kymbo

Can I just ask what this is and what is involved? My old guy has to have an eye removed soon, and doing bloods has never been mentioned to me, and I am really worried about him as he has a heart murmur as well...The vet has assured me that they use safe anaesthia, but I have no idea what kind it is. TIA

I know nothing of the disease, but wish you and Chanel all the best.

I actually asked a nail question of my vet just recently. He said that if you trim them, just the pressure of them walking will make the quick receed a little, so gradually you can get the quick to receed without blood, over time re: the dog hating the nails getting done, my friend has this huge boofer of a dog who hates it also. BUT he loves his afternoon walkies. So she got into a habit of persevering to get just one nail clipped properly before each afternoons walk. He got to assocciate the nail clipping with a good thing It took a little while, but now she has no problems with doing the lot in one go ( and shestill rewards with walkies of course )

Kymbo, the vast majority of sheltie ears require help to tip at some stage. They are normally gunked or taped up until around 12mths when they set. Anyhow lovely dog I think I persevered with painters pigment? I think that was what the lady gave me ( you mixed it up and it looked like putty), for agessssss. I got him at 5 months; I have a feeling she knew that his ears weren't gunna tip. Anyhoo, he was a great dog nature wise and encoraged me to get another a year later too. Great breed

You pup is lovely...I had a sheltie ages ago; he was a lovely dog, even if his ears never dropped. I bought him as pet quality because of the fault. Lovely natured little dogs

My pap had a bit of a slight cough ( like a throat clearing kinda) when he was a pup, and he had tonsillitus. The vet said that the cold virus in humans can be passed onto dogs, and usually they get tonsillitus out of it, rather than a cold as such. Hubby had a pretty bad cold at the time, so maybe he was right.

Not sure if this is applicable to dogs, but I can't see why not. With the horses, we used to dilute conditioner with water 50/50, and spay onto white socks etc after a bath to help prevent grass stains. Mind you, it was never on longer than a few days, before the next semi wash. I wonder if you could do this to the belly/ skirt of the bitch ( too late for this time, but maybe next time? ) and then use the sunlight soap/ shampoo etc as per normal?

Colleen I was just like you ( and my dog still isn't crate trained;) ) but when my dog hurt himself, it would have been so much better for him to have been crate trained, to aid his recovery. And it was too late once he was injured, as he was doing himself more damage trying to get out. Also when at the vets for different stuff, and he had to be in a cage for a period before hand, it was horrible, as he wasn't used to being locked up. Even if you only crate him once a week just to keep him used to it, it might be a good thing.

Oh my...Some great advice above. I wish I had asked when mine was a pup. He ended up sleeping draped across my head, against the pillow, just so we could get some sleep! I suppose it is a lot like teaching a baby to sleep through. Lots of luck and what a lovely pup

I have a pap, and the vet recommended brisket bones. I get a bag at woolies for about 5 bucks, and freeze them to hand out one by one. My guy actually gnaws away and eats the whole bone eventually. Last time at the vet, he had no tartar buildup either, so must be helping

Mita, my Papillon has become Murphys eyes too. Murphy follows him, and the pap opens the back door for him, or goes finds him and leads him back in the paddock too. He seems to know almost.

I have a blind dog, who went gradually blind from PRA. He has been totally blind now for about 7 years. The above posts are very good advice I notice that my fellow uses different surfaces to know where he is eg, when coming across the grass, when he hits concrete, he immediatly turns left and follows the path to the house, and stuff like that. The carpet/plastic runners thru the house is a great idea for this very reason. My guy was obsessed with fetching his ball, when sighted. We carried this on as a blind dog by stabbing a hole in a tennis ball, and inserting a cat bell. We bounce the ball when we throw it, so he hears where it has gone, and also said 'hot' and 'cold' when he was searching for it. Now he goes off looking for it, and we just have to play hot & cold when he gets close You have to be careful with the bell tho and make sure dogs etc can't get it and chew it and choke. Supervised play only basically. I have never used scents to mark where stuff it; I find he bumps and remembers pretty quickly, tho I often wonder about a little soft helmut sometimes hahahha. We have put soft rubber witches caps over stuff in the back yard that he could be hurt on. Wrapping the clothes line pole with a pool noodle ( $3 cheap shops) slit up the middle is handy too Murphy is pretty obedient and always knew voice commands, so that hasn't changed at all. I would really encourage owners of blind dogs to know one emergency word that their dog consistantly obeys; either stop, or sit, or drop etc. Might one day come in real handy. When out walking with his doggles on, no one would even know he is blind Tho he does sniff around a lot more now; allowable as his nose is his eyes now. All the best with your special little dog Curnes

Thanks for the replies I was just wondering as I can't use anything on his head or neck, so that limits it to a harness. I hate the ruddy thing, but it is the only option.

Hi Varicool :D JUst wondering if you guys might know this info... Can you do obedience with a halter, instead of a collar? I am not allowed to use a collar on muggins but would like to do some obedience stuff...

