morgan

If all those people, especially the macho males, who don't want to desex their pet males agreed to have them vasectomised we would have far fewer accidental litters. If vets promoted this option as an alternative instead of insisting on neutering I'm sure that many would take it up, especially if there was some sort of council registration discount. Obviously the councils' stance on desexing is not just regarding accidental litters, it is more about behavioural issues, but it would still be worthwhile to promote vasectomies.

I have read of research where they are splicing some ovarian tissue under the skin after normal spay to continue producing a limited amount of hormones - this of course has to be followed up for some time to see if it eliminates spay incontinence, increased cancer rate etc. This apparently stops the bitch coming into season due to the reduced amount of hormones, but then I would be worried about incontinence and increased cancer rates for the same reason.

Haven't had it done as my girls remain entire all their lives, but have spoken to several vets about it and all have said that it would take a little longer to perform and therefore be a bit more expensive. The bitch will still come into season and produce pheromones to attract boys and be mateable, but won't have any messy discharge. One vet I spoke to suggested removing one ovary to reduce the behaviours when in season, but still allowing some hormones. By only leaving one ovary you are also reducing the chance of mammary tumours. So the upside is no puppies and reduced chance of pyometra (even bitches spayed normally can get stump pyometra) plus no spay incontinence and completely normal growth. Also no mess when in season. Downside is slightly longer, more expensive op (and difficult to find a vet to do it) and bitch still needs to be contained while in season.

Diatomaceous earth also works on fleas - it is not the best product to inhale as it can be a bit irritating, but is very good dusted around dry spots inside and outside where fleas might breed. Kills them and other insects by damaging their outside covering (exoskeleton) and they dehydrate to death, no poison involved. I would use neem oil on the dog and the DE in the environment for the best control. I have used DE directly on some rescue cats and kittens that were crawling with fleas and got rid of every last one. As they were in poor condition I didn't want to use chemicals at all, so just dusted the DE into the cat like flea powder, but carefully so that no-one inhaled it. When the cats lick it off their coats it helps get rid of worms.

If it was only for appearances sake, some would agree, others not, depending on their individual circumstances. However the future health of the dog is also at stake - allowing a bitch to reach puberty first is advantageous in all aspects except possibility of pregnancy (dependent on your keeping her safe from dogs) and an increased risk of mammary cancer (IME not a biggie) It will reduce the chances of many other cancers, CCL and spay incontinence. There is always the alternative of boarding an in season bitch at a safe, reputable kennel to save on the mess and stress and desex several months later if required.

Hehe - yep, I've seen pugs in action - was looking after one tiny girl that had to be fed very carefully so that she didn't choke on her food and I'm sure she would have kept eating until bursting point if I'd let her! We are printing up the info to give to the owner so that she can see that there are side effects to consider - it is her dog and her choice after all.

Yes, you have to be selective with RC - I never fed Maxi junior or Adult, only Energy. The Medium Adult wasn't too flash from memory either. The GSD, Labrador and Giant ranges are good. The Babydog range had too high a protein level for my pups, but the Starter is brilliant. The cat food is the best on the market IME as long as you don't touch the Queen, Kitten or Babycat - too much soy and L-Lysine. Trial and error, like all dog foods

Because their only concern is to prevent unwanted puppies, not the future health of the dog. Also, entire bitches are rather keen to find boys when in season, so desexing reduces that urge to escape every 6 months or so.

Yes, I had thought that the ataxia was fairly temporary - but what about the polyphagia and polydipsia? How common are these? I have seen figures of 20% for liver problems, but nothing for the other 2. Do wish the vet would actually discuss these issues instead of pretending they don't exist, then maybe the owner would ask for other options to be considered first.

Obviously if it was epilepsy there isn't much choice when it comes to controlling seizures, it would be a matter of coping with side effects and getting regular liver testing done, but the dog has never had a seizure, just a few unusual episodes with failure to recognise people and a change in his eyes. The owner is worried about possible aggression and prefers to medicate, whereas I feel that there might be less drastic approaches to try first and keep Phenomav as a last resort. Ataxia is of great concern with a tall, large dog apart from the bloat issues with the polyphagia and polydipsia. I am still very upset at this 'trusted' vet refusing to give the owner the correct information - there isn't a pharmaceutical drug in the world that is absolutely free of side effects, not even simple old aspirin, so for him to say that there were absolutely none with this drug is reprehensible, especially when they can be life threatening, either directly or indirectly.

Thanks - somehow I don't think polydipsia or polyphagia are a good idea for a bloat prone breed I will pass these on to the owner who believes that this vet is infallible.

Currently having problems with a vet informing someone that there are absolutely no side effects associated with Phenomav - none whatsoever, perfectly and utterly safe. From what I have read there seem to be possible temporary issues with ataxia and a need for regular testing of the liver due to possible damage, but the vet is adamant that this is garbage and that if someone looks on the net they can "find side effects for every single drug". Apparently these side effects are simply made up and put on the net as disinformation?? Does anyone have any reputable, scientific links on the side effects? Or even a copy of the manufacturer's insert?

