alexis

Charlie roaches sometimes.

I also have the lurgy. Started a week ago. materialised into full blown cold and cough by Friday and now am coughing up nice green coloured gunk- lovely! Unfortunately I have 2 12 hour shifts this week with the rest 9-5. one 12 hour shift left! I'm sure the new mums I saw today weren't too impressed with me breathing germs over their little ones! Hope everyone with the bug is feeling better.

not done dogs but have done rats so I am assuming dogs will be easier! I feel less mean injecting my pets than I do children! Don't mind injecting adults! If you are injecting into the scruff of the neck then u are unlikley to go wrong!

no experience of dogs but have taken my rats in a cat carrier loads of times and had staff want a cuddle! Never had a problem and they often get a packet of biscuits so it would seem there are some pet friendly staff!

only just seen this, glad Loki is ok!

I'd be inclined to ignore the 0 result. If anyone or any animal had a bloood sugar of zero they'd be dead or in a serious coma. Lab error? misprint? usually the blood sugar meters u use with a pin prick and then a droplet of blood correspond fairly closely to the lab blood test results. Depends on how regulary the meter is callibrated tho, I've seen on a couple of occasions ( in people, out of about 50, mind u!) variations of up to 3.0 comparing meter readings to lab readings from blood taken at the same time Wait and see what it shows tomorrow

no recommendations but there are some dog friendly pubs & B&Bs on here http://www.doggiepubs.org.uk/index.php?24=...;supporters=new

Hello cheryl! Some general eczema advice - emollient ointments are usually better then creams and are good at trying to reduce flare ups by keeping skin moist and supple so it doesn't crack and then get infected. Best to put them on as often as possible. Once a flare-up comes steroid creams settle it down usually. Even potent steroid creams are safe to use in small amounts. We have a little girl with awful eczema who recently saw a dermatologist who has basically said to use a weak steroid once a night over the dry/bad bits long term and then stronger ones during flare-ups as well as emollient ointments and bath products. You can get 'wet wraps' on prescription - they are a bit like tubigrips for children to wear and u put cream on underneath and then wrap them up, it seems to work well on really bad eczema. you can buy a milk now called lactofree which is cows milk with the lactose taken out, they sell it in tescos. Goats milk helps some people too. I know ther dieticians hate people giving children soya milk without proper allergy testing as it can cause problems and children can be allergic to soya milk as well.

hope Daisy is feeling better today. Muriel - if u read the original post Daisy did have baseline blood tests before the op. Dogs can get MRSA usually it shows as a wound infection after surgery. Most dogs who contract MRSA get it from their owners who carry it, not from the vets. Some dogs carry MRSA, as do some humans where it doesn't cause any problems unless there is a wound or problem with immune system. http://www.provet.co.uk/Petfacts/healthtips/mrsapets.htm

You don't need to know what u are allergic to to have a kenalog injection. It is basically a large dose of steroids injected into muscle & lasts a few months. It will control symptoms . It has some nasty possible side effects including necrosis of hip joints& possible osteoporosis and many drs will not give it. In really severe cases of hay fever I tend to try with steroid nasal spray antihistamine; eye drops; montelukast. Plus possible short courses of steroid tablets for particularly bad weeks. That way the steroid dose is minimal (u absorb very little from nasal sprays) but should help in bad patches.

looks great!

We got Charlie almost 3 yrs ago. She was living with some pikeys who were breeding staffie types for money. She was 6 months old and hadn't sold ; was in bad condition and had an awful flea allergy. We took her off their hands. In the first week she pood once in the house but that was it. She's friendly with other dogs ( she'll retaliate if someone bites her but not badly). She doesn't tolerate yappy dogs sometimes and has been known to growl at entire males but is usually fine. She is soppy as anything and picks up training quickly. considering where we got her from I am amazed she's so easy! She loves her ball and will fetch it to u all day & has never needed training to do it. On occasions she will have selective deafness usually when rolling in something lovely! She chewed a bit at 6 to 9 months when left but since then can be left fine!

OmG Britain's youngest brides on ITv now look at the size of the dress! dress weighs 22 stone!

my friend's old whippet was going senile ( forgot house training etc) and did seem to improve on the diet

The Queen and the Royal Family cost the taxpayer 62p per person per year.

for muriel ( off topic slightly. sorry) From British assoc of dermatologists re homeopathy & pemphigus http://www.bad.org.uk/public/leaflets/bad_...ed/medicine.asp

hugs for u and Cromwell. Don't know much about pemphigus in dogs but know a bit about it in people. It's a horrible disease. Without treatments such as steroids people used to die from it. It usually needs aggressive treatment very doubtful if anything homeopathic would help. I hope you get good news at the vets. edited cos I can't spell!

Freshfields don't have a fostering scheme at present altho they may be open to the idea. They will rehome out of their area particularly older dogs or dogs they have had problems finding homes for. Give them a ring!

The speculums where I work are all the same size in width but vary in length from short to medium to long. For ladies who have had kids I usually go for long. in older ladies or short arses ( like me) I usually go for medium. I've had one ok smear and 1 painful one. I think it depends on the person doing it; how tense u are and sometimes it is harder to find the cervix than u think & that can be uncomfortable.

If anyone has a home & bargain near them they are doing leads and collars for 89p each at present. I'll ask my vets but I think they reuse their buster collars as they charge a deposit?

Hello! OH & I aren't seeing each other this weekend as he is working in london from 8 til 7 both days. Hopefully he'll be living with me in a few months. I've been feeling a bit fed up and not looking forward to starting new job on wed ( not been CRB checked or occupational health cleared yet & don't know whether I'll starting on days or nights) but was cheered up this morning by a surprise delivery of flowers from wayne my OH. AWWWW. Hae spent the day repotting tomato plants & done my shopping and some sewing.

charlie ( girlie) will walk with a bandage on her foot as she has been doing or the last few days but when u put one of those boots on her foot she hops about on 3 legs!! funny!

would suggest GP first or thorough chat and eksamination ( sorry the letter eks is bust on keyboard) . Some anti inflammatories/decent painkillers. After that physio likely to help neck & maybe achilles as well but likely to be waiting list ( 3 months here) . I personally wouldn't go anywhere near a chiroprator with neck probs after a patient's stroke was probably precipitated by neck manipulation. Studies report it may increase stroke risk. Osteopath may help. some people find them useful some don't. http://www.webmd.com/stroke/news/20030512/...ses-stroke-risk