Her Majesty Dogmad

Which vet Danois?? I live in Thornleigh and go to Hornsby vet. Cherrybrook vet is also good from what I hear.

Animal Tracks at Homebush is excellent. All Natural Vet at Russell Lea is also good but they are more expensive, depending on what you do. Balmain's vet is also good. Enmore vet is also a rescue centre from what I understand (they advertise in the newspaper at weekends). Not sure if Carlingford in on your radar but the vet there is supposed to be excellent.

I won't ever do the heartworm injection personally. I use "Advocate" - once a month on the neck spot on. I buy it in a pack of six (by weight of the dog). It covers fleas, heartworm, intestinal worms, lice and mites. I use it on the 1st of every month. I've also used Interceptor before as well, combined with Advantage. You can buy it all, much more cheaply than a pet supply store or vet, from www.pricelesspets.com.au. I'm in NSW and it takes just 2 days to get to me from Qld. Saves heaps of money as I have my own plus foster dogs.

I often take on older dogs, knowing that I will lose them sooner than I'd like but it doesn't mean I love them any less. I've lost 4 in the last year, 3 of which were sudden although thinking realistically, not unexpected by me I suppose. I'd had major health worries with each of them in their last years and then the huge relief that they were going to come through and be with me a bit longer. It is very hard to lose our beloved friends so treasure every day and give them some of their special things as often as you can, Robbi's advice is excellent. Hoping Molly comes through and you have lots more special times ahead with your baby.

could you use some vaseline? wouldn't the permoxin sting??

Are there any sprigs - even one is enough - of a plant called Wandering Jew in her garden??

I have a clear plastic dog door and have had many foster dogs that weren't keen on using it. The answer is (thanks to Dr Harry), cut a square of wrapping paper the size of the flap and stick it on. It gives the dog a target to go for and once they are used to it, you can take the paper off normally!

No - I never feed with the oil and will only buy in springwater. I buy the "homebrand" sardines in Woollies, about $1.60 for 3 cans and they are actually better than the named brands that cost $$$ more.

Sorry but your post doesn't really make sense to me, does she have a doggy door? How does she get outside if she's in a playpen?

Poor little puppy.

Shelley - why are you telling the dog off exactly - when you say "naughty things" what does that constitute (everyone has different ideas on this)? Sounds to me like you are taking it too far and frightening the dog. Is the dog housetrained? How did you or have you tried to housetrain the dog?

I had problems with a foster dog recently not being well. My vet gave her antibiotics and just to be on the safe side, put her on Hills Ultra ZD, she was so much better. My old IG, Luigi, had Inflammatory Bowel Disease and was on it for years. I've found that many dogs that I've had don't seem to cope well with raw meat, esp beef or kangaroo. But Luigi couldn't even have chicken, we went through elimination diets and finally he had to have an endoscopy which showed IBD - NO meat protein was safe therefore. It was a long hard path to diagnosis for him and me and I can really empathise with the worry over Sweep, I really hope they can get to the bottom of it all soon.

I just went through something similar with a young foster dog who had seemed to be housetrained. Suddenly started pooping and weeing EVERYWHERE. We went to the vet and she went on a week's course of antibiotics - end of problem! She had colic. I think this could be an infection, it's close to his desexing so I'd go back and see the vet.

Huski, I'm sure if a dog is relatively warm and comfortable that they might be happy enough outside but the fact is that many feel the cold, especially short coated dogs and the OP's dog has a problem for sure.

What a terrible thing to happen. Poor Aunt and poor poor little Rocky ... my thoughts are with her.

There must be symptoms of blockage, the vomiting would be one. No vet would want to operate in such an invasive manner if it wasn't necessary. You can't leave it too long in these situations. At my last job, one of my colleagues adopted a Boxer puppy. She was very destructive, chewed up all sorts of things but especially the garden watering system. Before she was 8 months of age, she'd had 2 surgeries to remove obstructions. Luckily for him he had pet insurance ... Good luck, I really hope this works out that she doesn't need surgery.

My dogs generally seem to go twice a day but my dear departed Dixie would always squeeze out a poop whenever we went down the road on a lead and that could have been several times a day when I first got her because I used to take her everywhere with me! I haven't had another dog do the same.

