Garloch

Thanks OSoSwift and Jed. Velcro dog is a brilliant description. Hadn't thought about her knowing when he owner is ill, but of course it makes perfect sense. The howling and whining is a given. :) I will try the crate again next time. Thanks for assisting.

Hi Jed. Not an issue if its anything except a migraine. Any movement, or light, or noise creates problems - they are really bad migraines. And the cocker constantly moves. About every 10 minutes or so. My daughters head would explode.

Hi Showdog - I don't think she is confused, didn't mean to give that impression. She has the same rules and routine in both house and apartment. We've been quite meticulous about that. She has access to outdoors at both house and apartment, and the same toileting regimen. And has been doing this since she was brought home at 8 weeks. (14 mths now). Only difference is the apartment is small and the house is big. Cocker can pretty much see her owner from every room while in apartment, so she relies on human contact whilst there. While here, has 4 other dogs to play with and all interact well. Have a very large run for them and they all have the opportunity to be either alone or with the other dogs. There are parts of the house here that she (and the other dogs) are not allowed in, and its not been a problem before. It seems to only be a seperation problem if her owner is ill in the other room and she can't get to her. I know she is anxious because she periodically runs outside around to the window of the room that daughter is in. At other times, cocker is happy to be here with me/us/dogs. Is quite obedient, and happy to be one of the pack. She doesn't really have any time that she is alone - my dogs are always here, or the human pack is around.

Thanks for that Persephone. I posted here because I know cockers can have the seperation anxiety, and the cocker breeders will have seen this before. We breeders need to assist one another, and several here have been fantastic over the years. I find posting in general gets all sorts of answers! Your "scent of the owner" is helpful. I hadn't thought of that one, so thank you.

Hi all. Daughter has a female cocker spaniel thats 14 months old. Because she lives in a small apartment, the dog comes to our place while at work, and stays with our 4 smallers terriers, and stays most weekends. Lots of rules here and she is pretty good. However, heres the problem. She has seperation anxiety if she knows her owner is in the house in another room, trying to sleep through a migraine etc. She barks, scratches doors etc. We are dealing with that by diversion tactics, games, obedience training etc. Not making a lot of progress, some, but slow going. My issue this morning is that daughter sleeping, cocker in lounge with me, and I was ignoring her bad behaviour (hence not rewarding it) and she pee's on the couch! Very brazen. I'm very cranky. All dogs are outside for the duration. Can anyone suggest some type of training that will stop this happening again? Maybe I'm putting human traits on her, but I think she peed on the couch cause I wouldn't her into the room where her owner is. She is currently outsde howling at the door. All suggestions and advice gratefully received. Thanks in advance.

Don't feel goofy. I cook for the dogs, and my husband cooks for the rest of us! One thing about flour. If your dogs are prone to itchy skins, don't use wheat flour (either white or wholemeal). Its a common allergen. Substitute the ground corn flour (the good stuff mentioned in other post) and you may need to add a teensy bit more liquid. If itchies are not a problem, go for the wholemeal - its not as refined as white flour. Much better for their digestive systems, and a better "output" if you get my meaning. No critical audience is a good thing! Guarenteed acceptance. Enjoy your baking.

Apple Cider Vinegar! Of course. I knew that I knew what the acronym stood for......... Got some of the proper stuff in the cupboard. Thanks for the tip about the oxylate stones.

Bobchick - why don't you call the 24hr vets and ask if you can give her more drops? Tell them what drops you have and when you last gave them. Our afterhours emergency vet in Canberra charge you $500 for walking through the front doors, so $60 sounds divine! They can tell you what to do over the phone, and the advice is generally free. If its conjunctivitis, an anti allergy drop would help, but DO CHECK with the vets first. Some human drops are not good for dogs. If the eye itself keeps rapidly puffing out despite your best efforts, you may have an abscess behind the eye, rather than conjunctivitis. Gum disease or a broken tooth can get infected into the sinuses and make the eye bug out. Make sure your vet checks this as well as the conjunctivitis. Its a bit tricky to diagnose and my old boy had this, when the young vet thought it was conjunctivitis. Antibiotics and the draining of sinuses fixes this up very quickly. You'll know if this is what he has as you can practically see the eye coming out over an hour or so.

