Fastgals

Thanks Michelleva and Sagittarian - I have decided against chiro, but I haven't ruled out Bowen. S - thanks for the Pawsitive Therapies reference. M - I'll PM you for the Frankston practitioner's details. Regards, Jane.

Thanks for your suggestions. After much thought and a discussion with Maggie's vet, I've decided to try acupuncture rather than manipulation. Since I posted, Maggie has had a good day, and today a not so good day and I am very concerned at how quickly her discomfort level seems to be increasing. The vet/acupuncturist I'm taking her to this week has had some excellent results with lumbar related disorders...so I'm hoping... Thanks again, Jane.

Thanks NicoleL

Hi all, I'm seeking chiro or bowen for our 13 year old grey, Maggie, who we believe has lumbosacral stenosis. With the recent flare up of this condition in the past three weeks she has also become incontinent (urinary). Stilboestrol and a new generation anti-inflam/pain killer provided very short term relief from incontinence, but quickly became ineffective. From what I've read I am extremely concerned that the incontinence associated with LS very quickly becomes chronic and incurable, so I'm looking to urgently try some alternative treatments for her - primarily manipulation or bowen. I'm thinking of taking her to Chris Boeme in Keysborough (Melbourne). Can anyone please recommend anyone else in the Melbourne metro area - or close by? Thanks, Jane.

Where is Phoebe when you take Pia outside? Have you considered how stressful it would be on Pia knowing there is a dog out to kill her? Might be the reason for the toileting inside. Pia might appear to be happy to toilet outside when you are with her but she might also be doing it inside because there is less stress and/or it's safer. I agree with Rebanne - it's quite possible that Pia is not happy having to "mark" outside at all and send a constant message to the other dog that she is in her territory. If this was happening amongst our greys, I would try making two or three of Pia's daily turnouts a little walk up and down the block - to give her the opportunity to "empty out" in a neutral location. One of those two or three times should be first thing in the morning. Nothing like a bit of early morning exercise to wake up a dog's digestive system! A good 20-30 minute early morning walk before breakfast would also be a good idea - if you're not already doing that. I really feel for you Kirty. I simply couldn't manage the situation with the dogs that you're trying to deal with.

Whoever these AR campaigners are, they must be kept busy harassing all the charities and organisations GRV directly or indirectly provides support to. GO THE PINK DOG!!!!!!!!! Linda K, I see your six exclamation marks - note my NINE

We have 3 greyhounds - 9, 10 and 12. Because of greyhounds susceptibility to heat distress which worsens as they grow old, and that none of our current greys are water babies, I draw the line at 36 degrees. My previous job was close enough to home that I could drive home at lunchtime and put them inside with the aircon - or in those runs of hideously hot days of 40 or more, they stayed inside all day with aircon. Now I'm working too far from home, so am rethinking this for the summer. It's either going to mean some renovation to the enclosed verandah where they spend the day, or leaving them inside all day. Must get on to it!

Bongo was found late this afternoon - on North Road in the traffic and was taken to the safety of the finder's home - who then called the council. We now have Bongo home again. Bongo is happy and well. Thanks, Jane.

According to the recent article in my local paper, Kingston is looking at introducing a by-law that dogs must be on lead at all times in public places, including Council property - unless in a designated dog off-lead area. There was no reference to private property. I can't see any problem with this, and had assumed it was already part of the by-laws of all Melbourne city councils. In my council area (next to Kingston) the by-laws also state that the length of dog lead should be 1.5mtrs. To my knowledge, nobody actually takes any notice of this. I walk 3 large dogs, and prefer 1.8mtr leads so we're not all walking on top of each other. Actually, my council also legislates as to how many dogs are supposed to be walked at once - 2 only. (I get away with 3, because this doesn't include greyhounds...greyhounds are speshul ) Kingston has always seemed like a good and fair Council to me. As with any council - the manner in which animal by-laws are enforced depends on that council's animal officers.

Was he living with dogs and/or other cats?

OMG...deja vu...our cat Marvin was found out in the bush with one leg caught in a rabbit trap... He lost most of one toe and that paw and lower leg were damaged, but didn't have to be amputated. I wish I could say I'll take him, but adopting him might be difficult for me/us - Marvie is a very happy "only cat", and we have 3 greyhounds. ... I would like to offer a financial contribution to any rescue that will take this cat on. Regards, Jane.

