nicestman77

Gee, you are lucky to find a vet like that mine just put $1000 at the bottom. O! I did get a smile. Could you let me know his address, you found a vet with the fire still in his/her belly. I have NO problems with the fees, but when it comes to the drugs, I don't trust them.

Great point! who at Fair Trading would touch-it? I would say most of them at Fair Trading has a vet they use. I don't think it would happen. But the minister of Fair Trading might look at it.

With the machanics bill you have some way of finding out if you was ripped-off(Fair Trading) at the vets 'S -UP

Hmmm, fair enough. Tell you what then, you sponsor me and pay my student loan while I work my arse off at vet school for years and years and years, and when I graduate, I'll treat your dog for free. Oh what? I'm supposed to do all the work and get a huge student loan AND not charge you for my services when I graduate? What dream world do you live in? Seriously, I can understand that some people would prefer a lesser mark up on drugs (although 10% is unrealistic I'm afraid) along with a larger charge for a consultation, although I can't see why people think the distinction is so important - the vet has to cover the costs and make a profit somehow, so you'll end up paying about the same either way, whether through drug markup or through higher consultation charges. But the trend of some posters to whinge because vets dare to charge for their services is just ridiculous. When you have to go to the hospital, do you complain because the doctors and surgeons want to be paid for their time? I certainly hope not. Pay peanuts... get monkeys. Diagnosing medical issues, prescribing drugs, and performing surgical operations are actually quite skilled and responsible jobs, you know. I'll be in that, if you pay me a lot more for my service than it is worth, it has taken me 30 plus years to get my knowlage in my business, and to know all the tricks, but it seems to me vets want it their own way...I would like vets to get the fire back in their belly that they had when the came out of UNI, and remember why they became vets in the first place. So making a fair profit so I can pay my loan back, feed my family and buy a house is more than my service is "worth"? Thanks a lot. I rather suspect you may change your mind about how much my service is "worth" when your dog gets bowled by a car or eats some snail bait and suddenly urgently needs veterinary attention. I'm graduating in vet school in 2 1/2 years, after 9 years total of university (ouch), and although I'm itching to graduate and get into practice, talking to people like you is what takes the fire *out* of my belly. The idea of having to deal with clients who whinge behind my back because I and my boss dare to charge them enough money to cover our overheads and (gasp) allow us to make some profit just makes me feel sick, actually. I can't even imagine being rude enough to tell any other professional that they aren't "worth" the hourly rate that they charge. It looks like you will fit very well into the vet industry. please don't contact me. I dont need a bad day. You will rememeber me. Someone has to put you back on the straight and narrow. Firstly you don't listen, and you seem to be getting that additude just right for the job. Why would I contact you? I don't know you from Adam? Paranoid much? YIPPY

Hmmm, fair enough. Tell you what then, you sponsor me and pay my student loan while I work my arse off at vet school for years and years and years, and when I graduate, I'll treat your dog for free. Oh what? I'm supposed to do all the work and get a huge student loan AND not charge you for my services when I graduate? What dream world do you live in? Seriously, I can understand that some people would prefer a lesser mark up on drugs (although 10% is unrealistic I'm afraid) along with a larger charge for a consultation, although I can't see why people think the distinction is so important - the vet has to cover the costs and make a profit somehow, so you'll end up paying about the same either way, whether through drug markup or through higher consultation charges. But the trend of some posters to whinge because vets dare to charge for their services is just ridiculous. When you have to go to the hospital, do you complain because the doctors and surgeons want to be paid for their time? I certainly hope not. Pay peanuts... get monkeys. Diagnosing medical issues, prescribing drugs, and performing surgical operations are actually quite skilled and responsible jobs, you know. I'll be in that, if you pay me a lot more for my service than it is worth, it has taken me 30 plus years to get my knowlage in my business, and to know all the tricks, but it seems to me vets want it their own way...I would like vets to get the fire back in their belly that they had when the came out of UNI, and remember why they became vets in the first place. So making a fair profit so I can pay my loan back, feed my family and buy a house is more than my service is "worth"? Thanks a lot. I rather suspect you may change your mind about how much my service is "worth" when your dog gets bowled by a car or eats some snail bait and suddenly urgently needs veterinary attention. I'm graduating in vet school in 2 1/2 years, after 9 years total of university (ouch), and although I'm itching to graduate and get into practice, talking to people like you is what takes the fire *out* of my belly. The idea of having to deal with clients who whinge behind my back because I and my boss dare to charge them enough money to cover our overheads and (gasp) allow us to make some profit just makes me feel sick, actually. I can't even imagine being rude enough to tell any other professional that they aren't "worth" the hourly rate that they charge. It looks like you will fit very well into the vet industry. please don't contact me. I dont need a bad day. You will rememeber me. Someone has to put you back on the straight and narrow. Firstly you don't listen, and you seem to be getting that additude just right for the job. You are make it hard for the real vets that really care with that fire still in their belly about treating their customers(animals)

