dancinbcs

I have lived in the Liverpool area for many, many years and as a breeder have tried many of the vets. The only ones I would recommend are Austral that I now use or Leppington that I use to use. Leppington do not have an after hours service and have very small consulting rooms so probably wouldn't suit you. I can highly recommend Jim and Marilyn Gill at Austral or Canley Heights. Excellent vets at a reasonable price and used by breeders far and wide. The Austral clinic ph:9606 9312 has more space than the Canley one so would probably be the better option even though it is probably a bit further. There are several vets at the practice and I recommend Jim, Marilyn, Sandra, Terri or Bill. Not fussed on the others there. Sandra is particularly good with dogs that are a bit frightened as she is such a happy bubbly person the dogs just seem to love her. When one of mine was nervous she sat on the ground and played with him before giving a vaccination. When she stuck the needle in he threw himself into Sanda's lap and looked at me as if I was the one who hurt him. It was really funny to watch. You might also like to try Lyn at Alternative Therapies ph: 9606 8922 next door to the Austral Vet Surgery for some acupuncture or herbs to help with problems that you cannot fix with mainstream vet treatment. She has had great success with several dogs with temperament issues as well as cancer, persistant infections, etc. Lyn used my dogs, me and my family for practice when she was training and I still use her to treat a variety of problems in both us and the dogs. The dogs love going into her rooms and even dogs who are nervous at the vets seem to relax with her. She treats both humans and animals and was a vet nurse for the Gills for many years before doing her traditional chinese medicine training. If you would like any more info about vets in the area email me privately.

How long should you wait? - As long as it takes. If you cannot wait it out until she goes put her straight into a crate inside for an hour then back outside and try again. Repeat over and over until you get success then bring her inside and let her have the run of the house for a while and make a fuss of her. She will soon catch on that she ONLY gets the run of the house after she has been to the toilet outside. The trick with housetraining is to never give the puppy a chance to make a mistake. Puppies confined to a crate just big enough for them to stand up and turn around will hold out eliminating until they are released so use this to your advantage. Female puppies often don't have complete bladder control until 12-16 weeks so be patient.

My last oldie was on Metacam for about her last year but I managed to delay using it until nothing else worked. Acupuncture kept her going for her last 4 years but eventually it wasn't enough. I would not hesitate to give it to the 16 year old to keep her comfortable for as long as she has left. With the 13 year old try every second day as the vet suggested but increase in the winter if necessary. When the weather warms up see if they can do without it or not as I do believe there can be long term adverse affects. If a dog is suffering pain without the medication it is more important to stop the pain than it is to prolong their life.

Sorry, I didn't mean to come across as flamimg you but I have seen some absolute disasters with feeding minced bone and have also found my own dogs so much healthier now that they don't get anything minced. I have also come across people who think they are feeding barf when in fact they are just creating their own version of canned dog food and they wonder why their dogs have health problems.

Why does it need to be minced? The whole basis of the BARF diet is that digestion starts with the action dog the dog chewing up the bones. If you mince it all up you may as well feed canned food or dog rolls from the supermarket. I have fed BARF for about ten years now and my dogs all eat the meaty bones no matter what age they are. If they have any trouble chewing I cut it into smaller pieces for them but never mince it. The only time I have heard of dogs having any trouble digesting raw bone is if it is minced. Minced bone can have sharp edges and the dogs just swallow it as is rather than grinding it up themselves if they have to eat the whole bones.

