woody2shoes

The same as in humans, they are 'twins' in the sense that they are born at the same time... the same as fraternal (non-identical) twins, sometimes the placentas fuse, sometimes they don't. All it means is that the embryos implanted close together in the uterine wall and as the placentas grew larger, they fused. This happened with my human twins, they started off very separate and by the end it was just one massive placenta, but the babies were obviously in separate amniotic sacs. Thanks Ashanali, I knew there had to be an explanation for this! The pup in this instance was by far the smallest which is probably consistent with what you're saying ellz.

Hi, A friend of mine recently told me about a couple of unusual experiences he'd had during the course of years of breeding. He was at a loss to explain them to me - 1) a perfectly healthy pup born inside two amniotic sacs 2) two pups, different colours, both attached to the one placenta by separate umbilical cords, and in individual sacs Has anyone else come across both/either of these or, alternatively, have you had other whelping 'oddities'? w2s

That's coz you want one. :) :) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) OH has said yes coz it's my 50th birthday present and no-one can take it away from me!!! I am SOOOOOO excited! A very special baby whippet to join my little team. I am one very lucky lady. Thanks Parky and Ness!!! ;) w2s

Congratulations Ness! Mum has done an awesome job again. I know how much you've been looking forward these guys (really I do! ) Enjoy them!!! Can't wait to see some photos once you've had some sleep!!! Cuddles and smooches for mum and babies...and a few extras from me for all the little boys...yaaaaay! w2s

Thanks for that info Dellcara. I found that thread - excellent news and I look forward to a great weekend of showing. Cheers...and thanks for the good wishes Mandalay. I'm not sure I'll be much good at relaying results since I have enough trouble working out who wins in my own breed let alone anything else but I'll do my best. Good luck everyone. w2s

Hi, we're off to a weekend of shows in Bendigo end of Feb. Can anyone out there please confirm if it's going to be held indoors? Thanks. w2s

Thanks everyone...well, the nail in question tends to point downwards if anything. There is no lateral displacement and it certainly does not point upwards so in retropect, I do not think this is a Sprung Toe at all. My girl originally hurt her outside toe (right foreleg) about 8 weeks ago. I saw her scramble through some pig fencing at a rate of knots chasing down a tennis ball, and return on 3 legs looking very sore and sorry for herself. There was a little bit of bleeding from around the nail bed at the time and the toe swelled up. I was convinced it was a torn nail. However, despite being sedated at the vets the following day, it would not give an inch and was ultimately trimmed back hard and bandaged. She was put on antibiotics & anti inflams and came good after a few days. Since then, she has been belting around as good as gold on it - and I mean she has been chasing balls hard, leaping into and retrieving from water, scrambling up and down channel banks and generally running absolutely stupid. Then she suddenly pulled up on three legs again while just playing in the house yard on Tuesday. Same toe, it swelled up just the same and she was very sore. On closer examination, I can now see that the injured part of the nail has grown down about half way and that it was damaged quite badly the first time - there is quite a deep, thick diagonal cut part way through it. Not enough to break off completely but more than enough to catch it again and give the toe a good reef in the process, hence the swelling and soreness??? I treated her with anti inflams again and she was much, much better the following morning and by that night, was moving quite comfortably on it. Today, she is moving perfectly fine and shows no sign of favouring it and I have not medicated her at all. There seems little point taking her to a vet unless she does it again. I will simply make sure she gets seen the same day so they can get an accurate picture of what's going on. Best case scenario is that the nail will break off at some point of its own accord...and stop giving her grief! Thanks again for all your feedback. I hope your dogs make speedy recoveries! w2s

Hi all, Could anyone who has had experience with dogs with sprung toes, please tell me how the condition presents itself? I have a young whippet who has had issues with a particular toe on two occasions now and I'm beginning to wonder if she may have a sprung toe. Thanks. w2s

Coming from Retrieving Trial circles, our labs have always been lean and fit so we're well used to being told that they must be crossbred or that they could do with an extra feed! Having said that, our vets constantly comment on how great they look and we know that keeping their weight down is essential if they are ever to do a day's work! There are a few goldens competing in Retrieving Trials, one at the very top level, and being overweight is just not an option. I agree Deelee, Honey is pretty much spot on IMHO... I cannot stand the sight of fat labs and goldens and why anyone would choose to have their dog look like that is beyond me! ;) I now own two whippets for showing and that's been another learning curve - instinct tells me to keep them really lean but the ideal for showing seems to be to have them carrying an extra kilo or two. In any case, both of mine get lots of exercise and plenty of retreiving in our channel so waistlines are not a problem. And so far, no-one has told me they are either over or underweight so it seems I have them about right. Keep up the good work - a lean fit dog lives a longer (and happier) life. w2s

From what I have heard this isn't so, and doggy sunscreen has exactly the same ingredients as human sunscreen just an inflated price. We've put Bananaboat sunscreen on our dogs a few times with no reactions [they love to sunbake their bellies]. I have also heard that sensitive skin/baby sunscreen is good for using on dogs. Thanks for the feedback Ravyk. While I have no objection to spending the extra money for a dog specific sunscreen if it's necessary, I see no point in doing it if it isn't. I like the idea of using a specialised sensitive skin/baby sunscreen. It makes sense. Having said that, I'll see if I can find the thread you mention Jettyjet. That might help clarify things a bit more for me . Cheers, w2s

I should add that my pup is under shade at all times if I am not home. I am concerned about those occasions when he will be out with me, I will have applied sunscreen and he may then be penned/crated again. Thanks in advance... w2s

