Jumabaar

There are a few practises here in sydney that do it cheaper, but yes the going rate is $1000+ Why does it cost more?? Well dogs are anaesthetised/sedated for an MRI (humans are not) . Also there is no medicare to offset the cost which is the bigger factor! An X-ray is more comparable in cost probably because the equipment is not as pricy and it gets used far more than an MRI.

Bend your hand toward your wrist and feel the back of your hand - thats how you want to be able to feel your dogs ribs and how you know when its over or under weight. Oh dear, they do have a bit of excess baggage lol The thing is Cavaliers are very good doers! My girls get by on a cup of kibble and about two tablespoons of meat. Its very hard not to overfeed them when you love them so much! Its just a natural thing for me to make sure theyre fed well, I guess Ive overdone it a bit !!! You can try putting their entire daily rations in a container- and all 'treats' come from the container each day. Much easier to keep track of how much they are getting and you can still 'give in' during the day, they just miss out on a bit for dinner. ETA- perhaps look at some of the books on structure by Pat Hastings before you have your litter. It will help you determine the quality of your bitch, if your stud will complement her and how to choose pups.

They don't leak like taps. They groom as much as they need, I even hear them wake up and clean if the feeling takes them ;) If you're worried when they're asleep just put them in a crate. Saying that if they're always used to bitch pants they probably will be messy for a while as they get used to the fact they're meant to do their own routine maintenance I do find the bitch that I initially used pants on was messier than the girls that never wore them.

I had some good ones, but can't recommend them because I got them from O/S and it took FOREVER for her to get them too me (as in I lodged a claim with paypal and they only just made it before I got my money back). ETA- this is where I got them from http://nu-nee.tripod.com/bb.htm others have got pants from her and had a quick response, I just suggest emailing her before actually ordering. Since then I have given up on pants and just have old sheets that I cover everything with and they spend more time in the crate when not supervised. I don't find my girls very messy unless they have a snooze so the sleep in crates! I mop regularly but really- I have cream tiles and don't see anything.

Giardia is another possible cause of illness

Mine are quite hard on their crates and the vebo ones are still going strong! Shipping was very reasonable That's good to know! When you have a working line pup who has never even looked like chewing a soft crate I figure it's a good idea to point that out :laugh: Agree - shipping was excellent. They lasted an Adult Finnish Lapphund tantrum (she did manage to bend some wires and I don't have to cable tie these ones to keep her in ), and 4 adolescent Kelpie at flyball tantrums!! I am more than happy to recommend them. The only damage has been by the Lappie to the plastic floor so I just use a thick bed in her crates.

Mine are quite hard on their crates and the vebo ones are still going strong! Shipping was very reasonable

(OT Hmmmm pups given as valentines day presents- wonder what happens if the couple breaks up??) Back on topic There is no way of identifying them as Pure Bred Labradors unless they come with pedigree papers from the ANKC- in this case DogsNSW as this person is in NSW. Labs should have hips and elbows scored and probably a few other tests. The adult in those pictures doesn't look pure to me, but I am a Kelpie person so wait for more experienced Lab people to comment on that. The pink on the feet is just a lack of pigmentation and no cause for concern.

I referred to the breed as King Charles not King Charles Spaniel !! I wrote King Charles to abbreviate it !! My god I cannot believe the pettiness of you all !! Let me spell it out for you - I have a female C -A- V-A- L- I- E- R K- I- N- G C- H- A-R- L- E- S !!! Not a Cav breeder or anything but I think you made another typo as there is the is no breed with just those three words... Is your breed the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel? If so You forgot the spaniel this time. Also I thought King Charles was more of a shortening of the King Charles Spaniel?? So perhaps you have one of them?? I hope your future puppy owners won't be as confused as I am as I still don't know what breed you really have? Perhaps a picture so the experienced King Charles Spaniel and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel breeders can identify it for you. I mean their standards are quite different so what is a good example for one would be a bad example for another. If you are all such perfectionists on this forum who never put a foot wrong wouldnt it be more worth your while actually commenting on the original question instead of throwing daggars at me for not typing the breed out correctly or shortening it incorrectly ! You certainly are a very clicky little group who arent out to help at all !!! I am part of no group- hell I don't go anywhere near the toy ring!! But I genuinely DONT know what breed you have Thus the suggesting of a photo- since your vet also can't identify your breed then perhaps breeders on here can. I will remember not to try and help you next time

