ShellyBeggs

I would explain to them just how sunburnt that newly exposed skin will get and the worry about skin cancer. Dogs have fur to protect them from the sun........and here in oz our UV levels are much higher and the poor dog would be crispy fried in a day! The incidence of skin cancer rises every year in oz and I am sure they are not planning to dip the dog in sunscreen every 1/2 hour or so. Having had a large black lab that over heated in summer.......a half clam wadding pool (you can get them cheap....no more than $20, I paid $4 at the salvos) and a chicken frame frozen in a ice block....they love it and it keeps them cool.....Plenty of shade...pref over the pool...put up shadecloth if necessary......and even keeping them inside if you are lucky enough to have a cool house. With a regular hydrobath and blow dry and a quick daily brush the shedding will be kept to a minimum.......I am sure they pat their dog anyway....get them to put on a knobbly grooming mit and its suprising how much hair comes out. I would refuse to clip the dog!!!

Sorry I can't help..... just wanted to say how lucky you are to have a kelpie that will play with someting.....mine isn't that interested in toys and food so I find rewards and creating drive tough at times!!!!

As usual Steve.....Thanks Heaps! This is one to print out and keep!!!! I am in the "selective deafness" stage and 2nd fear period.....with Anzac at 10mo. although for the last 3 weeks he has been scared of squeaky toys......last night when I was on the phone to someone to organise dog transport.....he decided he loved them again and lay squeaking it the whole time I was on the phone. So maybe coming out of the fear stage....

OMG I tried walking up and down the hallway getting him to sit.....he gets all loopy jumping up and nipping at my arm (like he did the figure 8 a training).....it hypes him up. I thought it was because that is his play-zone...SO I tried outside on the garage wall and same thing.... I don't know why he steps back and swings away when he sits......he does it at home off lead too. I am beginning to wonder if he has a vision problem????? Needs to be further away to see the treat properly?? Maybe needs a trip to the vet? Its the only thing I can think of as to why if I hold food under his nose and tell him to sit he has to step back 3 steps to sit. And I don't throw food at him so have to step forward to give it to him. He is starting to look for the treat at home when i click....so nearly there on the desensitisation. He will even nose poke my pocket for the cheese!!! Just like Miss Diva.... I certainly am not using the clicker for training......I keep it in my pocket and click/treat at random times, in random places.....when at home and out.

thanks puggles....i will give it a go. the wood is sealed so I dont know how porous it is.....I never thought of that!!!

my dog run is actually my large (4m square) back verandah...... I am having trouble finding the best cleaning product for the hardwood (treated jarrah) floor???? any ideas on a product that will disinfect the area??? bleach is starting to take the colour out of the wood.

my new dog is arriving on transport saturday.... I was going to watch the aussies and the rotts at KCC and he is being delivered there sometime during the day. He is 15mo Aussie.....I currently have a 10mo kelpie (both desexed) Any tips on how to have this all run smoothly??? I was planning to take my kelpie to the show to experience the big crowds (in prep for his one day obedience trial career)...... I thought I would walk them around together, neutral territory and all....and hoping by the time it got to the trip home they would be too tuckered out and generally used to being around each other. At home they will sleep in seperate crates. Is this a good idea? Would appreciate any other tips!!! Thanks guys

My silly kelpie hasn't got the idea.....that when I stop he has to sit without me asking. even if I walk a few paces and stop/sit......and repeat every 5 steps ...10 times or more. Is it just he is still too immature (10 mo) for the penny to drop......or am I missing something. If I stop and give no command, he just stands there...looking unsure of himself. Any tips how to achieve this would be great????

since the hydrotherapy is so far away..... is there somewhere he can swim more often??? As the warmer weather kicks in then it is less important for it to be warm water.....worse comes to worse providing there is no chance of him slipping....even a farm dam would do. swimming, even if its just fetching a stick....is great for building even muscle tone....and I don't see why a swim every other day wouldn't hurt him.... I have seen a lot of slow developing dogs look east-west until they fill out in the chest and shoulders when they seem to magically straighten out....and your boy has missed a lot of running around and bulding muscle. It sounds like he is getting everything he needs......

AS ABOVE!!!! Thanks mate, you took what I was going to reply and just said it so much better!!!! You are a legend!

Thanks Rusky, great read! Must say I disagreed with most of it......some of it I agree with but most of it being a load of codswallop! I have never seen Ceasar Millan do anything abusive to a dog yet......he wouldn't be on air if any of the humane or animal protection groups thought he was abusive....they have a big pull over in the US. Alot of his training wouldn't suit a lot of dogs, some of it is quite confrontational and extreme....made for TV you might say.....a definite don't try this at home..........but most of it seems more like common sense and this is what most people I have spoken to about it, get from the show -the common sense bit. Everyone has their own way of training animals.....no way is 100% right and no way is 100% wrong... People need to exercise their own "fit for purpose" radar (in this case a TV show) and stop building the soap box higher and higher (like some people on that website)

I decided to have a go at clicker training my crazy kelpie....(nearly 10months old) I have only had a few goes with sit and he freaked out at the noise and now won't sit at home, even if i don't have the clicker he looks panicked and scoots backwards to the other side of the room and then stands usually in a place I can't see him and he can't see me....he then stays there totally shut down for ages (more than 5 and sometimes more than 10 min) I have had conflicting advice........from 3 people. perservere coz he will get the hang of it.........do it on lead so he has to face the noise not hide. randomly click all the time until he is no longer sensitive to the noise then go back to using it in training don't worry about it because he is obviously too sensitive to the noise and keep training with the food and lots of praise. before deciding to try this, his training was coming on slowly ....he isn't overly food orientated and not toy/game driven either. Any ideas?

