poppop

Really liking it for my old girl with HD and arthritis. Better than any other off-the-shelf joint supplement she has been on. She does still also get her twice daily Carprofen and her monthly Cartrophen injections.

Yep, my old girl is on 2 incontinence drugs daily (as well as Cartrophen arthritis tablets twice daily). The incontinence ones I was getting from my vet for a year or two. I then discovered the online pharmacies, and (after the initial awkward talk to the vet about getting a script instead of buying the meds from them!), I got the script (which the vet charged me $15 for but it did include 2 repeats), and I sent the scripts (one for each incontinence med) to the online pharmacy. I ordered the goods online and had quick delivery. For ongoing meds it's very much worthwhile, even with the $15 script fee. (I have stuck with buying the Cartrophen from the vet as was too embarrassed to move ALL my buying of ongoing meds from them!) So with the 2 incontinence things, the Incurin tablets went from $99 for a month's supply to $46 per month (this includes shipping and script cost) and the Propalin about halved the cost too. Given she is on these forever and daily, buying online is a great cost-saver.

Thanks, everyone.

A question on the Kennel Cough part of vaccinations for old dogs: My 2 oldies (11 and 14, in breeds whose average life spans are 12-13 and 11-12 respectively) have had annual vaccinations for many years, changing to the 3 yearly vaccination protocol – plus nasal drops for Kennel Cough each year still – for the past 5 or so years. They did still get KC once from a Royal show years ago. I am definitely not getting them vaccinated ever again, as feel they would be amply protected for life by now, but my question is whether I still need to do the KC nasal drops when they are due? They go off the property for walks daily, and very occasionally (a few times a year) come to a show with us. Their house-mates are 2 dogs who are shown weekly. So overall they could certainly be exposed to illnesses. I know KC is not life-threatening, but for an infirm 14 year old it could be really awful. I should add that I do not plan to board them, but would clearly get the KC prior to doing so if I need to. If anyone knows whether the KC drops actually have a longer-lasting effect than 12 months, I would appreciate your feedback. My vet is very comfortable with them not having the vaccinations again, but recommends the KC be done annually as he says it doesn’t last longer than that. Thank you

Beth MacDonald at Sydney Uni - very good, lovely professional but friendly manner (with humans and dogs) too.

If the tail being down is short-lived, it may well be Dead Tail or Cold Tail (imagine these are the same as Collie tail and Swimmers' tail already mentioned). It can last up to 5 days, and looks like the base of the tail is normal, and then almost like there is a break and the rest of the tail hangs limply. It's uncomfortable for the dog, painful even. It can come from the tail being wet and cold, eg after swimming in cold water. One of my dogs got it from being outside on a warmish but windy day after a bath, and she then let me hold a warm wheat bag to it twice a day for a few minutes to soothe it. My other dog had it once also, and wouldn't let me near it. Some people say to give anti-inflammatories for it. If it's Dead Tail or Cold Tail, it will go away regardless within about 5 days.

Have done the laproscopic spey on 2 bitches, and a traditional one on one. Lap Spey: One girl died too soon after (not related to it!) to know if it was good long term, though the recovery was so much easier than a traditional spey. The other girl, done about 4 years ago, again had a much easier recovery, but I actually wouldn't do it again, as the 2 entire males at home go crazy for her a few times a year, to the point of jumping baby gates which they never normally do. It's almost like she is still giving off scents. Traditional spey: Harder recovery, but about 5 years on she is never attractive to the males, which is good. Major down-side is her incontinence, which 2 meds help with but don't solve. I just don't know which spey method to suggest, really!

My old girl is on the Golden Paste twice a day- I'd say it helps her arthritis & HD, but she is also on twice-daily anti-inflammatories and regular injections for this. I have not reduced the meds since being on the GP. She eats anything so I am lucky. The biggest advantage - bizarrely - that the GP has shown is that her incontinence has improved since being on it! She has been on 2 meds for incontinence, and still is, but the GP definitely helps that issue!

Have you tried PM'ing her on Facebook? That's how I have contacted her previously about training.

Any advice welcome - my old girl has been on Propalin twice daily for about 9 months, and it helped to some extent, but she would still leak when lying down. I added Corn Silk capsules twice daily 2 months ago, and saw no difference, though she will finish the bottle. And a month ago we added Incurin tablets too! She STILL leaks puddles when she lies down! She smells a bit of wee, though we keep her clipped short to reduce the smell. She is a very happy old girl, who is also on daily meds also for arthritis and Dry Eye. We we will just carry on with the leaking, but if there is something else to try that would be great. She (of course) favours the soft mattress beds at her age, so they are often damp in patches.

Given there are other symptoms that just the hing leg weakness, a tick sounds quite possible. Just have to ask you if you have used any products with tea tree oil in it on your dog in the last few days? Both my dog and her brother separately had tea tree oil products used on them, and both ended up unable to stand. In both cases, they were then bathed, and within 24 hours were totally fine again. Mine only had the tea tree on the back feet, and it was only the back legs affected. Best of luck with your dog.

Get yourself some Wagner Ester C tablets ASAP. Give the dog one a day to start with (in food), and build up to one in morning and one at night in food. It's Vit C and is excreted if you give too much. Worst possible side effect is loose bowels while the dog gets used to it. This - plus making sure you are not using a high-protein puppy food - will both help the east west feet issue immensely.

Yep it's back now at Castle Hill - tomorrow night will be the third week back. 7.30pm and $10 per dog. Good for practice for humans and dogs!

I personally would go with an agent - they know the rules. Having said that, the info on the DAFF site is full and - as you work in the PM area - you are probably fine to project manage the import yourself. You are right about the grooming appointments at $40 per 30 mins, and you are right about the new 10 day quarantime (from most countries). The 10 days will increase if there is an issue with something in the paperwork, eg my dog's tick preventative applications were one day further apart than allowed, so he was there for 3.5 weeks instead of 10 days. At the time (at $39 per day) this cost us a further $900 for the extra days and the re-test fee. However, as of 1 July this year, the daily fee is going up to $149 per day.

As my long-haired dog has to be there for longer than the basic 10 days, I have been allowed grooming visits - at $80 for half an hour. This is not to bath him, but to sit in his run and brush him. I have not been supervised while I do this, though maybe if you do use their bathing facilities you would be supervised. You can't just call up and book a grooming visit; you have to email quarantine - mine is the Sydney one - stating your case (eg long-haired breed), and await a response. Twice I have had to make a follow-up phone call up days later for an answer, though my latest email (sent yesterday) was answered this morning without the need for a follow-up call. It strikes me a a total rort, given people were allowed to visit up to 4 times a week for free previously - but if you want to see your dog, bond with him and try and stay on top of the knots, you really have no choice.