How old is Tilba? I am guessing somewhere between 6 qnd 10 months from the description of her behaviour. I have had several Borders go through the same thing as puppies over the years and it just seems to be a phase they go through for a month or so. I call it the spooks and have had dogs spook at garbage bins, letter boxes and especially large toy or model animals. The one thing that seems to get all of mine at some point is our family crest on the wall that is the size of a persons face. It has been there for years but as each dog has grown up they will suddenly notice it one day and start to bark in fear backing up away from it. After one fright from it they ignore it for the rest of their lives. The best course of action is to laugh at them and tell them not to be so stupid. Remember the dog will pick up any anxiety that you feel. If you can take whatever they are afraid of down for them to sniff or let them approach the scary object with you they will creep up on it, give it a sniff and then usually act the fool as if to say "oh silly me, it is nothing to worry about". With people it is usually something unusual about them like a hat, glasses a beard or even a scent that the dog reacts to. If possible get the person they are frightened of to squat down and call the dog to them rather than lean over to pat the dog. This usually works as the dog can approach the person on their own terms rather than have a stranger tower over them. Have a few strangers do this and the problem will go away. At the vets some dogs hate to be on the table and others feel safer on there. I currently have one of each. Borders like routine and this gives them security so if they are used to being on tables all the time at shows they usually like to be up on the vets table. If they are really only on a table to get groomed and have their nails done they are not as keen and sometimes prefer the vet to look at them on the ground. Go with whatever works for your dog. Tilba is obviously going through a fearful stage and may become more frightened of the vet because of it. If this does happen, take her for lots of follow up visits to just say hello until she gets over it. If possible try to be there when she comes out of the anaesthetic to re-assure her unless you are the type to faint or get stressed in the surgery area . Many vets won't let you do this but I am lucky that my vet lets me stay while they operate so that I am there the whole time. As I am only 10 minutes from the vet I take my dogs home as soon as they awake and watch them myself.

Try to get hold of the book Think Dog by John Fisher. Fantastic advice on managing dogs that become dominant. The other thing that works is a correctly taught dominance down. It is much easier to teach to little puppies but can be done with a bigger one. The point of a dominance down is that it is not a punishment it is simply advising the dog that you are in charge and they can therefore relax in your presence. Luci Ellem at Camarna in Sydney teaches it the correct way in her puppy pre-school and puppies raised with this training then respond immediately to a soft growl. Stops them in their tracks whatever they are doing wrong. The other important part of the training is the watch command to get the dog to look to you for permission to do anything. I once taught this method to some people with a large mature Labrador bitch that was becoming so much of a bully she was dangerous around the kids. The dog was not impressed at all the first time I rolled her over to demonstrate and sounded like she was going to eat me but I held on until she gave in and the owners followed up the training with startling results. Once she understood that the humans were in charge she became a typical friendly Lab.

I have never had a true swimmer but I did have a puppy who was several days slower to walk than her litter mates due to here huge weight and I believe she may have ended up a swimmer if I had not intervened when I did. Litter of three all close to 500gm born. The mum was eating like she was feeding 7 or 8 and still losing weight as the three little piggies were draining the milk as fast as she could make it. They all doubled their birth weight in about 6 days and proceeded to gain about 100gm a day. The boy was quite active but the slightly smaller girl got all the attention as she had colic for 10 days, no doubt due to gorging herself. After a few days of battling with the colic baby I realised that the big girl was hardly moving around and was just feeding all the time. She was so fat she couldn't move and as the weather was really hot she tended to lie flat out on her tummy all the time. It was so hot that I had ice packs rather than heat packs in the whelping box for the puppies to lie on despite the fact they were in an airconditioned house. Without the ice packs they would scream. Every time I found the big girl asleep I would roll her on her side and when the puppies were feeding I constantly removed her to the far side of the box so that she would have to crawl across the vetbed or towels to get a feed. The other two where well up on their feet by 10 days and fat girl struggled up a couple of days later. After this she was fine but I think she would have had a real problem if I had not made her crawl across the box constantly in order to get to the milk bar.

Never seen this brand but can recommend Oldfield's Blowers. Mine and several others I know of are still going strong after 15-20 years with no problems.

After years of yeast infections in the ears alternating with bladder infections in an old bitch of mine, I tried her on Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine combined with a BARF diet. Cleared up both problems for good in a few weeks. If there is no one near you who does Chinese medicine for animals I can give you the details of the vet in Melbourne who did the treatment by hair analysis by mail.

