ninaandted

What a wonderful thing to have happened. I hope they are both happy together!! I love the new name.

the extended periods of time do work for the fleas - usually! I don't know about the ticks though and I haven't been game to try as we really are a high tick area - I know so many dog people in our area who have had ticks it isn't funny and our cat picks them up just from our vegie patch. it looks like I should stick with the advantix though. maybe I'll have to look at options for doing something about the areas in the yard where they might be picking them up - but goodness knows how I'll do that! crisovar - just read your post - maybe I'll do a bit of a break with those alternatives and go back after a little break.

the tick protection requires that it be applied fortnightly - it's recommended by the manufacturer but I agree - I was wondering if there is some resistance or something going on.

probably about two years ago I think we changed over from frontline to advantix as the frontline just wasn't keeping the adult fleas off our goldie Ted. he is a massive flea magnet - if there is one within a thousand kilometres it will find him. our vet recommended the change as they said the manufacturers had altered the frontline and it wasn't as effective. we now seem to have a similar problem but with both dogs this time even though we are using the advantix. I have my suspicions about a section of our yard that is sandy but obviously can't do anything about erradicating them from this area (if that's the problem), or keep the dogs from it 100% of the time, although their access is severly restricted. but I think the advantix isn't "working" anymore. when we did the change over the results last time were like chalk and cheese and we've managed the problem really well until this last summer. their inside environment is obviously cleaned as much as humanly possible if we find any fleas and we have to do a super duper vacuum every two days anyway. they get a fortnightly treatment in summer with the advantix as we can't use the tick collars with the kids around and we are in a tick area. in winter I usually cut it back to the once a month. the dogs are also washed fortnightly on the recommendation of the vet for Ted's skin condition. (for Ted anyway and Nina just ends up in the water because she loves getting wet). I wait the 48 hours after washing before putting on the treatment. obviously all this is costing a fortune because I'm paranoid about them getting a tick - but if it isn't working for the fleas I'm majorly annoyed! as well as the poor dogs suffering unnecessarily. what are others' experiences with either product at the moment? I'm about to order some more and am wondering if I should try the frontline again instead or if perhaps I'm doing something wrong.

ahhhhh - ellz - that might now be the deciding factor - if we can get a purple one!! :rolleyes: at this stage I'm going to make some enquiries in our local area about someone who might have one and might let me have a go at using it to see if it's any easier or not and look at all the features so I at least know what I should be looking for if we decide to go ahead one day. thanks for all the feedback everyone!

Ted's hot spot is all better now and he hasn't had a recurrance, although he has done the licking of his paw probably once or twice since. he was on the phyohex (spelling?) but the vet said we could alternate or have a rest from it in winter so that we don't completely strip his coat. he said we must use it throughout from oct to march once a week. both dogs are on a BARF diet. i'm quite happy to keep up with the washing if that will help prevent a recurrance but it came about also because Ted had broken through our fence into our pond and it had wet his collar, which stayed wet against his skin. we didn't notice/think to check it and it only took a day or so for that to start the whole hot spot in that warm area under his neck. it was all very quick - poor love. (he was just shoving his head under to catch the fish - we caught him and thought we had dried him all off okay but obviously hadn't and didn't think about the collar being cloth) we are in helensburgh NSW.

I have quite a few customers who like to have their dog bathed weekly. They pay around $25 per week (brisbane prices) and are very happy to do so. Some of them have been doing it for over 5 years now. But each for their own. I can't look in your budget so it is up to you to decide what you want to do. You can buy a new one (at around $1500) or have somebody in for 60 washes.... yeah - it would be great to have a professional do it but we'd have to double the prices as we have two dogs and would end up getting both of them done. good price though - you'd be working hard for your money!!! I think we did used to pay about the same-ish when we had the mobile hydrobath come to us once a month. well to seriously do the comparison... how long would a hydrobath itself last? we are seriously planning (because we are optomists!) that Ted (and Nina) will be with us for at least another ten to fourteen years - if we got something that lasted it might work out okay, especially if we could get it second hand even!!