Unbelievable,if you had bothered to read my earlier comment, I accidentally typed the words the wrong way around !! I dont particularly care if you doubt my ability to judge whether she's a good example of the breed, I shouldve known better than to ask people on this forum for their opinions - while most people are willing to help there are quite a few that go out of their way to be judgemental and nasty. I have read all the replies including the one I was commenting on in which you call your dog a King Charles. There are Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and there are King Charles Spaniels. Do you know which one yours is? Or is that a nasty question? No its not a nasty question but it certainly is sarcastic. I will write out 100 times the correct name of the breed in full without abbreviating or mixing the name up. I do humbly apologize if I have offended anyone on this forum. It wont happen again because I dont want to be associated with such breeders that never ever make mistakes and who claim to know everything. Just one last thing - I want everyone to know that I adore every single animal I have ever owned, my previous puppy buyers always send emails on how happy they are with my puppies, they have never had a health problem, never ever returned a puppy because it had a hereditary disease,no complaints ever ! So I must be doing something right ! One lady bought two of my puppys and they have grown into very intelligent dogs that are top in obedience classes. My dog went to the vets this afternoon and had her vaccination, and she also passed her health exam with flying colours !! And you will never guess what the vet wrote on her new vaccination card as the breed - KING CHARLES CAVALIER !!! Wow quality vet.

I referred to the breed as King Charles not King Charles Spaniel !! I wrote King Charles to abbreviate it !! My god I cannot believe the pettiness of you all !! Let me spell it out for you - I have a female C -A- V-A- L- I- E- R K- I- N- G C- H- A-R- L- E- S !!! Not a Cav breeder or anything but I think you made another typo as there is the is no breed with just those three words... Is your breed the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel? If so You forgot the spaniel this time. Also I thought King Charles was more of a shortening of the King Charles Spaniel?? So perhaps you have one of them?? I hope your future puppy owners won't be as confused as I am as I still don't know what breed you really have? Perhaps a picture so the experienced King Charles Spaniel and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel breeders can identify it for you. I mean their standards are quite different so what is a good example for one would be a bad example for another.

But there is an increased risk of certain cancers due to desexing a male dog?? So your not actually eliminating the risk of cancer at all

My point was about harm prevention. If you know you have a reactive dog, make allowances for it (muzzle if it's a snapper, 'leave me alone' shirt etc) because the dog and owner will have more enjoyment from being out and about as well, especially if people actively see it is a dog that doesnt want random touching. We can't stop all people, but at the same time if you knowingly have a sore, sick, reactive or frightened dog it's your responsibility to ensure it's own safety and other people's as well. I'm saying it works both ways. I actually quite like walking a dog with a muzzle on. I get a nice wide birth from all the crazies in the area- and its something I am considering doing even with my bomb proof dog, as I don't want her broken by some moron. I don't particularly care about people who are silly enough to approach strange dogs- they deserve what they get. BUT i will protect my dog from them which usually means me reacting far more aggressively toward one than my dog will, and using visual deterrents so I can enjoy my walk in peace. I don't actually think I have ever had anyone actually make it to my dog now that I think about it. Body blocking, using my body to give stop signals all have worked for me, and I walk around a school even when the kids are out. It does mean that I have to be quite vigilant unless I have some visual warning to them that my dog is not a toy. ETA- I answered no but that won't stop people from doing it anyway. I probably should have said Depends on circumstance, as I expect to be able to pat a Delta dog wearing its Delta bandanna without being bitten.....

