mumof3

Thanks all for your replies. The Brittany grooming site was interesting - but a bit full on for me (all that shaving and trimming). If I can get a sleek topline and smooth body, I think I'll be happy with that. I like all the feathering. I did like the idea of towelling them overnight to get the hair to sit flatter - that will be quite useful in achieving the look I am after. Thanks showdog for your advice on using the tool. I think I am not taking too much at the moment - the hair is definetely dull and fluffy. The longer shinier hairs are staying behind, with the occassional exception. As a guide to when I've finished an area, I'm kind of going with, if the comb runs through the hair effortlessly and removes little hair, then that spot is done. Do you think that is about right? I definetely went overboard when I tried the technique I saw online of using your thumb to hold the hair and pulling. I can see the skin in that area is slightly reddened. I'm also learning about holding the skin taught - for safety and for access to looser areas like the neck ruff. I've also been pulling the hair back and combing with the lie of the hair, so that I get under the coat too, not just over the top - is that right? I wish I had taken a before photo, but sadly I haven't. To tell the truth I was a little embarrassed about how she looked and thought everyone would think I wasn't feeding her properly or something. Wish I had taken that photo now - after only one hour the coat is soft and you can see the shine in it. Wait till I wash it with this flash stuff. It is like the barbie I never had!

My lovely Brittany puppy Molly, now about 10 months old, was getting a little scruffy. She was not as sleek as the lovely dogs in the photos, and was beginning to resemble a small brown and white polar bear. I emailed her breeder for advice on coat maintenance and got a swift reply - the Mars fine thining comb, and Isle of Dogs. My thinning comb arrived today. WOW!!!!! How ADDICTIVE! What an immense difference. Knowing nothing about grooming other than how to hold a brush (and I probably do that wrong too), I googled "how to thin a dogs coat" and got lots of weird and wonderful ideas. I tried these out and found out how to create a bald patch. So, I just sort of combed her with it. And WOW. It pulled out so much hair. I sat there for an hour, she didn't flinch. ACtually, she got quite relaxed and smoochy. The difference is incredible. I'll do some more tomorrow, until I think it's done. Then I'll try out this new shampoo and conditioner that costs about 10 TIMES what I use on my own hair. Hell I might even try it in the shower tonight myself! It has really pulled out all that residual dead puppy fluff. The result is a much more mature looking coat, so much softer with the dead hair gone. And less fluffy. I can only imagine that she will be much more comfortable in the heat now too, and that she will shed less on the lounge so my OH will whinge less (he wanted a JRT). I didn't do her feathery parts, her chest or her ears. I might do her chest later. Any suggestions from people who know all about grooming and particularly grooming Brittanies - she and I both enjoyed it so much, I'm keen to learn more.

Hey Muss Danni, a bit OT, but I just wanted to share - disposable nappies make great dressings for horses! So, they're not sterile, but how sterile is a sterile pad after you've dropped it on the ground a few times trying to attach it to a horse? Cheap disposables sometimes still come with actually sticky as opposed to velcroe like fasteners - which can hold the dressing (nappy) in place just long enough or you to get a bandage on to. They are cheap to buy, and easy to find after hours and in remote areas. They soak up a HEAP of gunk. I treated a seriously nastly leg wound (exposed bone, ligament involvement, but not completely cut through (just a few of the tiny white strings were cut)), without a vet (was a station horse and owner didn't want to go to the expense of getting a vet out 300km), using nappies, vetwrap, saline, lotagen and cod liver oil (high in vit A, stimulates skin growth) around the skin areas of the wound and of course a course of intramuscular penicilin (often on hand on cattle properties). She recovered well enough to go back into the work horse plant after the wet season. And she was the quietest of all the young horses broken in that year, I think thanks to all the loving handling and care she got from the station cook (I even had her running in the orchard / lawn section near the kitchen cause I didn't think the dirty dusty horse yards were very good for such a nasty wound, in case the dressing came off).

Boxer? Kelpie? Rescue working breed cross? Rescue Grey hound? Bull Arab? Just some garden variety breeds which I happen to think have ALOT to offer. I tend to think that there are good reasons why some of the most common breeds ARE so common - because they tick alot of boxes!

I was always told that dogs took good care of their wounds by licking them. Certainly, we have found this to be the case with our own dogs. In treating horses, I've found saline to be excellent really. I just make up my own saline - you can sterilise things perfectly well with hot water and soap - this is what is reccommended today for a newborn babies bottle. So, if you need to flush a wound, I'd use saline. I'd also use saline for regular cleaning of wounds when that is necessary. Saline is safe to use in deep wounds, unlike other topical ointments and sprays. I'd also suggest a fly repellent for applying to wounds (you can get specifc stuff for this, can't remember its name (Cetrigen??) - round here you'd try a landmark or elders outlet for that sort of stuff) Once, in a cow, there was maggots in a wound and the vet told me to spray them with Mortein! Personally, if a wound was too severe to be cared for by the dog naturally, I'd feel it was time to go to the vet. No matter what you spray or cover a wound in, if it is severe enough there is a good chance antibiotics would be required, and they are increasingly difficult to have on hand. Also, not sure if it good for dogs, a chemical which I used alot with horses is Lotagen, which is safe to be used in deep wounds, and helps to manage scarring which can be an issue with horses. It was an excellent treatment. Just be really careful of using harsh topical dressings in wounds which are more than skin deep. Some of those chemicals are too strong for tissues other than skin. I'd be interested to know if others would agree that dogs take good care of minor wounds themselves (assuming they can reach it).

