Everythings Shiny

Well my fingers are crossed for you guys :) *hugs*

We've had so many cases over the years of people splitting their tick protection packs and as already mentioned, it just doesn't work On run of the mill flea protection, I split, but for ticks, they get the correct dosaging.

That would be good! At least then you'll have a broader picture of the whole issue.

No the rest of its life having to live with what its already got plus cushings. Havent you ever heard the saying ......you wouldn't let it happen to a dog. I love mine to much to let them suffer. If the dog is happy and content then that is the most important thing. If the dog is miserable etc, then yes, maybe that is the right call, but the only person who can make that call is Stellnme and the vet treating. ETA - I love my dogs, but just because they have issues I won't PTS. Just because they have illness doesn't necessarily mean they are suffering. I know that so many people have said to me to put two of my seniors down due to their issues. But they are happy and content, which is all that matters. Exactly, it's up to each of us to decide when the time is right. The OP asked for opinions and I did just that. Yeah I understand the OP asked for opinions, but the way your first post came across to me was almost as if you were saying deciding not to PTS or treat is cruel or that we don't love them enough. Maybe I miss read what you wrote or miss interpreted it, but that's how it came across to me.

I didn't get a chance to talk to him before closing as our supposedly quiet day turned to crap. I work with him again Tuesday, so I'll ask him again for you :)

We've sat here today and went through the list - its stupid. All my dogs fail!

No the rest of its life having to live with what its already got plus cushings. Havent you ever heard the saying ......you wouldn't let it happen to a dog. I love mine to much to let them suffer. If the dog is happy and content then that is the most important thing. If the dog is miserable etc, then yes, maybe that is the right call, but the only person who can make that call is Stellnme and the vet treating. ETA - I love my dogs, but just because they have issues I won't PTS. Just because they have illness doesn't necessarily mean they are suffering. I know that so many people have said to me to put two of my seniors down due to their issues. But they are happy and content, which is all that matters.

Glad to hear that the diagnosis is a definite. I'll have another talk to my vet once he's finished consulting as he may have had something to do with a Bullous case from memory. Hopefully when you get the ultrasound it'll give you an idea on whats going on.

I think have the ultrasound and go from there. Get the whole picture of what you're dealing with then go from there.

I had a chat with one of my vets here and he's wondering if it is definitely Bullous Disease. The only reason he's asking is because you've said the vets have never seen it before (the disease I mean) and it's hard to diagnose something you don't truly know. With the details he read here he suggested maybe getting a second opinion on the Bullous diagnosis incase its something else that needs a completely different treatment. Might be worth looking at? Sometimes a slight misdiagnosis can change the whole picture of something. All I can say right now is *hugs* It doesn't sound like an easy one

Drooling can be fine, sometimes methone can be used in the course of the procedure. Occassionaly it can be used as part of the premedication and it can also be used as pain relief afterwards. Some patients do drool a far bit from the Methone. I tend to advise to keep an eye on them and if they seem unwell, bring back for a recheck. Hopefully this morning he's doing better :)

Woot Woot Vet Nurse Day! Happy Vet Nurse Day all my fellow nurses!

That doesn't make any sense. Once you have vaccinated your dog and it has immunity, you cannot give it any more immunity by vaccinating it again every year. Given that you supposedly live in a high parvo area, then your dogs would be exposed to it and therefore will have their immune systems challenged each time they come in contact with the virus. My dogs don't leave my farm, hence in theory they shouldn't come in contact with the virus. We've had two dogs at work who have come back with low Titre's this year. I sat down with the dogs vet and we discussed the options. I have one dog that we are certain would titre low as she has issues (which I won't air over a public forum), and financially I can't afford titre testing then having to vacc if they do come back low. After seeing the histoy of the two dogs who came back with low titre's, I'm sticking to my guns and vaccinating as reccommended by their vet. The two dog's whose titres came back low were two very fit kelpies from different families, both had been vaccinated as per reccommendations. There's no supposedly about my area being a high parvo area, I went to a conference this year about parvo and the first place the speaker mentioned as a hotspot was my area (And he was from interstate). Considering the fact we've had parvo almost all year, I think I get to call it a hotspot.

I vaccinate yearly as we have a really bad parvo hotspot in this area (We've pretty much had parvo right up until a month ago and it's warming back up now). I thought about Titre testing but with 5 dogs if they come back with low levels it would cost me a fortune to vacc after titre testing. It's economically better for me to vaccinate from the get go. I am germ conscious though, I trigene myself from head to toe before leaving for home. It's now a routine practice for most of us nurses.