Hmmm, fair enough. Tell you what then, you sponsor me and pay my student loan while I work my arse off at vet school for years and years and years, and when I graduate, I'll treat your dog for free. Oh what? I'm supposed to do all the work and get a huge student loan AND not charge you for my services when I graduate? What dream world do you live in? Seriously, I can understand that some people would prefer a lesser mark up on drugs (although 10% is unrealistic I'm afraid) along with a larger charge for a consultation, although I can't see why people think the distinction is so important - the vet has to cover the costs and make a profit somehow, so you'll end up paying about the same either way, whether through drug markup or through higher consultation charges. But the trend of some posters to whinge because vets dare to charge for their services is just ridiculous. When you have to go to the hospital, do you complain because the doctors and surgeons want to be paid for their time? I certainly hope not. Pay peanuts... get monkeys. Diagnosing medical issues, prescribing drugs, and performing surgical operations are actually quite skilled and responsible jobs, you know. I'll be in that, if you pay me a lot more for my service than it is worth, it has taken me 30 plus years to get my knowlege in my business, and to know all the tricks, but it seems to me vets want it their own way. Vets don't seem to have a RRP in their business, but they expect all other business to have a RRP. It is about time vets came down from cloud 9. You are not running RPA. I would like vets to get the fire back in their belly that they had when the came out of UNI, and remember why they became vets in the first place. All my businesses (45 years) I have had to have a RRP on all goods sold, the veterinary industry has been over looked by the Fair Trading.

I think it all comes down to ethics, if the vet over charges the RRP on drugs, if there is a RRP on drugs, are they(vet) going to treat the animal SLOWLY? so they will need to use more drugs than normal.

Of course they got charged Sunday rate? Why wouldn't they have been charged? I charge my clients extra if i have to do more visits due to the animal being sick and needing to go to the vets, as well as emergency calls, i was called out at 11pm on Christmas eve one night, why would i not charge for after hours care? (im a pet sitter) I also charge for travel. This thread is going nowhere. Next thing you will see, in every vet surgery, there will be another room added to each surgery, and on the door will be a sign "Finance Manager" where you will go to pay for the account by applying for a personal loan, it will be underwrtten by the drug companies, with the help of the vets, who will get a spotters fee, and by the following Monday you will have a caveat on your assets. I feel it in my waters

I always point my customers in the right direction for cheaper clippers, if I see them, my concern is for my customer, not my pocket. That is why I am called the nicestman77 I have high principles.

Why does the 'validity' of the actual % markup have anything to do with you as a consumer? The markup will vary between practices just as the overheads will, and just as the quality of care and service will. Some people are prepared to pay a higher price for excellent service and best practice veterinary medicine and some are not. If you want the cheapest prices, then go to the practice that offers that. I see this a lot on the forums when people compare the cost of desexing - a spey is not just a spey, and it's worthwhile asking exactly what is included. A lot of the time an 'appropriate fee' is just code for the smallest number that one finds acceptable, and has no actual reflection on what service is actually provided. There is no point comparing the cost of human medicines from pharmacies and the same drug sold through veterinary practices as often the cost price to the clinic is higher than the retail cost from the pharmacy. It comes down to whether you want the treatment NOW with professional advice and ongoing care or whether you would really rather wait and traipse around the countryside to save a few $$. I find that most of our good clients choose the former. As for inflating bills for difficult clients, I think you've misinterpreted. As a profession, we tend to get ourselves in trouble by being very generous with our time and by trying to be 'nice' we frequently don't charge for all the services provided. It's not adding unnecessary things to the bills, that is unethical. It's more that we might let occasional charge slide for excellent clients as a matter of goodwill, like the umpteenth recheck for a chronic medical problem, or the free anal gland squeeze because you asked nicely. I think someone is missing the point, I used to squeeze 40 anal glands (FREE) a day for 18 years, that is 40 pieces of tissue paper a day =1 small box of tissues=$1.20 maybe, vets want to be paid for anything they do, even the air they breath, they want to be paid for it. Come-on, get human, we are on this earth together, if we keep charging like wounded bulls, the earth is in a bad state. I feel sorry for generation to come.

