Mizzi

:rofl: Sounds like my clan!

I also think that you need to find a good holistic vet. Without knowing what is causing these symptoms, I would try to get his own immune system functioning as well as possible. Echinacea and Golden Seal are fantastic natural products for this purpose.

There are two herbal creams that come to mind. Calendula for the inflammation and Urtica Urens (nettle) to ease the itchiness. Both are made by Martin & Pleasance and can be bought at any good health food shop.

There was a BC in my agility class just as you described Even if he had to walk somewhere the owner would get a look of "do we have to? I can't really be bothered moving" Just goes to show not every dog fits the stereotype image of their breed.

When we first moved to this area, we were told the local vet was only interested in treating farm animals. So when we got our first dog, we decided to take her to a clinic in the next town - fifty kilometres away. We have never regretted that decision. They are fantastic. A few months ago, I had a first hand experience of why we did the right thing. My neighbour contacted me, very distressed - her cat was having some sort of fit - and asked if I would accompany her to the vet. This was half an hour after closing time. The cat was definitely in pain and quite obviously in shock. So carefully, in case it had been hit by a car and had any internal or spinal injuries, I lifted into a basket and covered it to keep it warm, while my neighbour drove us into the vet. Well this vet was obviously p***ed off that he had been called back in. He picked the poor cat out of the basket and dropped it on the examination table so roughly, as if it was nothing more than a piece of garbage. He checked its eyes, which were very dilated, commented that it had some broken teeth, and went on to state that it had been poisoned. He didn't even take its temperature! He then gave it two injections, without any indication of what they were for. When I asked him, he said one was a pain killer, one was an antibiotic. His whole attitude just smacked of "I don't give a damn." The next bit just pushed me over the edge. He picked the poor cat up, roughly again, and put it in a cage that had nothing more than a sheet of newspaper on the floor. I said very bluntly, "Don't you think he would be more comfortable on a towel?" His next comment blew me away! "If you like, but he'll only wee on it." He did however oblige. This was in winter, an animal in shock, and no effort was made to keep him warm and comfortable. If it had been my animal, I would not not have left it there, and this vet would have copped a real mouthful. When I told my neighbour how disgusted I was with his treatment, she said that she doesn't handle situations like that very well. It makes me wonder how many other people put up with kind of sh*t because they are too timid to make a stand. The next morning, the cat was still lingering in pain, so on the vet's advice my neighbour had him put to sleep. Since then, we have had two other people ask for our vet's details because they are not happy with the local vet's diagnosis/attitude. One had an eight year old dog that had lost the use of its back legs. The local vet said nothing could be done and the dog would have to be put down. Our vet did some x-rays, found a spur on its spine, and proceeded to treat it accordingly. The dog now has full use of its legs again. 'Word of mouth' can be a wonderful thing.

Great news Sheridan! Keep us posted.

Thanks Sheridan.

Sheridan, just wondering how Ardee is going. Any word from the opthamologist? Have you tried the herbs? I'm really interested to know the outcome. Cheers.

This is an excellent link sigzephyr! 'Must Get' list: 1 Dremel 2 (or possibly 4) Springers for bike riding - what a great idea.

I just add kibble to my dogs' dinner to bulk up their fresh diet, but I don't think you can go past Coprice. All natural and good value for money. http://www.coprice.com.au/speciality/index.asp

Good luck Sheridan. Hope it works as well for Ardee as it has for Clyp.

Mizzi, can you tell me a bit more about that? Where do you get it from and how much do you give each day? Bilberry and Vitamin E are both helpful in maintaining healthy eyesight. You can buy both from any health food store. Calypso is 38kg, so I give him 1ml MICEL*E Vitamin E supplement and 2ml Greenridge Bilberry Eyecare once daily. Just base the dosage on Ardee's body weight in comparison to your average adult. I mix Clyp's drops in with his meal.

My 8 year old BC's eyes started to develop a cloudiness a couple of months back. I started putting Bilberry and Vitamin E (both in liquid form) in his meals. Within 2 weeks the cloudiness was gone. I would definitely recommend you give it a go.

Raw chicken necks and brown rice, with an egg mixed through should get even the fussiest dog interested in food. And it's great for the coat as well :-)

I had a BC with degenerative immune disorder. She started out with scabs on her nose and cracked pads. My vet treated her with Macrolone and I rubbed Calendula cream into her nose daily. Eventually she lost all the black pigmentation from her nose. She was on and off Macrolone for about two years, before the condition suddenly cleared up totally. She even regained all the lost black pigment.

I have a 2 year old border collie x kelpie that developed an incontinence problem when she was about 10 months old. My vet couldn't find anything physically wrong with her but suggested it might be psychological, so she put her on a course of Pulsitilla drops (a homeopathic remedy). I also bought some Bladder biochemics (Schuessler Tissue Salts) from my local health food shop. It worked a treat. She still has the occasional bout of incontinence, but only when she goes into a deep sleep - usually in the sunshine. Basically, she is now an intermittent bed-wetter, something we have learned to deal with. If I find the problem is recurring more frequently, I just crush half a bladder pill in with her meal for a few days and she gets back on track again. Hope this helps :-)