My old Italian Greyhound had a bad reaction to the antibiotic CLAVULOX. He would vomit copiously and be lethargic when on a course. He also had IBD so initially, it wasn't known if it was an IBD attack but it turned out to be Clavulox causing the trouble so his file was marked never to be given that particular tablet. I've had many other dogs go on it without a problem though.

craftikylie - they don't have to sleep on your bed, in your bedroom or even the loungeroom. Just asking if there is somewhere warmer, during the winter months that they can stay. Sleeping on a blanket in a kennel would still not keep a dog warm on its back. Dogs are dogs and children are children, I certainly know the difference and have never wanted the latter. It doesn't mean that the former, although less equal in human terms, deserve lesser care. At least one of your dogs has an issue. You asked for help and suggestions. Now you don't appear to like the answers, so often the case I find on DOL.

Although I'm 100% sure your dogs are cold during the night, one thing you can do is this test - stand in your garden for a couple of hours in the night, without a jumper or coat on, and see if you feel cold? If you are feel cold then so will your dogs. Feel the inside of your dog's ear - if that is cold, then your dog is cold. Please help your dogs.

Your poor dogs, short coated dogs really feel the cold. As you say it is very cold where you are, they are probably frozen. Personally, I don't agree with keeping any dogs outside in kennels but particularly not short coated or small dogs. I rehome dogs for a rescue group and we don't allow this because it exposes dogs to the elements and all the mosquitoes and other insects that bite etc. It can also cause a dog to bark at things in the night such as bats etc and wake neighbours as well as your family .... Don't you have somewhere that the dogs could be more comfortable at this time of the year in particular - a garage, a laundry, kitchen etc? As for coats, some dogs don't like certain coats but I have found the trick is to try different styles with some dogs.

You could collect a urine sample by getting a plastic medication syringe (chemists sell them) and sucking up the pee!

Part of the problem will lie with your cleaning techniques - using the right stuff is crucial! Here's some housetraining info and I've housetrained well over 50 dogs myself aged between 1 and 14 years with this method plus untold fostered/adopted dogs. HOUSETRAINING TIPS Ok - first thing to do is decide on the command (I call it “do wees”) you will repeat over and over. You have to really focus on the dog for about 2-3 days to be successful. You have a pocketful of special treats on hand all the time for the first 2-3 days. Walk the dog several times a day and every time the dog wees, you get very excited and keep saying “Good boy/girl, do wees, do wees” – give the dog treats every time. First thing in the morning, last thing at night and every time you see the dog eat or drink (both precursors to weeing) whisk the dog into the garden and repeat the command “do wees”. Get very excited and present treats every time dog goes. The dog’s aim in life is to please you. If the dog should have an accident inside the house – say NOTHING at all. The dog soon gets the idea that when he/she goes outside you are really, really pleased and he/she gets rewarded. NB: Please note that the smell of urine must be properly removed for any housetraining to be successful. There are products on the market such as “Urine Off” but they are very expensive. A mix of white vinegar and water is a much cheaper alternative and should work for tiles and other surfaces although you should always take care with wood etc. For carpet/rugs, I use either a mixture of Napisan/water or bicarb of soda and water. I completely soak the stain using a dab on technique with a cloth. When it is very wet, I use an old towel to soak up the excess moisture. Again, be careful on any expensive carpet/rug, I have never had any problems but I cannot guarantee any method here.

Maybe a stupid question but why is she in a pen at her age?

Can't help with puppy behaviour - just remember, they are like having a toddler around!! But the more effort you put in, the better off you'll be. Here's some housetraining tips for Monica666 in particular: HOUSETRAINING TIPS Ok - first thing to do is decide on the command (I call it “do wees”) you will repeat over and over. You have to really focus on the dog for about 2-3 days to be successful. You have a pocketful of special treats on hand all the time for the first 2-3 days. Walk the dog several times a day and every time the dog wees, you get very excited and keep saying “Good boy/girl, do wees, do wees” – give the dog treats every time. First thing in the morning, last thing at night and every time you see the dog eat or drink (both precursors to weeing) whisk the dog into the garden and repeat the command “do wees”. Get very excited and present treats every time dog goes. The dog’s aim in life is to please you. If the dog should have an accident inside the house – say NOTHING at all. The dog soon gets the idea that when he/she goes outside you are really, really pleased and he/she gets rewarded. NB: Please note that the smell of urine must be properly removed for any housetraining to be successful. There are products on the market such as “Urine Off” but they are very expensive. A mix of white vinegar and water is a much cheaper alternative and should work for tiles and other surfaces although you should always take care with wood etc. For carpet/rugs, I use either a mixture of Napisan/water or bicarb of soda and water. I completely soak the stain using a dab on technique with a cloth. When it is very wet, I use an old towel to soak up the excess moisture. Again, be careful on any expensive carpet/rug, I have never had any problems but I cannot guarantee any method here.