Christina77

Love them

Thank you everyone , I think I have my work cut out for me . Lots more research to do including the good suggestions about the Retirement Homes pet policies. The one I looked at just said we welcome pets as they are part of the family . However there is probably more to it then that which I need to look into . Will also consider the weather up here , Frenchie's are popular but not suited to the hot weather up here and Dashies are in huge numbers , it's seriously like the 'in' dog here with young well to do families , don't ask me why I would love a Lab but they are probably to big for retirement villages , but I will check that out . I still miss my girl so much , I've been saying that if a dog should cross my path that's the only time I know I will get one and so far nothing . Maybe she was just the one and only . ACD's are hard to replace

I've been a member here for many years but after my Bella (ACD) passed away I just haven't had the heart to get another dog and have not been that active here . Now that I'm coming up to retirement I'm starting to toy with the idea of having another dog . It's been 4 years . Owning another ACD would be wonderful but not in the best interest of the dog as now I live in suburbia and I' m not sure I could cope with such an active dog anyway however much my hearts leans towards them . I'm not really into little dogs but that's more because of inexperience with them. So I'm tentatively starting to look around for what type of dog might suit . I would love some advise , I have 2 cats , indoors and rescues . Both loved my Bella and one of them comes and intently watches The Dog House Unfortunately the only consistent rescues up here are larger mixed breeds , rarely smaller dogs and they seem to get snapped up . Not into yappy dogs , I think that would not be a good idea as I might be buying into a retirement village. ( I know training is the key but some just do lol) I'm stuck for ideas , thought of a Yorkey but apparently they get separation anxiety . Poodles ? my sister has 2 from registered breeders but still with some health and behavior issues . Chi's , my son said they bite ( he was teasing me but yeah ) Not bagging the breeds , just what I know . Will be an indoor dog and go everywhere with me . Live near beaches and nice walking areas in Townsville so a semi active dog is fine. Any suggestions ?

Bella had a benign lump removed early April , where the stitches where at the end of a long incision across her shoulder she seems really itchy . I gave her a scratch and the area has now swollen a little and is still itchy . she cant reach it herself so won't do any more damage to it but I'd like to know if it's possible for a scar to itch like that ? There's no broken skin. I've had an expensive run with her the last few months plus trying to pay for a funeral and her meds are $240 a month so I'm looking for some answers or remedies before I head of to the vet once again . Poor old girl is now 14 , has Vestibular disease and is deaf but she's happy . She's on Vinitovin and Previcox . Could she have a antihistamine ?

Torn between getting another dog to be a companion to our old dog ( nearly 14 yr old red Cattle dog )and for my ill husband as well . Our dog loves all dogs , specially small fluffies but hubby is set on getting another Cattle dog. I would love to get another Cattle dog , however we have moved to Townsville and now have a smaller although fully secure yard . Our cattle dog was never overactive and fitted nicely into a routine of excersise and training with set rest times during the day , she was so easy to train and look after and still is . I recently saw a red ACD at the vets and it was a lightning ball of energy ( understatement lol) and I figured it would be my luck to end up with one . My animals are for keeps and I don't want to get it wrong , it would break my heart if a dog didn't suit our family. I have no experience with other breeds . We have been visiting the Townsville RSPCA to see if an older dog is available but unfortunately it still seems that breeding Bull Arab mixes is the in thing here and so sad to see so many being dumped and we just don't have the experience to handle a dog like that ( to be honest most seem to have some issues as well) What do older people do when they still want another dog but require a dog that isn't so full on ? Not sure a small fluffy is for us , I prefer a dog dog ( no offence meant , that's just us Money is not a problem , nor is care and love ( will be an inside dog with access to a lovely but smaller back yard , access to the beach for walks and social activities such as dog club training) I'm stuck, I don't know what to do.

Bella ( nearly 14) is having some digestive issues with a second case of the runs in the last month. It's possible that's she's developed less tolerance to foods but unfortunate it's also been our fault as she's had human tit bits she shouldn't have had. I need to watch this and will be more vigilant as hubby still sneaks her bits ( he has cognitive problems and I don't think he means to but he forgets) I add probiotic yogurt to her dinner (raw and some Advance weight management dry food) and a 1/2 teaspoon of Slippery Elm powder . I was reading up on the Digestive enzyme - "Dr Goodpet Digestive powder canine is a specially formulated digestive enzyme supplement for dogs. For general health and digestive support. Contains no animal ingredients and is specially formulated for dogs. Additive free." Does anyone use this for their dogs or another brand with good results ?

