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Cheapest place in Hobart for bulk pet mince which contains EVERYTHING (including chopped up chicken carcasses etc) is Matt's Meats and Glenorchy Centro. He charges 80 cents/kg. He also sells frames etc on arrangement in bulk at a very good price. He breeds Staffords. Nice guy actually and his mince is THE best stuff that I've found yet. I swear by it. Every so often I whinge about having to drive to Glenorchy to collect it and decide to buy elsewhere and then regret it because my dogs just don't seem to do as well on meat from other sources.

Oh Harminee, that is one of the most beautiful things I have EVER seen. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. May I borrow it for my Tigger page on my website (when I get it up and running)?

You made me smile Maddy. That was his "don't let yourself be fooled, I'm just recharging my batteries" look! :rolleyes:

I'll never forgive myself that I couldn't have done more for you my stripey little man. Saying goodbye was the hardest thing I've had to do in a very long time. I feel that I've let you down. The house is quiet. Koda is missing having you attached to her back leg. The cats aren't used to eating without you standing with your paws on their table staring them down and daring them to drop their food. Fang sat by the back of the car until I dragged him inside. He has taken himself off to bed without eating his dinner. The skinkids have cried buckets and have asked me how I could let you go. I can't answer them. I'll never forget you, my funny stripey man...you've left unfillable pawprints. Tell Reg I told him to look after you, but don't try to take his tennis ball, he's a lot stronger than you. I love you Tigger. Mum :rolleyes:

The problem is Viszla, that being separated from the rest of Australia as we are by water, we don't always have a lot of reasonably priced options as far as feeding our animals are concerned. I can't speak for other people, but personally, if I had the choice of feeding a premium food to my dogs, without having to have it flown over from the mainland at great expense to myself, or purchasing the food locally for a fraction of the price.....well.......principle seems to me a bit like throwing the baby out with the bathwater or cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Thanks for the links. Don't really need much help with my grooming or selecting my "tools" as such, having been breeding and exhibiting BIS winning American Cockers for 22 years, but I always like to look to see what might be new that I can try. Your homemade "spa" is a great idea, but unfortunately I'm not in a position to plumb a permanent bath in anywhere here. The hydrobath that I have sourced and decided to purchase comes on wheels and only requires a hose to a cold water tap. Makes it so much more convenient for me in my current situation with limited water. Am going to go with the Beacon. Have sourced a few others and received good information about Oldfield, Laser Lites and Double K but I KNOW Beacon and trust them so will go with what is familiar.

I've just purchased a set of Talyn thinners from the States. They look awesome (although more than a tad weird compared to "normal" thinners) and come highly recommended. Can't wait until they get here so that I can try them.

Bugger. Just my luck that I'm too far away for it to be of benefit to me.

Not in my lines it isn't.

I've got a "Wandering Do" as well! And the funny thing is that all of her children do it too so there could be a genetic link! At least I can tell which offerings are hers in the scoop run....I have a fixation on the quality of the "output"! :D

I used to have really good results with the Crown Royale Whitening Powder. Unfortunately though, the best results come from prevention rather than cure.

Yes, the recipe is an adaptation of the Blue Power recipe which uses Gentian Violet instead of the Betadine. Another variation is to use Witch Hazel instead of the Betadine. HOWEVER, do NOT use this recipe whilst the ears are still open and sore or you will cause untold pain to the dog. Alcohol BURNS a raw wound!!!

When there is no more infection or broken skin, I'd consider using an alcohol based cleaner if you can after he has been swimming. The alcohol will help to dry any residual fluid and will evaporate itself so as not to add to the problem. If there is no broken skin or inflammation, it will not hurt the ear or the dog at all.

I do 5 minutes on about power level 5 initially and then check it after that. A lot depends on how much liver you are cooking and how fresh it is.

The horse brush I mentioned (nobbly one side, bristle the other) will set you back about $10. Mine is the best investment I've ever made. As I said, I use it on my horses and on my greyhounds as well and greyhounds can lose a LOT of hair!!!

Yep, this is quite similar to the "nobbly" side of the brush I suggested. Loosens the hair, picks up any dust/dirt on the skin and brings it to the surface so it can then be brushed away. Not so much in favour of the strippers/knives/tools etc that actually cut the hair because they tend to remove the waterproofing properties from the coat.

Cut it up, put it onto a plate, turn a bowl upside down over the top of it and nuke it. Takes 1/4 of the time and the smell clears more quickly as well.

I'd suggest going to a saddlery shop and getting hold of one of the rubber brushes that has nobbles on one side, and short, stiff bristles on the other. The rubber nobbles give a lovely massage and loosen the hair and the stiff bristles remove it and encourage a shine. I use this kind of brush on my horses and my greyhounds with great results for all.

Doesn't affect me. I don't cage dry. Can honestly say that in my 22 years of preparing coated dogs for show, I have NEVER cage dried a dog yet.

You can also "plug" the bleeding nail with normal household soap.

I know in all of the years I had my old Beacon, it only required one service and one cosmetic repair job when the head came away from the bit that swivelled. Both of those repairs put together cost less than $100. A LOT less. Both were done by a licensed small appliance electrician locally. It really does pay to shop around.

I only have the basic Ultraforce but it is great for blowing the water out of the Cocker coats before fluff drying....and especially good for getting up between the toes which makes it easier to trim feet and not get daggy bits appearing all the time! I was tossing up between a Melbourne Dog Centre twin motor stand dryer and the Beacon. Have used both but have such fond memories of the Beacon that I think that's what I will still go with. Oh and if anybody is interested....Groomers in Victoria seem to have the best price for the Beacon. Around $25 cheaper than their competition. Not a great deal in the scheme of things, but it all adds up when you have to add freight on top. The Melbourne Dog Centre Hydrobaths are around $1k cheaper than the Liberty hydrobaths too.....my heart is still saying Liberty, however my head is saying I should have a serious think about the MDC bath as well. The only thing that worries me is the rinse capacity. And the fact that Liberty were VERY helpful whilst MDC tended to dismiss questions and just answered with pretty much one word replies when I asked questions about their products. ETA: When you're going to possibly spend some pretty serious $$$ with a company in the form of a bath AND a dryer, you'd hope to get the best and most informative assistance available.

When was he last wormed? I've seen this kind of vomiting occurring in dogs with a worm burden.

My first stand dryer was one of the original old Beacons. It was about 20 years old when I purchased it, and I used it for 17 years with only one breakdown and only one problem with the actual movement bit of the head. It travelled from Hobart, to Sydney and back to Hobart and didn't let me down. I only sold it when I bought a Liberty stand dryer, which I decided I didn't like anyway! Probably the only product of theirs that I don't like.....but I do have their ultraforce which is great for the smooth coats, blasting the water out of the long coats before drying with the heated dryer and for blowing the cobwebs and dust bunnies out of the grooming room! Looking forward to getting another Beacon, I think it'll feel like putting on a comfy old pair of shoes! I have sent off an enquiry to the Melbourne Dog Centre about their hydrobaths and dryers too, just so I can make a good rounded decision but I think I know where I will spend my money. ;)

Just spoke to Chris at Liberty. What a helpful, helpful guy! Knew exactly what I was on about, explained things really clearly in "woman speak" and not in words that sound good but mean nothing. Thanks for the heads-up and the referral to Liberty, I think I've found my hydrobath! Not cheap, but not that much more expensive than other companies and manufactured by people who know show dogs.