Hi all, I have a new pup at home with a white nose and white paws - all pink skinned and very short coat. Can anyone advise me if it's OK to use human SPF30 sunscreen on a dog (or zinc cream???) if they can actually lick at it if unattended? Thanks. w2s

Thanks heaps everyone! Some great ideas there and I've had a close look at them all...there seem to be no end of alternatives these days. Now all I have to do is decide which way to go. Thanks again. w2s

Hi all, I walk our 5 dogs in the dark during winter. I have a couple of flashing clip-on dangly lights which I've been using on my 2 black labs because they're the hardest to see. The lights been reasonably effective but the batteries don't last long. I've also found that unless the dogs face me, I can't see the light - not much good if they happen to be high-tailing it away from me after a rabbit!!! In any case, I recently lost one of the lights so I really could do with some ideas on a more efficient and cost effective way of illuminating my dogs' collars. Does anyone have any ideas please? I'd like to know what everyone uses, where I can potentially get hold of them and how much they cost. Thanks in advance. w2s

Thanks LukeW, Yep, that's the one...I can always look at getting a more compact clicker if I find this one proves to be a bit bulky. Thanks Shell, Well there you go...and I thought they were like hen's teeth to find!

Hi, I'd like to clicker train my new dog. I am not aiming to have an OC - it's mainly for something positive to do with her. A friend has very kindly given me a spare Clik Stik but I am not sure if this will do. Sorry, I am very new to this form of training. Do I need a Clicker as well? If so, where can I get one here in Australia? Cheers and many thanks. w2s

Hi, We have an 8yo Maltese/JRT mix who has an epulis growing behind & through his lower incisors. It was removed 12 months or so ago (sent off to pathology & got the all clear) but has now grown back quite vigorously so I am considering having it removed again. It has spilled over the teeth and has set up shop in front of them as well now. It isn't bothering him as such but I was told by my vet that epuli can cause issues such as gum disease and tooth decay because it's impossible to keep the area really clean. Guess it's going to be an ongoing issue but I'm just glad it isn't a serious one. w2s

Hi, We managed to breed a litter of labs 7 years ago out of which 3 of the 8 pups born (that we know of!) developed what I would class as mild strabismus. Their crossed eyes are not noticeable even now unless you know to look fot it. The only reason we realised something was amiss was because most of these pups went to Retrieving Trial homes and naturally enough, their inability to mark the area of fall was an issue. Their near vision seems reasonable but middle to long distance is far from perfect. In the case of one of these pups, it went on to become a RT Champion. It would seem that in time, that dog dog learned to compensate and adjust to some degree. There was no history of strabismum in either the sire's or the dam's lines. Both parents produced other litters before this one without issues. We never repeated that particular mating of course. I did take two of the pups (one affected, the other not) to our breed opthalmologist, since I was keen for his opinion. He did not pick up the strabismum at all on examination. When I asked him whether strabismus was hereditary, he said that it was not in labradors. I then asked him what he thought of a litter in which 3 of 8 pups had strabismus to which he replied "Then in that case it would have to be hereditary!" I just shook my head. Basically, I think it's one of those things that can crop up without cause sometimes. We have never ever heard of it in labs so we remain mystified as to where it came from. As I said though, if it wasn't for the fact that these pups went to retrieving homes, its entirely possible their condition would have gone unnoticed. Good luck. Your dog should have a happy and healthy life in spite of its unique way of looking at things!!! w2s

Have pm'd you m-j. Thanks rubeedoo, Our remoteness makes that a very difficult proposition unfortunately. We live miles from nowhere... It's nice to know that we are not alone! and that perhaps, one day, we will be able to have a calm & relaxing time with Pippa!!! (and pigs might fly... ;) ) w2s

And just so you can't accuse me of not sharing Candy with you all growed up... Candy left foreground. t

Not to worry Tangwyn, here are a few whippet baby pics to whet your appetite!!! Not sure which one's mine yet though... Enjoy!!! t

hehehehe Yep, you've got it!!! t

Double Post

You're right on the money M-J. She only visits every so often and as you suggest, she just LOVES to be here with all our lot. :rolleyes: Can't knock her taste, that's for sure! We didn't train her in the few commands she knows. She is very biddable under normal circumstances so I'd love to know how to help her control her excitement. She misses out on so much because of her 'over the top' attitude. My sister is not very experienced with dogs so she really has no clue how to deal with this behaviour. I meant to add earlier that my sister bought both her dogs from her local pound. The grey/staffy mix was sold to her as a labrador puppy!!!!! OMG!!! I guess she was black with a short coat so what else could she possibly have been but a lab???? :p ;) I could tell from the first mobile phone pic my sister sent me that this was no lab puppy! What hope do some people have? Cheers, w2s

Hi, This dog has a very high prey drive and her vocalising is presumably her way of showing it. So, our instinct has been to wait for her to switch into social drive (not very successful ) and then reward her, or to give her a known command and reward this behaviour (also not very succesful ) It is hard to get through to her in any way as she is very blinkered when in this state. She has responded to being sprayed with a water bottle but only temporarily. I should add in all fairness, that because our dogs are quiet, she improves as the days go by but I am absolutely certain that placed in a new situation, she would respond badly all over again. Just to give you a better idea of her behaviour, the sorts of things which trigger the hysteria are - pulling into our driveway when she first arrives (you can hear her screaming from way up the road and she would destroy the inside of the car if left to 'calm down' ), leaving her in the yard while we do chores elsewhere on our property, locking her out of the pigeon loft when feeding/watering the birds, confining her to the house while out in the yard...and the list goes on! Cheers, w2s