jaybeece

Oh god no, bring it on Rappie! The more info the better :) I'm definitely of the mind that it's better to know why something is done a certain way than to just follow it blindly. Sags Sunbury is a bit of a hike for me I think, but I'll see what my schedule is looking like closer to the date and see if I can squeeze a trip in :)

Could be worth checking out! I have to concentrate on study for the next couple of months but after that I'll be doing a lot more research into the requirements of bung kidneys :)

Thanks for the info Yonjuro, much appreciated :) might need to start printing out some of this and sticking it on the fridge so I remember to discuss it with the vet

Fair point, I apologise. It frustrates me that vets don't push for a better quality food to cater for such issues. All good mate, I've done my fair share of ranting on the topic :laugh: Under normal circumstances I'd steer clear of anything with this ingredient list, but the evidence for its efficacy is there and all that matters is that my brown doggy stays happy and healthy for as long as possible :)

That's so cute :laugh: I had a flick through last night and a fair bit was really useful, so thanks heaps! I'll have to chat to the vet about where his kidneys are actually at based on his results as the stage of the disease seems to matter a fair bit when it comes to managing it. The vet hasn't made that terribly clear yet and I've based the assumption that it's early still on the only slightly elevated enzyme levels and his predominantly normal behaviour. Might be a convo we have after the next round of tests.

Dave-o while I can't argue with your criticism, your input is not terribly useful because my dog still needs to eat and scientific evidence does suggest that prescription food is the way to go. If I fed him on wishes that commercial food contained less crap he'd be dead within a week and I'm not really keen on that outcome because I've grown somewhat fond of him over the years and would like him around for a few more. There is a time and a place for stating arguments about the content of commercially available pet foods, this is not it. If, on the other hand, you have some advice regarding managing kidney disease I'm all ears.

Hahaha they did an excellent job of sending it off in triplicate :laugh:

Ah great thanks Sheridan, I've been planning to suss out the availability of prescription food outside of the vet and I have a Best Friends really close by. There's another place a suburb over which tends to be much cheaper too so I'll have a look there too. I'm definitely happy to have him on prescription food, but it'd be nice to give him some level of variety along with it if it's for the rest of his life. Will likely be exclusively prescription food though until his next blood & urine test.

Thanks so much Rappie, if you can remember the title or authors of that paper I'll have a look around for it, my uni should have access :)

Cool, I'll keep an eye out for it, thanks again Snook :)

Oh wow, that's super helpful! Thanks so much! I've found some info online, but nothing that comprehensive :) At the moment I'm trawling scientific journals for info about fish oil and beneficial dosages, so very much to learn. I'm sad that whole eggs are out (vet mentioned it too) as they're pretty much his most favourite food ever, but he loves rice, yoghurt and ricotta cheese so at least some of his favourites are still ok.

Hi all, My brown doggy had a blood test before a GA earlier this year and the vet found that he had slightly elevated urea and creatinine so he had to be retested to be sure. He had the follow up blood test on Thursday which showed urea normal, creatinine slightly high. Then the urine test contained normal levels of both, but it was too dilute although not alarmingly so. He's not showing many symptoms, but may be drinking a little more than before and has had some epic licking sessions as well as some pee leaking once. The vet said he'll need to be ok a prescription diet for the next 3 months and be retested to find out if it's helped at all, which I'm fine with, but the ongoing expense of feeding a 36kg dog the prescription food is going to financially destroy me on my tiny student budget! Which leads me to ask, are there alternatives? I've asked the vet and she's adamant that the prescription food is the only way and the only thing he can eat, full stop. I'm dubious, although she may only mean for the 3 months leading up to the next test (I'm going to ask her to clarify this evening). Can anyone who's had experience with this provide some insight? If he needs to be on prescription food for the rest of his life I'll find the money somehow, but I'd really rather try to avoid it as well as find a solution that involves a little more dietary variety! Thanks :)

So sorry for your loss RIP Maisie

I like long names only for the fact that getting the vet receptionist to call it out in the waiting room is kind of hilarious Also, having to talk to the council about animal registration is fun. I've been a bit lazy lately though and only gave them my cat's first name this time around :laugh: There's always next time...

