Jumabaar

:laugh: Or a support group :p TigerJack that's a good point, when we meet other kelpies they often fall into the same pattern, so it probably isn't too unusual. All of Weez's training rewards have been either food or sheep access so far. I've tried to use Fox as a reward but it can be a bit awkward, and she gets bored in a downstay if he's taking too long to do something. Abby (kelpie) will chase a ball, until there is someone ELSE chasing the ball, then she will happily herd them instead!! The younger dogs all just herd Abby with ball!! Kavik- Abby will tug at home and under my gazebo but only with one particular toy (I did a 2hr round trip to IKEA to stock up on said toy). Tug outside away from the gazebo?? Not on your life!

Just a random thought Its great to do health testing- but its a waste of money unless you exclude dogs with poor results. A RANDOM example Breeding a dog with 30:30 hips is a poor choice, and I wouldn't pat someone on the back for breeding with 30:30 hips just because they are the only one in the breed doing hips.

There are benefits to leaving them longer and giving their body time to mature naturally with all their hormones. You should discuss it with your breeder, however I know many golden breeders suggest leaving them till they are over 12mths of age. Desexing has not changed temperament with any of the dogs that I have had done or seen done. My older boys who are entire have perfect manners- no sexual desires have impacted on their life and they are 4 years of age :laugh:

http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/01/30/is-the-movie-industry-guilty-of-dog-breed-ism/ Everyone always says it — the awards-show season is flawed. Safe, predictable choices often take top honors, while the brooding and more complex picks are prone to be left to the wayside. MARIO ANZUONI / REUTERS Uggie may have celebrated the victory of "The Artist", at the Golden Globe Awards, but he'll face stiff competition at the Golden Collar Awards. And this year is no exception. Just look at the nominees for first annual Golden Collar Awards, which, yes, are real awards. Blackie, the Doberman star of Scorsese’s Oscar-nominated film Hugo, was snubbed for Best Dog in a Theatrical Film category. Leading the pack, Uggie, a Jack Russell terrier, had two nominations; one for the critically acclaimed The Artist and another nomination for Water for Elephants. A Hollywood stalwart like Scorsese isn’t going to take this type of overt prejudice lying down. He took to the pages of Sunday’s Los Angeles Times penning a “for your consideration” editorial to vent his frustration. Sure Uggie is cute and Blackie plays a menace who terrifies children, but as Scorsese points out nominations shouldn’t be handed out on cuteness alone. He writes: “We all have fond memories of Rin Tin Tin and Lassie, the big stars, the heroes, but what about the antiheroes? We have learned to accept the human antihero, but when it comes to dogs, I guess we still have a long way to go.” Scorsese then goes on to point out breed prejudice, dropping some serious canine knowledge. “I detect another, more deep-seated prejudice at work. Jack Russell terriers were bred in the 19th century for the purposes of fox hunting by an Englishman, the Rev. John Russell. Dobermans were bred by a German tax collector who was afraid of being bludgeoned to death by the citizenry. But does that mean we must condemn the entire breed?” As Gawker points out, the editorial is well written and pretty convincing. Scorsese calls on readers to let the organizers of the Golden Collar Awards, Dog News Daily, know breed prejudice will not be taken lightly. Editor Alan Siskind has responded to the challenge, saying they will do “what Mr. Scorsese so eloquently requests.” If Blackie gets 500 write-in nominations on the Dog News Daily Facebook page by February 6, she will be added as the sixth nominee for the award handed out Monday, February 13.” By the looks of it, Blackie is well on her way to a nomination. Several hundred people have already shown their support. Which pups will Blackie be up against? Watch the nomination announcement below. Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/01/30/is-the-movie-industry-guilty-of-dog-breed-ism/#ixzz1l24OXFiA

Thank you!!

Pups that have an appropriate immune reaction to the vaccine may still have parvo enter their system, but they will have antibodies and memory cells pre programmed to fight the infection causing it to be eliminated before the pup can get sick. Pups teated with Homeopathy do not have these antibodies and memory cells so will contract parvo and suffer the full disease course. This is a risk until the dog has developed natural immunity and well beyond 12 weeks in an unvaccinated dog, regardless how gentle the treatment you use- it just doesn't offer any protection. Please discuss this with your breeder so that they can make an informed choice in selling you a pup.

