Erny

Julie - your link to Pacers in the first post isn't working. I'll put your link to the raffle up on my Facebook.

I bought my books of tickets :D. Great prizes and money going to help worthwhile causes .

Just hit the "reply" button inside the post that you want to quote from. You can delete any part of the post you don't want to quote or isn't relevant. Make sure that you type your response AFTER the [ / q u o t e ] which you will see is at the end of what the other person wrote. And yes - I agree with the how frightening the chemical overload we subject our dogs to is. Of course it has all been (initially at least) for good reason, with the right intentions. But now we need to look at things differently, and it is only now that some people are making changes, even though those changes have been being advocated by professionals and professional organisations (our own AVA included) for years. I don't use wormers, anti-flea chemicals, shampoos and so forth. I would never say "never" to them, but I like to keep them on the shelf until and unless I can recognise they should be used. ETA: Mind you, I'm not saying puppy vaccinations should be avoided. Just in my boy's instance, I am wondering if his body isn't allowing his puppy vaccine to settle down, or vice versa.

Shepherds - your paraphrasing and understanding of what I meant is correct, thank you :). And thanks for the extra info !! Even if these Holistic Veterinarians are wrong, I'm blown away by my meandering musings being anywhere near as plausible as qualifying for discussion by professional experts!! This is not to sound as though I'm blowing wind in my own sails, mind ..... just that I don't feel dumb as I thought I was taking the risk of being. I'll check up that link - thank you . ETA: To quote, just type in : [ q u o t e ] at the beginning of what you want to quote, and [ / q u o t e ] at the end of what you want to quote. But leave out all the spaces I put in :).

I appreciate the compliment (ie being knowledgeable about this stuff) but believe me, I'm learning with the rest of everybody and there are others here who have well guided me in my understanding and also to good reading (eg Dr Jean Dodds). But I will be the first to admit my understanding is limited. "To an extent" was probably a remark that I needn't have made but I think why I'd like to know the levels is in part way a curiousity and part way because I'm still learning. But, in an attempt to explain and just for interest sake : I BELIEVE about the theory of antibodies reducing down and retiring to cell-memory, but I like to know I can keep an eye on it, should I decide to change my mind. If the theory on high levels is correct, good to high antibody levels being present indicates Parvo etc. exposure. This gives me an idea of what's around and what hasn't been around. An academic exercise, if you will, I guess. I'm also interested in another train of thought I've been toying with (but not sure if I'm on a feasible path with it). It relates to Mandela's seeming auto-immune issues. Could it be possible that his system NEVER dealt with the first puppy vaccine well? This is a question to me ..... I haven't managed to phrase it succinctly or clearly yet and haven't yet asked a Vet about it. But I wonder if the answer was "no", whether that would have any bearing on why his Parvo and Hepatitis antibody levels are so "VERY good" even after almost 4 years??? Is it something that is just parading around in his body after all this time, upsetting the balance of his system?? I'm quite prepared to be embarrassed for even thinking this, as I'm probably quite wrong in the possibility. I actually haven't been quite ready to verbalise the thought yet, hence my wordiness . Only giving results in terms of "Positive" or "Negative" tells me the antibodies are either present or not, and not whether they are waning or still present in full force. Gosh! I don't know if even any of that makes any sense to anyone other than myself lol.

Yes - it is just coincidence, gsdog2. Medium to large dogs have and are also known to exhibit this behaviour. And 'they' reckon the dominance theory has been debunked ??? Mmmmmmmmnup, I don't think so.

I'm not sure, but part of the additional charges could be relative to the courier fee to send to WA for lab testing??? And regards the "positive or negative" results .... you mean they aren't giving values such as "1:80" ? Glad the results were good, LR. Youre probably correct about courier charges Erny - why is noone doing these over east though???? Capital -vs- demand ? That's understandable, to an extent :).

For your boyfriend, try "Advanced Allergy Clinic". It's a different concept in allergy treatment but it is non-invasive. Antihistamines, nose-sprays etc were no good for me as they either didn't work or made my nose bleed. I went to one of these clinics and experienced success in quite a short amount of time. Worth trying, in my opinion. Never heard of "Allerpet".

No - it shouldn't be hard, but let me know if you have difficulty. There is one place who I connected with (because of someone here putting up a link, but then I got in touch with her rada rada rada .... Anyway, let me know as I can send you her link and you can purchase on-line from her.

I'm not sure, but part of the additional charges could be relative to the courier fee to send to WA for lab testing??? And regards the "positive or negative" results .... you mean they aren't giving values such as "1:80" ? Glad the results were good, LR.

Steve has often written quite black and white that she does not support puppy farmers. I wasn't suggesting you were doing so - I'm sorry that I've not written to make the point I was trying to make more clear. My point being that your interpretation of what a puppy farmer is, and for that matter, anyone else's interpretation of what a puppy farmer is, is moot. It is what the law interprets what a puppy farmer is that is going to be the one that counts. Steve has pretty much said this in her post above. I'm sorry I wasn't as clear as she has been. ETA: Sheridan - Just for the sake of clarity, when you refer to "Commercial Breeders" are you referring to "Puppy Farmers"?

