witheverythingiam

The owner (not a regular - a new patient) thought she was in season. Started off a red colour apparently, and slowly tured black. But please listen to you vets when they talk to you about desexing, as you might think it'll never happen to yourself, but it just might. -WithEverythingIAm

OMG - Today I got to witness my first ever case of pyometra! EWW it was DISGUSTING. A Staffy came in as she'd been having a black discharge for a few weeks, and hadn't eaten for a few days. Discovered she had pyometra! So we had to do an emergency de-sexing, and I was shocked to say the least! The usually little girly insides were massive like 2 big long SALAMI's you get from the Deli, but with veins, and totally FULL OF PUS!!! So if anyone out there has a female who you don't intend breeding from, or who is now too old to breed with, PLEASE get her de-sexed ASAP - so then Veterinary staff don't have to witness this kind of thing, and you don't get hit with a big vet bill if it happens to your dog! Thanks for reading, -WithEverythingIAm

It's OK - they made a mistake it's 10 x 2KG packs. Same as you go through I'm guessing. I'm at Sunny Coast - Was quoted at $2.30/KG + 27.50 for P&H minimum 20KG. That's direct from Warehouse - was told that's the only way you can buy the "Weaner" as it's for greyhound, and therefore not sold in pet shops? How well does it keep? I'd only need to feed my boy 500g/day to start with - the rest of that 2kg bag would it be OK just in the fridge? Or should I devided it up and put all of it in the freezer till I need it and defrost? -WithEverythingIAm

holly - I enquired with Big Dog about the Weaner, and they said you have to buy it in 10 x 10KG lots. Is that right? it says on the website that it's available in 2gk bags? Now I'm confused? -WithEverythingIAm

I made my own "See-Saw" for my dogs - it's made out of Poly Pipe base, and Wooden Plank. It's also able to be taken apart in places, as we have moved a bit in the past, so it had to be easy to shift from one place to the other - the other parts are glued in place. we also add sand to the pipe to make it more sturdy and stop it from slipping around. The plank part consists of 3 separate planks each 6-7 feet in length. there's a plank in middle which screws into the other parts, and under it are brackets which attaches it to the base. Pretty cheap compared to one made from a steel base & long plank that's hard to transport, and VERY HEAVY. I've attached a photo, but it now looks different now it's been carpeted for the different contact zones:) -WithEverythingIAm

I tried e-bay there's someone on the Aussie one selling them in 50 pack lots, but when I tried to e-mail the seller a question, it came back postmaster returned, e-mail address does not exist?!? -WithEverythingIAm

Good question Holly. I'd also like to know why not to use a twin tank hydro. If it saves time draining and then refilling the single tank models, when you could be using that precious time to bath another dog waiting in the wings, and you get double the amount of dogs done in that time frame, then why not spend a bit more money on a twin tank? Well that's my theory, but I'd still like to find out your opinion showdog. -WithEverythingIAm

Hi Lia, No I won't have enough money for a dryer till the business starts making a profit - I have to spend most of the start up money on the twin tank hydrobath, and also the trailer which it will be built in. Expensive enough for just those, so that's why I wanted to keep the price of the towels down. I was thinking of having Purple/yellow/white as the business colours, so the white towels that the motels have would be OK for now. I wouldn't dye them, as I'd be afraid that they dye would run, and I'd turn a maltese purple or something bad like that - would be just my luck I was thinking of going to the op-shops, but wanted to keep the towels all the same colour/size, so will have to contact the motels like others have said. Thanks for the help, and if you have any other tips, please feel free to give them - I'm all ears (or is that "eyes" on the 'net?) -WithEverythingIAm

Hi, I don't know if there's anyone here that can help me, but as I've said before, I'm trying to start up my own mobile hydrobath business. But I've come to a halt - I don't know where to buy towels I can use to dry the dogs. I don't want to outlay a HUGE amount on NEW towels, but not sure where to buy them from. I'd actually prefer to buy old towels to start with, but wanted them all to be the same colour. Do Motels and Caravan parks sell their old towels when they are past their "human" used-by-date? If not, does anyone know somewhere in Australia that sells them, that I could get them shipped here? WithEverythingIAm