I have recently been faced with this..... Once the infection was gone I had the decision to start luekemia treatment (quoted up to $500 per week)....or not? but I never got that far.......because a) it turned out to be autoimmune haemalytic aneamie and b) he thankfully died in his sleep last friday night after a happy fun night of playing. But $500 per week would have been too much for me (I barely earn that), as much as I loved him, it would have been pointless to make him as well as possible only so we could all live in a cardboard box and then there is no guarantee on the outcome anyway!.......and he had no behaviour problems at all. A dog with those problems of this dog.....I prolly would think it was kinder to PTS and like Chloebear said....put the money, time and effort into picking a good pup from a good breeder and doing some good socialisation and training.

doesn't sound good does it.....

The vet now thinks my little Aniken may have Autoimmune haemolytic anaemia and we are waiting on blood tests to confirm...... doing some reading on this site ASHGI It doesn't sound good.........anyone have any experience or ideas???

What Jesomil said........ and what rhapsodical78 said...... Although you would never mouth the pack leader to play (ie the husband) a dog will try and incite a game with other lesser members of the pack by mouthing or nipping them. I see it all the time at home...... nipping the leader to play will just get you told off....... It sounds like Harry sees your friend as being an equal and the husband and you as being leaders. Your friend needs to work on her leadership skills...... I would worry about putting a young or energetic dog with someone who got scared at a mouthing dog rather than exerting leadership. Dogs can sense uncertainty or fear and likely you are right and had she told him off he likely wouldn't try it again.

Thanks guys!!! I just spoke to George and he is definately working, I will be taking my pups there on Friday morning....at 10. I am wondering if Aniken's lack of chewing is more to do with his jaw than his teeth......since I have trouble opening his mouth enough to get his tablets down. And a check up for Anzac after his stove surfing experience........he seems very restless this week and won't lay down for long...... I have heard such great things about George.....

Ok I have finally caved in and bid on 2 crates on ebay..... I have always been anti-crating but feel my crazy pups (both 9mo) need it. And I need it too! What changed my mind was that my little aussie has been unwell however doesn't want to be seperated from me or the other dogs and yet the other pup is pesting him a lot. If he felt safe and happy in a crate he wouldn't have to worry about the kelpie jumping on him every 5 minutes to play. He also was very fearful while he stayed at the vets and was a bit snappy at the nurses and some of that may have been that he was crated. AND they have started jumping on me in bed to wake me up at 4am and if I dont get up the wrestle on top of me. Grrrr! The aussie also panics when I leave him to train the kelpie, my wonderful insturctor (thanks Zed n Q) suggested he might feel safer in a crate where he can still see everything but not worry about strange people/dogs. I have read previous messages on crate training and they are usually for a small young pup.....these 2 are absolute terrors usually and can't stand being seperated from each other or me. If I bath one, the other is usually in hysterics outside the bathroom door....or when I go to the loo they both sit outside and whine (which means I can't come out until they are quiet....I could have read War & Peace by now). So any ideas on how I can train 2 very clingy older pups to sleep in their own crates? How do I teach them which is their own crate? (and ideas on how I can learn to cope with the idea myself.........I am still cringing and not just at the price - yes guys it is likely me that will have more problems than the dogs) Also did I get the sizing right..... A medium for my small Aussie (upto 23kg 30 inches - I am hoping if he gets well he might grow) and a large for my long legged kelpie (upto 35kg and 36 inches)......I can still change it if they are wrong. And they are just to sleep in at night and in the car etc..... I don't want to keep them in the crates when I am not home!

OK I am not ready with my pups for anything of the sort.....still working on basic obedience but I couldn't read this thread without saying this is the most gorgeous piccie of Leo..... his cheer squad goes wild

I am in Victoria...... How do I find out about the heart clinic?

oh poor baby!!! Chiro maybe? if the spine is out, it could be throwing the hips out and putting pressure on he patella..........just a thought!

Thanks Poodle Wrangler....good idea! What I did get was that he thinks it sounds like he has a sticky valve, so it stays open after the beat allowing blood to flow back into the chamber. Without a ultrsound he can't be 100% sure but he is 95% sure that is what it is, claims to be obvious to hear. This would be a 'from birth' thing.... I just can't find anything to do with what the grade 3 means (other than the grades are 1-6 so he is in the middle) and what his life expectancy is etc.... I also don't know if medication/operation can help etc.... I have read that there can be different types of murmers and I am not sure how this fits in with my poor bubba......or even if he is in pain?

Your westie hasn't hurt that spot, sometimes the hair on scar tissue can be a different colour??? BTW you haven't home died your hair lately???? My mum has a white mini foxy and couldn't work out where the red/brown spot on his bum came from and was about the rush to the vet when she worked out that she must have flicked a bit of hair dye onto the bathroom floor and he must have sat on it.

8 month old Aussie..... He is Aniken in my sig...

I know nothing about this..... my dog has just been diagnosed with a grade 3 heart murmer.....what is it and what can be done? I have googled and it wasn't very helpful, lots of gloom and doom!