Sheridan

He's making the claim that the RSPCA have said in writing he can't speak for Moorook, which if correct is pretty daft.

There's also a pet friendly B&B in Beechworth. Haven't stayed there but was looking recently at Beechworth accommodation.

Don't know about the roof of the mouth but I used to cover my dog's nose and that stopped the reverse sneezing. Not sure about a correlation between mange and reverse sneezing. Sounds more like an irritation.

I've come late into this thread but have they considered an auto-immune diease? A previous dog of mine had difficulty moving and it turned out to be an auto-immune problem.

Hope Kayla continues to improve. Lots of hugs for her and you.

I don't recall anyone saying that they didn't want it to happen but rather that they didn't necessarily think it was helpful. Please remember also that this forum has had many of tales of sadness and that after a while, you run out of kind things to say. After 10 years of membership I have been supportive in so many threads, that quite frankly, I don't always feel I have anything left to give. Have you got any idea how many hundreds of threads of tragedy and loss there have been here over the years? And of course, when you do it in real life and tragic things happen to people with dogs that you know, sometime you're all "supportived" out from time to time. So please don't blame people for not being as supportive as you'd like - sometimes it's not about you and your thread quite so much as others not feeling that they have anything to give. Yes, I do have an idea of how many tales of sadness there have been. I may not post very often, but I have been reading for many years. Of course my situation is not unique, there are many people here that have gone through it far more times than I have, and this topic was about all of those threads that may get missed. The point I am making is that, in my case, it is not about having any expectation of replies, nor is it about placing blame on anyone. It's about a feeling of disheartenment when you think you have reached a dead end, through any avenue - it's the helplessness you feel because you haven't been able to find an answer to help your dying dog. It's the desperation of trying to get your dog to eat and drink. It's watching the weight loss, the vomiting, and realising that there's no running poo anymore because your dog isn't eating enough to actually generate poo. And it's the guilt, that's the worst, the feeling of guilt. Dogs lose around 80% of their kidney function before symptoms show and you keep thinking as you try to get your dog to eat that you should have picked it up sooner. Kidney disease is a particularly filthy illness. Of course, these feelings and the helplessness are not peculiar to kidney disease but sometimes just a bit of sympathy helps even if you have nothing else to contribute. Not limited but people do actually try to post in the appropriate forum and telling someone it's their fault because their thread about their dying dog didn't get enough attention is blisteringly insensitive.

Specific to just being old?? I posted my boy's kidney failure thread in palliative care because that's exactly what it was, palliative care. I had already posted two other related threads in health with limited response. It's not about an expectation of replies, but a hope that someone somewhere can share some advice or thoughts. So if you're in a situation with a chronically ill dog and feeling desperate and getting nothing, of course you can feel disheartened. I do read the palliative care threads, same as I read rainbow bridge. My heart aches for people in those situations. I very rarely have any constructive advice other than to express my sympathy. But as Sheridan said, some threads get more support than others. I tend to post in threads where it looks like there is not as much support, but that's a personal choice I make because I really feel for those people. You chose to put your thread in a section that has little traffic, so you shouldn;t expect lots of replies, esp on a subject where there is limited number of people with experience. If you wanted an - oh dear, there there set of replies, utilise a forum that gets more traffic! It;s like saying you are disheartened not getting a lift hitch hiking, when you are stood in a country lane! That said, I do sympathise, as last year I went through a similar thing with a fairly young dog who had liver failure and we knew when the balance tipped, it was going to be a fast run to the end. That doesn;t mean I am the type of person who wants to go to threads just to give sympathy, it is a dog forum, so for me that is a given anyway, I, personally would prefer posts that have the help and not have people saying stuff that gets in the way of the useful stuff. I wonder if you realise how rude you sound? It's Kayla1's fault that she posted a thread about her dying dog in a forum that is supposed to be for people whose dogs are dying. The sheer insensitivity is gobsmacking.

Hope things go well whatever you decide.

Support is only useful if you get it. It took two days before anyone posted in Kayla1's thread. How many people posted in the cancer threads and ignored hers? And I berate myself here particularly because I do have experience with kidney disease and I didn't see the thread until it got bumped. It is just as lonely having a dog with kidney disease as it is having a dog with cancer. At least my posting this thread has highlighted the problem.

Sure but it's actually a cancer care forum. Nothing wrong with that but it does mean anyone else tends to get ignored. I should add before anyone jumps down my throat that I don't expect people who have no experience with things like kidney disease to post advice but support, as was pointed out by shepherds, does go a long way.

