is a pain in the a***, and riding hormonal mares is too (remember they come into heat, and PMS, every 3 weeks!) but many competitors go thru the added hassle, just to have a top athlete - gelding can really take the edge off. I must admit, I haven't come across any studies concerning head structure and desexing in dogs, but it is well-known in the cat world that if you desex adult males they have the jowlier appearance of a tom cat, as their hormones have allowed the full development of their skulls. Males neutered prior to puberty never develop this larger skull, and always look more feminine.

Can see how that might be misconstrued!

I don't think I've ever seen a post recommending no vacc at all here! The general consensus is that puppy shots are essential - the debate being when, what and how many. It is the annual boosters that attract most of the discussion, plus the pro's and cons of C5s and Proheart.

Doubt it - but then IMO all batches of C5 are bad and shouldn't be used! :D Same old, same old - many dogs and human babies manage to cope with vaccinations, many don't. But the way standard medicos refuse to report adverse reactions, who would know the percentages? Look at autism rates in humans - non-existent before thimoseral (mercury derivative) was added to vaccines in 1931, up to 1 in 2,500 kids in the US by 1991, then when more vaccinations were added to the schedule in that year the rate jumped to 1 in 166 kids. But very few doctors will acknowledge the connection. And vets are trained by the same universities, and most research funding is provided by the same pharmaceutical companies...

The joys of the C5 indoctrination situation.. Hope your girl recovers with no longterm effects! Vets must be MADE to report these adverse reactions - luckily your girl had an immediate reaction which is an identified one for C5s. Others get less immediate, and ultimately more damaging ones. The vaccine manufacturers state on their info leaflets that vaccines must only be given to healthy dogs, and not to dogs suffering allergies. How many vets actually read this? A friend has a poodle pup - it developed a skin problem after it's first C5 (12 weeks) and started chewing itself. When the owner took it back over the itch, the vet insisted on doing the C5 booster (16 weeks), stating the booster was more important, and the skin could be fixed later. Said pup is now pulling hair out of legs and body constantly, is refusing almost all food and is a total, frantic mess. As is the owner. It hasn't drawn blood yet, but is getting closer every day. Vet's reaction - we'll give her some cortisone injections... Vet thinks he now has a lifelong patient worth a fortune in skin scrapings and medication, not to mention annual boosters :rolleyes: Of course it is nothing to do with the vaccine... Owner has now changed vets and now realises her pup can never be vaccinated again.

Rats are cunning little sods - years ago I had an exterminator out due to rats moving in from a demolished poultry farm. He said the older, mature rats will not touch any new food for at least a week - until they can see that none of the youngsters have died from eating it. So I had to serve up pure mince every night for a week to lull them into a false sense of security, then he put out the baited mince - a very fast acting one, to make it easier to find and destroy the carcasses. Needless to say I moved all the dogs to a friend's place that day! Hope your girl recovers quickly!

There is some research now suggesting that this doesn't work, and might actually make things worse. Can't remember where I saw it, but I was surprised, as I had always been told to do this. Never did actually do it, and have not had any recurrences. Mind you, my hounds all eat 3 times a day!

The latest NSWCC journal has an excellent article in it on bloat by Karen Hedburg. She also has a chapter devoted to the subject in her book. Can you get hold of either of these? Karen has saved the lives of many dogs who have bloated, including mine, and following her advice has saved it happening again. My dogs continued to be fed a combination of dry food and meaty bones after surgery, but I followed her advice re giving charcoal tablets for some time afterwards and small meals. One of my dogs bloated after having half a mutton flap at midnight on a hot day - limited water, no exercise, but 4 separate risk factors - older (9 yrs) deep chested breed (longer stomach ligaments which stretch), had been a 40 degree day and had been stressed thru me being away for a few days and only having a house sitter. There was an interesting link on Oz Show a while back about potassium deficiency being linked with bloat - the larger breeds tend not to get enough of this in their diets - worth looking at. Certainly would explain the cases that are not linked to food, exercise or water.

Ok - here goes.. The heartworm problem was many years ago, was definitely not a compliance problem, as I was religious about daily dosing all of my dogs (this was before any alternative methods) and the vet afterwards informed me that I needed to be giving double the recommended dose in that area - I had only been giving 150% of the recommended dose. Haven't needed to investigate whether or not there is published research on efficacy of these treatments, as they have worked for me and others. Personally I am not the slightest bit interested in clinical studies, as they are frequently manipulated to get the required results. (And there is plenty of evidence of this) I would think that they are not 100% effective, but what is? And there is far less chance of killing or injuring the dog. If you actually looked at how homoeopathy works, you would realise that there is not a single molecule of the original substance left in the remedy, as the dilution and succussion process eliminates it, so there is no toxicity whatsoever. Basically, you are left with the energy imprint of the original substance, which works in a similar fashion to acupuncture, by restoring the correct energy paths. Don't wish to hijack this thread, so suggest you check it out yourself. Let Google be your friend!

P - it was a very high risk area , and I actually had 10 dogs out of 12 come up positive. Arsenicum is a homoeopathic remedy, as is the Heartworm nosode - bit hard to help someone understand these terms in a forum like this - but check this link out. It may help - Diana Hayes has helped many people I know with their pets. I actually followed the treatment course my homoeopathic lecturer gave me. Holistic heartworm treatment PS - if you google up a good site to explain homoeopathy, remember that nosodes are made from the actual substance or virus itself (heartworm nosode is made from heartworms) and remedies are made from plants, minerals etc, eg arsenicum is potentised from arsenic.

Not necessarily - I have still had dogs get heartworm while on a standard preventative from the vet. There are several alternatives to arsenic treatment. The only one I can personally say has worked for me was a homoeopathic course, involving gradually increasing potencies of Arsenicum plus an actual Heartworm nosode. With this treatment, the dogs must be kept quiet so as not to endanger their lives thru bits of worms causing blockages in blood vessels, same as the orthodox treatment. There are herbal treatments as well, black walnut hulls is one from memory (could be wrong - would have to google again) but I haven't personally used them. BTW - the homoeopathic course was regularly used by a very well known breeder/vet for older dogs instead of the arsenic treatment. There are also alternative heartworm preventatives, used the world over...not everyone wants to put toxic chemicals into their dogs! PS - P - where did I say arsenic was used to prevent it? I used the words "arsenic treatment" :D

There are other alternatives to standard preventatives and arsenic treatment! Harsh chemicals are not the only way...