Tassie

Worrying time for you T .. but you've started on the journey now, and so far, it sounds doable. The restrictions doun't sound quite as tight as you were fearing. You'll manage this just fine … especially with the hive power of DOL behind you.

My younger dog seems to be doing well on Big Dog BARF patties .. convenient as they're frozen in smaller packages (small freezer here). They do make a Sensitive Skin one. My older dog seems to so well on BlackHawk Grain Free .. but it really is a what suits the dog, and your own feeding preferences thing. Oh and both dogs have some yoghurt (usually fat free Jalna) with each meal.

Never easy even when you know the inevitable … but what a lovely vet you have, and what a good girl Trouble is. Lovely that you can just spoil her (even mre) rotten now. Wishing her a smooth journey .

You sound like you'd probably be a good fit for a Border Collie, provided that you have, and will have, plenty of time in your day for small. varied training sessions. And provided that if you start with a puppy, you can put the jogging with the BC on hold until the growth plates have closed - probably around 14 months. There are lots of fun relationship building activities and games you can play in the meantime. BCs are very willing learners but respond very much better to reward based/reinforcement based learning than to correction based. Which does not mean permissive … they are happy enough with rules when taught appropriately. It's really important to make sure you get a puppy from an ethical, breeder who is knowledgeable about the breed, and has sire and dam tested for a range of genetic diseases, as well as hip, elbow and eye tests. And yes .. they are generally very affectionate and people oriented. They can develop really close dog friendships, but many are not by nature party animals or suited to dog parks. They are for the most part very suited to and enthusiastic about most dog sports. I have trained and titled BCs in agility,obedience, Rally O, Tracking, Dances with Dogs and with the help of friends, conformation.

That would have been scary, Margie Rose. Did your dog recover fairly soon afterwards, and is she apparently normal now? Did her tongue appear purple or depply coloured. Was she stopping being able to respond to cue or directions before the episode? Was she under any sort of stress (good or bad)? If it was a BCC episode, you should know that the first aid for that is stopping activity as soon as you start to notice symptoms, and cooling the dog off with luke warm or cool (not ice cold) water for several minutes. Something like a paddling pool or stock trough is ideal, but wet towels under the belly are good too. The go to source of information is the University of Minnesota. Be aware that many vets are not familiar with BCC syndrome, and that it is hard to diagnose after the event. If it happens again, and you get the chance for someone to video it while you are helping the dog, that can be helpful. U. Minn are collecting samples from dogs which have experienced several BCC episodes.

How exciting to be getting ready for a first puppy .. and a Golden at that. Your puppy will be fine for a couple of hours or so in her crate inside .. and a playpen is useful for the first few weeks (and/or baby gates depending on your house design. Just make sure she has had some playtime, training time with you, and then taken outside on a light leash to toilet (I like to do this so mine are comfortable toileting on leash when we're travelling, and also so that I can know what they achieved by way of toileting.) Then into the crate with a biscuit maybe, and pup will almost certainly sleep. If you can, check with your breeder if it is possible to have a bit of crate training, or at least exposure, done with the pup before pup leaves home. You could give/send the breeder a light cot blanket or towel to have in with the litter, and then that can come home with puppy .. not essential, but can be good.) And remember, photos are obligatory as soon as possible!

Oh well done! That would have been really hard … but knowing how much and how deeply you thought about this, I'd think you can be pretty sure it's a great home, … and it's on trial, right? And often, even making a hard decision is not as bad as agonising over a decision. Kudos to you for putting Hugo's interests first ..

Phantom pregnancy maybe? In any case, for the next few weeks I would not be putting her in any situations where she feels the need to practise the behaviour, for whatever reason she is doing it. If she is able to practise it, it could become a habit .. not one you want..

Disclaimer ..no personal experience with the product, and don't live in a high tick area .. though have visited them. Check out Fido's Flea and Tick rinse … says it's safe for puppies, kittens, caged birds etc .. but only prevents attachment for 3 days. When I first was visiting a high tick area, I sought advice from online vet product suppliers in SE Queensland .. I think probably VetnPet Direct, and they were very helpful. Worth a try, asking their advice, anyway.

Fingers and paws firmly crossed for you and Hugo..

My memory of reading the book, and what I see, is that it's not in the Cesar Milan category, but it's a lot about "making the dogs respect you as the leader? ,,, she lost me at the "gesture eating" … human should eat before the dogs. It's a bit siry fairy and I would say dog training has moved on. I don't remember about it being about building confidence and joy through the training. As a friend of mine would say, it didn't ;sing; to me .. but I don't remember it as cruel. Chances are you can find a better home fro Hugo if he's a sensitive soul.

It helps if the breeder can do some practice crating beforehand .. but my Border Collies coped fine as 10 week olds .. my older dog flew as a puppy from Perth WA to Hobart ..including a 2 hour stopover and change of plane in Melbourne. Arrived happy as a clam, has always been happy in a crate. .. still chooses to sleep in an airline crate beside my bed .. no door on it for the last 5 years, and door was always open for a couple of years before that. He almost3 10 now. My younger BC girl left her home in the early morning for a 3 hour car trip to the airport in Adelaide, change of plane and delay in Melbourne .. arrived at 10.20 pm in Hobart, 30 minute car trip home .. quick bit of on leash toileting and a bit of play and some food at home, then slept happily in an airline crate beside my bed all night .. with one toilet outing during the night. She still runs happily to that crate for bedtime, but is also happy in a selection of other crates. They both travelled through Jetpets, on Virgin. SO it can be done with no problems at all. (Not sure of the breed, but be aware that airlines have restrictions on carrying some breeds. Someone like Jetpets would be able to help with those sort of questions.)

