Her Majesty Dogmad

definitely get it checked, I had a foster dog with a snotty nose. There are two main causes, one is allergies and the other is a fungal problem. She had a biopsy in the end and hers turned out to be an allergy, she blew snot everywhere - I'd come home to find it lodged on the wall or hanging off the sofa. Thought I'd never rehome her but found someone that it didn't worry!! If it had been the fungal problem then that is a very serious issue. Best get this checked by the vet. If it is an allergy, I'd recommend looking at natural therapies to assist.

Depending on their age, they would probably benefit from a longer walk in the morning. I find that dogs under 4 years of age need about an hour in the morning - I rarely take on dogs of that age as I don't have enough time for that amount of exercise really.

So sorry Anna, I'm so glad she was so loved and passed away peacefully in her home. Hugs to you and everyone. Jane xx

My thoughts exactly. Disgusting. Pus = pain. There is no excuse here. Vets here certainly do payment plans but if you cannot afford even a consultation, you really shouldn't have a dog. The owner should at least do that in the first instance. And I agree, the cost of a groom would surely be similar - this person's priorities are all wrong.

I think it's Corophragia? I've had a few dogs that have done this, it's is FOUL. When it is their own poo, you can try feeding them something different and pick up constantly. It can be a sign of boredom - is she getting enough exercise/mental stimulation? My dogs haven't eaten their own poo but they do it when we go walking, if people all picked up I wouldn't have the issue!

I adopted an old dog from Sutherland Pound. SHe was in terrible condition and urgently needed dental work done. The pre op blood tests showed kidney probs. She went on Hills KD diet but my vet warned me she would only have a few months. I took her to the ALl Natural Vet at Russell Lea in Sydney and they put her on CHinese Herbs. She became very healthy and lived a year before succumbing to kidney failure following a gastric virus. It's not cheap but they do phone consultations (you can fax them your dog's results and they confer with your vet) and they mail out the herbs. Since then, I've returned with other dogs and had various treatments. I couldn't recommend them highly enough for providing my dogs with a better quality of life and health support.

Sounds a bit like Inflammatory Bowel Disease, my IG went through many tests and special diets over quite a few months. You could hear his stomach from the next room sometimes. It wasn't constant either. This was about 8 years ago, I think the final diagnosis was made when he had an endoscopy. Anyhow, he was put on Pred medication and restricted to ONLY eating Hills Ultra ZD. My life was hell for a few years. If he got hold of food he shouldn't (out and about or if people fed him at the off leash park) he could have an attack and end up on a drip for a week. It has cost me thousands over the years. Every day was a battle, trying to feed him on the Ultra ZD. I searched on the web and found someone who gave their dog sweet potato (my vet said NOTHING except the dried food). I also discovered that you can try giving them other proteins. We also went off the Pred and onto another old fashioned medication and he was much better behaved on that (he used to wake me up throughout the night wanting food and be at me every waking minute for food as well). I had reached the stage where I was going to put him to sleep as I couldn't cope after 4 years of living with him like this but the change of meds worked wonders. This year I obtained the Ultra ZD in canned form so he has a bit more variety and he also eats sardines and tuna for example. I'd also recommend trying the All Natural Vet at Russell Lea if you are in NSW.

Separate your dogs now or the small one will probably be killed. In the long term, this is not probably going to be a successful match, I'd rehome the small dog.

Don't run with a fat dog, particularly not in warm weather!! You need to start walking with the dog yourself, on the lead, and keep increasing the distances over time. Just give a tiny amount of meat and a huge amount of veggies for dinner. Maybe a sardine or two in the morning. I've just had to diet one of my dogs severely, she's lost 4 kilos in 4 weeks. She actually collapsed, she's old, possibly due to a stroke and it's been hell having to lift up a 20 kilo dog and carry her in and out to do her business, hold her up while she's doing it etc. I've only had her a few months after rescuing her in an overweight state from the pound. Put some effort in and don't ever let your dogs get fat, read the fat contents on each pack - you might get a shock, I found a biscuit that had over 20% fat in it the other day!!

I had an elderly dog I rescued who turned out to have kidney problems. I put her on the Hills canned diet (she refused the dried food) and my vet said she may not be with me for long. I took her to the Natural Vet at Russell Lea and they prescribed Chinese herbs. She remained in good health for a year until she caught a stomach bug and 2 weeks later she was gone. My vet was amazed at how well she did in that year, I'd give alternative therapies a look, I find they do wonders sometimes.

I have an Italian Greyhound and a lump suddenly came up on his neck area. The vet gave me antibiotics for infection, then we had a needle aspiration and finally it was diagnosed as a burst salivary gland, a rare occurrence and indeed an expensive one. When I went to collect him, I had an awful shock, I'm very squeamish and he had a tube threaded through his throat draining on both sides with the effect of a waterfall of blood and fluid coming down his chest. I had to leave him in the vet, couldn't cope. About 3 weeks after, the lump came up again and we had to go through the whole thing again ... the vet said he obviously hadn't removed the whole thing the first time.

