Stitch

I have been able to get some more of her favourite treats ie. Luv Em Liver Cookies with Rosemary and she is actually looking forward to them when they are offered!!! Over the years they have come in very handy for those who for whatever reason are off their food ie. in the later stages of pregnancy. I am hoping that they are a start but time will tell so I thought I would share that info in case anyone else is interested. Thank you all for your ideas, I really appreciate the support.

Thank you so much for that contact. I think what I want is for someone to reassess what I am doing wrong and offer more workable alternatives overall. I see she has working dogs but I am hoping that she has experience over the more difficult to train breeds. Do you know where she is located in the Brisbane area??

I have decided that I need help with a particularly difficult dog who I am having great trouble getting through to. Even though I am a member of a local obedience club the help I am getting there is just not cutting it with this extremely difficult dog. There has to be an easier way, I need someone who has lots of experience and practical solutions to some very difficult behaviours. It is very difficult for me to train her (even though I have been training dogs for many years) I really need an experienced second opinion and advice. It may be all my fault but I need someone who can see what is happening and correct me as well as the dog - maybe a behaviouralist but should be a hands on behaviouralist. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated???

Vets can take a scraping from your dogs coat which will tell if it has a fungal, bacterial, or mite problem then prescribe antibiotics, cortisone or whatever if they are necessary. Sometimes it can be diet related and changing to a diet that doesn't have as much cereal/grain can help. Malaseb shampoo is very good for 'dandruff' but some problems take more than just shampoo - that's why if it is a persistant problem you may need to go to the vet initially to get it diagnosed.

Thanks for that Erny, it is all interesting and needs to be taken on board. Yes, I am guilty of getting my 'pers and my 'pos' confused - will have to watch out for that one. I will have to formulate a plan of action - I think I will start with the bloods but I get the distinct impression that the vet is not particularly worried about it and I would probably get the rolled eyes too! I will have to go in knowing what I want. We are 'getting by' now so I suppose I should give it a week and see if things improve. I don't know where the dog gets the energy from because what it is eating would only keep a bird going. If I could just get her into a routine of eating a little bit on a regular basis I feel that I could build on that but as it is, the quantity she will eat varys from day to day. ETA: Do you think that stress could bring on thyroid problems??

Erny, I did a bit of research on hyperthyroidism and one of the symptoms was an increase in weight????? I guess symptoms vary from dog to dog. I will persevere for 1 week as she is now at the 'it will get you by' stage. She will currently eat about a 1.5cm slice of Nutraroll diced but it can take her several hours. Sometimes it doesn't all get completely eaten - it is a good thing that there are always others who are willing to eat the leftovers so nothing goes to waste. I am also giving her Inner Health Plus after the antibiotics and I am going to feed her Pentavite too. She should weigh about 7.5kg to 8kg and she is 1.5kg to 2kg underweight which for a small to medium sized dog makes a big difference as you can feel all her ribs and she is very skinny. I am monitoring her weight. I have decided to feed her 1 or 2 chicken necks if she has eaten the Nutraroll first - I live in hope. I would really like to get some high protein dry food into her, sometimes she will eat 1/4 cup of Advance but it can take hours. Plus if she eats more one day she tends to eat less the next day which can be very disappointing as I get excited thinking she is on the improve only to find the next day she will hardly eat at all.

Yes Ernie, I was wondering about the thyroid thing - what are the tests for that??? Persephone, she couldn't care less if other dogs are eating or not. She has never been possessive about her food (unlike others I could name). Noisymina, she did go off her food when she was away, lost weight, all the usual things you would expect but she has been wormed since and I can well understand she would have fretted - she is definitely the type. I also think she is the type that gets used to one type of food as she approaches all food with the nose first, thinks about it before licking it - if it fails the taste test it doesn't get eaten!! Thanks for the correct spelling Cowanbree, I will look into it. I agree about falling into the senario of trying to tempt them to eat. I know that regular meals offered but taken away after say 15minutes if not eaten is the best way to go but after a while an animal that is getting thinner and thinner just gets to me and I have to try something!! Vet recommended not to do any more unless she started to show signs of further problems but it is driving me crazy. Soooooo picky it just can't be normal!!

Well, the vet really felt around when he examined her (twice) and he could feel nothing abnormal. She is pooing normally and apart from it being small, it is just fine - hopefully suggesting that there is no blockage, etc. I haven't offered chicken necks for 2 weeks - it was in the first week back that I tried my catalogue of things to feed dogs when they are not well ie. boiled chicken & rice, boiled chicken in juices, canned food, all the different brands of dry food, dogfood in a roll etc. all of which were tasted and found to be wanting. This was after I tried to put her back on the BARF and she ate a mouthful and then left it. I find if I feed her in a crate and leave her in there for a few hours then a bit more food gets eaten but I am now torn between pandering to her or just putting a normal dinner down for her, giving her 15minutes to eat it and then removing it after that time regardless. I tried the exercise thing yesterday (today it was raining so we didn't do it) and it didn't seem to make any different to her appetite. Perhaps if it was done daily it might work. She is not depressed or lethargic - on the contrary she is happy and energetic - just no appetite and very skinny!

Yes she is an entire bitch but only 10 months old and not had a season yet. I would think it had been going on for too long now to be hormone related but I am happy to be wrong. I haven't heard of tectronic but am willing to try anything - where do you get it? I know that sometimes if you are too anxious for them to eat you tend to try new food 'in case they like it' you will create a picky eater that is why I am trying the 15minutes down and if not eaten, it goes away routine but I am undecided if this is the right attitude in this case?????? Maybe I should just feed her the chicken necks but then how do I get the good stuff into her??? I need to hear everyones experiences if they have them please.