How very dare I! ;)

Speaking of spin, and speculation...GeckoTree, you haven't been indulging in a little consciousness raising yourself have you? ;)

There is a chicken shop in Centro Oakleigh that sells them. I can't think of the shop's name, but it's at the opposite end to Woolworths. It's called Crystal Poultry. They also sometimes have turkey frames. The turkey necks are very popular for soup. They get delivery on a Wednesday and are usually completely sold out by Saturday morning - so I usually miss out.

I've tried the Box 1 Race Formula (may be the same as Gold) with my greyhounds, but only very short term. It seems OK, but it does result in large, fairly soft poops...more so than the other other dry foods I've fed. I feed primarily raw, so really notice the difference. I also found that, contrary to instructions on the pack, my dogs only needed about 1 cup each per meal (they are fed twice a day) - my greys weigh 25 and 29 kilos. I only keep dry food in the house as an emergency back-up, or occasional "fast food" meal for the dogs, but Box 1 would not be my preferred brand. Of course, it depends on the individual dog, how well they do on any particular food/brand.

Erny, have the results of the survey on this proposed bill ever been published? I would be very interested to see what the response actually was - particularly to giving council rangers life or death powers where they "perceive" a dog to be dangerous.

And The Age at 3.08pm gives a slightly different version of the injuries: "Ambulance crews moved quickly to try to salvage the woman’s right arm, which was partially severed in the mauling. She also sustained injuries to her left arm and face." Horrific thing to have happened. I hope that the poor woman's arm can be saved. This attack is unfortunately strong confirmation, as far as the general public is concerned, that pit bulls have no place as pets in the general community. It adds fuel to the [re pit bulls] "one day they'll just turn on you" school of thought. It's even made me think! What sort of dog would carry out a sustained attack like that on its owner? What sort of provocation would it take to cause an attack response like this?

Interesting article! I once had the privilege of watching the rebuilding of a trusting play relationship between my two female greys, over a period of 4-5 days following a short tiff over a piece of bread. It was really interesting and heartwarming. These two gals have always had a very close bond and it was fascinating to see how much careful effort the one "who done wrong" put into restoring their relationship.

Hi all, I've just been given a couple of brochures on an organisation called A.W.A.R.E. dogs Australia Inc. They're based in Qld, but have a branch in Victoria and provide access to qualified assistance dogs to people with mental health disabilities. Dogs can be trained in a range of tasks including reminding their handler to take medication, interrupting repetitive behaviours and mediating hyper vigilance. Apparently, many of the program's dogs are sourced from shelters and rescue groups. Are there any DOLers with experience of this organisation - either with an assistance dog, working with the organisation, or providing support? Thanks.

Completed this survey this morning. It asks questions that could lead to the implementation of (IMO) some seriously scarey legislation for Council powers in terms of restricted breeds and dangerous dogs. It horrifies me that our State Government is even considering some of this extreme legislation, and that they believe this is what Victorians might want. Bumping to ask all Victorian DOLers to check this survey out.

Sent with love to the Bridge on Boxing Day 2009, a couple of weeks short of 13 years old. Dearly loved, our mischievous clown, Bozo (greyhound). We miss you so much Bo. We miss your joy of life, your happy stompy-dance. No more finding you and your pointy nose fishing around in visitors' handbags and backpacks - pulling out all the contents, because there just might be something interesting in there. No more night patrols of the house, looking for that packet of biscuits, that loaf of bread mistakenly left out on a bench, or that shopping bag that might have something in it. No more joyous romps into the lounge room, grinning, dancing, stomping, to tell us how much you enjoyed your dinner. No more anxious circling, pacing back and forth and head butting, until - finally - room is made for you on the couch. No more rounding me up when you decide it's time for us to go to bed... Greatly loved by your owners, you were John's first racer. Never a star on the track, but a competitor just for the sheer joy of it. Three wonderful years with us and your little "harem" - Maggie and Lulu. I think they know you're gone, but they're checking for you at all your favorite weemail spots - just in case you went by that way... It was a shock, Bo, that you went so suddenly. John and Sue were coming down to visit you in another couple of weeks. Happy, silly and outwardly healthy right up until the end - our precious old fossil. Girlie will have found you already at the bridge. I know you two will get on just great. Wings on your feet now. We miss you old fella. On Boxing Day Bo's back leg broke. There was no "accident" or apparent trauma. A long break through the bone, high up on his right-rear leg. An X-ray at our local emergency vet hospital showed substantial deterioration of the hard outer bone sheath, leaving Bo with fragile, brittle bones. The surgeon could have attempted to fix a plate to his leg, but there was a risk that the bone would shatter. We didn't want Bo to spend what time he might have had left in pain and disabled as we tried to "patch him up"...so we decided to say goodbye. We love you Bo. The house is so quiet without you.