My girl dog looves to jump for the ball too I let her go her hardest at the beach where she has a soft landing but try to throw the ball a bit lower at the park. I use a very bouncy ball though so sometimes it gets away from her. I don't have any answers but it's something I worry about aswell I taught my girl to not jump for it but wait for it to come within her reach and grab it. I started by always throwing low so she didn't need to jump, then slowly letting it go higher. If she came off the ground then it was game over for 10 minutes. And in the end she worked out that she could jump for toys if she wanted to keep playing. I generally do strict crate rest with anyone who limps for 24hrs. Then decide if its the vet or chiro that I go to if there is no improvement or if there is swelling- generally is the chiro then the vet just to cover all bases. ETA- my girl has torn a ligament in her toe and only limped twice (was found by the chiro after I had done a full examination myself), done a hair line fracture to one of her back legs (no symptom other than climbing instead of jumping onto the bed diagnosed by the chiro when I went in about her back) and her sone fractured a toe and had a very occasional sometimes limp (I diagnosed that one but did have X-rays to confirm). Dogs are very good at masking pain so if you have any niggling doubts in the next few days go and talk to someone.

Is it a GSD?? I thought an it was Airedale but happy to be wrong.

Its great you are getting some help. Perhaps he can also suggest a good vet in the area? Also don't feel bad requesting a certain vet at a practice- build up a relationship with them so that you have someone you can rely on. My pups have all been grown on raw- you can get a few books on it. But basically I really try and vary their diet so that I don't miss anything. I also use Vets All Natural Complete Mix to put weight on my dogs as I find it very energy dense. So perhaps look at a product like this that you can use to increase the number of calories easily. I check my dogs ribs as I am making up each meal and feed more or less based on how their weight changes.

Just on this you need to watch for growth spurts. My pup can have a nice coverage one day and be far too ribby two days later!! Make a fist of one hand to compare to your dog's ribs. If the dog's ribs feel like the back of your hand the dog is a bit overweight. If the ribs feel like the knuckles, too ribby. If the ribs feel like the first finger bones then that is about right.

But you said your boy threw good hips and patellas??? I am confused right now as that would mean that he would have to have perfect genes to pass to his offspring, and that would have to override the bitches genes, thus would be dominant. That was the only way I could interpret your previous posts. And yeah if I thought a dog had dominant genes for a condition like that I would go out of my way to breed him to bitches with problems. That is the way these problems are solved (keeping in mind you still need to keep genetic diversity in the breed) But your saying that this isn't the case and that you bred him to her anyway....... :rolleyes:

Tell me about it. My daughters ex-boyfriend wanted to get his dog desexed and would say so yet put it off and put it off and even when he finally brought the dog in to be done was still all sookie and OH..poor doggie blah, blah, blah until the Vet nurse gave him a serve of "You blokes and your attachments" speech. :laugh: Ummmmm I have an entire male dog who will never be used. I don't plan on desexing him any time soon. He lives with 8 other entire bitches and has never mated any of them, never jumped a fence or even wanted to!! I believe all dogs owned by irresponsible owners should be desexed and that has nothing to do with a dog being a pet or not. I am female and certainly not attached to his nuts, I just believe that there is no reason to take them off when there are possible health benefits and I know I can keep him contained- which is the same choice I think others have the right to make. I was given a serve off a vet nurse because he still had nuts and I questioned her knowledge in the matter and when it became clear I had done more research than her we agreed to disagree :). ETA- also whats the problem with males wanting to keep male dogs entire so long as they keep them contained and monitor their health? Ahh, that's the 20 million dollar question? "All dogs owned by irresponsible owners". Who decides that? There is nothing wrong with keeping your dog entire, it's an owners choice but I do believe the OP has already stated their intention to desex and is asking opinions about the operative time and any changes it may or may not make to her dog. And incidently, my daughters ex-BF's dog repeatedly escaped their property, and even managed to squeeze out of his bedroom window when opened only a small way. According to his owner this dog was way overdue to be desexed. Well I was actually going to say that I think dogs should only be owned by responsible people but knew that was never going to happen I am just against the 100% pets must all be desexed mantra. Focus on the fact that the person is being responsible not looking after their dog (I know the one off's do happen regarding escapees) but there is really no reason that dogs should be desexed before maturation if people took their responsibilities seriously. I understand what you're trying to say. ;) I think though that this mantra is cited mostly by those who are affected by the sensless killing of unwanted pets. I'm sure that they too would be happy if all entires were housed and breed from with care and consideration rather than some of the worst case scenarios we all know exist. ah...in a ideal world eh? I get into trouble for talking about the ideal world- irresponsible people in that world would have a fair few more limitations that just not being able to own a dog lol

