aliwake

p.s. yes, vets have done a lot of training, but the products they will recommend are strongly influenced by what is stocked by their workplace. I ended up phoning around to find a vet clinic that offered the triennial vaccine, despite still being happy with my other vet. They will all strongly advocate for whatever they're selling, which isn't always a bad thing - none of them will be selling something that is inherently bad for your pets! BUT, the options your vet offers might not be the best possible option for your particular situation.

I just had our first triennial vaccination a couple of months ago. The C3 component is triennial, then you do yearly KC. It doesn't work out any cheaper, but I feel like it's a safer option.

it sounds so distressing sars Have you considered the triennial vaccination? At least it would lighten the load a little bit...

We've been feeding their large breed food for ages. It seems really palatable and our boy does well on it. We've had no dramas

I think your plan sounds pretty good so far. I'd suggest giving a kong or a bone to your pup in their outside crate when you go out so they're distracted and associate it with good things. Also don't make a fuss when you leave - keep it very low key. We have our boy sleep inside all the time, and I prefer it because he'd otherwise spend the night barking at possums and stray cats, but I guess it will depend on your dog and what kind of distractions there are in your yard.

It's actually quite heavy red feather and sits really snug to the ground. I'm such a huge fan :)

Seriously stressy - try the green feeder if you can find one. Nix has always had puzzle bowls, but once he figured them out he could still scoff everything in record time! The green feeder there is absolutely no way he can cheat - at all. We've been using it for around a year now I think, and it still takes a solid 5 mins to eat 1 cup of dry food. ETA I just realised the dr Chris thing IS the green feeder :) It's seriously good!

I've tried quite a few, and this one is the best I've used: http://www.luckypet.com.au/green-interactive.html There is a small and large size. It definitely won't make him less frustrated though... I wouldn't worry about his feelings so much - dogs are designed to forage for food. They want to eat it asap so they get grumpy when they're thwarted, but you're doing it for their health and wellbeing, so just stick eith it...

Sorry.....can't help it.......wouldn't it just be easier to pick it up than to run about putting pineapple in it? Um, you feed the pineapple to the dog, then it ends up in the poo - apparently making the poo less appetising to re-sample

Everything I've read suggests some dogs just do it, and there's not much you can do about it. I think there's some things you can feed that makes their poo less appealing though? Pineapple maybe? Nix did grow out of eating his own poo, though he munched on some the other day for the first time in years! He will eat poo from other dogs though, if it's fresh. There's one dog in particular that he follows around waiting for a fresh supply... This dog gets fed supercoat, which is what Nix's breeder fed him and his litter mates, so my theory is it's a bit of a nostalgic thing...

Yeah, I got my renewal documents ahead of time this year - I even had enough time to change my policy before the renewal! The policy hike was excessive again, but I too have had better luck with claims being paid quickly too, so they definitely seem to be functioning properly again - finally! My last claim i submitted in two parts as a continuation claim, and they took the excess from both, rather than just the first one - once I called them to let them know they sorted it out very quickly and I had a cheque for the excess amount in about a week.

we feed twice a day, but the evening meal is a lot smaller - a token meal so he's happy and wanders off to bed afterwards and settles beautifully for the evening. Morning he'll get a kong and bone and/or carrot when I leave for work, so he can't wait for me to walk out the door usually, and moans if I'm taking too long to get ready :) I'm slowly cutting back his food, but if I cut too much too fast he makes up for it in eating more poo from a variety of sources, so it's very hard to get him to drop any weight! we need a yard with no possums! Stressy, the best slow feeder we've found is the green feeder - it's amazing! It definitely slows them down, and there's no real way to cheat or get better at it. Was one of the best dog purchases I've made. http://www.luckypet.com.au/green-interactive.html there's heaps of videos floating around of it being used.

wrong chocolate lab owner hippo ;)

Hopefully by August you'll be getting into some 2nd trimester goodness. Hopefully you won't be feeling sick anymore, and will still be able to move somewhat freely. I reckon the timing is as good as it could be in the next few years! If you can get the hellish part of having a new puppy out of the way before bub arrives then I think you'll be fine :)

OMG No.... I don't know what to say, but I'm devastated for you

Hope it all goes well today - thinking of you!

The petition doesn't call for it to be banned - it calls for it to be restricted and only used by professionals who will use it properly.

Omg that's so wonderful and encouraging!! Fingers crossed you find out it's something very manageable on Monday. Hope you have a lovely weekend with your boy

great price! If you want to make the clean up even easier, I'd try placing it on top of a low sided litter box or a lid from a plastic storage container or something. it will catch the wee and you can just hose up the mess rather than washing your floor every time...

I bought this turf toilet when our boy was a pup - it worked pretty well and is quite cheap! http://www2.topbuy.com.au/tbcart/pc/Extra-Large-Pet-Indoor-Dog-Potty-Training-Toilet-Loo-Pad-3-Tier-p638549.htm?search_words=dog%20toilet

awful swazzie I'm thinking of you and hoping for the best!

Can you lock your backyard? I do worry about the same thing, but I think quality of life is more important in the long run. Our boy was sooooo much happier as soon as we put him outside during the day! But, we make sure both gates into the yard are locked at all times, and people have to come a long way off the street to get to the fence line, so he isn't easily visible to people walking past.

They are both so gorgeous!

Definitely monitor very closely, but you might be surprised by how much your boy will self-regulate. Nixon amazed me with my 3 yr old nephew when they first met. no jumping, just followed him around gently sniffing and being quite careful. He tends to respond really well to basic commands from kids too (more responsive to them than to me to be honest!)

I too think it would be worth getting a stool sample checked at your vet. By that age my pup had had coccidia and giardia, both of which caused loose stools. It would be good to be able to rule some things out, even though diet is the most likely cause.