Suggestions For Vet, Groomer & Dog Places

[❤LovesPoodles❤]

Well it has been confirmed we are moving to Mackay for OH's work on a 2 year contract. So I am looking for some recommendations on a good vet in the area, a groomer for my poodle and also a groomer who will do huskies for when winter is finished (not shave them but will brush the coat out) and I also any dog friendly parks/beaches etc for the dogs to go to. I have only been to Mackay on a day visit just to see the area and I don't know anyone that lives up there so any suggestions for the above will be greatly appreciated :D

[bianca.a]

I lived in the Northern Beaches and took my sisters dog to the beach at Bucasia (TBH not sure if it was a dog beach). The vet behind the Bilo supermarket at Rural View/Bucasia was lovely.

I am packing the house at the moment so tomorrow I will try and find a receipt from them so I can give you the name.

Good luck, I quite enjoyed living in Mackay apart from the humidity :)

[❤LovesPoodles❤]

I lived in the Northern Beaches and took my sisters dog to the beach at Bucasia (TBH not sure if it was a dog beach). The vet behind the Bilo supermarket at Rural View/Bucasia was lovely.

I am packing the house at the moment so tomorrow I will try and find a receipt from them so I can give you the name.

Good luck, I quite enjoyed living in Mackay apart from the humidity :)

Were looking at houses in Bucasia so that will be good

I am not looking forward to the humidity at all it is hot enough on the coast :laugh:

[coogie]

My sister lives in Mackay Krystal and Coco, she uses Better Pet Vet and has been very happy with them, I think his name is Ashley,she also used the vet on Nebo Rd. for a long time and I took Issy there when she ate a tennis ball and they were good with her.

There are currently no fenced dog parks in Mackay but there is a Facebook group that has been campaigning for more leash free areas and dog parks - it has a list of the leash free areas the council are currently trialling:

Dog parks for Mackay

One thing she has commented on and I have witnessed first hand is that with quite a transient population they do have a fairly big problem with roaming dogs and she is always careful if she walks on leash in streets local to her, lots of not very good fences and dogs rushing them. There are some very big hunting type dogs (not that these are always the aggressive ones but they are quite intimidating just by sheer size and when you can see they are not properly contained it can be a bit hair raising). There are quite a lot of totally unfenced properties with dogs as well. She tends to drive to somewhere quieter if they are not going to far beach which is her local beach. She does worry about her boy going in the water with the stingers in season as well but the locals seem split on whether this is an issue or not. They quite often go to the dam in stinger season.

Her boy has a very high level of obedience training which I think is a big help, our Shar Pei do not have the same level and I was always a bit more of a "helicopter" owner when we took them up for holidays, as I didn't want them far from my side even on the deserted beaches - they tend to be bordered by bush and I was worried my nosy pair would disappear.

It would be worth getting Leptospirosis shots before you go as well, they do have incidences of this in Mackay and we got our two done as we were going up a few times a year.

I will ask about the groomer .

She is coming back to Brisbane to live in early May as she has a new job, or I would have suggested you catch up for a coffee so she could show some good places. She would be more than happy to have a chat by phone if you want - just pm me and I will send you her number if you want any more "inside info"

Her boy is a GSD - hot spots have been a bit of an an issue too. She has met some really great dog people up there though and has enjoyed living there except for the rains & humidity! I hope you have a great time.

[bianca.a]

I lived in the Northern Beaches and took my sisters dog to the beach at Bucasia (TBH not sure if it was a dog beach). The vet behind the Bilo supermarket at Rural View/Bucasia was lovely.

I am packing the house at the moment so tomorrow I will try and find a receipt from them so I can give you the name.

Good luck, I quite enjoyed living in Mackay apart from the humidity :)

Were looking at houses in Bucasia so that will be good

I am not looking forward to the humidity at all it is hot enough on the coast :laugh:

Northern Beaches Veterinary Surgery

Shop 6, Nindaroo Shopping Center

Rural View

www.nothernbeachesvet.com

4954 6258

We lived in Skiddaw St!

I know being down here (I'm on the coast too) is much better humidity wise :)

Wishing you great times up there.

[❤LovesPoodles❤]

coogie and bianca.a

Just a couple of questions what is Leptospirosis? How often should I vacinate for it? Also I use interceptor monthly for worming and only use a flea and tick treatment as needed ie. if I know we are in an infested area or find one on one of the dogs. What are fleas and ticks like up there? I have 2 sibe's and never had any hot spots I never even knew what they were until joining this forum what will be best ways to prevent them? Dogs will miss going to the beach, but I heard stingers are pretty bad up there

Thank you again

[coogie]

Leptospirosis can be caught from rat's wee or water contaminated by rats or other animals, people can also catch it, it's not that common in Aus but dogs in North Qld do catch it, there is a thread here from DoL last year.

Lepto

I would ask the vet before you go, our vet in Brisbane suggested giving them 2 weeks before we went and annually if we travelling up to Mackay with the dogs - but everyone seems to have slightly different protocols.

My sister's boy goes to the beach but usually only in the sea out of stinger season and she has had no problems at all, he does wear a tick collar and we put them on our dogs when we are there and check them over daily. Our two get hotspots here in Brisbane as well as up there so if you haven't had any you might not get any. We tend to treat hotspots ourselves but our dogs are short coated and probably easier to deal with so I wouldn't like to say the wrong thing - we clip off surrounding fur, flush with salt water or mild antiseptic and dress with antiseptic powder. I take them to the vet if they look infected at all as they can spread very quickly and I would rather pay the consult than let them get bad.

Hopefully you won't have any dramas at all.