Miranda

No. What I was saying is the vets only have a 50-100% markup (at most). The actual manufacturer has more like a 2000-10000% markup I get my chemicals elsewhere for fleas, ticks, heartworm, worms. We have a few more than 5 dogs The point is that no matter what price you get the dog products for, you are still ripped off. Google the active constituents As for vets, they have other priorities than selling products. They are a health care professional with staff and rent and insurance to pay. Mail order is invariably cheaper on all products as they work on bulk throughput and less staff per product. It's just a different situation. Retail vs mail order differences exist across the board, not just with dog products. Note that most pet stores are high in price as well, so it's not just the vets. If you're in the lucky position of being able to source your chemicals elsewhere well that's fine, unfortunately I'm not able to do this and your average pet owner can't do it either. I am fully aware that we all get ripped off and that most manufactured products cost far more than the actual ingredients, but unfortunately there's not much we can do about it. However what we can do is try to ensure that we find the cheapest prices for these products and if they're half the price on the net that's where I'll buy them and anyone with any sense will do the same. I have an excellent relationship with my vet and have no hesitation in paying him for his expertise when it comes to the health of my dogs, but I draw the line at paying his prices for everyday items like flea medication, shampoo and worming products, he knows this and says that if he was me he would also buy over the net

So you're trying to tell me that you buy all your flea/worming treatments/heartworm preventatives/shampoos from your vet and that you don't mind paying almost double the price? Well I certainly admire your loyalty. Unfortunately I own five large dogs and I prefer to save my money, also I don't believe that there's much my vet can tell me about worming dogs, preventing fleas and heartworm and what shampoos and conditioners to use, but maybe I'm just arrogant and think I know more than I actually do BTW what additional expenses are incurred by vets who stock these products, personally I can't think of any at all?

You can buy Drontal on the net for $3.50 per tablet I would say that 'having a problem' with any of these products would be extremely unlikely, of course it's possible, but the majority of users have no problems whatsoever I'm not 'slagging off' vet clinics, I'm simply stating a fact, shampoos, conditioners, wormers and flea killers/preventatives etc. ARE prohibitively expensive when purchased from a vet or, I should also have added, most pet shops. Lots of pet owners on low incomes are unable to pay vet's prices and their pets suffer as a consequence. If these products can be purchased cheaper over the net then I see no harm in broadcasting this fact. If this is affecting the vets' annual profits, well that's just too bad

Since you are such an online expert could you please tell me what are the websites you use? (apart from pricelesspets) :D I've bought from The Vet Shed and Vet n Pet Direct

This morning I popped into the local vet to weigh my dogs and while I was there I checked out a few of their prices. They were selling Advantage 6 packs for large dogs at $75, I couldn't believe it! They also had a container of Drontal 1x10kg tablets and they were selling the individual tablets at $6 each! Really anyone who buys flea control or wormers from vets has rocks in their head, you can buy this sort of stuff soooo much cheaper over the net and from memory I think Priceless Pets has Advantage for large dogs for $41. Honestly these prices are so over the top that many people on a low income, pensioners etc. just wouldn't be able to afford them and therefore their dogs would suffer. Totally unbelievable!

I have also emailed LL to reserve a place.

Look up threads on 'Crate Training', buying a crate will make the whole business of house training soooo much easier ;) Oops this has already been mentioned, I should have read the other posts before replying, sorry.

