poodle proud

I'll be praying for both of you. Healing for him and comfort and peace for you.

We are now with bow wow meow as we have 2 dogs and they give discounted cover for additional pets.

I looked and looked at all of them and for the money found they couldnt be beat.

I was originally with petcover and did make a claim this year which was paid with no real issues. The good thing about petcover was that they didnt need need a medical history before paying the claim which I dread having to do in the future with my 5 yr old boy.

But in terms of coverage petcover werent as good as BWM as they rarely covered breed specific genetic problems and I wanted this as I have poodles and want to be covered for possible things relating to the breed if they arise in the future.

I pay 54.25 per month for 2 dogs. It covers me for $6000 or $6500 per year. I know that is not as much as others which are 12000 but I figure if in the unlikely event it cost over this amount for treatment we would at least have that much already paid and not be burdened with the full cost.

I also do not have routine care.

I think though BWM have just an accident and illness plan but dont know much about it.

I cant tell you much about dogs but even in humans the cause of IBD and colitis in particular is unknown. There is a tonne of research being done in this area at present. Some say it has links to diet, others say it's stress/anxiety and the one I stick particularly close to is that it is an autoimmune disease where the body sees the cells of the bowel as foreign and begins to attack them as an immune response just in the same way as if you had a cold.

Medications like prednisone, methotrexate, imuran and others reduce that immune response and thus the inflammatory process that can cause the ulceration, bleeding and irritation.

In my personal experience with this disease diet made no difference whatsoever. However it also depends on the severity and as you say whether or not the diagnosis is actually correct. Many with generalised IBD DO respond badly to some foods and not to others.

One thing that has been found to be particularly beneficial is the use of probiotics. In Humans a probiotic called VSL #3 is having tremendous effect. If you could use this for your dog or find a suitable alternative I would think it would only help and wouldnt have the side affects that steroids do. As with humans however a slow introduction would be less likely to cause an upset tummy rather than rapidly changing the intestinal flora.

I would also be getting a second opinion. They diagnose colitis in humans with either a colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy. Until they do that they are just guessing. Is this an option for your dog? I would think that this would only be possible at a specialist veterinary surgery but others in that field would be able to tell you.

Most of all as others have said if you have found a diet that your dog settles with I would be counting my lucky stars and hanging onto it for dear life

I Hope you find something that helps your dog

p.s Just to add I am not a vet or vet nurse but am a medical professional with a personal experience of this disease and know that many medications used in animal diease have their origins in human medicine.

So sorry to hear of your loss.

Thinking of you and sending your way.

RIP Micky.

Thankyou everyone.

I really appreciate your kind words.

I have to say that this has been therapeutic for me and I'm grateful this forum exists, even though I wish it was not necessary.

Sammy boy, you were so loved

From that first lick of my hand

Pet shop or not, your love hit the spot

In a way we hadn’t planned.

When we got you home you cried and cried

Missing your family

They said we could swap you for a ‘hardier one’

“No way!” was my adamant plea.

I saw you were just a sensitive soul

And this you remained til the end

You always knew when we weren’t quite right

Our protective and true best friend

You were at my wedding

How could you not be there?

Some people thought it was strange

But we certainly didnt care!

You truly loved people

and that never changed

you even gave the vet a cuddle

On that very last day he came

I truly believe you are waiting for us

With God, in Heaven above

Waggling your tail and licking his face

Still giving your limitless love.

We know that you will be there

Where every tear will be wiped from our eyes

And God knows that would be impossible

If you were not by our side.

Though the pain we feel is so great

The 12 years we had was a joy

We love you, we miss you

Our best mate

Our lovely Sammy boy

Have fun in Heaven Pookie.

No matter what age you left us, it would have always been too soon.

Our pup makes short sharp muffled yips and her belly goes up and down at the same time. OH doesnt normally sook over her but when he hears this he wakes me up to tell me shes having a nightmare and that we should wake her up

Yes I know, I'm not ignoring what you are all saying.. it's finding the suitable solution, whether that is online or at the stores. I plan to go to Bunnings after work to see what secure mesh they have so I can use as a lid for the time being.

