DZaak

Yep, they had a problem with a supplier but it's all been sorted now. They cut the supplier immediately. Applaws are proactively trying to increase the meat content in their foods in Aus. Their UK equivalent has much more meat, with the reason being UK manufacturers have more advanced extruder (kibble making) machinery. That's great to hear. Applaws protein content is a little low at 24%. By normal standards that's fine, but considering it is a grain free food, most are 26% and above. I'm really rooting for Applaws because they are the best value high quality food in Australia. By the way, I've started my dog on Meals for Mutts and I'm VERY happy with it so far. She has slowly become more picky with her food and I haven't had trouble with this one. It's also 30% protein which is quite high (I believe the 2nd highest protein content in dry food in Australia after Ivory Coat, correct me if I'm wrong). Right now I rank the brands I've tried as follows. - Meals for Mutts - Ivory Coat - Black Hawk - Applaws - Wellness (taking value for money into account)

Hi all, I'm looking into a dermatologist too. Based on location, ARF is the best for me, which would be Danielle Hoolahan. Would it be worth the travel to the North Ryde area for Linda Vogelnest who just gets non-stop rave reviews? Also, what sort of costs are associated with specialists like this? My maltese was diagnosed with yeast based allergies, but my local vet can't recommend anything outside of medicated shampoos, steroids and antibiotics. The Shampoos don't work and I've used the steroid/antibiotic combo once and never want to use it again out of fear it will make things worse with her already weak immune system (When she was on them, they worked great on her symptoms though). Anyway, the specialist route seems to be the way to go to get any real long term progress. Thanks.

It's strange that it would happen now after you've had him for a while. Agreed that a vet visit can help find out what it is. My maltese cross I rescued last year does this all the time. The vet diagnosed her with skin allergies. She got some sticky tape, and stuck it to her paws then took it off. She then put it under a microscope to find multiplying yeast organisms, which is a classic sign of skin allergies. I would suspect this would be the first test your vet can do. If she doesn't have any issues like that, it could be behavioral, however very strange to suddenly happen in older age.

Hi All, I'm looking for recommendations on good dog trainers near me in Padstow in Sydney's South West. The most popular one is the local Dog Tech trainer (based in Kingsgrove I believe). I'm not sure about this because Dog Tech is a chain, however this trainer advertises very well so I see her business cards everywhere. Coan anyone vouch for Dog Tech in this area? Are there other well regarded trainers that aren't too far? Thanks.

A lot of well-intentioned pedigree Bracchy breeders here are getting defensive and quick to put the blame on BYB. At the end of the day, the breed standards that have developed over many decades have turned bracchy breeds into health risks. I'd argue that for the welfare of these gorgeous animals, proper breeders (not BYB) should actually move away from the proper pedigree breed standard and start breeding bracchies to have longer snouts, smaller eyes and less skin folds. This would be a several decade evolution, but it needs to bedone to keep these beautiful breeds in happy healthy conditions in the long term.

Thanks DOLers. I'll look at all these suggestions. Just for more info on her food. We rotate her between Blackhawk and Applaws. We have a bag of meals for mutts we found on special with a long exp date so we have that ready to go when her current bag starts getting low.

Yes, wellness is incredibly high quality. Your pup would love it! Petbarn just have a problem selling it because it is so expensive. They're justn ot wel equipped as sales people to sell the Wellness brand on it's merits and the reason why it's so expensive. That being said, there is very very high quality kibble for cheaper, ie. Blackhawk. Depending on sales going on, Ivory Coat can be had for good prices too if you're keeping to the Aussie Brands.

...just saw it, that's - on sale price - $ 0.46 / 100 g...the Applaws is (on sale price) 0.50 / 100 g...the Applaws is - on paper - slightly higher quality; we use both (I don't want to rely just on one kibble) and she likes both. Be careful with Applaws the cat& dog kibble I bought had red & blue plastic thru the kibbles then the Applaws Dog kibble had the same bits of blue plastic thru the whole bag Applaws...Applaws were nice & refunded my money but what I didn't like Applaws just kept all the bad batches of kibble cat & dog on special in the supermarkets Coles & Woolworths that's why I bought Applaws to begin with cause it was on special.....Applaws didn't pull them off the shelves, if that was in American & an American brand they would of had a recall.... also the fiber is very high in all Applaws kibbles means a lot of plant matter.... I've started Izzy on Applaws and haven't had issues. It alarmed me seeing your post, so I checked the kibble and broke it aprt. There was no plastic. It looks like one bad batch. Moving forward, I'm sure their kibble is fine. That being said, I agree with you that it is bad practice for them to keep the kibble on the shelves and not do a recall. Being pet food, I'm sure there isn't any legal obligation, unlike human food, however this is just awful practice. If I take that criticism out of it and look purely at the quality of food, Applaws ticks all the boxes in the ingredients section. It looks very high quality, especially for the price. As I am yet to see any issue with plastic, etc, I will continue to use them due to great value for money. I do have other bags when I see them on special. Other brands I have ready to go are Blackhawk (used to be my primary option), Meals for Mutts and Wellness (Half price at Petbarn and expiry date is in Jun 2017). I had to highlight that as Petbarn was woing wellness, but 1 GET TWO FREE not too long ago, and the product was about to expire in 1 week's time. That is just despicable.

