Lab_Rat

I did the poll, even though I wont be attending.........I just like doing polls! Travelling to Perth in the hot Summer is something I only do if I have to, and generally do it without the dogsters! I hope you guys have a fantabulous time at the beach with all your gorgeous dogsters - I am a bit jealous

Im the same with our last ridgy girl Miekah who we lost about 6 years ago to GDV. I felt guilty for so long afterwards as I had no knowledge of bloat or its symptoms....By the time our girl had vet attention, it was far too late to save her. The fact that she only had one foreleg was not in her favour for recovery, so we let our girl go. When we got our 2nd ridgy I was paranoid to the point of becoming such an anxious idiot about something that may never happen!! Each time she ate grass, or behaved in an unusual manner I was convinced she had bloat....Anyway over the 5 years shes been with us Ive chilled about her getting bloat - I dont believe there is any one thing that causes it, and if it is going to happen, it will happen no matter what! I am aware and sensible about feeding & exercising, but try not to be too manic about it. I am also an hour away from a decent vet, so I do need to be observant! I feel for everyone here that has lost a dog to bloat - its a very hard thing to deal with

I use P.A.W. Probiotic powder for my guys (the ridgy has ongoing tummy probs!) and find it quite good...But def wait til after the antibiotics are finished

Have you seen a book called "Real Food for Dogs & Cats" by Dr Clare Middle Candice??? Its quite a good in depth book of feeding raw. Im sure Clare still practices in Perth somewhere too - here is here website Clare Middle Hope you find some answers for your boy!! Zola is particularly itchy atm, must be environmental I think as her diet hasnt changed!!

I stopped vaccinating my girls about 3 years ago. Maybe more....they have had 2 titre tests - both came back within normal levels. Any future dogs will have puppy & 15 month old vaccs, then titre tests. Our kennels accept normal titres, as does my new dog training club - so Im pretty happy about that

Cool, Ill bring them along to the next show and you can see if you want them =) Whens the Bunbury show again??? Better go check my K9 news & roster LOL! How is Sashas ear??? Dec 3rd and 4th cos i am entered for once lol :D Fingers crossed :D CC the closer to 0 for hips and elbows is better. most people xray at 12 months i did hers at 20 months. I am very happy with a 3, 3 so total of 6 the cut oif for breeding in a rotti is the adding of both male and female hips and elbows the hips is 20 i think i prefer 0 for elbows so 6 and 0 i am thrilled :D Well I wont be going to those shows then - working ALL that weekend Good results for your girl Lisa

Hey TC001, we have two female dogs - a Rhodesian Ridgeback & a Kelpie. they get on fine most of the time, although they do have their moments!!! Next dog will be a male though

Cool, Ill bring them along to the next show and you can see if you want them =) Whens the Bunbury show again??? Better go check my K9 news & roster LOL! How is Sashas ear???

I got a Thundershirt for Zola while I was at Equitana last week......Just trying it out this morning Zola spied a bobtail outside the front door and started with her usual jumping around and vocalising about it so I put her on a lead and got her to sit by me for ten minutes.....then suddenly remembered I had the Thundershirt So I strapped it on and now she is sitting at the window calmly & quietly watching :D Dunno if its the shirt or not, but we have a vet visit next week, so she will be wearing then as well!! So does anyone want or need a long check chain?? They are 17" or 20" (about 44cm or 51cm). The shorter measurement is between the rings, longer from outside of ring to ring =) Dont want anything for them - can probably post or bring to a show Boxagirl, Im glad Bondi is making small improvements.....Big hugs for you :hug:

I reckon you could change his name to whatever you want :D Our dogs get to know & respond to several names as well as their "proper" names. Zola also responds to Goose, Gog & Herbert ( dont ask!) Wandy is also called Beanie Kid, Kidney Bean, Chicken and Pip.....They dont seem to have any trouble recognising more than one name - and they only respond to their own nicknames to, not each others!!

Hey guys - quick question Where are check chains measured, from the outside of each ring or just the chain itself??? I was going through my doggy stuff today and have a few decent check chains that are too big, or small for my guys that I thought I might give away........but I want to measure them properly I found only one that is the right size for the ridgy!!! Good thing I dont use them much anymore!!

What a wanker!!! And what a great example he set to his son!!!! You handled the situation alot better than I would have I think it wouldve ended up turning into a screaming match, which unfortunately wouldnt have solved anything....But I am so over fidiots who are clearly in the wrong turning the situation around. Trying to make out you are the bad guy! Please report the incident to your ranger - so they are aware of what goes on in dog parks!

Oh you poor bugger Boxagirl .....Feel for you lots & lots! Glad the vet has given her a chance! Its always so hard to know just how our dogs are feeling, and what we should do!! Take care of yourself when turning her - dont want you to end up crook as well . Consider yourself hugged, and pass on some gentle snuggles to your girl also

Oh God no WX, he wasnt a show dog - and that pic was taken in our back yard at Bullsbrook......Have no idea why Mum had those beautiful boots on LOL!!! Im still trying to find out the dogs history - he was from NSW. Dont even know what his prefix was .....I remember him arriving at the airport in a lovely wooden crate with breathing holes in it!!! He was such a wonderful clown of a dog!

Back again after not posting for quite a while...... Have been to Sydney and back to see Equitana (and catch up with Mirawee )and visit the Zoo and Opera House - Sydney is one HUGE city! Bit too big for a hick like me Big hugs for CC & Louis, Boxagirl & Bondi......hope your poor pups are feeling better asap! Welcome to our new WA member (whose name I cant remember ) - you have two breeds I love :D and we had a cheeky GSP when we were kids. Ben was just such a free spirit, he escaped every day and headed over the road to the school to find one of us!! Unfortunately he went to the Bridge too early, we thing from either a snake bite or bee sting allergy MG, perhaps Mason is feeling your unhapiness and not performing as well as he can! After going to our new classes, both Zola & I are feeling alot happier working together. She even ran through an agility tunnel at our last class, after me saying she probably wouldnt!!! Just remember - dogs pick up on our emotions so easily, its one thing they do really well all of the time! Our boy Ben (circa 1970's) with my Mum!

