OSoSwift

My dogs wraps and trains and heels on both sides - he doesn't get a stiff neck :) Oha dn he doesn't touch my leg, just shy of it. In England they want to see no light between dog and leg - hence why most trialing dogs have a reasonable degree of coat! Oh and as for which leg etc. I do step of on the left for moving and the right for stay etc ecercises. While the dog cannot see you feet while looking up which leg you step off on, it does affect the rest of your body language which they can see.

I got an amino acid supplement from the horse shop and I can't remember what the name was it may not have been tryptophan??

Not sure but I made a dog pretty bald one after attacking her with a zoom groom post babies - she had a show 10 days later - eek! I fed her raw meat, Tryptophan - I think?? it was a while ago - sardines and Nutrigel - quite a bit. Within the 10 days required she had a short but very healthy and glossy coat :)

Those "animals before humans" types no doubt, the ones who try to make us feel guilty about breathing air because we are so horrible we don't deserve it. As much as I prefer my dog to some people, I would never knowingly put another person in peril to try to save a dog that had proved itself to be dangerous. I've seen some episodes of the Dog Whisperer where he has done just that, tried to rehabilitate a dog and "encourage" a family to persevere with a dog they are obviously deathly afraid of, makes no sense to me at all. : ( Very sensible I like your post :)

The container I have is 4lbs/1.816kgs - so rather large. I have been giving them the half scoop for around 2 weeks - so 14 doses each and there is still heaps left. The label says to start with half a scoop and build up to the full dose over 2 weeks, daily amount can be divided between feeds. Amount fed can be tailored to the individual dogs needs. Oh it says one scoop is three tablespoons. ETA - just weighed one scoops worth - just scooped out, not packed and scrapped flat at the top with my finger there was 32grams of powder in one scoop. 1816gms/ 32gms (scoop) is 56.75 :) Hope that helps :)

A GSD at only 4.8kgs at 8 weeks - that isn't much more than my Whippet!

Mine are on 1/2 a scoop - it says to build up to the full dose over two weeks. Their full dose is 3/4 of a scoop. We will see what they think of that amount? They do have pretty good shiney coats anyway so will see if it makes a difference.

My Dobe bitch was 7kgs at 8 weeks, my Rotti was 8.5kgs at 8 weeks, my whippets were from 3.5 to 4.5 from memory. I would expect Lab pups to be around the 7 kg mark myself.

One thing I can say they seem to LOVE the taste of it and lick their bowls clean :)

being there or not is a very personal thing. One that I personally think is not for anyone else to judge. I always am other people can't do it.

I have just started mine on it a week ago so will report back later :)

There are always three sides to every story. I have seen death certificates issues to people who's dogs are insured as proof of death to claim that part of their insurance

I STILL don't have mine back. They recieved them the 5th of September and apparently have been processed but needed checking - a week ago - sigh!!! Your names are great Tris :)

I don't necessarily like the idea. But then again I am suspicious of most things the RSPCA do. I also think a $14 fee for each animal successfully rehabbed or adopted would be money better spent. If people need a fee for euthanasia then pay them a slightly higher rate all the time because the stress of doing it does not stop after that day.

We have crows around here. To be honest I have never thought or worried about them with my puppies. The small birds tend to harrass them until they leave and my Adults would chase them if they got too close. I have lambs who have lost portions of their tales and of course eyes if they are very weak or recently deceased.

I have seen dogs shown with a shaved patch. I would prefer a shaved leg than an infection. I have said things such as - if possible could you chave as little area as possible (my vets are rather clipper happy and the nurses will shave huge areas at times) sometimes it's possible sometimes it isn't. The vets here don't upsell to me but do suggest things and we decide the best course of treatment together.

An owner does not need to explain to anyone why an animal is being presented for euthanasia. I have worked in two vet hospitals. We have on occasion refused to euth, or said to the owner if you sign the dog over to is we will try to rehome the dog to a suitable home. Some said yes and we did others said no. We always had to do as the owner wanted or refused there is no way either of my bosses would have done dodgy things like that.

