Garden Girl

thanks - breaks my heart to see her like this.

she has always been slightly nervous/scares easily and likes to stay close to me or hubby but definitely much worse today. Neither is allowed on the bed and she is probably top dog between the two. Otherwise she is ok-ish - panting this much is not normal but she had breakfast ok although she followed me inside before finishing it which is unheard of - then finished it when I went outside with her again. Moved the vet to this arvo to at least rule out anything physical. I wondered if it might me a new toy I have bought for my baby yesterday - Holly (the dog) hates cords and wheels and pretty much anything on the floor and I bought Nina (the baby) a walker. I have now moved that off the floor to see if it changes anything.

oh we're going to the vet for something else she now sleeps on the floor of our room in a basket - even when she was allowed on the bed she didnt sleep there every night. The reason for the change is that with her and her brother and me and hubby there is not much room in the bed, that and their behaviour seemed to be getting worse and they were getting more demanding in taking up space in the bed and waking up to find one of them next to you on the pillow.

Anyone know what might be wrong with my dog? In the last day or so she has seems really stressed and anxious and quite skittish. She it literally under my feet all the time. She seems to be panting a lot too. Nothing out of the ordinary that I know of has happened - except she hasnt been allowed to sleep on our bed for the last couple of nights?? We're going to the vet on Wednesday but thought I'd see if there is anyone here who might know whats going on??

Thanks everyone - they've both been vaccinated against kennel cough but if there are different strains I guess it doesnt cover everything. Cheers

My girl has been sneezing and sniffling and has a runny nose - and the boy has been sneezing a lot. They're both a bit quieter but apart from that they're pretty much themselves. Do dogs get colds and is it something the needs to be seen by a vet? Thanks

Thanks everyone - I'm sure OH barely needs an excuse to go and buy something at Bunnings

Hi all My dogs have dark nails and I usually take them to the vet (free service) to have their nails clipped because I dont want to cut them off too much. I used to have a dog with light nails and that was obviously a lot easier. So how often should I clip them and should I just do a little bit at a time, or is there a way to tell how much can be cut off? I'm thinking of getting a rough emergy board and getting them used to that - give them a mini pedicure instead. Thanks

Thats so cheap! Slightly off topic here - I have two border terriers and do a mish mash job myself of handstripping them. They're pets not show dogs. In your original post you said something about getting him stripped even though he's only a pet. I have had the fear of god put into me about clipping them and the damage it will do to their coat - but really is it only show dogs that really need to be stripped? They dont mind the stripping and nor do I - I do a little bit every week so mostly they look pretty fuzzy. But come the middle of summer should I just clip them?

thanks Nekhbet They could probably both do with some one-on-one time now I think about it. I was going to get a trainer a little while ago because I am pregnant at the moment and wanted to address a couple of issues before bub is born - anyway we ended up putting it off for various reasons...so maybe its time to have another look. Thanks

Yes they are - as for the dogs that Soap growls at I dont know.

Hi all I have two border terriers - Soap who is 15 months old and Holly who is 6 months younger than him. I would say both are really well socialised and pleasant natured. Just recently when we go for a walk every now and then if we come across a younger pup, It hink it has only ever happened with a male, who takes a lot of interest in Holly - Soap will get aggressive with the dog - bares his teeth and growls, he has snapped a couple of times but never bitten. It has happened both on and off leash. Does this sound like dominance, jelaousy, protection?? What should we do? Any advice appreciated. Thanks Jaynie

I usually feed pro plan with a bit of yoghurt on it - I have also been feeding bones and raw - but I think for the purpose of me being able to figure stuff out more easily I'll just keep him on dry for a while. I've noticed a massive return of energy after only a few days of feeding him less too which is great. I'm currently feeding him half a cup of PP with about a Tbsp of yoghurt - (sometimes alternate yoghurt with oil or a raw egg now and then)

Hi all (I'm having a big day of posting today!) My dog is a bit overweight and I would like to get him down about 1.5-2kg. He weights 12kg at the moment. What is a healthy rate of weight loss for a dog - over what amount of time should I expect him to lose weight? Thanks - Jaynie