Thanks Boronio - trouble is I can't get to Brisbane now! Oh well, hopefully in a couple of days. We'll be right, there are others with much bigger problems than mine at the moment. Cheers

Thanks all for your offers of help, and suggestions. Due to the floods, I don't think we will be able to get to Brisbane Airport for our flights, and I am cancelling them. We will wait it out here, where we are safe and dry, though chewing through cash at a scary rate of knots with a holiday house and a hire car to pay for. Hope you all, your families and friends are safe.

Oh, WOW. Thank you- that is such a nice offer. If I do get really stuck, I might just take you up on it. Let's see what I can find a bit further out though. Thank you so much, that is just so kind of you. And thanks for ringing motels, you're an angel.

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, from their website: Please note: Due to huge demand for limited kennel space we are no longer taking bookings for new dogs to the kennels at this current time. Existing clients that require boarding for their pets can contact us as per our normal contact numbers. Pickup and Delivery option is no longer available and Kennel inspections are not available till further notice. Opening Hours: Monday - Saturday 8am-10am or 2pm-5pm Sundays 2pm-5pm. Wednesdays Closed Doh!

most taxi's here wont carry pets and niether does public transport. where do you need to return the car too, can it be returned at the airport. yeah, car returns to airport. Dog goes to Virgin Blue freight, but has to be checked on by my husband or we pay extra for freight. Dog checks in at about 6.00am, then we drop the hire car back and check in for our own flight. all if we can GET to Brisbane (from Gympie)!

Hi, Thanks for your reply. One dog, 9 month old Brittany. She doesn't really need to be inside, though she is house trained. We have a travel crate which she can sleep in if she has to be outside. So long as she is secure and dry. Also, three kids and a husband. We fly out early 13th, and have a hire car to return. It would be good to be taxi distance from the airport. I wonder if taxi's will carry a crated dog? Cheers

Hello Dolers, Can you suggest pet friendly accom at Brisbane airport (or very close by and accessible for people who don't know Brisbane and are unaccustomed to driving around it). We need it on Wednesday night. Last minute change to travel plans to due flooding at Gympie - we are trying to beat a hasty retreat but having diffifulty because no one wants to help us because of our lovely dog. cheers

Well, she is young. I've more a cattle backgroud and know nothing of sheep, so I'm guessing (based on cattle working dogs) if she has natural eye and balance, that the rest will come with more dry work and bonding. Good luck.

Nice leggy, athletic looking young dog. Good luck with her. I take it she is well started?

Some bush flavoured ideas: Friend always thought of fantastic names for his work horses: View, Bushells, Quartpot, SouthernCross, Mulga Mist, Breeze, Smoko, River system names - what is the name of your catchment? My friend used these to name his dogs: Warrego, Barcoo, Roper, Paroo, Bollon. Native grasses and plants: Buffel, Flinders, Mitchel, Wattle, Gidgea. Where do you live? Get a good local geographical map and look at the names of things. Something might jump out as a good name. It's nice if it is somehow relevant to you. Many dogs / horses in the bush are named as per where / who they came from: Burleigh, Saxby, Beckman, What is your ideaology? Are you breeding for colour (red dust) (silver moon), temperament (meander, take a spell), working ability (swift, Eye, balance up), show (sunburnt, far horizons) Just some ideas. Look up some poetry that you like.

I use these too - I think they are made by Mortein. They work well, but I worry about the inhaling chemical thing, still when mozzies are bad, a bit of chemical is probably less of an issue than disease carry mosquitos. I had a room once, when a door had been left open, just filled with mozzies, hundreds of them. I closed the doors and windows and put one of those things on and in 20 minutes, every mozzie was dead and on the floor. They also work if you leave the door open, but don't work as well if you have fans on.

I can only tell you the law as it is in NZ, but I think Aussie is similar. If a vet uses a medicine for a different purpose, at a different dose rate, via a different route, or in a different species than the manufacturer recommends, then that constitutes "off label" (discretionary) use of the medicine. A vet is allowed to do this for an animal under their care (following certain guidelines), but if they do then the drug manufacturer isn't obliged to take any responsibility if things go wrong - the buck stops with the vet. Sometimes vets are pretty much obliged to use drugs off label, for example there are very few drugs that are registered for treating llamas and alpacas in this country, so almost every time you treat a llama for anything you'll be using drugs off label. That makes perfect sense, thanks for clearing it up Staranais. In our business, we have certain permits from AVMPA or something like that which allow us to use certain acaracides (tick killing chemicals) contrary to the indications on the label. They are called permits for off label use.

