UltimatePup

I've been reading about crates and potty training, and thinking about how to manage all this in a small upper floor apartment... (I know it's going to very be different from last time when I had a house, an indoor den, an outdoor run and a big garden!!) Does a pen like this exist anywhere, suitable for a small pup...??? - Has room to accomodate a crate and, at the other end, a litter box. (i.e. Sleep...toddle to potty...toddle back to bed ;) ) - Has a solid floor so it can be used safely in carpeted rooms (...before the above potty routine has been perfected!) - Is very light / easy to move in one piece from room to room. - Is safe - reliably houses the pup without having to worry when not watching. - Folds up flat for storage. Thanks. -------------------------------

One puppy, if left alone by their human for a couple of hours, will no doubt whine and perhaps bark. In your experience, do two puppies raised together make less noise when left alone than a single puppy does?? (... or more ... or about the same?) Also, is there an age - i.e. a standard developmental stage - when puppies naturally stop whining to be reunited with their 'pack'? Thanks. ------------------------

I am also interested in this question - what is the ideal protocol for achieving both a healthy and well socialised puppy? When it comes to vaccines a very common (entirely understandable) error is to assume that 'vaccinated' means '100% protected'. It doesn't. Most vaccines merely reduce the probability of disease, but don't prevent it across the board. (In fact, some human data even show opposite outcomes - higher rates of Measles and Whooping Cough in kids who've received the 'vaccination' jab that those who haven't...but that gets complicated.) Anyway, it certainly isn't a foolproof science yet. Someone recommended Protech Duramune. I would be a little concerned about administering a viral preparation so powerful that even maternal antibodies were not able to protect the animal from it, especially seeing as the presence of maternal antibodies surely means that the pup's own immune system isn't up and running yet(?). What happens then? If a pup survives that I'm sure it would be immune; I just don't know that I would take the risk of challenging nature to that extent. (Some people have had horrible trouble with that product...no doubt others haven't, but just FYI: http://www.britfeld.com/vaccine-others.htm) ------------------

I understand what you are saying and every owner has to make their own judement call. The whole point, though, is whether re-vaccination after 1 year of age really does prevent deadly diseases, or in fact encourages them. There are groups of vets (e.g. a US panel charged with finding this out) who say that the risk of serious immune illness increases with more jabs, while the risk of 'core diseases' like Parvo is not lessened because the initial vaccination series lasts a lifetime anyway. ---------------------------

I had never met a debarked dog until I attended my first dog show. There I was very surprised to find that the great majority - 4 out of 5 - small breed breeders had debarked at least some of their dogs. It struck me as rather cruel, and a surprisingly selfish 'convenience' for dog lovers. However, on reflection I can also understand the motivations... What I don't know is how precise a vet can be - whether s/he can choose how much volume to elminate(?). I saw one dog barking away full bore with at most 5% sound coming out - almost silent. I must say that I do think that's cruel - to mute an animal who uses its voice to communicate many facts and emotions. However, to just reduce the volume of the bark, or take the piercing edge off, could be beneficial. Does anyone know whether vets with particular skills are able to do this? - to elect whether to lower the pitch, or to reduce the volume by specified amounts, etc?? Can that horrible hoarseness be avoided? Or is it a more random/risky procedure where you really don't know how it will end up sounding? ----------------------

It's a terrible shame that so many boarding kennels, and even the association, are so far behind the times on advised vaccination protocols. I would stay well clear of any establishment that is unaware that annual vaccinations are now advised against*. I agree to look for one which accepts titre test results, not only to protect your dog from unnecessary risk but also because titre tests are superior evidence of actual immunity - a record of vaccination merely proves that the jab has been given but not necessarily that immunity has been acheived. *e.g. 2003 UK Vets Assoc info': * The immune systems of dogs and cats mature fully at six months and any modified live virus (MLV) vaccine given after that age produces immunity that is good for the life of that pet. [Note: Provided that it 'takes', hence titre tests can help.] * If another MLV vaccine is given a year later, ...there is little or no effect; the pet is not 'boosted', nor are more memory cells induced. * Not only are annual boosters for canine parvovirus and distemper unnecessary, they subject the pet to potential risks of allergic reactions and immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia. * There is no scientific documentation to back up label claims for annual administration of MLV vaccines. ...In light of data now available showing the needless use and potential harm of annual vaccination, we call on our profession to cease the policy of annual vaccination. ...Politics, tradition or the economic well-being of veterinary surgeons and pharmaceutical companies should not be a factor in making medical decisions." "...Immunological memory provides durations of immunity for core infectious diseases that far exceed the traditional recommendations for annual vaccination. ...immunity induced by vaccination is extremely long lasting and, in most cases, lifelong." UP

