trinabean

Jeebus Roova, looks like a (human?) scalp! I've found dumped stolen handbags and a passport on early morning walks. Hope to never find a body...

I'm in Perth Jo, and although I'm not into herding, I will ask around.

My boxer was terrible about nail clipping (and impossible to keep still enough to do it safely). I was surprised that he adjusted quite quickly to accepting the Dremel though. I did ease him more gradually into it, and chose a time when he was both exercised, and hungry (one of us shovelled treats into him back then too, while the other person dremelled). Ours is a Dremel brand one, but I can't remember the style name. Will have a look later when I'm home and attach a link.

I totally love your dogs Grumpette and I've never even met them. Wow, that's an impressive weight pull! I'm pleased to know that 'boy brain' is a thing, I haven't just imagined it.

I love seeing everyone's gorgeous dogs, what a lovely thread to start Grizabella. Not sure how it happened, but it seems like just the other day that we brought home this little guy: And already, Bruno is 5 years old. A boofy, hilarious, and and happy dog. Not the sharpest tool in the shed, but smart in all of the things that matter. So easy to live with, the perfect dog for our family. We love him to the moon and back. Always a little puzzled:

Very good point Kavik. In my experience many herding breeds don't like the boxer play style.

A friend has a lovely beagle x that gets along well with my boxer. Both males can play happily for hours. Given the chance, I'd get another boxer of the opposite sex. But if you want a smaller dog, a beagle could be a good match.

When you spray your dog after walks how much do you put on (is the dog really wet) and do you spray in the tummy area only? Do you leave it on or brush it in? I'm concerned about leaving a wet dog. When she is wet I usually towel her dry. Hmm, well for my dog it was recommended by the derm vet for reducing some of the pollens on his body after walks, as well as dealing with his dry skin. But he has had allergy testing, so I know which air-borne pollens etc he is allergic to (lots!) so this might be something that not every itchy dog needs. As for how much, a few general sprays over his body is all I do. His coat is single and smooth (Boxer) and Perth is mostly dry, so he dries off in no time. I don't know the answer for a dog with more of a double/ long coat, sorry. And Papillon Kisses, interesting that you mention dust mites, as this is yet another of the allergens that my dog had strong reactions to in derm. tests. Yes, weekly hot washing of bedding, coats etc is what was recommended, as well as using eucalyptus-based wool mix too (apparently eucalyptus kills dust mites). And I often finish dog blankets etc. off in the dryer, for a little more heat. edited: to remove double up comments, -sorry people on phones!

Hi Sarspididious, I'm not sure how/why but it does blend. It's a bath oil that mixes to a milky colour throughout the water (I use it in the bath for my eczema prone son). So it has something in it to disperse the oil. I do shake up the spray bottle just before using it on my dog though. It re-mixes easily.

Ooh, that's interesting about the Selsun Blue Blinkblink. I'll probably stick with my regime because everything is stable for Bruno at the moment, but this will be useful info for a friend who has an itchy miniature Schnauzer. And what a good idea to mix up a solution of shampoo and water in a squeeze bottle, thanks!

The QV products are fragrance-free and suitable for people with skin conditions such as eczema. I've taken to buying the bulk packs as one of my kids has eczema and can't use soap. Yes, I do think it's helped my dog's dry skin though. And it's mainly what's been working for him as I've had to stop giving fish oil lately. He does get a blend of omega 3, 6 and 9 already in his dry food though (Natural Balance Delicate Care- skin and stomach blend). I haven't used the QV moisturiser as i think my dog would just lick it off. Actually I know he would. It does sound as though your dog's diet is pretty good and contains plenty of fish oil, between the salmon kibble and sardines. The other topical oil our Dermatologist recommended was PAW Essential 6 oil spot on. It's a blend of safe essential oils and emollients that you apply to the dogs neck/shoulder after a bath. It spreads over the skin and coat and moisturises it. Smells divine too. Cheapest to buy it online though.

My allergy dog has dry skin. Apart from adding omega oils to his diet, our dermatologist vet recommended using QV (human) products available from most pharmacies. I only wash him with QV wash and give him a final rinse of QV bath oil diluted with water. I also spray his coat after walks with a solution of QV bath oil and water. I mix up 10ml of bath oil to every 400mls of water in a spray bottle.

