Category: Dogs

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Adopting an Older Ex Stud or Shelter Dog

older dog adoption

Not long ago I saw two adult dogs in a row that had just been adopted from their breeder. The first one was not perfectly normal, but he would be OK. However, the second one, Jethro was in real trouble.

Right now, he is frightened of many things in an unpredictable way. He is frequently frozen and unwilling to move, difficult to walk, wary of strangers and not interested in food. At night he wanders the house unsettled. But we can also see signs of the lovely dog within.

Recently I told you that the best age to get a puppy is 7 to 8 weeks old. But there are plenty of dogs and puppies over 16 weeks old needing homes. Here are some examples:

So what happens if you get them? The answer is that they still make great pets, but not all of them and not always in the same way.

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Can You Treat A Dog’s Ear Infection Naturally?

natural remedy treatment

If you research home remedies for ear infections you’ll find all these choices…

  • Aloe vera
  • Apple cider vinegar
  • Calendula
  • Chamomile
  • Coconut oil
  • Garlic
  • Grapefruit seed extract
  • Homeopathy
  • Oil of oregano
  • Mullein
  • Witch hazel
  • Yoghurt

The reason there is so much interest in home remedies is simple: dog ear infections can be extremely frustrating. They are common, they keep coming back and they can get very expensive. That’s without even mentioning the discomfort they bring to dogs.

I’m here to tell you that you can stop ear infections. But it’s never easy.

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Why Dogs Get Ear Infections

If your dog suffers from ear infections, then you need to know why they happen. And especially why they keep coming back.

I won’t dumb this down. I will do my best to keep it simple, but the reality of how ear infections happen is complex.

Please stick at it! What comes next may be hard going, but those who reach the end will know more than many professionals. They will also have a clear idea of why some treatments don’t work.

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Immune‐Mediated Haemolytic Anaemia in Dogs

Every time I attend a conference, the lectures on immune‐mediated haemolytic anaemia (IMHA) are among the best attended. This is because almost no other common disease of dogs makes vets feel so powerless.

This page is a summary of two recent consensus statements from the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. It puts together the best of what we know into one guideline on diagnosis and treatment. Most importantly, it’s written in a way that dog owners can understand.

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Your Dog or Cat & Coronavirus COVID-19

kitten with interferon

Find the facts below about dogs and cats and coronavirus COVID-19. Keep checking this page for updates on the situation.

Vets across Australia are open as normal. Walkerville Vet requests that clients:

  • Maintain 1.5m from staff and other clients (nurses will hold your pet for examinations)
  • Do not pay with cash
  • Not attend the clinic if in isolation or even mildly unwell
  • Wait on the front lawn if there are 6 or more people in the waiting room
  • Come to the clinic alone whenever possible, and without children

Now dive deeper…

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Chronic Diarrhoea In Dogs

So your dog has had diarrhoea for more than two weeks, and you have ruled out all the more common causes of diarrhoea found here.
A basal cortisol level has even been done to rule out the 4% of these dogs that have Addisons disease.

What do you do now?

The answer is to consider the possibility that your dog has chronic enteropathy, or CE. This is a poorly understood group of related disorders that often respond to dietary, antibiotic or immunosuppressive treatment. Sometimes the solution is more than one of these approaches.

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Does Laser Therapy For Dogs Really Work?

cold laser treatment

Laser therapy for dogs is now something that I get asked about regularly. It offers treatment for problems that are very frustrating to both dogs and owners. These are conditions like:

But does it work? Is this relief for suffering dogs or just another false hope?

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Do Dogs Need Senior or Mature Foods?

commercial dog diet

A few years ago, a sales rep for one of the major dog food companies came to me. The serious expression told me that there was something wrong.

“Andrew, you’re not making enough senior dog food sales.”

This wasn’t a surprise to me. Instead I said what I always say: “bring me the evidence that senior diets improve the health of dogs and I’ll use them.”

See also: Do Cats Need Senior Foods?

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Should My Itchy Dog Get Prednisolone?

dog prednisolone tablets

If you have an itchy dog, then you know how hard it can be. What would you say then if you were told that one of the most effective treatments is sometimes not offered to you? Or that other times it should never have been used.

Prednisolone is a problematic drug, and I understand why vets avoid it, but sometimes it’s just what’s needed. Amber, who’s pictured above is a perfect example.

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Broken Legs In Italian Greyhounds

Italian Greyhound broken leg

Dante is an all-too-familiar story. I saw him recently for vaccination and immediately noticed the scar on his leg. What happened? He was running and broke his leg.

If this happens to your dog, here’s a quick first aid tip: carefully put the lower leg into a roughly normal position, wrap it in a t-shirt until it’s a thick roll and then sticky tape it. If you can’t do this, just keep your dog as quiet as possible. This will stop possible damage to soft tissues caused by excessive motion across the fracture site. Then go straight to a vet.

Leg fractures in Italian Greyhounds are common. If you’re looking to buy a puppy, or take out insurance you might well ask, “yes, but how common?” The answer may affect what you do next.

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Cavoodle Puppy-Selling Scams

cavoodle puppy sale scam

*Note: if you’re here to check on a possible scam site, scroll down to the comments where there’s a lively discussion! Here is a quick summary of what’s been found:

List Of Cavoodle Scam Sites

This list changes quickly as sites appear and disappear so accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Remember: do not buy from any site using the word Cavapoo as this is not used in Australia.

