westielover

Apparantly it's the kennel cough component of the C5 injection which can cause adverse reactions. Here is a very inetresting article about heartworm. The more I read about all the chemicals we pump into our dogs bodies the more I look at alternatives. So far, all my dogs are 100% raw fed (for a number of years now). For the past 2 years I have had my dogs titre tested instead of vaccinated. Considering that I have had many pound dogs come thru my home in the past 2-3 years and my dogs haven't even caught kennel cough from them suggests that I am doing the right thing for my dogs in terms of strengthening their immune systems by lessening the amount of chemicals which are pumped into their bodies. I am currently overdue with their heartworm preventatives and am considering doing twice yearly heartworm tests instead. I think it's really time we started questioning our vets about all the crap we inject into our dogs bodies. Are our vets here in Australia up to date with all the current research etc being done on annual vaccinations & the impact they have on immune systems / adverse reactions of heartworm injections etc??? In my opinion it's the pharmaceutical companies which are taking pet owners for a ride. Annual vaccs, heartworm prevenatives etc are the bread & butter business of a vet practice - and where do vets buy these from - pharmaceutical companies ..... and who set the protocols - pharmaceutical companies ...... do we see a pattern here??? Sorry - but this topic really gets me hot under the collar ..... the more research I do the more it comes down to money and not the welfare of our pets.

I feed my 3 dogs 100% raw and have for the past 7 years. I swear by the diet and refuse to feed them commercial food. I will never, ever understand how people can think that a kibble diet is a well balanced diet. To me it's like eating a human equivalent diet of spam, cuppa soups and anything else which comes out of a packet - not good in my opinion. I much prefer a diet of meat, fish, veggies, fruit etc - as fresh as possible. I see my dogs the same way - I feed them mostly raw meaty bones, raw meat, a variety of fish, a variety of organ meat, minimal veggies, minimal dairy (yogurt & cottage cheese). They are carnivores designed to eat meat and tear meat off a bone - so I really can't understand how a kibble diet caters for those needs. It's not just about diet either - other things come into play - such as annual vaccines, heartworm medication, flea & tick medication, worming medication etc. I replaced annual injections with annual titre tests. I feed them garlic (in moderation) to fight off fleas and am looking into doing something about the amount of worming medication they receive. It's all about the immune system. A healthy immune system = a healthy dog which can fight of diseases etc. Fleas, mites etc aren't attracted to dogs with healthy immune systems. To me it just doesn't seem right to bombard a dog with all sorts of chemicals so I am looking at alernatives.

Awesome Mav! Well done to you and Maverick

Excellent. Thanks for all the positive responses everyone.

Anyone heard of 'Kirsty Skekels animal behavior practice' - and a behaviouralist by the name of Gail Perry from this practice. I cannot find them on google/white & yellow pages .... Just wondering if these people have a good rep?

It all depends if the fabric ends up getting caught on something else on the way to the bowels. My dog had an intestinal blockage when he was about 8 months old ....... the blockage turned out to be part of a leather sandal, a chunky-ish piece of bone and part of a soft toy - the 3 items got intertwined in the inestines. Keep an eye on Charlie over the next week and make sure he has daily bowel movements. You will know if he has an obstruction because his bowel movements will stop, he will arch his back in pain and he will also go off his food. If that happens - take him straight to the vet.

I too would choose monthly tablets over the annual injection. Think about it this way - the vet will be injecting your dog with a 12 month dose in one go. By using tablets you administer smaller doses each month over 12 months.

Organic would best for humans and pets - however, it's pretty expensive - which is a shame. As far as mince goes - you could buy kilo's chicken necks and mince them thru a mincer - this is what I do to make my own chicken mince.

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Gorgeous pup that Louie! (biaised opinion from me though!!) Westie parents please look into feeding the BARF diet to your westies - a commercial diet is likely to conrtibute to skin problems in the future. I had a lady contact me recently who had a 5 year old westie whose skin was in a shocking state - he's lost all his hair of his back - he had been on a supermarket dog food brand for all of his 5 years and it finally starting causing major problems - so much so that they wanted to have the dog put to sleep to put him out of his misery. His diet has been switched to BARF and he's improving (along with reducing the intake of cortisone since the skin condition presented itself). A bad diet can be a major problem for wetsies - please do some research and start here and here . As a westie mum to 2 healthy westie boys who are now 7 & 6 years old, I swear by a healthy BARF diet as they both have terrific skin and are in the best of health. It's really not expensive to feed this type of diet.

I just had a titre test done and it only cost me $75 .... seems they have come down in price. Blood can now be sent to Melbourne instead of Perth now ... perhaps a reason why titre tests are cheaper ..... or my vet gives me discounts I dont even know about! I don't agree with annual vaccs anymore and I am still not 100% keen on the 3 yearly. Have done a lot of reading about over vaccinating our pets.

