skip

Thanks so much for all your help. I was on call for work today but go tomorrow to the family in Sydney for celebrations. So good to reply at this time but least I might b able to advise my dad before he leaves Sunday. This explains a bit why my dad is not so keen on my dogs. He likes some dogs but really doesn't get why I like them so much. I have some problems with loose dogs approaching my Littles or my reactive kelpie, or better still all three. Might try some suggestions as well. And yes I was always too polite but trying to be more upfront. Someone suggested I tell other owners my dog is contagious. That'll b interesting to try. Thanks all and hope u all had a merry Christmas.

Hi all. I know it is busy over this time but would like some advice to give my Dad. He likes dogs in general but is uncomfortable round loose dogs he meets walking. He is walking in on lead areas but in his area no one seems to pay attention. As he is nervous of course as I told him, dogs may sense this and it seems to cause issues. Apparently on the beach recently a little happy dog was barking at him so he was backing awa. The owners abused him cause they said he was making their dog worse. Similar with a small dog he has to avoid each morning if they walk down to the parks round the river. The dog is loose and yappy and actually bit a relative once. I expected the council would be involved in the bite incident but nothing happened. We spoke about dog deterrents but he is worried about upsetting owners. I am hesitant to use things like a spray too. He knows it his fear so all I can think of is to suggest turn side on to the approaching dog, do not make direct eye contact but still watch the dog. Standing with one knee bent like a relaxed position is useful with horses so maybe that too. I've heard some recommend a loud sit command? ??? That's all I had. But I would b getting council involved as that is their job. Round here ago dogs are a serious issue and council has started a special team to patrol beaches etc at all odd times. I know you could also throw down yummy food and /or effect the dogs behaviour but cannot see my dad accepting that. I now feed a dog that barks as I go past his lane way every day ( I know the owner) and as a result we get tail wagging and silent passage. My dog used to be scared walking past. Any ideas welcome but difficult I know to control environment.

Hi Thanks for that article. Having a kelpie I had to go to that link and have a read. Very interesting. Find the variation in dog breeds pretty amazing as well.

I also would not run a dog in agility with a harness. There is a chance that if your dog jumps or wraps a upright too close the harness could catch . Imagine the fright to the dog if everything falls, or worse still drags after the dog. In ADAA u cannot run your dog in even s flat collar. I will never forget running my chi x once and mistakenly left the collar on. My friend the judge at the time yelled at me. At first i thought he was joking but he was very serious. Had to stop immediately and remove collar before restarting. Never forgot again. No need for a harness anyway and i would think the dog would have to feel the harness as their body extends and contracts. But otherwise hope u get a good fit next time.

I brought my young kelpie the sandpit. Great idea until she went to town in it and half the sand goes out. But it was great to hide things in for her to find. Eventually she stopped using it and its gone now. I was worried the lonely pitbull next door might want to dig to us. But no, one day only got home to kelpie digging to him to lick noses. Covered that area and lucky she didnt try again. Cant beleive she was the one digging under fence. Little monster.

This is horrible and I would be pissed off. Yes, it was the dog and I'd be telling them what happened. Legally thou they would probably deny it for all the reasons mentioned. hope the fear of the trouble their dog can cause will wake them up. My old cat was killed by a passing dog who was loose.

Great choice. Great dogs.

Sorry to hear your dog has bad hips. It't heartbreaking. My kelpie was going really well in agility and herding with no problems. At 3 she was limping one day after swimming so to the vets. Misdiagnosed at first as a pulled CL or knee problem she started the cartrophen injections. But the series of injections were weekly, a fortnight, a month,then 3 and now she is finished (with no need of it now). Not sure of the diagnosis I took her elsewhere for xrays. Her hips ends are already worn off and looks pretty bad considering she stills moves so well.bit of a shock. My vet suggested I give the daily dose of glucosamine (500) and chondrotin (400). Lucky blooms the chemist make this. Chondroitin is to build cartilage before that left hip wears it away further. My dog was very muscular and you need to keep this so I went with the physio. Exercise can be dedremental but physio builds core muscles to keep joints in place. See this month's Dogs NSW mag cause has a article on my physio. Note there is a tip in this article about swimming. I thought it could be OK but was concerned as legs are still moving. Physio says swimming is good for cardiovascular fitness but wading will build muscle and this makes sense. Battery going so have to post more later maybe.

Sorry guys, I stand corrected and admit my experience with dogs that have had THR is limited. After having two little rescue dogs for a decade without any issues, it is a but of a wakeup when you suddenly hit a health problem. I edited my post as in hindsight I was uncomfortable posting about somebody else's business. My friends are devoted to their fur babies. I am lucky I wasn't faced with such difficult choices. Becoming more involved with dogs I hear of so many health issues that can happen. There was a time when a lot of these procedures on dogs were not common. Now the vet care available seems to be unlimited. This is partly why when asked about getting another dog I answer no. I have to be able to provide fully for the 3 I have so for now it is will be just a family of 3. And you learn a lot about what to look for in the next puppy. Glad your dogs have had brand hips that do the job though. ☺ hopefully catbrit's pup will do as well whatever happens.

