westielover

I use Glyde for my 11 year dysplastic & osteoarthritic westie and he seems to get around comfortably. He's been on it for about 18 months. It's probably the priciest product on the market over Sasha's Blend & Joint Guard but well worth it.

A friend of mine recently managed to get a liquid osteoarthritis product from Canada to try out. It's called Pet Tek Re-Gen Max and contains Hyaluronic Acid which is someting no other product here in Oz has. I use it in conjuction with Glyde - halve the daily portions - and I swear there seems to be a little bit of extra bounce in Winston's step. It will be interesting to see how much more improvement there will be.

My understanding is that 1:5 is still a response but may be lower because there are very low distemper levels in our area; therefore she may not been exposed?

Spot on!

According to Dr Jean Dodds - 1:5 is still a response. My 10 year old westie had a 1:5 response for parvo about 5 years ago and I chose not to re-vaccinate. He hasn't been vaccinated since and he's fine AND I have had many a pound dog through our house.

The other thing to take into consideration is 'cellular immunity'. Cellular immunity works in the individual cells, keeping records from past experiences with invaders and recognising them should they ever return. This means that even if the titre response is zero - it may mean that the dog has not been exposed to the disease in recent times and therefore there are no antibodies in the blood at time of testing - however, that doesn't mean the immunity does not exist. Antibodies in the system will diminish over time if there is no new exposure to the disease or vaccination against it. This is where 'cellular immunity' comes into play - it's all kept in the memory banks until needed!

The thing I have found most interesting is kennel cough. The 2 westies & springer cross haven't been vaccinated for 5 years and during that 5 years I have fostered many pound dogs. Some foster dogs had terrible kennel cough - so bad that they had green gunk coming out of their noses and had to go on antibiotics. Never ever did my dogs catch kennel cough. I firmly beleive it's because they are not over vaccinated and are fed a natural diet. Their immune system is so strong that they never get sick. The only things we are coming up against these days is a few "senior dog' lumps and bumps. Looking at them - you probably wouldn't know they were 10 & 11.

My kelpie on the other hand has only had one vaccination that I know of. I don't know his puppy vaccination history - he came from a country pound at around 12 mths of age - he's now about 2-ish, so I am planning to vaccinate one more time in the next month or so and then it will be titre tests every couple of years.

Personally, if I had a dog with allergies I wouldn't vaccinate based on that titre response. I reckon her parvo response was higher because she has probably been exposed to parvo hence the antibodies in her blood. Parvo is around much more than distemper.

Hmmm - I just re-read your original post - how old is your girl? If she's just turned 1 then you should probably consider vaccinating one more time. Dr Jean Dodds vaccination protocol is as follows:

9-10 weeks - Distemper + Parvovirus

14 weeks - Distemper + Parvovirus

16-18 weeks - Distemper + Parvovirus, (this vaccination is optional)

1 year - Distemper + Parvovirus

She recommends not vaccinating a puppy before 8-9 weeks of age because they obtain immunity from their mum.

It's always a tricky decision deciding whether to vaccinate or not. You wonder if you're making the right choice or not. I have chosen not to vaccinate and am quite comfortable with the decision based on my experiences with fostering and the fact that my dogs are so healthy because they are not over vaccinated. A vet will NEVER tell you NOT to vaccinate because of possible liability issues. Good vets will inform you enough to make your own choice

Think about it this way. As humans we have injections. Rubella shots last about 10 years. Tetanus shots last for 10 years. Babies have their shots as babies and never again. Why do our pets get vaccinated EVERY year???? (I worked for a company once, years ago, who agve free annual flu injections. I had 2 injections in 2 years and I was so sick with every form of flu in that 2 years!!! Never had that damn injection again!! )

I would much rather take my dogs to the vet every year for titre tests, general bloodwork and a general check up - instead of vaccinating them every year.

