RiverStar-Aura

OMG me too!! I absolutely love walking through cemeteries as I find them to be a very calming and peaceful influence -- especially when I find my mind or thoughts buzzing at light speed around my head. The older the cemetery, the more at peace I feel. Gorgeous photos!!!

I'd also be worried about them not getting through customs. I haven't read a lot about the collars but do you know what the prevention rate for paralysis ticks is once the collar goes on? ie if you're not currently using tick prevention and the collar goes on, how long does the active ingredient take to spread to safely start protecting from ticks. I may have read 48 hours I'm not sure

Unfortunately it's not available in Australia yet I still miss the Proban tablets.

Thanks for the responses everyone. I managed to squeeze in a vet visit before agility training with my other dog and it turns out to be a yeast infection again -- same as last time. She's been prescribed Derm-Otic to clear it out.

Thanks for that Erny. I think I read in the other thread that you've used the tea in ears before but I couldn't remember. I'm definitely getting her ears checked out for infection again before I start on any type of treatment. My previous Aussie was also prone to ear problems which is probably why the standard says to strip their ears -- I just don't like the thought of stripping ear fur as it sounds painful! Kirah has been scratching her head a bit and now that I think about it, she's scratching more behind her ears than her head. Maybe it's the start of another infection.

Kirah gets quite mucky ears due to the amount of fur in them and because she has small ears and I have large fingers, I find them difficult to clean with a damp cloth or wipe. Is there a generic cleaning solution that anyone recommends? She's had Derm-Otic prescribed before for an ear infection but obviously this isn't intended as a regular cleaner. I'll most likely take her back to the vet to double check for infection again as they're mildly mucky again but was just wondering in the meantime.

Grumpette, I just LOVE looking at photos of your Rotties!! They're one of my favourite larger breeds because they are such affectionate boofheads!! And oh boy do they looooove their snuggles and cuddles from people!! I've been very lucky in my life that every Rottie I've met had the most gorgeous temperament and have been wonderful examples of how amazing the breed can be! Not having a go at you Brandiandwe but I too was confused by this thread before you clarified as my thought was 'shouldn't all breeds be bred to best exemplify their standards?' Thanks for clarifying!

I'm not a breeder, only a pet owner, but please, please, PLEASE contact your breeder. They'll be more livid if they find out later what happened so it'll go over much better for everyone involved the sooner you get in contact. Best of luck with your girl and I really hope the whelping goes smoothly. If your breeder is close by, maybe they might even offer to come be with you when the bitch goes into whelp. At the very least, you'd be able to sit on the phone during labour and talk to your breeder whilst it's happening.

Not to mention that their $10 voucher after spending $500 is like getting a slap in the face.

Personally, I'd just book Vinnie in for desexing and get it done without telling your OH. The fact that some men still place the status of their own masculinity on dogs balls is hilarious. Maybe offer to buy him some neuticles if he's feeling emasculated!!

Go back and watch the very first season of Bondi vet. They showed a dog being given neuticals and I think it was the first time the operation had been performed in Australia. Not a cheap surgery either as I think the neuticals cost around $2000 and that's just for the implants.

Titre testing is a way of checking a dog's antibodies/resistance to certain diseases by way of a blood test. Usually the core diseases in a normal C3 injection are tested for. The AVA has released studies saying that dogs should only really require vaccinating every 3 years rather than annually and people titre test their dogs instead of vaccinating as it shows their resistance to these diseases and if they do require re-vaccinating or not. Hope I got this right and that it makes sense. I'm still learning about titre testing myself!

See that pronunciation surprises me. I thought that tee-ter was the American way because of 'teeter totter', however, when you pair it with 'litre' that kinda makes sense too. :laugh: But yes, they don't charge more for incorrect pronunciation thank goodness!

I've been looking at trying out photography for a good long while and now have the opportunity to purchase one of these two cameras really cheap and I need some help. I've never really understood much about taking photos other than point and click so the idea of an SLR is something completely foreign to me. Both cameras come with a twin lens kit and obviously price-wise, the D5100 appears to be the better camera but I guess what I'd most like to know is that even though they're outdated, would either be suitable as a reasonably decent first SLR camera for a complete noob?

Well yes, I guess it's free to set up an account anywhere. The vets I spoke to obviously can't be bothered because they don't see a call for it. See to me that's bad practice. It's not like they're being charged an annual fee for the account so even if they only have one client benefitting they're not losing profit. I'm sure if they could be bothered with titre testing, they may find an increase in clientele, especially if they become the only vet to titre test in your area.

I think it's like Azza-whack but with less of a wh- sound to the whack more like wak -- if that makes sense. (Azza-wak)

I've always felt awkward when Pet Barn asks to donate to the RSPCA over Christmas. I find replying especially difficult when they ask if you'd like to use your $10 voucher for the donation because I feel like such a tightarse when I say no.