Sorry I didn't mean peg as in tent peg, I mean the little pegs which lock the gazebo legs into place. ETA: OzTrail promised to fix it, but never did. Oh MissB - you can fix this super easy!! Get one of those sturdy tentpegs - just about 8mm diameter. The top bent bit fits superbly right into the hole where the "little locking peg thing" should pop out and hold everything sturdy.

Just as I was reading this bit about dry-bed, the flyer popped up at the top of the page: www.thewolfsden.com.au. I have rubber backed and normal from wolfs den, love them both. Use the non-skid version as my back door mat, and the dry-bed in crates. Takes about 14 minutes to dry in an ordinary household dryer on warm! Sorry ti highjack your thread BB! Good to know that DOLers have helped you with a supplier of the sloped crates.

Ishy - One thing no-one has mentioned are cyalume camping sticks. MUST MUST buy some and keep them handy for those dark nights with no lights. You "crack" the inner cylinder by slightly bending them, shake them to mix the two chemicals and they glow in the dark, have a hook on one end, are about $3 each. (K-Mart, $2 shop if you are lucky, and camping shops for the more expensive versions.) You can make them last twice as long (maybe 3 nights) if you put them in an icebox/freezer when it gets light. You can even read a book by their light if you get very desperate. Invaluable if you think along lines of some campgrounds turn off all the lights at 11pm, there are heaps of tents crammed together in one spot, and you are in a direct line to the toilets. Imagine if you will that its late, the lights are off, you are snug in your tent, all dogs have stopped barking, all the sherbet drinkers have finally gone to bed, and you are in that blissful dream state. Then the dude from the next tent along submits to the call of nature and is a gentlemen so he heads off in the dark towards the loos. Unfortunately he has left his tent with no torch in his hand to guide him quietly on his way. Imagine the poor man tripped up in a very noisy fashion by tent guy-ropes, goes down sprawling over the tent corner, the tent rips, the dogs ALL bark, and the swearing would make a sailor blush! Cyalume sticks stuck up on the ends of the guy ropes would have saved him.

Yes it does - thank you! Also try something called Ruffy Tuffy, think its from Plush Puppy. I used it a couple of times on my terriers coat when I was inexperienced at show grooming, and groomed a dip into my gals topline. Doh! Good thing I did better as I went on. :D

Hey Goldengirl, I have no words of wisdom for you I'm afraid re the chiropractor. I have one of my girls with the slightest of slight luxating patella's (vet said 1, maybe 2 out of 10) on her hind leg and his advice was to keep her weight on the light side, avoid jumping, and be aware if she started to have problems in the future. Very difficult for your JRT not to jump I'm sure. Fish oil capsules - 1000mg, omega 3 or 6, human grade, seem to have helped enormously, although she has never been lame, and I never saw any hint of a problem. I just have a fabulous very thorough vet. Would maybe phone your usual vets and have them check records to see if there was ever any indication of a problem, however slight, before going to chiro. Perhaps it was always there, just undiagnosed?? You won't be able to prove chiro did anything damaging unless you have prior xrays, so maybe do the best you can now for your girl to keep her painfree. Not optimum I know, but you can only be in the here and now.

Thanks Rural Pug. Great info. Yes, she is all finished with the stones, over 6 months ago. Having them dissolve completely is quite rare so we are lucky in that respect, and she was on long term antibiotics to combat any reinfection. Her normal diet before the struvite stones was 2/3 Premium dry food (generally Proplan) with 1/3 wetmix - red meat and grated vegies. Also Biolac coat conditioner, Petvite powder, and fish oil capsule. Perhaps she can gradually go back to this diet, if I add cranberry to it, and regularly use ph test strips? I had read about Vit C, and someone else suggested Protexin/Inner Health Plus powder as well, but could you please tell me what ACV is? Brain Fade has struck whilst I'm on leave! Also, how does cranberry interfere with antibiotics?

