Medication – where do you buy yours?

Until recently, I was able to buy any medication from my vet, as you should do.  However, since Luna’s diabetes diagnosis in December 2017, I have had a bit of a re-think.  She has to have an insulin injection every 12 hours.  See my post about caring for your  diabetic dog for more details.  It’s pretty straightforward, but I must admit the cost of it all does start to add up.

Luna needs:

• One VetPen kit
• Needles – 2 per day
• Caninsulin cartridges – 1 per week
• Sharps disposal bin

She also has a special diet – Royal Canin Dry Dog Food Diabetic, which you can’t buy from Royal Canin 🙁

After a few months of getting her stabilised, things are generally settled, but we continue to need supplies.  Luna also has to have her ‘glucose curve’ done, which means a whole day at the vet with a blood glucose check done every hour.  The vet usually sends off her blood to the lab for analysis, so that they can see how things have been going for her.

Buying medication online

Some of this is pretty straightforward.  I buy the Royal Canin Diabetic food from Amazon.  Or I can buy the food and the needles from Pet Drugs Online.  They are a  great company, really easy to use.  Delivery is normally free and it’s pretty prompt.

There is a challenge though; buying prescription drugs online.  For these, you must get a written prescription  from your vet.  You will have to pay a fee for this (about £14).  It’s a bit of a faff, but you do then pay a fraction of the price for the drugs themselves.

Once you have the written prescription, you then scan it and upload it onto the site in order to place the order.

A word of warning

I was not able to buy the VetPen cartridges from Pet Drugs Online as they don’t appear to sell these.  They sell vials for syringes, but I use the pen.  It cost over £60 to buy (from the vet’s), but it is so easy to use.
Anyway, I then went to Animed to buy the cartridges.  Using their site was nothing like as straightforward and I wasn’t very happy with their service.  To be fair, this was partly because I tried to order more cartridges than it said on the prescription, thinking I could just order a bigger stock.  But they didn’t make it clear that I couldn’t do this and then didn’t tell me why they hadn’t sent my order.   This meant I had a total panic as I ran out of insulin for Luna!  Fortunately the vet was able to give me some and I did receive the order, so I do now have a bit of stock.

Other medication

I give Sunny Metacam to help ease her arthritis.  I have saved around £50 ordering this online.  Overall, it has already saved me a significant amount of money buying the meds online, but it is more hassle.

NB:  I do not insure my dogs.  This is partly because I have so many and partly because I resent paying insurance when my dogs are generally pretty healthy.  Obviously I would have been able to claim for some of Luna’s treatments and meds, but I suspect there would have been an annual limit on this.

I appreciate that many people feel it is irresponsible not to insure your pets, because you might then be unable to pay for the treatment they need.  Personally, I would rather save the money elsewhere and use that fund when needed.  What do you think?  Do you buy stuff online?   What would you recommend?

Ask for help?

You are very welcome to contact me to ask for my advice.  I can help you with a variety of issues and problems around getting a dog and suggestions for tackling training issues.  Go to the What Dog? page for more information on my new service.

Remember..

If you enjoy hearing about Ounce and her family and want more, why not FOLLOW ME?  Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.  Please CONTACT ME if you would like me to write about a specific topic?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think?

Fabric flat collars for your dog

Well it is her birthday!  Some people give their dogs cake for their birthday (see the pic of Lenny in yesterday’s post, or the lovely Woofs Treats I talked about last week).  I just keep buying collars ;-p

I don’t generally dress my dogs up in costumes, but I do like a nice collar.  And I found one, made by Rocky and Bud Isn’t it lovely?

I had previously bought her a rainbow collar, as she was from The Rainbow Litter but I always wanted a lilac collar.  This one does not disappoint!

Collar types

There are two main types of collar – flat and rolled.  As you know, I am quite partial to a rolled leather collar, such as those sold by Dogs & Horses

However, these are no good for agility.  You need a flat collar with no ‘dangly bits’ when competing.  If you have something hanging from the collar you will be eliminated.  Basically, it’s a risk to the dog as it could become caught on the equipment.

