Gretel

Definitely not typical Cav puppy behaviour

Thanks  A friend has offered to come and stay. It's such a relief for me.

We are going overseas for a month later in the year and need to find someone to care for our dogs. I'd prefer to keep them all at home as we have some oldies. Does anyone have any recommendations or suggestions please? My daughter cared for them last time we were away for weeks but I don't think she'll do it again. With three kids she's quite busy. We currently have a Finnish lapphund and five Cavaliers. TIA

I've never noticed a smell associated with the dead rats in my zapper, but I usually put it out overnight and see the tail hanging out the end in the morning. I've only gone through one or 2 sets of batteries per year and the unit itself lasts several years (they don't like getting wet though) Dry dog food seems to work the best I've found. The instructions suggest it takes a few days for rats to get used to new things in their surrounds and you'll get the first kills within a few days. I've had rats and mice zapped in mine

Thanks :)

Zzzzzzzzzzapppp! Hmmm 'Love the smell of singed fur in the morning ....' ;)

:laugh:

Thanks everyone. OH cleaned out the shed today. He found several quite good sized bones. Our dogs don't have recreational bones so I'm assuming next doors dog does. Anything soft that would be good to nest in is gone. Most stuff down there is in lidded boxes. They've eaten a lot of the bait. I am a bit worried that there are blocks missing. Hopefully they've been eaten and not dragged out of the shed.... That's rather worrying.

Glad you have destroyed their 'castle ' :)

They apparently stole next door dog's bones ? LOL .

Did you nail the blocks down, or tie them on ?

They may have carried them to another spot if not ..but they will probably have eaten them ;)

I gave up using blocks for that reason ..now use pellets in containers ....

If you are washing anything ..floor, joists etc ..use Urine-off or similar , so it doesn't still have the rat's 'ownership' markings on there .

let's hope they don't come back!!

I didn't think of them taking them anywhere so I didn't tie them down. That was before I saw the bones!

I've just ordered a rat zapper too.

Thanks everyone. OH cleaned out the shed today. He found several quite good sized bones. Our dogs don't have recreational bones so I'm assuming next doors dog does. Anything soft that would be good to nest in is gone. Most stuff down there is in lidded boxes. They've eaten a lot of the bait. I am a bit worried that there are blocks missing. Hopefully they've been eaten and not dragged out of the shed.... That's rather worrying.

There are battery operated 'Rat Zappers' that are very effective and safe to use around dogs

Oh I've not seen those. I went to Bunnings and bought some Big Cheese bait yesterday. They had plug in thingies but there's no power in the shed so no use. Where do you get the battery ones? Apparently there was a party in the shed in the evening. I heard a noise quite early and Vienna was quite agitated several times. I'm a bit scared to look in there.....

Zoos use Racumin... doesn't tend to kill up the food chain...

T.

Thanks :)

I have been using the BIG CHEESE brand of rodenticide very happily for some years now .... :)

Thanks so much :)

Of an evening the dogs have been going feral trying to get to something on the top of the fence. I suspected rats and have just found a LOT of rat poo in the shed that is near the fence. There is no food in the shed. I'm hesitant to use poison because of the dogs. Just googling and I came across Racumin which states dead rodents carry less residue of the poison so is less likely to harm them if they get a carcass. Any info or suggestions welcome. I like pet ratties but these sort freak me out!

Can only talk on experience here - but Sarah (15 year old westie) was finally, properly diagnosed with malassezia some months ago. I've also had bad itchies for a long time.

Then in DOL discussion Gruf suggested Selsum Blue Shampoo. So I bought some, threw Sarah under the shower with me each morning for a week (much her to disgust! What a morning circus!), bathed her with the Selsun, washed my hair and used it as a body wash for me and I think its helped get us both under control.

So while I have no truth the her fungal disease and my itchies were connected, I suspect its possible and might have been.

Well that's interesting. Thanks. None of ours have any skin issues though. Off to google malassezia!

Yes just looked at some sites and this may be it. Kind of freaked me out when he came home and told me and he's also being tested for allergy to dogs. Though mostly this seems to be on trunk and head. OH it's legs and just started on arms.

