Anne Grose

Rescue Remedy is good for stress both dogs and humans - you can either put it on his skin or keep a few drops in the water. I would still try adding some live yoghourt into his food as a probiotic to help his gut heal

luvvs Eddie

Live Yoghourt and Slippery Elm are what I would suggest. The yoghourt will help rebalance the gut bacteria and the slippery elm is a herbal remedy to rebalance the gut. As a more radical solution you could change his diet to raw (), my lurcher can't tolerate dried dog food of any kind and my first dog had terrible colitis until I changed him to a raw diet. Of course, there are some dogs who can't tolerate raw and something like NatureDiet might be the answer. Hope you find something to help. Anne, Barty & Chloe

Hi Ian, I'll chip in a little here. Most of the core vaccines now have a duration of 3 years and are not licenced to be given annually. Only leptospirosis and kennel cough are licenced for annual administration - the others should not be given more frequently than every 3 years. The guidance provided to vets also states that if there is no specific threat of leptospirosis or kennel cough then they also do not need to be given annually. There is a wealth of anecdotal evidence that if the puppy vaccines are given after 14 weeks of age that they probably last a lifetime. I am conducting my own experiment with my own two dogs as I do believe over vaccination is harmful. I have two dogs who were given puppy vaccines at 6 months old and they have been blood titre tested every two years since then and have shown full immunity to the core vaccines. One dog is 7.5 years old and the other is 6.5 years old. Unfortunately, no hard scientific evidence exists to support this as most research is sponsored by the drug companies and they are not going to pay to prove that their products do not need to be given. The only research into vaccine duration is the rabies research currently taking place which has so far proved that the rabies vaccine lasts at least 7 years. This research has been paid for by the general public and has so far managed to change the vaccination protocol from every year to every 3 years in the UK and US. Hopefully now that the 7 year proof has been published the protocol will change again. The vaccine data sheets also state that only healthy dogs should be vaccinated as the challenge to the dogs immune system is considerable and any dog that is unwell will have a compromised immune system. This subject is very emotive and there is no doubt that vets gain a large proportion of their income from administering vaccines on a yearly basis. The whole Metacam/Rimadyl subject is another book in itself and having done extensive research into the reported side effects of these drugs, I know that these drugs are not something that should be handed out like sweeties.

Don't take my comments the wrong way Cher. I know you are FABBBBBBBBBIE with rehabilatating these ex puppy farm dogs. Me I am a beginner who learnt the hard way with difficult start dogs I didn't know I was getting. I love my dogs but tbh I would never knowingly take on another feral dog - they are so difficult.

It is shame when people don't realise that these really traumatised dogs can take years to come round. My first dog took 4 years before he became a "normal" dog and it has taken Chloe nearly 5. Both were and are fabulous but for the first few years you have to work really hard to gain their trust. I hope Betty Boo finds the right kind of home that will work with her over the next few years. She will reward them with love 200 fold in return

Yes, I would have guessed some lab in there but as you say who knows. We had our delightful Chloe DNA tested to satisfy our curiosity and she turned out to be Collie/Basset Hound.Italian Greyhound/ESS and noone would have guessed that!!!!

Wow - that's amazing - I hope you all enjoy both your dogs birthdays.

100% success record still with the people I have recommended this too. I have only ever it externally but it also kills internal parasites as well, so you can use it as a wormer instead of Drontal if you wish. So happy that Diez is feeling better. Give her a hug from all of us Anne, Barty Chloe

Here is France, the bulls are all kept in the fields with the cows. We have a huge chap in the field right next door and all the cows take not a blind bit of notice of the dogs because they are used to having dogs running free through their fields. Even the tiny babies ignore the dogs (not mine I hasten to add) because the mum tells them it isn't a problem. It has been very useful to have such placid creatures around us because it has made my job easier to stop my stupid lurcher from forever trying to chase them Anne

They are really quick - I shall keep my fingers crossed that it works as well for you as it did for me

Your'e welcome

My favourite standby is Grapefruit Seed Extract - GSE which is a natural antibiotic, antifungal product. You put a few drops in water and use it to wash her it will keep her clean and dry and feeling fantastic. Here is a link to more info and where you can get it but have a hunt around the internet as you can get it really cheaply. I use it for all sorts of things - wonderful stuff. https://www.highernature.co.uk/Products/Citricidal-Liquid Make sure you get the higher Nature stuff as it is the best Annw

Very interesting article. I haven't read the book, but the techniques he describes will work with any dog that can be motivated by play. Sadly, my ex semi-feral dog will not play with any object of any description, despite 5 years of trying to get her to do it. Still, she is 90% safe with small furry's now - the other 10% she is kept on a lead. Anne

Hi Jane, I have Tramadol for Barty when his disc goes out in a major way. The first time I used them with him, he was very spacy but he soon got used to that and they were extremely effective. Fortunately, he doesn't have to have them very often but they are non addictive and probably one of the better kind of painkillers that you can give. Gentle hugs on their way from all of us here Anne, Barty & Chloe

Purpuss - I hope you got this sorted. Jim Greenwood is a fantastic man and helped me sort out my Chloe's HUGE problem with chasing anything that was small and furry or had feathers. Since his lovely, kind gentle advice we have only had one incident where she nearly got a cockerel (and I blame myself as I think I inadvertently said she could chase it) but she stopped when we yelled. This is quite an achievement seeing as Chloe was a killing machine when we first got her. Anne

If you are up for a home made diet then you would do a lot worse than have a look at this information www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/kidney-diet/ Lew Olson is perhaps one of the most knowledgable people about diets so what she doesn't know isn't worth knowing. By the way I had a dog who was diagnosed with kidney failure aged 4 who they suggested went onto hills. I refused and put him onto a natural diet and he lived until he was well over 13 with very small kidneys with absolutely no further problems. /Anne

I am so sorry to hear your shocking news, but thank goodness Cecil doesn't know he is ill. Enjoy your dear boy for as long as you can and good on you for being brave and strong enough to not selfishly put him through treatments. My thoughts are with you Anne

We can't come now on 21st as we are going to be in Scotland that weekend. Our plans have all changed recently as we suddenly sold our house last week and will hopefully be completing at the end of March and then moving permanently to France. Hope you all have a lovely time

well done to both of you. You brag to your heart's content you deserve to

What an absolute stunner - I looooooove that tail Anne

Well, seeing as I am a day late reading this - I am on time to wish Henry - a very happy gotcha day. May there be many more grumpy gotcha days

My two don't wear collars in the house and they wear the snap type collars when they are out. I have had cause to be glad that they did because my old BC Merrie went out hunting in a forest one day and was gone ages. We were beginning to get very worried about how long she had been gone with us calling her like mad (she was my heart dog and never disappeared from my side for long) and she eventually came back minus her collar. It was returned to me in the post about a year later by a kind soul. Another time Barty got stuck in the woods on his collar and he also came back minus it - it having snapped open to free him. I don't think there is such a thing as a perfect solution but I have heard too many stories about dogs getting tangled together in their collars when playing to let mine wear them in the house.