So we need flat collars.  I must admit I do love a flat collar, when they have a design as lovely as this one.  They are comfortable for the dog to wear and lovely and personal.  The D ring to which the lead attaches is bigger than on rolled collars, so it is easier to clip on.

ID Tags

If you need an ID tag to go on the collar, I recommend going to Indigo Collar Tags.  They are a bit pricey for a dog tag, but such great quality.  They last forever and are very secure, fitting easily but safely onto the collar.  In fact I struggled to take a picture where you couldn’t read the address on this one!

Lucky puppy!

Ask for help?

You are very welcome to contact me to ask for my advice.  I can help you with a variety of issues and problems around getting a dog and suggestions for tackling training issues.  Go to the What Dog? page for more information on my new service.

Remember..

If you enjoy hearing about Ounce and her family and want more, why not FOLLOW ME?  Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.  Please CONTACT ME if you would like me to write about a specific topic?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think?

NB: If you read my posts in an email, you may be missing out on the lovely pictures!  Please click through to my website to see the post in all its glory?

What are the best healthy treats to give your dog?

Following on from my post about Ounce’s prettiest eyes the other day, I thought I would just do a promotion for a lovely person I met at the Parks Trust event, the Big Doggie Do – Michelle from Woofs Treats.

Michelle is clearly very knowledgeable about dogs and has worked hard to develop a great range of treats.  I was particularly impressed that she has researched and produced treats that are suitable for dogs on special diets, because I know how hard it can be to find something suitable for some dogs.

Oh and did I mention there are CAKES FOR DOGS!

Other Treats

Top treats can include:

• cheese – mild cheddar is not too crumbly, nice and cheap.  Cut into small cubes
• squirty cheese – lots of people buy tubes of cheese, which the dog can lick.  It’s a bit disgusting but dogs love it and it takes them longer to get a small amount
• sausage – ordinary cooked sausage, cut small
• frankfurters – I slice up quite finely and then cook in the oven for a while. This dries them out so them are easier to handle and last longer
• liver cake – if you must.  I never do, but people swear by it: liver cake recipe

For now, I am going to keep buying these Wagg training treats I find them so easy to carry and use and the dogs still really love them.  I take them into school for the children to give to Busy when we are doing our voluntary work for Canine Concern.

However, if I am looking for something different, I will definitely visit this local company  for something homemade and healthy!

Remember..

If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME?  Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.  Please CONTACT ME if you have a problem you would like me to talk about?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.

Super Cleaning!

I realise I may possibly be revealing my somewhat OCD tendencies to clean, talking about cleaning yet again.  Trust me, when you have 5 dogs (and a cat) there is plenty of cleaning to do!  I do try hard NOT to over clean my house, because I don’t think that is a very healthy option, for me or the dogs.  It’s about getting the balance in being clean without going overboard.

Norwex are a Norwegian company, whose mission is to help people learn how to make your home healthier and more sustainable while saving time and money.

I did learn!  I learnt that using a damp microfibre cloth and a dry  window cloth is enough on its own to clean my kitchen.  Fantastic!

Less is more

I have realised how much I do want to use less chemical sprays and cleaning products around the house.  I used to use the following:

• descaling spray
• kitchen cleaning spray
• stainless steel spray
• marble and granite spray
• glass cleaner
• furniture polish
• anti-bacterial spray
• disinfectant and odour removing floor cleaner
• washing-up liquid
• washing liquid
• dishwasher tablets (plus rinse aid)
• toilet cleaning blocks
• toilet cleaner

OMG!! And all of these come in plastic bottles.  All contain any number of manufactured substances, which may or may not be harmful to my health and that of my animals.  I don’t use any of these products any more.

