Steve

I would do anything I could to avoid using malaseb. Apple cidar vinegar will kill it if its fungus, or bacterial or parasites and take any chemicals out but its got a bite to it as essential dog says on open skin. Just remember you are not trying to pickle it so only use it diluted 1/3 cup to 4 cups of water max and because its so acidic you dont want to use it every day - use it for a couple of days then stop and see it you still need it. This thread will help too. Link With both Apple Cidar Vinegar and Calendula you should see improvement very quickly . ACV will kill it very quickly especially if its mites or fleas but may cause a bit of itchiness as its going down. Calendula will be more gentle and give instant relief to any itchiness but its not so good with mites and fleas.

May I just say some RSPCA branches do work hard to match their dogs to the right homes, do offer ongoing support with advice and training at no extra charge and do take their dogs back if at any time if necessary. Still doesn't equal the services some small private rescue put in - its not possible for them to build the kind of relationships with those who are taking their dogs for years to come that some small private rescues are doing.

Even if you don't look at a comparison between this and a pure bred or a breeder - the things our rescue members and many other small ethical rescue groups do and go through to place a dog or pup with a family and be there in case something goes wrong for years into the future is not comparable to what the RSPCA does to put dogs in new homes.That dog from that group can sell for a thousand bucks then the dogs our rescue members and others who are doing it right are worth double and in my opinion its time to revisit your pricing policies especially considering you dont get the kind of donations they are looking at.

You know when you eat a grape and the seed is a bit big - your instinct is to spit it out - same thing here . you have to make the pill the same feel as the food Put the pill in with some dry food make it about the same size as the food and poor some gravy over it - not even beagles spot them like that.

Here's my story. Many years ago we had a big scare with a snowy owl which attacked one of our bitches and killed two of her puppies @4 weeks of age. So we paid out stacks of money and put a massive roof in over half of our yard to stop the owls. What we didnt know was that the wire enabled the possums to run across the roof of the roofed area and poop.We never saw any poop because it turned out the dogs loved it and were eating it like popcorn. One after the other I had three bitches - different lines and different stud dogs who all aborted close to whelp date. Two of these girls had whelped without a problem previously . We did heaps of tests and couldn't find an answer - we were told if it was a bug or virus etc that the dogs would be immune to what ever it was and we probably wouldn't see it again . We scrubbed and rubbed germs and locked the dogs out of that area while it as being sterilised in case it was something that may be catchy - that's when we saw the possum poop because there had been no dogs in that area to snack on it. We were told it wasnt the possum as possums didnt carry anything that would hurt the dogs. Anyway just because when crap like that happens you look for something to blame and tend to grab at what you think is the cause we blamed the possum. So not that long after that I was speaking with a breeder friend from the USA who was lamenting that she didnt know what was going on because her bitches were losing their pups close to delivery we talked and thought and talked a lot - how could it be that she was describing what I had when she didnt have possums and we lived i different countries - long story short and stacks of research it turned out that we had both given our girls the same heart worm meds - same drug different brand name. Id given mine out because my vet had recommended I do that -she had simply decided to do so as she was concerned about heart worm. When you look hard at the science on the drug and not the crap put out by the companies that make the heartworm meds you see that its lucky if you give these meds out to a pregnant bitch and don't see problems you should feel lucky. I got pretty mad at the vet and asked myself why she didnt know the possible risks to pregnant animals then saw she went on the label and not the data of the drug. Ive never trusted anything a vet has prescribed since then and I double check everything. Never allow a pregnant animal or soon to be pregnant to be exposed to chemicals internal or external and dont be afraid to challenge any vet that wants to do otherwise. Since then Ive heard of several cases where the common denominator is heart worm meds - no proof tests inconclusive but one of the questions Id be asking this breeder is when did your bitch last have heart worm meds. Who knows? Was it the possum was it the heat worm med or some other virus or bug - was it the food, the water, the weather was it stress was it the crop duster last year or the neighbour spraying his weeds? The only thing I know for sure is my girls are protected as much as I can from exposure to chemicals of any description inside and out. In the mean time in any science field in any experiment or study you have to be able to replicate the results - no one can say if its the bitch in this case so you have to let her go again in my opinion. All of my girls produced healthy happy litters after that one time and Ive never had an issue since.

The idea that "rescue" is saving dogs from desperate situations - is long gone.

