Ptolomy

Hes a 4 year old Duck Tolling Retriever - who is not over weight and doesn't have short legs

Thanks for this 4 paws. Interesting reading. I had actually stopped the bees pollen due to this article being sent to me http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelate...cs/DSH/bee.html SO now I am more confused than ever I am seeing the naturopath on Saturday and the specialist vet on Monday so I will see what they have to say and will then try and make a decision which way to jump. I just want to be sure it wont do the dog any harm.

Ha - have to laugh - we have one of the best specialist vets in Perth and we see her on a regular basis - and I think we have funded her last 3 overseas holidays. This vet is used by 90% of the agility and obedience people in WA and is brilliant in her field. I have also tried bowen therapy, accupuncture and trigger point therapy. He has been thoroughly investigated - will be sound after treatment and in a short period of time he is lame again - so we are now thinking outside the square. Yes he has been on anti-inflammatories and yes these do help - but are not a long term option. He is also on cartrophen. His training has been cut back to a minimum. His heeling style does cause issues - but even when he is not training he is still sore, and in fact, he is stiffer than when he is training - so doing nothing is also not an option. So conventional medicine has been exhausted - hence the hair analysis and now the bees pollen.

I actually have bees pollen and that was what I was told to get - so I think this is possibly different to Royal Jelly. It is yellow and looks like very small ballbearings, so no it is not in a tablet form either and I just sprinkle it on the dogs food. What I am unsure about is how much to feed an 18kg dog. Malsam why are you using it?

Looking for anybody who has used bees pollen I have recently had a hair analysis done on one of my dogs by a homeopath. The results shows severely low levels of magnesium, zinc, Vitamin E, problems with joints and muscles, his lymph system wasn't working and he is severely stressed. :cool: He has been having lameness issues for over 9 months now which seems to fit in with the problems with joints and muscles that showed on the analysis. Somebody suggested I give him bees pollen. I am prepared to give anything a try - but would like to hear from anybody that has used bees pollen in the past, what they used it for, the weight of their dog and how much they gave and how often.

Do you use food in training and have you heard of the two food game?

What does he do if you throw a ball or something other than a dumbbell - will he pick it up and hold it or bring it back?

Good luck!

I have 5 dogs all doing obedience, agility and I show as well. I also work full time and run a boarding kennel. My training sesssions are always planned and I tend to go out and do short sessions - in fact I have mastered being able to drive to K9 set up a UD ring, train all 5 dogs and be home again in under an hour. I also have designated days for doing agility and I tend to do something with all the kids first thing in the morning before I go to work. Its easy

Gees all these novice obedience passes - well done to everybody. Pity we can't have a virtual novice obedience trial LOL.

I am ticked pink with our weekend. Friday night and Beans wins novice obedience with 194 Saturday and in her first attempt at masters jumping she goes clear and is in time Sunday and its show time and she is now CH Beans ;) This is even more special since Beans is my little allergy sufferer.

Oops missed the "s" off dogscouts. Here tis...... http://www.dogscouts.com/scent.shtml

I have found the hardest obedience dogs to teach scent to are BC's no idea why Yes I have tried placing food on the scent article - but the dog, which was a BC, started checking out all the articles in the hope of finding food. You then had to get rid of the food which seemed to take a while. When the exercise fell to bits it also wasn't as easy to rebuild. The worst part of the dogscout method is the throwing of the article as I am hopeless at throwing - so I tend to go and place the article. Have to also say - to begin with I am not worried about turns, holds or presents - its just find the one that smells like me. I also find that you have to keep progressing and not do lots and lots of repetitions, at some point around when you have 4 articles on the ground the dog all of a sudden realises and starts smelling the other articles and makes a decisive choice on which one to bring back. Good luck

I am now on obedience dog number 5 and the best method for teaching scent discrimination can be found at dogscout.com Three days ago I started my youngest dog on scent and she is already working with the full set of articles and reliably bringing back the one that smells like me. I suggest you have a look and give it a go....

For everyday things I really recommend Lark Hill - a relatively new practice half way between Rockingham and Mandurah. They have very modern facilities. Sorry - don't know about the their ability to do growth plate surgery though.

I get my dogs titre tested every 2 years. The last time it cost me $64 to get them titred for parvo and distemper (I don't do hepatitis because we have not had a case of hepatitis in WA and beside you can't get an individual hepatitis vaccine if your levels are low anyway). My bitch is now 7 years old and was last vaccinated at 12 months of age and her parvo and distemper levels are still > 80 So there is an advantage to living in WA

Hey Amypie - the cheapest place to get PVC is the hardware shop on Warton Road in Huntingdale - much cheaper than Bunnings

I suggest you go along next Tuesday and have a look for yourself. Beginners training is at 7pm and you will be able to see the different groups and see what happens at each level. You can also discuss the 3 commands with one of the instructors and they should be able to give you a quick run down on how to teach them. I think the last night for training is the 4th December.

I definitely have experience as I am on to dog number 5! I am good at planning training sessions and planning what I will do when things go pearshaped. I have learnt not to flog things. A 5 minute training session can be more productive than an hour long session I have learnt that if things go wrong I obviously haven't explained it well enough - since my dogs don't do things wrong on purpose. I have learnt to ask questions of people who are more experienced than I am I have learnt to vary my rewards - and to keep rewarding for their good efforts (I don't believe in having to get rid of the food in training to be able to trial) I have learnt that my dogs will work for food, toys and play I have learnt to keep training fun I have learnt that every trainer/instructor has something to offer - however its up to me to work out whether I want to use it and take it on board or not. I have learnt the hard way that if I don't feel like training - then its better not to as things will press my buttons I have learnt that I love my kids

A tiny little brag from last weekend in that Miss Beans can now be called excellent Beans since she got her last leg for her excellent jumping title. Then in her first masters agility run she went clear and finished 5th Amazing really since Beans only started trialling in April this year and really doesn't have the skills to be running in masters. Now fingers crossed that in 2 weeks time we can change her name to Ch Beans........

I feed BARF. One of my dogs has so many food allergies that feeding her bickies was impossible - even the bickies for allergy sufferers she is allergic to. However - I am now on day 4 of a food trial - the bickies we are trying are Calafornia Natural Herring and Sweet Potato - there is no beef, no wheat and no corn in them and so far so good. Fingers crossed she gets through the next 6 days and these are something else I can add to her regular food list Has anybody else tried these?

You were spot on in desbribing how to go about the elimination diet. However my dog was also allergic to the Hill Z/D - which was a bugger. A food elimiation diet is a long slow process - but at least I know what what base foods are OK and which ones are off the list. There have been lots of discussion on food allergies - perhaps do a search and some reading. Good luck.

You can get Eagle Pack through Colin Chinnery in Canning Vale 9455 1249 or 0410564326

My breed suffers from auto-immune problems and if it was my dog it wouldn't be getting vaccinated again. I am surprised your vet did it!

My dog is 14kg and is on a 1/4 of a large dog capstar tablet every day because she is highly allergic to fleas. I think it is brilliant and you can buy it from the supermarket.