Washing Detergent

Here’s a good idea; let’s buy some washing detergent that is fantastically concentrated, rather than containing large amounts of ‘fillers’.  This includes things like cardboard and abrasive materials, which wear out clothes and damage washing machines.  Let’s buy Norwex Laundry Detergent 1kg that comes in small plastic pouch.  Buying it like this reduces the cost of transporting it too – it’s a win-win situation!

Bags and Food Covers

Finally, I have ordered some reusable food bags to take shopping and some silicone food covers to use instead of cling film.  Slowly, we chip away at it all and with any luck, we can remain clean, healthy and hygienic.

Happy shopping!

Remember..

If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME?  Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.  Please CONTACT ME if you have something you would like me to talk about?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.

Only the best vacuum for my dogs.

When you have 5 hairy Border Collies AND a fluffy cat, you do need something that can cope!  Over the years I have had a variety of Dyson vacuum cleaners, but have finally decided they are too heavy and noisy, sorry Mr Dyson.

Introducing the SHARK!

I’ve just got this one, following the recommendations of many, many BC owners on the Facebook Agilitynet group.

I really LOVE this new vacuum cleaner! I’m very happy to be back with an upright, which I can carry up and down stairs with one hand. There are many features I am really enjoying:

• easy to carry up and down stairs
• efficient suction
• anti-wrap actually works! Stops the hair getting wrapped round the head – it’s like magic
• light on the front of the head
• button on the handle to change from hard floor to carpet – I use this all the time
• lift away has a funky feature to detach the body of the vacuum from the handle and head, making it like a carpet sweeper, light and easy to use on the stairs
• hose comes out really easily to get under things and into corners.

No negative feature so far. Well it’s a vacuum cleaner which is still quite hard work.

Price:       £196.90  from Amazon Prime  BUY NOW!

Cylinder options

I previously had this one:

It’s the Miele Blizzard Powerline Vacuum Cleaner – specifically the CX1 Cat and Dog.

Positive features:

• light
• bagless
• head swivels and is easy to manoeuvre
• great suction
• brush head works well on carpet
• non-brush head works well on hard floors
• Cord rewinds at the touch of a button

Negative features

• hard to carry
• a pain to change the head for carpet, meaning I scrubbed the floor with the hard floor head
• cylinder not upright, so there’s always a tendency to bend over it – important to adjust the wand length correctly
• dust compartment isn’t massive, so needs emptying after each use (bearing in mind I have lots of hairy dogs and don’t vacuum every day)
• cord not quite long enough
• red

OK I’m clutching at straws for the negatives, I don’t really mind it being red.  The Dyson was purple though…

Price:       £299    from Amazon Prime  BUY NOW!

Other options

I know that lots of people nowadays are going for the ”wand’ type vacuum cleaners.  I think these are great if you clean regularly and don’t do much at a time.  They are cordless and nice and light and manoeuvrable.  I’d love to have one for a quick wiz round the kitchen and maybe then I’d clean more often…

We love our dogs, but it is nice when the house is clean.

Remember..

If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME?  Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.  Please CONTACT ME if you have something you would like me to talk about?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.

A guide to Dog Walks – recommendation

I recently talked about walking your dog and so when I was asked to promote this book for dog walkers, why wouldn’t I want to?  It’s a great looking guide, helping us make the most of living in the brilliant location that is Milton Keynes.

The town was designed in the ’60s to be a paragon of urban living, with a grid system (connected by roundabouts!) with the housing tucked away behind these wide roadways.  Each housing estate is linked to its neighbours via subways making it safe for local traffic to move around.  In addition, there are hundreds of miles of ‘redways’; cycle paths that allow you to travel from one side of the city to the other without touching a road.  There two large lakes; Caldecotte Lake, near my house, is around four and a half miles to walk round it.  Willen Lake, in the North of the city, is even bigger.

A Dog Walkers Guide to Milton Keynes

This handy guide celebrates the best our area has to offer.  The walks are leisurely and circular, so the perfect way to enjoy our countryside.  This books gives you all the information you need to know, from parking, to poo bins, terrain and sites to see.  Oh and it also includes dog friendly pubs to visit at the end of the walk – the perfect incentive!

