Yonjuro

That's really beautiful Jules, thanks for sharing your story.

It sounds like you are doing the right thing for your dogs... I would be looking for another vet.

My parents are in their 70s and have a mini schnauzer. I also had one and they are wonderful. Grooming is actually pretty easy with a good pair of clippers. Keeping the beard a bit shorter also helps in daily care. I think they are are a remarkably robust little dog, very smart and loving.

Three kids a week in hospital over dog attacks

Christiana Jones, Phoebe Wearne and Natasha Boddy, The West Australian

Updated October 19, 2013, 2:40 am

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/19457929/three-kids-a-week-in-hospital-over-dog-attacks/

Painful: A WA victim of a dog attack. Picture: Robert Duncan/The West Australian

Three children a week are taken to Princess Margaret Hospital after being bitten by a dog.

The alarming statistic has prompted doctors and lawyers to warn of the physical and psychological toll on kids mauled by pets.

PMH revealed yesterday 172 dog bite-related visits to its emergency department between January 1 and December 31 last year.

Figures show this year is on track for a 7 per cent rise, with 138 similar visits to PMH between January 1 and September 30.

Royal Perth Hospital has treated 184 patients because of dog attacks this year.

Slater & Gordon lawyer Karina Hafford said the effect of dog attacks could be devastating and have an everlasting effect on victims, especially children.

"Attacks can leave hideous facial scarring, especially with children, and sometimes very severe psychological reactions," Ms Hafford said.

She said the nature of dog attack injuries and the bacteria in a dog's mouth increased the risk of infection and sometimes led to limbs being amputated.

Ms Hafford said her firm was visited every month by someone seeking compensation for a dog attack.

Though compensation awards often took into account loss of future earnings for severely injured adults, it was difficult to measure the long-term effect on a child's future.

Paediatrician Jackie Scurlock, who worked at PMH for 34 years before retiring in 2009, said children left with scars - especially on their face - could still feel the effects of the attack later in life.

"People need to realise that dogs are very dangerous," Dr Scurlock said.

Kidsafe WA chief executive Scott Phillips said the number of children attacked by dogs was concerning, with most kids bitten aged under five.

"Always supervise young ones around pets and teach them how to interact with them," he said.

Ms Hafford said owners of dogs behind such attacks were often shocked by their pet's behaviour but unfortunately it was irresponsible dog ownership that often fed the problem.

Strict new dog laws will come into force next month targeting dangerous dogs, irrespective of their breed, and handing down tougher penalties for owners.

Aggressive dogs can be declared dangerous and subjected to public safety measures including wearing a red collar, kept in a childproof yard with warning signs and muzzled when in public.

not really anything in depth but...

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/video/watch/19440710/pet-specialist-trains-dangerous-dogs/

You can try pure virgin coconut oil both topically and internally - you can get it at health food shops.

I have in the past purchased live aquarium fish and shrimp from the Eastern States to Perth with less than 24 hours via Platinum Express or TNT. Platinum is better. Pick up is from the airport which makes things quicker. Maybe you can find out if Airport to Airport is possible? It normally costs $30- $55 to send a small foam esky. I have also had Darwin to Perth in 24 hours.

If there is a reasonable amount of plaque and scale present from the previous diet, it probably needs removal under sedation by the vet. Once they are clean the RMBs should keep the plaque and scale off.

Sorry to hear of your problem.

Another suggestion if you have no luck in getting trap is to use a trail-cam. If you know any hunters you might be able to borrow one or more and see what dog is responsible for the attacks. At least you will get pics that should help identify the dog and owner. They aren't too expensive (especially from USA) and have good re-sale ability.

Essentially you set it us where you believe the target animal might pass. The sensor will trigger the camera and take a snap every time an animal passes. It will be time and date coded.

Proponents of Prey model Raw feeding are quite adamant that such a diet greatly decreases doggy odours. Having said that it is quite a job keeping a dog like a mini schnauzer's beard clean after each meal. If I had my recently deceased Mini Schnauzer over again I would opt for a food like Ziwipeak - but I guess that with two dogs it would get quite expensive.

Vicious dog attack breaks woman's arm

Yolanda Zaw, The West Australian

October 12, 2013, 12:17 pm

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/19363196/vicious-dog-attack-breaks-womans-arm/

Demi Woodcock with a photo of Oscar. Picture: Steve Ferrier/The West Australian

A 21-year-old woman has described the excruciating pain after a vicious dog ripped off its leash and attacked her as she jogged with her puppy.

Demi Woodcock has a broken arm and may need surgery for torn tendons in her wrist after she was set upon during a morning run in Kelmscott.

Ms Woodcock, who is in St John of God Hospital in Murdoch, urged the community to help track down the dog.

