Erny

I've had an enquiry from someone who is looking to do some agility with her Maltese x . She isn't so much interested in trialling, but wants it more for her dog and the social side of things. She wants to know of any Clubs that can be recommended that are in or around the Don Valley, Warburton Highway, Yarra Valley district. Can anyone make some suggestions and recommendations, please? :) Erny

A "prong head halter" ??

This isn't the dog that you're referring to in the other thread where you're concerned about not being able to put weight on, is it? Missy looks good in the weight stakes, to me. :) And good on you for working to put together a good wholesome raw meal. I wish my dog could and would eat all those different meats so I could have the freedom of mixing, changing, adding etc. It's time consuming though, so reward yourself for your effort by patting yourself on your back.

Thank you. Purchased :). And FFB - don't be depressed nor beat yourself up about Tonka needing extractions. As RosieFT has said, something these things just 'are' and nothing within reason we could have done to avoid it now or later. Main point is that you're obviously looking after her and she's getting dental care - there are many people around who either don't look to see or don't bother. So, kudos to you. I hope Tonka is feeling ok.

Thank you for the response. I would like to try the Petzlife. Gel or spray better? And would you mind telling me where you purchase yours from? I went to the Petzlife website but they don't have shipping to Australia. ETA: I'm sorry, FFB ..... I am hijacking your thread and didn't realise - caught up in the moment, I guess . Hope you don't mind too much ??

Ceramic bowls here. Strangely enough though, my boy has gone 'off' drinking water from his various ceramics. His favourite drinking vessel was one of those Sebastian ones and I love it - lots of water and keeps it cool in the warmer months - but now he seems to far prefer to drink water from ice-cream containers . I'm not keen on plastic, but there ya go. Does he know something I don't??

Thanks for the succinct reply. I feel a bit foolish for needlessly obsessing. I don't think freezing kills hydatids though. Freezing will kill Hydatid but it needs to be for a few weeks at a maximum temperature- if you search I have given these details before. But ultimately worming is easier than trying to store meat for three weeks before use. That's what I was given to understand/believe too, Jumabaar, but there does seem to be contradicting reports in that respect. Good question, Mushka, about what concerns those of us who feed raw roo meat to our dogs should have in this respect.

Dog one has infection. Mosquito bites dog and becomes infected. Infected mosquito bites dog two, dog two becomes infected. Mosquitos are the vector- so no mosquito= no chance of infection. No infection in dogs one = no chance of infection. Yes, although I believe there are climatic conditions that are a pre-requisite to the heart worm lava developing to "infectious" phase within the mosquito. If the climatic conditions aren't met, then the development is ceased and the whole route needs to begin again.

Naaaah ..... you got some help (ignore what you don't want) here on DOL. You're gonna HAVE to come back and help US out when we have canine health questions :D. Good luck with your assignment. Oh ..... and as for your questions, I wouldn't have a clue to the answers nor where to find them, so I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to help. ETA: But that doesn't matter - I see Rappie, StaffnToller and others have done a great job to assist . All the best :).

Do you remember what dosage of the TF you administered, cavNrott? I'm glad your girl lived beyond your expectations though. I've said it before, but I am sorry for your loss, regardless.

Strawberries are meant to be good teeth whiteners :).

I understand about the tartar under the gum line being the ultimate culprit for the production of gum disease ..... but I do wonder about the affects of GA on the system. Chocolate - is this true even for the fact (?? fact as far as I'm aware, anyway) that in a veterinary clean, the teeth are polished after the clean, for this very reason ??? That question aside - I use Plaque Off and am finding it is assisting with the removal of plaque which gathered quite quickly and suddenly on my dog's very back teeth. I'm still working on it though. Do you specifically find that the using Petzlife Oral Care in conjunction with Plaque Off makes a lot of extra good difference?

Good to hear the feed-back. Jed - how come it was given to a dog who was already well? Just as a tonic type thing? Would the dog have been just as fantastic without it as with it? ..... I guess that one might be a bit difficult to answer.

Well that's a good sign ..... the greyhound people know quite a good many tricks of the trade, so to speak and aren't inclined to go for things that are nonsense, generally speaking.

Nice idea, but would get mighty hard and laborious to follow once the thread has a number of "wotami's" on the go at the one time.

