JackieW

Mine are let out twice in the mornings in the 3/4 acre back yard, then put in the pen (attached to a huge shed, so probably more room that I had in the back yard in suburbia). Then they get out into the 3/4 acre when I get home, some afternoons into the front yard. A couple of days a week they're at daycare where they get let out into a big yard for runs. On days off and weekends I'm home with them. Very occasionally I'll go out to the shopping centre/Bunnings etc so that'd be a couple of hours. So considering I have to be gone for too long on work days, I do spend pretty much every other moment of my life with them .

Found something at Glasshouse. There's an ad in The Range News (Maleny paper) as follows The Natural Way to Treat Your Pet Are you tired of using the same old drugs on your pets for their ongoing illnesses? Have you thought about drug free alternatives? . Nutritional & Herbal Therapies . Acupuncture & Homeopathy . Conventional Treatments 25 years experience in caring/curing pets Call me on 0423 417 495, Dorothea Hofman BVSC Hons Qualified Veterinarian Glass House Holistic Veterinary Services From my days of trekking down to Logan for dog training, I seem to recall this vet had a surgery down there about 9 years ago.

One of my wirehairs is nuts about birds too. Next door feeds butcher birds etc so when we're out the front he's standing at the fence looking for them. Or barking at a pigeon on their TV aerial, or pigeons on the electric wires or in trees... He's not much interested in the plovers in the garden, just fascinated with other birds.

http://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/subsite.a...amp;libID=78214

The vet should be able to give him an exemption on health grounds. They're only supposed to vaccinate healthy dogs and he's not healthy. I had my dogs titre tested last time, mainly because my old fellow was on Pred. I think there's a kennel in WA that accepts titres but if you're not in WA that's not much help!

Throwback to the Flat Coat I expect - http://www.goldenretrievers.co.uk/applicat...story/index.php?

Here's a link to the recent Choice article on this topic - http://www.choice.com.au/Reviews-and-Tests...troduction.aspx And here's one to the latest vaccine guidelines - http://www.wsava.org/VGG1.htm

Here's a couple of links for you. The first one is my usual "go to" place for such questions - http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/the-immune-system/ This other one I came across when I was looking for something else on the site - http://www.animalhealthstore.com.au/boost.html. Greenpet most likely has an immune support supplement too. I guess it'd help if you knew what your dog was allergic to, so that you're not inadvertently feeding it to him in a supplement.

In this month's magazine - "Do you vaccinate your pet - and how often do you do so? Which vaccines does your pet receive? We'd like to hear about your experiences..." Email [email protected]. It doesn't say you have to be a Choice subscriber or anything. One of the references I'll provide is this one - http://www.apvma.gov.au/news_media/communi...n_dogs_cats.php - Although annual vaccinations have been the norm, the international veterinary community is increasingly taking the position that cats and dogs do not need to be re-vaccinated every 12 months with core vaccines if they have been properly vaccinated when young, while non-core vaccines should only be administered annually if the individual situation warrants it. Hopefully the more publicity the new protocols receive the more vets will get off the annual booster bandwagon .

Particularly of note - "It is clear that the controversy surrounding small companion animal vaccination has not diminished and that there is an urgent requirement for education of practicing veterinarians in this area. The members of the VGG are actively engaged in delivering national and international lectures to help address this demand." +++++++++++ http://www.wsava.org/VGG1.htm The WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines Group (VGG) was initially established in 2006 following recognition by the WSAVA Board and Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) of the need for globally applicable recommendations on best-practice for the vaccination of dogs and cats. During the first phase of activity of the VGG (2006 – 2007) a substantial guidelines document was produced, published in the scientific literature (Day et al., 2007) and made freely available on the WSAVA website (latterly with Spanish and Polish translations). This document included a set of invaluable ‘fact sheets’ related to the major canine and feline vaccine-preventable infectious diseases and a set of ‘frequently-asked questions’ (FAQs) related to vaccination practice. The 2007 WSAVA vaccination guidelines had major global impact as assessed by a survey conducted of WSAVA member organizations in 2009. The availability of the guidelines, accompanied in some instances by local public pressure, led to many countries either formally adopting the WSAVA guidelines as national policy, or using the WSAVA guidelines as a basis for formulation of a National policy document. It is clear that the controversy surrounding small companion animal vaccination has not diminished and that there is an urgent requirement for education of practicing veterinarians in this area. The members of the VGG are actively engaged in delivering national and international lectures to help address this demand. The VGG was reconvened in 2009 for a second phase of activity that concludes in June 2010. During Phase II the initial task was the above mentioned assessment of the global impact of the 2007 guidelines. The second major task has been the production of an updated 2010 version of the veterinarian’s guidelines that will be launched at the 2010 Geneva Congress. The revised document includes much new background information included following feedback from the 2007 version. Additionally, there is a new infectious disease fact sheet related to rabies virus and the number of FAQs has almost doubled. As a supplement to the revision we also intend to make available a set of images related to the major vaccine-preventable infectious diseases that may be used by veterinarians in a consultation room to emphasize the importance of vaccination to clients. The 2010 Guidelines will be published in the June issue of the Journal of Small Animal Practice and made available from the WSAVA website. The final outcome of Phase II will be the release of a substantial information document for the owners and breeders of small companion animals. The VGG is well-progressed on the drafting of this document which we believe will be of immense value in education of our clientele. The VGG is currently planning Phase III of its activities that are hoped to take place in 2011 and present a major new initiative with focus on vaccination issues facing Asia. The work of the VGG would not have been possible without the generous sponsorship of Intervet-Schering Plough Animal Health. WHO SITS ON THE VGG The VGG is a small expert academic panel that works entirely independent of industry in formulating its recommendations. The VGG is currently chaired by Professor Michael J. Day (University of Bristol, United Kingdom) and includes Professor Ron Schultz (University of Wisconsin Maddison, USA) and Professor Marian Horzinek (formerly of Utrecht University, The Netherlands). Professor Schultz also sits on the American Animal Hospital Association Canine Vaccination Committee and Professor Horzinek is chair of the European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases. Collectively, the VGG has extensive academic expertise in microbiology, immunology and vaccinology. SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS OF THE VGG Day MJ, Horzinek M and Schultz RD. 2007. Guidelines for the vaccination of dogs and cats. Journal of Small Animal Practice 48, 528-541. Day MJ, Horzinek MC and Schultz RD. 2009. Comment on ‘Patel JR, Heldens JGM. Review of companion animal viral diseases and immunoprophylaxis’ (Vaccine 2009; 27: 491-504). Vaccine 27, 2533. Day MJ. 2010. Report from the WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines Group. Proceedings of the Annual Congress of the WSAVA, Geneva. Day MJ, Horzinek M and Schultz RD. 2010. Guidelines for the vaccination of dogs and cats. Journal of Small Animal Practice, in press.

