Jigsaw

I'm shocked. Condolences to Rocco1, Ralphdog and especially his little mate Ralph. Rocco (and Ralph) for me hold a very special place amongst DOL dogs.

So sorry to hear of Buddy's passing.

At 16 yrs he's a grand old man, a testament to good love and care. I think I'd only disturb him if you feel he needs to relieve himself (if he didn't during the fit) he may be a bit sore and stiff after the convulsions too. It's awful watching a dog fit, you feel so utterly helpless. Hugs to you and Buddy.

It seems Paxy's not the only one!! I found another one on the lawn this morning and another bit of the fluff without a ball. The shed gate was shut too, no visible holes in the garden so I give up! At the moment she's trying to dig her way through the plastic drain cover :p , she loves drains, they must smell good! ;) at your gelding Ellz!!!

Tonight she has come inside with two tennis balls and just now part of one. Now we haven't played with tennis balls for over twelve months in our backyard and generally no balls at all are allowed (she's a little too obsessed). She doesn't look like she's been digging them up as they're pretty clean. The gate behind the shed may have come open and maybe they've been in there. I shall have to have a good look in the daylight and check out where her stash is. Anybody else got a dog who's got a secret stash?

Only on DOL would the intricacies of dog poo and dogs pooing be discussed in detail. In my experience some dogs stay in one spot, some do the walk around which if you're bagging makes it interesting, some back up to bushes. But if he looks like he's straining (you can usually see muscles contracting around the rear - although you've got a fluffy so a little harder to see) you might want to consider what he's eating and looking at his diet as he may need something to help him get it all out in one go! Are his stools firm and dry or soft??? (OMG I don't believe I just asked that question! )

These puppies are so very cute!! Absolutely gorgeous - just be careful if I ever meet one in real life I might just have to steal them!!!

Abbey Alika Alchemy Amber Amelia Amy x 2 Anais Anastacia (Annie) Angel X2 Anishinaabe Annabelle Annabella April Arizona Asante sana Ashka Askari Astro Audrey Aura Ayla Baba Baci Bailey Becky Bella x3 Bit Blossom Bonny x 2 (Bonnie) Brandy Bree Bridie Buffy Cally Cassie Cedar Chelsea Chloe x 2 Charlotte Cinta CJ Claire Claudia Clover Cleoparta Coco x2 Daisy Dallas Delilah Delta Dexta Dinky Durham Dyzney Ebony Echo Elizabeth Ella Ellie Ellie Emily Emma Erin Evie Fanta Finta Froggy Gabby Gemma Glitter Grace Griffin Gypsy x2 Harlow Hayley x2 Heddy Heidi x2 Holly x 5 Honey Honour Imogen - Imy Jane Jay Jay Jenna Jessie Jezebel Jodie Kara Karma Karmen Katie Katy Kayla Keilani Kenzie Kiesha Kizzey Krissy Kuean - (Queen) Lacey Layla Lea (lele) Lexi Lily x 2 Lobo Logan Lola Lottie Lucy x3 Mable Maddison Maggie x2 Mallee Marie Claudette Marlo Meg Merrique Mia Millie x2 Minnie x 2 (Mynni) Mischka Molly x3 Molly Coddle Mya Nala Narla Natasha Ness Paxy Pearl Peggie Pebbles Pip Polly Popcorn Porridge Quince Reba Rebel Reno Rogue Rommi Rosey Roxy Ruby x3 Sabrina Sadie Sally x2 Sascha x 2 Satu Savannah Shae Shandy Shannon Sharnie Sheba Shine Sinta Skye Snow Sophie x2 Springy Spook Stella x2 Stimpy X2 Storm Sue Sybill Tara Tasha Tayla Teegan Tess Tessa Texas Tia Tilly x3 Tinny (tin tin) Tori Tully Vada Voodoo Winter Wilhelmina Xanthe Zillah Ziva Zoe x 3

I agree Aiden, we do need to do some work on ball distraction - at the moment if she hears a soccer ball being kicked 300m away I'm in trouble! At home I can hold a tennis ball in my hand and gently, very gently throw it in the air and walk around her and she can maintain a sit. We'll get there, one day I hope!

My toy poodle used to love doing this with soccer balls, he wasn't fussed with having balls in his mouth but loved to round them up! He also really loved balloons and used to bounce them on his nose. My current girl would be over the moon to do this but she's a little too ball obsessed to let her loose.

Thought you couldn't train your dog to do housework??? Watch this clip! :D

Good to know there's other dogs that have a similar thing! I guess as a human equivalent I dislike wearing round neck t-shirts/jumpers as they just irritate me and I tug and stretch at the neck while I'm wearing it. I'm just aware of a constant pressure on my throat and it irritates.