Just asking- what do you have to send in to prove that the animal is desexed? A letter form the vet or would a receipt do?

Not sure if there is a list- I did try and find one but that doesn't mean there wasn't one. I picked up the aussie dried treats in 1kg bags can't remember the price but it was much less than in shops 1L (or was it 2L??) bottles of fidos shampoo for $20 not much else that I can remember was amazing. I was mostly after toys for training and there were a fair few of them at competitive prices. Sorry I am not much more help. Its been a while lol.

I couldn't agree more!!

I would wait until as late as possible for an Xray. Puppies bones don't ossify until day 47-49 so you may not get a clear picture prior to 7 weeks- it may be a waste of money to do an X-ray prior to then.

I guess I had part of the yard with pavers and I was a hawk eye whenever they went out. I lived with my grandmother who made it quite clear that if they marked her stuff then they were not welcome. I also set them up to fail a bit when it came to marking so they went to mark on something inappropriate, I caught them and popped them on the grass and gave them their toilet cue until they went and they had a big reward. They were eventually 'caught' everywhere but grass and I had really clear criteria that I was sticking too, which meant they knew the rules of the game. Does he toilet on cue? That is how I got mine to understand the difference between toilet time and not toilet time.... I continue to give the toilet cue until there is literally nothing more than a dribble being left behind. I also visit lots and lots of trees when I go somewhere new so I force them to empty out. As I said one boy just goes once. The other is a minimum of three marks, but I just continue to walk around until I can see he is cocking his leg with nothing much coming out- the record was 25trees (not all of them were good enough to be marked though). Its really time consuming sometimes but it means he gets to be part of everything and trusted. I also regularly still take that boy out on toilet breaks to make sure he understands that I don't want him to mark in a new environment. Dogs don't generalise so me saying 'don't go in my house' does not mean that they understand 'don't go in this brand new house'. So I treat them like puppies at every new location. That is how I trained my boys- the know the rules. It sounds like you have not set up boundaries that Oscar understands. He might learn differently to my boffa's. He might need to stay on lead or be crated in new environments and need to be toileted on lead?

Does she ever mark things that you would not like her to? Ie car tyres, bins? I don't know if I am just worrying to much or if it should be a real concern. I don't let her near car tyres. And I have a strict "only on grass rule" for all my dogs- so anything that they can't get to with one foot on a tuft of grass is safe!! My boys (although there have been a few accidents) will only toilet if they are standing on grass as well. The acidents have been an occasional marking of another dogs food bowl- stopped by removing the bowl straight after feeding and me standing there waiting for him to do it, and once or twice on a friends lounge that had been marked by a boy previously. I manage visiting peoples houses by getting the boys to wee on cue in their back yard before they are allowed to go off lead. One boy this is only one wee, the other boy I know has to wee three times before he is empty. Abby marks ALOT on walks if we are on a casual stroll, and I don't try and stop it anymore- nothing I did really made a significant difference. She doesn't mark when we are working- at obedience, flyball or agility, but she also doesn't sniff around. I don't allow her to sniff the ground at vets because I know she will mark if she does. Does your dog give you warning such as sniffing? I personally wouldn't be too worried about brining a pup into the picture- so long as you set out the criteria for it very well from the beginning. i.e. only go to the toilet on grass, giving it a cue. When you go out giving the pup 'toilet time' and 'walking time'.

My eldest bitch is a BIG marker!! There is not one inch of park that does not belong to her Haven't had a problem with subsequent dogs, even my entire males mark less than her!! Abby is a girl that is quite happy to cock her leg to make sure she hits a pole. My current pup actually is being trained to be happy to go to the loo off the property and she has been out with Abby from very early on. I wouldn't be too worried.