Have a look on the Dogzonline Breeders pages. There is a breeder in Tasmania who has an active interest in herding with Samoyeds, and whose dogs are also shown. I have no idea what puppy plans she may have, but she may be a useful starting point.

If you have access to a holistic vet, they may be able to suggest/mix up an arthritis pain relief med that is kind to the stomach. My Kirra had early staghe kidney disease, and our holistic vet made up a herbal arthritis pain relief powder which was kidney sparing, which she was on for a few years. (One of his vet techs also took it for her rheumatoid arthritis LOL).

Sorry @JulesP. I missed that the first time through..

Maybe worth trying the breed clubs?

No magic solutions unfortunately. I guess if she were mine, the first thin I would do is to get a vet check to make sure it is a purely behavioural issue and not a medical one. Assuming that's the case, then my suggestion would be to go back to treating her as if she was a baby puppy, and starting again. So I would be getting an X-pen for her inside the house, and restricting her access to other areas of the house unless you are right there. And go back to taking her out to toilet .. no need for multiple exits open at this stage, since that seems only to be confusing her at the moment. So take her out as you did when she was little .. when she wakes up, after a meal etc. and make sure you start using a word or words to go with the toileting. Also make sure that you let her know how pleased you are that she has done what you wanted. You may have to do this for a few weeks, but it should be easier than when she was first trained. I'd also be sure that she has emptied out when you are taking her for a walk. If she does … loads of praise … if not, leave her outside or in a crate or X Pen .. don't just let her have free range through the house if you can't supervise. Just a thing to consider … and there's no way of knowing … consider the possibility that she may at one point have been about to toilet outside hen she was out by herself, when something frightened her If that happened in a fear period, that would be enough to undo the toilet training. Anyway -- whatever the reason, just train the dog in front of you .. who apparently has gone back to being a puppy who doesn't know what you want. Make the right thing easy for her by taking her out, staying with her and loading on the praise … and by making sure she doesn't have opportunities to make mistakes and repeat behaviour you don't want. Hope that makes sense … and don't think she is being a bad girl. Some just take a while to get it, and be thoroughly reliable.

So, @persephone I'm not the only one with fingers and paws firmly crossed that the Universe ( and maybe Judy and Kev's dear Rosie) may have got things organised.?

Oh good girl, Bindi .. and top nursing job, sheena. Hope the vet is suitably impressed.

A tough decision. Hopefully among those replies is the perfect home for Hugo.

How's Bindi doing, sheena? Hopefully things are settling down for her.

That sounds so encouraging, sheena. Would stick with the soft, bland stuff for now, while the gastric lining settles down. Interesting tip from the vet.

Sorry to read this, sheena. They can be such a worry, can't they. At least you're on to it now. As far as food goes, check with the vet if steamed chicken breast would be OK .. it's very bland and not too fatty, but does seem to be appealing to dogs. Sometimes, too, dogs that are not interested in normal food will be interested in wet cat food .. again check with the vet that this is OK .. in fact, they may carry a cat version of a Hills or Royal Canin intestinal diet range. Is she drinking OK? Just something else to watch. Couple of other things that I would be thinking about doing, or at least investigating .. if there's a specialist veterinary ultrasonographer anywhere nearby .. that might be worth doing to double check what's going on. And I'm lucky to have access to a good holistic vet as well as my lovely 'normal' one. My old Kirra was on a herbal pain relief powder for some years .. .. that was mainly because it was kidney sparing, but they can often mix up specific concoctions. Sending best get well wishesfor Bindi from sunny warm Tassie .. me and the weather.

Love the way you're thinking. It sounds as though a Goldie pup would be a good fit. and really, it would be a matter of observing and managing to be sure Jasper is not being overwhelmed. With puppy pen, and crates, it should be very doable, I'd think. Your hope would be that the pup would be playing with Chloe .. so maybe a male pup would be good. I got 2 pups .. 7 weeks apart (not intending that they would be so close) when my first dog was 14, and ageing gracefully. She really enjoyed her last years, lying around watching the youngsters, and occasionally joining in. In your situation, I'd go ahead with the plan.

How old is the dog? I'm another one who is a great believer of having pups on leash when you're working on any sort of toilet training. Many people have trouble because they have never toileted the pup on leash when it's young, and you hear 'oh my dog has to be off leash before he'll wee/poo whatever.". I travel and compete in dog sports with mine, and so it's essential that they can toilet on leash .. even though their preference may be to be off. So in the case of your dog, I'd be quite strict about having him on leash any time he's going to toilet. Particularly on leash when he goes outside first thing in the morning .. just follow him round with the leash and let him choose the spot/s in your yard at first .. as Perse suggested. Another advantage of doing this is that you can see what the dog's preferences are for toileting .. e.g. grass, mulch, big patches of grass. My older Border Collie really prefers to do his poos on a taller clump of grass, small bush, etc. .. so that helps me when I need him to poo .. just find some appropriate vegetation and then limit his area with the leash. (He also has to circle 2 or 3 times to make sure his chosen spot is actually suitable … whatever ). Then as Perse suggests you can start moving him .. again first thing in the morning is probably good .. to somewhere different, but not too far away. It's going to be time consuming at first, but it will pay off in the end.