I returned from holidays nearly 3 weeks ago. All my dogs except 1 quickly got back into the normal eating routine after boarding - one still refuses to eat much. Took her to the vet after 1 week back as she had virtually no appetite. He could find nothing wrong with her but put her on a course of antibiotics 'just in case'. The appetite improved a little but is not back to normal, in fact it is less than 1/2 the normal capacity. Took her back to the vet after the antibiotics were finished and he checked her out completely - still no apparent reason for the lack of appetite. Has anyone else seen this kind of chronic lack of appetite with their dog before?? She will eat chicken necks but this is not a balanced diet. She will not eat BARF which was what she was eating previously. She will eat a few mouthfuls of Advance dry - not Royal Canin or Eagle Pack. I have steeled myself to only offer her food once a day but it is driving me crazy. I need the collective brain power of you DOLers please!

If that is the only food she is feeding then it is not sufficient. I prefer to feed raw but some pet owners just can't do that so think in cases like this it would be preferable for her to feed a complete dry food plus the chicken. It is easy and at least the dog is getting adequate nutrition. As had been already said, it is important that safe food handling practices are always adhered to ie. don't leave food out of the fridge for long periods and always feed freshest possible, etc. If this is an issue then dry dog food will be easiest & safest to feed. I presume the dog is being medicated for the salmonella??

Regarding the licking, my oldest girl used to do that, she would sit there and just lick into the air out the front of her mouth. I had heard that this could be a sign of pain so I took her to several vets who said they couldn't find anything wrong with her. I did not give up though, as she had always had a sensitive stomach and I suspected that her upset stomach was a little more serious than what I was led to believe. At the same time I asked the vets about her teeth which were discoloured at the front - the vets said they were OK and not to bother about them. Again, I didn't think this was the right answer so I took her to a dental specialist who cleaned her teeth and had to extract the two bottom front teeth as they were very loose. This combined with a change of diet to Hills I/D then progressing to Hills Sensitive Stomach meant a change of life for her. She no longer licks and is a very happy girl! Sometimes it takes a bit of trial and error to come up with the right solution for your dog!

Interesting topic - and on a related issue I found that bitches that were on Heartguard Plus (which is supposed to treat roundworm) still passed round worm on to their pups. I couldn't understand that even if some roundworm were not in the gut at the time, why repeated monthly use of Heartguard Plus would not eventually eliminate any worms the bitch may have if not reinfected from her environment. I got told all sorts of explanations from the company etc. but eventually was told by a vet to use Interceptor and I would not have the problem. It seems that, like the puppy suspension v's the Drontal tablet issue, there is also a BIG difference between heartworm/all wormers (except tapeworm). So wormers are not always wormers!!!

From experience I would say that most dogs settle down as they mature and I am guessing that 19mths isn't mature for your breed of dog. Easy to say I know, as I have a hyperactive dog myself that I have yet to find how to get to calm down. It is possible that if you weaned her off the DAP and gave her time to get used to being off it, she would normalise - you will only know if you try, and that means putting up with the hyperactivity for a while.

Some start at 5-6 weeks of age.

Info on Wandering JEW here http://www.ascotvetsurgery.com.au/index.ph...dering-Jew.html

You've got to be kidding!!! I get the ones in the tin with Sardines written on it!

I follow the directions on the pack and then reduce it from there. If the dog doesn't appear hungry or finish what you have given them, then feed less next time. If the dog is a gutz then do the pinch test over the ribs area to make sure it is not getting too fat. Every dog is different and has different levels of activity. If you are feeding this way and you notice itchy skin, sloppy or large poos, lack of condition, etc. then it is time to try a new dogfood. I feed dry in the mornings and raw etc. of an evening as most dogs get thirsty after eating dry - it gives them a chance to drink as much as they want after eating the dry without being full of water overnight and needing to go to the toilet when you don't want them to.

ProPlan Sensitive Stomach has been good for one of mine that has gut problems.

Thanks guys, I didn't think of eBay or Spotlight!!

I hear you Malsrock - one of mine is a chronic puller. Circumstances alter cases IMO and there is definitely a place for the choker or 'correction' chain. I think it is a matter of trying everything you can to see what works best on your dog/s. I have found there is no easy fix - no 1 size fits all - and some dogs are much worse than others. The challenge is to actually know of all the different methods & be able to implement them correctly. I am about to try the front harness thing but as I have my puller on a lead frequently it would mean that I would be continually fitting the harness & removing it. But I will give it a try.

I would like to buy some of the webbing material that leads or collars are made of. Does anyone know what it is called and/or where I can buy it by the metre??? It can be synthetic or cotton - all the places I have tried only have the lightweight cotton stuff that is used for dressmaking.

Obviously a good cause to be more aware of Puppy Farms and all that that phrase conjures up BUT have you all really read the thread in the 'In the News' section of DOL forums entitled 'Victoria proposed tougher pet breeding laws'. Just make sure that when you push for one good cause you don't also put in place legislation that restricts the thing that we all support this forum for ie. the ability to breed & own purebred dogs.

Yep, I agree, it does sound like a normal ageing dog. I was told by the vet that the 'test' for intervention was whether the dog was eating or not - so everything else is just considered 'normal'. Been through it though and I also think what should be included in the 'test' is behaviour that is detrimental to the dogs health, as in my case the dog was just standing outside in the rain, not knowing where she was. Very sad to see!

I have hairy drop eared dogs and have ALWAYS plucked the hair from their inner ears. My dogs over the years have never had any problems with this, they love it, their ears are clean and healthy and we live in a very humid climate! So I guess it just depends on who you ask and how much experience they have had in caring for these types of ears.