Can you still get it in Aussie? We used to be able to get in it NZ but now can't. Not sure why - it's not illegal, just something to do with the supplier. Also, pretty sure it's not actually officially licensed for use in bitches (correct me someone if I'm wrong) although people do use it that way. Not licensed just means that if anything goes wrong, the company won't want to know you. When I did my chemical handling course, we were told that the instructions on the packet actually constitute a lawful direction under the Veterinary Medicines registration legislation (can't remember the name: APVM comes to mind??), and that usage contrary to the legal directions on the packet is a breach of the law. Would this be the same for medicines such as Suprelorin? Or does it just apply to poisons like the acaricides we use in our business? Just raising it as there may be more consequences to usage of medicines contrary to the label directions? And my little girl is much better this morning. She wants to run, of course I'm not letting her. She seems a little sore, but all in all I think she is looking really good. Crate training as a puppy is coming into its own now - she is content to just settle down and go to sleep, which is exactly what she needs.

Yes Hubby made it for me........And he did an awesome job on the shafts, they are beautifully carved Wow, your hubby carved them!? I thought they must have been proper professionally bent shafts - they look so good. What a terrific hubby! And you drive your horses!? I'd love to get back into that. I've been thinking about buying a kids pony that is broken into harness (well and truly quiet), and saddle (beginner off lead child rider) so that the kids could have a pony and I could have a harness horse again. It is a delightful hobby with the right animals. What did your horses think of the dog pulling a cart around? Did it freak them out? Good on you. What a lovely dog, what a lovely cart, what a lovely hubby, and what a great hobby. If you know of a horse for sale for me, PM me!

This is of their website. So at this stage I cannot find on there website that it can be used, but I know a couple of people on DOL have used it in bitches That's interesting thanks OSoSwift. Too late now. Poor thing is recovering in a nice comfy cage. I think it would be excellent to be able to suspend a female's fertility without destroying it forever. The finality of speying is what I was having trouble with too. That and I feel a little like I have betrayed her. If there were a product that I could have safely used (like women use Implanon) as a contraceptive for a few years, I would go that way. Implanon also suspends many women's cycle which is often a welcome side effect, and would be great for a bitch too. I'll have to remember that there is a product if I find myself in this situation again. Thanks others for after surgery care advice. She has weed a few times. I carried her out to some grass at about 5.30, and she was still pretty groggy. She saw a cane toad and tried to follow it into a culvert. Poor thing couldn't even walk straight and she was hunting! She was much brighter at 9.00 and even managed a few biscuits (like maybe 6) before I put her into her cage for the night. I gave her an extra blanket to help keep her warm, and I've shifted her to a larger cage so she has a bit more room. DH dropped her off at about 10.00 and picked her up at 2.00. While we haven't had a desexing surgery done through this vet before, he knows we are pretty capable about looking after our animals, after so many years on stations and in remote communities. Tomorrow I hope to see her quite alert for short periods, no longer groggy. I expect her to be sore and to sleep more than normal as her body recovers. I also expect that she will take small amounts of appetising food, but may not be terribly hungry yet tomorrow. She should drink normally though. I might even monitor water intake as well as wees and poos. Sound about right? Thanks everyone for your support and advice.

When I was a kid, I used an old stroller to make a cart for my golden retriever, and I put my toddler brother in it and got my poor old dog to pull him around. Eventually Mum and Dad bought me a horse and I broke it into harness. Loving that gorgeous dog and its cart. Can you sit in the cart?

Whats Suprelorin?

Do people use dogs for hunting roos in WA? That would be so illegal in QLD. What do the roo dogs do? Depends. Some Roo shooters shoot roo's then send the dogs out to mark where they have fallen, one I know uses Weims as they are easy to see in the spotlight. Others use them to hunt, pull down and kill roo's. As far as I know it is not illegal but most people shoot them or get a roo shooter in. Not too many use dogs. Ahh, interesting. The use of a dog to find the downed shot roo is a good idea. They can be hard to find in long grass or something. Pulling down and killing roos - surprised that is not illegal. WA's laws might not be so tough as qld perhaps. Plus, from the point of view of a professional roo shooter - I'm surprised it wouldn't cause too much carcase damage. Thanks for the info.

Do people use dogs for hunting roos in WA? That would be so illegal in QLD. What do the roo dogs do?

Dear Tara, It almost seems trite now, to say, "Sorry for your loss", but I am. I'm sorry to hear that you are grieving the loss of a very much loved Sam. And you've been hit with such a terrible double whammy, with your Mum's diagnosis. It sounds like you are well surrounded by people who love you, and who are supporting you. Lean on them. Wishing both your Mum and yourself strength and peace at a difficult time, and hoping that the day will come soon when you are able to look back with much more joy than heartache. It sounds to me like you are very strong and well balanced person, who is going to be a very valuable support to her Mum as she recovers from her illness.