I'm thinking an easier and cheaper option might be to get hold of some medical grade adhesive and apply patches of non slip drawer matting like that on a roll . We have a hallway that is nearly 20+ meters long and to get a runner is probably not an option as hubby is not very mobile and it could be a tripping danger for him . Sigh poor doggies when they get older

That's interesting Jumabaar , it looks like the granules are stuck on with what looks like superglue . I wonder ? I don't mind paying if it works so might have a look into it .

Bella is now 13 and on treatment for arthritis and I've been using anti slip rubber nail covers to help her with traction on the floors. I read that you can use Paw Wax but its quite expensive. Is there a home made remedy ? Can you use surfboard wax ?

Bella is now 13 and has successfully lost 3 kilos which has taken some strain of her arthritis in her joints but she is now suffering from some muscle loss in her hind legs. I still walk her short distances on the property and on next doors property but because of roaming dogs and some of these are lost pig hunting dogs it hasn't been safe to go further . I don't have access to water therapy treatments. Is there anything I can do or give her that will help build up some muscle ? She occasionally slips onto her bum as her left rear leg is the worst , our house now has carpet runners throughout so she can walk better indoors and outdoors she's doing fine but when she veers off the carpet it will occasionally happen She is on Turmeric golden paste , and Pernase powder . I have Previcox tablets ( pain relief) for her but when I picked the last lot it was $50 for 10 tablets , not something I can keep doing however much I want to . Would anyone have any suggestions as to what kind of pain relief might also help ? She was on Cartrophen injections but they don't seem to make a lot of difference now . Any help greatly appreciated , I need to be better informed before I head of to my vet

There's been numerous 'lost' farming hunting dogs up where I live who have survived on road kill and eventually found worse for wear but alive. I'd also be worried about parasites , however when you think of Roo meat for pets it's just culled roos that are processed so maybe it's ok but the enzymes in meat starts to deteriorate quickly after death giving bacteria a chance to build up .

Cool , she loves pumpkin ( me too so there's always some in the house)

This is our Bella , 11 yrs and gorgeous :) Her front is flabby between the breastbone and you can't feel her ribs. She's 32-33 kilo's depending on which scale I use as our vet has 2 offices . Ideally I'd like her to be 26-27 so there's less stress on her joints. How does she look to you ? She's still blowing a coat

Thank you :)

Well some months later and she's finally loosing some weight . All treats and human food sharing has stopped . She's on a 4 week course of injections for her joints as they were painfull and prevention her being active . That is working brilliantly . But , she's on a Hills metabolic dry food and after 5 days has decided she'll rather starve and for the first time ever is turning her nose up at food The Hills dry food) Done some research and not happy with the ingredients especially the amount of fillers such as corn and Beetroot pulp. Annoyed at myself for falling for the 20min spiel the vet gave about the Hills dry food and that she ordered the Hills metabolic and joint care dry food which I'm not going to buy unless I feel reassured Hills products are safe and ok . $56 for 2.7 kilos of dry food that has corn etc in it isn't my idea of genuine health care . I'm sure it suits lots of dogs but my dog will eat anything anytime so somethings up . I meant to do photos but forgot so will do a photo session tomorrow ???? I'm at a loss what to do , reducing her food just leaves her starving and begging for food and the Hills biscuits were keeping her full so now I'm back to square one ????

Hi folks , I checked for previous posts on previcox 227mg but they seem pretty old. Bella 11 , is going onto the 4 x weekly injections and for the first 5 days has been prescribed previcox 227mg to get the pan under control. I'm too scared to administer it to her ( 1 tab a day x 5 days) after reading some reviews and certainly not comfortable giving it tonight in case she needs a vet ( fairly rural here) The vet did explain why she was suggesting it for 5 days only , which made me do a bit of online reading . But am I over concerned ?

No chance of anyone feeding her , she's never out of our sight . I've tried Roo meat , but she doesn't seem to digest it well usually ended up with her eating grass after . Not sure on the raw diet but I'll certainly have a look , a bit limited to what we can get up FNQ

MY Bella , Red ACD has been on a never ending round of diets to loose some weight the last few years . She's 11. She's front heavy , has a big chest and still has her 'figure' at the rear , slight incline in the flank and no rolls when she sits . she doesn't have the Cattle Dog 'Coffee Table " look :laugh: Yet she is 32 kilo's. Vets have advised numerous diets , cut back on food etc , no grain dry . some raw and and some dry and the list goes on. Currently I have her on 1 cup dry (non grain) that is divided into 3 so she has it in her treatball outside for exercise ( at the moment it's not safe to walk her here ) and 1 cup brown rice/veg with 1 chicken neck. 1 liver biscuit treat a day. Do some dogs just never loose weight ? She's healthy , apart from a hotspot recently but that cleared up in a few days. She saw the vet on Wednesday to have her nails clipped and she just shook her head when I asked her about Bella's weight . She said she's ok ( Vet also owns cattle dogs) So are some breeds just prone to be chubby when they get older ? I feel like her , we both just have to look at food and we put weight on

Stopped the mobile wash for 3 weeks now . She's still a bit itchy and once again has blown her coat but no more hotspots . She seems fine , I found a strange warty thing on her hind leg so another trip to the vet coming up . I guess at 11 she's going to get a few health issues .

