Tassie

Tor said Now that is huge .. and great that you responded so generously ... more deposits in the attention bank account!! Sounds like you and he are really doing super well. Getting some really good stuff established before he becomes a teenager with cloth ears .. oh wait .. that's my adult BC on a bad day.

Ha! Nailed it Tor! Our dogs figured out the learning part thousands of years ago :laugh: They sure did. :laugh: Tor it sounds like you're making great progress ... and that you're seeing that the more we work with the dogs on learning new things, the better we get at teaching and the better they get at picking up things .. and the more fun and joy there is in the relationship. Just reading that post about the BCs and focus on handler .. don't forget, that although there are other characteristics that can make them harder to work with (like extreme noticing of anything different or moving in the environment :D ), their breeding for purpose over the years has even now kept in the breed in general a natural tendency to want to be with and work with the human. For boxers .... not so much! Although as you're seeing, they do realise that good things come to puppies who pay attention. I've just had a lovely young boxer in puppy class, who made huge stides over the weeks in terms of attention, and working. A gorgeous boy.

+1 :love:

Just beautiful!!! Lots of fun ahead.

You will probably find people have lots of different views about this. My take is ... provided that there is no current parvo outbreak in your areas (your vet will know), it's really good to get pups out and about .. in your arms or a carrier at first ... as soon as they've had a day or two to settle in at home. Obviously, as you've seen from some of the other posts, you want to try to make every experience a safe and happy one ,, and pay attention to the pup's reactions. I also take pups to the vet for a well puppy social visit. Mine still pop in as adults to get on the scales, when the waiting room is not busy. As littlies, they'll be showered with love and attention and will come to think of the vet office as a great place to go .. your vet will be happy about that :D . Oh and don't forget forum rules about photos ... there have to be lots of cute puppy photos :laugh:

:laugh: Agree ... the jumping presents a whole new set of challenges LOL. And when it first came in, I put my BC boy in the first Jumping trial here .. the heights had changed, and he only had to jump 500, and was jumping fit because he was doing UD. That was the first time he'd seen a flexi tunnel, which was a bit scary for me .. didn't know if he'd make the bend. Of course he did!.. We didn't Q, as I hadn't set him up properly for one jump, but he had the best time!

I guess the politics are definitely something to consider, but down here, Dogs Tas insurance will cover us if we go off site (for a demo or something) we just have to declare it an "active day", and pay the regular training day fee (I think it's$5 per day). So if the club concerned is OK with putting it under their cover, that would be the easiest way to go. (Is talking to the relevant Dogs Vic Committee (OTEC, Agiliy Committee etc) an option .. they may be able to swing Dogs Vic cover. The other thing would be to try to find an insurance broker and ask what the options are.

That's an awesome achievement for both of you staffyluv .. big congratulations .. both on getting into the ring, and on a super nice score. (It seems no time ago that I remember reading your posts on getting Zig settled into classes. Guess you can tick that box well and truly! )

And just as an aside, I don't know that having a young BC chase a motor vehicle is a great idea. It can become a dangerous habit if the dog is one of the many herding breed dogs that have a high propensity to chase/obsess. Have had to manage a car chasing BC all her life .. even at 14, she'll still get a glint in her eye and get ready to chase occasionally .. although I think now she's teasing me as much as anything. We're also trying to deal with a couple of obsessive/lost the brain chasing dogs at dog club .. the Kelpie .. it's vehicles, and the ?KelpiexBC it's flying birds. In both cases it's a real pain. Just something to think about.

we didn't have the seesaw but we did have tunnels under the dogwalk! There was more then one person who hit their head from not ducking kick enough. Large dogs had to jump 900mm if I recall correctly. You had to be clear and in the fastest top half to go onto the 2nd round and to get a qually you also had to go clear and be in the top half in time. Very few people handled their dogs on the right hand side :D Yes handling is very, very different nowadays Wow 900 is so high! Jump heights have come down a lot - highest is 600 now :) Just for the record, I'm pretty sure the original big dog top jump height was 760 mm ...but that was big when it was in the triple jump .. bar, solid, bar set at bounce distance .. so no stride in between, and the dreaded triple spread hurdle .. can't remember the distance across the spread, but it was the 760 bar at the back that was the deal breaker for my 545 Border Collie, who at that stage, was classified in the big dog category .. only 3 categories then. And yes, it was tough to get a Q, with having to get into the second round and then go clear. And yes .. the courses were all set for left hand handling. And started and finished on the table. And there was no separate Jumping competition .. that came in when my first BC was 11 ....so January 2001 I believe. Ed for clarity

Vebopet seem to sell by the roll as well as in pieces.Vebopet No idea how prices compare though. And Pet Network. Pet Network

All good advice ... perhaps most important .. gauge stress levels, and stay in the background if/when it seems appropriate. And depending on the breed .. best not to touch dogs unless owner/groomer says it's OK .. and try not to touch the whites/the combed up bits .... etc. etc. according to breed :laugh:

Just as a guide to quantity .. my 14.8-15 kg senior Border Collie, has 1/3 cup of Black Hawk kibble morning and night .. with some non-fat yoghurt. She gets some training treats .. but is not particularly active. Though thanks to Jumabaar among others, she does do a it of conditioning work. My pretty active 7 year old agility/obedience BC .. at 21.5 kg, has 2.3 cup of kibble morning and night. So at a guess, I'd say you could safely lower the amount of food a bit ..and filling up with mashed veggies ( not too much of the starchy/sweet ones though) and or fat free no added sugar yoghurt, should help.

