alexis

http://www.rawfeddogs.net/RecipeDetail/50 would seem they are ok?

the road outside Freshfields was still shut off with police presence when I drove past this evening. Apparently road likely to be shut til tomorrow I was supposed to go there tomorrow afternoon to dog walk and drop food off but I guess that's off now. Poor animals

would a gazebo plus sides like on the link below work? http://www.thesportshq.com/Products.asp?Ca...CFQjclAodRCZTQw looks like one on that site is now £70 reduced from £299!! http://direct.tesco.com/search/default.asp...amp;confirm.y=3

Sorry to hear about Salada Laura. Run free Salada

OMG! AS if the new Drs job application system MTAS hasn't been farcical enough already I've just heard on Channel 4 news that details including name, address, phone number, sexual orientation etc. on application form via MTAS were available on a specific URL to anyone accessing the site. I just hope that doesn't include mine! I can't believe it! An identity thief's heaven I would imagine! Information on the ridiculous process and changes in training (which I believe will lead to worse patient care than there is now!) http://www.mmc360.com/whatismmc.php http://www.mmc360.com/mmcerrors.php and that is a small amount of the mess that is MTAS! GRRR this whole situation has me stressed out and fuming! Initially I was told I'd find out if I had a job on the 19th April, then possibly 8th June, then possibly 25th april, now possibly the 2nd or maybe the 8th of May but definitely before the 8th June!

My quotes don't seem to be working! Re MRSA, lots of people do panic. Up to a third of the population carry the bug on their skin or in their noses and are perfectly healthy and it causes no problems. The bug starts to cause problems in people who are already unwell or those who have wounds etc. These articles sum it up q well http://www.link.med.ed.ac.uk/ridu/Mrsa.htm http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/mrsa.htm Anyone who has recently undergone cancer treatment is likely to have low white blood cell count and a lowered immune system. If I was your Dad I'd would stay away whilst the MRSA is causing pneumonia. If it was just on the skin or in a wound it is much less likely to be a problem for visitors if the infection control and hygiene measures are adhered to, but with pneumonia it will be spread with coughing and breathing too

It can be helpful to know what he is allergic to but not necessarily. I'm afraid without intradermal testing any vet including a homeopathic one will just be guessing. Intradermal and blood testing are the ONLY reliable way of diagnosing skin allergy in humans so I am assuming it will be the same in dogs. The only real treatments are ways of damping down the allergic reaction such as steroids or the injection route. Some people find homeopathic treatments do help but I have heard of people who have taken their dogs to a homeopathic vet, paid a lot of money and still been in the same boat. Don't think there are any easy answers I'm afraid. A page on desensitisation (injections) therapy in humans http://www.allergy-clinic.co.uk/desensitisation.htm (it suggests most humans will need 3 years therapy, not sure about dogs) http://www.allergysa.org/alternative.htm

The tescos near me sells a huge range of dog food including dry organic ones and both types of Autarky. Quite a few of them look ok and a hundred percent better than bakers!

Sorry, sounds like he needs to be seen tonight particularly if it is a blood clot as potentially it could get serious and go to his lung. Get him there tonight If no history of any injury/trauma, if it has come on suddenly then my money is on a blood clot. Obviously I've not seen it so could be completely wrong but this needs ruling out ASAP

don't wait for the call, get going now and the sooner you'll be seen!

I have yet to meet anyone with anything less than extremely trivial who NHS Direct have not told to go to A&E/see GP. I've seen people in A&E with a cold and temperature as well as with toothache who were both told to call for an ambulance. All the doctors I have spoken to think NHS direct is a waste of money and has resulted in more people seeing doctors and going to A&E. Walk In Centres I'm afraid I don't have much faith in either both from being a patient at one and dealing with patients that have been there first. They are staffed by nurses so will likely tell you to go to A&E for anything they aren't sure about. I have seen some dangerous treatment as well as unnecessary treatments started at Walk in Centres (e.g they seem to give everyone with sore throats or coughs antibiotics which is usually unnecessary and encourages resistant bugs).I've seen them not call an ambulance for an obvious heart attack as well. For some minor things maybe but often the people there aren't always aware of things that are out of their experience. Just today I have heard about a very dangerous decision made in a Walk in centre and the situation was only saved thankfully when someone else phoned a GP to check whether the treament a nurse practitioner had started was correct which it wasn't and could have resulted in serious consequences for the patient. That's not the only bad story I've heard either. Some minor injuries units are good but again the things they can deal with are limited so A&E is your best bet. Sorry if this sounds anti nurses, it's not meant to be. I'm sure there are some good nurse practitioners out there but they do seem to vary a lot! Arms do NOT swell from lying on them funny. Could be a number of things including a blood clot similar to the clots you get in the legs so needs looking at - GET TO A&E!