Yes, you're quite right - and until the research establishes the facts on the matter, more vets should be advising people to wait until closer to puberty to desex youngsters or at least informing them of the grey areas to let them make an informed choice.

Corn and dogs don't go together - I won't even use the RC Maxi Junior as it's first ingredient is corn. Wheat seems to be the worst though.

Personally I would not desex a lab pup at this age under any circumstances - apart from the risk of hip dysplasia being increased there is the risk of cruciate ligament rupture. http://www.claircrest.com/Problemswithearlyspay-neuter.pdf The breeder is quite right about the pup looking more "doggy" if desexed later, as the skull will develop normally and have a masculine appearance. The chest development will also be more normal with sufficient width.

You are being very charitable - vets make an awful lot of money out of chronic skin issues! We told one owner that the diet of Pedigree Natural was causing him to shred himself - poor dog's skin was hot and smelly, covered in a red rash and coat was being torn out by the mouthful. When we had him on Proplan Sensitive he was fine, but 10 days of the supplied Pedigree and he was a mess. Owner insisted that he be taken to the vet for skin scrapings, vet insisted that there was nothing wrong with his skin apart from a bit of scurf and sent him home, still with the red rash underneath. Unfortunately this vet's word is final, so I guess the dog must have been just imagining that it was hot and itchy:mad Owner won't use a premium food, so he is now on Uncle Albers + fish oil without too many problems, but it took another bag of Proplan Sensitive to get the grain out of his system before he could go on it. People seem to think that if a food has no artificial colours or flavours it is good, but don't seem to comprehend that it is the grain that is the major issue. This dog's coat on Pedigree was coarse, matted easily and had no shine or body - a few weeks on good food had it soft, silky and gleaming - and it isn't easy to get white really shining!

Calendula tincture is the best thing out for bathing wounds as it helps stop bleeding as well as having a soothing and antiseptic effect. A few drops in a third of a glass of water is all you need. If a cut is bleeding badly, immerse it in the solution if you can or soak a makeup remover pad or similar in it and hold it over the cut for a few minutes. I have used it on bad knife cuts on myself and others to stop the bleeding very quickly, including a couple that really needed stitches - these healed well with the calendula tincture, then the calendula ointment and those butterfly thingies to hold them closed. The good thing about calendula tincture, cream and ointment is that if the dog licks it all off the healing effect continues from within.

A friend had a GSD which had incurred vet bills of over 3 grand in an attempt to sort out his chronic skin problems - skin scrapings, lab tests, creams, tablets, injections the lot. Stopped ripping himself apart in the first few days on the RC GSD food and was growing back all of his coat over the bare patches by the end of the first bag. Never needed to see the vet again. The RC rep explained that GSDs have a histamine problem that other breeds don't have, which leads to the skin problems. Apparently this food has different protein and fat composition to prevent this buildup of histamines which solves the problem. Don't know whether this is true or it's just sales hype, but the food does work. I have seen even the ordinary RC Maxi work miracles in 10 days on itchy smelly GSDs that were on supermarket food or Pal.

I use Virgin coconut oil everyday. I oil pull with it, and also use it as a moisturiser and hair treatment. I sometimes cook with it too. It is solid in the colder weather, but becomes liquid as summer approaches. You can melt it easily by putting the jar in hot water. As a moisturiser it melts on contact with the skin. Somewhat off topic, but are there benefits using it for oil pulling over cold pressed sunflower oil? I have been using this the whole time, but am not too keen on the taste - but at least it is way better than extra virgin olive oil

Actually, saturated fats are healthy for people too, it is the poly unsaturated fats that are deadly. Proper virgin coconut oil is one of the healthiest oils available for people - hydrogenated fat of any description is to be avoided like the plague.

What breed? I haven't heard of any small breeds being susceptible to bloat v Bloat is normally an issue in larger breeds that have a deep chest and a tucked up stomach, which allows the stomach ligaments to stretch and the stomach to twist, causing bloat. Exercise before feeding is only an issue because it helps to loosen these ligaments. Your dogs should be fine with your routine., although a bloat prone breed wouldn't be.

Different types of rat baits need diffferent vitamin K regimes - of course the long acting ones need more time on the tablets! Sometimes it is easy to tell if a dog has eaten bait due to the dye showing up in the poo, but that is only for the one or two after it's eaten the bait. Speak to a solicitor - chances are her insurance would cover it anyway.

Who do these vets think they're kidding? In all the bitches I have kept in over 30 years, not one has died of cancer, and the 2 that developed mammary cancer were desexed and had lumpectomies and lived cancer free for the rest of their natural lives.

Have a look at this link - explains a few things http://www.biogetica.com/waterhasmemory1.html

Before, during and after the cough