Thanks CavsRcute. Becks also suggested the ph strips, so I'll check with the vet as to what is "normal" and do some checking myself. Think it'll be a slow process, I'll get the strips first and tes Thanks.t a couple of times, start her on the cranberry tabs and test, then ever so slowly change her diet to something I'd be happier with.

Thanks Becks. Yes, have checked with her breeder and none in her line has had this happen before. Breeder did have one case, but in a totally different line, and time. My breeder has a policy of ask all the questions we have within the clan, and we all support each other with knowledge. The Clan are all owners of her progeny - a totally wonderful system she has instituted wth us - no secrets about what is behind the lines etc, and is 100% for breed health and temperament. Its truly wonderful. Several of us have gone on to have our own litters registered. Incidentally, Chappie isn't available here in Aus. Will check with the vets and get some PH strips and test as you suggest. Thanks again.

Thanks guys, Both the websites look very interesting! Generosity of dogzonline members never fails to surprise me - thanks! With the cranberry tablets, what might the dosage be? (My girl is 8kgs.) Have looked up on the net and have not been able to find much on contra-indications for cranberry - do you know of any issues? (Itchyness would be an issue for her.) And do you feed a normal diet with the cranberry added, or use cranberry with special diet? My vet says the severity of her stones (3 x 1cm diameter) make her susceptible to reoccurance, but I can't find any basis for this in all my research. Idea's??

Hi AmandaJ - Colostrum I understand, but what effect does the fresh pineapple have please? Does this in turn acidify the urine output?

Hi all, I have a 4 year old terrier that had struvite bladder stones 12 months ago. She is all better now, no reoccurances, was on the antibiotics for about 6 months to combat any recurrance of the infection, and all clear now for about 6 months. Very happy with her progress. She is on Royal Canin prescription "Urinary" blend. Was on Hills prescription SD but she finds the Royal Canin better. My question for those that have had struvite stones before - Do you know of any other foods that have the correct nutritional makeup so the stones don't reoccur? Hills and RC are so very expensive and the cynic in me wonders if there are other options available that I'm not being told about? Thanks in advance for your answers.

Thanks Persephone Right - so CORN flour can be made from WHEAT flour. That's got to be confusing to those of us who don't cook often. I'll make sure I read the labelling carefully then! Thanks.

Hi all, Can anyone advise me please if cornstarch and cornflour are the same thing in grooming terms? A couple of books I have from the U.S. talk about using cornstarch to assist in removal of matted fur in rescue dogs. One of mine has very fine fur that mats on a windy day! :D Well, almost. Yes, she is clipped and brushed and she doesn't approve of any of that, so I was thinking, maybe if I sprinkled cornstarch on the areas that mat (hips, underarms, etc) would it help to slow down the matting? Always worth a try. So off to the shops I go, only to find plenty of cornflour, but no cornstarch. Are they the same thing? Google doesn't bring up much, and what it does, seems to be conflicting. Thanks in advance.

