cavNrott

About $700 sounds about average to me. That's what the dental for my Cavalier cost. He had two small teeth extracted.

That would be $500 a year, surely?

There is medication available for the heart murmur if she had a high grade murmur. My Cavalier with a murmur is now on medication and he is doing much better.

Oh! Is it? All this time I thought they were underwritten by Hollards. My mistake

I doubt it. Most Pet insurance in Australia including PetPlan is underwritten by Hollards. Hollards is a very large, stable company.

Pet insurance in Canada is sooo cheap, going by the link you provided. I wonder why it is so expensive here. It's not only expensive but they also have us jumping through hoops when we make a claim. They could do to take a lesson from Canada. The problem here is that most of our pet insurance is underwritten by Hollards so there's very little competition and they can do what they like. If we want to insure our animals we have to cop it or go without. Pet insurance is a market other insurance companies need to consider. It's a growing market that's virtually untapped and with competition the prices would decrease and there would be more choice in the plans. This would result in more pet owners insuring their animals It's strange that other insurance companies don't seem to be aware of this untapped market. They're very darned competitive in all other areas of insurance.

Please take her to the vet ASAP. Maybe she has a bad tooth or is feeling very nauseous for some reason. Whatever it is it's causing her distress. Can you get her to a vet today?

I sure hope your boy doesn't get it and I hope my CHF boy doesn't catch it either. He's just stabilising from the CHF attack. We're in the catchment area so here's hoping they keep safe.

I have those collars for my two Cavaliers but just with their names. Also my are the martingale style with the chain triangle. I've had them for quite a few years now and they're good quality. All my dog collars are Martingales, I can't be bother fiddling around with buckles.

Robbi, your mother is lucky she has family members who will love her little dog and give it a good home. Unfortunately I don't have that option so I will be living dogless for the first time in my life, (providing I outlive both my dogs). One of my Cavaliers is not well, he has congestive heart failure, though he is on appropriate medication. I love this little boy to bits and I know I he doesn't have a long life expectancy so . not only will I miss him beyond description but I can't believe I'll be living with just one dog, which is how it will be when my beloved boy goes. My little girl Cav is 9yo and that is getting on for the breed as well.

I called my vet who's been caring for my dog with CHF because I wanted to know where my boy stood since he has not had a KC vaccination for many years. The vet said they're not seeing a greater number of KC dogs than is normal. He advised not to vaccinate my dog but to be sure to keep him well away from other dogs, which I do anyway as he's not well enough to cope with the stress/excitment of meeting new dogs.

I would like to know which suburbs too. My boy has just had a scary brush with CHF and is now on meds. I want to take him in for a checkup but would rather wait a while if KC in in the Mt Waverley region.

I have a knock off of the back seat buddy. It's been perfect. It's made from good sturdy material and is basically indestructible. I'm going to put it on Gumtree (I know, at my own risk) because I no longer use it. Pity we're in different states.

I agree the numbers don't matter when people are in their 60's. I think getting a dog in your 60's is perfectly fine as long as you're fit and healthy. What concerns me is people in their mid to late 70's getting a pup or young dog. I think that is too old considering the pup's lifespan would be more than ten years...which would put the owner in their late 80's, if they're fortunate enough to live that long. There are very few people in their 80's who are fit, healthy and active. The fit, active and healthy 80yo is the exception. There are a few elderly people who live in the surrounding streets in my suburb. I have come to know them in the course of walking my dogs and I must say that none of them would be active enough to care for a dog. Most tell me of their poor health and will tell me about the dogs they had when they were younger, most say they miss not having a dog. These elderly folk don't get another dog because they're putting consideration of the dogs before themselves. This is why I will not get another dog when my current dogs are no longer with me. Hopefully they have a few years left yet. I'm putting the consideration of the dogs welfare before my very real feelings of sadness and loss at living without a dog.

Lemonlime there are plenty of low fat dry dog foods. Weight loss foods are usually low in fat and most of the seniors food has a low fat content. At 14% fat content would cause one of my dogs a pancreatitis attack. I feed raw 95% of the time but occasionally give them a good quality low fat dry food for their morning meal.

My 10yo Cavalier boy squats to pee at home and pees on his front white leg but when we're out walking he puts his big boy pants on and hikes his leg so high against trees that he almost falls over. He stands so close to the tree that I'm surprised he doesn't get splinters in his doodle.

Chicken fat and pork meal are fine as long as your dog can tolerate it. One of my dogs has pancreatitis attack if she eats anything fatty so we won't be buying this what appears to be a good dog food. How would NATURAL fish flavour be artificial?