Oh gawd Lyn - I am so so sorry for your loss

Rest in peace Bazzy

Off leash parks close-ish to you:

Asquith Park, Rotherwood St, Asquith

Crossroads Reserve, corner Turner and Berowra Waters Rds, Berowra Heights

Greenway Park, Shepherds Drive, Cherrybrook

Rofe Park, Galston Rd, Hornsby Heights

Ruddock Park, Eucalyptus Drive ,Westleigh

Dawson Avenue Parkland, Dawson Ave, Thornleigh

More parks in your council area here

Lots of checking out for you and the pooches to do

My westie was diagnosed with HD 2 years ago when he was 9. It was mild but has progressed in the past 2 years in the left hip. With HD comes osteoarthritis.

I refused to put him on metacam or rimadyl (both NSAID's) at the time of diagnosis and ended up looking for alternative treatment.

He has had acupuncture treatments over the past 2 years as well as some bowen therapy. I do believe the treatments assisted with pain relief over that time. He has also been on glyde from the time he was daignosed as well as Petarks PetGesic (whiich contains cumerone/tumeric - a natural anti inflammatory), as well as treats such as shark cartlidge & mussels (which are good treats for joint health).

He's had the cartophen injections in the past also.

Recently, I felt that he was starting to experience more discomfort so my vet suggested a a course of tramadol (it's a centrally acting opioid analgesic, used in treating moderate to severe pain) which seemed to help. Even though it's an opioid I was concerned about the long term effects (which are not as bad as NSAID's).

So - a month ago we headed down the stem cell therapy route. He had another set of x-rays done and the his left hip had gotten worse over the past 2 years - which explained my concern about his discomfort level. Whilst the stem cell therapy doesn't fix his displastic hips - it has definately helped. He seems much more comfortable, his walking pace has improved, he rumbles around with my 2 year old kelpie and even chases him now. He seems 'happier' and more sprightly.

My westie is 11 years old, he has gone for a walk every single day of his life (unless it's been pouring with rain) - he was slowing down quite a bit prior to the stem cell treatment and now he really does seem much more comfortable. The vet has advised that I should continue to see improvement over the coming months. He's not on any pain medication but I do still give him glyde.

So far so good

My all time favourite soft collars are the earthdog collars from the US - Earthdog

They are made from hemp - have some nice designs to choose from and have the clip buckle you're after.

For outstanding leather collars - you can't go past Ruthless Leather

Although the back seat buddy may be expensive at the outset - my first one lasted 7 years and it was only because the zippers failed I ended up purchasing another one. The sheep skin inserts come out for washing. The layer which the sheep skins zips into is waterproof.

I love the back seat buddy and see it at a good investment for my needs.

My 9 year old westie used to dabble in agility - but I didn't know much about 'drive' back then!! lol!!

Check this little guy out:

Border Collie X Westie

Oh my gawd - what did that look like???

A lovely family adopted Chloe (pictured below) from me - she was like a blonde scruffy kelpie - who knows what mix she was but she was awesome. However, her adoptive family have a staffy x schnauzer - he is GORGEOUS!!! He is black - had similar coat length to Chloe - chunky like a staffy with a schnauzer-ish head - he is such a character!!!

Big congratulations Ruth!!!

Flynn loves his lone ranger collar :D

Jack Russells for Hyundai & CBA ads

The westies get TONNES of attention when we're out and about - from kids to adaults to elderly people. Lots of people stop to say how gorgeous they are or ask silly questions like 'are they twins'!!! Kids love them for their cuteness factor. Elderly people generally comment on how it's rare to see 'westies' around but always leave with a smile on their face because 'they're so lovely'

I can't go for a walk without someone saying soemthing or patting them!

The kelpie tends to attract men - especially tradies or elderly 'country' looking men - 'nice lookin' kelpie you got there luv'.

Some people at one of the agility clubs I go to want to steal him!!

The spaniel cross - who's a boy - gets comments on how 'pretty' he is

Why don't you try some Dogwise ebooks - they are only around USD10-12.00 and downloadable in PDF format

Ebook - Quick Clicks

Ebook - The Thinking Dog - Crossover to Clicker Training

Ebook - When Pigs Fly

All clicker training books are based on Karen Pryor's method pretty much. I've got all 3 above and I think they're pretty good

If I gave my dog a bone - he'd look at me puzzled and probably think 'where the hell is all the meat!!! What kind of hunter are you catching bones only!!"