Tell me about it. My daughters ex-boyfriend wanted to get his dog desexed and would say so yet put it off and put it off and even when he finally brought the dog in to be done was still all sookie and OH..poor doggie blah, blah, blah until the Vet nurse gave him a serve of "You blokes and your attachments" speech. :laugh: Ummmmm I have an entire male dog who will never be used. I don't plan on desexing him any time soon. He lives with 8 other entire bitches and has never mated any of them, never jumped a fence or even wanted to!! I believe all dogs owned by irresponsible owners should be desexed and that has nothing to do with a dog being a pet or not. I am female and certainly not attached to his nuts, I just believe that there is no reason to take them off when there are possible health benefits and I know I can keep him contained- which is the same choice I think others have the right to make. I was given a serve off a vet nurse because he still had nuts and I questioned her knowledge in the matter and when it became clear I had done more research than her we agreed to disagree :). ETA- also whats the problem with males wanting to keep male dogs entire so long as they keep them contained and monitor their health? Ahh, that's the 20 million dollar question? "All dogs owned by irresponsible owners". Who decides that? There is nothing wrong with keeping your dog entire, it's an owners choice but I do believe the OP has already stated their intention to desex and is asking opinions about the operative time and any changes it may or may not make to her dog. And incidently, my daughters ex-BF's dog repeatedly escaped their property, and even managed to squeeze out of his bedroom window when opened only a small way. According to his owner this dog was way overdue to be desexed. Well I was actually going to say that I think dogs should only be owned by responsible people but knew that was never going to happen I am just against the 100% pets must all be desexed mantra. Focus on the fact that the person is being responsible not looking after their dog (I know the one off's do happen regarding escapees) but there is really no reason that dogs should be desexed before maturation if people took their responsibilities seriously.

That her male carries all the dominate genes for perfect patella's and hips?

depends on the breed of dog, growth plates aren't closed in my dogs at 9 months. Desexing a dog does not make it gain weight usually. What happens is the desexing coinsides with maturity and people forget to stop feeding their adult dog like a puppy. The papers I've read on desexing have indicated that removing the hormones can lower the metabolic rate. Sydney University vet even recommends dropping food intake by 10% post suture removal. I know the paper I read on cats indicated their rate can drop by 30%. But yes it also does coincide with maturation in which case food intake should be lowered anyway. It all depends on the owner though... coming from a shelter background they'll desex at very immature age and have been doing so for some time and there are many people I know who I would not trust with an entire dog/cat! If you are responsible enough to contain the dog there are definitely benefits to keeping entire for longer and the health benefits of desexing males I think are not so many as females. Most dogs being desexed at Sydney University probably need their food intake dropped by 20% with or without being desexed

Tell me about it. My daughters ex-boyfriend wanted to get his dog desexed and would say so yet put it off and put it off and even when he finally brought the dog in to be done was still all sookie and OH..poor doggie blah, blah, blah until the Vet nurse gave him a serve of "You blokes and your attachments" speech. :laugh: Ummmmm I have an entire male dog who will never be used. I don't plan on desexing him any time soon. He lives with 8 other entire bitches and has never mated any of them, never jumped a fence or even wanted to!! I believe all dogs owned by irresponsible owners should be desexed and that has nothing to do with a dog being a pet or not. I am female and certainly not attached to his nuts, I just believe that there is no reason to take them off when there are possible health benefits and I know I can keep him contained- which is the same choice I think others have the right to make. I was given a serve off a vet nurse because he still had nuts and I questioned her knowledge in the matter and when it became clear I had done more research than her we agreed to disagree :). ETA- also whats the problem with males wanting to keep male dogs entire so long as they keep them contained and monitor their health?

I would be trying to find a new vet. Luxating patellas are possible- but the fact that he screams when he hits things could mean that there is more than just that going on. My Kelpies regularly hit things at high speeds and don't yelp, they have also injured themselves (torn ligaments fractured bones etc) and not even limped. Perhaps you could keep a diary (I always put notes on my calendar) to try and build up a picture of when these things happen- is it in conjunction with a cold day etc. You need a diagnosis before you try doing agility with him.