Erny

Ummmm ... I don't think we get to talk about it until you show photographic evidence.

How attached are you to your dog, and in what ways do you show that attachment?

Good luck Shel72. Hopefully she gets 'over it' fairly soon. Try also in between times to desensitise her to any negative feelings she could be developing to the car as a result of her feeling sick from it. Start with the car in your driveway, turned off. Make things a bit of a fun game and have both rear passenger doors open. If she's happy enough, graduate from one of the doors closed to the other one closed, but have the windows down. Very short moments staying in the car and building up in time depending on her comfort level. Your goal is to have her feel comfortable and relaxed enough to not begin feeling ill (which may not occur as the car is turned off and stationery). Not that signs of illness begin after the dog has started feeling ill, so that's why to keep things short in time. When this is all good and she's able to be in the car (if she's not already at that stage) for a few minutes or more without any signs of stress/discomfort, repeat the same but with the car running. Then have it where you go for the shortest car ride. Depending on the dog, this could be as short as to the end of your driveway and reverse up again. Stop the car. End of session. Again - your aim is to have her feeling comfortable throughout and ending the session before she begins to feel the onset of stress or feeling sick. Do this as many times in a day each day that you can. You might have already posted about your problems - I can't remember (and if you did, I can't remember whether I posted or whether this regime or similar was already advised to you). It's a bit of a vicious cycle really. Dog feels ill due to anxiety and/or motion sickness. Vomitting makes the dog feel awful/worse. Dog begins to anticipate feeling sick when in the car, so the anxiety levels from the anticipation that it's likely to be sick/feel ill, begin to rise sooner and sooner, even with some dogs before they've even got in the car. The rise in anxiety levels makes the dog feel sick sooner and sooner. And so on. And yes, this is where for some dogs the short term treatment of medication (be it natural or otherwise) can help to break that cycle. But the desensitisation method above can also help - some dogs' reactions might even be mild enough to not require the medication as well (not necessarily yours Shel). But then, if you've been researching, you probably already know this . All the best. And I hope you get to go to Four Paws without incident.

I'm presuming you are in a heartworm area and therefore have a dire need to give her heartworm prevention? I don't really know the answer to your dilemma, particularly considering the liver issue. I presume you've spoken to your Vet about any affect by the heartworm preventative (even under normal dosage) on a liver that is problematic?

Hope they work for you, Shel72. May I ask, have you tried more natural remedies first? Such as travel calm (or something like that). I think it is ginger based. There are also ginger biscuits that some have had success with.

Four Paws K9 Training is about a half hour's drive from you (just under, according to "whereis"). I'd recommend them . Four Paws K9 Training Kelpie-i is a DOL member. So you can either contact her via her website/email, or PM her. I think the former would be the better though, as like all of us we're not always on DOL. Well ..... we probably shouldn't be, anyway . ETA: Oops! Just realised you have drive-time limitations due to puppy car-sickness. Ummmm .... a stop for a coffee along the way?

It could be blockage (full or partial) .... and if faecal matter is vomitted it might suggest that it is in the lower GI tract. A distended abdomen can also be a symptom. I would clean up your yard (tonight) so that you can keep it inspected for newer poops. That's the advantage of a daily clean up - you always know then what your dogs done (or not done) from day to day. Dogs can still poop if it is a partial blockage. But I think the poop would be smaller and/or softer/runnier if this was the case. Don't take my word for it though. So keep your eye on it and if she gives any hint of worsening and/or if she fails to poop, then I'd be getting her to a Vet. If she's not drinking as much as normal, try adding some honey (Active Manuka Honey is good for them, but ordinary will do if you don't have any of that) to her water to see if that will encourage her to drink a bit more. Don't give her large quantities of water at a time as guzzling too much (which they sometimes will do because they like the taste of the honey) can be just as detrimental as not drinking enough. Check her gums - are they pale or a normal, healthy looking pink? Check for capillary refill response - press on the gum, it will go pale where the blood has left it as a result of the pressure of your finger, but should refill almost instantaneously. If it is slow to return, I'd get her to the Vet. That's just me. I'm not a Vet. And I'm sometimes inclined to act even sometimes when there turns out to be no need to hurry. It is good that she's inside with you as you can keep a closer eye and ear out for her through the night. ETA: A blockage can also cause painful/uncomfortable abdominal spasms. This might or might not be accompanied by a postering where the back appears a bit arched.

