bark

That's a good idea, I'll check out that site - thanks.

Thanks, all good vibes are welcomed and I am looking to move within the next month or sooner.

Hi DOLERS My 4 yo desexed dog and I are looking for accomm in Sydney, preferably northern suburbs but I'm open to any suggestions. As I'm unable to post an "Off topic", the next best place was here; under normal circumstances I would follow the rules, but I have to move out of my home and need advice from dog owners who know how difficult it is to find accommodation that allows indoor pets. I regularly check realestate.com.au, domain.com.au and other sites advertising they have dog friendly accomm, for share accomm and even rentals that are reasonably priced, with little success. Separating from my dog isn't an option I want to consider. Do any of you know of a room, granny flat, studio, cheap house for a responsible, quiet, tidy female (home owner for the last 16 yrs) and dog? If so please PM me. References can be supplied if required. Any help would be most appreciated.

The doggy day care centre I used allowed me to have a look around their facility without any problems, but I did have to make an appointment. My friend takes her dog to a different centre and they even have web cameras so you can log on and check up on your dog (this is in Sydney).

Perhaps bones don't agree with your dog?

When my dog had a tumour removed I got the Vet to clean his teeth as well, which were considered "mild plaque build up" and the bill was $700. He then suggested I get Hills Science Prescription T/D which is designed to reduce tartar build up and I also put Aquadent into the water bowl. For dogs who can't be trusted with bones, Hills T/D is the next best thing apart from dog chews that don't include bone.

My dog has always eaten grass since he was a pup and he's always had food allergy problems. I presumed it was helping my dog to vomit to get rid of whatever was causing his upset stomach. He's on antibiotics at the moment for a stomach bug and when I told the vet he was eating gras the Vet replied that it's common for dogs with food allergies.

I use this one as well but have also used Melrose Flaxseed Oil from the health food shops.

My dog gets goo in his eyes when I feed him something that he's allergic too; maybe it's the same for your pup

Yes I've used them for about 2.5 years. When I first started using them the guy was great, would reply promptly to my emails and phone calls and confirm when I could expect my delivery (to Sydney). But when I asked them to price match a product for me, I didn't hear a peep out of them and so I took my business elsewhere.

For me it depends on how heavy the rain is. Light to medium we go out but if it's bucketing down we wait for a break in the weather; if there's no break we play hide and seek indoors or I bring out my newly acquired Nina Ottosson toy - the dog tornado

I have a Manchester Terrier and he's low maintenance ie does shed but his hair is only 1cm long. He gets a brush once or twice a day which is really a 5 second job because his hair is so short so I don't have dog hair wafting around the place.

I've used about 3 bottles consecutively and I don't think it made a difference, but the room wasn't closed off so the pheromones could have been wafting upstairs. Have you tried Bach's Rescue Remedy, couple of drops on the tongue a few hours before travelling and apply more at regular intervals?

Hi All, Does anyone use an automatic pet feeder - either the circular or rectangle ones that have a timer so I can feed my dog on those rare occasions when I have can't get home at "dog dinner time". I was wondering what brands to look at and how long they last so if anyone has any advice I would certainly appreciate it.

I also use Priceless pets, Vetshed, and Vetshop Australia (do a search in google). For some reason buying in QLD seems to be cheaper than in NSW even with freight.

Hi All, My 20mth old dog is fed a natural diet with supplements. I had an incident where he coughed up an undigested 5cm long brisket bone so on Vet's recommendations my dog doesn't get "soft" bones anymore eg brisket, chicken carcases or off cuts that you get at the supermarket for fear that he'll get a blockage or choke on it. His diet hasn't changed and he gets a variety of protein, veg and fruit with marrow bones to gnaw on. The last 2 times we've gone to the dog park, he'll sniff around as usual and when he comes across some reasonably fresh dog poop he'll eat it. (unfortunately not everyone cleans up after their dog). I'll call him away but he'll go back for seconds. I don't think he does it out of boredom because he get's exercised 2x a day. Can anyone give me some tips on how to stop this before it turns into a habit?

