Staffyluv

How terrifying for you all. I am so glad Lily is improving so well now. Not me personally but my sister's old SBT girl had a stroke - I saw her the morning after and the only real difference from Rosie to Lily is that Rosie lost her vision as well. Rosie started to come good about 48 hours after it happened but then she had another one (she was 12 years old), so my sister called her vet and he came right over and gave Rosie her wings.. Rose was older and had an accident - another, much bigger dog had jumped on her the day before the first stroke. I hope Lily continues to improve...

Lol, maybe he is.. He does that all the time. I always forget to video it because I am laughing at him.

Zig lays on the arm of the lounge. Day 14 March Care by jamoore photos, on Flickr Standing on the coffee table is fun too. Day 30 March - Fast (he wags his tail so fast it's a blur) by jamoore photos, on Flickr Link to a facebook video of Zig doing his vertical tail chase My link

Agree with SnT. I have seem amazing changes in dogs with thunder shirts. With the crate, you need to make every crate experience awesome. With my fosters when they come, I crate train them. We start by giving the best treat possible (BBQ chook, milk arrowroot biscuits - what ever ti takes) and that treat is only available at crate time. I sit with the door to the crate open and feed bits of the treat in the crate. We usually start with half a minute a couple of times a day and build up. Honestly, I really doesn't take long for dogs to want to go in. Another idea is to make the crate a nice cave type place - put a sheet over the back and ends and keep the other side (door side) uncovered. Dogs seem to like this cave type set up - from my experience.

You may have to travel for your future pup, so maybe scan further afield for breeders. I know there are a couple of smooth collie breeders over Yass way - maybe they (or the state collie club) can help you get in touch with a rough breeder. Link to NSW Collie Club My link

Do you have a chiro that you can take him to? It may be that he just needs to be aligned and it will settle. I thought Zig had one hip higher than the other but after seeing a chiro once a month for the last few months (he has other issues as well), he seems really straight now - if you know what I mean.

No idea - can you take a photo of it and post it up? I am lump phobic - after having a dog with MCT, I get every lump tested via FNA. It only takes a second, isn't overly invasive and often the vet can check it there and then. If you are worried just get it checked out - as the vet to do a fine needle aspirate (FNA) and check the cells. More than likely it is nothing at all, just a fatty deposit but at least if you get it checked and that is all it is, you can stop worrying :)

I would be concerned with blockages due to the wood and stuffing from his bed. Our SBT, Louis, managed to consume some bedding stuffing and tinder from the wood pile years ago. He was OK for a day or so but then he got really sick, really quick and needed emergency surgey to remove the blockage. If it was my dog - I would be taking him in for a checkup to be sure (they can often tell by the sounds their tummy is making and feeling their tummy). Like Pers said - you need to offer enticing things he is allowed to chew or he will chew everything. Freezing kongs with chicken stock in them is great in summer and will keep a pup busy for ages. I stuff kongs with cottage cheese, kibble and freeze it as well. We also freeze containers of water (or watered down stock) with chicken wings/necks/drumsticks/turkey necks/whole carrots/water melon etc.. A 2-4 litre ice cream container is perfect for freezing treats. Big bones and rope toys are another favourite of the dog(s) here as well.

It isn't uncommon for some dogs to have a reaction to the worming and flea tablets. I don't think it is life threatening but scary all the same. Personally I prefer the spot on stuff (we use Advocate here). I use it on the first of the month, so I don't forget the date. It deals with the common worms and heart worm and fleas and mites (if I am remembering correctly).

Happy adoption day Jingo :)

I had a foster that just couldn't seem to calm down - so I went out to them and we just sat for a minute, had a nice pat and then we all walked back in calmly. It didn't take him long to work out, if he is calm, we go in sooner. I am the same with TSD, with my Ziggy - if he is out, then he must wait calmly before he is released to come in the house (or out of the car, of we go somewhere).

Most fenced off leash parks have a set of rules posted at the gate.. Things like - pick up after your dog, dogs must be under effective control, no aggressive dogs etc.. I go to our off lead park all the time - I choose my times to avoid a few dogs and owners who have no idea. I think you have to expect that other dogs will want to interact with yours but you certainly have the right to ask other owners to keep control of their over the top dogs if they are bothering your dog. It is a give and take environment. We need to respect each others right to be there with their non aggressive dogs - so you need to be able to call your dog way if they are bothering another dog. Zig loves running with other dogs - he doesn't like being chased or run down (chased and grabbed). Personally, I leave rather then get into a disagreement with someone about their dog grabbing Zig.

I have one permanent dog and bring in a foster from time to time. I still don't know if I want two permanent dogs. Sometimes I look at Zig and think he would love another dog here all the time and other times, like today, he seems quite content with just him and I hanging out. It also means I can focus more on his training issues and it is easy to just take him anywhere - whereas with the extra dog, there is more training and it isn't as easy to just take both dogs anywhere on my own. I could easily have kept either of the last two fosters. I think it depends on what works for you and your home.