Sure did Clover - no one in Oz sells them

They are very easy to deal with - lovely people and I love the story behind how the company got started.

All my boys wear their collars as everyday collars (although my Kelpie does have a beautiful Ruthless collar )and even the westies wear the 1 inch ones.

My male spaniel cross has a purple collar - see the one called 'jewel' Here

I recently read the best dog novel ever!!!! All dog loving people should read it - it's just a great read. It's told from the dog's point of view - it makes you laugh and cry! Once you start, you can't put it down!

It's called 'A Dog's Purpose' by W. Bruce Cameron.

So sorry for your loss Horus

RIP Lucky

Hmmm ... something like this Bartok? This was on the home page of a website which breeds pedigree small breeds .......

Pug cross babies, all female, will be available end of february, adorable pug looking babies, noses not too short, roly poly bundles of love and fun.

Coming up in February is a litter of chihuaha cross poodle puppies, these belong to XXX's niece. XXXX is happy to keep in contact with you if you are interested in looking at these puppies when they are born. (two puppies already reserved,)

AND the cat has kittens!!! part siamese tabby and tabby tortioseshell boys and girls will be available end of February. cost will be to cover 1st vaccination and microchipping.

Disgraceful!

Just out of curiosity, if this happened to be a DOL listed breeder, would they be banned from advertising on DOL?

Oops!

In my situation with Mokha this would have been a good thing to have. I tried to find out where he came from to let the person who bred him know of his joint problems but PP refused to give me any info and were not helpful at all. They simply did not respond to my phone messages and the manager was always out. At least I could have gone straight to the source of the problem.

While I will never buy another dog from a petstore maybe this would be a little step in the right direction.

I'm always running into people who have acquired their cute little crossbreeds from pet shops and have always started conversations with them. Interestingly, 9 out of 10 people seem to find that the dog seems to end up with some sort of problem - either knee or hip problems or the dog shedding when it's not supposed to etc etc. Most of these people have forked out thousands of dollars for knee/hip operations. It's great that the owners care so much about their pet shop dogs to go ahead with the operations & associated expenses, but they always end up saying they will never purchase from a pet shop again.

I guess what I am saying is 'once bitten, twice shy'. However, there are so many people who will have that first puppy purchase from the pet store. There are also people who feel sorry for pets in pet shop and will buy them to 'save' them. To me it's incredible that people will spend so much money on a puppy that's obviously not pure and comes from unknown origins.

I was told the other day that my dog was a 'sprocker' - I had always wondered what breeds were in my spaniel cross - I had always suspected there is springer spaniel/cocker or brittany in the mix but I was never really sure. I went home and googled 'sprocker' and to my dismay found that's it a 'breed' of dog bred in the UK. Well at least I now know exactly which breeds make up my cross breed. At least I didn't pay thousands of dollars for my cross breed .... instead I took him on from the pound ..... where more and more of these cute cross breeds are turning up!!!

I wish for the perfect world where BYB's & puppy farms didn't exist but as long as $$$$$ are being made from cross breed puppy sales, it's a very difficult problem to extinguish.

It's a viscious circle

You would think that in today's world where pets are so well looked after & spoiled - pet shops could make money without selling live animals!!!!

I think it's a good idee Cosmolo.

Interestly, I met a girl at dog trainign who works in a pet store which sells live animals (quote "only 2 or 3 of each type of animal' unquote) and when I asked her where the puppies are purchased from - she replied "from breeders'. I said don't you mean puppy farms. She refused to beleive that the puppies came from puppy farms and insisted they came from reputable breeders!!!

It made me wonder if the staff who work in pets shops don't actually realise where their puppies come from??? Perhaps management keep it secret from the staff??

Oh nooooo - Rest in Peace Pepper

I so sorry for your loss Dogmad - she was such a sweety

Another vote for ruthless leather here - my kelpie LOVES his ruthless leather!

Love it!! That's awesome. What a spoilt life she will have