The responses to this thread are understandable and predictable. The main point of the discussion from my point of view is that vets by all means charge an appropriate fee that reflects the work performed and the services provided, but not to load the bill with excessive marking up of drugs which distorts the true cost of the service. You don't get it do you? The cost of drugs is not the cost of the service. The service is the consultation. The cost is easily ascertainable by speaking to the vet first. The drugs are the recommended treatment. They are not part of the service offered. A client can choose to take or leave the recommended treatment. Ergo - the cost of them does not distort the cost of the service. I think you need to read all the threads by others as most say that the mark up on drugs is required to run and operate their business, therefore if they did not dispense drugs they would go broke. As a business person I would prefer to base my income on the services provided and not on the sale of drugs. If the business relies on the sale of drugs could this lead to over medication? When ever there is a financial gain to be made by a practice it will lead to over servicing by some. I agree, if I charged for every broken part required to fix a customers equipment, to keep them happy, and charged as I should have, I would be driving a Volvo/Subaru, instead of a old Colt 1986 model. I can't afford the pleasure of a vet anymore, it is out of my league, no more animals for me! not that I don't love them, I do, but I can't afford them. I don't mind paying for the vets fees, I don't like the mark-up % charges on the medicals. And I don't think I am alone, what about the poor pensioners.

Ha! My pet hate (vets) The last time I needed a vet my little fat dog got a stone stuck in his whistle,I dropped the dog off at the local vet at 9 ish,the vet rang me at 4 ish, and told me that the dog is fine now,and the cost would be $1000,I nearly fell over, where in the help does one get hold $1000 just like that,when I arrived at the surgery,the vet was all over me like a rash,I ask them what they did for the price,they said they needed to take xrays (1) they showed me the stones in the bladder,I asked them if they got the stones out, they said NO we pushed them back into the bladder from the urethra,I said why didn't you get them out of the bladder, they said, no need all you have to do is buy this large bag of over priced Science Diet dog food cost ($78.00) =$58.00 delivered on the net So if fact all I had to do was blow on my dogs whistle, and blow the stone back-in, like a pee-shooter, and take a two weeks holiday to the Gold Coast, in this case the vet is taking the 2 weeks holiday on my money. A plumber would only charge $200. The dog has still got stones in his bladder thanks to the over priced vet. Vets are the cause of a lot of animals not being treated due to their prices,they say it is justified due to all the equipment they have to buy,well does that mean every time my wife buys equipment for her business she just puts the price up, A stupid idea,my prices prices would so high she would never get any work,come-on vets get with reality,and that is, people can't afford vets,they all go to vets under sufferance,and for the sake of the animal.This country is in a recession,prices should go down,not up.Mine have gone down by 10%.

Thank you puggy_puggy for the direct link , I just sent away a email to the effect, have a good one, hope we all can do our bit. nicestman77

I there, if you find any groomers in need, I will donate the sharpening for the blades and scissors.With pleasure,nicestman77

Oster Cryogen-X blades are ordinary blade material, only they are cooled down to a very very low temp(freezing) when manufactured after forging, this makes the metal a high tensile material(harder) it is important that you use someone in the UK that sharpens properly, because a back yarder wouldn't sharpen them enough, not knowing how hard they are, Oster Cryogen-X blades takes longer on the machine than other blades, if not sharpened enough you don't get that crisp cut because they are still blunt, you are lucky you have a guy called peasridge.co.UK he seems to be knowledgeable, I hope this helps.nicestman77.

Hi schnauzer, coffee and saltana cake is on, after the last listing I need a fix(coffee) I could have gone on & on. I dream of blades. If ever you are down this way please do pop-in, and bring your kids(doggies) Let me know will get the "minister for finance"(wife) to make some Lamingtons, she has a new recipe(lots of chocolate) with strawberry jam in them.nicestman77.

