Queen Maeby

I've never had to pay a consultation fee, just the $60 for the test, depends I guess in whether you want the annual check etc or happy to just have the blood drawn and sent. I always let them know when I first enquire that they see their regular vet regularly and a full consult or check is not required. Will get back to you re the vets in North Sydney. How far are you from Russell Lea? there is a big all natural vet there, they were one of the first in Australia to start doing it. When you do get it done get them to request an actual value for immunity, not just the positive/negative that they have started to give vets. It tells you nothing really.

I haven't titre tested yet. Just so I understand...

I should expect to pay for the titre test only ($60) and not the consultation fee (usually $49)?

It's just that I can't imagine my vet not charging me for a consultation when I'd have to make an appointment, and have a consultation, to have the test done. Also, I remember reading somewhere that it costs more to have the titre test done with Vetpath if your vet hasn't set up an account with them.

Do you have a pic of her?

Congratulations

Make sure you have her transferred into your name (if she has any council rego) :)

I love the mum's face when the puppy goes and hides in the corner :laugh:

Thinking of you and Myrtie

It makes such a difference to have a good vet. Hoping things improve for you both soon.

Don is the best. How lovely :)

That is awesome (and you're a good drawer). I've added it to my favourites in case I ever need a dog pen. Thanks! :)

Baby Puggies being looked after by their agility star mum (the Pug parents are agility champions).

Listen to them squeaking! So cute!

http://msnvideo.msn.com/?videoid=32b42302-3a55-4296-9803-87b507f67439&src=v5:share:sharepermalink:&from=sharepermalink

(Sorry, I couldn't find any option to embed the video.)

Sorry to hear that DD. Poor Myrtie

Maybe he was talking about stuff like Parvo?

Yeah, I have a feeling he was talking about diseases in general because we had been talking about the fact that I had chosen not to worm with chemicals or vaccinate etc

Interestingly my vet said the opposite, she said as people from a wide range of suburbs take their dogs to the beaches that it can be a higher risk area (but we were talking about my immune compromised boy at the time).

I'm definitely going to ask him what he meant :laugh:

Stop worrying is the first step. There are some things that you cannot prevent, I have lost 4 dogs in the past few years and there was nothing I could change to stop it. It sucks, it's horrible but it's life with an animal with such a short life span compared to ours.

Research lines, there are plenty of long lived lines out there (I found out my pugs lines live about 16-20 years ) which I'm not used to with larger dogs. My rottie was 4, my GSD was 2, my Bordeaux was 6 and my Malinois was 8 months old.

That's a good idea to research the lines.

My pugs now 12 and in better shape then when I got her. She had green teeth that needed extracting and the infection was making her cough on a kibble diet (Advance). She was pudgy, dragged her front paws and had wheezy breathing. I dont believe that regular anaesthetics are particularly healthy when there are simple preventatives that can be done.

Raw raw raw all the way. I have dogs ranging from 2 years to 12 years - there are no dentals required, no dry coats, no stinking, sloppy poo, good muscle mass even on the older dogs. They're all fit and active, and I make sure they tear meat/connective tissue off the bone in order to keep the incisors and canines in good condition too. The pug and french bulldog both have good teeth and can manage brisket bigger then their heads no worries.

I also mix up the diet - different proteins, scraps, off cuts, hunted meats, etc. It's not the same old same old every day and not at the same time every day.

touch wood, no medical problems here at all.

This is the anti-cancer diet I designed for Grover (and I'm going to be feeding my future Pugs this as well as raw meaty bones). Before I put Grover on this diet he was overweight and no matter what I did, the weight wouldn't come off. He started losing weight straight away on this diet. I based it on the anti-cancer diet created by Dr Greg Ogilvie, who is a leading canine oncologist. His diet is now available in that tinned dog food called Hills Science. Mine is much better :laugh:

Chicken mix recipe:

1kg cooked chicken breast (1200g raw), roughly diced

1 cup cooked brown rice

2 cups low carb frozen vegetables, processed

415g tinned salmon

½ cup organic yoghurt

3 scrambled eggs

3 Tabs flaxseed oil (4800 mg)*

Contains: 72% protein, 19% carbohydrate

*1 Tab of flaxseed oil contains 1600 mg of omega-3 fatty acids.

The problem is, when I go to the vet, it's like information overload and I can never remember everything they say.

Here is a tip that my vet gave me, which I thought was quite good...

If you live in a low-risk heartworm area near the beach, and you choose not to treat for heartworm, take your dog for a walk on the beach first thing in the morning, before heaps of other people and their dogs walk there, after the tide has gone out and washed the beach clean. Make sure you walk your dog along the shore line and don't go anywhere near the dunes where they can catch some fox-related disease (I can't remember what it's called). And stay away from the beach at high peak tourist times like Christmas. That's when all the tourist dogs come to visit.

I thought heart worm was transmitted via mosquitos?

Oh is it? I don't know why my vet said that then. Sorry :laugh:

Mosquitoes can be pretty rare along the coast, I've received similar advise personally about other mosquito borne infections. When in Malaysia I was told to not worry about malaria tablets if I was staying near the coast and in the Cook Islands recently they recommended people going into the mountains wear insect repellent when they were having a dengue like outbreak.

