Staffyluv

That is what Steve at k9 pro said as well.. I haven't been to a chiro on Canberra - any recommendations?

We have a fit disc for balance work to help with core strength. He will get on it but he doesn't seem to like it much. I will have a look at the Pawsitive Performance, thanks.

He already finds his ball in boxes etc but he will only do it a couple of times.. He doesn't mind puzzles, where he has to work out how to get his reward out of a container, box, or treat ball type thing. He will throw the ball himself and follow it as well. But again, he only does it for a little while before he seems bored of it. It isn't going to be easy - he loves to run and he loves to chase the ball. He would run for ages and before I knew about his hips, I used to let him. He is now limited to 20 minutes give or take a few minutes each day. Hopefully I can sell up here and buy the property I want (or another) with a dam, so he can swim - apart from running and tennis balls, swimming is a fave thing to do and it is actually good for him. I put in an above ground pool last summer and he liked to get into that but he can only do it when I am in with him and I am not getting in it, in the middle of winter :)

He hasn't had a go at fly ball as yet, we were invited out last weekend to come and have a look and see if he might be interested in it. Because he works for a ball and is pretty quick, we thought he might enjoy it - I hadn't thought of the impact of the quick turns and the ball release to be honest, I was keen to go and have a look. You are right, it probably ins't a good idea. There really isn't much he can do, is there with hip problems... Agility is out, flyball is out, ball chasing is out, tug is out, he can't do weight pull or sledding and he wouldn't even be able to do dancing with dogs (even though that really isn't our sort of thing).. I will have to find something that he can do - he is a very active (physically and mentally) dog who looks for things to do. Now I am wondering if he is better off having a short life full of fun or a long life full of not much at all - it is a hard call. I would want him around for a long time but then I look at him and the joy he gets out of running around, ball chasing, obedience work and all the fun stuff. I guess it is time to really think about what we can do.

I decided to just let him take it easy (no mad running at the park) and see how he goes with a day at home. I really don't think there is anything wrong with him today - he seems fine. There is no sign of soreness or lameness at all.. I will keep him on chill out mode and he can just play with Bella for the next couple of days. We were supposed to be going out to flyball on Saturday - might still go but just for a look, not a run.

There are so many people saying they are dog behaviourists these days, it is hard for the general public to know which of them, really are good at what they do. Some might think, spending more money, might get the best results because they must be good, if they charge that much.. There is one very young lady on a local FB page offering walking and training advice and she has absolutely no credentials at all. A few people asked her what training she had and she admitted to having none, but loved animals and they responded her.. People are still booking her, even after knowing she has no credentials other than her own opinion of herself.. Zig was reactive to other dogs, friendly reactive.. Actually overly friendly and he would go nuts at the mere sight of another dog across the park. I was told, taking him to obedience training would make it worse, when in fact, it has turned us both around. He still loves other dogs but isn't that pain of a dog, that annoys other dogs anymore. We had some training issues and went to see K9 Pro and received some awesome advice, that helped to resolve our problems..

Maybe it is better if I just take him to the vet to be sure, it isn't a spinal injury. Going out after a tennis ball is his favourite thing to do, it would be devastating for him if he wasn't allowed to run anymore. The thing that bothers me is that I saw him go out to retrieve the ball, I saw him turn to bring it back but in those few seconds that I turned to Bella, he hurt himself. He was just trotting back to me, I can't work out what he could have done.. Would it be better to take him to the vet tomorrow? So if there is a sore spot, they can pick it up? If I let him rest and any soreness is relieved, there might not be anything for the vet to find.. Bella is due for her 6 week post op check up, so I might just get them both in and sorted.. Now to win that lotto.. :)

What sort of person deliberately tries to hurt an animal?? I will never understand this sort of behaviour, never!

There is no sign of limping, so I am pretty sure it isn't a leg, knee injury - my biggest concern was maybe he hurt his back. He does have hip dysplasia but again, there is no limping and he isn't even walking funny.. I was just concerned about the way he would only take a few steps and then sit or lay down for a while this morning. And I saw him go after the ball, no hard stop, no jump - he picked it up and that is when I turned to Bella, so I didn't see what he did.. Resting it is - well as much resting as I can get him to do. We will just do lots more training to wear him out :)

Thanks guys. HW, I will definitely keep him on rest, with no ball chasing for a couple of days and see how he goes. Vehs, last summer he was running and the ground was a bit rocky and he started limping - I found what I thought was a lump and took him to the vet and it was a blister.. It healed up just fine but lesson learned..

