Anne Grose

Hello everyone, can I have some advice please. Some friends of ours are thinking of taking on a rescue dog. They have two Burmese cats one 10 and the other 11 - one is quite nervous and they have never lived with a dog. The dog in question has lived with cats and therefore is not a chaser it would just need to get used to the new cats. This is not my area of expertise and I wondered if you had any suggestions for how the dog should be introduced into the household so that the cats don't make a run for it. The dog is used to a cage and I will lend them mine to start them off. I can help them with the dogs other behavioural problems but apart from some basic advice of keeping dog on lead when it first comes into contact with the cats I am a bit lost. Thanks in advance Anne

If you go the local tourist office you will be able to pick up a map that shows all the beaches - on that map it is noted which are dog friendly and which are not. HTH Anne

Keep us informed as to his progress and if we can help - we will Anne

Hi Gooster - when you get the results let us know. I have fed BARF to 3 generations of dogs now so if you are worried about getting the diet right I can certainly advise you. Some dogs really don't do well on cooked, just like some dogs don't do well on raw. Let's see what the results are and then we can see if we can help you find the right kind of diet for Ted. Hill's pays a fortune in promotion every year to make people think that their Prescription Diets are fantastic. Sadly most of the contents are chemicals and I would urge you to try and find something better than that to put inside Ted. Anne

Have you thought about either home cooking (with no starches included) or trying a raw meat diet. I can't remember if we have had this conversation before, but if we have I apologise - it is my age Anne

Here are the photos rather than links

As usual I am rubbish at remembering the actual day that any of my dogs arrived but I was looking for a photograph this morning and realised that on 16th June 2005 our frightened little girlie arrived with us. She arrived with kennel cough and in full season. Described by the rescue kennels as about two years old, it transpired she was a real baby, it was her first season and her new adult teeth were only just through the gums. She has been living wild in a field in Nottinghamshire for at least two months while the local dog warden tried to catch her without success. He finally used a fox trap and caught her one night. Our best guess is that she was around 5 - 6 months old when she was either dumped or escaped and after her ordeal of trying to be caught she was so frightened of human beings it was heart rending. After 4 years of patient bonding with me and hubby and the co-operation of some lovely passing strangers who helped in her rehabilitation, she turned into more or less a normal dog. She can still be frightened by a sudden movement and fiercely protects our property from strangers but she no longer lunges barking ferociously at men on their own and is truly one of the most loving dogs we have ever had. She also is now 99% chicken and cat safe - after being a killing machine of anything that could be hunted when she arrived. Here is Chloe the day she arrived http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii292/annegrose/Chloe16June2005-3.jpg Lazing in the sun on our veranda http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii292/annegrose/Chloe-on-the-veranda-low-re.jpg Sharing a moment with big bro - Barty http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii292/annegrose/24thMarch20092.jpg Love you Chloe and look forward to spending many more years together

I just love Princess Cherry

My first dog was like that but as you say crushed into cream cheese even he could not resist. I don't think the north is as bad for ticks as down here in the south - probably because we are warmer. My vet is lovely but she is still not completely convinced by my natural way of dealing with healthcare. She is getting better especially as my dogs have only had 3 ticks and the average down here on an untreated dog is 30 per DAY !!!. Also down here Frontline doesn't work against the ticks and fleas as they have become resistant, the only thing that is effective against ticks and the sand flies that carry leichmanionsis is Scalibor and both my dogs are violently allergic. So we use garlic and check the dogs regularly for the rare one that does attach (it takes about 24 -48 hours for a tick to pass lyme disease into the host so vigilance should stop that one) and we keep them indoors for an hour before and then until an hour after dusk and then the sand flies can't get them. Now - my problem is how do I stop one of my dogs trying to PLAY with the snakes !!!!!! Anne

Hi Eve, which part of France do you live in? We are down in the SW in a completely rural community - our nearest neighbours are a herd of cows. Do you feed dry or wet food because you could always crush the garlic tablets and add them to the food. Please believe me when I say it works. As you know we have had fabulous weather since the end of February and our count of ticks is now up to 3. I check them everyday - which is how I have found the 3 ticks they have had. Garlic does work. You need to be creative because yes, you are slowly killing your dogs. Think about it - years ago when dogs were fed scraps and never had vaccinations they regularly lived until they were 20. Now we fill them with chemicals from flea and tick products, vaccinate them every year and then put poisons down their stomachs to control worms and how long do they live? Anne