He is a Maltese X so he is not a big size dog. I think in a few months she will roughly be the same size as him.

It's probably good if you can hinge it so you can get your pup out easily. You probably couldnt do that with a plastic mesh (like what is on the fence in the background of my signature pic. which comes in rolls at bunnings)

Could you use the bunnings compost cage panels as a lid? You could attach it using cable ties on one side and it 'should' be strong enough to keep your pup in.

I'd reccomend avoiding anything your pup could eat through. Metal was the only thing our pup couldnt eat through. Where there is a will they find a way. But as you said their determination is commendable

We would put our pup in her pen for the night and then at around 5 30 we would hear a 'thud' and then little paws on the floorboards

I hope you find a solution

I totally feel for you.

Is she climbing out or jumping out?

My girl, a toy poodle is part mountain goat and from day one she climbed out no matter how we tried to reinforce it. We used a bunnings compost crate as has been suggested on here which she climbed but wouldnt be able to jump out of.

I agree with all who suggest something with a lid. No guarantees otherwise I suppose. We tried using a table cloth pegged down over the top but she just yanked it off.

I understand your reasons for wanting to keep them separated as this was our reasoning also. We figured out after coming home several times to both of them roaming free that they obviously had been fine together. Perhaps it won't be too long before they can spend longer periods together?

I have included pics of our escapee. I Wish I could reccomend something more but we gave up

Hi Melo,

I'm so sorry you have to go through this. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

We recently had to say goodbye to a good friend. We had about 6 months between diagnosis of his cancer and 'knowing' it was time to say goodbye.

We had a lunch with all the family and everybody got photos with him. We all agree this probably helped prepare us as there was nothing that we now think we wished we had done but hadnt.

He was happy until the end so personally we didnt want to wait until he was miserable as this would mean he was in a lot of pain. I think it also depends on the problem. We were told there would eventually be terrible consequences of our boy's cancer that meant he would end up sufferng tremendously and possibly while no one was at home which to us was unthinkable.

At one point we thought no it's not time but within a week or two we were agreed. He was still friendly and wagging his tail but the sparkle in his eye had gone. I have no doubt you will 'know'.

Our boy was pts at home and when the time comes in the future I would choose this again.

Thinking of you

for shampoo we use Fidos oatmeal and baking soda shampoo.

My white boy Osca on my signature has sensitive skin and he does fine on this.

I reccomen Aloveen conditioner aswell, lasts for ages, its supposed to just be used as a hair product would- sparingly. They smell lovely afterwards! The only problem is they seem to like the taste

I went through this with middi 2 months ago. The gave me a plastic elizebathan collar which she hated and I spent all weekend making alterations to it as she could still reach her stitches. I even tried to sew her a fabric one but it didnt work.

I tried pretty well every alternative I found on google but the best thing I found was using a fabric bandage and wrapping it around her midle taking it off every couple of hours to expose the wound to air. Worked a treat.

I made sure I wrapped the bandage a width on either side of the wound so it made it hard for her to get underneath. She just licked the top layer and seemed to be comforted by that.

I tried those self adhesive coloured bandages for dogs over the top of the fabric bandage but because they are self adhesive they seemed to stick to the wound and must have pulled the skin which made her cry

So plain old fabric bandage was the best. Could have saved myself a weekend of sewing (bad sewing at that! )

Hope your pup is ok Sera.

If this isn't clear feel free to p.m. me.

Thanks to all!

For a while there I thought I was alone in this. I totally understand where you are coming from maximum.

She is just really pushing my buttons lately. We got her desexed at 5.5 months because that was supposed to help and it did a bit but not as much as we had hoped.

She hassles our older boy, I'm forever corecting her about this. She has even reverted back to toileting in the house. ARRRGHHH!

But I do make a point of praising her when she is just being a good girl.

