Erny

And that's fair enough too - gotta weigh up what's worse and I expect the mozzies under those conditions would be. Feel for you. It's not just about the floods - the after affects keep resonating a bit and we who haven't been so affected can tend to forget that . Lol ... yep - T-shirt on head wouldn't really work. And even if not his head, a sodden T-shirt on him wouldn't be the go either.

Go here : Four Paws K9 Training ETA: And congratulations at Kaoz's PPS graduation

It depends on the cattery. I know some that are quite noisy, then I know some that are indoor (heated/airconditioned) and are really cosey and quiet. The cats in the latter one mainly seem very relaxed and comfortable - carefully and well looked after.

I'm always concerned that some dogs might lick it off (whether that be in the process of normal cleaning they periodically do, or otherwise). Is the Permoxin not harmful at all? I still need to pull my sewing skills out of thin air and get to making long sleeved PJ's which I want to make out of light cool/breathable material such as sports wear is often made from, as a means of mozzie protection. My boy reacts to the mozzie bites too - the short haired dogs have vastly less protection from them than longer haired dogs. In the interim, I've used a modified T-shirt. It does make a difference but doesn't cover as much of him as I'd prefer.

You can drink it too and/or use it to flush wounds :D. Helps with sore throats and other nasties. Similar thing has happened to me with another product (not from Egypt) that was also sealed (fly magots). Quarantine were VERY fast in their response (good on 'em ) but it too turned out to be flies that Australia also had. Don't know how it got through the sealed bag either.

No such thing as a "dumb question about poop", Lavender Girl. Knowing what your dog poops out on a daily basis is an excellent visual tool towards knowing how the insides are going and alerts you to sudden changes that might indicate your well dog isn't quite as well as usual or that your unwell dog is getting better. Understanding the poops and how they should be is necessary to be able to make a judgement call, so, as I mentioned - not a dumb question. :)

Refer thread "Sudden Itch Flare Up" - in particular posts #9 and #10. I would do a test patch first to make sure and perhaps don't leave the tea steeping longer than necessary.

That equates to once every 6 weeks or so. For my line of thinking, that's a lot for a dog's skin. My dog has gone, ummmm .... what, is it 2 or 3 years now, without a bath. But I have applied a couple of Calendula Tea wash/rinses just for good measure, when I've wanted to clean out the dirt and freshen him up. He doesn't mind the dirt and not smelling like a daisy, but I prefer otherwise :D. Admittedly, he's a short haired dog which makes it easier, but I do wonder how it would go in those in between times for dogs who have a longer coat. I tend to think we get a bit hung up on the "must soap it up big" before us humans think it is clean enough. Mind you - I do all the bubbles thing when I have my own shower or bath, lol. Care more about what the 'best' is for my dog than for me! :laugh: If your dog is itchy now, I'd apply the Calendula Tea as a rinse, now.

Sent you an email - I'll be making a donation.

Rat Lung Worm contamination? I'm not sure what tests are done to diagnose/rule this out, but I suspect a faecal sample would be required to be provided to the Vet. And/or blood tests. Either way, I'd be ringing a Vet asap to ask questions on this, and also to determine whether there have been cases of this health threat in your area before. This might at least determine the liklihood or not of it being a potential problem. Rats are the host of this disease/condition but when a snail eats or has contact with the faeces of a rat infected with the lung worm, the snail becomes a carrier. Eating the snail and/or the snail 'gum' can transfer the disease to a mammal (in this case, dog). I've read that animals such as lizards, frogs and other such reptiles who eat snails can also become infected and I suspect something eating them could in turn contract the disease. I believe Tawny Frogmouth Owls suffer from the disease because of the prey they eat. I don't know much about it myself other than what snippets I've been able to read on the subject.

Aaaaah - it goes to show how reporting (not blaming the news articles as they essentially are going by the words of the individual people concerned) can make such a difference. Wonder who is right? Hard to take the word off anyone these days. If there was a dog bite, the petition in favour of the dog isn't going to do much good as it clearly expresses that the dog only jumped up and accidentally hit the person in the nose.

You might find people are at work and/or reading from their iPhones, and that it is the inappropriate time for them to be able to easily respond. After work hours is the best time to check for responses :).

Shared to my own Facebook and to Pro-K9's Facebook Page. Good luck. I hope something positive comes of it. Networking is a pretty powerful tool. Cheers Erny

Stop using shampoo - shampoo's alter the dog's natural skin pH balances. Try the Calendula Tea and see how it goes. If the itching settles down and doesn't return when you stay off the shampoo, then that will give you a clue as to what's causing it.

"The point of the expert" is to assess the dogs - their behaviours, their relationship between one another and their relationship to the owner, to explain to and show and guide the owner as to how to make the best of the situation based on what s/he has seen and heard, as best as best can be, with safety and humanity being paramount. What the expert will do is not something pre-determined and set in concrete - certainly not without meeting the owner and the dogs first.

Good for you, cavNrott :D.

These things are always such a worry. I'm sorry I have no advice to give but like Harley, thinking of you and your little tyke and wishing you both all the best for your visit with the Vet tomorrow.

Give her a good brushing (I use a rubber glove mitt on short-haired dogs) to help get rid of moulting hair. It can also help, if that's not enough, to give a bath using only Calendula Tea as a wash. The wash helps get rid of loose hair and the tea soothes skin.

Do you have any pictures of them, Steve? I visited the MDBA website but couldn't see them anywhere there.

If it were me and seeing as she's not too bad on it, I would leave her rest for a few days to let inflammation recede and then I'd have her checked by a good chiro or physio. I admit that I'm loathe to go to chiro's who aren't more than gentle especially if there are no xrays to say if there's any bone damage where harm could be done with too much manipulation. ETA: If lameness persists, I'd be inclined to think about getting some xrays done.

Although not the first time, I copped an accidental head butt from my own dog, only 3 months after brain surgery to boot. Boy, did that one resonate through my brain and I admit there was a moment when I wondered if my nose had been broken (it remained sore for a few days). Accidents in life happen and society needs to learn that's a fact and to get off this wagon of "blame everything on someone" for it. Come on, America. Australia tends to follow in your footsteps so can you please start by getting things right and dismissing these ridiculous charges against Heidi and her owners.

I found it interesting what Dr Bruce Syme said in relation to feeding bones. He mentioned that a dog's stomach acidity level is lower (ie erring more towards acidity) when its digestive system is used to eating raw meat. The acid in a dog's stomach is what 'dissolves' the bone to allow proper digestion. However, when we feed (some) commercial foods, it can have the affect of turning the dog's digestive fluids towards alkaline, which means bones wouldn't be digested as well. I would guess that's why Vets see so much more bowel obstruction caused by bones - and so bones get the blame. When it might in some/many cases be that the digestive fluid acidity levels have been altered because of other foods the dog has been being fed.

I've read 7-9 and longer .

The OP came here and is asking for advice. He's been directed to Mark Singer and has said that he intended to contact him. I don't think it is necessary to keep beating the guy over the head. I do hope he comes back here to let us know how he got on after seeing Mark. Just my opinion - I acknowledge it's a public forum and everyone's entitled to their say, but much of it is becoming a bit on the repetitive side.

I'm glad he seems to be perking up a bit, GSF. I'd still be asking for bloods to be run, rather than waiting a whole week. Well and good if it was the food causing Irritable Bowel Disease to flare up and that this is back under control (and I hope this is the case and that things settle down), but if it were me I'd like to rule out whatever I could in case it related to something else. But that's just me - I'm inclined to cover as many bases as possible and feasible.