That's me :) At the company I work for I've been asked to take on an extra day a week specifically as a groomer (my other grooming days contain nursing as well). I would get 55% of the grooming fee (including sedation etc) which for me would work well as I can pump out a decent number a day to make it worth my while. Here the grooming nurse for the day recieves all the grooms in the morning and anyone can book in the amount of grooms for the day. I've always said how many I'm happy to do a day and the others a pretty good at following that. If you were to work in with a vet, talk to that specific vet about what you would like/expect and go from there. That's what I have done and it has worked well. Our receptionists used to admit grooming dogs and sometimes it just didn't work. The receptionists do bring out my regular dogs if it is a "SALT" clip (Same as last time) to help me out.

Some staff find it difficult to express condolances to strangers if they have had nothing to do with the patient. I know I struggle a bit. Its hard to say whether you have grounds to complain on without knowing the circumstances (ie what was wrong with your cat), which I understand you may not want to share across an open forum. If it was a clinic I had built a reputation with, I would try and speak to someone I had built a client relationship with - a vet etc - and voice my concerns. They can't do anything about it if they don't know how you're feeling. We've had one client come in and do this and it helped her understand what happened more easily. In her case all that could be done was to keep her pet pain free and comfortable until he passed, she couldn't understand why we couldn't do more at the time to keep him alive. Once the vet explained everything later on, she was much more at peace with the whole situation. Might be worth trying???

Yep, spotted that after I posted, I was composing my post when she had posted.

Quick question - how long have you had the dog who is starting the situation? I had a similar issue which became a pack related issue (younger dog challanging a dog higher in the pack than her) and unfortunately it got worse in our case and for the sake of my older dog, I had to have the younger one PTS as the younger one attacked and nearly killed my older dog. Definitely talk to a behaviourist, as Persephone said - it's hard to say what to do over the internet. Definitely keep them seperated. I know its hard if it comes to the point of putting to sleep a young dog *hugs* it's not easy. Feel free to PM me if you'd like :) I've been through it before Where are you located? If its in QLD or NSW I may be able to recommend a behaviourist for you. Good luck

That is beautiful :)

I know of a few vets (none that I've personally worked with) that have had complaints from clients and the complaint was looked into by the surgeons board. They try to protect their surgeons from rubbish claims, but if there is a genuine situation, they follow their set out obligations. The board is there for two reasons: 1) to protect the general public from 'dodgy' vets and 2) to protect their surgeons from the public (in cases of false claims etc). You'd be surprised of some of the complaints they get from clients. I've been told of people complaining to the surgeons board because the vet cut their dogs nails and the nail bled etc. They don't exactly have the easiest job.

I haven't read the full thread but I wanted to share the story of my dog Serenity-Jayne. She was one of my first rescue foster dogs who initially was brilliantly behaved, just a little hyper (Typical Kelpie). I held off letting the group I was with advertise her as I was toying with the idea of keeping her as I fell in love with her personality. Fast forward a few weeks and suddenly the "true" behaviours started coming out as she settled in more. Excessive/Chronic nuisance barking, dog aggression and severe hyper activity (this dog can go all day and all night and still be bouncing out of her skin - we have a farm and have tried many times to wear her out without success) After trying so many different tactics with her, my mother and I made the decision that she was staying with us permanently, other people would not cope with her. I love her despite her problems, but there isn't a day that goes past that I don't wish she would not be such a problem child. I honestly believe she was dumped on the roadside because of these issues, and while I don't like the fact that she was dumped, I can understand why they got rid of her (I just wish they'd done it differently). She's the sweetest lil girl, but she is a nightmare as well, which is what makes it hard about her. She has caused me so much heartache, and I've shed so many tears over this dog, but she has a home with me for life and I won't have her PTS until either her behaviour worsens dramatically (she's pretty stable now, I know what to expect) or its time to have her PTS for medical reasons. I would never rehome this dog to anyone, no matter how much they wanted her. I think sometimes, rescue needs to think about the chances of the dog being returned or PTS down the track due to the behaviours that they are displaying. If we weren't in the position to keep Serenity-Jayne, I would have her PTS, it wouldn't be fair on her to be passed around from pillar to post because I couldn't make that hard call. JMHO

I missed the first bit of it, but I did see most of it. I think that the show needed to go for longer and honestly certain parts really weren't required (IE the lady who had to surrender her two cats and the two guys who bought from the BYB) which would have given more time to other areas. Still its was an alright start.

