DeltaCharlie

Heartworm takes between 3-5 months to mature and become an issue for them. It can be interrupted at any point during that 3-5 months without any problems. Unless you have had a break in cover for longer than that there is no need to test first, that goes for injection or tablets. We use interceptor on our guys, but only administer it every 3 months. We give it the 1st day of each new season to help us remember :)

You could be right :) I have been feeding raw for so long I don't really think about percentages anymore, just go by instinct and the individual dogs. I was sitting here trying to visualise a chicken neck and chicken wing and see where all the bones were compared to meat :laugh:

10% of bones DOES NOT mean only 10% of what we consider bones (chicken necks etc) it means the ACTUAL bone. So a chicken neck is not 100% bone, it would be no more than 25-30% bone (depending on the neck) and the rest of it is meat. A chicken wing would be even less, maybe 15% bone 85% meat/fat. I would be more worried about the large amount of chicken in her diet, chicken is ok but not a great source of energy etc. If my dogs eat too much chicken they become sluggish, might not be such an issue with a house pet though, ours are performance dogs. As a raw feeder, poo is your friend :laugh: If it is black you need more bone, if it is white you need less :) In saying that though, the key is balance over time. We don't feed bones on a weekend night as vets tend to be closed if they are choking, or we are trialling and can't afford a problem (not that we have ever required a vet trip for a dog with a bone, in 15 years and with 11 dogs- the risk is always there though). So ours get bones from mon-thurs nights and have meat on the weekends. Usually lamb brisket, chicken carcass (as we buy them with all the organs still inside- heart, liver etc), beef brisket, turkey wings, rabbit (quite expensive though), piece of fish (can buy fish leftovers used for stock from most fish co-ops, little dogs can't get through a salmon head but they can eat the body, or a whole sardine), or the bigger dogs get a roo tail (our small dogs wouldn't get through them though). If they have had a lot of dense bone for those 4 days then their poo will go white, but then they get the majority meat for 3 days and it sorts itself out :)

How does it compare to other states? I would have thought that increased awareness, training, knowledge etc country-wide would have to have some sort of impact. There will always be idiots who own unsocialised dogs, but perhaps we have actually managed to educate the naïve, "middle of the road" public and that has made a difference? I don't know the answer, just throwing it out there...

Environment plays a major part, and doesn't always get the recognition needed when joint problems arise. We won't allow young border collies to spend the day together unsupervised, and selectively run them together during free play sessions with careful monitoring of play style and intensity. I would hate to think of the injuries they would sustain left alone to free run all day, every day. No way in hell would I ever allow 2 large breed dogs to play 24/7. If I were you, I would be getting the dog to a good chiropractor to ensure he is set up to grow the best he can. I would also be limiting the time these 2 pups spend together or you could be in for even more heartache.

We used to live just outside of Queanbeyan on property, moved up here about a month ago :)

Not sure where in Port Stephens you are BC Crazy but we are at Medowie and would definitely be keen if they were happy to travel :)

might be cheap, but postage is about $60 or $70!

Have received a reply from Kathy Cornack who is a holistic vet in Newcastle. She does all the titre testing in house now (had heard a few were starting to do it) so the bloods don't need to be sent anywhere. Not sure if it is instant or you have to wait for the results though. Testing covers parvo, distemper and hepatitis and gives a reading of low (<1:5) adequate (<1:20) or high (>1:80) for each, which are the same results you receive from vetpath (except they say less than 1:5, 1:20 or greater than 1:80, but its the same thing). Cost is $60 per dog, no consult required but you do need to book ahead obviously.

The best people to ask are the local vets :) They will have an idea of what is around the area and best course of action for your circumstances.

