Tempest

Billy - he's on Seraquin at the moment as we get that through the vets and so the insurance pays for it which is a great help Chris has been a total star today - its his birthday and so far he's had me dragging him out of bed in tears this morning and then more crying at the vets. We were going to the cinema and out for dinner tonight so we've cancelled that and he's just been to Asda and is going to cook us dinner at home instead bless him Not the ideal b'day but we'd both rather be here for Ollster

Thanks so much guys The vet has given him something called Previcox if anyone has heard of it? He is definately starting to look brighter this evening though - I've managed to get him into the garden for a wee and a poop which was a great relief as I was worried he wouldn't be able to manage but he did The arch in his back seems a lot less pronounced and although he is still quite unstable he seems to be lowering himself up and down more comfortably so I'm thinking that must be a really good sign We left him alone for 45 mins earlier on to take Jess out for a walk as she was getting restless and I didn't want her bouncing all over him and when we got home he'd somehow managed to get on the sofa which I thought was amazing and would have been totally impossible this morning!!

Not sure where to start as I'm a bit of a mess but basically got up this morning and Ollie was standing in the middle of the lounge with his back arched and unable to walk or move I managed to get him to take a few gingerly steps and he tried to lie down and couldn't and Chris and I managed to help him down but he couldn't get up and he was whimpering and shaking We rushed him to the vets - I was in tears and honestly thought he wasn't coming home and had had a stroke or something. She basically thinks that its chronic oestoarthritis pain in his hips (particularly his left one) as he couldn't bear to be touched there We had a long chat and she's given us some drugs to try for 5 days to see if they help but basically said to us that we now need to think about quality of life etc. She agreed that if he was her dog she'd try these drugs and hope that they help but if not he'll be in a very dark place and we won't really have any other choices left. He's had pain for a while now and has hydrotherapy but he can't tolerate metacam or rimadyl as it makes him sick I know that if things don't improve we're not going to have a choice as it broke my heart this morning to watch my baby boy not able to lie down and he's just so confused as he doesn't know why he is body isn't working properly. If anyone has got any good thoughts to spare we'd be really grateful.

Ollie was for arthritis and Jess was for a soft tissue leg injury. I argued with them that it wasn't a 'genetic and hereditary disorder' and she's older than 2 and they basically said only pre and post op swimming is covered. They've put in clauses saying they don't cover for 'general pain relief' 'general mobility' and 'general fitness' so they can basically use those clauses to get out of anything I'd definately give them a call as I've got a horrible feeling they're going to say Flora won't be covered unless its pre-op swimming You're exactly right though - how on earth can they withdraw a treatment that the animal was using regulary before the policy renewed? I'm was bloomin' fuming about it!

Only just seen this Sarah - so sorry to hear that Flora is having these problems bless her I noticed what you said about your insurance and hydro and just wanted to check if its with M&S. If it is then they basically don't cover hydro at all unless its for pre and post surgery. They've put loads of clauses on it saying things like you're not covered for 'general pain relief' and 'general mobilty' and I've had HUGE arguments with them over Ollie and Jess and got nowhere. They've applied the new hydro policy to all existing policies and not just to new ones unfortunately. I've been really furious with them over it all as they will no longer pay for Ollie and Jess' hydro

Sorry should have added that the matting is actually laid down like carpet so its not just a 'loose' mat that can be thrown away, they'd need to replace the whole piece of flooring. Its not long been down I don't think and wasn't cheap either Is it non-bio washing powder or bio that you need to use to clean up these kind of accidents by the way as I wasn't sure. The black out screen is a good idea too so I'll pass that on My other thought was maybe to feed him on that area as that might discourage him from using it as a toilet?