Very sad .... must be hard to come to terms with. Hope you and she are able to enjoy some spoiling rotten time.

Tough part of the journey DDD .. but make the most of the sunshine. And he obviously enjoyed that leftover pumpkin soup .

Just a note ... my experience, and my holistic vet's advice is that appropriate supplements can be very beneficial given prophylactically .. that is, before a dog is symptomatic of arthritis or joint issues. Obviously in conjunction with other measures like lean body condition, regular varied physical and mental activity. Your Mr B sounds as though he's a bit of a softy .. that's lovely :) - but I think you have the right attitude.

Others might not agree, but my strategy is to treat older dogs as though they are still youngsters, unless and until they need to be treated differently. From Goldens I've known, your Bubby should still be good and active through to about 14. Maintaining good joint health and function, and good muscle mass, as well as a healthy lean weight, are really important. If Bubby is not on any joint supplements, you might want to investigate those. And activity, mental and physical, is super important. It's never too late to teach older dogs new tricks. :D If you have access to a really good canine conditioning and rehab person .. maybe holistic vet, canine physio, good canine chiro .. IMHO it's a good idea to schedule regular maintenance check ups, so that if any niggles develop (as they tend to do in older age ), you can address them early on, and limit the impact. I was so pleased yesterday when I took my BCs for a mechanical inspection and tune up, that my holistic vet was very happy with their condition. The 14.25 year old got a big tick .. although she has lost some muscle mass in the hind end. She still really loves to join in agility and rally training with the 7 year old, and although I limit the number of reps she does, and the heights she jumps, the sparkle and joy in her eyes is well worth it. Mine also have a range of conditioning exercises advised by a canine conditioning specialist. So the short version .. listen to your own instincts, and keep your Bubby as active and lean as you can .. with luck, he should have several good years left.

:D gotta love the oldies. My BC Kirra is 14 and 3 months .. thankfully going pretty well physically. Not so sure about mentally sometimes.. you get that vague look (the sort of look I'm sure I do sometimes )

The world of purebred dogs can be a bit confusing at first .. especially with the word 'registered' having a couple of meanings. And the time of registration of the litter can vary .. my youngest dog came to me from interstate at 10 weeks .. which was when the breeder sent the ANKC registration papers in. It was a case, where, as ness said, the breeder was taking time to decide whether she was going to keep 'my' lad or his brother .. so those papers would have been dated more than 10 weeks post birth, but for a good reason. So glad you were able to get it cleared up here ... although DOL can get a bit snippy at times, it is a really valuable resource ... as is your breeder :D: . And big congratulations on your 'little' Saint .. lots of fun ahead .. and hopefully photos for us to drool over .. and I did use the word drool deliberately

I listened to that .. how interesting was he. It reminded me of a lovely DVD I've got somewhere called something like "A year in the life of a shepherd. That was down on the Devon coast, but same sort of shepherding.

sad to hear you had to say goodbye to your old girl rubiton, but what a great innings. A tribute to your great care of her.

That's a happy dog pic :) +1. Apart from the clipper rash (poor Amber), that's a good progress report, Jules. And isn't it funny how as fellow dog people, we understand the celebration over a poo (applies to cats like my Clyde the Swallower too.)

Pretty sure you're right about the higher pitch being more audible .. Sometimes clapping hands can help too. Strangely enough my old girl can sometimes hear me if I call "Deaf Dog" .. probably slightly more volume, and hard consonants. :laugh: .

That sounds a really good update, Jules. Poor Poppy .. but what a good girlie. :D

My 14.3 year old BC was on Joint Guard, but I switched her across to Rose Hip Vital Canine 2 or 3 years ago, and she's doing well. I use that and the Paw Osteocare chew prophylactically for my 7.5 year old boy .. but didn't use the Osteocare for Kirra when I saw a caution about kidney problems .. she probably has early stage kidney disease. At one stage when she was a little sore, our Holistic vet made her up an arthritis pain relief powder which would not compromise kidneys. If you have a good holistic vet close by, it would be worth a consult, because all her complications could be taken into account. Mine also does acupuncture and uses the massage mat and PEMF, which can be beneficial too.