How do you feel about animal communicators? I've had two conversations with Caroline Pope about one of my dogs and I found the second one in particular to be very helpful. http://www.caroline-pope.com/index.html

When it was Jamie's time my vet wasn't able to get to our house till after 6.00pm so I called the mobile vet, who works at his surgery as well. She'd seen Jamie a couple of times and he was OK with her (he was OK with all his various "team" over his last couple of years, bless him), so he was pts in the house with me and Aja with him. It was nice and peaceful and was by far better than that final drive we all dread. Afterwards Aja gave him a cursory sniff and then ignored him while we waited for the man from Pets in Peace (who was really nice and gentle with him). I think it was really the best way the whole process could have been done, and I think too Aja wasn't then looking for him and wondering why he hadn't come home. The other thing is that I was a real mess that day and really don't think driving would have been a very good idea.

I'm a Pom too and my dogs have always slept in my bed. My Jamie (who sadly died in June) used to sleep beside me, often with his head on the pillow. It used to be funny in winter, I'd be sandwiched between him and Aja, all snuggled under the duvet . It's just Vera didn't strike me as a doggy person. I like her better now I know she is .

The other lady had a little old bitzer that died I think? But I was amazed at the poodle, Vera seems so fastidious and here's the dog fast asleep in bed .

An alternative might be a doggy swimming pool where you could swim as well - http://www.glemaraypetspa.com.au/. There's a large fenced yard around the pool shed too.

Hypoglycaemia is the only symptom I saw of my dog's insulinoma. If it happens again I'd get your dog's blood glucose checked. I kept honey and Nutrigel on hand for Jamie's "wobbles" and fed him 5 times a day.

Link to story if it hasn't been posted already - http://www.northernstar.com.au/story/2009/...28-dogs-to-die/

Try the Pines Pet Resort at Elimbah

And there's the German Wirehaired Pointer. They're not uncommon in Australia nowadays

I can highly recommend their service too. I arranged for a pendant with Jamie's ashes and they managed to find a special urn for me too (so there were a few phone calls and emails arranging that, all dealt with compassionately and efficiently). They made a horrible experience less horrible than it could have been.

1. What is my relationship with the breed? (ie breeder, first time owner etc) Another pet owner here. I have my third Wire now, my first dying in June aged 12 and my second now 8-1/2. My third is a 4 yo male. 3. How common is it in Australia? Much more common than it was, but I'm still always asked what breed they are. Guess of choice seems to be wolfhound cross. 5. What is the general temperament/personality? All three are/were soft in nature. Jamie was stubborn as a pup, Aja a breeze to train, Granville arrived pretty much trained . Personalities are great, there's something about their faces that makes me smile, particularly the boys . 6. How much daily exercise is needed for the average adult? More than they used to get before I moved, but I'm now on acreage. They run round the yard, never walk... 7. Is it a breed that a first time dog owner could easily cope with? I think Aja would have been OK for a first time owner, but not Jamie. 8. Can solo dogs of this breed easily occupy themselves for long periods? Jamie was on his own for 4 years before I got Aja, but she didn't cope well after he died, and luckily Granville's breeder let me have him to keep us both company. 9. How much grooming is required? Not a huge amount. Both boys need/ed a bit of grooming but they just get a comb/brush usually. 10. Is it too boisterous for very small children or for infirm people (unless the dog is well trained)? Jamie didn't start calming down till he was 7 (and he was still full of energy till he did his cruciate in at 9 and then got insulinoma the following year), Aja is still a bit full-on at 8-1/2. Granville is a big overgrown puppy, so I'd say yes, probably they are a bit boisterous.

Yes, I recommend Garry too

My Jamie who died in June had that problem too, but he had insulinoma. It took months and months for the hair to grow back after his ultrasound but we put it down to the steroids he was on. It did eventually grow back, but never the same as it was. I did hear that emu oil was supposed to help hair growth but I don't think it made much difference.

Bubette, I've just replied to you on the other forum - I do have experience with insulinoma. It's not necessarily all bad news if your dog's been diagnosed with it.

I've never been in this forum before (but regularly check the health forum) so have only just seen this. Not only do I have personal experience but I can direct you to a very helpful email list called [email protected]. I'm still on it despite losing my boy on 11 June, and there are also quite a few of us who have lost dogs who stick around to help where we can. Please join the list and then you'll have access to articles and links etc, plus the knowledge of members. We've found that most of our vets aren't that knowledgeable about this "rare" disease so we're all just educating ourselves really. If your dog has been diagnosed with insulinoma, it is NOT necessarily a death sentence.