Lola-Monmouth

I knew cavs were prone to heart problems but not knee problems. One of my cavs is slim and seems to know when to stop eating but the female will stuff her face.( I keep meaning to ask if the ovaries are removed when they are spayed as that would certainly not help weight problems). Yes, it is easy to overfeed them isn't it?. Because I am home all day I have the time to spoil them although I also do take them for a long walk almost every day and let them off the leash for a run. Luckily my 2 seem to have no heart or motor problems (yet).

Jerseygirl

I also have a tiny (3 1/2lb) long haired Chihuahua. She gobbles her food down so fast...then pushes the Cav out of the way and eats her food too. She then spends the next 15 minutes choking. A vet suggested putting a feeding ball in her dish to stop her from eating so fast. I'd never heard of them before...but it does the trick. She runs round and round the bowl trying to get the food from under the ball...so funny.

Lola-Monmouth

Never heard of a feeding ball either!! Wonder if I should try one? Can you buy them outside of a vet's office or will any type of ball do?
I feel so ignorant about caring for dogs now and I used to feel quite pleased with myself in that they never have had to see a vet apart from their annual shots.
This site is great for collating information about all sorts of subjects isn't it? Thank you everyone for your advice and information.

Jerseygirl

I bought mine in Pet's Mart, Toronto but I would think they will sell them in the US. It's a metal, weighted ball...the size of a tennis ball.

scrubbedexpat097

Maybe that's what I need on my dinner plate

Jerseygirl

HarryTheSpider

It can be tough deciding what's best...

We're still on our first 'set' of pooches - we have a mum & 2 of her children. We got them when the mum was 3 and the pups were, well, pups! (3 months).

They have excellent coats, good energy, their weight is good, and so on.

We didn't really know what we were doing in the early days - and if we'd have bought everything we were advised to by some vets and others, well, we'd out of pocket to quite a hefty sum.

So that was 12 years ago. They're still going strong - people we meet who know dogs are utterly amazed at them - they look & act more like 5 and 6 year olds.

We have fed them on stuff like Royal Canin for years - we swap around a little, and frequently add in small amounts of cooked chicken, which they LOVE.

We give them plenty of love & attention, and walks where they can sniff & explore.

We haven't regularly vaccinated them until moving to the US. They get 'frontlined' about every month. 2 of the 3 have had some dental work done but their teeth are in very good order - we typically give them a dentastick or similar as a treat - seems to have done wonders for their teeth - and yes, we have brushed their teeth from time to time...

We've avoided the more popular tins and bags of food and opted for the seemingly more expensive big bags of dry stuff, like Royal Canin, IAMS etc - it's not more expensive overall and seems to be better quality than many...

A few years ago all 3 needed major surgery for cancer and related issues over a 2 month period - a total of 6 ops between the 3 of them - one of them had 3 - it was touch and go for a while. The cost was horrific - we didn't have insurance... but they're family... we had a very understanding vet who clearly had a soft spot for our 3, and his principle surgeon did too - she was an amazing veterinary surgeon, so you'll be hard pressed to find any evidence of these huge ops our girls had.

You're on the right track about having a good relationship with your vet and all the staff there... if you're not happy, move...

We just rescued another - 13 yrs old and seemingly older in how she walks etc - she's the same gender & breed - she came with a scrappy coat, all manner of habits about food and timing and so on - a bit 'obsessive/compulsive' - she's treated the same way as out original 3... result is a more active little dog who loves to play, is not quite so shy as originally thought, has a rapidly improving coat - result of being changed from the more populist main brand dog food to the same as our other 3, and getting some TLC.

As our dogs have minimal contact with other dogs when we're out walking, are almost always on the leads and don't got anywhere dangerous etc (we live in a desert area!) we only vaccinate now for rabies and heartworm.

We've noticed that prices over here seem to be much higher for pet things than back at home, suggesting perhaps that people are more prepared to pay - perhaps to avoid the guilt factor - businesses here (and your local vet is a business...) are pretty good at playing to the guilt thing...

You'll find plenty of advice here - BE is a great forum.

Get some good insurance, find a good vet (recommendations from work colleagues?), give good quality food and TLC and you wont go far wrong!

Good luck & enjoy!

Lola-Monmouth

Thank you HarryTheSpider for your input. Your story is lovely. Hope you and your 4 pooches have many more years together.
I will look into insurance. It makes more sense now that they are older (and have no history which could put up the premiums).
Coincidentaly I bought a bag of kibble, and yes, it was Royal Canin. I mixed it in with some chicken (as another BE member advised) and they ate it!! Mind you I gave no treats during the day so they were peckish to say the least!
Tried to brush their teeth also but they don't like it one bit.

katiekat

In my experience, yes, they do a complete oophorectomy and hysterectomy which means they remove both the ovaries and the uterus.

Lola-Monmouth

Wonder why? The ovaries secrete hormones, they are not just a repository for eggs. A bitch is not going to get pregnant/mensturate if the uterus is no longer there. Must also logically remove the fallopian tubes too

fatbrit

For pet stuff other than basic food in the Valley, try Ryan's @ 18th St and McDowell. It's a mail order business, but you can wander the shelves and pick what you want as long as you spend a minimum -- think it's $25 or so. Far cheaper than big box stores.