Hi Remember when I put up a post telling you all about the success I had in soothing Mandela's hives, digital cysts, etc. and preventing/stopping secondary skin development with the use of Calendula Tea? Do you also remember at that time that I wasn't sure if it was just us that the Calendula worked so wonderfully well for, but put it up here on DOL for others to try and see how they faired. It pretty much turned out to be a raving success and an economical one too. Well - I have another something that might turn out to be a bit of a gem. I'm not going to attest to certainty, mainly because Mandela's issues are more complex than most and he seems to have more than one thing going on at once - coupled with the fact that his condition is so up and down, it takes a while to sort out whether we are headed forward or not. To get to the point, one of the things I have added to Mandela's regime is "The Transfer Factor ('Classic')" capsules. He's been on them for a few months now - unlike the Calendula Tea where you'd be likely to see a very fast positive response to its application, this other takes a while - I think generally one or two months is suggested. It is Bovine Colostrum and from what I can gather has been used with success in assisting the immune system. It isn't a "booster" as such ..... it is something that helps to create balance. I still have problems with Mandela - swings and round-a-bouts seems to be the way of it for us where his health is concerned. BUT I think since the adding of The Transfer Factor to his repertoire of stuff, I have seen his system strengthen. I weighed him today - 38.8kg, which is the BEST he's been for a long, long time, previously often running at about 33kg to 35kg and then losing it again. I'm tentative about his weight atm, expecting it to drop back off again, but as I said, this is the best he's been weight/condition wise, for a good long while. We're not out of the woods just yet and so I'm not making any wild claims about The Transfer Factor at this point, but I thought it was about time I mentioned it as there are others who have dogs who have immune system issues and who might like to try it. If you do and can't seem to find how to get it, let me know as I can get it in for you if you would like. If anyone else has or is using these with their dogs already, I'd be interested in your feed-back.

Try taking her out and playing a game of tug or ball with her in the back yard whilst the builders are doing their thing. Let her see that you don't care about the noise and disturbance so that she might take a leaf out of your book and ignore them as well. If you're inside and she's out and you hear her fussing (or see that she's interested in and about to fuss), call her inside to you. When she comes in, go to her "cookie jar" and give her a treat from it. You're rewarding the recall. Shut the door for these initial times, to get her to settle down enough to see and learn that you don't care about the noise from next door. Don't make too big a deal by going overboard with fuss and attention to her though. There's a bit more to it than this, and doing this only once will most likely not be enough. That, and the fact that you can only teach her there's nothing there to fuss about, when you're home. But it might be worth a try.

I'd throw the 10 pieces back over the fence tomorrow :laugh: So would I ..... with a note to suggest they not torment the dogs. Go Ziggy ...... :grin:

Sorry - I should have been a bit clearer. I don't mean so much the time span, although that IS pertinent, but rather "when" it was done. IOW, was it conducted over the very dry drought period before the recent rains came?

Very interesting, Inevitablue. Over what period was the study conducted?

This method might work for some. It's the fall-out that is a concern and IMO is a risky way of trying to stop barking. It can result in dogs that become fearful/jumpy of sudden noise - whether they stop their barking (and even if they do, for how long and how reliably) as a result is another matter.

In addition to Oakway's response, I'd be checking vaccine brands and batch numbers, in case there is a faulty batch of vaccine out there. But none-the-less, annual vaccinations aren't necessary, going by all the research and literature that is available. Even when a dog doesn't evidence a reaction, I believe we aren't helping their systems by perpetually vaccinating.

When I'm out working with clients and their dogs, it is an assessment of numerous things. The owners, the dog, the relationship between them, the home environment, the surrounding environment, amongst other things. During the assessment I'm generally asking questions, listening to answers and, as I'll be gaining some 'feel' and impression of the dog's temperament, I'll also be formulating some of the things that need changes, some of the things that need doing (e.g. strategies). Not all dogs can cope with the same strategies - some strategies are good for some dogs, but not others. But I also like to work with the dog to make sure the strategies suggested are able to be managed by the owner. ChristineX is right - behaviour training is quite different to obedience training, although the two do often go well hand-in-hand. But the behavioural assessment and modification works at a deeper level than obedience generally does, even though the two can be somewhat connected. Behavioural modification goes to the more complex emotions of the dog. Mind you, that's not to say that obedience training such as training in drive doesn't do similar. And yes - reading body language inclusive of facial and eye expression is what a behaviourist does .... signals that tell us ahead of time what's going on and what the dog is thinking, so to speak.

Lurking in the background, following your thread and holding my breath at the same time, YellowGirl. Good on you for perserverance and for keeping a steady and calm approach to this. I wouldn't be impressed with the emergency vet for not picking up on the bronchial infection, but so glad your general Vet did. This dog just wouldn't know how close she could have been to not being here. Congratulations to you - you stood strong. Not that others didn't want anything other than what they thought was best for the dog - they could only go on what was written. But you could see and hear the dog first hand and you stood fast on your opinion based on exactly that. And now .................. I will start breathing again, lol.

Similar to Vets All Natural's comment, I'm inclined to agree that the cause for your dog being so badly allergic could do with looking at. Diets can help a lot. As can looking at what chemicals you use in the general course of your dog's life. Supporting and de-loading your dog's immune system can also help things. I'd be inclined to have thyroid bloods done (via Dr Jean Dodds in the USA .... testing is more thorough as is the analysis - and not much more expensive than it being done nationally) also - but that's just me. The thyroid is responsible for the proper function of just about every organ in the body, including the immune system and is fairly easily and economically righted with medication if something is out of whack there. Have a chat with Dr Bruce Syme - he's not my 'main' Vet because of the distance between us, but I have seen him on numerous occasions and he's helped and guided me with my dogs' various problems throughout the years.