Corinne

Cillitbang...absolutly NO bang what so ever.  Found it to be no better than any other cleaning stuff, for about twice the price. Have seen washing powder reviews (can't locate it at the moment) that showed that Lidl washing powders to be just as good (and even in some cases, better) than the expensive branded stuff.  So being on a tight budget does not always mean putting up with poorer results.

What ever make of food you go with, I still believe that at 8 months your dog should be on adult food and not high protien puppy food.  Most German Shepherd sites will suggest that the dog should go onto adult food from the age of 6 months to reduce the chance of rapid growth which causes skeletal problems in big dog breeds. Another option which may work out cheaper is BARF which is a feeding method of feeding your dog fresh raw food but you would need to do some research on the net to get the full info.  Seen plenty of German Shepherd sites and breeders that recommend it but it is a lot LOT of work.

Hi, I am another long haird GS owner.  Our girl is three and is a stock coat which, if you don't know, means she has longish very soft fur but not got the extra long fur like the standard long haired and has the undercoat which standard long hairs doesn't.  Don't you just love the baby faces they seem to keep because off all that fur...not to mention the bushy tail We have had ours from a pup and had a lot of problems with finding a food that did not give her a runny bum (could not think of a nicer way to put that sorry :blush.  German Shepherds are renowned for having delicate stomachs.  We have found the only dog food that she both loves and is perfect for her stomach is Royal Cainin German Shepherd 24.  Not cheap but has been well worth it for our girl. We also give her tables that are both for the fur, skin and ticks (so say the packet but we use other tick treatment as well) but we get it in Germany so only know the German name (Formel-z by Bandorf) Even at 8 months I would recommend that you give your dog adult dog food as German Shepherds can have problems with joints and it is best to not give them food to build them up quickly. As far as dairy products (milk/eggs), a lot of dogs can not tolerate milk more specifically.  If you do want to give your dog them then try it out and see what effect it has at the other end.  If it all turns to liquid then stop. I hope you enjoy your new addition as I am sure you will. Best wishes

The 'EastPak' craze is also at my daughters school in Germany, however my daughter refuses to have one...she says that everyone as one of those and she would rather have a Nike (at twice the price).

We don't actually use a French vet but is should be pretty much the same as our German vet. We had a booklet (size of a normal passport) suppplied by the vet which was recorded all injections.  When the new European passports were introduced and at our next injection visit the vet gave us the new booklet (still the size of a passport but this one is blue with the stars on it) and charges a nominal fee. Your vet should have a supply of the booklets, he should be able to fill one in and give you it when you are there.

Great news, thanks frog.

Thanks frog, Already got the European passport, tattoo and microchip so my mind is now put at rest about getting over that hurdle...didn't even have to lift a leg

We will be moving to Portugal in December (found out yesterday, nothing like big suprises) and need to get a Health certificate issued by a 'Competent Authority' from the animals country of origin for our dog. I know the address for the required authority in the UK so know that getting it from a vet is not going to be good enough.   Does anyone know the authorities in France that issue this certificate? Thanks

SPA will want you to put it in writing but will keep the source confidential.  They will check on the aminal and could possibly offer the owner some assistance in medical bills to ensure the problem is delt with.

  Forgotten all about that Athene, good one   I was thinking more of those used for cleaning up toxic spills...then that is still probebly the same thing

11 in one year...oh My!!!! Been lucky not to have had one but then I have a big long haired dog who (unselfishly) I let walk ahead of me.  She basicly cleans the way for me.  The most I have taken off her after one walk was 32.  The dog didn't mind as she gets a treat for each tick removed.  I just got to retch for each one Funny that you said about having one half way round your back as that is where my neighbours was.  She got hers from her cat sleeping on her bed.  They went to bed with it on the cat and woke up with it on her.....Mmm nice After the day I get my first I am not going out without one of those all-in-one plastic suites....at least it might help me loose a bit of weight in this weather.

I guess that if you hear a report about a specific unsafe pond/river then there is no harm avoiding it just in case, better to be safe that sorry.  Not heard of any problems in my area but every river has its own unique additive sources.  Last year gypsies camped around our lake which made sure the water levels did not drop Our dog will plunge into the nearest river/lake at every opportunity and firstly lay down and secondly drink about a gallon with no side affects so far.  When it comes to water in her water bowl however, she will only drink it if it is fresh out the tap, if it has been there any longer that 5 minutes she is not interested.

Well, would you adam and eve it, just finished watching a TV program all about ticks.  How's that for timing   It included a Dr (sombody) who is a Biologist and who specialises in and studies ticks. Basicly they showed a lovely zoom in of how ticks attatch and latch on.  It showed the ticks 'cutting/biting' it's way through the skin and not 'screwing' in.  They did say the best was it to remove it is to pull it straight out (not turning at all) as this method has the least possibility of leaving the head in.  If the head does stay in then not to worry to much as it will drop out after about 3 days.  Once the body is removed the chance of any/further infection being 'up-chucked' by the tick, is removed. Now I am in no way able to say if the tick expert Biologist on TV knows what he is actually talking about any more that a local vet but I can only quote what I was told.   For those interested the program is Welt der Wunder on RTL II  but I am sorry but, as you may have guessed, it is in German. Link to TV program site (you may have to copy and paste it as it could be too long to link) http://weltderwunder.rtl2.de/archiv/2005/07/wdw/Mensch/Gesundheit/Zeckengefahr/1_Ueberlebenskuenstler/index.html

Was well aware of your sarcasm so don't worry about how good you are at it.  And like I said, I have no problem with you quoting information but I would expect you to do the same.  I never intended it as a ridicule of you personally it was that it just stuck me as funny and that I found difficult to not comment on.  I am quite aware it came from a vet but I am sure that not even every vets would agree on every vet query,  just check the vet sites on the web to see that and I would never expect them to either. And the 'gobbledegook' explained...you copied and pasted by name into your previous post which has turned it into a link to a search engine.  Would appreciate it if you would edit your post and remove it and just type in the name instead.

I have no problem with you quoting information just as I am glad you don't mind me giving mine.  Heaven forbid that a vet may not know everything about everything. Any reason why my name apprears to be linked to a Webcrawler search on back spasms in your reply?