OMG 25k for a month of work with 5 people?? Thats one bandwagon I would be happy to jump on..... :laugh:

I would be off to the vet to get them to look in her ear to ensure it isn't a bad infection. Treating at home without checking can result in damage to the eardrum- doubtful if you have caught it early, but better to be safe. If you look at it in the morning and it hasn't changed you may be able to monitor it till thursday, any change and see the vet earlier. I would personally just rebook earlier and get it dealt with so I could catch it early. Dogs can put up with a fair amount of discomfort before they let us know whats going on which is why no one on the forum can recommend not seeing a vet, unless they can see the ear over cyberspace ;). Straight out recommending to not see a vet is quite dangerous. Pregnant bitches still have a functioning immune system. There are plenty of natural ear cleansers that you can try if the vet thinks its a minor infection which would be my first option. ETA-I have also seen a vinegar mix recommended. If the vet does prescribe AB then tell them about 50 times that she is preggers and make them triple check that it is safe, then do your own research. It might be overkill but once again safe rather than sorry.

Your only option is to give a second vaccination at 12 weeks. Find a good vet and discuss which brand/type you want to go with. Vaccines are really important at keeping your pup safe, and stopping the spread of disease. ETA- if you wait till 12 weeks then that may be the only vaccine your dog will need for life!

I will be there on sunday, either with the flyballers or just as a visitor!! I found it easy to spend my money- bulk treats and shampoo and some bungee lines. It will be interesting to see how it goes

Thats a good idea! They would need to give the wound air time. But also they need to realise that they need to keep on the little tube long past the tail healing otherwise the skin won't strengthen enough to stop it breaking open a week after its healed.

One method is getting a toilet roll or making a roll of appropriate diameter with cardboard then popping it over the tail with some padding. Its then secured in place with a bandage, making sure the whole set up isn't too tight. This stops the tail hitting anything hard and reopening the wound. I will try and find a picture ETA- not a picture but a better explanation http://www.gpa-nova.org/resources/sickdog.php

Just add to that- High blood calcium levels actually decreases the number of osteoclasts in bone matrix. It is osteoclasts that break down bone to increase calcium levels- so even as PTH is released, causing osteoclasts to kick into action there are not as many as there are in an animal that has not been supplemented orally with calcium. It takes time to create these osteoclasts which means it takes time for the bodies internal regulation system to kick in. By keeping calcium normal (or in my case I drop off the calcium slightly) it means that the body is forced to regulate its own calcium and makes lots of osteoclasts, so if there is a big dip in calcium for contractions/early lactation there are plenty of osteoclasts to mobilise the calcium from bone, plus giving them lots of oral calcium which will be absorbed gives the bitch a better chance of maintaining her own calcium levels.

Just add to that- High blood calcium levels actually decreases the number of osteoclasts in bone matrix. It is osteoclasts that break down bone to increase calcium levels- so even as PTH is released, causing osteoclasts to kick into action there are not as many as there are in an animal that has not been supplemented orally with calcium. It takes time to create these osteoclasts which means it takes time for the bodies internal regulation system to kick in. By keeping calcium normal (or in my case I remove bones in the last week) it means that the body is forced to regulate its own calcium and makes lots of osteoclasts, so if there is a big dip in calcium for contractions/early lactation there are plenty of osteoclasts to mobilise the calcium from bone, plus giving them lots of oral calcium which will be absorbed gives the bitch a better chance of maintaining her own calcium levels.

The only time I have experienced that the Clippers carked it within the week (They were not used much either). They were not clipping well and it sounded like the motor was dying.

No idea but I did just desex my timekeeper. She came in every 6.5mths without fail and everyone followed her. I am currently twiddling my thumbs waiting for seasons that all should have started a month ago- I hope one of my pups will take over, knowing my luck they won't lol.

As far as I know there is no alternative, I have used homeopathic drops in conjunction with vaccines to give pups a boost. Even my holistic vet believes that dogs do need vaccinations- she just thoroughly believes they only need one shot at 12 weeks, a titre to check it has worked and thats it. Sorry for your loss. Loosing them at that age is soul destroying. Can I ask (purely for learning sake) how it was worked out that it was a reaction to the attenuated distemper and not the adjuvants that are used in killed vaccines?