Ok DOL members, lets do something good for charity, and or DOL and yourself. I will sharpen FREE 1 ceramic clipper blade (test) for any person who has tried to use them, and has been disappointed, if you have 1 unsharpened sitting around do nothing in the draw/box. All you have to do is join/ed DOL VIP discount card club http://www.dogzonline.com.au/vip/ where you will benefit, and so does this great forum (DOL), and get great discounts from other traders, or donate a can/packet of dog food to your local doggie charity or both. Your choice. Then post 1 ceramic blade to me, and I will sharpen it for you free,(I leave myself open here ah!) if you would like to take up this offer, go to my profile for the address details. Email me first I can tell you how to post the blade for a $1.10 stamp only, Ha! Lets do some good for once, and give it ago. There are a couple of factors why any blade is getting hot, it is friction, where the tension is to tight or the need for oil, and the speed of the clipper, plus the ambient temp on the day. Ceramic material is a finer material which if machined correctly has much less friction than carbon steel, but sharpening is paramount for ceramic blades, because they don't wear in like steel blades do, ceramic's are to hard to wear-in. Which is a good, and bad thing. Ceramic blades will crush quarts/sand were as steel will dent, which makes ceramic a better options if you get them working, they last much longer. There is a material that is being developed in Korea now that won't need sharpening, keep an eye out for this one. So it is important to get ceramics sharp as finely as possible, with-out chips on the edges of the tynes(teeth) Oiling is very important, the sprays cool your metal on the blades to quickly which turn the molecules in the metal sideways, and tend to make the tynes brittle, then once the blade gets thin from to much machining (old blade), the tynes tend to snap off very quickly if used on a clipper that revs high, it is called fatigue. It is important if you use sprays to cool, oil after before proceeding to cut again, the sprays only cools, it doesn't lube as good as singer sewing machine oil does. Try to find out why your blades are getting hot, blades should only get warm to touch after 5 minutes of running. It is best to oil down inside where the lever goes, no one ever does it, but that it is the best place because the oil feeds in from the back of the tynes, if you put the oil on the front of the tynes the first bit of fur cut the oil is gone, so it pays to stop the clipper pull the blade down, and put a few drops inside like in the pix below, and don't forget oil tip of the the lever it causes friction as well. ========================================================= HOW TO OIL & CARE YOUR CLIPPER BLADES! Thank you for wanting to know how to look after your equipment & blades. Below you will see a picture of a clipper blade, and the areas that is important to oil, where you see the YELLOW dots . only use a small drop of oil as it will end up in the next lot of fur it encounters, rememeber after you oil, let the clipper run for at least 5 seconds before you try to cut again, to let the oil to relocate all over the blade, and the blade to settle in, the main oiling has to oil from behind the tynes, not from the front of them. Also it is important to put a drop of oil onto the tip of the lever that moves the top cutter. If you oil correctly with Singer Sewing Machine Oil ONLY, it will soak into the pores of the metal, and when the blade gets warm/hot, the oil thins & seeps back into play , hence lubricating the moving parts.(keeping things cool) You can buy "Singer Sewing Machine Oil" at any Woolworths for $2.00 for 100 mls in the haberdashery section where the scissors are sold. DON'T BUY HANDY OIL! TRY NOT TO USE THE OTHER COOLING AGENTS ON THE MARKET AS THE SINGER SEWING MACHINE OIL WILL DO THE SAME JOB FOR VERY LITTLE MONEY IF NOT BETTER. If your blades goes FRIZZY in the coat after you get them back from the sharpener, it means that the tension is to tight(hot blades), or not tight enough (fur between the blades), if this is the case email me , and I will show you how to try to fix it yourself, the blade maybe sharp, but not set correctly, you yourself can do this with my FREE help.nicestman77.

I couldn't help noticing that some are having trouble with sharpening of your ceramic blades. It is better if you that have them, get them sharpened properly, and useing them as you get more for your dollar, to sharpen them properly, you do need a $4000 machine, most sharpeners that don't have the equipment try to get the ceramic top cutter off your blades so they don't have to deal with them anymore, they are ducking and diving, it is the cheats way out of the situation, go to the first link below, this is a top cutter being sharpened. Ceramic blades new, are not sharpened properly, I can tell you that from experience, they do need to go to someone who has one of the special machines. The ceramic blade you have just watched being sharpened is featured in this video below, and used on the rump of a small Cairne Terrier. You are welcome to ask me any questions you like, I like to help.nicestman77.