In answer to the OP, I have emailed a few vets for quotes as Shock is 15months old now so needs testing. If need be I will get her done in Sydney or next time we are back in Canberra, but if there is someone around here that will do it for what I consider to be a reasonable price then it will be much easier. As soon as I hear back with some prices I will let you know :)

Mine have always come back as having the highest level of immunity so my vet has always recommended testing every 3 years. If they were to drop significantly or come back as being on the lower end I would probably check again in 12months, depending on the dog. In theory, immunity is always going to be present, but in a sick or older animal I would rather see a high level present. It's like the old saying "Use it or lose it'. The analogy I always use to explain it to people is this. I learnt Japanese in high school and university, have visited Japan and stayed with a family there. At that time, I was using Japanese regularly so was quite good at speaking and understanding the language. I haven't needed to use it for at least 10 years now and could hardly tell you a simple sentence without having to consult a dictionary. If I was to move to Japan tomorrow though, I would pick it up again within a reasonable period of time. The knowledge and memory is there, it just hasn't been used for so long it needs to be woken up again. It is exactly the same with immunity levels. If a dog is constantly exposed to the virus (always walked, attends dog parks, shows/competes in sports, etc) then they are always using that memory and it should stay at a high level. Whenever the dog is exposed to the virus, the body recognises it immediately and deals with it. If a dog is locked in the yard and rarely goes anywhere, perhaps an older dog who is no longer walked, then the dog is not constantly being exposed to the virus (perhaps only what you bring in on your shoes). It is not having to use that memory on a regular basis and the levels will reduce, much like my Japanese has :). If that dog is then exposed to a high level of the virus, the memory does still exist and will kick back in, but it will not be instantaneous like it is in a dog with constant exposure. Just like me eventually remembering the language, the dog will be able to build the immunity and fight it off, but it will take a longer time. In an older, or perhaps already ill dog, I don't know if I would want to take the risk on having low immunity levels in case they can't adequately fight it while waiting for the levels to rise again. That is why I would always prefer to know the actual levels present, rather than simply a positive/negative result.

As far as I know vetpath will organise the testing for all 3 if you request it, but the hepatitis is still being sent overseas for testing which is why it costs so much more. There are no labs in Australia set up to test for it and last I heard there was nobody really in a rush to do so as the disease hasn't been seen in Aus for 30 years. I have never had to pay for a consult, only the $60 per dog for the vetpath fee. That is at 3 different vets (2 in Sydney and 1 in Canberra). I have always requested to just have blood drawn however. My dogs are regularly seen by a vet chiro though (every 6-8 weeks) so I have no need for an annual check done on them, however if my dog was only seen once a year then I would prefer to pay the consult fee and have them given the once-over for peace of mind and early detection if there was anything going on. $49 seems pretty reasonable for a consult fee and I certainly wouldn't object to that :) ETA if you look at that photo of the results you will see down the bottom that it was tested BioBest in Scotland, for Vetpath Australia :) Not actually tested by Vetpath themselves.

I'm sure my vet on the Central Coast will be impressed when I tell him he's "a bit behind the times" What a rude comment by your vet, does he/she know every vet here? It was obviously not aimed at any specific vet or vet clinic, but at the area in general. Why would you assume otherwise? A large number of vets either don't titre at all or don't know a lot about it. It isn't something that clients are offered as an alternative at many clinics, and only available to those who ask. Vets may be prepared to titre test dogs but most do not have an account set up with vetpath (which is free to set up and really easy for them to do) which means clients are paying up to $200 instead of $60. Once again, not all vets... It is no different to the observation that many have made when coming from Sydney (where there are many vets who have titred for years) to Canberra where most didn't agree with it until recently (by recent I would say the last 5 years). Canberra is much further behind in its thinking in regards to titres etc. It doesn't mean that all of them are, I have a great holistic vet in Canberra who is incredibly knowledgeable on the topic and has been trying to educate the dog clubs and fellow vets for a good 10 years or so. The ACT in general, however, have been much slower than Sydney when it comes to titre tests, and God forbid, could be said to be "behind the times."