Hmmm..... poor Gomez - he does sound a littl out of sorts doesn't he. Are his bowel movements solid or soft/runny? Are they smellier than usual? Are they regular? How's he holding his stomach - slightly arched or normal? What about his appetite - pretty normal or do you think the boiled chicken entices him to eat whether he feels like eating or not? Read this - I don't want to make you paranoid or anything - but I am just trying to think of things which are related to some of Gomez's symptoms. If Gomez is vomiting bile on a regular basis - there must be something not quite right inside - especially if you have noticed changes in his behaviour too.

In Willoughby there is a grooming salon called Secret Dogs Business and they advertise stripping as a service - I know it's not in the Northern Beaches but it's not too far away.

Gomez is on a kibble diet isn't he? Have you fed him anything out of the oridinary lately which may be upsetting his belly? What's the last thing he eats before he vomits? Might be worthwhile reading this Have you considered switching Gomez to a BARF diet?

I have the halti version for Spencer my brittany cross. He has a tendancy to pull - especially when he spies a cat or possum (on over head wires). The harness works a treat on Spencer. So far I have only attached the lead to the d link on the front of the harness - and he responds really well. The d link on the front of the harness connects to the d link on his collar to keep the front bit of the harness from falling down over his legs. He can also run freely in the harness when off lead. I really like this harness as it causes him absolutely no discomfort.

One theory is that people who feed their dogs raw food diets feel that nature intended for animals to eat their food raw and that cooking damages the chemical makeup of foods and therefore may not be as nutritional for the dog as food in the raw form.

Never used it but had a quick look at the ingredients here - personally I'm not keen on what I see but I am a BARF feeder and have been for 7 years. If you want to feed a commercial diet why don't you try a higher quality food which can be purchased at the vet or pet supply store rather than the supermarket variety. Or look into the BARF patties here I suppose one way of testing the VIP rolls would to be to warm up a slice in a fry pan or microwave and see if it turns mostly to water ..... if it does - then it probably wouldn't be that good. Just my personal opinion but I am biaised :D

Thanks guys for the responses. I can't find that clinic in the yellow pages - is Mt Waverly Referral Centre the actual name of the clinic? I found the emergency hospital but I'm not sure if that's the right place. I don't really know Melbourne - I'm trying to help someone located in Melbourne. (The current vet hasn't even done a skin scrape on this poor dog!)

Hi all, Can someone please recommend a vet in Victoria - around the Rowville area - who specialises in skin conditions. There is a westie down there in desperate need of a good vet. thanks!

Do you by any chance have lots of jasmine in your garden Kavik? A lot of dogs are allergic to Jasmine.

So sorry Kamuzz. RIP Robbie :rolleyes:

Hey Gomez - meant to tell you today that I was driving past a grooming salon in Willoughby on Mowbray road called 'Secret Dogs Business' and their sign says they do stripping ..... might be worth a phone call.

He sounds terrific Caro!

Currently reading 'Click and Play Agility by Angelica Steinker' and loving it! Also reading 'Control Unleashed by Leslie McDevitt' - loving this one even more! What I love about this book is the pure positive aspect and the emphasis of building a relationship with your dog, learning to read your dog etc. Lots of training exercises too. Have also read Culture Crash and loved it! Don't shoot the dog iby Karen Pryor is a good read. Just finished On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming Signals by Turid Rugaas - very interesting read. Have also read bits & pieces of 'How to right a dog gone wrong - a roadmap for rehabilitating aggressive dogs by Pamela S Dennison' - my Brittany cross is reactive to strange dogs - so I have purchased quite a few books about 'dog aggression' - however, I am in denial and prefer to say he's reactive as opposed to dog aggressive! He's fine with any dog who comes to our house - but has a tendancy to chase other dogs when we're out and about - which of course I don't allow and hence avoid busy dog parks. Yet to read: Click to Calm - Healing the aggressive dog by Emma Parsons Scaredy Dog - Understanding & rehabilitating your reactive dog by Ali Brown Getting in TTouch with your dog - Linda Tellington Jones Have been on a bit of a spending spree on clean run/dogwise /amazon websites!!! I have read Jan Fennel / Ceasar Millan and didn't like any of those books.

Boiled chicken breast cut into small pieces is a treat my Brittany cross dies for! I buy chicken breast fillets from the supermarket when they are reduced for quick sale (usually close to the expiry date) and boil them straight away and use them over 3-4 days. Some trainers say that it;s a good idea to have a mixture of treats available in a training session (eg: chicken, cheese, hot dogs) to keep the dog keen - bit like that saying 'life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what ya gonna get!" Note - they must be 'high value' treats to keep the dog interested. I keep liver treats in my pocket all the time and reward randomly (for doing something) just when we're out and about - so I don't use liver treats in proper training sessions.