I'm not following you. Yep, there are old politicians and the Pope is old and there are lots of elderly people around. What's that got to do with elderly folk taking on dogs in there late 70's or 80's? Edited to add: I also know an 84yo lady still driving quite capably. To balance the scale, for all the elderly people we know who are fit and healthy there are others who are battling pain and ill health. However that has nothing to do with them owning dogs. I didn't think we were fighting. I thought we were sharing our opinions albeit they are from different view points. I'm about done with posting in this thread now. It gets a bit boring when, in their defence, someone continually states their opinion and my opinion won't change so best I quit now.

It is not about me, me, me, and I want this and I want that. It's about the dog. I would not want to take the risk of suddenly leaving a dog I have loved for years who has also become attached to me. I believe the dog would feel a sense of abandonment if I suddenly disappeared from its life. The dog wouldn't know I'd fallen off my perch, just that I'd left it. As we become attached to dogs, they too become attached to us and would certainly be distressed if suddenly, we weren't there. I would not want to risk my dog being kennelled while waiting to be rehomed, if they're fortunate enough to be rehomed. Of course I would love to have a dog in my old age, I've never lived without a dog and can't even imagine the loss I'd feel without a dog but I won't have a dog when I am of an age where there's a good chance I won't be there for it. You don't feel guilty if you leave a dog behind. I don't share your thoughts although I can't fathom where guilt comes into it. In any case it's not what I feel or don't feel, it's about the dog. When you say you've spent much of your life cleaning up after others do you mean taking on rescue dogs? I too have rescued Rotties for many years and lost my last rescue girl to cancer four years ago but taking on my rescues wasn't cleaning up after others. All my rescues were wonderful dogs and I loved having them in my life. I haven't taken another rescue dog since my last Rottie because my spinal condition doesn't allow for me to provide what they deserve. I can provide everything my two elderly Cavaliers require and that is enough for me now. About the bolded ^. Are you seriously telling me that your cousin was still nursing at 76 years of age? Was this person a RN? Was she nursing on the wards? I would have thought the nurses reg. board had a limit on the age of their RN's. I'll ask my son, he's a RN.

If you plan on getting a pup when you're 75yo you'd better have someone who is prepared to love and care for it because you may not be here at 85yo and if you are, how fit and capable will you be? Will you be able to take care of a dog and give it the exercise it needs? That pup will be 10yo when you're 85yo and it has a lot more living to do. I knew when I got each of my Cavalier pups that they would be my last dogs. I was looking forward towards what condition I might be in, in ten years time. My dogs nine and ten years old respectively now and I have a painful spinal problem. I take pain medication to enable me to walk them. I won't be getting another dog at 75yo.

Of course there are a few in their seventies who are fit and active but it is not generally the case as far as I can see. I'm not that age yet and my back has packed it in so my previously active lifestyle is no more.

The Turkey and Lentil variety ingredient list looks good.

I think it's quite reasonable to take on a puppy in our sixties. Most of us are pretty fit and healthy if we are dog owners. The dogs keep us fit, bless 'em. The sixties are now the new forties :D

Of course young people can have accidents and become incapacitated or suffer health problems and are not physically capable of caring for a dog. This is tragic and fortunately it happens to very few of our young people. FACT: Statistically people in their 70's and 80's are more likely to die than younger people. FACT: The elderly are also far more likely to have health issues that limit their capabilities. I can't imagine living without a dog. I've always had a dog in my life but at my age it would not be fair of me to take on a new dog when my beloved Cavaliers are no longer here. I believe dogs feel a sense of loss and confusion when the person who has loved and cared for them disappears from their lives. My life would be so much less without a dog but it's not all about me, what about about the dog? I don't want to live without a dog but I won't risk putting a dog through the sense of loss, displacement and abandonment because suddenly everything they know is no longer there. I don't ever want to be without a dog, the thought of this saddens me beyond description but I will not take on the responsibility for the life of a dog because at my age there's a good chance I won't be here to uphold that responsibility. It's not fair to the dog. Some are saying whey they get old they'll have a small dog. Would a small dog not feel a sense of loss and abandonment when their security, their routine and their attachment to their owner is suddenly taken from them? Again, what about the dog? Some elderly folk are well able to manage a dog. Many are not and when they got the dog they didn't expect they would develop health problems or fall off their perch but it happens. I hold the opinion that it's not about what I want, it's about the dog.

Really old people Oooh that's not very PC. People of a certain age are Elderly people :D