This would explain why beach areas are low risk for heartworm

Ohhh, okay thanks :)

I wonder what he was talking about (the guy vet)? Maybe he meant the fox disease? I will have to ask him.

Maybe he was talking about stuff like Parvo?

Yeah, I have a feeling he was talking about diseases in general because we had been talking about the fact that I had chosen not to worm with chemicals or vaccinate etc

Here is a tip that my vet gave me, which I thought was quite good...

If you live in a low-risk heartworm area near the beach, and you choose not to treat for heartworm, take your dog for a walk on the beach first thing in the morning, before heaps of other people and their dogs walk there, after the tide has gone out and washed the beach clean. Make sure you walk your dog along the shore line and don't go anywhere near the dunes where they can catch some fox-related disease (I can't remember what it's called). And stay away from the beach at high peak tourist times like Christmas. That's when all the tourist dogs come to visit.

I thought heart worm was transmitted via mosquitos?

Oh is it? I don't know why my vet said that then. Sorry :laugh:

Mosquitoes can be pretty rare along the coast, I've received similar advise personally about other mosquito borne infections. When in Malaysia I was told to not worry about malaria tablets if I was staying near the coast and in the Cook Islands recently they recommended people going into the mountains wear insect repellent when they were having a dengue like outbreak.

This would explain why beach areas are low risk for heartworm

Ohhh, okay thanks :)

I wonder what he was talking about (the guy vet)? Maybe he meant the fox disease? I will have to ask him.

Grover had a herbal wormer and he was tested for worms every three months. During this time he never had one egg, let alone a worm... But I will take the wormer too just in case :)

eta

This is the herbal wormer that naturopaths recommend (for dogs and people).

http://www.ppcherbs.com.au/herbal-medicines/plex-range/herbal-tri-plex/

Info on hydatid lifecycle and spread :) LINK

Thanks for that :)

Yeah, the dog would have to eat the organs. I can't see my Pugs doing that and they will be tested for worms regularly.

You're welcome! Keep in mind the infective stage for people is passed out through the GI tract and the eggs are sticky to assist spread so if you or puggie has contact with potential sources ie. eggs adherent to the coat/bedding of an infected dog or pug rolling in fox poo or something you are still at risk. And pet grade meat may be contaminated by a cyst during slaughter so feeding raw pet grade meat even if not feeding organs specifically is a potential source of puggie infection.

Which is a moot point if you've got a parasite control protocol in mind anyway!

Thank you very much for explaining. Gosh, there are so many things to take into account! :laugh:

I was under the impression it could be spread via poop too?

Oh okay, thanks :)

I might have to take the herbal wormer as well, just in case then.

Info on hydatid lifecycle and spread :) LINK

Thanks for that :)

Yeah, the dog would have to eat the organs. I can't see my Pugs doing that and they will be tested for worms regularly.

It can also be found in wild animals. Given that you can get it from dog hair, I err on the safe side.

What do you mean "in wild animals"? Do you mean their organs? I can't imagine my Pugs eating the organs of wild animals.

Sometimes avoiding medicine leads to more problems though....

Regarding wormers, I would always worm because hyatids (sp) can be fatal to humans and can be dormant for 10+ years. I vaccinate every three years at the moment because this is required for our sports. I think the value of sport and training outweighs the vacs.

Dogs would need some carbs surely? I'm not talking grain, but all veges contain some carbs. A carrot is a nice low cal treat.

My advice is:

- healthy diet (whatever the dog does well on. My boy doesn't cope well with 100% raw and I'm not going to make him suffer do that I can feel "superior").

- exercise (both aerobic and strength building) walking is not enough to build core strength - hind leg awareness exercises, balance balls etc

- mental exercise - mandatory for health. Lots if games (scent detection, find the target hidden in the house, free shaping ) just 5 mins of this every day or two makes a huge difference.

- sport - we do agility. My boy will compete but my girl never will. I still do it with her as it keep her fit and we both enjoy it.

- visit the vet when things aren't right.

- physio if they do sport and when they get older.

Relax and enjoy them. A stressed person leads to a stressed dog. Have fun, laugh "with" them and remember they'd much rather muck around with you than have the latest gadget/collar/toy.

Yes, I leant that after spending hundreds of dollars on toys for Grover: he just wants to be with me. And his favourite toy was the cardboard from the inside of a toilet roll :laugh:

I thought hydatids only came from raw pet-grade offal and lamb? That's what my butcher said.

Thank you, that's very good advice. And I will have a think about the vaccinating versus obedience training thing :)

Is this the same vet who told you to wash sutures?

No, it was a different one - a guy.

And I went back and talked to my vet about the sutures and I had misunderstood her. She meant it was alright for me to clean Grover's wound/sutures that one time but not to do it all the time.

eta

I will go back to the guy vet and ask him what he meant. It was something about catching diseases at the beach where other dogs go. I thought he was talking about heartworm because we had just been talking about it, but maybe he meant something else?

Thinking of you and Stussy

Oh no. So sorry