Firstly catbrit let me say how sorry I am that this happened to you and your pup. I was absolutely gutted when I found my kelpie had HD. For what it's worth this is what I learnt and I will try not to waffle. My kelpie was just 3 and going well, loving agility and all things sheep. She seemed to pull a muscle out swimming and my vet said she had a knee problem. So we started Petasan injections much like u describe your pup has just started. Bearing in mind she was barely showing lameness and your pup sounds much worse. I trusted my vet so it was 6 months later before I took her to a chiro who thought (as I suspected) that it was her hip. Note here he thought it was a injury only as HD cannot be unilateral. But I left thinking it can be if both hips r Crap but only one causes pain. Even then they didn't think it was HD. So I went to another vet and had her xrayed. Really gutted that day to find she had shocking hips despite showing little physical discomfort. Maybe born that way but her hip ends are gone, she has no ball left and cartilage erosion particularly on left. So she is given ( since a whole series of Petasan given already for a misdiagnosed knee) a daily dose for a kelpie of glucosamine and chondrotin. It was vital to not just give glucosamine but the chondroitin as its great for cartilage growth. The idea being to grow cartilage faster that ragged hip end is wearing it away. Happy to find Blooms make one but hard to get the right mixture. Her story continues but her situaton differs from your pup. I don't know where u r but in my area there is a specialist available in parramatta who is said to be the best. The vet can forward xrays for an opinion or can refer you to him. I will b doing this. There are three common procedures but one can only be done on puppies very early. You don't want to miss any window of opportunity. So see whoever is the best in your area. I was referred to a qualified physio ($$) who gave us really useful exercises to do. For my dog she will be allowed to live as full a life as possible while trying to minimize exercise and wear on her joints. Eventually she will need a TPO and hopefully have some years after that. So all this has raised some questions about finding the right balance for my dog in regards to her quality of life. I have chosen to allow her some freedom, probably more than her hips warrant but what is her life worth if she is frustrated and unhappy. You have some hard choices ahead. But we cannot judge you as only you know what your dog needs and what you are able to provide. But ask questions. Get the best help. That's the best you can do. Your pup is lucky in one way cause he has a loving home and owner. I hope you find the answers you need.

I don't have family nearby to help. I have gone out late at night (after a walk before I leave) and got home very late that night. So I have spent a Christmas day and night with family and just asked a neighbor to check dogs in morning were all happy and accounted for. My dogs have all the house and yard access. Haven't done it with newer addition as wasn't sure she wouldn't bark at night or early morning.

hi. i think it also depends on what speed they eat. Two I have eat at a normal speed so ok to feed together. the kelpie eats fast and would go to investigate the smaller dogs eating. While she wouldn't steal from them I don't want to increase any guarding and I know the chihuahua feels pressure to eat faster if there is a big dog watching. So the kelpie darts to her crate when food comes out and I lock her in for the time it takes for little ones to finish. You can always just use different rooms if crates aren't handy.

I would be interested in any feedback as well. Haven't heard of this procedure but currently learning all I can about HD and its treatment.

Welcome Jess. Lovely dally who looks like he is one happy dog. Sounds like you are working hard at learning. Congratulations on starting your business. Must be scary but exciting. I visited a canine physio yesterday which was really interesting and walked away thinking what a great way to spend your working day. Helping dogs and owners but unlike the vets surgery, the dogs have fun and can earn treats. That's two pretty different breeds! What would be your third choice? I like the springer myself.

I think the mini poodle would be a great dog for you. Good to live with but so trainable and very agile. I was considering one for agility but went with a kelpie instead. The jap spitz that I have met, one in particular are great little dogs if you like coats. But nothing matches a good poodle and I say that as someone who doesn't have one, just admires them. BUt you would have to learn to be a groomer or have a few bad hair days! I have two rescue and the kelpie btw. Also see a lot of shelties in agility, lovely but like to make themselves heard ! So many choices. Boston terrier?

No sorry Sail Away. I have 3 BonoFido crates in 3 sizes ( looks cute too lined up ) Which also have the pop up frame inside. The big one is over ten years old so got two others from a shop I found online. Great price , something like 80 or 90 dollars heaps cheaper than pet barn! ,all light in carry bag. I liked the netting on the roof and 3 sides with weather covering for roof and one side. So open on all 3 sides and roof when hot.

Did't really answer your question about reactive dog classes. They can be great as most run of the mill dog training clubs may not be able to cope with these issues and some are so old fashioned will have no worthwhile advice to give. Trainers like corvus have the knowledge to help. And in class all the dog owners are much more aware of allowing space to the dog. Dog owners will feel less flustered. A behaviorist will help you decide if you need this type of class. Dallas sounds like with training and slow steps she would be OK in normal classes. both dogs would be fine in our clubs classes too but I am in wollongong. Happy learning