If she is not really active a meaty bone or raw chicken pieces weighing about 200 grams plus half to 1 cup of dry food should be more than adequate. All dogs have different metabolism but my bitches have always needed very little food once they have finished raising a litter or been desexed. Prior to this they eat huge amounts without gaining weight. When she slims down and becomes more active she may need more food if you start doing something like agility with her. My active males would have been fat on more than one cup of dry a day with raw added. Try not to trim the coat, just make sure it is well brushed and combed with a wide tooth comb or use a slicker to remove any dead coat. If she is desexed you may need a Mars coat king as well as her coat will be more woolly than a bitch that is entire. Buy some potato flour and brush it through her pants to remove any poo she gets stuck there which usually only happens if they are loose. Potato flour is also good for removing wet mud. 14-19 kgs is about the normal weight range for mature bitches depending on size and bone.

I don't know specifically about steriod responsive meningitis but I had a dog with bacterial meningitis that had brain damage from it. The fluid chamber in the centre of the brain was blocked with scar tissue from the meningitis causing a huge ammount of outward pressure. My dog attacked me quite badly and his reaction was that of a dog in immense pain at the time. He had been acting strangely for a while and we made the decision to pts as he was obviously in pain and was dangerous to handle. The autopsy revealed the scar tissue from the meningitis and as my vet commented "even if we had known what the problem was and could have tried to fix it, the dog could not have told us if the pain was gone and we would not have known if he was safe to be around". It broke my heart to lose my special obedience boy in this way at just 5 years of age.

If you are going to train at home I suggest you try to get a copy of the book "Think Dog" by John Fisher and any of his other books or DVDs to have look at. I wish I had read"Think Dog" before training my first BC. John Fisher's philosophy on dog training can be applied to his methods and several other methods and it makes life so much easier for both you and your dog.

Sure, you can train at home if you just want a well behaved pet but if you intend to enter obedience trials you will need to train with the distraction of other dogs around. This can be done at a club or even on the grounds where a dog show is being held. If you are going to be showing your puppy the best place to learn is at a show. There are always some helpful people around who can show you how to train for showing if you ask. The best method for beginners is usually to get a few private lessons from a good trainer, work at home and then decide if you want to join a club. This way you will not be a complete novice when you go to a training club and can make informed decisions about what is best for your puppy. The weaving back and forth on a lead is a BC trait as is running in circles when off lead. They are natural movements for a herding dog. Getting a BC to do a straight recall can also be a challenge as their natural instinct is to come in an arc rather than a straight line.

Having owned trained, trialled, shown and bred BCs for over 25 years, I have tried many training methods. A check chain on a puppy in the hands of someone who does not know how to use it properly is a disaster. BCs are usually really easy to train with positive re-enforcement and check chains are rarely needed. The only time I use them now is on trained dogs in the show ring as lightweight check chains are the easiest to manage as far as handling goes. The chain is rarely tightened and just hangs around the neck. Occasionally trained dogs who have decided to be obnoxious for some reason will require checking to remind them of their manners and I did once use a check chain on a baby at his first show because he was so over the top we couldn't get his attention any other way but he was one tough puppy. I would definitely not start training a BC on a check chain and no matter what the rules are it is your dog and you can do whatever you feel is right. I never train a puppy for more than about 10 minutes in a class as they become bored very quickly. I would go along to the training without the dog, check it out and then decide if it looks possible to join without the check chain. If training with a class DO NOT do the endless heeling drills, concentrate on positions and stays and only do heeling for a couple of minutes at a time. Simply step out of the class and watch until they do something more interesting and then join back in. Also do not work next to anyone who yells at their dog as your sensitive BC will be badly affected by this. The last couple of dogs that I obedience trained were trained at the club grounds in the presence of the the other dogs but not in a class unless it was for stays or stand for examination. This worked far better than being in the class. The idea about a private trainer may be better option and have you tried asking the breeder of your puppy for advice? My method of training dogs to heel is to train them in the yard without a lead but using food or toys until they will heel in a relaxed manner. Then simply hang a loose lead on the collar and continue with the food or toy, occasionally putting a little pressure on the lead to teach them to stop if the lead tightens. This teaches them to walk nicely at heel and they never learn to pull on a lead as it is only there to stop them wandering off, not to actually lead them. Good luck with your lovely baby.

Check his lymph glands for swelling as fast breathing especially at night can be an early symptom of lymphosarcoma. I assume your vet would have checked for this so just check the lymph glands around his neck and chest and on the back of his hind legs each day for a couple of weeks to rule this out.

