Dante

Thanks for the tip!

I have a l/c chihuahua who is 6 weeks pregnant. I noticed that she started to have loose stools Friday afternoon and she was taken to the vet on Saturday. The vet said she was in excellent health, apart from this. She was given a B12 injection and a worming injection and I was advised to put her on a bland diet of chicken and rice for a few days. I have also switched her water to Lectade (this is an oral electrolyte). All in all I think I was more concerned over it than the vet was. But I cant help but worry... this is my first litter! Has anyone else experienced this?

Yep, i've got a desexed male and an entire female - and they have tied (much to my horror! I found that it is the female who harasses my male when she is in season. I usually only have to separated them when she is at the peak of her season. The good thing is that if you do accidentally let them together and you get a tie, there will be no puppies! It was a good learning tool for me, as I now have an entire dog. My experience has taught me not to risk it when she is in season. As she can run off when they are tied and could damage the dog. Better safe then sorry!

I found show trolleys were expensive in Perth. I wanted a 4 berth and was looking at around $600 - $800 local. I ended up purchasing one in the eastern states and with shipping was about $450, so a lot cheaper. As for the crates, I am not sure. Hopefully someone else can comment. I only have the PP20 crates (airline crates). I occasionally see second hand trolleys and crates, but they are few and far between, and generally snapped up very quickly! How much will shipping cost for the trolley and crates? There is a show supply store at the canine grounds. The website is http://members.iinet.net.au/~wasps/ I can see there are some prices for crates (wire and soft) on there. These prices is what you will pay generally in Perth.

Western Australia Applecross Vet (Perth)

Another vote for Applecross Vet. They are the best!!

How awful! I am so sorry to hear this has happened to you. Can I please recommend the Chihuahua Club of WA, they have a puppy register and can advise you about reputable breeders, if you look at getting another Chi puppy.

For bleeding nails, when the quick is cut, I use Styptic Powder. This will stop the bleeding very quickly.

I would assume structurally unsound would be severe or detrimental to the breed, so i wouldn't consider it as part of a breeding program. But the dog lacking type could be put to something with good type and potentially produce good type pups. You didn't mention limited gene pools so I didn't consider that. With a particular mating, I would say it depends on that individual circumstance, and what you were aiming to achieve from the mating. This would determine which dog to use. A judge always has the option to null award.

As a breeder / shower - pet home both A and B and start again. Neither are good enough to show or breed with.

Check out Intouch Direct. You can purchase direct from their website. I buy "Liv Underpad Bluey-5ply-56 X 40cm" at $0.20 / pad. A lot cheaper than the shops, and free shipping.

Best of luck!! What a trooper

What are they like? Do they like other dogs? Extremely loyal and loving to their owners. They love to sit on the couch with you and can be quite lazy. As for other dogs, they tend to be "clannish" and like their own kind the most. This is not to say they will not get along with other breeds of dogs, especially if they grow up around them. Are they considered an easy breed to look after and train? I find them easy to look after, they tend to be clean (mine groom themselves and each other a lot). I have long coats and they require a good brush once a week, mine get bathed regularly for show and are easy to bath in the laundry tub. Apart from that it is not a lot of fuss. Training, formal training could be beneficial as they can think they are the boss. This is when they get snappy towards strangers etc and their other bad reps. IMO. However if you are an experienced dog owner it might not be an issue. I find they are easy to train as they will do anything for your attention and of course food as well. Are they really yappy? They can be. However firm training, generally a gruff "no" will correct the problem is caught early (ie when young). They are very eager to please so do no like it when you are not happy with them. I agree with them comment made by megan - do not treat them like babies, they are dogs and must be treated as such. Editied to format

Applecross Vet do C3 vaccinations.

If pup is still conscious, I would use Nutrigel (or Nutripet) in place of the Glucodin. Also, I would have thought that the puppy shouldn't be flying it there is a real risk or concern of hypoglycaemia occurring during the flight.

That's odd...just saw the same thing on gumtree perth, see link: http://perth.gumtree.com.au/c-Pets-dogs-pu...QAdIdZ219712772 The advert: Hi, I'm looking for a small female dog to company my male maltese. My boy is afraid of big dogs. And he is also not desexed, so he can be a little aggressive to other males. Therefore,it is best probably for him to play with other small female dogs. If you can help me, we can meet somewhere. and my cell number is 0433239126 (please do not email me. I don't check it quite often). Edited to add: Ah, OP is in WA as well, we must have see the same advert!!

I recommend Maleseb. See this site: http://www.dermcare.com.au/ It is not cheap, but is excellent for a dog with any kind of skin problem.

My Chi was doing this a while back. Vet gave me some ear drops but there was no improvement. Turned out to be retained baby teeth causing the issue. Had them removed and the problem went away.

Yes sorry, Advocate.

Thanks for all your replies and advice. I have chosen Advantage >25kg, a plastic 1mL syringe and a sterile container. Will be able to dose all my dogs for 12 months with one 3 pack ($70). Advantage treats fleas, heartworm and intestinal parasites (but not tapeworm).

I am trying to find an economical way to treat my dogs for fleas, intestinal worms and heartworm. I have been using Frontline Plus and Heartguard Plus. I have four Chi's about 2 - 2.5kg each. Does anyone have any experience portioning the Sentinel Spectrum Chew up for their dogs, i.e. buying a 10kg chew and cutting into 4 pieces, one for each dog? Does anyone have any other tips to keep the cost down? Thanks.

Hi Jenni87, I am in Perth as well, do you have some more information regarding the courses run at TAFE over here? Which TAFE are you at? Thanks

Hi there, There is a class run at Canine (Corner of Warton and Ranford Rds Southern River) every Wednesday night at 7pm. It costs $12 and you just rock up with your dog, a leash and a bag of treats your dog likes (mine like chicken). I attended this class a while back with a troublesome Chi of mine and it did wonders for him! I would highly recommend this class. Kellie

My cat Anton and Chi Dante are good friends!