All dogs need exercise and training, they need the exercise to tire them out physically and they need training to tire them mentally. Having three very young dogs who are smart and intelligent, all needing attention, exercise and training is a big ask for anyone and there's a possibility that three dogs are simply too much for you. Do you have somewhere safe you can take them to run off lead, a 1/2 hour run twice daily, morning and evening will solve a lot of your problems. Other than that a good walk on lead will help although it won't tire them as much as a good run. If you do decide to take them out running and walking remember that the baby will tire easily and won't be able to keep up with the other dogs so if you're walking them on lead he will have to be taken separately. You can also have toy or ball games in the yard, a few games of fetch will help to tire them out. Inside I recommend crating the dogs or putting them in a puppy pen when you can't supervise them, as they all get on and are only small dogs one large crate or puppy pen will suffice. Even though they're only little dogs they still need training, if you have time to train each of them separately a couple of times a day this is a good idea as it will tire them mentally and this is just as important as exercise. As I said having three dogs of this age is a LOT of work and although they will improve as they mature (which is going to be a while) you are simply going to have to put the work in for a couple of years, there are no short cuts and no quick fix solutions. If you really don't have time to do all these things maybe it would be a good idea to think about rehoming the baby and just keeping the two older dogs, I know it's very hard to do, but cutting down on numbers so you have more time to spend one on one with each dog may be the only solution.

It's quite easy to do with scissors, you don't need clippers. Hold the dog's leg just above the foot, put the thumb of your other hand between the toes, push up the excess hair and snip it off. Then lift up the foot as you would a horse's hoof and cut off the hair that is protruding beyond the pads underneath. If the dog is fidgety get someone to hold the dog and distract it with some treats.

LOL, sometimes it's easy to misjudge how a person is feeling when reading text, looking back at my original post I can see that it could be construed as being critical and judgmental, but it wasn't meant that way I usually start crating my puppies from around 12/14 weeks of age, before that they're outside with other puppies from the litter, but once all the others have gone and I've decided on the pups I'm keeping I bring them inside and start crate training them. It usually only takes a couple of days (sometimes not even that) and they generally sleep from around 11 at night until about 6 in the morning, of course as they get older they can be left longer. A 9 week old puppy will probably need to go out at least once during the night, but they should be able to sleep right through from about 12 weeks as long as you get up reasonably early in the morning. During the day I probably wouldn't crate the puppy for longer than a couple of hours max.

Hey don't get your knickers in a knot, I was only trying to be helpful, you asked a question and I answered and gave my opinion, if you don't agree with me well that's just too bad. IMO bathrooms are cold sterile places and not really suitable as puppy bedrooms, but if your puppy is happy to sleep in there and you don't mind minor damage and wiping off the oil every morning then go for it. Alternatively if you keep her in a crate and having her sleeping near you isn't an option you could always put the crate into the bathroom, much more comfortable for the puppy, no damage to the room and you'll still be able to hear her if she wants to go out, problem solved. She is also less likely to soil her crate and this will make toilet training so much easier. Even when she's toilet trained I wouldn't be leaving a young puppy loose in the house all night, there are just too many things they can chew and destroy. Once she's crate trained she can sleep in her crate at nights and they're also great places to pop the pup if you have 'non-doggy' visitors, if you're going out for a short while and don't want to leave her outside or if you're simply too busy to watch the puppy. IMO crating the puppy overnight is a much more practical idea than locking her in a cold bathroom, smearing oil everywhere and putting up with any damage she might do during the night, but hey I always go for the easy option, guess I must be old and lazy.

I would suggest that you crate train your puppy then she can sleep anywhere without damaging anything, a bathroom isn't really the most appropriate place for a puppy to sleep.

Liquid paraffin taken over a long period of time will interfere with your dog's ability to absorb the fat soluble vitamins, A, D, E and K and your dog may begin to show symptoms of deficiency after prolonged use. It is not a good idea to give liquid paraffin on a regular basis.

LOL I thought you meant you had a lab with osteochondritis dissecans, it never occurred to me that you might mean obsessive compulsive disorder

I have a puppy pen that I occasionally take to shows when I have baby puppies, it's about twice the size of a crate and I think I bought it at Pet Network. However I still take them for a walk every hour or so as I don't want to encourage them to soil in confined areas (all my dogs sleep in crates). I think someone said that you can make one up out of stuff bought at Bunnings??? I'm sure someone will remember Edited 'cos PF is right, puppy pens are probably 3/4 times larger than a crate.