Rommi was desexed today, 11 weeks one day after her litter. Her uterus was very friable and tore in two necessitating a larger surgical wound as they of course had to go looking for the bit left attached. She did not bleed or anything like that so all good there. It also appears she was brewing an infection. She did show signs of an early infection after having the pups. Due to all the internals she had getting them born she was put on 5 days of clavulox just incase. Around 8 days after they finished her discharge started increasing not decreasing, she then started eating less and getting restless and when I took her temp it was 39.5. She got put on a 10 day course of Clavulox within 48hours had picked up, was eating properly and her discharge decreased markedly. I have noticed over the last week Lewis has been sniffing her back end quite a bit and showing more interest. No other signs of coming into season and considering she normally cycles around 7 to 8 monthly I would be very surprised if she was starting to come back in. Her uterus had an area of thickening and encapsulated pus as well as a small amount of fluid in the uterus which may have been due to her recent litter or may have been the result of a slow infection ticking over. Do all in all getting her desexed now and not leaving it another season turned out to be a wise move. Plus she was due to come in around Christmas. My kennels were already booked out and I have three entire males at home!!! Hair tearing territory :)

Sorry I haven't heard of them. I am about to go do dome reading though :)

I have trained classes of up to 10 people all training with clickers. The dogs were focussed on their handler and I do not remember any particular dog or occassion where the dog worked off other peoples clicks or was distracted by them or if they were it was brief and and easy to refocus them. I use marker words and the clicker however I find the clicker far more precise than a word so that is why I use it, particularly when teaching something or refining something by degrees. It is also a consistant noise and not emotional such as the voice can be.

Welllllll I have a few. The big dogs have one in their dog run, its plastic, big and has a 4 inch foam matress and a few polar fleece blankets and a minky blanket. The puppy crate in the dog run has some vet bed, a blanket, a heat disk - if it isn't pulled outside - and whatever various toys and treats he has stored in there for later. In the house - the big dogs have a cot mattress with a fleecy sheet, an Andisa Minky blanket a cat or two and some toys. They sleep on the lounge mostly. Baby dog has a puppy pen with a polar fleece squishy bed and his Andisa Minky blanket plus treats and a toy. At the kennels - the big dogs have a soft crate with a foam matress a polar fleece blanket and an assortment of toys Lewis has swiped off the shelves when he takes himself shopping. I think he has 6 or 8 in there at the moment. Baby dog has a soft crate with vet bed a folded quilt (cut down from a big one) a beef chewy, a few dry bikkies and some toys a duck and a ball I think. In the car - they have a big wire one with a divider, little dog goes in one side, big dogs ahve the other. That has a faux wool nice squishy crate matress and some vet bed. I think Wilson's side may have a bit of pig ear left in there but not sure. And yes I still have spare crates......................................

My male does not find the withholding of a treat particularly stressful, he obviously in my opinion would find it even to a small degree negative as he wants it, that means he works harder to get it. No worries at all. My bitch will find withholding or reward or NRM more stressful and will worry but she was my first fully clicker trained dog and she became that way because of me. I didn't cause that issue second time around. Let's hope third time around I get it all even better :) I love having a little 8week old pup sitting near me and watching its little cogs turn over figuring out what I am doing/wanting etc. all the while relaxed happy and wagging its tail. I never get tired of that :)

Yes you are right. When training specific behaviours I have a plan as to what I would like to do to get it to happen or not. I also consider if the safety of my dogs or kids is on the line I do what is required, if that is negative then so be it, I deal with any fall out later. I think Santo doesn't actually understand exactly what clicker or positive reinforcement training is or entails. IT is not a matter of waving a piece of food under their nose and hope they follow it. By the way I do not think prongs are evil, nasty or should be banned. I would like to think with my own dogs at least I would never have my dogs get to the level of behaviour that they required one. I have also helped people with dog training issues and so far haven't needed one. That is not to say I never will, just haven't needed one so far.

Agreed Aiden and LBD. Having said that in every day life if I see one of my dogs about to swipe my steak off the bench they will get negatively reinforced so I would never consider myself purely positive. I also think that that label is a bit of a misnomer due to things already discussed such as with holding a treat is negative as is a nonreward marker.

Anne, yes you have raised a good point. My vets know I am a well educated person when it comes to my animals and potential issues. I do my research, I also don't agree blindly to things, I question where I feel I need to or if I don't understand something. My vet -ex boss- once told me as a client I am a bit scary because I am knowledgable and not afraid to question and pull them up to explain something. He said it was good though as it made sure they were on the ball.