Mitochondrial psychopathy? Sorry, don't know anything about it. I think it might be more in the forensic criminology realm. There might be a forum on it somewhere. :rolleyes: Ah, never underestimate the value of correct smelling...er, spelling... You could end up in the wrong hospital with tubes in the wrong bits ;). Jejuna, I think you mean Mitochondrial Cytopathy: http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/heal...s/2600/2603.asp? http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditions/mit...ytopathy2.shtml UP.

Ooh, this is fun!! Cool! Adrenaline affects/is tied to pigmentation? Interesting... I know that there are pigment chemicals in the brain as well as the skin, but didn't know about Adrenaline... Any more that you can recall on that? I wonder how that would impact humans? The concept of gene expression versus actual mutation is very interesting. I suspect there may be a wealth of useful information waiting to be discovered in that field of study. OK so you can spell it...but can you say it three times quickly? (I can't - and I did try.) But that sounds like fun. In fact I may try doing some of it this weekend instead of going out drinking. Either way I will feel like a different species by Monday. Seeeeriously...is that one of those 'the sum of the parts is not necessarily equal to the whole' concepts? i.e. Combining the same parts in different patterns produces entirely different structures? Thanks to everyone who is exercising their neurons with me on this :rolleyes:. UP

OK, this is quite a little tricky bio-philosophical question!! I've been thinking about this for a while and wonder what other analytical folk think about it... Sometimes when we are talking about in-breeding I remember that many modern breeds are derived from a very small number of original ancestors - in some cases entire breeds of many thousands of animals are derived from only 4, 3 or even 2 parents. Thus, mathematically, any pedigree breeding is by definition pretty severe in-breeding; there can be no such thing as a true out-cross because those dogs also have the same 4, 3 or 2 ancestors. (Nonetheless, out-crossing is generally considered to be a better breeding practice and seems to work out better in the long run...) Then, taking it to the next level we find from mitochondrial DNA that 75% of all dogs - Poodles, St Bernards, Wolves, Chihuahas, etc - are derived from a single female ancestor anyway. The other 25% come from only 3 other ancestral females. So, the entire canis crowd is severely inbred no matter which way we cut it. Mathematically even 'cross-breeding' becomes a misnomer because genetically there's no such thing... Now here's the tripple wammy: Human mitochondrial DNA shows that we are ALL related to a single human female human ancestor too. We, the human race, are as inbred as #$%^@# as well!!!! Everything we have is derived from one set of female DNA. (Hence the story of Genesis perhaps...but that's a whole new discussion.) Sooooo.....my question is: How does so much apparent genetic diversity emerge from such a small initial gene pool (for both canines and humans)? This is rather like starting out with only eggs, flour and vanilla ... but ending up with chocolate cakes and strawberry muffins as well as vanilla sponges. How does this work? It seems to me that genomes grow of their own accord over time - that they are not static as usually explained, but build on themsleves such that we end up with additional genes (and consequently the phenomenon of out-crossing turning out better than within-family breeding). Or, are vastly more genes packaged than are actually expressed in one individual? Or, maybe it's not really all that much about genes afterall, because we have far fewer of them than we expected to find anyway...? What does anyone know/conject about this??? Thanks brainiacs UP

A little late, but I just read that IV Vitamin C brings dogs rapidly out of post-anaesthesia lethargy... Widely known in some circles but not in others.

OMG I didn't know I could get that!! Brilliant!! What do you mean by "produce" store?...what sort of outlet? Where would you suggest that I look for it in Sydney (city/suburban) please?? Thank you very much. UP (What a worry that the only person who's unaware of this powerful simple detoxer is an emergency veterinary nurse - the very person who needs to know more than anyone else. Mind you, I've heard of medical texts which make no mention of it - huge thick text books with zero references to Vitamin C / Ascorbate!!! Can you imagine?! - the most ubiquitous, essential, life supporting/saving nutrient, and our young 'medical' professionals are being taught precisely nothing about it. Unbelievable.)