Dogs have many similar eye problems to people - glaucoma, cataracts, dry eye amongst other things. Best thing is to see an eye specialist - there is one at Carlingford Untreated dry eye can cause blurry vision for example. Dogs with eye issues can find meeting other dogs very threatening so until your friend knows what it is, she is best avoiding off leash exercises and intros to other dogs that might startle her.

Even one sprig of Wandering Jew can set off a bad reaction. I'm hearing that vets are not telling people what this looks like sometimes and just treat the symptoms, not the cause therefore. Other plants can affect dogs' skins as well but check for WJ first. White shorthaired dogs seem particularly susceptible to allergies. My vet advises adding fish oil supplements to their diet, I've found the Pyohex and Malaseb are OK but not necessarily the best, they can dry the skin out. I use an expensive shampoo that also soothes - you get it from the vet, smells lovely - can't think of its name but it isn't cheap. It's not medicated though.

Have you had any blood tests done?

I've just been through this for 2.5 years with an old Westie cross foster dog from Doggie Rescue, sadly she just passed away aged 14 but I was warned her ears could be the cause of her passing away. It wasn't them in the end, it was her age. Anyhow, she arrived with blown eardrums through years of neglect, she screamed the whole of the first night at my house, it was terrible to hear, she was in so much pain. Ear drops can make things worse. My vets were fantastic with doing all they could, she did have two surgeries to clean them out in the first 2 years. Her skin was also bad. I bought her different foods but my vet was very impressed with her overall condition, inc her ears with the following regime; * Fortnightly/weekly baths - very careful not to get water in the ear but keeping her clean generally *Only good quality food, the bulk of it was from www.pricelesspets.com - the dried food, specially formulated for problem ears/skin, no treats with anything like cheese or yeast in *Ear drops every other day - the ear drops were permanent and needed to be changed every few months when she became resistant to them

What a dear little guy. So sorry he lost his battle.

Haven't got a bag at the mo, from memory it certainly is preservative and additive free, I think it was perhaps lamb, rice and veggies? If you ring them they will tell you - they rung pricelesspets out of a vet and they are helpful. Food is crucial usually, I was feeding a new commercial brand on the market to two of my dogs for a few months and they both got ear infections. Got them treated and stopped feeding the food and nothing since. It was nothing contagious either.

Allergies are so common and so hard to fix, have been through a few here. I would recommend trying the All Natural Vet at Russell Lea, they are excellent vets and look at natural therapies. With one dog I had (as a foster) with terrible ears and skin, I tried a few foods such as Hills etc and didn't go all that well. I then tried the food on www.pricelesspets.com.au, it's dried and specially forumulated for dogs with skin/ear probs. It worked for Cindy! Within 2 months, my vet said her ears were hugely improved (they would never be 100%) and her skin had cleared up. My vet couldn't believe the improvement. I was bathing her weekly but it had to be the food.

Dont give your dog grapes, even one can be a problem - causes kidney failure. Also, don't feed them nuts - far too high in fat and can cause pancreatitus - very common at Christmas when people are eating macadamias etc. I give my dogs sardines and biscuits in the morning and then dried food and meat in the evening. They sometimes get things like Basmati rice, cooked sweet potato or pumpkin, and scrambled egg as a special treat.

Here you are - I've successfully used this kindness/reward method on about 50 foster dogs aged between 1 - 10 yrs of age! Takes about 3 days usually. 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.

You could try giving him a quick squirt of water in the face if he persists, I had to do this with my dog (rescued at 10 yrs of age but desexed years before) as he was like a limpet on my arm permanently, couldn't shake him off. Another dog owner suggested I try that and it only took a couple of squirts and he stopped completely thank God as it was very hard to live with.

One of my foster carers purchased this anxiety wrap for her foster dog. The dog was very anxious having spent many years wandering without a home and surviving on garbage. ANyhow, the dog was storm phobic as well. She found that the jacket stretched fairly quickly. She ended up using homeopathic remedies and found them to be good. I use Xanax (anti anxiety med) from the vet for my storm phobic dogs. For my old dog who is constantly anxious about food and life (could be dementia too), he was keeping me up all night virtually but someone recommended I try Chinese herbs from the All Natural Vet at Russell Lea. Worked like magic and for the last 4 weeks, he's pretty much been sleeping most of the night, only getting up once or twice which is a huge improvement. They aren't cheap but they sure are worth it for me.

You poor thing, RIP little Charlotte. Don't be hard on yourself, you loved her and did your best. Dogs do understand, I really believe that.

How very sad and unfair, always so hard when they are young. I lost my old 16 year old girl this week, I'm very sad but at least she all those years. Wishing you happier days.

I would not recommend getting a puppy and leaving it alone all day. Others will flame me here but it is not fair on the dog and asking for problems. Your friends have been very lucky. I rehome dogs for a rescue organisation and we simply wouldn't rehome a puppy to this situation. A mature dog, yes, but puppy, no. Puppies chew and need extra meals, stimulation etc etc, they can whine and bark if lonely. Your neighbours won't be pleased if that happens and you aren't in a good position to provide all the things a puppy needs, you are simply out for far too long. It is good that you are thinking very carefully about this situation.