My dog also suffers from food and environmental allergies. If his skin hasn't recovered, try silicea which is a runny gel colloidal substance loaded with minerals for building healthy hair and skin - it's for humans but it also works for animals. You buy it from the health food stores. I give my dog who is 12kg a teaspoon each morning on it's own before meals 5 days a week for maintenance and his black hair is so glossy it looks blue black. You can also apply it directly onto the skin and the it comes with an information sheet.

Hi I've recently used the Blood Cleanser and Skin Allergy tonic to address an allergic reaction to what I think was an environmental allergy. I was sick of giving my dog anti biotics each time he reacted to an allergy and tried Robert McDowell's tonics. My dog had small pimple like bumps on his lower lip which were multiplying. I rang Robert's office and they recommended the 2 tonics. After about 2 weeks the bumps started to disappear and I continued with the tonics for 14 wks so by that time the bumps had completely disappeared. He didn't display any other symptoms they told me to expect ie bumps would get worse before they improved and he could break out in bumps all over his body. I am happy with the results but I do recommend speaking directly with them rather than communicating via email to obtain the right advice.

I've also got an allergy dog - food and environmental allergies. It took me approx 6mths to work out what food he could eat without the constant diarrhoea and blood. He didn't get itchy but he got alot of eye gunk. At the time the Vet told me to put him on Royal Canine fish and potatoe whilst being on anti biotics for an inflamed bowel and some pink stuff (peptosol or something) to ease the stomach pain. He was then put on Eukanuba prescription which was ok but I preferred to feed him a natural diet. I then experimented with raw foods, not strictly BARF but my own version of assorted meats/chicken necks and cooked or processed vegetables with supplements and a couple of bones to gnaw on. He's doing well on this diet and everyone says his coat is soooo glossy and soft as silk. Every now an then he'll get diarrhoea from eating something in the dog park or off the street that he shouldn't have eaten - so it's another trip to the vet for anti biotics. Treats are home made biscuits, snow peas or green beans. It does take time to prepare his food but once you get organised and into a routine of making up batches and freezing it - feeding a natural diet becomes very easy.

I have a 2100 (small one for 2 people) Magimix processor which is very easy to clean and comes with different blades, a spatula and a case to store them in. It was around $360 3 years ago and it's a very good brand. It's still going strong and now I only use it for the dog once a week to cut up the vegetables. If you have a large dog or mutliple dogs you'd probably want to go for a bigger machine (there are 3 models) if you have the budget.

I give my dog a tin of sardines in spring water twice a week plus flaxseed oil (contains the different types of Omega oils) so he has a shiny coat and it gets rid of the dry flakey skin which is a breed related condition.

My dog boarded there for 9 days in Dec last year and when I picked him up, I noticed straight away that he had lost weight and I did have to pump the staff for answers on how my dog behaved during his stay there. ... reading between the lines I know that my dog hated every minute, so we don't use kennels anymore. As far as kennels go, Dural Petlands is no different to most reputable ones - it really comes down to whether your dog likes staying at kennels with limited human contact. There were other kennels we inspected in the same area and Petlands plus the one next door to it seemed to be better in terms of exercise, cleanliness and the impression you get from the owners/staff.

My dog boarded there for 9 days in Dec last year and when I picked him up, I noticed straight away that he had lost weight and I did have to pump the staff for answers on how my dog behaved during his stay there. ... reading between the lines I know that my dog hated every minute, so we don't use kennels anymore. As far as kennels go, Dural Petlands is no different to most reputable ones - it really comes down to whether your dog likes staying at kennels with limited human contact. There were other kennels we inspected in the same area and Petlands plus the one next door to it seemed to be better in terms of exercise, cleanliness and the impression you get from the owners/staff.

lillysmum My dog has kongs, nylabones, a variety of rope toys, plus other dog specific toys but none of them are as interesting or appealing as a milk container with lid, ring and label removed. Of course we value our dog which is why I posted the question.

You're right Emmark, I now replace the containers before my dog is able to break bits off it to avoid that problem