It really varies depending on the breeder. I paid no deposit on my Boxer pup, and the breeder had a long waiting list of people wanting pups. I have no doubt that if for some reason I couldn't take a pup there were plenty of people on the waiting list ready to take him. Also, the breeder was still deciding on which pups were potential show quality at the 4 week mark when we first saw them, so there was no guarantee that we would get a pup from the current litter. So perhaps the demand for the breed comes into it too?

Yes, the Bullmastiff is a case in point. I would look at a well-bred Rottweiler or Bullmastiff

I can see the appeal in French Bulldogs. Without exception, the ones I have met have been sweet, personable little dogs.

After finding that my dog couldn't even tolerate the hydrolysed hypoallergenic prescription foods, I had resigned myself to the fact that I was going to have to feed my dog a homemade diet for life. Our dermatologist linked us up with a canine nutritionist to help balance the diet, and I was importing a US supplement. A last-ditch trial of an Australian-made food proved successful for us though. Of course, it depends what your dog is intolerant of, and what you've been feeding already. A single novel protein and carbohydrate over a number of weeks is best done under vet supervision, with absolutely no other treats given. If symptoms settle down, you then 'challenge' with foods previously given, for 7-10 days, one at a time. If no increase in itching/ GI symptoms is noted, the challenge food is deemed ok. If symptoms flare, stop the challenge, resume the novel diet until things settle, before doing the next challenge. Likely culprits to challenge with are chicken, beef, lamb, dairy, eggs, soy, corn. These are common ingredients in dog food and dogs can become sensitised to them. The food that we can feed has Australian sorghum, roo and duck in it. It's one of the only commercial foods that doesn't contain ingredients that were problematic for my dog when we challenged him on an elimination diet (chicken, beef, lamb, dairy, and eggs were ones he flared on).This is mainly what we feed, apart from roo and goat meat and bones: http://www.naturalbalance.net.au/our-products/delicate/

I'm so sorry for your loss

That's a bloody hard decision to make

The squeeze tube is a great idea, I will tuck that one away for next time Bruno won't eat. One thought I had, is it worth looking into getting the vet to give her a shot of vitamin B12? Bruno doesn't have liver shunts but has multiple allergies and is in remission from 'Boxer colitis' and was anorexic for periods of time in his younger years. Injections of B12 did help him short-term with some of his symptoms, including his lack of appetite. He would regain an appetite within 24 hours. Sorry if I'm right off-track, it was just a thought. I really hope Amber starts eating again soon.

human grade meat (and other food) is not automatically healthy for dogs...the meat will be very likely treated with 220...225 and can cause fatal Thiamine deficiency...conversely 'dog' grade meat treated with 220....225 contains additional Thiamine to address this issue. If any raw human grade meat has been treated with preservatives then it has been done illegally. Yes, the regulations allow for preservatives to be added to some human-grade processed meat products (eg sausages, frankfurts). Processed products that contain added sulphites are required to declare it on their packaging. By law, there shouldn't be any in raw human grade mince. Here's some info on the regulations: http://www.meatupdat...hur-dioxide.pdf

He's gorgeous Dame Aussie

Yes, this. Sometimes everything is fine until the younger bitch approaches maturity. I wouldn't risk it. A male pup is a far less likely to be a problem.

Scout! He has such a lovely face

That's probably the most cost effective way to do it - as someone else said - a door big enough for a big dog is also probably big enough for a human. Access to the laundry is probably the best option at the moment. PLUS - if you install an approved deadlock your insurance will still be valid and later on you can install a doggy door into the laundry and still be able to lock the house when needs be. I agree with Scottsmum that this probably the cheapest option for right now. We have one of the large dog door inserts in our sliding door (Patiolink I think) it came with a galvanised metal insert to give the ability to block access. While your door is not a sliding door, perhaps you could keep this in mind for any future permanent dog door you get installed. You could perhaps get a blocking insert made. Just a thought. While our dog door is big enough for a human to get in, and I was concerned about this at first, I always have the option of blocking access. And we have CCTV cameras covering the area for added measure. Of course, I paid for the cameras before seeing my dog's reaction to an on-foot police chase of burglars through the backyards of my street. It may have been because I yelled at the guy running through my backyard, but my normally-friendly Boxer seriously gave chase, the guy just made it over the fence as Bruno lunged at him. The second guy didn't follow his mate into my yard, and police arrested him next door. Bruno was then his usual sweet self when I let the police into my yard. Go figure. So for peace of mind, if you install a large dog door in the future, you could put up a camera to cover the area. Mine sends email alerts and footage when motion is detected.