Gretel google Malassezia images and info - strange name but is a human fungal disease I had as a teenager - mine was a 'butterfly rash' on my back from memory. It has the same name as the dog one - and I think there are different types - and yes you can get it on your arms and legs. Best to get your OH's GP to take it seriously and do some swabs and diagnose properly - sooner rather than later - and go from there.

ETA - I forgot to mention that your OH's rashes (Malassezia?) may have nothing to do with the dogs - we didn't have dogs when I had my butterfly rash as a teenager - but we did live in Darwin and humidity can be a pre-disposing factor.

Thanks :) I'm afraid I don't think much of OHs gp.....

Can only talk on experience here - but Sarah (15 year old westie) was finally, properly diagnosed with malassezia some months ago. I've also had bad itchies for a long time.

Then in DOL discussion Gruf suggested Selsum Blue Shampoo. So I bought some, threw Sarah under the shower with me each morning for a week (much her to disgust! What a morning circus!), bathed her with the Selsun, washed my hair and used it as a body wash for me and I think its helped get us both under control.

So while I have no truth the her fungal disease and my itchies were connected, I suspect its possible and might have been.

Well that's interesting. Thanks. None of ours have any skin issues though. Off to google malassezia!

Yes just looked at some sites and this may be it. Kind of freaked me out when he came home and told me and he's also being tested for allergy to dogs. Though mostly this seems to be on trunk and head. OH it's legs and just started on arms.

It COULD be possible ..although in my many years working closely with dogs, I never contracted anything . it's strange there was no skin scraping done .How did GP work out that it's fungal then? Hopefully the blood tests will show you in which direction to go . Skin symptoms can be frustrating

Apparently he just looked and said fungal.

OH has had some odd skin problems for many years but is getting more lesions than he's ever had. He saw the doctor today who asked if he had a dog. Doctor reckons it's a fungal problem he's caught from the dogs. I only know of ringworm and it's nothing like ringworm to look at. Doctor didn't take a scraping or anything though he's sending him for blood tests. He's put him on anti fungal meds for three months. None of the dogs have any skin disease. Anyone have any experience or ideas?

Oh dear sorry to hear about the last episode Very scary. If it were my dog I think I'd trial the meds to see if they help.

Thank you all, she is a field spaniel :)

I do have a snood but I've realised it's not a very good one, is there a brand that people favour? I did put it on when I gave her a chicken neck this morning but she got it off with ease lol

I might try the Road Refresher as she does like to kick her water bowl around the deck. I agree the volume isn't great, but I'm not out for long periods so can top up regularly.

Thank you all so much xxx

I make my own snoods. They are quite easy. Mine all know no snood, no food lol

You can buy spaniel bowls. What breed is it? Snoods are great for keeping ears clean and dry.

I also say keep the dog but would be worried the old owners will just steal her back when you are not home. So send her back and cease all dialogue with them. Put your name down with several breeders about wanting an older dog and wait.

Yes I'm afraid this is going through my mind too

Yes I do.

Anyone able to provide more details about exercise requirements (and/or examples from personal experience) for Finnish Lapphunds? The information on the internet in general indicates ranges from moderate exercise to high, would love some information from personal experiences.

Well I have a very laid back one. She's happy to lie around the house or go for a walk. She plays with the Cavs every now and then. I thought she'd be a lot more active.

Sorry to hear that

Ingrid was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure about 14 months ago. I looked at doing a diet myself but it really didn't look easy to manage so I put her on Hills k/d. She's done really well on the Hills so I'm not sorry. She will, hopefully, turn 16 in December. When she was first diagnosed I was so upset and thought she'd only have a short time left. She had a little trouble with incontinence so I sprinkle half a cranberry capsule over her tea and that's helped.

I had no luck with my latest and all my others are in my previous name and no luck with them. I gave up!

Denali the dry eye/curly coat test is only necessary if you're going to breed. If a pup is born with the condition it is very evident and would most likely have been pts. If it's a carrier it's completely unaffected and has a healthy life.