She said its owner did not offer her help after the attack and disappeared without leaving any details.

This latest incident is one of hundreds of dog attacks reported to Perth councils, new statistics reveal.

Ms Woodcock was jogging with her six-month-old Maltese pup Oscar near Good Shepherd Primary School about 6am on Thursday.

"I'd noticed the dog was acting aggressively, so we crossed the road," she said.

"All of a sudden I saw it running towards Oscar. I immediately scooped him up and that's when it latched on to my arm.

"As I fought with it, the weight of it fractured my arm. It didn't let go until the owner pulled it off."

Ms Woodcock said the dog tore its leash and the owner was forced to hold it down to restrain it. I was outside a school and it would have been much worse if it attacked a child," she said.

The owner is described as a tall Caucasian woman of athletic build and in her 20s.

Across the metropolitan area council statistics show the prevalence of dog attacks continues to be a problem.

The City of Swan has dealt with 283 reported dog attacks this year, 125 involving a person. The council said the definition of an attack ranged from threatening behaviour to significant injury.

The City of Gosnells had 157 reports of dog attacks this year and the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale recorded 31, two involving people.

The City of Fremantle had 35 reported dog attacks this year, including 13 involving people and the City of Joondalup recorded 26 attacks in which a person was injured.

The Town of Cambridge had 17 reports, nine involving people and the Town of Bassendean had 17 reported incidents including six attacks on people.

In the 2012-13 financial year, the City of Vincent recorded 25 attacks on people and the City of Nedlands reported 10.

The Town of East Fremantle had three dog attacks, one involving a person and the Town of Mosman Park received four reports, all dog-on-dog.

I find it really odd when people have said that many vets don't comment on weight.

Maybe I am just lucky with my vet. Every dog is weighed when you are in the waiting room and the number is stored on computer. You can do this for free and anyone can come in and weigh their dog. The very first thing my vet would do, even if I went in for a nail clip would be to do a quick review of her weight history and a feel of the ribs. Over the 14 years we went there my dog was only ever slightly up or down. On these rare occasion the vet would get me to up or down the food intake accordingly. It beggars belief that all vets don't take the same care with their clients when obesity is probably the number one cause of many common life-shortening conditions.

As far as me as a dog enthusiast...I would never dream telling a person - good friend, acquaintance or otherwise, that their human child is fat and carries a much higher chance of serious health problems, likewise I wouldn't offer any unasked for comment on their dogs weight.

I guess the important point is that the message rescues are sending is being seen negatively. I'd suggest it's time to think about what is said and how it's said, and processes that are followed. Not just when it comes to screening either. There are many areas of rescue sending out wrong messages to the public.

Media articles like his I see as wake up calls.

If we are not careful we will see a similar situation of reversal as we saw in the pedigree world where oodles became more popular than purebreds dogs.

These are good points Anne.

My thoughts on the article are as follows:

I do believe that screening needs to be done for the welfare of the animals, however if screening is too personal or too rigorous and gets in the way of significant numbers of dogs being re-hommed then this could be a disservice to the very animals they are seeking to help - the only result I can see from excessive restrictions or attitude is that the rescue will need to turn away a higher percentage of incoming dogs that will probably have to be put to sleep.

I don't think that a person knocked back from this rescue due to some misdemeanor or such, is going to just give up and say 'oh well, I guess I am not worthy of caring for an animal.' They will just go elsewhere and probably end up supporting some puppy mill or byb as mentioned in the article.

It is all good and well to have a 'holier-than-thou' attitude but such a rescue may have, directly or indirectly an excessively high kill to re-home ratio.

Anyway it is a real tough one - on one hand I applaud the rescuer in the article and on the other I have to ask myself, are they getting in the way of some dogs having a new and happier life?

Rescuers guard saved dogs

Liam Croy, The West Australian

October 9, 2013, 8:47 am

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/19313583/rescuers-guard-saved-dogs/

Animal rescue groups are making prospective dog owners jump through hoops to make sure abandoned dogs — often impulse buys from shops — go to good homes.

But Perth pet shop owners say the rescuers are unrealistic with their demands and turn down people too often.

Dog adoption services, from the big RSPCA and SAFE operations to individual volunteers, adopt screening that can involve references, police checks and home inspections.

Alyson Lyons, the founder of Total Adogtion Service in Karrinyup, said the checks were to protect the animals, many of which had been mistreated.

People frustrated with the process often abused her but Ms Lyons said the welfare of the dogs was her priority.

“I’m taking this very seriously,” she said. “There are about 40,000 healthy dogs euthanised in WA each year. I would call it close to a crisis.

“Perth is full of people with disposable cash and I don’t think they think it through.”