She gets lots of walks and games. But her mad minutes have been going for ages lately. The older dog just stares at her and gets out of her way while she growls at herself while doing laps around the house

I think its back to square one with her and keep being consistent as you say Corvus. Its nice to know there is light at the end of the tunnel though.

I love her to death but boy will I be pleased when she calms down. So will all our ankles!!

Ive attached a couple of pics to show you what I mean

Hi all,

Before our pup midnight who is now 7 months the last pup I had was as an early teen and my mind can't recall what he was like as a pup in terms of when he calmed down and when the crazy behaviour faded and his real personality emerged.

Our older boy has a distinct personality and is sweet and lovely and placid but he was an adult when we got him.

I can see bits and pieces of a personality in midnight but don't know how much is actually her and how much to put down to puppy behaviour. At the moment I just describe her as crazy and though she can be sweet, it's only when it suits her

Just wanting to glean from people's experiences. When did you really feel like you knew who your pup was going to be personality-wise?

I hope this makes sense!

Hi Poodle Proud,

I first bought some the middle of last year as I had a Specialty coming up and wanted to clean up the dogs teeth. It worked a treat and certainly got rid of the tartar on the top of canines which even bones don't touch. I've continued to use it and it is working wonders for my bunch. Far cheaper and better than a GA for teeth cleaning. I do like to give raw meaty bones but I have had several of my dogs break their teeth with bones, especially the molars which shear off. The bones also wear down my dogs incisors over time.

Thanks Chocolate, I will give it a go. I'd been planning to get my boy's teeth done under GA but would be pleased if I didnt need to. It's the top of his canines that are the issue also.

I'm wary of bones too as he ended up vomiting blood and while no bone fragments were seen under x-ray he'd had a bone just the day before. Too scary to risk again.

Hey Chocolate,

Does that stuff actually work? Have thought of using it in the past but a friend who was a vet nurse said it was no good. What's your verdict?

I switched to the Interceptor Spectrum it's nearly half the price. My dogs don't have fleas so I'm very happy with the swap.

Tiggy,

Do you just treat them if you get an infestation?

I'm curious as I was using interceptor and advantix but advantix has caused bad reactions in my dogs. Id never considered only using a wormer.

It does seem to be a "trial and error" thing. I swapped from Hill's to Advance Puppy back in March when I last posted in this thread, and although my pup loved the taste much more, Advance gives him the runs, so am going to have to try something else (he still doesn't like Hill's, even though I have plenty left and it doesn't disagree with his tummy).

Any advice on which of Eagle Pack / Artemis / Royal Canine would be best tasting for a fussy eater? Do they all make puppy specific dried food?

Jen21

I have 2 poodles and have had similar problems to others here. My post was "do fussy dogs eat eagle pack". Lot's of great advice from knoweldgeable dol'ers

They are on eagle pack now after being spoilt with a mostly wet diet. Eagle pack is a fabulous food. Good for firming up poos and reducing gas.

I was really strict about only giving them 15 minutes morning and night which was definitely needed when changing them over. Now I have relaxed a bit and may offer it a second time an hour later in the morning if I'm home. As others have said remove treats until they are eating the dried food. Be strong, mine caved after refusing 3 meals.

Also a great tip I got was heating the dry in a microwave for 20 seconds to bring out the aroma. Worked a treat!

Also one of my dogs doesnt seem to like eating from a bowl so he gets his dry food on a plate so he can get one biscuit at a time. Seems to have helped.

I give them youghurt, sardines and raw meaty bones aswell but only if they have been eating the dry food.

Hope you find a good dry food they like. But don't be put off if they sniff it and walk away.

We used one of the those collars on my childhood dog but it was the aboistop citronella collar.

I don't know about the damage it does to mucosal membranes. The people selling it wouldnt warn you about that.

He got the shock of his life and didnt bark anymore when it was on. And if he saw it coming he would be quiet. But if the collar wasnt on he would bark away.

These days I would be more inclined to get help sorting out the reasons why they are barking as in our experience it is only a solution when it is on the dog and they are quite cumbersome particularly on small dogs.

