jin

thanks so much everybody! We used to feed twice a day but since having cut down portion size, dropped to once a day - i can revert back to twice. We rarely feed any other treats except a bone on the weekends.

Thanks everybody for the valuable comments! I am vegetarian and struggle to make a BARF diet myself - I would do it for the sake of my dogs' health but my thinking had been that if there was a good commercially available product out there that I would opt for that instead. It might be something I need to revisit if I can't get the weight situation under control. Good point re kangaroo meat! We had been using a lot of the chicken options because the Havanese loves chicken. She also hasn't put on any extra weight, but the Maltese x has. She isn't any more active than him - but I guess it's just different dogs and metabolisms. Will try switching to kangaroo. Will also try portion control but the poor guy has been SO SO hungry - scrummaging through my bag when I'm not at home and chewing even empty food wrappers. It's a good point that I don't know the nutritional analysis - I buy this food from a pet food specialty store at the South Melbourne market and the owners there told me that this lady makes the food herself and uses human grade consumption meat and that they feed it to their own dogs. I suppose I bought it on trust and on that basis. Thanks again everybody!

Hi there, my two 6 year old dogs (one a Havanese and one a Maltese poodle mix) have been on a raw food diet by "back to nature" (http://backtonatureforcanines.com.au) for nearly a year now. They love it and their coats are healthy and silky after using it. However the Maltese poodle has put on too much weight since being on it, despite daily exercise. The Havanese has not gained excess weight. My vet has said a kibble diet is better and that I should switch to a calorie controlled kibble diet for the Maltese poodle x. I've read such conflicting things and wondered if anybody had thoughts/experiences? Many thanks!

Hi there, I am considering sending my two little guys (Havanese and Maltese) to Mornington Lodge for two weeks in December. I have already done searches on these forums and read the comments, and I have also been to visit the accommodation. They seemed good, except that I wasn't able to see the Henry Lodge (where they will be housed), as it would have required us to walk through other dog lodging. I am just looking for any comments from anybody with recent experience, particularly of the Henry Lodge, but also of Mornington Lodge generally. Many thanks!

Well, the vet took out her stitches and said that the swelling could have been because of the antibiotic fluid they put in her leg during the operation. He also looked at her eyes and said despite the swelling, the eyes looked better than when he looked at them properly when Nala was under anesthetic. On the positive side, he pressed her wound and no pus came out, just blood (poor thing) - but he said it looked like théy'd got everything out this time. So we're continuing the course of antibiotics and making sure the swelling doesn't get worse. Hopefully she will be round the corner soon - she is happy enough day to day but the vet visits and treatments are torture for her! No fault of the vet, he is gentle with her. She has actually seen two vets, because our regular vet was away during the time we had the consult for the second operation, and there was a locum vet substituting him. Keeping fingers crossed!

I can try that! I'm not sure where I would get the items though - I am guessing regular pet stores do not sell them? Did you get it from a horse supplies vendor?

Thanks a lot! Somewhat reassuring to hear others have been through this and have come out fine. Nala is not in a good way - after her second operation her foot is really swollen, and she is limping, which she wasn't doing the first time. And her eye infection is worse despite the vet changing the eye drops to a stronger ointment after the second operation. she now has a small swelling in the lower lid of her left eye. We are taking her back to the vet tomorrow I hope it ends soon because this is pretty traumatic for her.

Awww, Lab x or whatever, I'm sure she is wonderful and she clearly means a lot to you. I hope she makes a full recovery. I hope you have a good vet?

off topic, but for anybody interested, this is Nala

oh wow thank you so much everybody for the replies, and thanks for the support. She is very special and the thought of her being under anesthetic again is heartbreaking. One thing I should mention is that we are in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. We moved here from Melbourne three months ago (with the dogs of course). Poodle fan - the vet told me that it was grass, not grass seeds but I didn't know to ask about the distinction. It may have been the language barrier (i.e., he is a native dutch speaker), although he speaks great english, that led him to say grass instead of grass seeds, but I will clarify with him. I don't traditionally shave her paws, although we keep her in a puppy cut, I've never experienced this before so never realised I need to, but I will now! I was thinking of getting her protective shoes to prevent this happening again. I thought it was a little unnatural for a dog to wear shoes, but when I looked online there were lots of options for working dogs and dogs with leg problems (rather than for cosmetic (?) reasons).

Hi there My little Havanese recently cut her paw, and the wound started discharging pus. We took her to the vet who put her on a course of antibiotics but it didn't cure the problem. The vet next operated on her paw and said there were some bits of grass that had gone inside. A week later her paw started discharging again. She is now going for a second operation at the end of this week. Coincidentally (I guess?) during the time of these incidents she has also had a recurring eye infection for which she is receiving eye drops. She is two years old and prior to this has never been sick or injured. She still has a strong cheerful disposition, normal appetite and is moving around as normal. I was just wondering whether anybody else has met this problem and what your experiences were? Many thanks.