This can be caused by so many things that it would take a month to discuss them all and you still wouldnt know . Fact is you dont know what caused it and until she tries again you wont know if it was a one off thing caused by a virus, or medication or bacteria , inertia. If she has another litter - dont give her heartworm meds , dont give her vaccinations, dont give her any meds at all. One week before she is due to whelp start taking her temp and the minute it drops to 36.5 degrees or under if she hasn't whelped in 24 hours take her to the vet. If it goes wrong again then you know you have a problem with the bitch.

Maybe a lay by or payment system Ive no doubt some finance company will offer services for this as they do with telly's

i agree but I can find responsible carefully vetted owners who will pay more for my puppies if I put the price up just as I can if I give them away for free. In fact some will say pay more greater chance of them being responsible - clearly that's part of what is going on with the RSPCA.Since when do they get dibs on being able to choose responsible owners who have more money to spend?

Yes - its a dilemma isn't it ? However, in everything else I do I get paid a fair amount of money for what I do in comparison to what others who do the same do. But the service I provide as well as the product when I sell a puppy is always a donated service and that is something that goes on for 15 plus years. Isnt enough that we spend so much more on producing the product and ten providing services including advice, support, take back , and boarding options free of charge for a decade plus without also being asked to sell our product at way below the price we could get and closer to what it's worth ? Seriously if the RSPCA think they have a product in this dog which is worth $1000 - its a bloody insult to ask a breeder who has done what's expected of them to make predictable babies not to consider massive price rises.

Well I dont know seems to me that everyone else gets to ask as much as they can get but us - and ours are harder to come by and better quality.

problem is breeders havent been watching and they have priced their puppies as if they are bargain basement in comparison to cross bred and non papered dogs sold in pet shops and some going out via rescue. Take a good look at what the prices really are - start at the big commercial breeders pumping out puppies at 1200 a throw like they are lollies. Its nothing for a first cross oodle to sell in a pet shop for 1500 plus. If they can get that we should be able to get double or triple if the RSPCA can ask that price for a mutt bred without any forethought or care with such a bodgey description ours are worth a bloody fortune and its time we priced them accordingly.

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/bach-flower-remedies/

My pet puppies sell for over $1000 - worth every cent too.

Supply and demand - and people's motivation for buying a pound dog. Some go to the RSPCA because they think it will be cheaper but many go because they are saving a dog and can afford to pay any price for it Clearly the latter is what they are aiming for and my guess is they will sell at that price. They will find some suckers easily.

Fantastic! Sounds like you have a good vet.

Not all milk thistle products are equal - many of them have extra things added. The powder and tea is pretty hard to give too much of and its used to make pancakes,salad dressings, and other recipes. When you use the tea you don't get much at all as the water doesn't extract the good stuff you need. If you eat the whole seed not much at all is absorbed. The milk thistle seed powder is said to work better than 80% standardized silymarin products and is easy to administer. Of course the other issue is where was it grown and organic means it hasn't been grown with or exposed to chemicals at any stage of its life etc so I opt for the organic powder.

.O.K. Ill send you some dandelion to sample too. Both are really great for the liver. Ive just put the powder into the store for you - no postage charge Link Use dogz as the coupon code - any problems give a yell. Sent you a message, having no joy ordering via the site. Fixed now - I mucked up the listing as I was putting it in the store.

Thats great news!

You do need to see a holistic / herbalist vet .I can blend some known to help in this type of thing but I only put together blends that are really safe and have no known side effects I wont give you anything that has precautions on it without a vet advising its O.K. to use them. The blend I use for immunity boosting has Echanacea, Lemon Myrtle, astragalus, Calendula and Siberian Ginseng. Aloe vera Juice is noted to help in this type of thing too.

.O.K. Ill send you some dandelion to sample too. Both are really great for the liver. Ive just put the powder into the store for you - no postage charge Link Use dogz as the coupon code - any problems give a yell.

Look for a standardised (70 or 80% silymarin) product and make sure its organic I can make you up some in any size you want if you like - in the raw organic herb or organic powder with a dogz discount. Comes with dosages and directions for pets and humans too.

Gee - thank you for that feedback !

Id say probably the tropical cologne is the most neutral because to me its more like a room freshener scent and that also matches the shampoo and conditioner scent for sensitive skin which has organic calendula oil in it too but you will still know you have used it.It will leave a soft lingering scent. You need to be sure you are buying organic calendula flowers - some are not organic and some only have the petals and really getting it on and leaving it on - don't rinse it off. Best way is to brew it up and apply it with a sauce type bottle that gets it right to the skin and doesn't just run down the drain and leaving it on. Letting the dog eat the spent flowers will build the immune system so will help from the inside out too.