wagsalot

Good. Ice cream cake it is! I thought it would be ok but thought Id better check. OH will be happy now that he can have his icecream cake!

Its Riley's 6th birthday today and I ran out of time to bake him a doggy cake. I was just going to get a plain sponge one from the supermarket for him, but OH wants an icecream cake (yes, the dogs birthday is a good excuse for us to have cake! ) Would icecrem cake do him any harm? It would only be a small bit, and ofcourse this is a once off thing only.

I use priceless pets for frontline. They're excellent. I just recently used Pet Wares Plus Australia for some dog boots and they were really good in getting them to me quickly. Ive also used mollycoddled pets.

I was wondering if maybe there were training someone new or something. Goodluck with doing it yourself - Im sure your dog will love it, and you'll feel happier with the end result

A bald section....that sounds like something I done when I was learning how to groom dogs. Luckily I decided to stick to the washing only Border14- Did you speak to the groomer about the bald spot at all?

Doesn't look like a tick to me either. Id say it was a mole, but if its got alot bigger Id be getting it checked out.

Ive got a conmurra auto fill model hydrobath. Ive had it for a few years now and I love it. I think Conmurra have been taken over by Hydrobaths Australia, so Im not sure if they're all still made the same, etc If they are the same, I think they're a great bath and Id recommend them.

From what Ive heard from new clients there are quite a few mobile dog washers round my way that are guilty off all the stuff you mentioned in the orginal post. Its a shame the good ones get dragged down by the bad ones.

Riley tried this for a while when he was still a pup.. He'd bite our legs, feet, and hands if you were sitting on the floor. We'd say NO, pick up him and put him straight in the laundry with the door shut for 5 minutes everytime he did it. He soon learnt.

Before I got a hydrobath, I used to take riley into the yard to wash him. I had one of those kids clam shell things and I filled up both sides with warm water. Id stand Riley in one side and wet him, then shampoo him (using a large jug to pour the water on him), and then Id stick in him the other side of the clam shell to rinse him off. The second clam shell id make the water a bit hotter, so by the time I got to the rinsing stage it was still warm. I used to do this up against the fence and I clipped a lead onto his collar and then attached it to the fence the first few times to keep him still while i scrubbed. After a few times he'd stand there without being tethered though.

Whats the catch? Sorry to be a bit of a damper, but it sounds a bit too generous

My personal opinion - I would be opening a bank account with ING (no bank fees) or somehwere similar and putting away a certain amount a week or month towards any vet bill emergencies. I just think its a more reliable option.

My vet once told me about a story about a dog that they knew had a tick, but just couldnt find it. They shaved the dog with still no luck and eventually found the tick on the root of its mouth. I always check Riley's mouth now as well when Im going over him for ticks

Id be finding a new vet.

Could your dad try a different vet? Maybe someone else might know whats going on..

I give Riley optimum. Ive found it good - and its one the few that RIley will eat

I jsut ordered one of these smart trim things http://www.vetstop.com.au/shop/shopdisplay...5&cat=Nails

Rileys nails are super long, but his got to one length and havent grown anymore. The vet tried to cut them and Riley nearly bit him! Riley has never had a go at anyone in his entrie life! He really hates other people near his feet. The vet said we could leave them for now as they arent doing any harm or we could get him sedated to do it. Because he lets me near his feet Ive just been cutting the tiniest bit off every few days. His nails are black which sucks as I cant see the quick so I just cut the smallest amount.

Ive got these things called Pet Wipes. When Riley gets a bit smelly, but not smelly enough for a bath I wipe him over with one of these pet wipes - it seems to take the smell away. I don't use these exact ones, but its the same kind of thing. http://www.mollycoddledpets.com.au/catalog...ory9/product340

Riley's got some. He'll wear them for about 10 minutes but then he gets sick of them

Oh no what an awlful situation. Fleas are such buggers to get rid off. If its a rental though Id be passing the problem onto the real estate.

My favourite dogs at the moment is a rottie who has the most beautiful nature and is a pleasure to bath, and a Husky X who has bits of white on his fur and they come up looking amazing.

The tick collar I get for Riley is a collar with a powder kind of substance on it. If you touch it you should wash your hand afterwards, but I touch Riley's all the time with no side effects. I also get allergic reactions to ALOT of things and touching the tick collar doesnt give my skin a reaction which is suprising. Edited to add - I have heard of some dogs getting a rash from the tick collar though - I guess you're probably best to try one and see how it goes.

If you do a search on these forums you should find a few helpful threads.

Ive always used the preventic tick collar on Riley and I used Frontline as well.