We actually had a holistic vet. Robert McDowells is fine, if you know what you are doing and what you need. We used the services of All Natural Vet Care in Sydney - our vet used to liaise with them (by sending our test results) and the oncologist in Brisbane (we are in Canberra).. We used 1000mg a day Vitamin C (human chewable tablets), fish oil (1000mg a day), Lymphodran, Anti Ox, Five Mushroom Drops (5 drops twice a day), we also had 2 lots of Chinese herb mixtures made up for Ollie. Diet - all meat was cooked while he was on chemo and after the chemo finished, cheeky lad wouldn't eat raw meat again. He had yoghurt, cottage cheese, human meat (kangaroo mostly), sweet potato, zucchini, broccoli, carrot etc and I used to cook it all up into a meatloaf. He also ate fruit. Each dog is different and our holistic vet suggested the diet for Ollie back then. There has been some great improvements in available drugs for MCT now as well - Palladia comes to mind.

Ollie had grade 2 MCT - removal with no clear margins. It was also in his lymph system. We did one round of chemo and also treated holistically - supplementing with herbs and vitamins. Changed his diet to as natural a diet as possible. His dx was 12-18 months with chemo. He lived 6 years after the initial dx. Ollie didn't suffer, chemo for dogs, is nothing like chemo for humans - they simply don't give them the doses they give humans because of the costs involved in bone marrow transplants. Chemo, isn't designed to 'cure' cancer in dogs - it simply buys them more time. As for hating the vets, you could try desensitising her - take her to the vets and weigh her, get them all to give her a favourite treat and leave. Make it a quick happy visit. Do this as often as you can - so she doesn't relate going there with bad things. We gave Ollie his wings back in October 2011. It was quiet, peaceful and our vet gave him an anesthetic that made him go to sleep - we cuddled him and cried for a while and then the vet came back and administered the final injection - he passed while he was asleep in my arms. It wasn't stressful for him at all - some vets will come to your home to do it, if that makes it easier for all of you. Only you can make the call to put her to sleep if she is suffering. Ol got sick a few times with other things - it is always stressful when they are sick. We made an effort to take him for his usual walks, play games with him (he was 8 years old when dxd) - we didn't change his routine at all (apart from the vet visits).. Good luck, it is a crappy disease. I have a thread here with Ollie's story - there are loads of us that have nursed MCT dogs for many years past what the vet and oncologist suggested (they always go by what the books say).

Great idea Mel.

Oh poor girl. Lots of rest and quiet for a few days and she will bounce back. I always found Ollie 'down' after surgery. He was more than happy to voice his displeasure at being operated on..

Rod was our oncologist as well. He was great and he is very experienced with MCT. If you can get a good holistic vet on board as well - I really believe that the chemo bought Ollie some extra time but the holistic treatment was what kept him well. When I used ANVC, my vet would send them the test results and then I would have a phone consult with them (I'm in Canberra and they are in Sydney). They wanted to talk to me because I knew my dog and could tell them how he was feeling, what his health otherwise was like, how he was acting etc. My vet was great about it and happily sent off the results when I ANVC asked me to ask for the latest test results. I am sure they would talk to the vet as well but they did prefer to discuss Ollie with me and use the vets test results, when we used them.

Sadly it seems that when they just breed for a colour, that everything else goes by the wayside and they end up with leg, feet, eye etc issues. But hey, they are a rare colour (idiots).

My old SBT lived 6 years (was originally given 1-2 years) and he was treated holistically with supplements and herbs for most of the time. The vets at All Natural Vet Care were the vets we used. He did have one round of chemo at the beginning.

Yep, two through CPR :) Zippy and Bella.

There are a few here in the ACT area: ACT Rescue & Foster (ARF) Canberra Pooch Rescue (CPR) As well as some working dog rescues. Some foster carers also work with NSW or Victorian rescue groups and I am sure there would be some who work with other states as well. The foster group will help replace a dog if there are issues but they 'don't take them back' as such - because they don't have 'holding facilities to take them back to'. Most rescues only have the current foster carers homes as holding places. Some foster dogs will settle into a home quite quickly but some can take weeks to get the hang of new rules. If you can't take on dogs with issues, then best go with a foster group that does formal assessments at the pounds. I know ARF do the assessments at DAS and Queanbeyan Pound. They do a write up each week for each dog in the pound - if one looks suitable, you go and meet the pup and tell ARF you are interested in fostering the dog. That is just my experience with ARF. It has been a while since I fostered via ARF as other dogs from other rescue orgs have made their way to me lately - so I don't think any rescue groups have issues if you foster for more than one. Dogs can be quite different from the pound to a home environment. A dog that is shy in the pound, might be much more confident once in the home - the only way to really tell is to help out. Good luck - I love fostering.

This was my experience too, although I do remember our entire dog then going to a neighbours house and cocking his leg on their telly! We were kids and never said a word. LOL, I have never had an issue with dogs toileting inside once they were toilet trained - apart from the last foster baby but she was so scared of everything that she would do a little wee, if you spoke to her or bent down to pat her. She was fine with me and my son but anyone else she just couldn't help it.

Nothing more than I expected to happen. I never trust anyone who is cruel or torments animals.

Isn't house training the same no matter whether they are entire or not? We grew up with mostly male dogs (all entire - desexing wasn't the in thing back then) and never had any issues with them marking inside a house. All my dogs as an adult have been male but all neutered - I just house train all my dogs. The foster dogs pick it up pretty quick as well (house training).