One of my old cats was named "Mr Twinkletoes", I renamed him Basil Fru Fru after adopting him from the shelter :laugh: Mostly an improvement, it definitely suited him better! Same here, but my dog came with a tough dog name and I was too lazy to change it so most people are probably under the impression that he's actually called "Caesar-butIdidn'tnamehimthat" :laugh: Mum calls him Scooby Doo, mostly it's shortened to Cees or Scumbag which is still less embarrassing to yell out. I get a bit bored by generic pet names and am always looking for something a little different, in the past family pets have had themes so we had guinea pigs called Harpo, Chico and Groucho as well as 2 dogs named Basil and Sybil :D I also had fish with names from Monty Python and Red Dwarf (Tarquin Fin Tim Lim Tim Bus Stop Fatang Fatang Ole Biscuit Barrel and Ramses Niblick the Third Whoops Where's My Thribble). Naming pets has to be one of the funnest parts of owning them :laugh:

Haha don't tempt me, good old Caesar is good at being a whole big bag of crazy :laugh: Mostly in a good way these days, but I reckon his head would explode around a heap of other dogs in an confined area :laugh:

I copped it from a dipshit who thought it was a good idea to unclip his 2 dogs from their leads while he popped into the shops, leaving them loose on the footpath. I had to pass on a fairly narrow footpath next to a very busy road with my dog who has been reactive towards staffies in the past, so I just hoped that they wouldn't move as we passed. Of course both came running when we were a few metres away so I started to yell. Owner came out and got all pissy at me, said my dog needed more training. Of course he was advised rather loudly and explicitly a) where he could shove his opinion and b) what did he think I was attempting with my dog if it "wasn't bloody well training you f***ing moron put your bloody dogs on a lead". Sadly for me while I was behaving like a total feral, my dog was standing calmly next to me like an angel, not batting an eyelid at either dog. At least one of us has learned to calm down Generally speaking though I cross the road because I don't know how the other dog will react and it's not worth potential drama. Anyone who lets their offlead dog so much as look our way is told to rein it in or I'll kick it in the head. I used to care about being polite, but after nearly 8 years of working on dog aggression problems and getting to a point where walks are now pleasant I have zero tolerance for offlead dogs coming near us. Works for us, we haven't had any altercations for a long time now and my boy is often the calmer dog when passing others on the street with makes me so damn proud :)

Well, true, but they can try. It also wouldn't be a whole lot of fun having to fight it, the landlord could also choose not to renew the lease when it's up. You end up having to move one way or another if the landlord isn't happy with the pets. Far better for everyone to be happy with the arrangement from the start.

That's not because you haven't told the real estate agent and landlord, it's because you're a good tenant. Correlation does not equal causation. That's great, I'm genuinely pleased that so far you've had no dramas. Thing is that it won't necessarily always be that way and then what? You're given a month's notice to move out, the landlord thinks people who have animals are dishonest scumbags and you're at risk of having to rehome them all if you can't find somewhere to live in a hurry. Simply because you weren't up front about owning them. I'm not attempting to have a go at you, just highlighting the clear flaw in your logic there. See above. I always tell RE agents about my pets and I've never been turned down because of them. I also know I'm not going to worry about inspections or the landlord seeing a cat in the front window if they drive past. It's a much nicer way to live and I get the satisfaction of leaving the place in great condition despite owning pets that the landlord is fully aware of so in the future they're more likely to consider pet owners.

Might be worth trying a little further out too, where you're looking is pretty competitive already. I'm just up the road from Northcote in Preston and I reckon you'd have a lot more luck trying here, maybe Reservoir or Bundoora (although possibly a little too far out), Coburg, Ascot Vale, Heidelberg Heights/West, northern parts of Thornbury, etc. None of them are too far from Parkville. This time of year can be a little tricky for accommodation in the north as uni students have settled in for the year and you're looking in an area that houses students from 3 unis (Melbourne, Latrobe and RMIT), so it's going to be more of a challenge!

Squee Roo is so adorable :D As someone who has also benefited immensely from Nehkbet's generosity and knowledge (after spending a fortune on behaviourists, dog schools, etc), I'd suggest that people chill out and trust her! it's been a couple of years now and we're still reaping the benefits of a session with her. She is really amazing she changed my dog's life and mine after years of struggle and heartache.

If there's something specific you want me to grab for her then I'm happy to, but otherwise it's probably better to just pay into the account everyone else is using :) Exactly what I was gonna suggest in response to Steve's post :)

So sorry for your loss, she was beautiful RIP Tillydevine

No probs Steve, just let me know what I can do :)

I'm not far from Templestowe so happy to do a food delivery from donated money if no-one else is already on it, got a Petstock nearby as well as a really well priced pet supplier so could get some food in bulk? They charge $38 for a 20kg of Bonnie which would go a long way for a couple of little dogs. I'm skint so can't donate much myself, but have petrol in the car and a bit of time on my hands :) Does she need any bones or raw meat Steve? And does she have any freezer space? I can go have a look at the local market tomorrow morning or next week to see if they have some well priced bones.