Hi DOLers, I have been taking my Maltese/Silky to the Fairford Rd. Animal Hospital in Bankstown (I live in Padstow). They've generally been good, but now that she's been diagnosed with Dermatisis (Malassezia aka. Yeast based skin allergies), I want to make her life easier. After a mild medicated shampoo was prescribed and didn't work, the vet has got her straight onto cortiso steroids. After doing a bit of reading, I've realized that this is a short term fix and over using this sort of treatment would be very bad to her immune system. Considering that the whole reason she has this disease is due to the immune system not fighting of yeast properly, that is very concerning that weakening it just make the problem worst in the long term. I'd like to change vets and find one that believes in natural/holistic methods. As far as I know, a good way to assist in treating the root cause is possibly looking at leaky gut syndrome. If this is the case, at least we can ongoingly treat her with suppliments to assist digestion. The thing is, I don't want to go about assuming this without a vet's recommendation. Thanks to those that read through all of that. Are there any recommendations for my area for a vet that isn't just going to jump straight to steroids and anti biotics when anything goes wrong? Thanks.

Mine is on Milbemax for all worms, and Comfortis for Fleas. I buy from budgetpetproducts . Free shipping over for orders $50.

Thanks for the advice. After finishing the Fido's, I'll consider Aloveen, or Nutriderm (same brand as Mediderm). Cheers!

Thought I'd revive this thread as I've recently come across Pawshake myself and am thinking of booking for Late January. They also have a nifty little phone app now. It kind of reminds me of the furry version of airbnb (or eBay) which relies on strong input of user reviews to foster trust in the pet sitters. Also in my research, I've found a competing platform called Madpaws. Seems like basically the same thing, however with less users, there are nowhere near as many user reviews or testimonials. I have both installed on my phone, just in case there is a sitter who is more convenient on Madpaws. Still I'd be more interested in Pawshake due to more reviews. Is there anyone on DOL with first hand experience using this service? Any good stories? Or bad? Thanks.

There's a rescue called "Seniors and Silkies" that may have the right sort of dog. They don't just do silkies, you'll find some maltese/yorkie/shihtzu and other sorts of crosses there too, but most of the dogs there will be lap dogs. A lot of them older and less active.

Yes, they're services are relatively expensive. Just FYI, they are doing grand opening sales right now. Tomorrow they have 20% off storewide. I stocked up on high quality food (Blackhawk). They also have Ivory Coat, which I just feel is too expensive when Blackhawk is still great quality. That being said, Ivory Coat is probably the best food out there that's easy enough to get in Australia based on my reading and reviews.

My vet just diagnoses by dog with Malassezia Dermatitis (yeast based skin allergy). I was prescribed Mediderm Shampoo. I asked if I could use Oatmeal conditioner, and she said yes. Anyway, is this safe? Now that I have Mediderm, I was thinking it would be better to condition with the accompanying conditioner from the same brand. I only just bought a 1L bottle of Fido's Oatmeal Conditioner which may take ages to get through, and it seems like the biggest for me to just throw it out (or set it aside and never use it). Thanks

Hi All, A new Pet Store called "Best Friends" opened up in Sydney in the updated shopping centre in Lidcombe (across the road from Costco). What makes this store so interesting is that it has a groomer AND a vet clinic inside the store. This is a good all in one stop for dog owners. I do find though that their prices on vet and grooming services to be a little high.

I've been testing a few high quality brands. I like the Australian owned brands, Blackhawk and Ivory Coat. Black hawk has grain-free options and also food containing grains but has very high quality ingredients none-the-less. Cost is quite good. If getting small bags for a small dog, they come in 3kg bags (most small bags are only 2kg) yet are the same price as the 2kg bags. Protein source isn't that high though. About 26% for the grain-free variety. Still high compared to standard supermarket good or the usual vet endorsed stuff (Royal Canin, etc). Ivory Coat is more expensive, however is probably one of the highest quality kibble around. It is definitely the best of the Australian brands.