Danois

Does Massey still have a Uni vet clinic? That is one of the main unis for vet science degrees so should have a teaching hospital.

This. I could not live with a noisy dog. I hear my neighbour's one and wonder how they can live with the constant barking.

Re the cutting down of steroids - need to be careful about following vet advice on reducing doses as it can cause issues if not tapered correctly.

I would never put a large dog on a 15 m lead - particularly as I'd never let my dog get that far from me and plus you could not control him at that length. For long leads - look at horse supply places.

Royal Canin is a low quality food for the price. There are a lot better options out there like Canidae or Holistic Select. What does your breeder use and recommend? Provided its a decent food I'd be staying on that while they are still young.

3 beds - one inside bed - Petlife bed inside a cover - one trampoline bed outside - one Snooza that lives in the car Trampoline bed has 3 Ikea throws on it

Well said Rappie

Petbarn was Mammoth Pet and that was acquired by Greencross. So it is more than an interest. They also own a number of specialist clinics - http://www.greencrosslimited.com.au

Entirely reasonable to charge. The files belong to them, there is time taken for staff to respond to the request, review the files etc and provide them. That's time they need to find away from caring for patients so why should they not be reimbursed.

Even better is Ian's head vet nurse is actually a DOLer - just not active these days.

Ian Murdoch at Pennant Hills Vet Hospital. I travel 40 mins (without traffic) across Sydney to see him. Very experienced, very pragmatic and just plain nice. My animals are always very comfortable with him. Been using him nearly 10 years.

2nd thread you've started here on this. Do you have a connection to it?

Black coat and minimal body fat so will not walk if it's still above about 25 degrees. Just go early or late instead - will push the temp more if the sun has gone.

Mulberry tree - ugh. I have one and the bats go nuts in it and my pavers end up splattered in hard to budge purple splodges. Avocado is not really an issue for dogs given they don't eat the leaves, bark etc but the pit would be a choking risk.

http://cimda.co.uk Have you found this resource? I used it when it was a Yahoo group!

Good news! Yes to weaning gradually. You need to avoid something like an Addisonic episode. And good to hear vets are understanding it - 8.5 years ago the vets I was seeing missed the diagnosis despite him presenting with classic symptoms. I got told he had ED/HD and should spent a bucket xraying. I knew it was not that and found a vet who knew more and was willing to listen.

There is no other medication choices for IMPA - it is cortisone, azathioprine and the chemo drugs like cyclosporine. I had a dog with IMPA but managed on cortisone alone with some azathioprine so cannot assist with cheaper sources. I know I was thankful for having pet insurance as I think I spent about $5k in around 21 months - and that was 7 years ago. Just wanted to wish you the best though.

If it is a product manufactured overseas rather than here then expiry date is commonly used whereas here BBD is the wording if it is a dry product (rather than a chilled/ fresh product)

You don't need to be concerned and stores will only mark down in the last month or so. 3 months is heaps especially if it a BBD that is only 12 months after the date of manufacture. So perfectly acceptable to sell it as there is nothing wrong with it. Best before dates are the date to which the manufacturer guarantees that the nutritional composition of the food remains as stated on the nutritional analysis panel. Reality is that it lasts well beyond this but of course nutritional quality will degrade but it is still safe to feed/ eat.

Bob a Lot lasted 1 outing only in this house. Decided it was too much hassle to push it around so simply chewed the plastic lid off it...

I tried it for awhile but have seen better results with Green Lipped Mussel with Tumeric capsules from Blooms. Much less messy too!

It is not a bad drug. It is a very effective and necessary medication for the treatment of many issues including immune issues and skin conditions. But of course, like any medication it has side effects and use of it has to be managed carefully, including tapering off of the dose and not stopping it suddenly.

I have seen Georgina in the past - admittedly with a cat but found her good.

Exactly this. I'm gone the best part of 10-11 hours a day and dog has full access inside and outside. I don't feel any guilt as I know he is quite happy sleeping away and he gets my attention outside of work and weekends.

A bag of dog food that I got a very good deal on due to being short dated - which he will finish within the time. (No choice as all stock was the same...Grrr!)