t-time

Yes Gretel - I agree - in fact, it's been about 8 years since a vet even suggested a collar after desexing!

Hi Lilysmum - Glad to hear you are settling into Brissy I can't comment about vets in your area but there was one thing which caught my eye - ALL vets must treat wildlife in Qld. Are you a carer as well? (Different arrangements if you are ) Happy Housewarming! ;)

Poodleproud - so sorry to hear about Oscar ;) Like some other posters here, I am starting to think that Oscar may have an underlying condition as the reaction occurred so long after application You would think that if you applied the Advantage and he was going to have a reaction to it, it should have happened within 24-48 hours. I've not heard of a reaction coming on so late after application and even though they *are* a company, I'm thinking they are right this time! ;) Could be a possibility that the spot-on applications are complicating an underlying condition but as I'm not a vet, I don't quite know how that would occur? I would go with your vets' advice and get the CT scan. The "radiation" is nothing more than you get with a standard xray but I would be asking your vet specifically what condition/s they are looking for and get it in writing - sometimes these scans are done and they still can't give you any answers but at least if you know what they are looking for it may give you some peace of mind. What was the bleeding from on Oscar? Flea bites? Or can't you tell? You also mentioned he was chewing his feet - is this new or is it getting worse?

Oooh - I've not heard about their brushes but the grooming sprays/ conditioners etc are really fabulous! :D Have you got a linky?

Ah - this is good to know - I've never used Advantage so I didn't realise that essentially they have the same ingredient for fleas.

After hearing some info about Puppy Strangles - this really does fit the bill. Did you get your dog cleared for this condition?? :rolleyes:

I shy away from Supercoat because it's got a lot of cereal "fillers" and my dogs STINK and produce GIANT POOPS when they eat it it As far as I'm concerned if they are getting a nice well- balanced diet, the dogs should NOT be producing the quantity OR the stench I've been trying out a few different kibbles lately and so far I'm leaning towards Nutro, Eaglepack and they are currently liking Proplan - all for small breeds or puppies. I haven't fed any Supercoat for years because of the above mentioned issues but I think I will eventually go back to Eaglepack once this lot runs out - my dogs eat the 3 brands I've said, but they seem to really THRIVE on the EP. ;)

HEY!!! I love my Havs but I also have my "fake" She is a six yr old Lhasa X Poodle and to the untrained eye, she definitely looks like a Havanese

Can someone please explain puppy strangles? I've only ever heard of strangles in horses so I have an obvious knowledge gap here! ;)

She is 8 weeks now? And she is eating chicken with bone? When did you get your puppy? I would be saying that you should feed her ONLY what the breeder recommended so is there any background on that? It's fine to raise a puppy on raw food - it's called BARF ;) but it would be good to make up a mix of different raw foods including veges and fruits if your puppy won't eat the kibble. It's also important to start on new foods very slowly. If her breeder has recommended the kibble and she has eaten it previously, she may be teething - kibble and bones can bother their sore little mouth during that time. I'd be sticking with breeders recommendations and very slowly introducing new items of food over the next 2 months until by 4/5 months of age your puppy will be on the diet that you want it to continue with throughout life. There are loads of threads on feeding BARf so check into the Health/Nutrition/Grooming forum for more info

Poodle Proud - try Old Mill Vets at Dayboro - all the vets seem to be quite good there ( a regular 3 vets on duty which is also comforting to me) - they are young and enthusaistic as well as being very knowledgable in their own specialties - like one is an oncologist, one is a surgeon, one is an equine vet etc. If they have any doubts about their diagnoses, they will always try to learn more via vet specialists at Albany Creek plus West Chermside - they go out of their way to help you and your animal. I'm pretty fussy about vets and we won't mention how many I've gone through LOL but I've been going to these guys for about 3yrs now and I'm impressed.

I too would wait until after she's had her season until you get her desexed - the op is more complicated (and hence more expensive though naturally that should not be the greatest concern) - it would only have to be put off for a month It sounds like you are being a good pet owner, organising desexing etc but she has taken you by surprise! ;) Just keep her in a confined area - no going out for walks in public places and make sure it is impossible for an entire dog to come within cooee. If you are not prepared to go to these lengths then definitely get her done. But you sound like you're being responsible so call the vet and rebook.

If you need something very effective for ticks then go with the Advantix. If you think there is a flea issue, I'd go to the supermarket and get some Capstar tabs - you can use both together with no problem I use Advantix as we are in a high tick area and I don't have any fleas Perhaps your dog has picked up a flea or two during the crossover period between applications?

I would also highly recommend Gary Pitt

Crisovar - why not tell the clients that their dogs must be freshly bathed or you will be charging for grooming fees should the dogs come in for surgery in a grubby state? I think it's a totally reasonable request! My vets always ask me to bath my dogs before they come in because they are terrified of stuffing up the show coats! ETA: my dogs are controlled for pests regularly so a groomer would never see my dogs with fleas but I do make sure they are given a good dose before they go so they don't pick up any fleas at the groomers!!

Hi Shoshana, I have TTs in Qld The only time I recommend that owners clip their TTs is if the owners can't keep up with regular grooming. I hate seeing a matted messy uncomfortable dog. Rosie looks just LOVELY - you seem to be doing a wonderful job with her coat! People forget that Tibet is very cold in Winter but is in fact a desert country reaching well into the 30 degrees during Summer - hot & dry. TTs are a double coated breed meaning they have INSULATION from both the cold AND the heat. All that said, make the decision that you want to but Rosie *won't* look like a TT if you clip her IMHO, save the grooming money and use it to buy Rosie a cool coat, a nice big ice pack and stuff her favourite treats into a Kong Ball in the freezer.

"Blast" dishwashing liquid Excellent for getting out anything sticky :D

:rofl: OK - I give!

Just learn to trim the feet like everyone else!!! :dancingelephant: (Before anyone jumps down my throat - I know BMP very well! )

It really is fine what you are feeding to the puppy but just keep an eye on the older dog's weight - what you are feeding is quite high in fat/protein content You might find that your older dog is pudging out after eating puppy food for a month What about a nice raw lamb bone or something similar? ;)

I'd suggest that at this point, maybe it IS because of the fires and smoke around ;) Wait until the air clears and see what she's like then Reverse sneezing is quite normal and in fact, I have one girl who does it when she wants attention! (I tell her to "Stop It!" and she does LOL!) I wouldn't go for scopes etc unless this is a prolonged situation so just give it a little while to see if the frequency settles down.

Sure Erny! But I do hope you can the see the funny side of my post Thankfully my child only ever got headlice once and I used conditioner every day for nearly a week to get rid of them! So, I'm not advocating use of insecticides as the answer for everything!

Yep - my friend used Frontline on her daughter when she was teeming with headlice and it definitely worked!! Well, if it's good enough for our dogs........ :D

Depends on whether or not you saw the vet within a week of getting him home from the breeders (so you've got proof the puppy became ill from date of purchase) and what sort of health guarantee the breeder offered. It's quite possible that your puppy may have picked something up on his first walk to the end of the street - especially with the *very interesting* vaccinations given!! This is what pet insurance is good for with new puppies particularly I would also be seeking a second veterinary opinion.

And this is the new vaccination protocol for Australian vets. Pretty sure a lot of them haven't had time to read their magazine ava_vaccination_policy_final_june09.pdf