kmit

I have 2 cavaliers, who both sleep on my bed. My older one, now 9, has become more reluctant to jump up and down by himself. He has no signs of pain, but my bed is 70cm high so it has always been quite a jump. I would like to get him some stairs so he can go up and down by himself, but I can't find any that are tall enough. I would also ideally like some that I can put sideways at the foot of the bed, as otherwise they would take up too much space sticking out into the room. Any suggestions?

My 8-month-old cavalier pup likes chewing on things, but mostly things that I don't want him to chew on. Chair and table legs, skirting boards, sticks and pieces of wood, cardboard, strappy plant leaves (nothing poisonous). He seems to want things that will give way and gradually disintegrate, rather than rubber or rope chew toys that don't give way. I'm afraid that he's going to either seriously damage my furniture or swallow something damaging. I would love some suggestions for things that I can give him to chew on that will keep him occupied for reasonable periods of time.

I'm going to be picking up my new cavalier puppy in a couple of weeks, and I'd love to be able to get him some early socialization at puppy preschool. I took my existing cavvie to classes at Croydon obedience club, but they aren't running at the moment and I can't find out whether they will be doing any puppy preschool before the end of the year. Failing that, does anyone know of any good puppy preschool classes in the eastern suburbs that may be running or starting up again before the end of the year?

I have been feeding mostly a grain-free commercial dry food plus a small amount of home-made mixture, consisting of chicken breast, brown rice, pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot and green beans. I use a variety of commercial treats, but not every day and none in large quantities. The vet didn’t mention fat levels or anything in particular to avoid, but just concerned that Oscar may have developed an allergy to something in the food or treats. I can definitely cut out the commercial treats, but it’s his everyday diet that I’m concerned about.

Hi all, Our little cavvie Oscar has been intermittently going off his food, sometimes vomiting, and our vet has suggested trying a home-made food diet for a while. We are living in Malaysia at the moment, so I have no idea whether this is what an Australian vet would recommend, but I'm willing to give it a try. I have been giving him a mixture of dry food and a bit of chicken/rice/veggie mix that he really likes. So, I'd love some pointers to how to make my own balanced dog food, using ingredients that I can readily obtain here in Malaysia. In terms of meat I can get every part of chickens, lots of fish, but not a great selection of red meat, and no bones like you would get at a butcher. I can get a few frozen things like lamb shanks, but not much. I'm concerned to make sure that whatever I make has the right balance of vitamins and minerals, and I'd rather give him dry food than an unbalanced home made diet.