I met Chris through the Lycos site and we've been together 2 years this may I think Tbh there are a lot of weirdos out there and you do get a lot of 'pervy' messages but I think you've just got to learn to hit the 'delete' button and not let them worry you and try and sift through all the oddballs I corresponded with Chris for quite a few months before I agreed to meet up and I think like Ruth says that definately helps weed out the ones who just want to get their leg over quickly Also I know Rosie on here met her OH on Lycos too and they're getting married in Canada in Feb this year so there are definately some 'princes' out there

My brother and his wife are having a few stress related behavioural problems with their cat Simba and I thought i'd post here for advice as I don't know much about cats tbh They have two pedigree cats that are both house cats - Simba is probably around 14 months and Dexter just about 7 months. Simba has always been quite a 'nervy' cat and is quite jumpy of sudden movements/noises and new people in the house/visitors. He'd previously been a cattery for two weekends and a week's holiday and had come back fine. In August time Dexter arrived and after some initial problems the 2 boys get on fine. In Nov/Dec my brother and his wife were going to the US for 3 weeks and the cats were booked into the cattery. Since they've been home Simba has been really really stressed and nervy and has started 'spraying' and pooping on the coconut matting by the front door. He is still using his litter tray too but is soiling on the large area of coconut matting every day They've been cleaning the area with non-bio washing powder and have also put some kind of repellant stuff the other side of the front door as they thought it may have been triggered by the neighbours cat coming up to the frosted glass at the front door and worrying him but that doesn't seem to have helped. He is neutered and Dex is booked in at the vets for the same in a couple of weeks time. They've got a Feliaway plug in at the socket by the front door and he's fed on Burns and is eating well. When he got back from the cattery he'd lost weight and they said that he seemed stressed and hadn't wanted to come out of his basket for much of the time. There were a couple of issues with the cattery and my brother won't be using them again and I've said that whenever they go away in the future I'll go in a feed/spend time with the boys. Basically they're not sure what to do now to remedy the situation. They're going to take him to the vets for a check up and a chat but I thought I'd post here for any other ideas. Both the boys are getting on fine together, although Dex is a lot more outgoing, but he's brought Simba out of his shell a fair bit too though and they play/sleep together. I'd suggested maybe looking at a Feliaway spray/collar but any ideas gratefully recieved

Well I'm still alive thankfully I had to go straight to my evening college job on Tuesday then yesterday had the worst migraine of my life in the evening so don't think I've switched a PC on for 3 days It all went fine in that the class/school but I'm sooooooo knackered that its just unbelieveable - I honestly don't think I've ever felt as shattered in my life They wanted me in today and tomorrow too so I did today but said I couldn't do tomorrow (I literally think I might die if I did). So in a way it was all fine but I'm not quite sure how I'm going to cope with the exhaustion factor The last 3 nights my ears have literally been ringing when its been quiet as if I'd been to a nightclub Gawd I'd soooooo forgotten what teaching is like

Its the last year of Primary so 10/11 year olds

I had a call from the supply agency today and I've got my first supply job tomorrow/Wednesday at a local primary school I've not taught in school since 2002 and I'm secondary trained so don't know much at all about primary but thankfully all the work is going to be set. The agency said that its quite a 'tough' school (I've got year 6) and that I need to be firm as soon as I go in Not quite what I was hoping to hear on my first assignment!! Plus I teach my adult community learning course tuesday night so I'll have about an hour at home then need to go and teach another 2.5 hour session Am quite looking forward to getting the next 48 hours over with now

I've not posted any pics for yonks and had a new camera to try out so I decided to take it on my walk with Jess today. I managed to brave the woods and the uneven ground with my dodgy back to meet up with some friends and let Jess have a good run and managed to get some fab pics Jess and Ash (my friend's rescue old english/collie lad).......... Jess and Ash posing........... Marley my other friend's Goldie in the shot........ Playtime................. It's mine................ Needless to say a good time was had by all :wub: And a rare moment of calm amongst the madness......... :laugh:

I'll be joining in for sure I reckon I'd like to lose about a stone and a half (although i've not weighed myself) but I've got lots of clothes that are a bit too tight and I can't really wear at the moment I'm thinking about doing Slimming World as I've done that before and it worked really but I'm not sure whether to just try and have a go myself at home or to actually go to the classes