Hi guys! My clinic is relaunching after being renovated and I'd love for fellow Dolers to come check us out. We are having a sausage sizzle with proceeds going to Guide Dogs. We're also having displays from Hills, Eukanuba, and several other companies setting up in the mall here at Rutherford. We are also hoping Dog Rescue Newcastle will be having a display on the day (just awaiting confirmation) The clinic is having discount microchipping ($15), free dental checks, clinic tours, veterinary advice, face painting and some of our pets. We're also having some prizes to give away on the day: Conditions apply - see staff or PM me for details. 1) Free Desexing 2) Free Grooming 3) Free Dental We're located in West Mall Rutherford. Hope to see you guys there!

I've always been a Kelpie person, I grew up with Kelpies. Now I've got 5 Smokey kelpies, I don't think I'd ever go back to the more common coloured ones! My heart dog is my little kelpie (she is very little - literally weights 10kg) Serenity-Jayne - she was my first foster dog, and she was a foster failure. The day we went to the pound to pick her up, she stole my heart. She's a monster though, and several people have told me to have her PTS as she has severe behavioural issues. Even with their hyperactivity, I doubt I'd have another breed. I did consider a Koolie/Coolie but I think my love of the Smokey kelpies will always prevail. If I had to move from the farm to a surburban place, I'd probably look at a lower energy small breed.... maybe a chihuahua or something really small.... I hope that is never the case though :)

Can I not use advantix at all on the dog if I have a cat? Ok will have a look at frontline + I would think it is only an issue if the dog and cat have contact eg. curl up together. If they ignore each other then I can't see how the cat would ingest any and come to any harm. Dr Google seems to have 2 schools of thought....cat can die horribly just looking at treated dog or cat lives happily with treated dog. My cat may come into contact with the stuff when she is ripping Buddy's eyes out. If frontline plus is as effective then I will probably go with it just for peace of mind. I accidentally poisoned my cat last year with chicken wormer and it was awful There is no risk with Advantix for dogs that live with cats. When Advantix is applied to the dog, you need to separate the cat from the dog AT THE TIME OF APPLICATION ONLY for a period of approx 8 hours to enable the active ingredients to disseminate to the lipid layer of skin on the dog. The reason Advantix is not for use on cats is that it contains Permethrin which cats cannot metabolize. (all permethrin are toxic to cats) There is NO RISK WHATSOEVER for a cat to live with a dog that wears Advantix. It is only toxic to apply to a cat or if the cat was to cuddle the dog when the product is wet. After the product dries the cat cannot get a dose even when kissing cuddling or sleeping together as the active ingredients have moved and settled to the waterproof lipid skin lauyer ( ie the 3rd layer of epidermis, where the skin/hair cell production occurs and hair shaft originates). Advantix is the only product registered for Kill and repellency of Ticks (Incl paralysis and other ticks) Fleas, flies, mosquitoes and all biting insects. It has a 98% efficacy (efficiency) for paralysis ticks 100% efficacy for fleas flies mozzies ect and kills parasites on contact along with repelling them. It also kills the flea larvae in the enviroment wherever the dog lays Frontline crosses into the bloodstream and the fleas, ticks need to bit to get a dose and Frontline has no repellency effects.Frontline has a 67% efficiency and has a poorer performance rate for fleas and ticks. There would be no point using comfortis with Advantix. Comfortis ONLY TREAT ADULT FLEAS which only account for 5% of the problem of fleas in the lifecycle. Also regarding the comment of "splitting" doses between various dogs, The suspension of the ingredients does not mix evenly throughout so by "splitting a dose" you are at high risk of giving a dog No active ingredients whatsoever. The carrier - Methylpyroliodine does not blend the actives therefore a Very dangerous practice. Sorry but I have to disagree there (re the bit I bolded in your post). I've seen a few cases of cats who have died or gotten critically ill a week to two after the dog was treated with Advantix. Some cats are more sensitive. After speaking to the company reps at conference last week, there recommendation was to use advantage (made by the same company) and a tick collar (or in my situation - permoxin.) I use comfortis and permoxin, and I've had some great results. However, you need to use what works best in YOUR situation. My oldest girl can't use anything but comfortis for fleas at all the other top spots on the market give her skin irritations. Since being on comfortis the flea burden on my property has dropped to basically zero, on the other products we were struggling. Comfortis may only kill the adult flea, but it does so before they are able to lay eggs, which is why it is so effective over time. The clinic I work for now sells Frontline the least now compared to this time last year, as clients are finding it ineffective. Any of our dog and cat owners are recommended a flea product (depending on situation) and either to use it fortnightly (if frontline) or a tick collar. Also, I just double checked the packaging, to be totally effective on ticks, Advantix MUST be applied fortnightly, so if I owned a Cat still, I'd definitely be avoiding it.