Some time ago , about 8 moths we started using a Mobile Hydro-bath service for our ACD . Recently she has had skin issues that she's never had before . One that looked like a hot spot and cleared quickly with treatment , now she has very itchy skin ( first time ever in her 11 years) and I noticed she has what appears to be a pale wart growing her hind leg ( thought it was a tick but it's not ) Now I'm in no way saying that the Hydrobathing is the cause but were trying to see if it could be a link and the service uses our water so I know it's not recycled water , the dog next door also uses it and he now has huge hot spots ( hasn't used the Hydro-bath for some time now once they were spotted) Hubby wants me to stop the baths , easy for him as I'm the one then that has to wash her lol and thinks there's a cause for concern , so my question is if there is a cause for concern and to stop the Hydro baths or could it be something else ? Has anyone experienced anything like this ? She's never had any skin issues , never had a flea and has regular Frontline Plus and Heartguard Plus. No change in diet either , she's happy , getting old and has hip issues but has never had these problems before. TYIA

Update , she's doing great Diet wise she actually has lost weight and she's not as quiet anymore, far more active and lies down and gets up with ease. She's still as hungry ( or so she thinks being a Cattle dog) as ever but has stop following me to the fridge :laugh: so she seems to be getting the gist of 'no snacks'

Interesting reading ! I appreciate the time taken and have taken everything into consideration . I'd like to use the Synflex and will look into that further , but in the meantime I can report that the 'sore leggies" are so much better ! I'm using the joint powder I mentioned earlier 1stp in the morning with 1/2 tsp of the RHVC small amount of dry food in her treat ball ( about 20 Optimum ) just to get her outside and spend a little time outdoors. at night 2 Fish oil + VitE RHVC 1 Tblsp Coconut oil Joint powder 1stp MSM Glucosamine 1 we saw a difference in about 5 days , she's also much happier although we will note some of her quiet/er behaviour to the changes of diet as she no longer gets any treats between meals. Must have been hard for her to understand but she seems ok with it now. But she's not spending all day following me around asking for food. Diet wise I do , Roo meat + veg (minced) one day 3/4 cup roo 3/4 cup veg , other day dry food 3/4 cup , grated carrot and small portions. She has lost weight her chest has less flab and is much tighter and her hips are getting more defined but she still has more to loose . Will weigh her at the end of the month when she has a check up. I think I'm on the right track , and something that is not too expensive to maintain . Steve the only Turmeric I've seen up here is human tablets/capsules at the Health food store ( looking into getting them for myself :laugh: so would they be ok for the dog ?

I've been doing some more research and I don't think the Joint Saver Plus My link I have been getting is what my dog needs , I noticed you mention the caution on Vit C Steve and this mix contains Vit C and I was starting to increase her dose to 1stp in the morning and 1tsp at night . I'm after something that contains Glucosamine Vit a & E Manganese Boswelling Yucco Omega 3 , 6 Unfortunatly not knowing Brand names etc it's starting to get difficult to find something that contains these , or find products that fully list their ingredients so would someone know how I can find something that has these ingredients AND if I'm on the right track? I read the article on My link Also Steve if I try your Tumeric suggestion could I still use what I'm looking for in the above description ? Is it safe to combine that with Tumeric ? Bear with me please while I read up about things :) does this link contain accurate info on theuse of Tumeric ? My link

Thank you , have ordered the Rosehip ( got free postage offer after I forgot to finish the check out system as I was just comparing prices so they send me an email with free postage code ( Vet Products Direct ) I'll get the fishoil this week and add some more vegies , easy as / Let's hope it works both for weight loss and her sore leggies .

Oks . the powder she has is Joint Saver Plus and contains "Joint Saver ingredients are Shark cartilage, MSM , Glucosamine HCL, sodium ascorbate (vitamin C)" so I'm cautious to add any more things that already contain the above so if I go for 1. the Joint Saver Plus ( morning and night 1 tsp ) 2. Rose-Hip Vital Canine 3. Fish oil ( But how many ?) is the combination of the above safe ? I've made a note of the Cartrophen Vet , and will ask the vet next checkup to see how she's loosing weight . I hate the thought of her getting older , all for selfish reasons but she's a gift from heaven and changed our lives for the better :D