Tassie

Sounds like you and the pup are building up a nice relationship now - there will be the odd rocky times, but building on the relationship all the time will bring lots of joy.

And that will happen, MsDani - and it's OK. The 'firsts' are hard - first time you go to a place you used to go, meet people who knew him well - don't be afraid to have a cry if you need to - dog people will understand and be right there for you - others .... well, we need to feel sorry for them that they haven't had the unconditional love and companionship that brings on the grief and guilt. I've found it a help to know what I want for my pets in the way of cremation etc. before I lose them - at least that's one thing taken care of. I was thinking of you yesterday as a friend farewelled her lovely 16 year old BC bitch - by arrangement, at home, in the sun on their back deck, and then as the sun went down Meg was buried in their acre garden, with her very own apple tree. Hang in there - we're here for you if you need us.

SNH - sounds as though it's working well - and won't be a bad thing in general - encouraging calm behaviour

donatella said: Couldn't agree more. Life became much easier when I got a trolley to groom on. But a non splip surface on an outdoor table or something works well too - and is also MUCH easier on the back.

Seems to work well on my two, BC Crazy - My mentor put me on to it. Put it in a spray bottle, light spray on the bits you're going to groom at a time - brush it in against the lie of the coat, and then comb with rolling tooth comb or collie comb or undercoat rake. Helps the comb to go throuigh without pulling. And I actually like the smell of the Revivacoat.

:laugh: ellz I bought some pad wax/paw wax at one stage - never used it, and now the agility equipment is rubberised, I don't need to use it ETfix typos - my fingers need a holiday. :D

And then there is another DOLer - http://www.k9softdogcrates.com.au/ :) I have a couple of K9Royale 2 - they travelled thousands of kms - easy to put up and down. Looking at the website, the new one - Caprice - looks good too - and price includes delivery to WA. I've tried a few, and the steel framed ones with the heavy denier covers are the way to go IMO.

Different people like different stuff and different stuff suits different dogs :laugh: - but that said, I like PP revivacoat diluted as per bottle for a detangling, general grooming spray for my BCs.

:D Good thinking! Yes - as I tell my puppy class people, puppy class/dog club is the worst place for teaching new behaviours - so many distractions. That said, when the owners work hard enough to keep it entertaining and fun for the pups, it's amazing how much they can learn and focus - but yes, high value, soft treats - small pieces so you can use lots - and not crumbly - don't want food all over the ground) - and remember that class is mostly for teaching the owners how to teach the dogs. You then take that home and practise in very small chunks, in low distraction environments, and then very gradually up the ante. (And to save me posting twice - a for fuzzy92's post in your thread in the puppy forum. :D )

Can understand how you're feeling .. Meant to say before that the ' firsts ' are always hard...so it would be good to get this first vet visit over. Be prepared for some tears..on your pat and maybe the vet staff..that's OK. And you will feel so much better helping your little girl. (( ))

What a bummer, Snook. Must have been horrible for you. But having followed your journey with Justice, I'd be pretty hopeful that one poor experience won't set him back too far - especially if you can get back to practising all the good stuff you've been doing together. The signs about "under effective control" that are aat dog parks and off-leash areas here don't seem to compute for people - they seem to think that dog park or dog beach = free for all.

:D

Congratulations! How very exciting for all concerned.

So very sorry for what you're going through MsDani - but trust yourselves that you are doing right by your lovely boy. As hard as it is for you, he will be out of pain, and at peace - and as many have said, that is a great gift that we can, and must, give our beloved animals. I doubt if there are any DOLers here who are not shedding tears for you, and for the pets for whom they have had to make the big decision. It sounds like your boy had a great life, and you will have wondrful memories of your happy times together.

Love it when they do this - even cuter when it's small ones. My two BCs play like this most days - keeping off the bed is a favourite game - and 'bitey face' :laugh:

And .... plenty of legitimate chew objects - so you've always got one within an arm's reach. (Your house will look like a bomb-disposal site for a while - but that's part of the joys of puppyhood. I've found the best technique is a gutteral sort of ugh-ugh - designed as an interrupt - followed pretty much straight away with you presenting him with a chew toy he's allowed to have - maybe have a little game with him for a minute with the toy, and then let him play with it. What you're trying to do is show him - you are not a chew toy - but here - I know you want to chew, so chew on this. Same thing applies to anything you don't want him to chew - interrupt the chewing you don't want, and show him what he can chew. Anytime he chooses a legitimate chew object first, tell him he's wonderful. Agree with lots of little bits of training, and probably some interactive toys as well.

:D Just caught up on this - sounds like you're going to get a great result with Bailey as his muscles build up again. What a gorgeous bright eyed man he is.

I guess I'd keep an eye on him - and probably not feed the chicken frames for a few days just to let his gut settle down again. Some dogs have a little trouble with bone pieces, and they can get constipated too. My dogs are kibble fed - but when they do have bones, my girl can be pooing almost concrete, poor thing - and she sometimes throws up bone fragments even a couple of days later.

Such a hard time. CFS - that is such a helpful post - think it deserves to be pinned. Thank you - to be honest, I don't know how you vets go through it time and again with clients - but thank you and all the other wonderful, empathetic vets and vet nurses out there. You make a horrible time that little bit less horrible.

Sounds like you handled the situation just fine megan. Well done!

Did the cheese cause the problems? 1kg per day is a huge amount, I would think the salt and fat content would be a bigger worry than the dairy though? Absolutely. I wouldn't go through 500gm in a forthnight. And as I've said, I've always got a mixture. 1kg in a dayis just insane - even once. Having said that, I do warn puppy class people that if their dog is lactose intolerant, they shouldn't use cheese. But for the amounts we're talking about, I haven't known dogs to have a problem.

Yet. The groups need to get busy :D

to xena and bedazzled - was wondering when you guys were going to get in here LOL. Such wonderful teams.

I try to use the 50% fat cheese - just to keep the overall fat levels down. Bega So Extra Light is really good in terms of cutting easily and not crumbling - and is 50% fat. I use a mixture of human stuff for treats - Inghams make a chicken sandwich loaf which a good deli will cut into thicker slices for you - about 1cm thic - then you can cut that up into smaller pieces. Again, it doesn't crumble. And mine might get Devon or Kabana - they never know which flavour they're getting. The salt content is a bit of a worry I guess. A super duper treat - which technically we can't use down here in tasmania - is lamb liver - I rinse it, soak it in milky water for a little while, then boil it in clean water for about an hour - then when it's cooler, slice it finely, and cut it into trats, and then bag it in zippy bags and freeze it. How much depends on how much training you do - remember treats don't have to be large - I might break the 1cm cube into 2 or more pieces - even for my adult BCs. The treats have to be quick, not big. You can jackpot with one or two small cubes broken into a couple of pieces each - treat, treat, treat, treat - like a machine gun - pup thinks he's getting more than he actually is. I use the snack size zippy snap plastic bags - and maybe go through one a day for each of my dogs - maybe more if I'm doing a lot. I keep my dogs on the lean side - because of what I want them to do. My 10.5 year old BC bitch (49cmn at shoulders but finely built) weighs 14.6/14.8 kg, and my 4 year old male weighs about 20.6/20.8 kg - a bit too lean maybe, especially for the sho ring - but hey, he's a performance dog first. I take my guys in to the vet's office to weigh them every few weeks, just to see how we're going. And go by whether I can feel ribs, and/or see a tuck in/tuck up. Less to worry about with a pup - but still good to keep them on the leanish side, especially from about 6 months up. But again, as Kavik says - just sort of take account of how much pup is getting in treats, and adjust the meals down a little if you need to.