tramissa

I hope you don't mind that I searched for forums and your webpage to gather these photos. I would have presented this sooner, but I had to learn how to make a video first! Click here for the video

I can get nutro up in Cairns, so you can get it anywhere Just have to find someone to ship it to you if you're not in a distribution area. The prices are comparative to other super premium brands. You are paying more, but then, you're only feeding half as much. My 6kg lowchen only gets 1/2 cup per day and is doing superb on it.

Nutro all the way.

I'm so sorry RIP donkeys.

I heard about Dotti. I am so sorry Ollie1. Please pass on my condolences to your daughter as well if appropriate. RIP Dotti.

Toohey, this is ATLAS we're talking about ;) He's always eating something he shouldn't be

Minnie (Lowchen) gets 2 chicken necks a day as part of her diet. I can't really give her bigger bones because she can't eat them.

Speechless. I think we all share a tiny part of your grief Jacki, Shane and Luci. He touched us all and we'll always remember Pyro. RIP sweet boy - you loved your family so much the only thing that could come close was the love they had for you.

I am so sorry :rolleyes: RIP Loki.

How long before emailing off your order to posting did you wait Mell? I find they will call/email same day. Ususally a couple of hours.

Aloveen and Plush Puppy Herbal Whitening here ;) Love them both. The herbal whitening isn't as good as I thought though - does't get as much of the tan out as I had hoped.

Get a lot of second opinions before you make any decision - it may be something that can be helped but is not being treated correctly. I wish you luck with him.

On my lowchen I find a 2 sided comb (one size with larger comb than the other) and a slicker is all she needs. A bit of potato flower in case it's wet and we're right to go. (of course, then there are the clippers etc involved )

Teach the sit. Have her on lead and sitting as you let someone in the house. Have them ignore her if she starts carrying on, but they can give her a pat if she's sitting nicely.

Unfortunately, it is not our individual opinions that matter, it is your council laws that matter. If your dog breaches the council law (and some places are only 6 mins a day or less), then you can be issued with a destruction order. If, as you said before you edited, your dogs bark for 10 mins in a day, that would probably be considered excessive and debarking would be a lot better to consider than a destruction order.

This questions is for everyone that is pro full vaccinations every year (not aimed at one person) - If you are so sure vaccinations only last a year, how do you know they don't 'wear out' 8 months into the year, leaving your dog unprotected for 4 months? You don't. Whichever thinking you prescribe to, the other side will always have something of concern. To me, do your research, weigh up your options, discuss with a trusted vet and go from there. There will always be someone that disagrees with you. Personally, if you choose to vaccinate or not to vaccinate, you are prepared to accept the consequences of either choice and that's fine by me. For me, my choice is to go with a C4 and lepto. Next year we will see what my vet recommends and what I feel with my girl, who will be over 10 by then. I will NOT be putting her through a C5 or higher when considering her age and her last reaction to it - to me it's not worth it.

I still laugh when Min barks She throws her head back and really gets into it. Makes no difference to her that nothing is coming out. Yup, kisses, right up the nose Definitely wakes me up though Edited to add, the person that said it was simple and just to get the police involved if baiting is around, that's all well and good, but it's not going to do too much to heal the heart of someone who has reported baiting to the police after their dog is already dead from eating it is it?

Before I got Minnie I thought it was cruel, now I don't. Minnie has suffered in no way from being debarked. As per what ML has posted, it CAN still be done in QLD, but only under very specific circumstances. Minnie's vocal chords were cut - I wasn't sure what the other method was so thanks . She can make no sound at all. I'd prefer the other way where they're just 'quieter'

Luke, depending on the type of operation they either shave (I think) or cut the vocal chords. cutting the chords results in no sound and isn't done all that often these days as it is a more serious operation. The other one (not 100% sure what they do) is to 'quieten' the voice. So the dog can still bark and be heard, but at a lower volume (think inside and outside voice in kids ).

My girl is debarked (already done when I got her at 8 1/2 years old). I cannot get the certificate as it was done 2 owners ago. I have however, gone into my vet when I moved here (moved from NSW where it's not nearly so bad to QLD where they are really against it) and explained the situation - he now has it on her records and will vouch for me if something ever happened. It IS a huge deal in QLD. This is the first debarked dog my vet had seen in 20 odd years of practicing up here. My girl also pants a lot. She's been up here long enough now (7 or 8 months) to be used to the humidity. I think the humidity does play a part as it is only when it's humid that she pants a lot, but I think the humidity is felt more by debarking. Btw, my girl doesn't make ANY noise. Maybe 2 or 3 times I have heard a squeak when she's tried to bark, but usually never. She has her own way of communicating though - she will tap me if she needs to wake me up at night for example (or lick my lips and nose - ick!). She is still happy to try and bark when she wants to and it doesn't seem to have affected her much at all except for the panting.

I wouldn't. There are people around now that I can leave her with, or worst case would be I'd put her on a plane to either my old housemate in Sydney, her previous owner or her breeder. There are some boarding kennels around that will accept titre test results so I'd look into that as well. There's also agencies like Don't Fret Pet etc. Might cost a little more, but it's worth it to me to have my girl not go through that. Edited to add, my vet is of the opinion that a C4 is enough coverage for her and that the chances of catching whatever the C5 protects against is so minimal here that it's not worth bothering with. He only ever does C5 on owners that insist or if he knows a dog is boarded regularly.

It is mandatory at most boarding kennels. My girl was given a C5 last year (first year I owned her - she was 8 1/2 then) and had a bad reaction. Vomitting, runny poo (can't spell dia-whatever). This year my new vet is great. He offered to do a C4 as I wasn't boarding her with the lepto component (which she has never had before - we moved to FNQ where there have been a few lepto cases this year) rather than the C5. He thought the Bortadella (sp?) component which is what is added to the C4 to make it a C5 is what caused her problems last time. He also said instead of doing it Fri afternoon I should bring her in on Monday morning and he would keep her there all day to keep an eye on her in case it wasn't that part that caused her to be ill last time. Long story short, C5 = very sick puppy and frightened owner C4 = no problems whatsoever - was gutsing her food that night, running around like a loony, no upset tummy at all, normal stools etc. I will never, EVER vacc with a C5 again.

Something I've seen which may be an option for toileting, especially when young, is a clam shell pool (1/2 of it) filled with soil and grass planted on top. It's a bit bigger and allows the pup to find the right spot :rolleyes: Also cheaper than one of the grass systems you see (the ones I've seen are very expensive). Most toy breeds CAN be yappers, but as you stated, it's a matter of training. Same with toileting. Just remember that as a young puppy you will need to take it out once an hour and after every meal/nap to avoid accidents. Whatever routine you decide on, the pup will get used to. PS - I'd recommend a lowchen. Loveable little lions, low allergenic (don't shed but do loose hair through grooming), very people oriented, good size for a toy (between 5.5 - 6.5kg) and absolutely adorable.

I finally just got hold of some Nutro up here - trialling the senior small breed one to see how Min goes.

Oh my god - she looks like Minnie!! Shorter face, but at a quick glance, I almost mistook her for my girl And just for the record, Minnie was not matted whatsoever. She was in the traditional lion clip that had only grown out by 4 weeks (very short) so her entire body was cut to the same length. There are reasons for a short clip that do NOT include neglect.