I wouldn't use chemicals if you can avoid it. Especially on the possibility that it is not fleas that is the problem.

None of us have the benefit of a crystal ball to guide us. You made a decision - the hardest one of all, at that. I'm so sorry that the burden of this decision had cause to befall you. It is a horrible one to make and if you are like me, you know you made the only decision you could that felt responsible and for the good of all, yet you feel dreadful for having the right to make that decision and acting on it. It causes pain simply for how conflicting that notion is. Not to mention your pain of loss. It is obvious that you and especially, by the sounds, your OH, loved Jamaica. Comfort yourselves knowing that. RIP Jamaica .... run free, happy and without distress, at the Rainbow Bridge

These are the bits that would concern me, as they do you too. "firm belly" .... is it like a drum? Not a conclusive test, but place your index and middle finger side by side and rest them to the side of the belly. Now tap firmly on your two fingers with the same fingers of your other hand. Does it sound hollow, drum like? What's in the vomit? Food and bile? Or just froth? Is she drinking? Does she have a temperature? Has she pooped recently? If so, is the poop normal? I am thinking possibly these things, although I don't wish to have you panicking for no reason as (a) I can't see your dog and (b) I am not a Vet : Bloat - this is an urgent condition and needs immediate Veterinary attention. Blockage - depending on what it is and where it is as to whether it manages to 'move' through the system. Still something that deserves Veterinary attention asap. Stomach bug. Might need antibiotics. It could be nothing. But I am inclined to let myself trust my instincts, even though sometimes they are wrong I have been thankful when I haven't ignored them on other occasions. I can only suggest you do the same. You know your dog better than any of us. There's no shame in being wrong and getting professional help to tell you that your dog is fine.

That's ok. And I understand your frustration. I was just now out walking my boy (RR) when there was a swf off-lead on the footpath. The owner picks up swf and as the swf is snarling/growling at us whilst we walked past, owner, who didn't move off the path and is just standing there letting swf snarl/snap and growl, is saying in an encouraging tone " ooh, good boy that's right .... act big and tough and tell the big doggy to go away". I said on my way past : "Would you encourage a big dog to behave that way? Your dog is little but its still a dog." I didn't wait for the response, but that would be irrelevant anyway. And doubtful that it would have made a difference. I'm just saying that I know what you mean by people regarding little dogs differently to big dogs and forgetting that they are both, ummmmm ........ dogs.

Hey - don't hold back, Nekhbet! In essence, I agree with what you say to a good extent though. However, I don't think there's anything wrong with a group of people wanting to discuss and analyse, provided the results of their analysis is not put over to "debunk" anything unless it is well founded and actually prescribes to something that IS different to what they are 'arguing' against and not just more of the same said differently but made to appear as though it is some new theory. IMO and generalising, the whole thing (ie subject/topic/theory) was skewed by the skewed interpretations of many and now those who skewed it or learnt from those who skewed it are making out as though their forebears (who hadn't skewed it) got it all wrong. And yet these same more recent ones who pronounce to a supposed different view are really only claiming the same (or at best, similar) things but putting it into words in a 'new' way. If that makes sense. LOL ETA: I still need to read the whole paper, but I'm basing my comments above on other things/reports/articles/seminar I've read and heard in more recent times.

I haven't had a chance to read it and not sure that I'll manage to get to it properly this week. But thanks for your summary and 'take' on it, Staranais (). Something from what you have written up that I think could prove to be an issue that would have influenced their 'dominance study' is the PRIOR learning the dogs who were chosen for the exercise would have had. And the above had me going "Ummmmmm .... yeah - that's the way it works". So I don't see how this actually "debunks" the dominance concept. I don't fully understand the above (although I might, if I would read the paper ). For their study of the 19 neutered dogs, were they repeatedly removing the dogs and when they put them back into groups, was it the same group or a different group? I can see both of these things as representing a continuous disruption to the establishment of relationships amongst the dogs involved. I think the above is a very good point and well expressed, Staranais. I also think I should go read the paper LOL.

