ellz

Short of using a banana clip or something similar on the top of the head, shaving them closely inside and keeping the hair on the sides of the face as short as possible and using a snood, I can't think of anything that doesn't require surgery. If you did use a snood, lightweight cotton as suggested, or alternatively, basketball mesh fabric or even a loosely crocheted snood would allow maximum airflow but still wouldn't be ideal. Long term, I'd be investigating diet. Improper diet can increase the occurrence of ear infections. You could also try the Blue Power wash for cleaning and maintaining the ear between plucks.

I recommend crating to eat anyway - creates a nice safe and uninterrupted place for her to eat her meals but certainly don't leave the food down for any more than 10, maximum 15 minutes at a time anyway no matter where you feed her. Also, if she is on more than 2 meals per day at that age, you might consider skipping one of them. At 17 weeks she would be ok with two meals per day and that may also encourage her to stick at the meals she does get when they are given to her.

Have replied in the breeder's forum.

My horses only get a cup each per day, so I wouldn't imagine giving a dog more than a spoonful or so per day.

Dawn dishwashing liquid would be my first recommendation, but if you can't get hold of that, green Palmolive (or any green dishwashing liquid) should do the trick. It may take a couple of baths and you MUST be sure to condition well because it can be very drying. Good luck.

Little hint for using a dremel or similar. Poke the nail through an old sock, or stocking to stop the hair from getting caught up on the grinder. And don't forget....if you have long hair....PULL IT BACK BEFORE YOU START!!!!!!

Have been told by a few people that the Oldfields stand dryer is excellent and outstrips the Liberty for power. It also comes with hose etc.

Ah yes, good old "No-nail tremors". Highly debilitating disease that one. Also affects Staffordshire Bull Terriers who start to cry and shake uncontrollably at the mere sight of the nail clippers.

Before you throw the Coat King away in disgust, have you tried putting an elastic band around the teeth? This acts somewhat like running a rubber-gloved hand down a back coat, the hair sticks to it better and pulls rather than cuts (if you do it properly of course). Bit hard to explain and this photo isn't the best, AND I couldn't find a decent sized elastic band and had to use a small purple dental one, but you should get a general idea of what I mean.

Put a lump of liver on a plate, cover it with a bowl. Zap it for a few minutes in the microwave. Let it cool. Chop it. VOILA!! For a little variation, you could sprinkle it with some granulated garlic prior to nuking it, or some vegetable stock powder or anything else that might take your fancy (I've even soaked it in cheap bourbon before nuking it on a couple of occasions). And if you want it REALLY dry and crunchy, you can put it on a baking tray and bake it after you've chopped it. (My dogs like it chewy.) Nuking it means that your house isn't overwhelmed by cooking liver stink and the bowl stops the splatter.

Most ticks in Tasmania are harmless HOWEVER, there is a variety of tick that live mostly on the East Coast which are paralysis ticks. The problem is that they get transported around the state on firewood and with our drought situation are multiplying nicely everywhere, so all ticks should be treated as potentially harmful.

OK, so from what was posted, I glean that my information was pretty much correct. The varieties of mosquito more commonly known to carry heartworm are not present in Tasmania. The varieties which can or are able to carry heartworm are here but considering how few cases of heartworm have been recorded as having actually STARTED in Tasmania, I would think my vet was correct in saying it isn't a major problem here. I was told a couple of years ago that the few cases that have been reported are dogs which have been moved to Tasmania from the mainland within the six months prior to their diagnosis. Culex annulirostris - Tas - East Coast - ABLE to carry dog heartworm Aedes notoscriptus - Tas - it has been incriminated as an important vector of dog heartworm Aedes vigilax - not in Tas - KNOWN to carry heartworm Culex quinquefasciatus - not in Tas - vector of heartworm but not particularly efficient Anopheles annulipes - Lowland Tas - CAN carry heartworm but not efficient vector

From one of the old thread about it the stock number was quoted as 3160000. Just did a quick search on Bunnings online and the above stock number is correct. It comes up as: <paste>GARDEN COMPOST BIN INCEINERATOR F/L 3160000 Use this waste cage metal frame as a great alternative to storing all your garden scraps <end paste> I'm going to go and get a couple for myself. Will come in handy to have a pen set up undercover on the concrete here for wet weather use by the hairy dogs.

Tasmania is one place it isn't as common to see heartworm infection unless the dog has come to the state already infected. And as a result, we don't routinely treat for it unless it is dogs which are travelling regularly to affected areas. Apparently the particular variety of mosquito that are carriers don't do well down here.

Mine made more noise about their vaccinations than they did about the chips. But mind you, the vax took longer. The chip took merely seconds to put in. One of them bled like a stuck pig. My vet commented that it was typical, if he'd been trying to find a vein he never would have found one! Pup was leaking red stuff everywhere and all he wanted to do was wag his tail and kiss everybody.

That is an interesting concept. Don't want to cast aspersions on the breeder but it sounds to me like they're rather skilfully ensuring that the cost comes out of your pocket rather than theirs. Let's face it, forcing a needle that isn't much smaller than the casing of a ballpoint pen into the skin and inserting a chip the size of a grain of rice is going to be painful no matter HOW big or small the dog concerned.

Yes, microchipping is compulsory in NSW and NSW was the first state to make it so under legislation.

Yes, well I did say MOST States! Naturally, Qld has to buck the trend in that as well!

No it isn't compulsory in all States under Govt legislation, however it is now compulsory prior to registration of puppies with the controlling bodies in most States.

Mine were done when they had their first needles - 7 weekish. They yelped more when they had their shots. Didn't even react when the chips went in.

My first thought upon reading this was tonsils. Especially as antibiotics cleared it up and then it returned when the antibiotics where finished. Followed closely by another vote for lip fold dermatitis although I've never had it treated with antibiotics before, just anti-fungals.

Yes, the food nazis would say that. HOWEVER, some of Australia's top breeder/exhibitors feed it and swear by it. I feed it and find it to be one of the best foods I have ever fed. My dogs do VERY well (some TOO well) on it and it is kind to my wallet.

Hmmm....you could find the dog roll is contributing to the extra output. It's kind of like expecting us to live on a diet of Spam. Would also be expensive I'd imagine. Dog roll is great for travelling or if you are busy, out of everything else or just can't be stuffed, but I certainly wouldn't feed it as a basis for a diet.

Uncle Albers is higher in protein and is beef/chicken, Great Barko is beef/lamb. Apart from that, I couldn't tell you!

Personally speaking, Supercoat is probably the last supermarket food I would feed. For a value for money dry food, I highly recommend Great Barko or Uncle Albers which are Australian made. On occasions, I have also fed my lot the Woolworths brand Chicken and Rice dry food which I am told is manufactured by Coprice, as is Woofbix which is available at Big W (same food, different packaging). Optimum is quite ok, and I know of people who feed Beneful. But really, in the long run, what you feed should be dictated by what your dogs do best on and what you can afford. Don't ever let yourself feel like you are being looked down on because you aren't feeding a premium food if your dogs are doing well on it. There are too many food nazis around these days.