Firstly, it's a cross so nobody can give an estimate on what it should weight - it depends what it's crossed with. If it's crossed with a great dane then it's gonna be much bigger than if it's crossed with a JRT. Secondly - black ones don't weigh any different to any other colour purebred lab. A lab would be about 5kg at that age but this dog needs to be assessed on the correct weight for its structure. Hi - Sorry I could have explained that better couldn't I! Million things going on at work. It looks for all the world just like a lab puppy. Definately not crossed with a JRT or a dane, or wolfy, or a peke. Apparently 3 pups were for sale, and this one was half the size of both her brothers. She is only 2.5kgs at 10 weeks and it has me quite worried. Apparently she is quite vigerous but tires really easily. I haven't even gone there yet about hips, elbows and eyes! Best to be getting this little girl the best nutrition possible at this stage. Thanks for giving me the estimate of a lab - its a good starting point. Garloch. Hi Garloch - I've always used 1kg per week of age as a guide. At birth a well covered lab puppy will weigh about 500g. At 1 week old it will weigh about 1kg at 2 weeks it will weigh about 2kgs and so on. This rapid growth rate usually continues until about 16 weeks after which the weight gain slows gradually. Between 16 & 20 weeks (4 - 5 months) there is steady (slower) weight gain but the puppy will go up on leg. This will continue until about 9 months of age where a young Lab should have made size (height) and will weigh about 30kgs. By 18 months of age most labs (if raised correctly) will have reached their usual adult weight of around 35-37 kgs. You are quite right to be concerned about the cross-bred puppy. Even if it isn't a pure bred lab 2.5kgs is very light on indeed. And I'm wondering if her lack of growth and tiredness may not be an indicator of something more serious. Heart defects can often present in the ways you describe. Hope it works out for the puppy's sake. Thanks for that reply. Very helpful. Yes, I too am concerned about a heart defect. I'm actually getting my paws on her tomorrow to have a clear close look. The tiredness is a key indicator for concern for me, but she is VERY small. I hope it works out for the pup too. I have some divetelact from my last litter to give her, and will look closely at her feeding regimen and frequency. Cross fingers! Thanks.

Firstly, it's a cross so nobody can give an estimate on what it should weight - it depends what it's crossed with. If it's crossed with a great dane then it's gonna be much bigger than if it's crossed with a JRT. Secondly - black ones don't weigh any different to any other colour purebred lab. A lab would be about 5kg at that age but this dog needs to be assessed on the correct weight for its structure. Hi - Sorry I could have explained that better couldn't I! Million things going on at work. It looks for all the world just like a lab puppy. Definately not crossed with a JRT or a dane, or wolfy, or a peke. Apparently 3 pups were for sale, and this one was half the size of both her brothers. She is only 2.5kgs at 10 weeks and it has me quite worried. Apparently she is quite vigerous but tires really easily. I haven't even gone there yet about hips, elbows and eyes! Best to be getting this little girl the best nutrition possible at this stage. Thanks for giving me the estimate of a lab - its a good starting point. Garloch.

Hi all, The normal thing - ask a breeder a question about a different breed! One of the young girls here at work bought a cross from a petshop (yes I know, I'm SO right there with you!) and has asked me for some help as her little girls is small, runt of the litter. I breed small terriers so have no idea how much a black lab retriever is supposed to weigh at 10 weeks. Can anyone enlighten me so I can possibly help this silly young girl? Many thanks in advance, Garloch.

Go onto the car manufacturers website. They list the towing capacity of vehicles. You can take a car and trailer over a public weighbridge (ask Roads people where a public one is), subtract the car weight (which you get off the manufacturers site) and whats left is the trailer weight. Make certain that the car specs say that weight can safely be towed. Make sure you take a fully laden trailer to measure the weight. My "assorted stuff" weighs heaps! If the trailer is too heavy for the vehicle, then the trailer can actually "drive" the vehicle with its weight, throwing your vehicle stability out of whack. That means it won't corner properly, or brake properly, and in the event of an accident, if you have an "over-tow" situation, your insurance company has fineprint (probably - mine does) that says they will not pay. Personally, wouldn't tow any trailer with a 1.5 or 1.6 car. Doable - yes, but at what cost? Would probably rip the goolies out of the car motor and, cost a fortune in petrol. 1.8ltr turbo diesel would be my minimum. Oh and, not sure if this is relevant, but a smaller car has a lower towhitch point than a taller car. Assuming here a grooming/washing trailer, that would have water in a tub when parked. If dipped down to a low towhitch, would the water be level? Might this be a potential problem? (Sorry Just the way my mind works!)