Hi there. Yes you are very welcome to post it in it's correct forum, it is very important that all dog owners are a aware of this, I personally believe that supervision of all animal toys should be a daily inspection job, you never know when things are going to break, nicestman77.

THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST READ IF YOU OWN A DOG . THIS JUST MIGHT SAVE YOUR DOG'S LIFE OR A FRIEND'S DOG - PLEASE PASS ON Scary and true.�� You've seen these rubber toys with the "bell" inside.� Stay away from buying them for your dog.� They can be deadly!! On June 22, 2008 , my 10-year old lab mix, Chai, sustained a severe injury from a product that the company Four Paws, Inc., produces. The toy I'm referencing is the pimple ball with bell (Item #20227-001, UPC Code #045663202279). While chewing on the toy, a vacuum was created and it effectively sucked his tongue into the hole in the ball.From speaking with my vet , this likely occurred because there is not a second hole in the ball preventing the vacuum effect from happening. I became aware of this when Chai approached a friend at my home whimpering with the ball in his mouth. She tried unsuccessfully to remove the ball but the tongue had swollen and could not be released. Chai was taken to theAnimalMedicalCenter(an emergency care facility inNew York City) and was treated by Dr. Nicole Spurlock to have the ball removed.Because the size of the opening on the ball was so small, all circulation to his tongue was cut off. The doctors had to sedate him in ord ER to remove it. Once the ball was removed, his tongue swelled to the point that he could no longer put it in his mouth. Chai was sent home with care instructions and to be observed overnight for any changes. By the following morning, Chai's tongue had swollen even more. He was taken to his regular et , Dr. Timnah Lee, for treatment. He was admitted and kept sedated for a period of three days during which time they were treating his wounds and waiting to determine how much of his tongue could be saved. On June 26, 2008 , Chai had his tongue amputated. He was kept in after-care for an additional three days. On Sunday, June 29th, I brought Chai home from the v et with a barrage of home care instructions, to last for an additional 7 days. His next visit was to have his mouth re-examined and have thefeeding tubein his neck removed. On the way home from the vet we stopped at Pet land Discount where I purchased their product to speak to the manager on duty. Upon me et ing Chai and seeing his condition, he removed all of the balls in question from the shelves. He also Ga ve me the customer service number to their corporate headquarters to request that they refuse to continue purchasing all Four Paws products, but I have not called them as of yet . Additionally, I shared my story with friends who have a French Bulldog . Upon hearing my story, their eyes widened. They explained that the same thing happened twice in one night with a smaller version of the same ball to their dog. Fortunately, they were able to pull it off before the tongue swelled, but not without tremendous effort and pain to the dog. They recalled how horrific it was to hear their dog screaming while they had to pry the ball from her tongue. To date, my veterinary bills total over $5,000 and I will have regular follow up appointments for some time. Additionally, Chai now requires a much more expensive form of food because of this injury, averaging approximately $200 per month. Additionally, I now have to re-teach my dog to eat, drink and adjust to life without his tongue. Feeding him takes me about 90 minutes twice a day and for at least this first week he is not to be unattended for more than20 minutesat a time. I sent this information along with the reference to the French Bulldog to Four Paws, Inc., and it is their position that there just aren't enough instances to do anything about this. I told their insurance company's case manager that was not a good enough excuse. It was inferred that my dogs value wasn't much and that his pain and suffering don't count as he is just a piece of property.

Super speedy and is always on call to assist. I'm a groomer and have used several other people before Colin was recommended to me and I've never looked back. Re. moving thread, PM the mods. Clyde, thanks for the contact(Colin) I rang him last night, as I am so close to Moruya Heads which is only down the hill from Canberra, I am going down on Saturday morning to the local Moruya markets and popping out to his house to get the blade sharpened, with my new clippers. He said he will explain it to me over a cuppa of expresso coffee, and his wife is going to make lamingtons(as if my hips need the EXTRA), he said we will test them on his terrier before I leave, or he said if I posted them down it would take 2 days down, and 2 days back, so I think I will go see the ocean, and dip my toes, maybe fish n chips on lake Tuross, and get it right. Seems like a good plan, I will let you know how it goes. Woopy My blades are beautiful now. I went down to Colin's place had the cuppa & Lamoes,he took me down to his shed with his machines, I didn't realize that you need so many machines just to sharpen clipper blades,he has 3 machines, one does ceramic blades, and the other 2 do steel blades,after he sharpened them I tested them on his Cairne Terrier,I couldn't believe of how easy the blades worked,I told his wife I am going to marry him,she said you will give him back. It was worth the wait to go down to the coast. Never hessitate to send them to Colin he knows his stuff,all though it is over my head when he talks about tynes scissoring and stuff/tension with different speeds.. It must be the bleach (blonde) Thanks guys I owe you one,webtutor. Thank you webtutor for your kind words, I was only doing what is expected of me with my services, if you ever have troubles, please let them be mine, I want to be the first, and last to know about it, nicestman77