Hopefully your behaviorist will answer all your questions and give you the tools to deal with the issue. It is a bit of a handful with two young ones together. I have three dogs but the kelpie is so submissive she can only deal with really soft submissive dogs. So she likes this dog and that dog but reacts to the bouncy lab or friendly staff. Makes for some confused dog owners in dog training settings. I use rewards and conditioning to try to combat her behaviour. She goes to obedience and mixes with all the dogs but I watch carefully which dogs I work her near. not sure if reactive dogs classes would be good for her as she copes better when other dogs are well behaved. Meaning she can offer behaviour aND be rewarded more if other dogs are well behaved. If she was reacting in class herself I suppose that would be different. Great you can get help. As you mention you wanted to show your dogs just wondering how much socialisation they have had. I do agility and so my dog was exposed to shows and trials all her life. She is actually more comfortable in a show setting then out and about. Keep calm as I know you can get flustered if your dog behaves like this. Don't stress if it does happen just move away. You are doing the right thing already in moving away, asking for a behaviour and rewarding this like the sit you mentioned. So good effort. I see so many people in class who yell and Jerk the reactive dog and wonder why the dog never improves. Get the right advice and you can make it much more pleasant. Let us know how it goes.

When I got my two small dogs after having only the large farm dogs, I found out dogs had anal glands!!

When I first started clicker traiming with my kelpie she sometimes got super excited and started barking at me. I simply told her to lie down and after 5 seconds of silence we would start again. If she had of kept barking I would have stopped, time out for a little while. mind you, I do keep it happening and pretty quick. but the barking behaviour that you see at agility trials sometimes would drive me crazy and so I never let her bark in frustration. Have fun, I really should clicker train more stuff.

Too late for me to post much advice but I used puppy pens that I luckily already owned. Brought from pet shops previously for two small dogs. From memory my kelpie pup was in pen when I was about but couldn't be watching her inside. Going to work is a big pain but i put the pup in my shed with old carpet down and the pen to keep her in. But i had a neighbour to check on her and let her toilet each day at lunch. plus it was summer. You are lucky if you are only leaving her for a few hours. If sunny I'd leave out in a pen but if colder since its winter, she'd be fine inside in the bathroom or penned just for those hours. Just a query since I had to put plastic netting around my back steps, is your pup entirely safe on the back veranda? No gaps or possible drops like between the stairs. I used a crate in the bedroom at night since the other dogs are on the bed and the puppy cannot be so high. I took her to toilet if she made a noise , which was usually about 2 to 3 am. When she was older and toilet trained , plus also big enough to get on/off bed safely, she was allowed free range too. I had a doggy door btw which I had to teach her how to use with treats. Everything seemed to work ok but I must admit I was surprised the pup needed to pee after play, after sleep, after eating .....so basically all the time. Every time I took her, she peed. So you have to be really watchful and if the pup pees, you just didn't watch closely enough. congratulations btw, I love your chosen breed!

More photos please and where did you find your pup? Isn't it exciting!

Yes! I can see why before and after imaging is so helpful. Years ago my andy horse that I leased seemed to develop an intermittent lameness. The owner was very fond of a chiropractor/acupuncture guy and wanted me to have this every 2 weeks. But I had the legs ultra-sounded by my vet and he found the suspensory ligament in a hind leg was torn. The answer was 6 months rest with a follow up U/S that showed the ligament was healed. From this I tend to go with vet first and then other healing methods as an aid to recovery. THANKS for your help. Will see what happens in the next week or so.

Yes, SAS , I think maybe I should have been a bit more forceful on asking for imaging a while ago. Thanks Jumabaar for your advice. I see you also have good taste in dogs! And actually I have met you years ago before I brought my kelpie because I remember your sweet brown kelpie you had at Erskine Park. Jade is booked in with a well respected muscle /massage clinic so will see what happens there before deciding what to do next. And my vet wasn't keen on doing any imaging as he is so certain about what it is???? So no imaging done at all. My trainer gave me a jumping program to get started agility wise again. It is mainly various jumping grids with a gradual increase to harder grids to get her jumping muscles going again. But I will wait till she is checked again before starting these again. Vet visit supposed to be next week. She is due for another injection. Been 2 months since the last one so I will ask if this is the final one.

Sounds like you are a very caring owner. Makes me think I was hard on mine. I have two older small dogs who have been everywhere and competed in agility as well. So love crates. BUt they sleep loose at home mainly on the bed. Plus both were rescue so didn't come crate trained. Don't remember even knowing had to train them, I just started using them at dog training. Gradually they get used to it. New kelpie pup was crated near my bed and I didn't even think of the two being on the bed while we did this. Puppy went in the crate late as I go to bed late and took her to the toilet when she made a noise, usually about 1-2am. AS she got older she was allowed to also sleep free range. Note I do have a doggy door. She also has a crate in the lounge room where I feed her. All the dogs seem to cope when we are away plus overnight stays in their crates. Never a peep. Althou the kelpie had never been anywhere where she wasn't allowed inside. So first time at my parents they had to stay on a veranda. She thought the door shutting her out surely was a big mistake. Poor baby! But the fun on hols is worth it. So no harm in both dogs being crated in order to both get to go to shows etc. But I'd probably decide now if both dogs are eventually going to be on the bed. If not , crate both. But if you will eventually let both on the bed I wouldn't bother changing the older dogs routine just cause pup is there. I'd love to see your spaniel too. ? maybe he is just working bred. Photo would be nice anyway. I'm puppyless now for a looong time!