Fleas! The flea Collar was Useless.

07/29/2010

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Fleas! OMG! They grow everything bigger and  better in Queensland.

Reg, Indigo and I were relaxing beside the caravan in the bush, enjoying out first glimpse of blue sky in weeks, as we dried out all the damp things in our caravan and aired all the bedding in full sunshine and I called Indigo over for a cuddle and a groom as she had been enjoying a dust bath under the caravan. 

I started to rub my hands through her coat as I often do when we are traveling; mostly checking to make sure she has not picked up another tick.  I remember 2 years ago getting one heck of a shock when she picked up  a bush tick, because, being a northern Victorian, (where we do not have any ticks) I had never seen a tick on a dog and I went into a panic.

Anyhow I found fleas on Indigo OMG!, she has NEVER had a flea before.  I have always used those drops you place at the back of the neck every month, bought the best and most expensive from the vet and they work. This trip however because I was so worried about ticks, I bought flea and tick collars. The, BayO Pet Kiltix Tick Collar, I used, is supposed to control fleas for 5 months and paralysis tick for 5 weeks so Indigo has been having these replaced every month and here she was suddenly full of fleas. L. 

I had some flea powder with me, as I had been dusting her down before putting her down on the ground in areas where I was extra concerned about ticks.  So I have been dusting her with flea powder, twice a day, combing her with a fine flea comb and killing half a dozen fleas at every go and I have now put one of those once a month flea treatments on her. Tonight put on a new tick and flea collar and fingers crossed we will come to the end of these fleas soon.  They grow things bigger and better there in Queensland, this dog flea colony seems to be the most resistant I have known.  

Yes I know every piece of soft furnishing in the place will require washing, plus the front seat of our car and our mattress will need some sun exposure and time away from the dog to break the cycle and I read the female flea can lay 30 eggs a day, 2,000 eggs in her short 115 day (max.) lifetime.  Thankfully, the flea can not live more than a couple of days without the host animal. I will be doing close inspections on Indigo twice daily and will try to give her a flea rinse bath tomorrow as well, I sure want her to be free from fleas before we get home.    

The main reason why any dog gets fleas is because it has associated with other dogs that also have fleas. Indigo spent a lot of time with Reg's fishing mate's dog, just before we left Flying Fish Point and I did not check her until the following day. 
 
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Indigo has been Touring since she was 7 Weeks Old and she LOVES it :-).

07/24/2010

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Indigo will be excited in the morning when we hitch the caravan to the car, she loves the travel phases of our tours. Lots of new places to investigate, J.  Indigo has been travelling with us since she was 7 weeks old and we picked her up from her mum in Queensland.

Indigo’s mum was a popular ‘boardie’, on EBay’s Chin Wag, and I fell in love with Indigo on the day she was born, from the pictures of her breeder, placed on chin wag to show friends. I could tell Indigo would have been well nurtured, , you can tell when someone is breeding dogs because they love them and that they are not just back yard puppy mills to make money; far too many of those.

I had intended to detour and visit Indigo’s breeder in Warwick QLD on our way home and show her the mature 5 year old beautiful Indigo, but a slight change of plans and we will not make it that way this trip, sorry Lyn, if you are reading this, another time hopefully. Hope you are keeping well, I am sure your pets and beautiful granddaughter are keeping you forever young. Indigo, Reg and I send our love.

To all Indigo's fans. Indigo will be too busy sniffing all the scents from north Queensland to north Victoria to blog, for just over a week but she will be back blogging about her exciting trip south in very early August and she has an appointment with the best dog clipper in the business :-), Carla's Clipping and Grooming in Narre Warren so expect to see a good looking Indigo, very soon. :-)

 
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Golden Retriever, Ideal Family Pet, Saturday, Pet Bloggers, Hop.

07/24/2010

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My daughter runs a dog grooming business and has worked with all breeds of dogs and has made the educated decision that from the entire dog breeds she knew that the Golden Retriever was the best she could choose as the family pet.
decision , and I know she made the right choice for their family. Kelly has been a dream family member/pet.

Mind you, Kelly has brought about far more  home changes than any other family member,  requiring super efficient vacuum cleaners to be purchased, the laying of tiles through all the family areas of the home, lol, cream the same colour as her undercoat and basic black is not to be seen in the wardrobe of the family members.