Hope you find a solution

Well I wonder how old they usually are when it stops as our pup is 7 months and still as squeaky as ever!!

I don't know why but I will be watching this post with interest.

My little pup also does this. She mostly does this when she wants our older boy to play but when he is just lying there. She rolls on her back and does these squeaky sorts of cries while pawing at the air

I would be taking her out when you are home - 6 months is a long time to not be toilet trained... most of my pets were done by the time they were 14 weeks at most. It did take the kitten a fair while to get the hang of the cat flap, i had to tie it open for ages and ages or he would poo in the loungeroom (tiles thank god!)

And all mine were done with me working 9 - 10 hours days 5 days a week.

Why cant she stay outside during the day?

That's awesome that your lot were trained so early. 6 months is a long time but we have had a pretty rough year so far with me in hospital unexpectedly and recovery took a long time. So toilet training vigilance did not get first priority

So we are on the back foot but I know we will get there.

I suppose she could stay outside but she has been an escape artist when it comes to the backyard. We have tried a thousand ways to keep her from squeezing through the fence but if interested enough she got through every one. Fortunately we have always been supevising when she did this.

We have just tried something that so far she hasnt been able to escape from but I am a tad apprehensive about leaving her outside all day with me not home and nothing else to occupy her time except devising ways to escape .

I guess I can block off the lounge room so she can come inside but then if there are accidents its only tiles...

The older poodle may just have to have his nose out of joint by not being able to access the comfortable lounge room until we get the little one toileting in the right spot.

Thanks Teebs and puggy_puggy.

Unfortunately there hasnt been an alternative as she has been too little to get through the dog door until now.

I realise this is confusing but we are not home 24/7 and rather than letting her pee everywhere we trained her to go in one spot. When we are home she gets taken out all the time, even at 3am.

I am happy to start over and do what I need to do so she now learns that the dog door takes her to the toilet. That is what I am hoping to get some ideas about.

Teebs, Ive put the newspaper near the back door so do I encourage her to toilet there all the time at the moment or do I still take her outside when I am home?

So, we have trained our pup (now 6 months) to go in one spot in the house successfully. She uses this area when we are at work but is taken outside when we are home and goes to the toilet outside, no problems.

She is now big enough to use the dog door but it doesnt seem to be clicking that going downstairs + going through dog door = access to toilet.

If I take away her place to pee inside she will go somewehere else in the house.

At the moment I'm taking her downstairs when I see her sniff, put her near the dog door, run outside and call her through and then wait for her to go. But now that the dog door is propped I have to run upstairs to the other door and run downstairs and then call her out :panting: .

And to be honest sometimes there just isnt that much time between the warning signs and the event.

Any ideas?

its not really an option to gradually move the newspaper downstairs and out the door as I cant imagine her trying to pee on the staircase during the transition

Thanks in advance. You're all stars!

Jessica44 I know exactly how you feel!

My boy and I have been stuck like glue since we got him when he was 2.5yrs old. Especially close as he was a bit nervous and we were protective of him. A sweet, quiet boy and the TOTAL opposite of our new pup who is outgoing, rough, and affectionate on her terms only.

When we got our new pup I felt like I had devestated Osca and felt so guilty. But as they got used to each other I can see he is happier with her around. She does annoy the crap out of him sometimes but I intervene when I think his tolerance is being abused or let him lie down in our bedroom alone to get away from her.

As the pup has gotten older (now 6 months) and has become more obedient life is more harmonious. I still feel pangs of guilt when I give her cuddles but I know thats silly and as others have said they both deserve our love and time.

Don't feel bad. You do want this puppy. If you were like me you probably agonised over whether to get a second or not for some time. In the end I knew that if I decided no I would just get back on the roundabout of do we, don't we? in another months time.

As others have said, try not to humanise them. At the end of the day, one dog or two, a walk, a treat, or a cuddle is still going to make them as happier as they ever have been. luckily for them, life is simple.

Good luck

p.s. This is what things look like at our place these days. It gets better with time.