My dog recently got a reaction to what we presume was fleas ( we had a visiting dog that we found was coated in them and then within a day my dog was beside himself, even tho he was advantaged ) It was driving him and me mad. I tried oatmeal and 'soothing' shampoos etc, to no avail.. Anyway, another breeder recommended Sebazole, by Virbac, before going the vet route with steroid treatment, with the vets blessing. Two washes, 3 days apart, and no scratching, no heat on the skin! And no problems since. I don't know how it would go on a puppy, the bottle doesn't say. It was $16? and the vet just ordered it in for me. I don't think it is specifically for allergy reactions, but it sure worked anyway. The bottle says: Keratolytic, Keratoplastic, antibacterial, antifungal and antipruritic wash for cats and dogs. For the treatment, in cats and dogs, of keratinisation disorders ( seborrhoea) associated with bacterial (staphyococcal) and yeast ( malassezia) overgrowths. An aid in the treatment of fungal overgrowth( dermatophytes:miscosporum, trichophyton) and pyoderma in dogs and cats. Sounds scary hey...Hope your puppy gets well soon

Just adding a little food for thought. My little Pap was limping on a front leg on and off, and often like the op's was...more on getting up, and then 'working it off' as such. He was xrayed ( leg and shoulder and opposite side for comparison)) and nothing was found. Put on anti inflamitories for extended time with varying results. I got a second round of xrays done at a specialist, and they found the leg and shoulder normal too, and decided to xray his neck and spine. Verdict: broken vertibrae and a compressed bit between the disks. As it turned out, when he over exerted himself, or was lying down and then got up, the fracture or the compression was pushing on his spinal column and presenting as a lameness. He had no indication of a fracture, or tenderness, and I have no idea how or when he was injured. I shudder to think what could have happened if I took him to a chiro after getting the first all clear from the xrays. I am not a vet, but I wonder if the ops dog maybe has a spinal problem if all other avenues have been checked. Depending where the damage is on a spine decrees where an associated problem would show. All the best op

Can I just suggest that if you are getting xrays, that you find out how good the machine is. I had some done for my dog, and then was told that they were inconclusive because of the quality, because the machine is old ( it wouldn't show fine detail) ...I now have to get another full set at another place with a better machine to see what's what...

WOW...has anyone got one of those furminators? They look brilliant, and the videos on that link are worth watching...looks like there is only 3 stockists in australia tho; and non sell online...

Thank you so much, guys...I think I worry too much sometimes....and yes, I will try to keep him away from the puddles little mud baby he is

Apologies in advance for the scroller Frodo is finally getting desexed and chipped this month. I am a tad worried about post operative pain etc, cause he is a bit of a drama queen ( in fact, the vet refused to chip him as a pup because of the carry on; she said wait till he was 'under' ). Is it standard proceedure for pain meds to be given at the time, and then for a few days after? The reason I am asking this, is that when my other dog had a bad anal gland infection, he ended up in SO much pain, and I would have thought the vet would have known this was going to happen and supply pain meds for when the pain injection wore off. As it was, I had to go back ( after a terrible night) and get meds, and I was made to feel a bit of an over pandering twit Sorry about all the questions, but should I clip the area as well? When my cat got done, he wasn't clipped, and it was pretty messy trying to keep it clean. Do they clip the 'area' for a dog? Or does it differ vet to vet? He has a pretty full petticoat, and I can imagine the mess... Also, Frodo is an extremely active dog. Even when he had a sore shoulder, it didn't stop him. Should I ask for something to slow him down for a day or two as well??? I can't crate him or lock him up as he goes phycho-puppy. TIA ...this is really worrying me kym

I bath Frodo every 2 weeks, but there are times when he gets bathed every day cause he has found the joy of smelly puddles and horse poo, lol. I use a ph ballanced shampoo for puppies; it smells like coconut, and I have had no skin troubles with it. It is a friskies brand.

While I agree that in certain circumstances it will save lives etc, what about the breeder/showy who does it just to create a less noisy environment for themselves? I know a lady who debarks her dogs. She shows them, but lives on a rural property in the middle of nowhere. Neighbours would not be an issue, but I have seen these dogs in action, and I would expect them to be a very vocal breed, going by the hoase continual 'barking' I hear when I am there...( cant remember what they are called tho) ...I find this a bit selfish on the owners part. Why have them if you don't want to hear them?

I love Cavaliers! They always look so happy Your boy is gorgeous, Ashka

Good luck with it bluepoppy! My friends dogs 'currency' was walkies too; that is why it is working so well I think

One of my friends had a similiar problem with her large dag. She ended up bribing him kinda. She got into a regular habit of taking the dog for a walk on lead every afternoon, THEN introduced " cut one claw and we will go" HAHAHA. Takes a while to do the whole dog, but dog is getting calmer and calmer and accepting about it. It is just part of the routine now. Lead clipped onto collar, walk to front door, dog sits and gets a claw clipped, and off they go. She will gradually increase it to a whole paw clipped then walk, etc. This was a adult dog that was a rescue, so she has no idea what happened or didn't happen in the past, but it is working for her