The trouble is if you leave bones or long lasting treats like pigs ears when you go out there could be a fight and you won't be there to break it up. Although they're unlikely to seriously damage each other it's still a possibility and my motto is 'better safe than sorry'. I won't even leave bones with my three older dogs who have lived together happily all their lives, you just never know

I never tie dogs up, it's too dangerous and doesn't do much for their temperament either. I would confine the dog to a puppy pen when he can't be watched, but as poodlefan says if he has to confined or tethered for much of the day he's better off at home.

I always feed bones, pigs ears etc. separately, it's just not worth the hassle. I certainly wouldn't leave my dogs with bones when I go out, that would be asking for trouble.

Compared to meat and a lot of dry foods the protein content isn't that high and just because it contains 21.9% protein doesn't mean that all that protein will be available to the dog as the availability of vegetable protein is much lower than that of meat. I can't see that it would harm a dog, maybe add a little on the meat and bones days and see how the dog copes with it, if there are no adverse reactions then add a little more. I would imagine that dogs fed copra would produce large volumes of poop, but I might be wrong, it may be no different to feeding dry food which also contains a lot of fillers. Let's face it copra can't be any worse for a dog than beet pulp or ground corn. I don't know what breed you have but the only concern I would have would be bloat. I'm not saying that copra would cause bloat but I have a breed that is prone to this disease so I'm pretty careful about what I feed. Other than that all you can do is give it a try over maybe a month and just keep an eye on the dog's condition and activity levels, if the dog loses condition, lacks energy, has sloppy poop etc. stop using it. ETA I have never fed copra and I'm not a vet or an expert in canine nutrition, all my opinions are based on self acquired knowledge of the canine gastrointestinal tract and how it works.

Horses and cattle are herbivores and are designed to eat high fibre carbohydrate diets whereas a dog is a carnivore and has a GI tract specifically designed to deal with a low fibre diet of flesh and bones. Frankly I doubt very much that a dog would be able to process copra, I think you'd find that it would pass through the dog virtually undigested and because of its high fibre content may even cause diarrhoea in some dogs. Included as part of the diet it will act as a filler and will certainly help to assuage the hunger of the dog by contributing to a feeling of fullness however I would imagine that the dog would derive little or no nutrition as it will be unable to break it down. JMO.

You need a proper diagnosis before you go ahead with any therapies. Lameness in any young dog warrants investigation, going ahead with alternative treatments when you don't know what is actually wrong with the dog is dangerous as the treatment may actually exacerbate the problem. I would suggest that you get your dog x-rayed to rule out conditions such as FCP, UAP or OCD, then if everything looks structurally normally you can then go ahead and seek other advice.

I wasn't aware that I had 'jumped on her', I simply recommended that she confine the dog at night and the best way to do that is to put the dog in the laundry or have it crated inside. BTW crating the dog outside would be a waste of time as he would still be aware of whatever is causing him to bark. Keeping dogs inside at night is the best and most simple solution for night-time barking however as the OP has since replied that having the dog inside is not an option she will have to try something else such as an anti-bark collar which may or may not be effective.

Yes this is what would worry me, I wouldn't trust anyone I didn't know to transport and look after my dogs, especially by road where dogs are taken out of the trailer/van for toilet breaks. When you fly you put the dog in the crate yourself and it doesn't get out of the crate until it reaches its destination and is removed by its owner. Flying is also much safer than travelling by road, even if the transporter is a good, safe driver there are lots of other idiots around. I will fly my dogs every time, I know that road transport is cheaper, but that is irrelevant where the safety and wellbeing of my dogs is concerned.

I would fly the dog, I've flown dogs on numerous occasions and never had a problem. Flying is quicker, safer and less stressful for the majority of dogs.

I don't know where you live, but some dogs do tend to lick, bite and scratch a lot more in hot, humid weather. You may find that the problem (if it actually is a problem) gets much better or even clears up altogether when the weather cools down.