I think part of the difficulty is that I know that I'm going to struggle to get Jess walked before work - I know I'm not great in the mornings and I'll need to leave the house by possibly 7.30 - plus with supply I need to wait for a phonecall each morning to find out where I need to go/look up directions on the internet and get my head round where I'm going/what I'm doing for the day With the amount of time it takes to get her over the fields and then wash her/get the mud off I think I know that its going to be an unrealistic feat for me I'll be fine walking her when I get in but obviously it'll be dark by 4.00 so it'll have to be a street walk and even if I do an hour with her I just don't think that'll be enough and she needs that offlead run If its just a case of someone coming in to let them out/sort them out but not walk them then my mum can probably do that so that's not an issue - its more fitting the walking in that's problematic. Ange - I did suggest that on a day I'm not working I go out with her and the Airedale but I got the impression that she didn't seem to keen on the idea as she backtracked when I suggested it so not sure what to make of that. Billy - you're right about me maybe expecting too much for my tenner. I think its the fact that our original dog walker only charged us £9 and took both Jess and Ollie out seperately and was probably here for about an hour and a half so I think I'd set that as the benchmark. Its just such a shame that we've lost our original walker as she was so fantastic and I just feel like I'm trying to organise an alternative in such a hurry.

I can totally sympathise as I'm feeling really down at the moment I managed to hurt my back a few weeks ago and it doesn't seem to be getting much better and I'm struggling to give the dogs their usual walkies If I go to the fields walking on the uneven ground seems to make it worse but then if I street walk Jess she pulls a fair bit (even on her harness) and that aggravates it too. I'm a bit rubbish when I'm in pain and its really starting to get me down a bit Unfortuantely Chris' bad ankle is really playing up (due to lots of sporting relating breaks over the years) so he's hobbling everywhere and can't walk the dogs at all as he's in a worst state than me Plus on top of that I've got to start supply teaching on Monday for the first time after having some real job uncertainty so I'm worrying about how that's going to work out/if my back is going to be okay and if its not what I'm going to do for cash The final straw this week was finding out that the dog walker can't walk the dogs any more and frantically trying to find someone else and then meeting someone today and feeling a bit worried about what I made of them really (post in chatter explains all). I know in the scheme of things that these are probably all quite minor things but I just feel pants about everything at the moment

OMG where has the time flown Happy Birthday gorgeous girlie!!!! :wub:

Just thought I'd add a quick update as the lady I chatted to on the phone came round today to meet the dogs. I thought she seemed fine and I was quite specific about how Jess needs to be walked. One thing that took me by surprise was that she mentioned about some other dogs she walks - which I knew she did - and she asked if it would be okay to take Jess out with an Airdale she walks that lives not too far away. It kinda caught me on the hop and I said that it shouldn't be a problem but I'm not sure how she'd go about doing an introduction as apparently he doesn't go offlead and Jess is barky onlead and she'd be taking Jess to his house to meet him. I asked if he was okay with other dogs and she said he was fine but could have the odd grumble but nothing that she wasn't confident to deal with. I think I gave the impression that I wasn't too keen as we left it as for the first week she wouldn't do that but would just get to know Jess on her own but now I've thought about it tbh I'm not comfortable about her being walked with another dog I don't know at all really. The other thing is that I think that if I'm being charged a flat fee for her walks (which is a tenner) it seems a bit cheeky to me if she's walking Jess with another dog at that same price. Anyways I've given her a key today but I'm not sure what to do now I was thinking about phoning/texting her and saying I've had a think about it and I'd rather that Jess was just walked on her own. I know with hindsight I should have said that but tbh I'm rubbish when I'm put on the spot and just tend to panic and agree And I'm also thinking how am I going to know whether or not she'll just take her out with the other dog anyway :/ The other thing I wasn't sure about was I asked how long she'd be taking her out for and she said it depends on where/what she was taking her. She said if she was going to the fields and Jess was flat out running/playing ball then maybe only 20 mins but if she's street walking her then she'd go for longer. I thought that a tenner sounded a bit steep for 20 mins tbh as I thought that would be for an hour :/

:laugh: No worries at all The 2 jobs are with the same charity so I might just send one application in and say that I'm happy to cover either area but wasn't sure which territory they'd put Essex under though Just didn't want to make myself sound like I didn't even know where my county was before getting an interview