I've found with my lot that if you add a raw egg or two, and a tin of cheapo sardines from the Supermarket, mash it all up, and then add the Supercoat, and mix all up, and then serve, my dogs will wolf it down if they are in one of "those" moods. It's good for them, so why not give it a shot? -WithEverythingIAm

Doesn't it cost like $18 000 to buy into the Aussie Pooch Mobile franchise? Is it REALLY worth that much money? Do they only wash dogs, or teach you clipping too? -WithEverythingIAm

I have learned off a job training provider "If you don't get a Certificate, Diploma, or Degree from doing a course, it's not worth wasting your money on". OK then, pity I'd already started the "Animal Care" course through Thomson Education Direct before I was told that (It's only Statement of Attainment). On saying that, I hope you can learn from my mistakes... Check out this site for courses. When I enquired a while back, they were pretty darn cheap, especially compared to Thomson Education Direct (who have raised their prices at LEAST $100/course within the last year) Anyway, here's the link. http://www.petcarecourses.com Hope it helps. If you can find someone in your area who owns a grooming salon, ask to do volunteer work there before you start out. It's not all fun and games working with animals. If they like you, they might even let you do a traineeship with them. -WithEverythingIAm

Oh forgot to add that I also feed Supercoat (they get that in the morning, and BARF at night). I hardly ever give the supercoat dry - I usually have 2-3 eggs, a tin of sardines, mix them up together, and then add the dry food. the dogs LOVE their supercoat surprise LOL -WithEverythingIAm

1. what do you feed? Raw meat - chicken mince/necks/carcasses beef mince/bones lamb bones/chops, fruit, vegies, egg, finely crushed egg shell, garlic, rolled oats. 2. how often? Once a day 3. how much? at least a kilo for Rocky (skinny Boxer) and about half that for our overweight dog. 4. what breed, age, sex and weight is your pet? Boxer/2.5/d/25kg Other/3.25/b/30ish 5. where do you purchase your ingredients from? Supermarket/Lenards/Butchers/Chook shed :D 6. have you always fed your dog this diet, or did you change over to it gradually? Nope. if yes, how did your dog react? We changed after the "other" dog. We bought her from a pet shop (hey we were all young and stupid once), and she had the worst diahorrea, because the shop told us to buy this ultra expensive rich food, which she reacted badly to. Took her to the vet, but worked out it was from the food. Changed to raw food after that. 7. what have been the advantages and disadvantages? Advantages - keep the weight on. firmer stools, more pure, know exactly what my dogs are eating (unless they catch a lizard etc), shinier coats, no fleas. Only disadvantage is it takes a while to prepare - my partner - "I wish you'd make me a meal once in a while." LOL 8. have you seen changes in your dog, ie. coat, energy levels? Coat VERY shiney from eggs, no fleas cos of garlic, extra calcium from finely crushed egg shells (pestle and mortar to crush). Boxer is mostly muscle, no fat, so needs more meat than other dog. -WithEverythingIAM

I also own another dog that loves to put her whole HEAD under water to look for things. I guess we were naughty and taught her that one. When she was a pup, we took her to a local fishing dam, and used to throw rocks in the shallow part, and tell her to get it ;) Now instaid of just her little nose, she'll put her head in the water up past her eyes, to try and find something underwater. She must actually like it, as when we're playing with her, she'll get puffed out, and will drop her Kong in the water bucket, have a drink, then get the toy out of the bottom of the bucket again LOL. -WithEverythingIAm

Yes Boxer's aren't the most natural of swimmers LOL. I don't know why, but mine seems to swim upright, instaid of lengthways like most dogs. I don't even think he knows how to kick with his backlegs LOL. And then there's the fact he has no "rudder" at the back for manuvering LOL. We bought ours a life jacket, so he can go "swimming" and won't drown (which we were afraid of happening). -WithEverythingIAm