4 Paws

I had one of my gsd on hills science diet when she was a puppy but she never seemed to look overly good.I have since discovered Nutro Lg breed lamb and rice and they look wondefull now,big difference in the condition of there coat now. I'm sure Nutro have a lg breed puppy formula as well.I'd recommend getting a lg breed formula whatever choice you make. I think i've read that the breed specific german shepherd formula is designed to help with skin conditions that the breed can be prone to but if you're dog seems ok i'm sure just a lg breed formula would be fine

Can't give a comparison in regard to the eagle pack but i have previously fed one of my gsd's hills science diet and saw no improvement but have in the last 12 months switched to Nutro Lg breed lamb and rice and my dogs have never looked better,there coats are really glowing and not near as much shedding as there used to be before starting the nutro One of my girls had a skin problem and she used to have a smell about her all the time but this has gone as well checkout this website which shows some great results as well http://naturalpetfoodsaustralia.com/

I second Colin(Nicestman77)for helping you out with a clipper service,also great prices for blades sharpening and the purchase of new blades

hey peachie, wondered how long it would take for you to pop you head into the thread I feel much the same as you,clipping takes ages and not really worth the money imo.Coming from the country there were 3 mobile groomers and not one of us had any professional training so i was quite comfortable offering clipping knowing i wasn't up againt competitors that had heaps of training,where as if i start up here i wouldn;t like to offer clipping as i feel i can't offer the same standard as fully trainer operators.Maybe after a while i might do like you are and do it for a few regulars as i already have all the equipment.As you said i wouldn't offer breed clips,just basic clipping

Hi cavsrcute, they emailed me back yeaterday and they are running one at the end of this year,finishing off in Feb,here's a link to what they sent me.Its to the massage school at Charmhaven http://www.massageschool.com.au/smallanimalstudies.htm

Most of them can be found on amazon at very good prices. Of the top of my head one by "Goody" (surname) is good but there are many others, just do a google search. kimjm,do you mind me asking if the course you had the bad experience with was a dog related course and who it was through. I'm thinking of starting up another dog wash business(i've just sold one as we moved)and was thinking of offering massaging as an extra service but finding it difficult to find canine massage courses locally I got done over by the same course and fortunately it is no longer available. I have done the NCTM course (not the intensive one though - but assume the same just over longer time) and found it quite good (particularly the instuctor - she was a wealth of knowledge). It is only a basic start, but gives a good foundation of skills for you to use. You get a canine anatomy book with this course if you do it ("Dog Anatomy - A coloring atlas"). If you do the NCTM course you would get the most out of it if you already know where all the muscles are (ie studying an anatomy book first). thanks for the info ,i'm still waiting for them to email me back regarding any courses they may be running in Sydney I might get a few books first than ,also found this one http://www.ozdoggy.com.au/webapps/site/214...html?pid=272931 do you think it would be o.k too? cheers julie

hi shmoo, i'll let you know if i hear back about that course that they run in sydney once a year if you like

kimjm,do you mind me asking if the course you had the bad experience with was a dog related course and who it was through. I'm thinking of starting up another dog wash business(i've just sold one as we moved)and was thinking of offering massaging as an extra service but finding it difficult to find canine massage courses locally julie

Hi Winterpaws,thanks for that.I did actually email them late this afternoon to see when they were running there next course in Sydney and thankyou for your kind offer,i'll let you know how i get on julie

thanks for the reply,are there any other books you could recommend as well and would i just get them from a book shop or ordered from somewhere online? Have been doing a search for canine massage courses around Sydney but they're quite hard to find

Am interested in learning canine massage and was wondering if anyone has done any courses in it? Do you think you could learn massage by correspondence properly or do you really need to do a hands on course

has anyone tried any of the courses offered by correspondence by Aust School of Pet Care Studies Was thinking about including massage therapy,especially if i don't offer the clipping service. Anyone else tried any correspondence courses to do with animals?

Wagsalot,did you do your training locally? If i did do a training course they usually go for a week or so and are fairley pricey and the fact that i have 3 kids and no family here makes it hard as well to get away and do it.

Hi, just wondering how many people on DOL are dog groomers.Do you do mobile or a salon and do you offering clipping or just washing? What training have you had? just curious as i owned a mobile dog wash in Dubbo and recently sold it as a business before moving here to Wollongong.I'm just contemplating starting up another one here although i'm looking at setting it up in a hi-roof van instead of a trailer(not the best backer in the world ) I did a tafe Animal studies cert II and the hydrobathing and grooming modules from cert III but apart from that i have had no formal training.I had already owned a hydrobath for my own dogs before i started my business and started the tafe courses so already knew a lot about bathing etc.The hydrobathing and grooming modules were of no use to me as i knew more than the teacher(she was a vet nurse)and she kept asking me what i do etc but at least i got a certifcate at the end. Do you think there is enough work just washing dogs to keep a business going or would you need to do the clipping side?.I did do clipping with my business but it was basic clipping,no fancy styles and i just watched and rewatched a doog dooz clipping dvd a million times.I must admidt i didn't really enjoy clipping so just wondered how a business would go at just offering washing/grooming and no clipping.I found that clipping was time consuming and time frame was very difficult to determine where as if just washing you pretty well know how much time you'll need plus time v's money it wasn't that good. appreciate your imput julie

Hi all, i am just getting ideas as i'm looking into setting up a mobile dog wash in a van and looking around at hydraulic grooming tables. Anyone use one and what brand do you have,have you ever had any problems with it and are you able to put a large dog on at a low height and adjust height up thanks julie

Could be.Will check out my local westfield sometime Must be a franchise ,just did a search in Sydney- here's a link to the Bush's stores in Sydney http://www.yellowpages.com.au/search/postL...y&stateId=1 good luck,hope you find some

They were at Bush's meats,is that a franchise?We've only moved to Wollongong recently and there's one at 2 of the westfield shopping centres here so though they may be a franchise or something

pretty sure they still have there eye's and yep they're pretty big.Keep looking at them at the butchers but keep being put off by having to carry a couple out of the shopping centre,hmmm would need a trolley.Might get one each for my german shepherds but will get the foxie a pig trotter or something,think he'd be struggling trying to carry a head that's bigger than himself around

I've noticed one of the butchers sells whole pig's heads for $5. Can you feed these to your dog or would they be to fatty/salty.If not what do people use them for????

can you overdose on colloidal silver,or should you have a break for it if taking it internally? What would be the recommneded dose for an adult daily that dsen't have any real health problems,just taking it to help ward off cold/flus etc

i AGREE,always had wonderful service for them and very helpful

my gsd had a yeast skin infection at one stage and she used to smell quite soon after being bathed.I'd suggest giving something like malaseb a go with the washing

I agree Colloidal silver is good stuff. i used it recently to treat a sore on my dogs tail and have just recently brought a bottle of it to start using it myself. I'm sure morgan will come along shortly and help you out regarding the website.I'll be interested in it as well as wouldn't mind getting one myself in the future.. Also saw a couple of days ago you can buy a colloidal silver gel now as well in Australia

was going to suggest the colloidal silver as well. I used it to treat a sore on one of my dogs tails several months ago and it healed very quickly

that would be the Petway Aroma Care Spray .It's the one i always used as i owned a dog wash business also and still have some stock of it.You can use it as a rinse in the hydrobath or as a spray after they're dried.You can also get an aroma care shampoo now which has the same smell Wonder why you can't buy it off them at the moment? It really smells great and lasts for ages