Plenty of parkland

We have parkland running right through the heart of Milton Keynes, so you can walk along the river, through pasture, but along hard paths.  This is perfect for this time of year, when the ground is still wet and muddy – wellingtons are not required!  On the other hand, it is all safe for dogs to be off lead and running around – they love it!

Livestock

As I’ve said, there are areas of pasture, which do have sheep and cows in them over the summer.  These are usually dog friendly – I have walked my five dogs through the sheep and they barely notice!  You do of course need to pay attention to your dogs though; please do NOT let your dogs roar round livestock as this can be extremely dangerous for the animals and farmers are entitled to take action.

You also need to make sure that you keep gates closed as you go through these.  There are cattle grids at many of the gateways, which is great if you are on a bike, but not so good if the dogs are off lead!  There is usually an alternative gateway to go through.

Wildlife

I see a great deal of wildlife on my walks through the parks.  There are a wide variety of birds, including birds of prey and waterfowl.   There is a lovely variety of trees and plants to enjoy too.

To order the book

Please CONTACT ME to order the book, which costs £9.95.  Finally, I must ‘big up’ The Parks Trust, as they are responsible for the management of all our roadways, redways and parkland.

Remember..

If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME?  Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.  Please CONTACT ME if you have a problem you would like me to talk about?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.

 

How do you cope with all those dog smells?

When you get a dog, you have to put up with some horrible dog smells.  I am writing more about this topic today because my lovely new dog garden is already a bit smelly and I need to do something to fix it.  I’ve decided to get some disinfectant and this one looks like it will do the business:

I like the features:

• Odourfresh – Powerful Triple-Action Cleaner, Disinfectant and Deodoriser.
• 12 fragrances are available to choose from – Cherry, Bubblegum, Lavender, Lemon, Cinnamon, Peardrop, Spearmint, Baby Powder, Eucalyptus, Tutti Frutti, Freshly Cut Grass or Pine Forest – See description for details of how to choose. NEW FRAGRANCES FOR CHRISTMAS – Winter Berry & Gingerbread
• Specifically designed for use around pets and animals, doesn’t contain harmful bleach or aldehydes. Cleans up animal mess, destroys odours and targets the sources of bad smells.
• High level disinfectant with effective bactericidal and virucidal properties. Protects you and your family from nasty animal bugs.
• Concentrated formula, can be diluted up to 100:1 as a deodoriser.

What flavours should I choose?

NB: Do NOT use ‘standard’ disinfectants such as Dettol neat liquid or Zoflora – these are NOT safe for use around animals.

Cleaning up ‘accidents’ on the floor

I use a wet cloth and then a light spray with some diluted Odour Eliminator. I then wash out the Envirocloth, ready for next time. When I mop the floor I use my Norwex Mop system and just water, with a bit of Laundry Detergent if the floor is very muddy.

When clearing up solid ‘deposits’ I usually gather up what I can with some toilet roll and then just flush it down the toilet, before cleaning as above.

Washing your dog

I have already talked about this in a couple of other posts; grooming your dog; walking in the rain  but I think it is worth repeating my top tip “When your dog rolls in fox poo (when, not if) try rubbing in a handful of tomato ketchup.  Then wash out.  It really helps to remove the smell.”  Or get some Fox Poo Shampoo.

Remember..

If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME?  Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.  Please CONTACT ME if you have a problem you would like me to talk about?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.

How do you cope with ticks and fleas on your dog?

Aargh!  Just found a tick on Aura’s face!  Didn’t expect to see these so early, but I suppose that just because the weather is still totally rubbish, doesn’t mean ticks aren’t hatching.  It’s not a problem, we just got our trusty tick tool remover and it came out, perfectly cleanly. Let’s talk about how to manage ticks and fleas on our dogs?