Agree Casper has made huge progress but have thought on earlier programmes that Huey wasn't consistent or clear in his training /commands which hasn't helped I don't think. V upset Cookie hasn't made the final

Did i see Julian Clary wiping some tears away while the judges were giving Julia and Cookie's marks out? It's a shame Julia isn't sure if she's the right home for Cookie. Very impressed by Chump tho

The only contact prior to the phonecall that i had was to pay for a years membership on the website which means I get their newsletter and I bought some stuff from online shop. Other than that they had no other info. I have done a couple of homechecks for other rescues since then who have sent me a list of questions to ask and what they were generally looking for etc which I thought was much better. I don't think the people I homechecked for were interested in a particular dog, more the breed concerned. They did get a dog of this breed from another rescue.

You can ask your GP for compression stockings on prescription but I'm not sure if they'd work out much cheaper (depends how many you can put as 1 item, I'd have to have a look at work) for everyone that needs them I fancy more wine but have to go to work tomorrow!

My question is would you homecheck for this rescue again and is this acceptable? I am on the mailing list for a rescue. The only thing they know about me is my name, address and phone number. They ring me up and ask me to do a homecheck. I inform them that I have never done one before, they say that is fine, don't ask me anything about my dog/breed experience and don't give any advice, just give me the telephone number and address of the people/house I need to homecheck. I go and do it ( maybe I should have refused, I don't know). I thought it went ok, I was there for around an hour , they were experienced dog owners and the only problem was a broken fence which was due to be fixed. I asked lots of questions about behaviour, training, what they'd do if the dog messed inside etc, sleeping arrangements, holidays, amount of time left etc. I went home and phoned the rescue concerned. As soon as I mentioned the fence the person on the other end of the phone started going on about ' people shouldn't ask for homechecks if they aren't ready, etc etc, don't people know dogs escape and get stolen etc, this person ranted on for quite a while and didn't really give me an opportunity to say anything else about the homecheck. I was then asked around a week later to go and check the fence had been sorted. I phoned the people concerned and by this time they had already got a dog from another rescue, I'm not sure if they were homechecked for them or what. So if this happened to you what would you think? Would you be happy with this?Would you homecheck for them again?

I know of one breed rescue who did recommend pedigree to new owners, not sure if they still do

Have been to the vet to have Pickle put to sleep. Miss him already sleep well little one

Agreed, Bakers is shite! Most E number are artificial additives but there are some that are natural a.g E406 is agar, often extracted from seaweed, used as a thickening agent. I think giving something an E number isn't the best thought out system.

there was a thread about this a while ago edited to add thread http://www.rykat.org/forums/index.php?show...2&hl=nosode edited to add link Incidentally I also found this by a human Dr who practises homeopathy http://www.dr-dom.com/childrens_immun.html

KathyM- a seroma doesn't appear at the same time as a vaccination. It is due to the tissue that the needle has passed through leaking fluid which causes the lump. It's not a reaction to the vaccine, it's due to the physical bit of the needle being inserted . It's common after any surgical procedure and can happen after any injury/bump , but I'm not sure how common it is after vaccination. A lot of women get them after breast surgery. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seroma

Most fluid filled lumps as far as I know turn out to be cysts or abscesses. If the lump isn't at the exact site of injection then I wouldn't have thought it was a reaction? As far as I know a vaccine reaction is more likely to be systemic ( i.e. affect the whole body) When Charlie has been reacted to something ( ? grass, we aren't sure) she's come out in hardish lumps all over. Just found this on the net Vaccination lumps - seromas and abscesses Q: Hi my name is Jorge and I want to tell you that my dog have a problem because the doctor put the vaccine in a wrong way or place and it have a really big ball where the vaccine was put near the stomach. The doctor said that he will have to remove it if it dont get more liquid and if get liquid he will take it out with a syringe. I wonder if you can tell me if another thing may be done. If you dont understand write me . Thank you Jorge. A: Jorge- I am pretty sure that your dog is probably better by now. Sometimes lumps do form where vaccines are given. If these are fluid filled lumps they are usually either abscesses or seromas. An abscess is an infected pocket under the skin and they are a rare problem. Seromas are accumulations of serum, the liquid portion of the blood, under the skin. These occur when the vaccine irritates the veins in the area and they leak serum or if there is bleeding under the skin, perhaps due to the needle passing through a vein or skin artery. These are more common than infections (abscesses) and they tend to go away on their own after one to three weeks. It is always a good idea to let your vet look at any lumps that form after vaccination, which you seem to have done. I am sure your vet will keep working with you to resolve this problem as long as is necessary. Mike Richards, DVM taken from here http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/dvaccprob.html

2 of my pics that I sent in for category 7 ( sent on 10th april at the same time as the others) aren't there!

Charlie (staffie, SW London) insurance £22 a month, last yr it was £18.40 we're with M&S and are unlikely to change as she had an orthopaedic operation last year and may need the same on the other leg.

Very sorry to hear about Maple