Jumabaar

So you lose the right to use your own trusted vet if a problem arises when you buy a dog from you as a breeder? Seems slightly unfair to me and I hope that's made known at time of purchase... It would certainly impact my decision. If you want warranty repairs done and paid for by the manufacturer you can't take your purchase to just anyone, you have to take it to an 'approved repairer' who is approved by the manufacturer to do warranty repairs. And you need to have it approved under warranty before you get the repairs done. If dogs are to come under the same consumer laws, why wouldn't the same apply? That is assuming all vets are created equal. In searching for a vet to take my bitches X-rays I have been recommended a vet by three people that I wouldnt touch with a 30 foot barge pole, I am sure this is the same vet that breeders would recommend to their puppy buyers and I think they should have the right to go to someone more competent! Why should a puppy owner have to go to a vet if they are not confident with them- if a mechanic stuffs up the car it can be replaced for new or be repaired again, you cant necessarily do this with a dog......... Not sure what should be done in this situation- rock and a hard place really we are talking about dogs and it would be good if we had legislation that stopped treating them like a microwave.

Kelpies have Cerebella Aboitrophy, heart disease (overseas), epilepsy, Hip Dysplasia and elbow displasia- in both working, farm bred and show lines. I do think lines are more important than breeds.

I would like to remove blue and fawn from Kelpies so you couldnt have crappy breeders churning out the 'rare blue and tan' kelpies that all have colour dilute alopecia Appart from that Kelpies and Lappies are perfect!!

Yep, I know that, and I have tried to tell the secretary at the obedience club that :) And they are the only club around for miles that offers flyball. After finding out all this information about vaccines and titre testing, I don't understand why some vets are so pro-vaccination. There is not enough scientific data on herd immunity and titre testing for all vets to feel comfortable. So far there have been studies on yearly vaccination vs no vaccination and triannial vaccination vs no vaccination- but has there been a study on annual vaccination vs triannial. Do we have enough dogs maintaining good levels of immunity to keep Distemper from popping up again? There are lots of questions that haven't been thought of yet, let alone tested and unfortunately there is not a lot of money to do this testing. Nor do we have great systems in place to pool this information currently. So without the science there are vets that genuinely cant in good conscience recommend anything other than annual vaccination- the big sticking factor for me is that a vet should be able to have a rational conversation and say why they are making that recommendation based on science, or lack there of. There is no excuse for the ones that havent questioned what they are doing and refuse to talk to clients about their options. PS that SUCKS about flyball

Hepatitis is tested in America. Positive titre to distemper has been linked to positive in hepatitis which is why it isnt routinely tested here in aus. You wont find tests for Bordetella or Parainfluenza because one doesnt exist. And its questionable how long immunity lasts to those vaccines- generally less than 12mths so they would have 'unvaccinated' dogs at obedience all year round. Of course it would be irrelevant due to natural exposure allowing natural immunity. But dont let science get in the way of silly rules How about doing some flyball with your pug? There has been a fair amount of education within that little group of people re allowing titre tested dogs to participate.

This reminds me of a story a vet told me. They had a 'clearly poor' woman come into the clinic she had many dogs and they were never in great condition and they were quite an expensive clinic, so they would cater to her needs and offer cheap options, and recommend she go to the welfare vet in the area. Eventually she stopped going to this clinic. A while later the welfare clinic got a large donation from a wealthy client..... You guessed it- the poor woman was not so poor, she just didnt feel the need to parade it around. Her sickly dogs were strays she picked up to bring back to good health. Vets shouldn't judge people. Some will add to their to their mortgage or cancel overseas holidays that they have been saving for 10yrs for to save their geriatric pet and you cant tell unless you give them the opportunity to decide for themselves.

My Kelpies are just allowed to run free until 12mths of age, and let them choose their own intensity. It sounds like you have the current amount of exercise just right if he is settling (too much can make them over tired and naughty at this age, just like human kids). Although they do not need exercise monitored as much as giant breeds they can still over do it and end up with injuries or skeletal problems, particularly because they just want to please you! Another factor is the more exercise you give them the more they need as they get fitter!! My Kelpies find mental stimulation exhausting rather than just exercise as they mature.

I was talking about an IV catheter not an injection with a needle. We do almost full sterile prep for catheters that are to be left in for more than a couple of hours. We have created a direct and open entry for micro-organisms into the blood stream and the aim is to keep the area as clean as possible. We generally just clip and disinfected the area for a short stay catheter- the risk is less because there is less time for infection. It is actually very similar to a surgery site, the longer the surgery the greater the risk of infection, and once again the primary defence (the skin) has been breached. I think it is just more common and less fuss is made about it but these infections can be just as life threatening!

The one thing that irritates me is the big deal made over shaving of the leg. I have shown my dogs with a small shaved patch on their leg because it means that the IV line has gone in aseptically. And I would prefer that to the risk of infection- I am not so fussed about blood being taken without clipping. I would actually be more concerned about what else they are not doing ie do they actually have an IV line in while the dog is anaesthetised or are they inducing off a needle. I think the biggest problem is that it is lay people judging vets and sometimes it is not possible to understand why vets do things like clip legs unless you understand the risk of infection, aseptic techniques and the importance of having an IV line in place if something goes wrong with an anaesthetic.