I love these tools, they work so well.  We cuddle our dogs all the time, so we find ticks pretty much straight away.  They can’t get attached in long, thick hair, so tend to be on the face or legs, and are easier to spot.

WARNING: I’ve just googled ‘dog with ticks’ to find a picture to show you (having disposed of Aura’s straight away) and now feel really sick. Don’t do that :-(.  This picture shows all you need to know.  See the tick?  Get the tick tool, slide it between the tick and the dog and twist until it comes off.  Then kill it.  Yuck.

With regards fleas, we did have a flea infestation a few months ago, thanks to a visiting cat.  We then had to use treatments (see below).  However, normally, because I have leather sofas and hard floors, and I regularly wash the dogs’ bedding, I don’t have to treat the dogs (or the cat) for ticks and fleas.

Preventative treatments for ticks and fleas

If you are worried that you won’t notice fleas or ticks, or cannot keep on top of it, you can use a ‘drop-on’ preventative treatment, such as Frontline.  These seem straightforward and easy to use.  However, they do contain strong toxins, which are not ideal to have on your pet.

At one time I was using a different brand and managed to get a drop of it in Sunny’s eye.  This caused an ulcerated cornea, which led to weeks of treatment with drops, followed by sedation and a ‘scratched cornea’ to heal it.  Which is another reason I don’t use it unless I have to.  :-/

Buy the Workbook

The Workbook – A Year With Your Puppy is available to buy. This book is a hands-on, interactive book for you. It will help you survive the first year with your puppy, but also act as a memento of that time and the journey you have been on. You can write notes and stick in pictures of your puppy throughout the year. Lovely! Find out lots more by looking at the Contents page.

Remember..

Please CONTACT ME if you want to know more about me and my dogs?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think. 

NO PUPPIES AVAILABLE

Dog leads – Fully purpled up!

I absolutely LOVE these dog leads!  I bought my first collars and leads from Dogs & Horses four years ago, on my first visit to Crufts.  They were exactly what I wanted, beautifully made, rolled leather, in different colours for my different girls.

Different dog leads

I started with three collars and leads in purple, red and pink.  I decided to go for green for Busy, before I realised she had one piercing blue eye – had to go for pale blue then!

When I had Ounce, I decided to go for lilac as her ‘colour’.  Surprisingly, this has proved difficult, but Dogs & Horses were able to produce a beautiful grey collar and lead for her.

Then I discovered that they were doing these split leads.  A perfect solution for my pack, and all in purple.  So on my visit to Crufts this week I decided to go for it.

They are a British company, offering great service and top quality products.  Thank you, Dogs & Horses

Buy the Workbook

The Workbook – A Year With Your Puppy is available to buy. This book is a hands-on, interactive book for you. It will help you survive the first year with your puppy, but also act as a memento of that time and the journey you have been on. You can write notes and stick in pictures of your puppy throughout the year. Lovely! Find out lots more by looking at the Contents page.

Remember..

Please CONTACT ME if you want to know more about me and my dogs?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think. 

NO PUPPIES AVAILABLE

Something a bit different?

A few weeks ago I contacted Field Gate Flowers to thank them for my beautiful Christmas wreath, which was still going strong, six weeks after it was delivered to me.  I had really enjoyed it, particularly as it had a lovely smell.

I asked them if they would be able to do me a ‘Spring’ wreath, as I had previously been given an ‘Autumn’ wreath from a French market, which I had thoroughly enjoyed.

Happily, Field Gate Flowers said ‘yes’ and today I collected it.  What a lovely Valentine’s gift for us to have!I decided to add some hellebores as I have plenty of these in my garden.  I love the little pot of purple irises, don’t you?

Thank you – Field Gate Flowers!

Remember..

If you want to know more, why not FOLLOW ME?  Then you will receive an email when there is a new post.  Please CONTACT ME if you have a problem you would like me to talk about?  And feel free to COMMENT if you want to tell me what you think.