Dali-love - every week??? I'd love to have a professional groomer do it! we used to get a mobile hydrobath lady come every month too for a while but when it went to weekly it just got to expensive for us, although they hydrobath may well also be a bit OTT! :D

I did a bit of a search here on hydrobaths and found some great details already in some threads but I just wanted some general advice to begin with. our golden retriever was diagnosed during the summer with a nasty hot spot and our vet has us on a program of washing him once a week now with a medicated wash to prevent it happening again. we used to wash him about monthly but went to the weekly as directed which does seem to leave him more comfortable and our house less hairy!! :D that was all fine and dandy during the summer and when I wasn't fat and pregnant! :D but now that I'm bigger and can't bend or deal with Ted's strength it's up to my OH to do. During the hot summer we were just using the hose on the back lawn which was all fine. As it got cooler I used warm buckets of water but now that winter is really here we have moved into the bathtub, which is a less than ideal arrangement. in the opinion of users - would we be better off investing in a hydrobath (I don't even know the prices yet!)? We don't show or anything but our goldie is only four so we have a few years ahead of us of the weekly washing. our other dog (lab x) doesn't need washing as often and is a breeze to wash so she doesn't really factor into the considerations that much, although we still wash her regularly in any case and would use the same arrangements. what do people think? does it make the job easier or is it just as easy to do it in the bathtub? it just means alot of bathroom cleaning for me but I'm trying to think longer term! I also want something easy to encourage my OH to do it without lots of nagging from me because I think he'll be doing it even after I have the bub for a while. any advice would be appreciated.

erny - just so you know I'll be reformatting mine and emailing through to you with my contact details etc on it. just not this weekend! sorry!

erny - mine's late too - sorry! hope it's okay - I kept trying to get it right - there is so much to say it could be a really, really long story!! We have two medium dogs and after attending a group training session with a dog behaviourist/trainer, we witnessed the use of the pressure point collar with one of our dogs and were amazed at the transformation. We subsequently worked with this trainer with both of our dogs as both pulled on the leads in differing manners, one in particular due to an anxiety behaviour brought on by a variety of factors, many of which were beyond our control. This behaviour was apparent in the way she pulled on the lead, as well as other health issues she had. It was imperative for her health that this behaviour and her anxiety be aleviated. Additionally, it was, of course, an issue walking two dogs simultanously, when they both pull, if their combined weight is more than that of the walker! I was also concerned, as I was pregnant at that time, that if I continued to find walking both of them so difficult, that I would eventually have to give up walking them and that they would ultimately suffer. I was initially reluctant, or rather, sceptical, that this kind of collar would make a difference, or not cause any harm to my dogs, however, after being fully trained in their use and educated about they way they work I understood how they actually cause less harm than many of the other collars I was refered to for my dogs. During the time prior to working with the pressure point collar I was referred to a number of collars and at one training session forced to use a check chain collar. I can attest that each and every one of these collars was both ineffective in assisting me in training my dogs not to pull and in some cases caused further anxiety for my dog. Using the pressure point collar I found it easier to play my part in the training, it requires no force to use on the dog, it is not about "yanking", which is particularly useful for a fairly small woman. It is a much clearer and quicker communication tool and with timing in training particularly important to help a dog understand what you are trying to achieve, I found this very useful. Both dogs have taken enthusiastically to this training and welcome the collar going on. The end result of the training is that I have two dogs that I can walk together comfortably and with my baby's pram - something I would never have thought possible before using this collar. Combined with the techniques and exercises we were taught by the trainer and the collar, we have been able to reduce my dog's anxiety and improve her overall health and weight gain, as well as assist her with a number of her anxious behaviours when we went out on walks, but I would have to emphasise that I do not believe that we would have achieved the same result with another collar. As mentioned previously, we had been referred, and worked with trainers, with a number of other collars, which either had no effect or in some cases increased my dog's anxiety. The use of this collar and the work we have been able to do with them with it, has improved the quality of life of both of my dogs, because they can comfortably be taken on walks, but in particular is has assisted my dog with her anxiety.