Fantastic- thank you so much!

Thank you all for your encouragement and advice - very grateful!! I am very worried so please keep any experiences coming!

Hi Gretel - thanks for that!! I am driving myself nuts with worry. Would it be very troublesome to ask your friend who she used? Thanks so much.

Thanks - yes I am definitely planning on doing that. As soon as we decide on a carrier I'm going to buy crate(s) and get them familiar over the next 5 months.

I'd be really grateful for any advice on relocating pets. I am moving from Melbourne to Amsterdam next year and am taking my two little guys with me. One is a Havanese and the other is a Maltese. They are 1.5 and 2 yrs old. They are both microchipped and up to date with vaccinations, and last month they had their rabies vaccinations. I have two major questions: 1. Recommendations for carriers - I have heard some horror stories. Has anybody had good experience/ can anybody recommend a reliable international carrier? I know a few people relocate domestically but it is the international transfers that I am worried about. Cost is not the factor - safety and responsibility is paramount. Our dogs mean the world to us and we love them unconditionally. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to them. 2. Crates - what are people's views in relation to crates? My dogs are very attached to each other and I would therefore like for them to travel in the same crate. I would ask for as large a crate as possible to ensure they have enough room. They are very very small dogs. Again, this is not because of cost (which in fact is the same as with two crates, if not more), but more because they take refuge in each other. Many thanks - very grateful for any comments/ experience!!

http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/articl...49481_news.html This is a very disturbing story. The RSPCA are obviously against the way the animals are being treated but seem to have no technical grounds to prosecute under existing legislation. What can be done? Lobbying?

Great, thanks so much again everyone. Last night Rocky had a little food late at night - a little bit of kibble and some biscuits, and I also left a bowl with a little kibble and biscuits in the area where he sleeps. No vomitting this morning, YAY! Hope this lasts.

Wow, thanks so much all of you, I really appreciate it. I've kept a food bowl in the area where he sleeps tonight with a couple of biscuits and a small amount of the food the vet told me to put him on for the next few days. Hope it helps! I'll also put him on a lower fat diet. It sounds like I should drop the Eagle Pack idea in favour of Hills or Eukanuba maybe? Eukanuba is actually what he was on when he came to me, but he didn't seem to like it so I weaned him off it and on to Royal Canin. Anyway, I'll give all this a go, thanks so much! It's comforting to me that it sounds like the problem should be diet related, because I can fix that. I didn't know if people had experiences of this type of thing leading to a viral infection or anything like that which would be more disconcerting. Although the vet did say that she didn't think it was that.

Thanks heaps everyone, appreciate the comments. Stitch, what does low residue food mean?

The veggies I've given are broccoli, peas and carrot. Just washed and cut raw, although one time ages ago I gave him steamed baby carrot.

I would see it as more important to add bones (chicken necks & lamb bones) to dry food then veggies and eggs. What veggies are you feeding and are they whole or food processed? How is the egg fed? Raw? With it's shell? Mixed with the veggies? I would probably suspect that it's the egg that is making him sick if you are feeding him a whole raw one every night. Hey thanks for the quick reply- sorry I should have specified- I cook the egg on a non stick pan with no oil. No shell. I only give it to him occassionally. So you think the issue is diet? I haven't changed his diet in the last two weeks, or for months really. But can these things have latent effect?

My seven month old puppy has started retching and vomiting bile. It happens omnce or twice a day, usually in the morning and when he wakes up. His toileting is normal and until this morning his appetite was normal. He's alert and active. He has had no change in diet but this has been happening over the last two weeks. The only significant thing that happened two weeks ago was that he got neutered, and the vet said his wound has healed just fine. This morning was particularly bad. He threw up a lot of bile and he didn't want to eat anything. He was also quite somber and flat although when I went to take the trash out he came with me happily enough. We went on a slow very short walk and he was fine then too. I took him to the vet on Sunday and she said it didn't seem like he'd swallowed a foreign body based on feeling his abdomen and because his poo was normal. She also didn't think it was viral because he was alert and interested in food. She suggested I slowly change his diet and she gave me hills science wet food for him for a couple of days and zantac. Ordinarily he's on royal canin for small breeds with veggies or egg at night and i'd also started to give him bits of raw food-but that was more than two weeks ago. I want to transition him to eagle pack. He is a bit of a fussy water, always has been, but it's not really been a problem, eventually he eats what he's given. I should also mention that he is fully vaccinated. Would really like to hear if any of your dogs have experienced similar probs? If this doesn't pass in the next day or so the vet will xray him.

Thanks for the messages! Moorabin is a bit far for me unfortunately because I don't have a car. BUt thanks! I went to a girl who goes by luckypup on these DOL forums, and she's fantastic, highly recommended to anybody looking!

I'm looking for a groomer who is good with Maltese and poodles. I'd love someone who'll come to us but I'm happy to travel near southbank / south melbourne or a little further. I'd be grateful for any recommendations!