Isn't she lovely - what is the cross??

how cute is he

Anne, what garlic tablets do your dogs have? Is there a special dosage or something? Sandi, I am so sorry to hear about your beautiful boy. What a tragedy. Safneo, I give them the Healthspan garlic tablets because they are cheaper than anywhere else and will ship foc to me down here in France. There are special dog garlic tablets that you can buy which are available from Hilton Herbs but so far I have found the human Healthspan tabs to be just as good. I start giving them every day (1 per day) as soon as the weather starts to look like it is going to warm up and will continue right up to the end of October. HTH Anne

Gosh Billy - I have long known of the dangers of these things - I can't believe people are still giving preventative treatments long term. I give my dogs garlic tablets every day during the flea and tick season and have never had fleas and only occasionally a tick which is removed asap. I am so sorry for these people Anne, Barty & Chloe

I like you Billie am very cynical about this. We have lived with slugs and snails for millions of years and lungworm has been carried by them for that amount of time too. It isn't any more of a threat now than it has ever been. The odd dog has no doubt died from them in the past but it isn't the rampant disease that it is made out to be. We now have another wonderful money spinner for our vets. All my dogs have eaten grass and rolled in it, played in it and generally been dogs and in my last garden in Derbyshire - we had thousand's of slugs and snails - have I ever had a problem, no - more to the point Karen in the ONLY person I have spoken to that actually has first hand experience of lungworm. The only time I have ever heard of this disease before is from vets pushing the vaccination and the Bayer information. Am I worried, am I rushing off to the vets to stuff my dogs full of more poison - good gracious no. Anne

I like you Billie am very cynical about this. We have lived with slugs and snails for millions of years and lungworm has been carried by them for that amount of time too. It isn't any more of a threat now than it has ever been. The odd dog has no doubt died from them in the past but it isn't the rampant disease that it is made out to be. We now have another wonderful money spinner for our vets. All my dogs have eaten grass and rolled in it, played in it and generally been dogs and in my last garden in Derbyshire - we had thousand's of slugs and snails - have I ever had a problem, no - more to the point Karen in the ONLY person I have spoken to that actually has first hand experience of lungworm. The only time I have ever heard of this disease before is from vets pushing the vaccination and the Bayer information. Am I worried, am I rushing off to the vets to stuff my dogs full of more poison - good gracious no. Anne

Can I have permission to cross post this to a natural health dog list that I am on - I feel sure we can come up with some good suggestions for you. Anne

What is the autoimmune problem that he has - there are quite a lot of natural immune boosting products that could help and also natural treatments for a variety of autoimmune diseases. At the end of the day it is about quality of life. I have been there twice with steroids - the first time before I knew there were alternatives and had all the problems you describe, Back then I withdrew the steroids and tried with natural methods which worked for that particular dog. The second time was an end of life scenario as a short term treatment to prolong good quality life, sadly that didn't work. Sending you massive and hope we can help more

I think I would be getting some bloods run to check that it isn't a medical problem. It could be all sorts of things - so I personally would want to rule out a medical problem before trying something else

I am so sorry for you Nigel. What a hard, cruel time you and Cliffy have had recently. Take heart in that both Tessie and Archie are now free of suffering and running free at Rainbow Bridge with Lisa. Love and hugs Anne

Ahh this is the hardest time, when we have to know when it is the right time to let them go. As you did with Archie, you will know when it is time. I am holding you in my thoughts and surrounding you with "white light" to help guide you. I know how tough this is and send you all the love that I have Anne, Barty & Chloe

I totally agree and the fact that other strange behaviours have disappeared may suggest that if you let her walk and play with other dogs often enough, this over noisy behaviour may disappate as well. I have had rescue dogs do this, it is a bit of nervousness in how to interact properly and as they grow in confidence with playing with other dogs - it does get better. I would walk her as much as possible with other dogs so she can learn to play and keep on "apologising" to owners who don't understad. Anne

what is it about these collies that worm their way into our hearts, Merrie my heart dog (bc) has been gone now for nearly 5 years but she still tugs at my heart strings and my memories I feel for you.Keira was beautiul and would tug at my heart too

I am fairly certain Amy said that entries opened in March in the last newsletter

Was going suggest Zooplus who are extremely reliable but they don't appear to stock the sensitive variety