Mad Mary

Love, love, love them all :D

Hi Borneogoat, Good on you for asking for advice. I agree wholeheartedly with the above comments particularly and the good advice in the rest of the replies. I have brought up two Dobermann, a Dalmatian and a Toy Poodle with a very timid cat we were given before any of the dogs arrived. Each of the dogs had varying interest in the cat but none of them were allowed to chase, jump on, mouth or stare down the cat in anyway - zero tolerance. This also included teaching distraction and ignoring cats we met while out walking. Your pup needs to be taught manners and behavioural boundaries before he gets bigger and stronger. You will need to be persistent and consistent with your training for sometime to come, you have a young exuberant dog who has already learnt it is fun to chase and jump on cats. It would be good if your partner could also be involved with Chief's training too, it would be fun for him and hopefully build a positive relationship between them. There is a Puppy Socialisation topic in the pinned section of this thread by K9Pro which may interest you. Hoping your training goes well and everybody feels less stressed - particularly the cats :)

Oh no - I'm so sorry to read this news. I hope you are OK. RIP Oscar and Mia, running free over the Rainbow Bridge with all the other dogs.

My boy was on ZD for a couple of years and the only other dry food I tried was the RC, I was so happy to find something he was OK on. He is allowed a very small amount of treats a day but these have to be exactly the right ones - he can still get the runs if he has too many or he gets one of the rawhide/chicken chews. Chicken and chicken by-products seem to be the worst trigger for him. Sadly he has just had an operation for urate bladder stones and he is now on canned and dry UD. We are now 1 month into the new diet and poo consistency is generally OK, although I have noticed a lot less out put which is interesting.

OMG that is awful for you. I am also hoping a miracle happens and Larry turns up.

My vet informed me this week that there are supply issues with Hills they hope to resolve within the next few weeks although she reminded me that this has happened before and taken a lot longer than a few weeks to resolve. Last time it was something to do with import licence. I wanted the smallest bag of U/D and ended up getting the largest bag as that was the only size they had. Unbelievably expensive! I have never ordered online so can't help with suggestions on supplier. I have also had a dog on Z/D Low Allergy which for some reason suited him much better than the Ultra. Last time the Hills supply dried up I bought the RCH which he tolerated well. If I remember correctly Koda has similar issues to my dog so the RCH would be worth a try. I can totally understand how frustrating and disappointing it is that after finally finding a food that suits you can't get it. Hope you can get something sorted out soon.

Oh my goodness, fantastic photo's! I feel like I can reach out and touch those beautiful animals ... looking at them is making my heart beat faster :)

Great to hear on the news tonight Mandy is doing really well. Thanks not only to those fire fighters and paramedics who looked after Mandy but to all of them who do a terrific job for us all.

I have also had a dog that had anal gland removal due to recurrent abscess. He was a little sore and for a few days but was fine after that. We were recommended to use a vet that had considerable experience with this operation. Although it is a tricky and expensive operation it was definitely worth it - our poor boy seemed so much happier afterwards. He hated having "leaky butt" and must have felt pretty awful when he had the infections.

Amazing and wonderful that Clara has been found

Ahh - now I understand, thank you :)

That is wonderful news. :)

I'm wondering too. I see you can buy "white slippery elm tincture" online but it does not give any information on how it works compared to the powder or capsules.

Those poor, poor dogs. What is the matter with some people Oh yes, I remember now and it's why I prefer animals to many humans! Thank you Dogmad and Scallywags Rescue for saving them. They are being well looked after now and hopefully will find loving forever homes very quickly.

I am another who uses Slippery Elm with success for a dog with who seems to have food allergy to chicken and chicken by products. He also has Hills ZD but can also tolerate RC Hypoallergenic which he is fine on most of the time but occasionally, if there has been dietary indiscretion, or even sometimes it appears seasonal change affects him, I mix a small amount of slippery elm in with his food twice a day. His poo firms up after a few days and there is much less straining to complete the bowel motion.

This has been one of my favourite pet warehouses over the years. Very, very sad. RIP Pierre the talking Lorrikeet who was quite a character and all the other animals. :'(

I can't really tell from the photo's but they look as if they are foam rubber filled and the exterior is quite tough. Were they purchased as a dog bed/mattress from a pet store? I have in the past found Clark Rubber to have a selection of mattresses suitable for dogs but mine don't have a waterproof covering. It may be worth your while taking a trip to Clark Rubber and seeing what they have. There used to be a store in Castle Hill. Hope this helps.

Love your photos, they have brought a smile to my face. Beautiful dogs having a joyful time playing together. Thanks for sharing :)

Have you applied any spot on flea/tick treatments recently? Some dogs seem to become ultra sensitive to the chemicals just like you describe.

I have also had a problem with this product with one of my dogs about a year ago. The Toy Poodle and Doberman were fine but the Dalmation was not. He had red patches on his neck and back, was extremely itchy and had what I call a 'crawling skin'. He rolled in the grass, on the carpet and constantly looked at his back and nibbled himself. I realised something was wrong within a couple of hours and washed him thoroughly several times but after 24 hours he was still very agitated so I took him to the vet. I can't remember what exactly they did for him, an injection of something and probably pills I am sure, which relieved the symptoms somewhat. It certainly took a week before he was back to his normal self. My vet was genuinely concerned by the reaction, she personally reported this to Bayer and the APVMA and fully refunded my money for the three dogs as I said I would never use this product again. All dogs had previously been OK with Frontline and Permoxin spray. This was the first time I had tried this product and I had read the leaflet in the packaging. I had also been online and read the Bayer website which included warnings of possible reactions hence I was alert to the possibility that there could be adverse reactions in some dogs. Like all medications, both human and animal, there can be adverse reactions. As soon as this has happened to my dog I did further research and found that it would seem to be reported as more common in some small breeds. My vet and I have no idea why it should have affected my boy like it did. My vet advised me that Bayer also claimed to be clueless about why he had a reaction (we both rolled our eyes and said "yeh, sure" about that). I guess with all drugs and topical chemicals for humans and animals it is a case of consumer or owner beware. If this product were for human use I am sure we would have heard more about reactions and complaints. To the OP, I can empathise with your concerns and feel very sorry for your poor dog who had a worse reaction than mine. Hopefully your dog has now fully recovered.