Just thought I do a follow up on a question I asked some months ago about my dog getting an intermittent skip in his back leg when he ran. At the time we went to a vet (not our regular vet, but the owner of the same practice) he suggested x-rays straight away and possible surgery. Not being really keen to have the dog sedated and x-rayed over something that didnt bother him too much we decided to wait. After getting some advice off here and seeing our regular vet a month or so later we decided to wait till he was skeletally mature and we kept him from running too much for a few months. He just went for an annual check up and vacc last week and the vet (once again our regular) said his knees are pretty much perfect. He never skips on his leg anymore and basically I'm really glad we waited and got another opinion. Obviously some times you have the luxury of time - such as this one - but just a reminder to stick to your guns if you think something is more serious or less serious than the first opinion you get.

I will Erny - he looooooves pumpkin too so at least I know he'll eat it.

Well we took him for a little walk up the street to see if that helped while we were waiting for hte vet to open. He took a couple of steps - tried to toilet then lay down in the middle of the road so we came home. He did a large dry-ish poo then but was still looking a bit off so took him to the vet. As soon as we got there he was the life of the party and we were still waiting after half an hour, he seemed fine so we came home. Will keep an eye on him for the rest of the day but I think he's okay. Now that we're home again he's got his sad face on! Thanks for your replies.

Thaks Erny. He ate half a lamb leg bone yesterday - I picked up the remaining bits when he had more or less finished and what he eats he tends to chew up pretty well I think. But yes, I'm thinking it has something to do with the done. He's in the lounge room now just stretching out - feeling pretty sorry for himself I think. Our vet opens at ten so I'll take him in then. Our other dog who eats the same as he does is perfectly fine. Out of interest - I understand if a bone was stuck in his throat somewhere how that is an issue - but if he has swallowed the bone - is there still a risk or would it just get digested by his stomach juices etc...??

Hi all. Yesterday my dog was farting up a storm - very smelly ones too. He was fine during the night then this mroning he has done a poo and had breakfast - but he is now wandering around the backyard really straining to do another poo. He takes a few steps and tries...nothing...takes a few steps and tries again. Every now and then he lays out and appears to stretch his tummy - then starts trying again. I'm not sure if our regular vet is open today as its a public holiday here and they dont open till 9 anyway so not sure if I was just calling them too early - but there is an emergency vet close by. Is it worth a trip to the vet or just wait and see how he goes? As far as I know he hasnt eaten anything out of the ordinary - but he may have picked something up on our walk yesterday without me noticing. Thanks Jaynie

I have fed whole whiting (head off and gutted) to my dog and one dog loved it the other turned his nose up at it. I also threw them the heads when we were gutting them and they both ate them. I have given them salmon off cuts and ended up cutting them into small chunks which the dogs preferred over the whole long cut...I find they chewed them a bit more this way too.

My girl who is 5 months is going in next week to get speyed, so just wondering what are the risks with having it done too early?

Is that Wanneroo one on the corner of Joondalup Dve - I've heard there is a good butcher there. i'm pretty sure the Morris Place butcher would be open on Saturday - in the morning at least

Its on Morris Place which is off Morris St (I think) near where that pub The Saint is - so no - its not the main big Innaloo Shopping Centre opposite Ikea. Someone has kindly graffitti-ed over the street sign so you might miss it.

Lovely story My current dogs love fruit - not vegies so much - they love apples, passionfruit and frozen berries too. My old dog, a Shih Tzu who lived to be 16, ate what we ate as well - her fave was spaghetti bolognese - she's chow done them come up with her lovely white face all red from the sauce. Plus we gave her chocolate and cooked bones and cooked meat - raw food was unheard of (the bones were bigger than her and she never chewed them, just let them rot and get maggots - gross) - all the stuff I now dont do with my two.

yep thats the one - the old bloke who runs it said to me "do you need the young fella to help you carry this out to the car?" I had a lot. Just remembered I forgot to ask if he gets green tripe in.