sandgrubber

It depends on where you are and what sort of vet care you're after. I use Applecross -- there are a few good vets t here and they do a good job supervising trainees -- for reproductive questions and X-rays, Vets2U Mobile Vets (Karon Eastley - works out of South Lake) for routine questions -- and I often send people to Andrew Buchannan in South Perth if they want good 'bedside manner' and a good generalist vet.

I wouldn't be surprised if you said you had Nala vaccinated and now she was coughing. . . . getting KC from the vaccine seems to happen fairly often. I don't know if another dog can get it without the vaccinated dog getting it, but it doesn't sound impossible. I wish pet owners were better organised. If a drug company put out a human vaccine that often gave kids mumps/measles/chicken pox . . . or whatever . . . they'd be sued up the yin yang and the product would be withdrawn for further testing. Why do we put up with such incompotent manufacture of meds?

NOte that the risk declines steeply . . . days one and two are much more of a hazard than three and four . . . five is lighter still. If you've survived a few days . . . it's not that long. Also, if you can tire him with mental activities . . . eg, a few training sessions a day teaching non-strenuous things (find hidden objects, scent detection, shake) may tire him as much as a 20 km run.

I had a very sad pup a few months back. Very severe OCD seems to have come from nowhere and HD seemed to be on the way. On veterinary advice she was pts at around six months. Her great grandmother, who seemed quite fond of the pup, took on a severe front right limp while the pup was in decline. I put the old girl through quite a bit of therapy with absolutely no effect. After the pup was pts her limp has gone away. I know dogs can "adopt" limps to get attention . . . but is it possible that the old girl was limping out of some sort of sympathy.

Maggots are gross, but I think they're harmless. Some of the other things associated with rotting meat could make a dog sick. I have Labbies with iron stomachs and buried bones (or rabbit carcasses and road kill dragged in from the bush) don't seem to do any harm .. . but a sensitive dog might get sick. My vet says pups below four months don't cope with Salmonella.

I think the danger of cancer depends in part on where it is. If it could be over an organ or mammary gland, or it is apparently attached, I would go to a vet in a hurry. If it's free floating between skin and muscle and away from organs, I'd be less worried, but if you have a good vet, I'd still be inclined to do a check. If the dog is old and not in great condition, I would be less inclined to go to the vet . . . if it is cancer, I wouldn't put an older older dog through chemo or surgery.

Try calling Kingsway -- I think they have a place in Northbridge (I use their Canning Vale office). They supply meat to restaurants. Also trade as Wing Hong. I used to be able to get a 10 kg box of marrow bones from them for $10. I'm sure they've jacked up the price . . . but I'd expect it's still below $2/kg. Being wholesalers, they like to sell bigger lots. They also sell chicken frames. Also try phoning A&D Pet Food Connection. I used to get huge sheep/lamb necks from them for less thatn $1 ea . . . and their roo tail prices aren't bad 9250 1030.

I've been told that swimming is much better than walking for building up muscle tone on a dog with joint problems (as it is for humans). Is there any way you could organise an occasional swim, eg is there a hydrotherapy center near you?

Geez! Mine all love kitty crunchers . . . and roo pooh and other bush treats. What are the symptoms?

Some people call anything that makes a dog cough KC . . . others are much more specific. We've had a very mild KC through here . . . most dogs just hack a bit for a week or so . . . though I notice my neighbor's Rotties have been coughing for a few weeks. Maybe some dogs are more succeptable. It's all complicated by the fact that serious KC is usually a bacterial infection on top of the virus . . . and both components are variable. . . and there's no reason they shouldn't combine with an allergy . . . Anyway. Not surprising that vets find it confusing.

One vote for oil. I'd worry, in buying water-packed, that the good fish oil components may have gotten pushed out in processing. I would guess Omega 3's survive better in oil.

Don't expect an easy diagnosis and patience may be required. I've been there, with results ranging from: problem went away, at 1 year scored 0:1 hips 0:1 elbows . . . to at five and a half months was limping badly and getting worse and my more practical vet could feel calcification of elbow joints and she was having trouble with even short walks. I had her pts in conjunction with a research project that promised to give full radiographic diagnosis. The reading was extreme multi joint OCD. Poor little girl. I hate having to pts, but in this case it was the right thing. I took my old girl to the most recommended local vet chiropracter and got little improvement after four weeks of daily message and three different sets of meds. Took her off all treatments. Six weeks later, she's walking much better. Sometimes you try everything . . . nothing seems to help . . . and either they get better or they don't.