  • Cute Mini Cavoodle Puppies Home cuteminicavoodlespuppueshome.com
  • Cavoodles With Love cavoodleswithlove.com
  • Dove Cavoodels Puppies Home dovecavoodlespuppieshome.com
  • Hobart Cavoodle Puppies hobartcavoodlepuppies.com
  • Home Raised Cavoodles homeraisedcavoodles.com
  • MJ Cavodle Pups mjcavodlepups.com
  • Mona Cavoodle Puppies monacavoodlepuppies.com (take a look as well at trainedbordercolliepuppies.com)
  • Our Cavoodle Pups ourcavoodlepups.com
  • Precious Cavoodle Puppies preciouscavapoopuppies.com
  • Quality Cavoodle Puppies qualitycavoodlepuppies.com
  • Sweet Cavoodles sweetcavoodles.com
  • Whitty Cavoodle Home whittycavoodlehome.com

There are also Facebook pages, which I am not able to follow. If you are scammed by one of these, contact Facebook directly to have them taken down.

Now dive deeper…

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How To Stop Your Dog Eating Poo

dog-sniffing-grass

Try looking for answers when your dog eats their own stool and you’ll quickly see the problem. All the advice is the same.

Some top sites have literally cut and pasted the content from others, and those that haven’t appear to be just rewriting what everyone else says. The reason is simple: because no-one has all the answers.

A recent study (and the only good one) found that success rates with the sort of methods they discuss are only 1-4%. And it’s even worse if you try one of the many products being sold: 0-2%!

This fits exactly with my experience over 25 years. But it’s not hopeless! I’m going to use what I’ve learnt plus the evidence to give you practical, realistic advice. There’ll be a lot less promises, but also a lot less wasted effort.

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What Is The Best Paralysis Tick Prevention?

newcastle dog park

Dog owners now have at least eight choices for treating and preventing paralysis ticks on dogs. The following represents my personal opinion on which ones are better.

Click here to find out more about paralysis ticks and whether you need tick prevention. However, the best way to know if you live in a tick area is to ask your local vet!

I travelled to just such a tick area. In 2020 I asked each person at Acacia Avenue Dog Park in Newcastle which tick treatment they were using. Here are their answers:

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How To Find A Good Dog Training Class

Everyone has an opinion about what makes a great obedience class. I’ve got a lot to say on the subject, but I’ll start here: obedience has nothing to do with it!

The evidence is clear and consistent. When measured by results, reward-based training outperforms more ‘traditional’ methods. It’s also much less likely to cause pain or anxiety.

That’s why this article is going to help you tell the difference. By the end, you should be able to choose the right class for your dog. I will go through some clues you can use, and then use an example of two very real classes.

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Help! My Dog Has A Lump On The Face

dog face lump

Dogs can get all kinds of lumps and bumps, some serious, some not. That’s why I’ve previously written a guide to dog skin lumps with pictures. Just click on the picture to visit.

lumps on dogs
A gallery of dog lumps

However, there’s one very particular swelling that I haven’t talked about even though it’s important, common and easy to recognise.

It’s the tooth root abscess.

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The Best Age To Neuter A Dachshund

wire haired dachshund

If you own a Dachshund, you probably already know about IVDD.

Intervertebral Disc Disease affects around 20% of Dachies over their lives. All of them will experience severe pain. Many are permanently disabled and some even die as a result of irreversible and severe spinal damage.

Visit our page on IVDD if you want to read more. Here I want to talk about some new knowledge of a way to reduce the risk of it happening.

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Fact Check: Do LH Levels After Desexing Affect Health?

dog desexing problem

Have you ever wondered why vets recommend one drug over another?

We’ve usually researched it ourselves.

Or we have a wealth of first-hand experience.

However, sometimes the health claims are just too complex to easily assess. That’s when we might trust the company data. But how many vets have the time to double check what they say?

I’ve made a reputation as a ‘difficult’ customer, and I know I’m not alone. That’s because there’s often more than one way to look at the same data. Here’s just one example from the past week: a good product sold by nice people.

Just possibly pushed too far.

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5 Causes Of Bleeding Gums In Dogs

dog bleeding gums

Have a look at the picture above. You could be forgiven for thinking that Barlie’s gums are just the result of a good chew on a bone. But hang on: why are there red spots a long way from the gumline and even on the tongue?

The answer is a disease you won’t easily find if you look up the causes of bleeding gums in dogs. Even though what Barlie had could have killed her.

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Total Ear Canal Ablation in Dogs

Remember Fred? Not long ago I told you how he was stolen and recovered 18 months later. This is the story of what happened next.

His path led to a specialist and a procedure called TECA that increasing numbers of dogs are getting. If you have a dog prone to ear infections, you should read this. Not just so you know it’s there if you need it, but also so you can avoid it.

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Causes Of Shaking & Trembling in Dogs

dog shivering shaking

One night my own dog started shaking and shivering uncontrollably. Several frantic minutes went by. Was it a poison, was he unwell? The reasons why dogs tremble and shake go from simple to serious.

A minute later he squatted, passed a huge puddle of urine on the floor and the shaking stopped. He was busting to go to the toilet, and no-one realised. We all felt a bit silly, but that’s how hard it is.

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Puppy Preschool: The Evidence

puppy class walkerville

This lovely photo by Julie Wilson shows Jack, one of our Puppy Preschool graduates. It’s the way we like to see them: making the most out of life.

Did his puppy classes help him become the dog he is now? To answer that we need to know not what puppy classes promise, but what they actually do.

You have a right to be shown the evidence behind any veterinary recommendation. Here’s what we know.

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