I wasn't making assumptions, just pre-empting a possibility, which is why I wrote : " And if you were to ... ".

Oh ..... and I used a glass bowl with a lid that sealed over it to soak the Complete Mix in. Otherwise, the aroma of fermentation combined with garlic tended to waft through the house. Not sure whether it is supposed to be covered during the fermentation/soaking period, but it didn't seem to do any harm to it when I did it.

Yes. That's per day. I started my girl on the recommended serving size and worked down, using visual to monitor her weight. Yes. That would be fine. Or you can feed them half of the mix + meat in the morning and the other half of the mix + meat in the evening. It is not sloppy. It is a moist but quite firm mixture once the soaking period is finished.

Baciandollie76 .... feel free to telephone me. I'm happy to explain what things you can do and give you some tips on how to do it. You'll find my contact numbers at my website. Click on my signature link to take you there.

My "social area" became a conglomerate of puppy pen (used as a barrier and at other times a confinement) and large sized crate, with lounge chairs blocking other open doorways (it was funny when people came to visit, to see them seated in extraordinary spots around the room ). It was only this way could I be as vigilant as I needed to be and to prevent my pup learning to disappear to go to the toilet. It was so great when I was confident they were no longer required. I was then able to "reclaim" my home and it felt less like a formal puppy creche.** Learning to go outside to the toilet is one thing. Knowing to hold on and understanding that someone will grant access to outside is another and IME a secondary phase to toilet training. Sounds to me that your toilet training of Jacques isn't completed. And if you were to, please don't compare one dog with the other. They each learn different things at different rates. That's part of what makes them the individuals that they are. **Now it's just a big, over-sized, multi-roomed dog kennel .

This article doesn't name him. But the seminar that Kelpie-i and I attended did. Their disdain for him and his reference to "dominance" was very obvious. Oh .... and thanks for the spelling tip :wink: No!!!!! I might end up being obedient!

Erny, if you mean I shouldn't have shown them you were all agreeing she has to go to the vet then I don't know what else could have been done. No - I meant since then, seeing as they ended up doing the right thing and taking their dog to the Vet. I just thought (at the time) that from there they deserved encouragement, and seeing as there were a couple of comments (not suggesting unwarranted) about them being difficult to talk around, they might have been discouraged by that. It was not a criticism of you having shown them the thread to the point of convincing them to see the Vet. But I do hope they continue to make the effort to do right by the dog.

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Tsssshht! ( .... not sure how to spell that sound) I even thought that (amongst other things), Kelpie-i, when I was reading through the article extract.

About 1 3/4 of a cup. You mix that with same quantity of water ..... you'll be surprised at how much there really is once the water has all been absorbed. Add 3 3/4 cup of fresh meat. For my previous girl (bless her cotton socks) - she ate the VAN "Complete Mix" & Fresh meat diet - I started on the "serving indications" but found she was putting on too much weight. With her, I needed to feed almost half the recommended amount. Every dog is different, but the majority of people I have spoken to who have used the product have said they needed to feed less than the suggested amount.

JulesP .... it shouldn't have anything to do with him not doing flyball. But I agree - a health check should be the first port of call.

Zephyr is a 4.5 year old Bernese Mountain Dog. Weighs approximately 48kg. Hudson is a 1.5 year old Saint Bernard. Weighs approximately 62kg. Thanks Going by the packet the "Suggested Total Daily Intake" of the pre-pared "Allerblend" for your BMD would be 1000g (Scale = dogs weight 35-50kg). Each packet is 800g. The packet only indicates for dogs up to 50g - I guess they figured people would be unlikely to afford their pre-prepared meals for dogs any larger. It would work out considerably cheaper for you if you made your own by mixing Roo mince with the VAN "Complete Mix" as well as using the VAN "Omega Blend Oil". Unless you have a big enough health issue with your dogs to warrant the expense of getting the exact proportions and ingredients contained in the Allerblend. Retail, each packet costs around $8.00 (I presume this could vary depending on which retail outlet you purchased from).