Hi AnimalMad, to check that your blades have the correct tension, try with you thumb just move the top cutter left or right, it should be firm, and at the same time move freely, you should also feel a ratchet(hollow grind) feeling, if it is to tight it will wreck your clippers lever/gears in time, but worst of all the tighter one makes the tension on the top cutter, it jacks(lifts) the front tips up, hen se the blades doesn't work as good as they could if the tension was the correctly set, a tiny bit less. The top cutter is shaped like a bridge with a flat on it, if you push hard in the center it will lift the front up. A lot of inexperience sharpeners who have not done there apprenticeship as a groomer before taking on sharpening, think the tighter you make the blade tension the more chance of it cutting, when in fact it makes it worst. It is like adjusting a carburetor on a car, to much rich mixture, it doesn't work, nor does leaning it out. It has to be right. Then again it depends on which clipper you are using, they all have different revs, I always try to find-out the clipper being used on the blades I do, there is a difference between different speed clippers, not much but there is, a good sharpener should in the conversation ask you and remember it. The tension for blades used on a early model slow revving Oster is different to a fast revving Double K clipper, and so on. When a blade is hollow ground the edge has to stike it's opposing edge very hard as it scissors up from the back to the front on each tyne(tooth), and if it is going to fast it will roll that edge of the tyne then it stops working, that is why sometimes you get a blade back, and it only does 1 dog, to much tension at high speed it has rolled the edge of the blade. And the blade has to be put back on the machine to get rid of the edge, it is better to slow the clipper down, and you will find the fur has time to get into the tynes so it cuts more fur at one time, I hope this has helped all. It is better to go to a sharpener that has had/paid for bad blades before, to know all the tricks. It took me many years of frustration, and lots of nights of lost sleep, trying to think of a way to get it right every time, I made a jig that the blade sites in once it is sharpened, and all I have to do is pull a small lever, and ready the tension, then I adjust it accordly. nicestman77.

Everyone is most welcome to call-in for a sharpening(blades/scissors) and coffee/Lamoes, I bought a Expresso machine check it out http://www.coffeeshrine.com.au/isomac-zaff...less-steel.html On the back veradah over looking a nature reserve. No stress ;) We will even sharpen on weekends. Nice coffee Yummy, come-on down, bring your jarmies as well. You will probably live to regret that offer - a whole team of DOL gals will turn up in their jarmies with all their dogs next weekend. Yer! wouldn't that make for good reading on DOL the week after Next time you send some you know what, for you know what, let me know, I will pop in a Nestles Cappuchino (strong) shot, for the coffee I owe you, I don't think the lamo would make it home to you, with the you know what. Please mention the coffee please,

Yer the (Y) generation, I don't know what is install for them. If you show your cows these new blades will be handy for you. This guy lives who is incharge of this new type of metal for blades lives down south at Christchurch, NewZealand. Anyway come-over for a week, and a chat, but bring the poms. Love the ac-sent. ;)

NZ's are welcome over here, love to catch-up, they are our work force here, I am developing a new sheep shearing cutter/comb with a guy over there now. Koria(country) has made a new metal/alloy, which it makes clipper blades last 20 times longer before sharpening is required, the meat is so hard the machines today only polish them, no ordinary sharpening machine on the market today will touch the metal if they use Alumium Oxide, the sharpeners will have to change to diamond paste. a very intersting times coming up in the sharpening industry in Australia. He was sent to NZ because, NZ have a large sheep population. The proper sharpening machine is being developed in the USA now. At the present it is for wool, but it will end-up being used in the grooming industry worldwide. Anyway, I will keep the pantry stocked with lamoes, the coffee machine is always going, yummy smelly coffee aroma ;) and you are most welcome here, bring your little Poms(kids) to.