abbeyandsandy

On the rare times Abbey is washed, I use Baby Shampoo. I also remember reading a hint from someone, can't remember who, that mentioned mixing the shampoo and water in a plastic spray bottle. More practical to use while trying to wash the dog than trying the normal way. Easier to lather up the fur, especially when you have an excited, water loving Labrador.

Abbey hasn't had a bath in over 6 months (probably much more ). Labs don't need too many baths. Apparently too often is not very good for the oils in their coat. She doesn't smell which is a bonus. On another site that I am a member of, most of the members swear by baby wipes for a quick wipe down with something gentle yet nice smelling. ;)

Sending this to the top of the board for Bully.

I asked about the injection on the American site that I am a member of to find out more. Most of them weren't for it as it had caused a lot of adverse reactions in dogs, including apparently some deaths (though I don't have any factual information to say that the deaths were found to be definitely due to the injection). Not one member said that they would put their dogs on the injection. But like I have read in one of the replies the Aussie version is meant to be different to the American one. Before the dog is put on the injection they have to be tested and cleared for Heartworm first.

Sending everyones information to the top of the board - re - their dogs and what treatment options they have used for HD.

Apparently it is cooking type chocolate that is the biggest worry. But no, Abbey has never been given chocolate.

Abbey has also always been immunised against Kennel Cough but picked it up when she was young from the new puppy next door. The new puppy had been chosen from the pound and Abbey and her loved each other on sight and spent all their time with each other at the fence. Puppy had a slight cough but had been protected by her mother's milk. Abbey though, got a horrible bout of it. I took her off to the vet and she was put on some anti-biotics and some cough medicine. Cough medicine was a lovely pink colour, so when she was coughing and hacking up flem, it came up pink. Still, it was a horrible thing to watch your dog go through. Made me really feel for those parents whose babies get whooping cough.

Our German Shepherd, Cindy (may she rest in peace), seemed to be allergic to everything. We had her on flea allergy tablets (which did help). She lost all the hair from her waist down and her skin became black and tough. The poor thing was so itchy. A friend with a Border Collie was having the same problem and they had made up a tea-tree oil solution (combined with a base oil) and massaged that onto their dogs irritated skin. As they were having such success with it, we did the same for Cindy. The Vet never thought that her fur would grow back, such was the severity of her hair loss. But we kept up with the massaging of the solution and we had wonderful success. All of Cindy's fur grew back. After that, we just sprayed her with tea-tree oil diluted with water on a regular occasion. I've had a huge interest in aromatherapy oils and their many uses ever since. Abbey, being a Labrador, does not have a bath very often, but when she does, tea-tree oil is added to the shampoo. Adding fish oils to meals also helps - not only with the skin irritations but also with any arthritis and joint inflamation.

Abbey's ears are badly affected by flies each year around this time. This year I've noticed that the flies are a little worse than usual and her vet confirmed that he had found this as well. I wash the sores with tea-tree oil diluted with warm water and each morning I put roll-on Rid on her ears. Sometimes I get a fly repellent cream from the vet that includes an antiseptic, but I've found that the Rid for sensitive skin works just as well, combined with the tea-tree oil washes.

Years ago I was house-sitting for a friend with two kelpies. They had been terrible barkers and she had already had letters from the council due to neighbour's complaints. She chose to use the citronella collar. It did need refilling (not excessively) but after the dogs got the idea that barking caused an unpleasant result, it only needed re-filling each night. At the time, she only bought one of the collars and it was swapped between the two dogs alternatively. Because the wearing of the collar was so random (sometimes it was not used at all), the dogs seemed to work out that it was a better idea not to bark constantly as there were pretty good odds that they might have the dreaded collar on. My Lab Abbey is not a barker. I managed to kurb any habit she could have had by putting her on the chain connected to her dog house for time out if she was barking and not responding to commands to be quiet. Being a social Labrador, she certainly doesn't like it and learnt very quickly from a young age that doing as she was told was far better than the 'time-out'. She hasn't been put on the chain for years now. I only need to knock on the window to let her know that enough is enough.

Abbey was found to have HD at 6 months. Her Vet Xrayed her at his first suspicion. Since then she has done the rounds of specialists and trialled all the medications and injections. The cartrophen series of injections was really good when she was younger. We also made sure her diet was very strict and that she was kept at a lower weight to reduce pressure on the joints. She has done water exercise, which was excellent. I had her on carrots to snack on from an early age and she will choose them over a McDonalds chip (only just though ). She will eat just about everything, so I'm lucky that she will eat fruit and vegetables (with the exception of any that are not recommended for dogs). I remember how bad her Xrays were and the advice of the specialist to put her through surgery. I remember her Vet saying to me very gently, when she was younger, that he didn't think that she would make 'old bones'. Now at 7 years old, she continues to amaze her Vet (the same Vet she has had since I got her). She is happy, she is medication and injection free and she is healthy. She has limited and controlled exercise and supervised interaction with other dogs. She has Fish Oil (or Cod Liver oil) added to her meal at night to reduce inflamation, arthritis and pain. She also has Glucosamine for good bone health etc. The Vet is still shaking his head at her great progress. Who can put a finger on what or which thing in particular has worked for her? Probably just a combination of it all. All in all she is a happy, loopy, mad Labrador, who just happens to have HD. Teamed up with an owner who has been through double knee surgery, I'd say we make a good pair.