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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-15/australia-vet-care-access-deserts-life-and-death-for-animals/106229268

Vets can do more now, and offer more treatments and tests. That costs. And they have to be paid for their services. The specialist places look like human hospitals with every bit of equipment. All this comes at a cost and of course prices rise anyway - everything is more expensive now. But vets are hard working, good people for the most part. Their lives revolve around work and burnout is a real thing. Corporate pressure to generate more and more revenue is the last thing they need. There's also incredibly heavy societal pressure to do and spend everything you can for your 'baby' or you're 'not a good pet owner'. I see it every day on FB. The comments are awful. What happens if you simply can't get hold of thousands of dollars in the blink of an eye? The guilt people feel because they don't have the money to pay for all these extra new options and interventions is sad. There's NO excuse for neglect though so I'm not making excuses for those who don't even maintain their pet's health with basic vetwork, or a euthanasia when necessary. /rant over

My main concern was to find a vet that knew sighthounds. Greyhound vets had the knowledge but are going to be harder to find is my guess. At one local (non-greyhound) vet I had a reputation for being very detailed with symptoms, and when I wasn't sure what the problem was with one of my old dogs I remember saying "Spare no expense" which was probably a pleasant surprise for them. I also remember talking with a woman in tears about the poor chance of successful treatment [or possibly the cost she couldn't afford or wasn't allowed to afford, or both - it was a long time ago] for her badly injured large dog, and would have to have it put down. I told her we were very lucky to be able to make that decision for our pets to end their suffering, people who were suffering weren't allowed to make that choice. I agree the business model is not the one I prefer, but the same is happening with medical practioners. When my GP retired, I would rather not have supported the clinic that also offered "vitamin infusions" but I was running out of options in the local area and needed a new referral.

Most vet clinic customers want gold star service for little to no cost... which unfortunately isn't actually how things work. If you have a sick pet, and the exact cause isn't immediately obvious, then certain tests will at the very least open up other avenues for diagnosing/treating said pet. I'm definitely no fan of the corporate model of dealing with animal health services, but also understand that any diagnostics/treatments are going to have a cost attached that may not be blatantly obvious to the general public. There are a lot of "hidden" costs that go into providing what is seen/done in a consult, so when someone says a vet "only" did xyz, you can guarantee that abc costs have also been incurred behind the scenes to provide for that xyz consult. Everything in life and business has increased in cost over the past 5-10 years, so why are we expecting veterinary services to be less affected by those increased costs than any other business? T.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8j3020kl04o What's happening in the UK seems to be happening in all developed countries. Veterinary practices are becoming businesses, expected to turn a profit for shareholders.

Darn wrong FDA report although the one for bravecto, nexguard and simparica list the same symptoms

I got a phone call with same problem. The caller is a vet. Large animal practice..... His girl is on nexguard Looks like a million dollars, lovely shiny coat, but uncontrollable itchy. Sent him a copy of FDA list of side effects of Bravecto Nexguard and Simparica. Went off his nut that I could be sued for saying I tell all my puppy buyers to never risk using.. if it crosses the blood brain barrier, itching is the least of his worries Next I know he has rung the company and been told by their vet her symptoms are classic reaction some have. Then he rings me furious that it's still on the market... Told him, they don't care... His last words were he's getting onto the Veterinary Association to have it banned.... Yes, Well good luck On that mate

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-11/muster-dogs-next-generation/106076694

I'm not convinced this is a genuine post. School holidays. First name TV show. Last name US GSD kennel. Any read of a dog food label would tell you how much to feed. No history but asking about several issues.

Definitely vet for treatment and advice. Professional help. Just to give you hope... * Itchies are medically treatable. There's simple Cytopoint injections after a flea/tick/mite treatment and skin exam - such as for yeast, which they will give you a medicated shampoo for. Some dogs respond to dog specific dose rates of antihistamines but again, you will have to rule out other issues and get his exact weight There's walk-on scales in most clinics. * Weight gain can be a vet advised diet or adjustment of current diet once they assess whether your dog is just naturally lean, or underweight. They use a bodyscale grading system upon examination. You can look up what you're already feeding him here https://www.petfoodreviews.com.au/ it may just not be the right food for him. * Many anxiety meds are available although, don't let possible lethargy put you off. It's just an initial side effect that doesn't last. You've got to give it a chance to work, and if affordable, seek a qualified trainer to help get the best from the medication.

@Dexter nachtwaechter a vet visit is in order to get to the source of his itchies and weight, ask your vet who may be a good dog behaviourist in your area edited to add: Steve Courtney at K9Pro is very good (for your dog's anxiety) https://k9prodogtraining.com.au/dawg/steve/

https://www.9news.com.au/national/dog-baiting-sydney-malabar-pioneers-park-nsw/186f2388-507a-4503-a1a7-4c9bff4eb259Warning Sorry about the ads everyone .

can anybody give me some advice my gsd is a 3 years old male intact, I wormed him 1mnth ago, he now scratches all over excessively and I feed him 1.2kg of wet dog food (can) but very minimal weight gain+ also suffers social and separation anxiety

This is probably not the immediate end everywhere, but it is very clearly the beginning of the institutional end of protective sports based on biting directed at humans.

Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and share your experience. Separation anxiety can be so distressing, for both dog and human, and it's encouraging to read that with patience and consistency, real improvements are possible.

Always brushed my dogs teeth small & large so easy .

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-06/patricia-mcintyre-alleged-pet-and-house-sitting-scam/106189894

And this is the type of service the RSPCA could be offering with all its millions of dollars in the bank. But again it falls to a caring, unfunded group and local vets to team up with. I know they offer it for the pets of DV families up in QLD but the need while people sort out housing has skyrocketed.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-04/charity-keeping-pets-out-of-the-pound-funding-vet-care/106101748

It's a fairly modern thing I think. You can now by toothpaste and specific brushes and additives to put in their water (which I absolutely do not trust). I've found that mostly you need to train them from a puppy to let them put things in their mouths and poke around. It's not a fail or flame worthy to not manually brush their teeth! Bones and natural chew treats were always good enough until this trend of retail add-on sales and people being told to be scared of cracked teeth or salmonella poisoning from natural products.

No I have never brushed my dogs teeth in over 40 years of owning German Shepherds and Greyhounds. Never needed too. But I now have my second Greyhound who suffers from periodontal disease and no amount of brushing would help. I also had a cat who developed periodontal disease. Cure for 2 of the 3 was to remove all teeth. Ranger has few teeth left but if he goes under again I will request all teeth go. I tried everything with my first Greyhound and nothing worked

Your puppy vomiting grass and plastic needs immediate veterinary attention, even if they seem okay, because small plastic pieces can cause dangerous internal blockages, tears, or toxicity, requiring prompt X-rays and potential intervention to prevent severe complications or death. Call your vet or an emergency clinic right away to describe the plastic type and quantity, as the grass indicates stomach irritation, and the plastic poses a serious risk of obstruction 192.168.100.1 192.168.1.1

yikes, I guess this is about to get real complicated. Thank you for all the advice! <3 Tutuapp 9Apps

I never brushed my medium sized dogs' teeth. I fed beef marrow bone pieces, the fresh piece given straight after a meal and removed when the soft ends were gone, the shafts being the harder section. This cleaned most of the teeth except the canines. These I cleaned (chipped the tartar away) with the side of the spoon end of a stainless steel teaspoon. You can probably buy a specialised tool that may do a more precise job. My dogs didn't have any dental problems until their teens, with the occasional broken or dead tooth needing to be removed.