Plush Puppy Quick Clean is great for removing axle grease and even removes the smell.

Mirra Coat used to be imported about 20 years ago but I have not been able to find it any more recently than that here in Australia.

Do not even consider a puppy that doesn't have at least one parent genetically normal/clear for each of the conditions TNS, CL & CEA. They can be cleared by testing or by parentage. Make sure you see proof of the test results for the parents of the litter or of their parents/grandparents to prove they are clear by parentage. All ethical breeders are now testing so steer clear of anyone who isn't and don't believe anyone who says that they don't need to test because they have never had these problems. The genes responsible for all three are widespread throughout the breed even though affected animals have been rare. It doesn't matter if one parent is a carrier for any of these problems so long as they are not mated to another carrier of the same condition. This is a requirement of the BCC of NSW code of ethics.

I don't have Huskies but do have Border Collies who can also have enormous coats and when they shed I can carpet the entire yard after blow drying them. I use a collie comb with the dryer and blow the hair out of the comb as I go. If you can't do a full bath just dampen the coat with a water spray and use the dryer to blow the coat out. This works on the ones who are not desexed but the older neutered ones are a lot tougher to strip. I don't have any oldies at present but will be buying a Mars coat king next time I have one to make it a little easier. My dryer is an Oldfields Blower that is really a cattle dryer and is fantastic. It is about 20 years old and still going strong and is suitable to use when the coat is not really wet as it only gets warm from the motor and doesn't have a heating element. Many of my friends have also bought them over the years and are equally happy with them. Oldfields sell them direct online now.

You definitely need to contact the bitch's breeder as I find it strange that a puppy would not be sold with proof of her parents DNA status. We always include copies of the parents and if possible grandparents test results in the puppy info pack. You may find out the information from bordercolliehealth or someone's database but you will still need written proof before you breed from her. If it turns out she hasn't been tested you can have the CL test done by Dr Alan Wilton at the Uni of NSW when you get her TNS test done. I assume that this still needs to be done as you haven't mentioned any TNS results. If she needs to be CEA tested this can be done through GSS in Melbourne.

If you are in the south west of Sydney I can recommend Alternative Therapies in Austral. Lyn is qualified as a Doctor of TCM & treats both people and animals with Traditional Chinese Medicine with some startling results. Many of her clients like myself start off having their animals treated and being so impressed with the results end up getting her to treat them for various ailments.

It sounds like possible pancreatic insufficiency to me as well. I had a dog years ago that developed it at 3 years, after surviving a parvo like virus and it took several years to diagnose. I finally found a vet who looked at the history and made an immediate diagnosis. Rather than charging me for more tests he suggested giving the dog papaya enzyme tablets with his meals. Problem fixed!!!!!!!! We started with a tablet called panazyme but any papaya enzyme from the health food shop worked just as well. It is not a cure but a lifetime treatment. He lived until I lost him to cancer at eleven. If my boy did pick up a stomach bug he would always be much sicker than any of the other dogs that got it but a course of buscopan for a week or so would usually settle his gut again. If the papaya enzyme doesn't work I would suggest trying Traditional Chinese Medicine. This can often fix problems that mainstream veterinary science can't. Good luck

Hi Jodie, Yes, I know of Sue & Barbara but for some reason I thought you were in Melbourne. I am actually in Sydney and had Spark treated by Ann Neville through my vets up here. I now use Lyn Pinosa from Alternative Therapies in Austral for Trad. Chinese Medicine for both the dogs and people. Holistic/ Chinese treatment may not cure Ollie but if it keeps him well for an extended period of time that is all that really matters. I have no idea if Spark was cured or in remission but he lived until the average life span for his breed in good health. Good luck with Ollie, Karen

Hi Jodie, Don't have time to read the whole thread but I suggest you contact Ann Neville a vet at South Rd Animal Health, Bentleigh. She uses traditional Chinese remedies as well as being a qualified vet and has had a lot of success with cancer in dogs including advanced mast cell tumours. She treated one of mine who lived 3 years (until he was 14) rather than the few months we expected and he was well the whole time with no side affects. She has since successfully treated several friends dogs as well.