deelee2, that would be one of the key things - you think you are being pack leader but you're not really. you have no idea how much the pack power has been reinforced with me since I had a baby and went back to work and am routinely sleep deprived and slightly cranky! not too much but enough to be quite convincingly in charge and much less tolerant for any furrykids being bossy back!!

it was ted's. he still walks like that now. he is a star!! doesn't quite adore me like he adored steve but it's still pretty special. we had to go back for the one on one consult with Nina because of her history and anxieties, especially with male trainers but steve had that sorted in about two minutes.

deelee2, I've been in and out of this thread to see how things are going and you've received some great advice. I'm just posting now because your description of your dog and experience matches my nina to a "T". super smart dog at home and super obedient but she was a nightmare to walk. after attending a DOL training day with K9 Force I ended up going back to work with him on Nina with great results. why I'm posting here is that what I discovered was that we had other issues underlying the walking on lead issues. it wasn't a simple case of just pulling, it had to do with behaviours and temperament. once those were addressed then the training on lead was straightforward and happened almost like magic. I'm not a trainer and certainly didn't want to train her for obedience or competition - I just wanted to be able to go for a walk comfortably and I just couldn't. I genuinely tried all of the advice I received here on DOL and tried working with two different trainers over the course of 18 months. there was nothing wrong with the advice I received per se but without the assessment I still would have been struggling. so what I'm trying to say in a round about way - if you are still struggling it would be worth seeing a behaviouralist/trainer and having your dog assessed. there may be other things you are doing or not doing that will make a difference. you don't have to have a dog with "huge" issues for it to be worthwhile having someone observe what you are doing not just from a training "technique" issue (although that can help too). in our case although I was doing NILIF at home and TOT I still wasn't being enough of a leader and nina had other issues that contributed to a level of anxiety during her walks that caused her kind of pulling and behaviours. I was shown ways of addressing those that were appropriate to her. I also found it useful to apply to other aspects of her training as well and we have made alot of progress generally.

as per poodle wrangler we use "Shhhh" and we do go to "shut it!" if it's OTT barking or if they haven't stayed quiet after a "Shhhh". It hasn't inhibited Nina's bark at all as a normal thing believe me! but it will make her quiet if necessary. I only use the "shut it" because I can channel a pretty impressive cranky voice for that one without need of volume or effort on my part. :rolleyes: your friend could pick any word that suited that she wasn't using for another command. like your friend I don't mind a dog that barks as long as it's not nuisance barking. our dogs have saved us from harrassment from a notorious neighbour and for that I'm very grateful for a well placed bark! we did our training initially because Nina had a routine of territory barking when let outside - this wasn't a great thing first thing in the morning as you might guess. in our other training on lead I do make use of a light tug for a correction and a food reward for following instructions, so we spent a few weeks only taking her out on lead and using the morning barking as an opportunity for the "shhh" training (with a tug for a correction if she wasn't quiet and reward for being quiet on command). with Nina I find once she gets the clear message on the meaning of the word then I can go to a just reward system for when she's successful and do the training without a lead - which meant we could take the command inside. we haven't proofed it entirely though and under situations of extreme excitement for her it doesn't work but we may work on that in the future - for now having her quiet in the house on command is great with a baby in the house! your friend could do a similar thing inside i would guess but she may need to set up a situation to cause the barking for the training session (if that makes sense). we just had a fantastic natural one which gave us enough repetition for enough sessions for the lesson to sink it. if the training is too sporadic her success rate may be low or it will take a while for the meaning to sink in. ETA - if your friend's dog only barks in a certain spot - for example at the door or window she may be able to get the dog to stop if the dog is called away from that spot and then not have to train the barking itself at all. (does that make sense). or she may have to employ both techniques depending on the circumstances. For instance, if we have our front door open (we have a screen door) and someone goes past down our street (which is normally a quiet street), Nina may start barking. it may be what I would call a "high excitement situation" for her, for example someone walking a dog down the street. in this instance I know that "Shhh" may or may not work, so if I want her quiet I call her to me and praise her for coming to me. the double benefit is that she also stops barking because she is away from the stimulus. she will also move away from the door on a command for that.