JackieW

I've had rats and mice here recently which one of the dogs managed to catch. I was a bit concerned about them in the shed when I went away (and no dogs on the premises) so I put some Racumin down. I hate the idea of poison but wasn't sure what else to do. The bait was intact when I got home but has since been eaten so there must be some vermin around, even though the dogs aren't giving any indication they're about. (The dogs have no access to the shed.) I thought I heard some scratching behind the wall the other day so put some Racumin in the ceiling too. It's supposed to be 'safer' for other animals than some of the other baits.

I had a dog with insulinoma, Jamie. I first became worried about him in April 2007 after a couple of episodes of wobbling after light exercise in the garden. My vet had two thoughts initially, insulinoma or gundog exercise intolerance (can't remember what it's called) and Jamie was referred to a specialist and then operated on June 2007. He recovered well from the operation and was OK until April 2008 when he started getting wobbly again. He then went on prednisilone and then diazoxide in January 2009. Unfortunately the pred didn't agree with him and he started having skin problems and his BG just kept dropping. He was pretty miserable and started having problems with his back legs so unfortunately he was pts on 11 June 2009, two months past his 12th birthday and just past the specialist's original prognosis of two years. During the course of the illness he never lost his appetite or had to change his diet (raw). I just used to feed him three or four meals a day instead of the usual two. There's an email group on yahoogroups called insulinomadogs if you want to join them. I was on the list for a couple of years and we'd share any info from our vets, or articles or whatever. There's another Aussie on there who joined fairly recently but I'm not on the list myself anymore. I think there's a Facebook page too, or there was.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/columnists/mike-ward/365531/Dogs-on-TV-and-how-they-re-messing-with-my-head I agree with this guy. I've been known to lose interest in a programme as soon as I realise there's an animal in it that might come to harm :).

What an excellent idea. I actually won't watch some films because of the animals in them. And as soon as a dog or cat is mentioned in a thriller, I wait for something horrible to happen to it. Same with the horses in Dick Francis novels. Silly really :)

Aja is really good, she just lies down the end on the side. Not so good as a bed warmer when it's cold though. My old guy Jamie was good for that, he'd stretch out on my left side and Aja would be down around my knees on the right. I used to lie there without moving so I didn't disturb them :).

My old girl (12-1/2) started getting incontinent a few months ago and is on stilboestrol. She gets 1 tablet every 7 or 8 days.

Mine are in the house when I'm out, the old girl has the run of the house and the younger dog is crated. One day a week I'm out for at least 4 hours so they're outside then in the huge shed and dog yard and I keep my fingers crossed they're not too noisy. If I'm going out all day I'll probably try to book them into day care. I'd actually prefer to keep them in the house but don't want Granville crated more than 3 hours. I daren't leave him loose indoors http://www.dolforums.com.au/public/style_emoticons/default/eek1.gif.

I've read about switching to raw to help with behaviour issues because of protein, additives etc in commercial food, but never come across the suggestion that raw is too high in protein. You could maybe try googling to see what Dr Billnghurst and Tom Lonsdale have to say, if you don't have access to their books? I had a reactive raw fed dog and old age calmed him down :). Came across this site in a google search http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/beef/show and http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/index.html

No, it's fine for an ordinary car :). It's the southern end of Bribie, take the Bribie exit off the Bruce Highway and just keep going east :). There's a really good dog park in Redcliffe, Kroll Gardens, though I haven't been there for years. http://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/general.aspx?id=69323#Bribie_Island Bribie Island Off Leash •In the enclosed area marked by official signs forming part of Cosmos Park on the corner of Sunderland Drive and Cosmos Avenue, Bribie behind the Croquet Club •On the beach from Red Beach car park around to Woody Bay, Woorim, Bribie Island •On the beach from Woody Bay to the pathway opposite the Koolamara at the corner of Lowry and Benelong Streets, Woorim, Bribie Island On Leash •The entrance to Woorim Beach, Bribie Island from the entrance at the northern end of North Street northwards to the 4WD access track •The beach north of Boronia Drive to the end of Sylvan Beach Esplanade, Bribie Island

Wow, what a gorgeous looking dog! I use a furminator on one of my GWPs. It does a pretty good job on him, gets out a lot of undercoat. Doesn't seem to have damaged his topcoat either.

They do look good!

There's a Delta trainer who has classes in south Brisbane - http://www.dpdta.com.au/trainers/view/74/1/positive-response-dog-training. I was trying to find out whether any APDT members held classes down that way but had a bit of trouble with the website http://apdt.com.au/index.php?option=com_sobipro&sid=1&Itemid=146. But definitely the RSPCA is totally positive.

I was reading an interesting article on a Dr Becker newsletter. Not sure if it's relevant to you? Immunoglobulin A Deficiency: A Hidden Source of Chronic Skin Allergies and Infections That Few Vets Detect http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/07/12/immunoglobulin-a-deficiency.aspx?e_cid=20130712_PetsNL_art_1&utm_source=petnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20130712

I haven't got a middle name either. And I can't remember the first street I lived on. It was back in Africa in the very distant past :). I can remember the second street though, Antrim.

He makes them to order and does single and double boxes. So you could get him to quote. He's in Anstead in SEQ.

After months and months of trying to arrange a set-up for my X-trail I went with this http://www.facebook.com/index.php?lh=c374689e20320d745790701f4bb67474!/dog.transport.boxes?fref=ts. That's my X-trail in the pics. It's not totally what I wanted but was the best removable crate that I could find. It could have been slightly bigger but it just fits my dogs - German Wirehaired Pointers.

Neither I nor my vet wanted to vaccinate my older dog so I had her titre-tested. My younger dog had the 3 yr vac and both go for annual check-ups.

Neither of my crates (wire or soft) would fit lengthwise in my X-trail and I couldn't get 2 dogs in my soft crate. You could maybe split the back seat and drop half of it to fit a crate lengthwise? I just had one of these made http://www.facebook.com/dog.transport.boxes?fref=ts. Fits well but you wouldn't be able to get anything down the side of it...

Dried orange peel scattered about is supposed to be a repellent. Also I just read in a novel that zoo manure repels cats, not sure how easy that is to get hold of though :).

My dogs get raw food with some dry added occasionally, or 4Legs. I try to give them treats that aren't too processed, eg jerky rather than Schmackoes. And I tend to eat the same way myself (vegetables rather than raw meat though :) ), but have to admit to chocolate and Christmas cake just recently :) .

I bought one recently from one of those warehouse places, Sam's I think. It was $12.99, Fun Pets brand. It's synthetic, red tartan, with straps and clips that go round the headrest and it has 2 slits for seatbelts. Haven't actually used it yet so not sure how sturdy it is but it looks OK.

I think Peta used to train birds at Taronga at one time. She was president of the APDT last year. My dogs went nuts when I played that video just now :) .

These look quite good http://www.spotonpetenclosures.com.au/. I haven't bought from them though.

Might pay to have his thyroid checked - http://www.showdog-magazine.com/medical/DoddsCarson.htm

My xbreed did hers when she was about 9 months old, skidding on wet grass on a slope. She had surgery and then 3 months rest, that was fun for a hyperactive pup :) .