Ms Lyons said a typical screening involved identity checks, personal information, professional references, a home assessment and a two-week

cooling-off period. This approach was designed to find responsible dog owners with lifestyles that suited the breed.

“To try and break the ice, we joke around and say, ‘Look, it would be easier to get a child’,” she said.

“The better rescuers all have these very stringent screening processes and there are several layers. People can be very misleading and the dogs are very vulnerable.

“If one person in that whole process even has an inkling about anything, we just say no.”

But Michelle Juan, owner of Select Pets Bicton, said some rescue groups went too far with adoption criteria.

Pet shop owners across Perth agreed. They supported rescuer ideals but questioned onerous screening.

“I’ve had customers come in who have done the right thing and gone to a charity organisation first and they’ve been knocked back for a number of reasons,” Ms Juan said.

“I’ve had one lady come into the shop in tears because she’d been knocked back.

“We’ve Six or seven years ago, they were strict, but lately had a lot more people coming in after being dragged over the coals, thinking, ‘Maybe I’m not suitable for a pet’,” she said.

I am not sure if this will help but, Mushers Secret is a natural formulation of waxes that forms a barrier on the pads. Failing that try Australian Sled Dog Supplies for booties https://www.facebook.com/AustralianSledDogSupplies

I recently re-read the classic Jack London Yukon books - White Fang and Call of the Wild, I really recommend a read or revisit if you read it a long time ago.

Another fantastic book I read a couple of months ago is Winterdance - The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod by Greg Paulsen. It has some great laugh out loud moments and is a true story by an acclaimed novelist - Highly recommended!

The biggest difficulty we face is that, of course, he never does it at the vets and they see a seemingly perfectly healthy, albeit older, dog.

I don't think it is a problem that he doesn't display the symptoms at the vet. It would be totally normal for your dog to be more alert when visiting the vet, just explain the situation to your vet. Based on what you say, he seems like a good candidate for trying these meds.

There are medications available to treat dementia in dogs, and some do remarkably well on it - according to my vet. So if your dog is pretty okay apart from this then it might be worth tying this for a while. My 14 year old Schnauzer would get up at night and walk around aimlessly a lot during her final months, she had other age related ailments so we decided against trying these meds. We decided to put her to sleep in the end. Sometimes she would bounce around like a puppy, but often she couldn't get up to go to the toilet so we knew it was time.

So my only advice is to have a chat with your vet and see whether the dementia meds will offer a better life for a while.

My thoughts are with you in this difficult time.

Great vid Pers, thanks for sharing!

Yep I agree, you need to be quite careful and methodical in your diet changes or adjustments.

Corn is a big one for causing gas and it is one of the major ingredients used in most (but not all) kibbles. Choosing a corn-free kibble might help and it certainly won't do any harm.

Keep us posted on any developments.

My dearly departed (14 year old) mini-schanuzer would get what sounded like very similar symptoms to what you describe, sometimes once a year and occasionally a couple of bouts in a row. We did numerous blood tests, x-rays and ultrasounds (around $2000s worth). The vet thought, pancreatitis, cushings etc but no tests came up positive for any diseases. She did have crystals in her bladder which would sometimes lead to UTIs. Sometimes she would pass the crystals and stones on her own and sometimes we had to get them expressed under general anesthetic. Have you noticed and drops of blood at the end of a wee? I am not sure that the vomiting of partially or undigested food is related to the UTIs but for us it seemed to happen together.

We found that like you boiled chicken and rice with a course of antibiotics would always get her back on track.

I know this post is not of much help but I would be trying a good grain and corn free food like suggested above if I had the time over again. It might be worth considering a raw diet but you would need to be careful that you give enough calcium but not too much as this can contribute to crystals and stones forming. We had to remove bones from my Tessi's kibble diet for this very fact. Having said that, I believe kibble + bones with throw the balance out of whack for a dog that is suffering from these issues. Bones as part of a Prey or Barf diet should be okay but you will just need to be vigilant in making sure you don't overdo the calcium.

I wonder if it might be worth seeing a holistic vet for this?

I should also add that my Tessi lived a healthy and happy 14 years, age finally caught up to her and she was finding it too hard to stand up towards the end, so after trying many things to help her we gave her her wings but that is totally separate to your issues.

I hope you get to the bottom of the issue soon.

Wow, that is awesome, I am so jealous!!! :)

here is the news piece

This made it on the tele news tonight. The main message they seemed to be getting across via vets was to avoid buying from pet shops, puppy mills and BYBs. I will try and find a link.

Yeah, it is bit of a current affair type article that assumes the general public are complete morons. Having said that, anything that can alert the general public to do more research and shun BYBs is a probably a good thing - it is a pity that there is not more of a focus on BYBs.