This topic isn;t about the breeder not telling the puppy buyer the price of a pup, it is about the buyer wanting money off for something the breeder was doing without charging them extra for! Thank you for informing me of the topic. However, my post is quite relevant given a number of people have already discussed this point (you may also wish to tell them off). You may also wish to note my posts discussing the haggling aspect of the topic.

Mini gets a steamed chicken thigh and around 250 of kibble a day. I buy a bulk pack of nine which is around $9.00, so that's around $1.00 plus the kibble. I get a premium kibble, though I am looking at another brand cos she doesn't like it much. She's not terribly food oriented. She's decided she loves the Aldi chicken treats. They're around $1.50, I think, and they last 2-3 weeks.

That's not accurate either. I haggled for Zeus at the pet shop and got him for a hugely discounted price. Being a 'designer dog' his original tag was $1500, but he was already reduced due to the fact he was approaching 12 weeks (over the hill in the pet shop world) to $900. I got him for $750 and even had them throw in his second puppy vaccine. I didn't exactly haggle, I'd commented to my mum that if he was around the $700 mark I'd buy him and the shop assistant who was eavesdropping, jumped in and said she'd call her boss and see what she could do about the price. A dog from a breeder is a completely different bucket of fish though. Pet shops need their 'stock' gone so they can get in new, younger puppies whereas a breeder will more than likely keep the puppy until the right home is found. Personally though, as a puppy buyer only, I'd never ask for a discount. If I've found the right breeder, the right litter and the right puppy, there is no price I wouldn't pay. As long as I'm happy with all my choices and decisions, that's all that matters -- not something like a puppy being discounted because I have to vaccinate. Vaccinations are a part of owning a dog and if you don't want to pay for a second puppy one, how are you going to cope with medical bills for its whole life? As for the 6 figure salary ... My brother's the same but is a complete tightwad and Scrooge. Not to mention that about 40% of that is taken in tax. Hence the word 'probably'. Hedging my bets a little on account of how pet shops and I don't get along. ;) I agree, the price of the puppy I don't worry about at all. I've been offered dogs for free (that's how I got Grumpy, though Mini I did 'PICK ME!' at Merijigs and luckily she said yes). It's the home a good breeder is concerned about.

I think my objection is that haggling for a live animal seems quite distasteful, at least, it does to me. And certainly, if you walked into a pet shop and offered less than the asking price you'd probably be told no.

Last time I bought a puppy, the breeder told me what the price was upfront. Perhaps to head off awkward topics like this more breeders should actually state the amount and discuss travel arrangements. Next time I get a puppy I figure I'll be up for around $2000-2500, sans travel. I figured the price of a puppy will have at least doubled since I last got one.

To be blunt, if you sounded in your emails the way you sound in your post, I would be concerned that you couldn't afford the puppy. Never mind that you earn a six figure salary. Unless you've said that to the breeder, she wouldn't know. Honestly, asking for a discount because of the second vaccination just makes you sound like a cheapskate. You may be, I don't know, but I certainly wouldn't want to sound like that to anyone let alone someone I'm getting a dog from. It would raise too many alarm bells where none are needed.

kayla1, they do go down very quickly but your boy will tell you when he's ready to leave you. My boy did. Very sorry to hear about Kayla, too.

And equally, what anyone says may not be true. What you've said about Moorook may not be true, for instance. How would anyone know without verification?

When people are saying that clipping ruins a coat permanently are you referring to your own breed's coat, double coats, or just coats in general?

I'm not saying the threads are unimportant but not everyone gets responded to, to whit the DOLer with the dog with kidney failure. Were I that DOLer, I wouldn't feel so supported.

I posted in the Forum help and suggestions forum but didn't get much of a response there. I am concerned that a number of important health threads are getting missed because people are not going in the aged dog and palliative care forums. I think they would be better this general forum. There has been a thread about transporting an old blind dog and one on kidney failure with very few replies. I think these forums were established so threads didn't get lost but they are anyway because few people visit them. Would it be better if these two forums were blended into this general one?

Really, I'm at the point of either asking the two of you to get a room.

I think an economic threat is one of the worst.

There are lots of rescue groups in SA that have professionalism and accountability - they are MDBA members. You've just been watching the wrong ones. That's probably a matter of opinion to some people. That suggests a choice.

When Grumpy died, Mini got quite clingy for a little while. I assumed this was because the "boss" wasn't there.