I found someone who has a few Poo and Pee toys left and so I've placed an order :). What's even better is that the money goes to rescue . But the Poo and Pee toys are much smaller than I thought they'd be and my sister's dog is going to grow beyond its size very quickly, so I think I'll get one of those, ummmmm .... what were they called? .... Plush squiggly toys?? Lol ..... I need to back track to refresh my memory. I know what they look like, though. Austerra - I'll pop into your store (so handy that it is so local to me ) and see if you have them. Expect to see or at least hear from me soon. And I think this is a good thread to use as a reference, and one that can be added on to over time as people come across more good toy ideas. For ease of reference and to make searching for it easier, I'll change the title to simply "Toys". Thanks to everyone for your ideas. Like someone else, Mandela's most favourite toy ever has been "Flea". Had since puppyhood and holds first place above all other toys. Has been re-stitched several times (is used a bit in tug as well, lol) and needs frequent washing because he (ie flea) gets a bit skanky, but is still hangin' in there. Pretty excellent for four years of constant use.

Is it a genuine "Kong"? If it is, send an email to the Kong manufacturer, especially if the kong is not all that old. They are designed to last a good amount of time.

But that is subject to, well, subjectivity. How would you write up a definition of what constitutes "as if they're cows going to market" ?

Cheers, LR. Report back to let us know how you get on. I know there are a few who have reported it did not help, but so far that seems to be in the minority. I continue to be interested in its effects, successful or otherwise. But remember - it is not designed to be a cure .... just something to help while you're sorting the "cause" out.

I read in another post of his in a different thread that the mix is 2 tablespoons of calendula tea to one cup of water as a minimum (ie. use stronger mix if it's a bad flare up). He also mentioned elsewhere to be sure you get organic calendula tea otherwise it may turn white fur yellow. Thank you, Z79 - you're spot on. And just so you know, I'm a female. Don't worry - I take no offence whatsoever, but I don't want to appear to purposely lead you to the wrong impression. And I didn't take the name "Erny" to purposely mislead anyone - how I derived the name is a small story, but gender ID was not in my thoughts at the time, so my apologies for tripping you up as a result of my DOL name.

My sentiments also, Oakway. The person I've been communicating with has always responded promptly and straight up and is very personable. I'd like to meet her. I'm impressed.

Hey D - congratulations for what you have recently achieved and everything you've achieved in the past, with Dyzney . I loved your story - how beautiful your words. Your emotion and pride for Dyzney is so transparent and clear. What a special dog :) . Good on the both of you

That' true, LizT. I can see how that could be read from the completely different angle than what it was intended. Although breed reference doesn't have to be included. The people might recognise it was their deed being congratulated by the date and venue but if it isn't, the message is still out there for everyone else and breed doesn't really matter.

This might prove to be a volatile question - it's not intended to be. But why would there be anyone who would not want to be registered as breeders with the ANKC? Shouldn't that be the question that is asked and if there are any reasons, ANKC might benefit from knowing those and working to fix? Badly worded question - I have a head ache. Hope the meaning of it comes across ok. Part of my point is that it would hardly be likely that if anyone is into breeding that they'd not know of ANKC (or if they didn't know they wouldn't be many in numbers), so would RSPCA encouragement really make the difference?

It is lovely to see people taking notice and extending courtesy and respect. :) What you wrote above would be lovely to have printed in a "Have Your Say" (or equivalent) section of your local newspaper :).

Hi TB. The general rule of thumb is about 2 tablespoons to a cup of water. I confess that I brew mine with that in mind as the minimum, but I make it stronger at times when I'm battling the worst of whatever it is that I'm battling. Make sure you get organic stuff with no colouring etc added. Some one person here tried it and it tainted her dog's white hair yellow. Sure - not exactly the end of the world if the stuff helps, but I've not ever had that problem with the brand I purchase and the same person I speak of didn't have the problem when I sent her up some of mine. Good luck, and report back with your findings. Remember that Calendula Tea is not a cure - it works to help soothe the itchies that will keep developing whilst you're working on finding out the cause and help to stop them becoming secondary infections.

I think now would be the time to start using it to stop a build up of plaque on the teeth. :) I agree totally. For those who read the post where I questioned as to whether Plaque Off would rid the dog of tartar/plaque from underneath the gum, I emailed Proden with the question. For information sake, this is the answer I got :

Claudiabcn83 - in response to your request for "which Vet" .... I use Dr Bob Cavey at Ultimate Veterinary Clinic in Narre Warren South. Last check, the fee was $188.50 and this was for all three core disease titres. Give them a call as if you don't get the Distemper, just getting the Parvo and Hepatitis should prove cheaper. It's all rather new, so do double check on the price, but by popular demand they are now titre-ing :D.

Something else agility-goers would want to train for is for their dog to not listen to the fast beeps as a signal to leave the table. I can well imagine this is something many will catch on to, just as many dogs catch on to moving forward at the sound of the bips at pedestrian lights.