Some great book stores I didn't know about here. Won't tell my OH! I usually buy from Amazon and find they usually deliver quite quickly. It's a good book Erny with some great information in training and living with blind dogs, I've had it for a while but can't remember where I got it from!!

Is there anything else happening when he starts scratching? Is it happening randomly day and night or during training? Can you watch him through a window and see if he does it when you're not around? Does he have any neck issues that you might not be aware of that perhaps the collar irritates somehow? These are just the first things that popped into my head on reading your post. Maybe he has sensitive skin or pehaps it's just become a conditioned response to the collar over time. Just out of curiosity I wonder whether he would do the same with a lightweight cloth like a bandana loosely tied around his neck (just as an experiment to see his response).

The collars are fantastic! The mats are great too even for humans Erny!! Although my dog does take some convincing that it is not an evil thing, I found it quite comfy and nice and cool to lie on when it was stinking hot a few weeks ago, much more comfy than the tiled floor to lay on IMO.

Have you asked your normal vet? If they don't do it try ringing some of the other practises around and ask if they do it or know someone who does in Newcastle, perhaps Hamilton or Wallsend off the top of my head. If there is no one in Newcastle try the Vet Specialist Centre in North Ryde, they are a relatively easy trip from Newcastle. http://www.vetspecialist.com.au/specialist.html

A bag with handles for my jumps would be great. Mine are in a yachting stuff bag, stick up out of the top and it gets dragged along the ground as I have a drawstring and they too ungainly to try and carry any other way (at least for me ).

Glad there's no damage to your girl's eye. My girl has some vision problems and blue eyes. She doesn't like walking in bright sunlight, I have some mesh Doggles for her that I use if we're going to be out during the day, although she's not fond of them! In one eye her third eyelid is permanently exposed but opthamologist hasn't mentioned cancer but we're due for another appointment soon so will ask then about risk. ETA: My girl is a blue merle koolie.

My girl was very much like this yesterday but she was shaking her head and one ear was down and was very happy for ear rubs, so I'm guessing she was hurting there a bit and I couldn't get to the vet yesterday. I think she got water in it swimming earlier in the week. I ended up toileting her early last night and putting her to bed in her crate with a view to checking her out in the morning and then again after I got home from work. She's much quieter today and there is no head shaking or ear rubbing. But I'll still be keeping an eye out for her tomorrow and Sunday in case it flares up again and we'll be off to the vet if it does.

Personally I would ring my vet or the emergency vet. There could be a scratch on her cornea or some other damage. I would think that if you can see something different in her eyes there is something going on. Is her pupil(s) reacting to changes in light, going from light to dark?

Steve is passionate about using the dog's natural desire for play, food or whatever turns it on as a reward when teaching behaviours especially obedience work. Using that drive to get the dog's focus and working with you, breaking down each behaviour into small components, with lots and lots of rewards. I would recommend going to a workshop with Steve! PAX can probably explain much better how Steve works!

BP that is just gross but kinda funny, we had a fridge fail us when we were away for a weekend once, thought there was a dead body in the house when we came home after three days but no maggots. Nannas - that is a very funny story!! Karma! We had maggots on the bin on Monday morning, ewww. I have a fly thingy to stop them but I think it got wet in all the rain we've had. It's had a good shake now. All this talk about maggots makes me remember a girlfriend eating a chocolate bar (Frys was the brand - I've never ever touched one since) and you guessed it, there were maggots inside the chocolate bar that had been inside the wrapper. Oh god, I've just remembered the chicken! We were on holidays and bought a BBQ'd chicken, when we went to cut it for lunch there were maggots in it. Mum said, just scrape them off the rest of it will be alright. I really can't remember whether I actually ate any chicken or not but I do remember being totally grossed out. I have a feeling Dad threw it out, I don't think maggots were part of his diet, although he used to talk about hanging rabbits till they were green before eating them.

What good news for you and how exciting!!

I truly hate maggots, I think it's something to do with the way they move, sort of violent wriggling. Also not fond of rats. Probably both phobias come from tales my mother told me as a child. First one being to wash my face when I went to bed or the rats would eat it. Second one about when she was nursing late 40's and 50's before flyscreens in hospitals and a patient complained of an itching scalp under his bandages. When removed, yup, you guessed it, full of maggots. But did clear up all his infection. But still ;) Fly went up my nose a few weeks ago, all I could think of was to get it out (which I did), gross images of maggots in my sinuses was in my head. Hugs to Mandela, the gorgeous boy, Erny.

Awesome dog and clip! Wish every dog had a start in life like that one!