Yes expect a few dog hairs, if you own a Golden Retriever and best to not be an EBay clothing seller if you do not want negative feedback saying, ‘garment had dog hairs on it’. 

I will stick with our non hair shedding poodle, Indigo J, but  I do love a Golden Retriever and agree you could not find a dog with a more gentle friendly personality for a family pet.

 
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Short-Faced Dogs More Likely to Die During Flights

07/21/2010

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Short-Faced Dogs More Likely to Die During Flights
Washington, D.C.

New data released has revealed that short-faced dogs are far more likely to die during air travel than breeds with long faces.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has been collecting data from U.S. airlines regarding deaths, injuries and loss of pets during transport since May 2005. The data has revealed that 122 dogs have died while being transported as cargo in the last five years, a number that far exceeds the death of other pets. The number of pets reported lost or injured totaled 88 during the five years in which data was collected.

If the number of deaths does not include 'unknown' or 'mixed breed' dogs, approximately half of the pet dogs that died were short-faced breeds, such as the English Bulldog, Pug, French Bulldog and Staffordshire Terrier. In fact, almost a quarter of all deaths were English Bulldogs, with 25 dogs dying in transit. However, a total of 14 Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers also died during the study period.

Short-faced dog breeds - known as 'brachycephalic' (literally meaning 'short head') in the dog world - have a skull formation that affects their airways. Brachycephalic dogs have been bred to have an upper jaw that is smaller than it should be, relative to their body size. In general, this results in more effort being exerted in order to transfer the same amount of air through the respiratory system. The Department advises owners of short-faced breeds to review this data before shipping them as cargo aboard aircraft and consult their veterinarians about any genetic features in dogs of this type and the medical condition of their pets before deciding to transport them by aircraft.

View the latest World Pet News every week at PetPeoplesPlace.com.

Original Source: http://www.petpeoplesplace.com/resources/news/dogs/short-faced-dogs-more-likely-to-die-during-flights.htm

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1 Million Stray Dogs In Iraq To Be Culled.

07/04/2010

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As a dog lover, an animal lover, this story sounds almost unimaginable.

1 Million Stray Dogs In Iraq To Be Culled
Baghdad, Iraq

Iraq's chief veterinarian has told news agencies that authorities intend to kill up to 1 million stray dogs in Baghdad alone.

During the rule of Saddam Hussein, Iraq's authorities sent veterinary teams out to kill stray dogs on a nightly basis. Since the fall of his regime, for several years the lack of security and threat of violence has prevented these teams from patrolling Iraq's capital Baghdad. During this time, the stray dog population has exploded to the point where almost 1 million stray dogs are thought to be living in the capital alone - a population density that is the equivalent to Washington, D.C., having almost 100,000 stray dogs roaming the streets. Locals are blaming the dogs for an increase in litter and animal waste around the capital's streets, as well as increase in disease among humans and domestic animals.

Now, as violence on the streets subsides, authorities have begun trying to tackle the over-population problem again. Twenty 4-person teams are now in action every night, consisting of 2 vets and 2 armed marksmen. As dogs are shot or poisoned, they are loaded into tractor trailers in their masses and transported to Baghdad's refuse tip. This "public service" is costing the mayor's office 35 million Iraqi dinars ($30,000). The process of reducing the stray dog population to a "manageable" level is expected to take approximately a year.

"We could consider this the biggest campaign of dog execution ever," Baghdad chief veterinarian Mohammed al-Hilly told Reuters. He said the campaign had so far killed 42,000 dogs since it started two months ago - of which more than half were poisoned. "This can be considered a victory," he continued.

The local authorities are not the only organization attempting to tackle the stray dog population. "Operation Baghdad Pups" is a program run by the SPCA International, in which U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan befriend local animals as a way to help cope with the emotional hardships they endure every day while deployed in a war zone. The Operation Baghdad Pups program provides veterinary care and coordinates complicated logistics and transportation requirements in order to reunite these beloved pets with their service men and women back in the U.S.

View the latest World Pet News every week at PetPeoplesPlace.com.

Original Source: http://www.petpeoplesplace.com/resources/news/dogs/1-million-stray-dogs-in-iraq-to-be-culled.htm

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