Normal in my rather small book is an annoying cough, bringing up white stuff, with some chest rattle, lasting for two weeks or more. Enough that dog owners are worried and will take their dogs to the vet even if you tell them the vet has already been through the kennel and told you that there isn't much you can do . . . aside from giving them Vibravet to avoid secondary bacterial infections. Enough that you wouldn't want to send pups to their new homes.

The dreaded KC has been visiting the boarding kennel and also got a litter of puppies as they were just getting old enough to be rehomed. I was all prepared for the nasty deep hacking, coughing up spittle and the odd biscuit, etc. But much to my relief, this one is turning out to be a real fizzle. The pups are mostly better after a week . . . one still coughing a few times a day but its a shallow cough. The kennel dogs have such mild cases that sometimes their owners don't notice the cough when they pick them up / visit. None of my adult dogs have been affected . . . ok the get C5, but often that doesn't help. I've heard from many sources that KC is everywhere in Perth this year . . . have others been getting such a mild strain?

Hello sandgrubber, not sure where you are in Perth but we have been taking our Newf puppy to Rivergum in Willeton for issues with her hind legs caused by a spinal lesion. I would highly recommend them, however as they are specialista you would need a referral. Thanks for the recommendation. She took the pup to Applecross and was told it didn't look serious (growing pains), but he as grown too rapidly -- put him on adult dog food and feed him less. If still limping in a month or two . . . back for Xrays. Sounds reasonable to me. Applecross is very good at taking Xrays, and gives them to you . . . so if that step gets taken she should be in a good position to go on to a specialist if appropriate.

A Labbie pup I sold (now 5 1/2 months old) is limping -- one hind leg. He stands and walks funny, with hocks in a bit, toes out. He is somewhat overweight, and grew very rapidly. No obvious genetic explanation. There are some dodgy elbows on his dam's side but hip scores are excellent for two to three generations . . . the worst score being a grandsire with a 5:4. I'd like to set the puppy buyer on the right track toward getting a good diagnosis of what is going on. Can anyone suggest a vet who is good at working such things out?

I don't think the length of walks is as much of an issue as the degree of strenuousness (is that a word?). You don't want to tear the wound open. I generally find they're fine after four or five days if not in circumstances where they'll go crazy doing puppy play.

We had a contagious chest infection that two vets said wasn't kennel cough go through the kennels two years ago. It had symptoms like you describe for Ella, but the vet said the cough was too shallow (throaty not from the belly) for KC and it wasn't highly contageous. Only one dog in 10 got it, the gestation period was quite long (probably two weeks) and there didn't seem to be any relationship to C5 vaccination. If you've got that one . . . it will probably pass with no treatment and it's likely that only Ella will be infection.

You can find vets that will tell you this, and vets that will contradict them, just as you will find vets who tell you bones are a big no no and vets who are all for BARF diets. I wish some one would do some good research and narrow down the room for debate on the C5 issue.

Looks great! One problem . . . form the site above . . . We currently ship within the United States, Puerto Rico, and all APO & FPO addresses. Sorry, we do not currently ship to Canada or other countries. If we are shipping your order to Puerto Rico or an APO / FPO address or if you specifically request your package to be delivered by U.S. Mail, your order will be charged based on our U.S. . . . I'll play with it and see if I can find a more local source. The product is made by a small innovative company in Southern California. They don't have an organised mail order process. I wrote them a note asking about availability in Australia. We'll see.

It's worth trying Google if the breeder's name isn't common and you have a city or at least a state . . . also following the links on the White Pages (www.whitepages.com.au) pages.

That may have been what he meant. Thanks everyone for saving me from running around and spending a few bickies on another useless gadget! :p

I clean up a virtual earth tone rainbow in the boarding kennel. From dogs who are eating more or less the same thing. Apart from very black stools associated with internal bleeding, I can't say that I've noticed any relationship between health and pooh colour.

God forbid having an undercoat to shave on my legs (and pits) :p

But on Labs, thick undercoat is good. If this happens, I'd think that people whose dogs have substandard undercoats would be lining up to get them clipped.