This morning I had Ziggy and Bella at the dog park (just us, no one else there that early).. I was throwing the ball for Zig and he was running and getting it for about 20 minutes. The last time I threw it, I watched him run to it and pick it up - at that time I turned around and played a bit of tug with Bella until Zig bought the ball back but he didn't.. He was about half way back to me (say 10m away) and he was laying down. So I called him and he stood up, picked his ball up and took a couple of steps before laying down again. So I walked to him and encouraged him back to the car but every two or three steps he would sit or lay down. I lifted him in and out of the car once we got him. He went and got straight on his bed when we first got him but he got up and ate breaky, he still seems fine. He has not really been playing all day (usually they play all day) and tonight he started to play but stopped pretty quick and now he is laying down again. He seems fine otherwise. No pale gums, no limping, he isn't flat like he has pain, no soreness if I press down his back and pull his legs back. He is obviously sore or hurting somewhere to not want to roughhouse and want to lay down so much but he doesn't seem it when checked. Hopefully all he needs is a couple of days rest but I tend to worry about my dogs (as we all do), so I was wondering if letting him rest and see if he comes good is the best thing or should I bite the bullet and take him to the vets? I have Rimadyl here for pain and inflammation if he needs it but he doesn't actually seem to be in pain. TIA

RIP Leo, charging around rainbow bridge with so many DOL doggies.. I am so sorry.

Rest in peace Teddy.. I am so sorry PF, it is always hard to say goodbye.

Great advice Pers. I have used Steve's services for training issues and Zig did hold other dogs in high value - until we used Steve's methods. Now we can go to the dog park and Zig is happy to play with me - he only wants to play with me now. I was amazed at the change from a dog that had iffy recall and if other dogs were running, I had no chance of getting him to come back. Now I have a dog with very good recall and he is happy to say hello to dogs that come up to him but he is more interested in what game we are playing next. I am down near Canberra and we drove the few hours to Steve's place in Sydney. We also had an 8 week follow up program. Using Steve's program changed our lives with Zig.

I am the same Mel - doesn't stop my heart from breaking though. Sadly, we see this all to often and I can't see it changing any time soon.

Neither can I HW - I am seriously lost for words on this one.. One wonders, how many more good dogs have to die before the people doing this see sense and stop this madness.

Exactly, if a dog has the potential to be a search and rescue dog, why does it matter what 'type' of dog it is..

You need facebook to access the link for this one people but here it is copied anyway. My link The RSPCA and the Police Tri-Force Specialist Operations Collaboration are extremely upset to confirm that sniffer dog Tyson was confirmed to be of 'Pit Bull type' and returned to the charity's West Hatch animal centre. Tyson was one of 12 dogs to be successfully rehomed to various police forces from the Somerset-based animal centre. He was an 18 month old dark brindle and white dog who went to West Hatch in January 2013. He showed a great potential for searching and Tri-Force Specialist Operations were evaluating him with a view to him potentially becoming a search dog. After he was collected by PC Lee Webb and taken to Avon and Somerset Police to be evaluated, two Police Dog Legislation Officers subsequently identified Tyson as being of Pit Bull type, which means he was a Pit Bull cross. As a result he had to be returned to West Hatch a week later. Sadly, as Pit Bull type dogs are not able to be legally rehomed, vets had to put Tyson to sleep. The outcome has devastated both police dog handlers and RSPCA staff who cared for and trained Tyson over a number of months. Tyson was not suspected of being a banned breed by the RSPCA when he was taken on and in many cases it is extremely difficult to tell if a cross breed dog has parentage from a banned breed. Inspector Dave Eddy, who is in charge of the Tri-Force Dog Section which covers Avon and Somerset, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire Constabularies, said: “We are absolutely devastated that Tyson had to be returned to West Hatch and that due to being a banned breed, he had to be put to sleep in accordance with Dangerous Dog Act. “It can be very hard to identify the dangerous breeds if they are mixed with other breeds that look similar such as Staffordshire Bull Terriers. In Tyson’s case, it was our expert Dog Legislation Officers who identified the physical traits. “A number of our drug and explosive search dogs are rescue dogs and include Labradors, Springer Spaniels and Staffordshire Bull Terriers (Staffies). PC Lee Webb who looked after Tyson was particularly upset. PC Webb already handles a rescue Staffie, PD Kos, who is an excellent search dog. We will continue to use rescue dogs and work with the RSPCA to use rescue dogs wherever possible.”