Very, very cute MG!!! Good thing youve taken those shots now, as Gibbs definitely wont fit into that santa suit by christmas!!!

Ok, so they made by Australian Pet Treats, and I have got Turkey Nibbles & Lamb Nibbles. 100% turkey or lamb. 100% Australian owned. Distributed by Next Generation Pet Foods. Hopefully all Petstock shops have them!!! I cant believe just how much the dogs love them! They are quite big chunks, so i cut them in four for training otherwise they take too long eating!

Oh cool - Will be nice to meet you again and meet your little cutie Zora I found some good treats recently at Petstock. Pure meat, must be dried I think, made in Aus and 100% meat....I have bought the lamb and turkey and my two go crazy over them!! I think they also have beef and pork and maybe fish...I got two packs for the price of one, which was pretty good - made my sister go back a couple of days later and get some more for me :D

I feel your frustration Corrie!!! Yep, some wandering dogs are genuine escapees etc., but I reckon most are due to incompetent humans! About two days ago my sister and I found ourselves in the same situation Huge dog standing in the middle of the road, cars whizzing past not even slowing down.....I jumped out of the car and raced over the road and by this time the dog had followed someone else with a smaller dog ( who was wigging out big time, and the owner was trying to get her dog away and trying to shoo the other one!). The dog had no collar, entire boy, and a beautiful, boofy, mastiff-y type breed - but I just walked up to him and grabbed him so he couldnt nick off any further. By this time my sister had caught up and was taking her belt off so we could hold onto the big boofa.... Eventually tracked the owner down - was parked on the other side of the road - with all the windows down And he had the nerve to call the poor dog Moron, not once but twice....Dumbarse Poor dog. It annoys me so much when its the humans fault and yet they blame the poor dog

I feed kibble as well as fresh meat and veges. I have discovered that if I switch to the high energy from of the kibble i use in the winter, my ridgie keeps her weight on, then i switch back to the regular energy form for summer. I dont have to feed any more or less, and it regulates her weight evenly :D But if you dont feed kibble, then yeh, whats been said - cut back food & increase exercise

Seriously RS, I was only joking :D ......It wouldve been a miracle if I was on RDOs. Getting the shift off is just a PITA, as it involves swapping with someone else, and then that means in turn only getting 2 days off between sets - which is yukky!! At least I am heading up on the 30th - so I can catch up with whoever is there then. :D

Cool MG, Ill catch up!! I used to wear black pants, my rossi boots & a nice top - usually something emerald green to go with the red dog Youll be fine, if I managed to to it without any hiccups Im sure you will be fine. At least youve done trialling, I hadnt done any dog sports at all!!!

Thanks Aussielover, I have thought of that too, and intend to ask next time we go in. I ducked in to return something at the vets at the end of last week and one of the other vets cornered me and suggested that we sedate him and inject the antibiotics straight into the anal sacs, as a treatment option. I am really hoping that I can achieve some relief for him through the dietary angle. :D I had a dog with the same issue. We went down the path of emptying the anal glands and instilling Baytril(The only drug the bug was sensitive too after culture etc) directly into the glands as well as him recieving it orally. We did the empty and instill daily for around 6 days from memory and I think the antibiotics was for 6 weeks (we had tried 2 week treatments previously). Fixed it never to return :)Thank goodness!!!! Hey Huntia - I have a ridgy with AG problems too :D One of hers doesnt empty so every three months or so I notice that it starts leaking at different times - play time, over excitement, total relaxation!! The last time I took her in to have them emptied the vet decided to try something. She put an anti-inflammatory directly into the anal gland, much like what Oso had done to her dog. Fingers crossed, so far, so good!!! its been a couple of months since she had it done and im hoping its worked Our vet reckons that sometime they just dont empty, doesnt matter what you feed the dog!! Which in our case would seem to be right, as one empties fine - the other NOT!!! Good luck with your pupster :D

I don't use one, but on the rare occasion I do take food in - and it sounds gross - but I put it in my mouth. Obviously, it has to be human food lol...but I know lots of people tuck food into the cheek. That way, you don't have a big treat bag flopping around on your hip while you run. My friend does this sometimes Faolmor - with chunks of liver!!!! Makes me wanna puke!!! I didnt use bait when I was showing my girl - she would have been doing summersaults in the ring, with excitement!!!!! Faolmor - are you at K9 on the 30th (geez I feel like such a pathetic stalker when I want to meet people.....Im not really )

Hey Guys, I havent posted on here for the longest time - just been skulking every now and then!! I just posted a sarcastic/funny reply in the social gatherings forum-ee bit.............Hope whoever goes has a wonderful night! Sometimes, just sometimes I wish I was a bit closer to Perth & that I didnt have to do shiftwork i seem to spend far too much time on FB and not enough time here on DOL. MG - I used to spend just about every second month with our two having upset stomachs....Never found out what the hell it was, but they are fairly good these days, although Zola is still prone to tummy trouble with her allergies. I now keep a bottle of Pink Stuff (Peptosyl) in the fridge and they get a dose of two of that if the get diarrhoea! I will be at K9 on the 30th, watching the doggies run around the ring, and maybe even spying on the agility bunch Im will attempt again to make some Chocolate Brownies to bring and share. So if theres anyone that wants to catch up, or meet me Ill be there :D