Hi Labsrule, I'm very sorry to hear about the diagnosis of your boy. Haemangiosarcoma is a particularly frightening and uncontrollable form of cancer. Our elderly greyhound Girlie, now deceased, was diagnosed with a tiny, very early stage splenic haemangiosarcoma lesion at nearly 14 years old. It was a fluke discovery - a particular type of blood cell showed up in a full blood panel I had requested to check her organ function, etc. Even at such an early stage, her prognosis was only 2, maybe 3 months without surgery. We didn't go ahead with surgery and chemo for her - the post surgery prognosis was just not good enough at her time of life to justify putting her through it. She had also had surgery for LP earlier that year and I felt that enough was enough . (It was my intention to monitor the lesion's growth monthly if necessary via CAT scan so that I could send her, with love, to the bridge before she suffered catastrophic internal bleeding.) I did a lot of research while making this painful decision and I think you are doing absolutely the right thing for your boy, at his age. And, as you know, there is no alternative. From the research I read, chemo is an absolute necessity following removal of the primary tumor or lesion. Unfortunately, this is one of those forms of cancer where it once the primary is removed (and it must be because of the risk of life terminating internal bleeding), secondaries tend to launch aggressively into growth. Chemo is the only thing that can slow this down - therefore it is vital. I did put Girlie onto a course of herbals specifically targeting haemangiosarcoma, but we did not get and chance to see whether this would slow the growth of the lesion. Girlie also had undiagnosed and unsuspected osteosarcoma. Three short weeks after a CAT scan revealed haemangiosarcoma, she suffered a serious, spontaneous leg fracture and we had to say goodbye. I sincerely wish you a great deal more time with your boy and believe that you are taking the right course of action for him.

Melbourne - south eastern suburbs: Oakleigh: Oakleigh market and two of the wholesale butchers in the shopping centre - ox and lamb tongues, chicken frames, lamb necks and shanks, sheeps' heads, lamb ribs, pet mince and a large range of offal, etc. Poultry shop in Oakleigh Central for turkey & chicken necks, turkey & chicken frames, chicken pet mince. Brighton East: Buddies Pet Supplies on Nepean Hwy - for good quality pet meat. Prahran: Asian butcher on Commercial Rd (near Prahran market) - mostly for pork and chicken - giblets and other offal are cheaper here. Springvale Market: Worth a look for cheap lamb necks, chicken feet and a range of more unusual pork offal, but other prices seem much the same as in other places I shop.

Have you noticed any difference in the way he's been holding his head - ie. not holding his head up, or to one side a little? It could be that his neck is "out", or that he has the beginnings of a degenerating disc, or perhaps he's pulled or torn a shoulder muscle. Most vets aren't so good at diagnosing muscle and bone problems (this is not a criticism of vets - ours freely admits this is not his area of expertise). If you can get your little fella to a chiro or manipulator, they might be able to better diagnose his problem.

Lamb tongues from Greek butchers - I prefer to buy the untrimmed ones, ie. with the gristly bits still attached. Pork tongues are more likely to be found at an Asian butcher, but I only find them occasionally. I've never had any problems with pork tongue or meat causing illness in my dogs, cat or me. I believe dogs' and cats' stronger stomach acids and much shorter digestion time handles the bacteria issue well. But I do observe strict hygiene when preparing our dogs' and cat's food.