I've confused myself even more now 'The home counties have no official definition but are usually understood as coinciding with the London commuter belt or the London Metropolitan Area, i.e., where people can work in London without living in the city and travel home each evening.' Not sure if that would be Essex or not then And for East Anglia it says......... 'It includes the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk with Cambridgeshire. Sometimes Essex is also considered part of the region. '

It's a really difficult decision so you're definately right to think it through I think that Lottie would be okay with the right dog and introductions and like Ange said dogs that aren't always great with others can live happily with other dogs and it might be nice for her to have a playmate in that sense. I thought I'd answer more specifically about Edward as I've got 2 with a large age gap. Ollie is now about 12 and Jess will be 3 on 2nd Jan. If I'm totally honest I do find managing the age gap hard in the sense that now we're at the point where Olls can't do the walks Jess can so they're generally being walked seperately and so that takes a lot more time than if I could take them out together. But my two do get on so so well and I think that is perhaps due to the age gap and the differences between them. Ollie is the boss man and Jess knows not to give him any rubbish and I think she does listen to him when she's getting all boingy and out of control I like to think at times that he has a calming influence on her too and she'll often look to him if she's not sure how to react in a situation (as he's a pretty calm lad and not much phases him). I do think though that generally in the future I'd probably try not to have such a huge age gap between dogs (I think there must be 9 years between my two) and I think if in the future I was having 2 dogs again I'd look at having maybe 2 or 3 years between them instead. The other thing that I've found aswell is that its definately easier to take just 1 dog somewhere than the pair of them and people that I'd visited in the past with Ollie weren't so keen when I've wanted to take 2 dogs with me (obviously that depends on your friends/family of course) but I definately have to plan things more than when I just used to chuck Ollie in the car and take him with me on his ownsome. Its not a huge issue for us but its something to bear in mind for sure. Hope that helps!

We're having some kind of 3 bird roast that Chris has got (think its chicken in a duck in a turkey ) and roast potatoes and veggies and then some yummy ice cream and lots of wine Our new next door neighbours knocked earlier and they're having a party and invited us in so we'll pop round there for an hour or so I think (drink yet more wine) and then back for midnight to give the hounds their chews and final wees before the evil fireworks start Have got to be up scarily early though tomorrow for a New Years day dog walk with the Canine Rambling club

I've seen a job that I'd like to apply for and there's a few posts covering different regions. One territory is the 'Home Counties' and the other 'East Anglia' I live in Essex and tbh I'm not sure which 'territory' I fit into more clearly. After a web search some websites seem to include us in the 'Home Counties' and others in 'East Anglia'. Its basically a home based fundraising role with a 'territory' to cover so I'm trying to think which geographical location fits with living in Essex (i'm South East Essex by the way if that's any help) Any ideas?

As I'm going to be supply teaching I'm likely to be at different schools (some secondary some primary) with different teaching hours. I know a lot of the secondaries around here start at 8 - 8.30 and if I've got to travel I think its going to be really hard to take the dogs out before work tbh Taking them out after work is less of a problem but now its going to be dark by 4pm it would have to be onlead which isn't ideal for Jess I would imagine I'm likely to be out from 8-4 as a guide

I noticed quite a few of us have mentioned we'd like to lose weight/get fitter so maybe we could start a January fitness/diet thread to all keep each other going I always find that when I give up chocoloate it feels like what I'd imagine giving up cigarettes to be like (not that I smoke though ) I get sooooooooooo grumpy without my daily choccie fix!!

Well might have had a bit of luck - I rang our agilty trainer and she said she might know someone who'd be interested and basically came back to me with a name/number of someone who is a friend of hers. Just gave them a call and they sounded really nice - live about a 10 minute walk from my house - have 3 dogs of their own - and compete at agility and represent England in the Cani-Cross!!!!! She's going to give me a call back at the end of the week and arrange to come over on Sat/Sun to meet the dogs and have a chat. Although it might not pan out at least it sounds pretty positive hopefully!