I've never had to pay a consultation fee, just the $60 for the test, depends I guess in whether you want the annual check etc or happy to just have the blood drawn and sent. I always let them know when I first enquire that they see their regular vet regularly and a full consult or check is not required. Will get back to you re the vets in North Sydney. How far are you from Russell Lea? there is a big all natural vet there, they were one of the first in Australia to start doing it. When you do get it done get them to request an actual value for immunity, not just the positive/negative that they have started to give vets. It tells you nothing really.

Its a bit of a hike for you, but my vet at Medowie advocates them. She said Newcastle and Central coast vets are a bit behind the times though. Otherwise, there are plenty in North Sydney if that is easier for you to get to.

I don't quite understand. If class was cancelled, why was there equipment out? Are you sure it wasn't a more advanced class and you were interrupting their class? If your class was cancelled, why would you go and use the equipment anyway? I think I might be missing something here...

I've had the same name picked out for my last 2 puppies, then they popped out and I decided it didn't suit either of them :laugh: Perhaps the next dog will end up with it LOL

Are you part of the agility classes at the club? If not and your dog is injured then the club can find themselves in all sorts of trouble. I don't know of any clubs that will allow dogs on their equipment unless they are a member of their agility classes.

Quick brag, my baby girl gained her ADM title last weekend, then backed it up with a spare card on the Sunday. Given that without the proper rehab she would have been retired years ago, I never thought she would make it this far. These days she is running better than ever and I am so proud of her. She is now AFCH Delta RN ADM ADO JDM JDO GDX SDX SPDM I am still out after a knee reconstruction in March so Tailwag has been running her for me. It has taken a while to convince her that it is just as good as running with Mum, but she was on fire last weekend and hardly looked for me at all which was great to see.

In SA the only agility comps are the ones run by the ANKC, so it would be DogsSA. If your dog is main registered it will already be good to go, you will need to be a member yourself though. Most states offer some sort of associate membership where you get no voting rights, can't hold a prefix etc but you can participate in all ANKC events (and its cheaper). Cost varies from state to state.

What was her life like before? Where did she sleep? Where did she go if nobody was home? She has already had a major upheaval so you may need to keep as many constants for her as you can for now until she settles in. On the flip side though, you will confuse her immensely if you allow her to do stuff now and then in a week's time decide she can't do it any more. You need to find a midway point :) Dogs are pretty accommodating, you just need to be consistent and fair to them. What is the end goal for you? Will she sleep in the kitchen all night every night? If so, then you need to persist with it and make sure she is really warm etc. Nothing wrong with that, I have 1 that sleeps in the garage while the other 10 sleep in the beds. She is happier out there, can play with her toys all night long without being told to shut up, and doesn't have to worry about the movements of everyone else. If she will eventually be sleeping with you anyway, why not start now? Make accommodations if need be until you trust her but by 16 months she shouldn't be waking up to toilet through the night. If she is, either look at one of those indoor toilets or get up and take her out through the night.

We use interceptor but only give it to them every 3 months, first of each new season to make it easier to remember :) Heartworm can be killed at any time up to full maturity which takes between 3 and 6months. I would never use the injection myself, I don't like the idea of putting 12months of chemicals in my dog all in one shot. An interesting read someone sent the other day Heartworm

Mine are given puppy shots and then titre tested at 14months. Have never had a dog come back with low immunity at that age. Delta will be 8 this year and is still returning high levels. I would be getting his levels checked if it was me, if he had compromised immunity he would have become sick years ago IMO as the vaccinations wouldn't have taken.

You could get him titre tested to check immunity levels. If he has previously been vaccinated and still gets out and about he should be fine, but you can check the levels to be sure. Find a vet that has a vetpath account (free to set up) and you should pay about $60ish for the test. If they don't have an account they will probably quote you over $200 so it pays to ask around :) Diseases like parvo are contracted from the environment, not specifically from dog to dog contact, so it makes no difference if he actually mingles with dogs or not.