Fool at the local dog park with his 35kg, 5 month old purebred red nose pit bull.. He researched all over Australia to get the best breeder and paid $3000 for his purebred dog with papers. I asked if his dog had Old Red Nose lines and he said yep, it's all in his papers.. Mind you, the pup could have been the 35kg, it was huge.. Looked more like a bigger dog, like the mastiffs. Very floppy skin everywhere. Typical out of control pup. It had every dog in the park avoiding it because it was jumping all over other dogs. A couple of dogs gave a growl at it and all he could say was 'they won't be growling at him in a couple of months'.. I just shook my head, you can't talk to people like him, he just won't listen.

It isn't a lack of understanding.. The bugger will do them at home, at the off leash park (I use the park to train under distraction) and the town park, without breaking. Get him to our training ground and he just won't do it.. He is a bit challenging. Even if I am standing directly in front go him at training, he still lays down.. He only started it about half way through our first ccd term and has kept it up most of the time since. Every now and then he will stay sitting but mostly in class and at assessment, he lays down. I was going to pose this problem on the SG chat and see if anyone has any ideas. Our instructors and myself are totally out of ideas. I am hoping the relationship building, doing more frequent, small sessions will help.

Zig already does all that - runs past treats, leaves them until given command. His super, best thing in the world is his tennis ball.. I have him recalling and running over the top of his tennis ball (that I drop half way between him and I when I walk away). It is harder with two dogs on totally different levels :) I will ramp it up for Bella tomorrow and see how she goes. Zig is going to be a challenge. He was supposed to do is CCD assessment last weekend but we didn't do it, as he won't sit stay for the whole minute - he keeps laying down right at the 'return to your dog' command.. His drop stay is perfect.. This has been an ongoing challenge this whole term (and is what failed us last assessment day).. I am going to get him a mat and take it out with us and get him to sit stay on that - I need to build that solid sit stay...

I started the foster Bella on the 'it's yer choice' base game (cookies/treats in your hand) - it took her two goes of coming forward and licking my hand to realise that if I sit back here a bit, I will get them. So I put them on the floor and she just sat there looking at them and then at me.. I think this girl will be a quick study. That was a no brainer for Zig - he already waits at the door, waits for his food and leaves food unless given the OK to have it.

Too many bones can cause constipation - maybe he is having trouble emptying his bowels?? I would get him checked to be on the safe side, as previously suggested.

I am talking about Lennox Head - that is where we grew up in the 1970s and 1980s. Tourists to the area would bring their dogs and there were lots around, including ours. It was unusual to see a dog on lead - that sort of came into 'fashion' in the late 80s. We would walk down to our cousins house or to the beach and there were always dogs with us. I guess it does depend on where you grew up.

Back then by the very fact that dogs were out roaming practically from birth, they were extremely well socialised to coexisting with lots of other dogs and people. Now they're confined to a backyard most of the time, and are often not well socialised as youngsters either because of it. Also, I'm sure it happened plenty but you wouldn't have heard about any except the very local incidents. Now because of the net and dog forums we are reading about attacks that have happened in another state to us. Stats in the States show that dog attackd have massively reduced since the 70s onwards and I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same here. That is very true - our dogs, growing up, were very well socialised with other dogs, kids and adults. In truth the kids were probably more feral than the dogs. We were tossed out after breakfast and told to be home before the street lights came on.. We got up to and into all manner of mischief and the dogs just followed us around. I agree, with media coverage so broad these days, dog attacks are heard of more - so to some it would seem there are more, even when stats show there are less attacks.