According to my vet nurse friend setting up a vetpath account is free so there's no real reason to not create one.

Rather than dropping a note, could you just pop over and talk to them? That way they'd be able to see and hear your concern for the dogs.

You can absolutely train 2x2 with food - try throwing cheese cubes. If you want to place the food use a bait plate so it's easy to see. That's a great idea TSD! I've been discouraged from throwing food through the poles because we were at the stage where Zeus first had to learn to drive through the poles on his own rather than being lured by way of tug or treat. I like the idea of placing a plate or Tupperware container down but wouldn't that be teaching Zeus to drive for the reward rather than him learning it's about the poles instead? Zeus and are are approaching week three of this course and he's at the stage where he's driving through the poles and then I throw the tug in a straight sight line as a reward. Because he's not interested in the tug (I've even got one that has a treat pouch stitched onto it), Zeus is starting to circle back to look to me to find a treat. It's hard because this is the only local club I've found who teach 2 x 2 weavers and it's a concept I struggle with when trying it on my own at home. I'm just getting more and more disappointed each class because they place such high emphasis on tugging and Zeus just isn't a tugging dog. The other dog in my class is an 18 month old Westie, who, being a terrier, loves his tugging and like my own Kirah, gets his feral on for the tug. I think I made it harder too because before class started last week, I had Zeus chasing me for his most favourite duck toy in the world and we were having this MAD game of tug with it. Then, we start class and Zeus gets his learning hat on and he's more about 'what's next?' or 'what do you want me to do now?' and he's suddenly all work and no play.

Don't forget RSA that the most important part is having a good training foundation and if he is doing the course just to do the course and is having fun on his own without you it will cause problems in the long run. Even when you use rewards there is a difference between using treats or a toy as a reward at the end of the exercise and a dog that is motivated to do the exercise to partake in the reward experience with us. If his primary motivation is to run the course, not to work with you to earn the rewards you have on offer it can create problems. I totally understand that too Huski; Zeus is a hard one to peg. He won't go over/under/through obstacles unless I tell him and he's always watching/waiting to see what I tell him to do next. Ours is an odd relationship because I think there are some things he doesn't need me for but then there are so many time he looks to me for direction. I think poor Zeus's main issue is having a numpty for an owner -- but I try the best I can!

Since starting agility training with Zeus, I've noticed that he does have amazing drive, I'm just not sure where his drive lies. He learns VERY fast and is highly enthusiastic with each obstacle but he's always eager to check back to see what I want him to do next. He'll drive full pelt towards ramps, tables, tunnels, jumps but he will often keep checking in on me to make sure he doesn't miss a cue I've given. Regarding the tugging, I guess I'm struggling with the 2 x 2 weavers because I'm being encouraged to use a tug to teach the weaving. If I'm running a full practise course with Zeus I find I don't need treats or a toy to build drive because he just wants to work and goes at the obstacles like a bull at a gate. Maybe he's more of a self rewarding dog because it seems that as long as he's having fun, I don't need to worry about treats or playing. Hopefully it won't be raining on Monday and I'll get my brother to come along to one of our training sessions and I can show you how he works. Although I might post it in the agility thread instead.

See, I don't have an issue with dogs being in the backyard, but I do question people who let their dogs bark and bark and bark. If you noticed that someone was home, did you stop and knock on their door to ask why they're leaving their dog bark so much? I live across the road from people like this. I've never seen the dog and I think it get left inside all day and all night with very little human interaction. It barks non stop some nights so I've actually banged on their door around midnight and told them to shut their dog up. If neighbours can hear the dog, odds are the owners can too and how it's not annoying to them is beyond me.

I don't want to hijack your thread Yonjuro but I've been wondering if anyone has pointers for teaching an older dog how to tug. With our agility training we've been encouraged to try using tug games as a reward rather than food. This is fine but Zeus is part beagle and much prefers food over toys and has little to no interest in tugging. I've even purchased tug toys with built in pouches to hide food but he still shows no interest in them during training. I'm not having too many issues with his drive as he's a highly food driven dog, but I'd like to try and utilise this drive with toys too. He's so different to my little terrier who just loves a good game of tug and I didn't even need to teach her how to do it. It's really funny how all dogs can be so different!!

Would Cartrophen injections be at all viable for Sonny? I'm so sorry to read that he's suffering severe arthritis at such a young age. We had our older Aussie Terrier Poochie on Cartrophen and Glyde powder and she bounced back to life. Her arthritis wasn't in her hips though. If there is any inflammation around the joints Rimadyl or Meloxicam might help as anti-inflammitories. Best check with the vet though.