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The one thing I cant stand is people telling my dogs (particularly puppies) to be quiet!!!!! I tried to stop my first Kelpie from barking by yelling at her, walking over and shooshing her and everything under the sun. One day I put her crate 10meters away under a tree and ignored her and she wore herself out and eventually shut up. I did that at training and was starting to get her to settle until she barked a little (extinction burst for anyone interested) and someone felt the need to go and yell at her which of course made the behaviour even more resistant to extinction!!! :banghead: :banghead: So now with my young dogs I completely ignore them as puppies and I now also tell people off if they so much as LOOK at them when they are barking. I have had quite a few rude comments about not shutting them up- but they really did learn that barking at me was a complete waste of time so the almost never bark any more! That being said I dont put them in a crate and let them bark right next to other people either, I put them in an area with minimum distractions to try and help them settle. Barking at home- well its really only when we get home or people coming onto the property and generally only for a few minutes when this happens. Once again they know I wont go to the treat jar until they are quiet so it shuts them up reasonably quickly.

Congrats!! eye spy a finnish lapphund as well! :D You must have been following Edge

I would suggest a visit to the vet- they would be the best one to tell you if the damage is going to heal. That being said the dog may just be pigmented in that area but its impossible to tell over the internet.

My first dog and I played the chase HER game- she is 8 and will still occasionally bugger off My youngest pup and I played the chase ME game- so i would randomly run off and she would get a treat for running me down. I would particularly do this when she was distracted so she learnt to keep one eye on me! She is very reliable off lead, she walks on a loose lead because she is always aware of where I am and whenever she tried to start pulling I would drop the short lead and head off in the other direction on the long line so she didnt learn to pull!

My epileptic dog would go to a 24hr vet clinic if I had to go away. I know they would hear him if he did do anything silly and that they check on the boarders quite regularly through the night. So far it hasnt been necessary but I have certainly looked into it because before we got control he would have them overnight and needs extra meds if he does have one.

This popped up on my facebook feed tonight by the American Association of Rehabilitation Veterinarians

So you either dont get her insured and you have to pay for any treatments OR you do get her insured and you have to pay for any treatments but then you get the money back less the excess. I dont know of any clinics that are paid directly by petplan, and in an emergency that would be the least of my worries. Same with big bills, if I am going to have a big one I want it to be done by the best person possible which was the rational behind me getting insurance.

Oversupply of vets is a hot topic here in Australia, US and the UK. In the past 10 years more schools have opened world wide to meet 'shortages'. I know of a grad from last year that has only recently got a job and they were happy to move to the country etc. I dont care about the lack of money, but I do want job security!!

Another life threatening situation where an aversive is used. I personally think its quite similar to using a e-collar for snake aversion training. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8640207.stm I would much prefer a short zap to the pain, confusion and suffering that dogs go through after a snake bite which can last days, and can be fatal.

Protech Duramune is registered as a triannial and can be used for puppy vacs as well. It advertises that is gives immunity so long as one shot is given after 12 weeks of age ie a pup can have just two vaccinations and be appropriately covered, but it its given earlier (6 and 10 weeks) then a third vaccination is necessary to know that in most pups maternal antibodies would have reduced enough for the vaccine to be effective. Other vaccines state that a vaccination is required after 14 weeks of age for coverage which is why there are a variety of recommendations. The shot one year later is only done to catch any non responders to the puppy vaccinations rather than boosting the puppy vaccine. So I have titre tested and if it comes back positive then they would need their next shot at 3yrs of age.

And yet the Perth Mint used a German Shepherd and Beagle on the Aussie 'year of the dog' coins. http://www.lunarcollectorcoins.com/2006-year-dog-Australian-lunar.htm

I was more suggesting adding in pain meds rather than removing the Meloxicam altogether. It means you might be able the same result over all by targeting different areas of the pain pathway but perhaps be able to lower the dose of Meloxicam that you need each day, or you might not need to increase the dose to keep him going. Using a variety of different treatments is called 'multimodal' pain therapy. If you find someone that does acupuncture they would probably have a good idea of other options to try. I wouldnt recommend anything specifically over the internet- because each dog is unique. It's more to check that your vet has considered the option since some of the drugs are relatively new, so they may need to do some research to know about them. And then once again decide if in your case its appropriate.

Can you look around for veterinary acupuncture? Also there are some other pain medications that you could use in combination to reduce the dose required for the Meloxicam and still have good pain control. I do agree that quality of life is ultimately the most important factor.

A flyball comp!! or demonstration :)

Physiotherapy- http://www.k9physio.com no water required!! There is homework and exercises to do but it isnt like human physio- you never work the dog through pain etc. And I agree manipulation is not going to fix this issue.