Tassie

Such a wonderful update. That will ease your mind a lot over Christmas LMO. Best wishes for continued progress.

Oh that is such a great update! Well done to you and the cute lad. And well done for concentrating on focus and engagement .. that will serve you well down the track too. And what .. no kangarooing in the ring.?

Disclaimer ... I was lucky enough to have other people showing my two Border Collies for me ... but some really good suggestions from @Dogsfevr - I use those sorts of things for training in other disciplines. In terms of actual food .. my go to show food treats - human grade liver (i.e. from butcher or supermarket .. rinsed in mild and cold water, boiled in stock pot .. from cold .. for about an hour or so. Sliced when it's cool enough .. sort of hand size or a bit smaller .. can then be broken up into smaller pieces for use in the ring. Pat dry with paper towel, pack into snack bags, and freeze. Then on show morning, just grab as many packs as you need. My handlers just take a few slices from the pack and break it up as they need it. The dogs only get this at shows, so as soon as they see it, they know what the go is. The extreme cooking etc. is me being super cautious. We're not technically allowed to feed offal to our dogs in Tasmania, because of the risk of hydatids tapeworm .. (the dog is the intermediate host).

Isn't is great when we have vets who don't think we're crazy ..or if they do, they don't let on . I booked a neurotic mother consult with my vet of 18 years, to have a chat with him instead of just booking my 3 year old Border Collie's desex. I needed reassurance that desexing her primarily for reasons of performance sport entries, (and because I worry that I'd miss a closed pyo ... and I'm not going to breed with her) wasn't going to do her unnecessary harm. Bless him, he took it all seriously, ,, discussed the pros and cons, promised that it would be him doing the surgery, and reassured me that in his opinion I wouldn't miss catching a pyo - I guess an advantage of being a neurotic owner I'm getting him to run a full blood panel too while we;re at it. I think it's always handy to have a baseline for future reference. Oh and when I went to pay .. no charge. @Loving my Oldies that sounds like a lovely morning in the garden for you and your helpers.

Fingers crossed for good results from the pathologist.. So good to hear she's feeling better. I think I am grateful for my vet, who is very patient with me. My BC boy Rory tured 12 in September, and at his annual visit pre COVID, I talked with the vet about having a full blood panel done at some stage (he hadn't had one since he was desexed 3 years ago.).. H agreed that would be a good idea .. but said to wait another 6 months or so .. turned out to be a bit longer because of COVID. He also did a urinalysis ... results of all that generally satisfactory .. but nice to have that for reference. ( also love that he took the blood without any clipping .. doesn't really matter because Rory isn't showing any more, but my vet prefers to do that if he can so the dog has less discomfort from possible clipper rash..

No particular knowledge ... but they;re not showing up in a normal sort of search. One source had some information which might help to explain why they're not here. https://justusdogs.com.au/boykin-spaniel/ More than one third of all Boykin puppies are born with hip dysplasia. This can be diagnosed at age 2. These dogs should not be bred. This breed’s other problems include patella luxation, eye problems, and cardiac/pulmonary defects along with allergies and general orthopedic anomalies. A study in 2010 found that more than half of this breed tested had the genetic disorder called Exercise Induced Collapse or EIC. This is the highest incidence of any breed tested. The University of Minnesota is conducting more testing on these dogs. Breeders should provide health certificates on the puppy you are purchasing, and also on the parents.

Yikes .... Chase ..... don't do that to the momma. But good boy for being good at the vets, and for being on the road to recovery. Now enough scared already, yes????

Condolences on the loss of your Lola. If you are still able to contact Lola's breeder, I think that would be a starting point for me. (I always let the breeder of any of my dogs know when they die .. it's a courtesy because they did all the hard work of breeding the pup, and they trusted me with the pup in the first place.) Even if Lola's breeder is no longer breeding, you may be able to get some information as to other breeders with good dogs who might be willing to let you have a pup. Other than that, I agree with the suggestion about getting to some shows if you can, and at appropriate times, getting to know the breeders who are showing. Both my current dogs are on Main Register,, though I bought them initially on the Limited Register as I'm primarily a performance person rather than a show person. My boy was upgraded to Main before I actually got him, when the breeder (who had been thinking about keeping him) knew I had show people who would show him for me. My girl was upgraded by her breeder at my request, as my show mentors here thought she was worth showing. I have to say that it helped that I was reasonably well known among some breeders because of my performance sport history. I don't know if you have considered showing any puppy you night get, but it's something I would recommend. It shows a degree of commitment to the breed, and would help you to know whether as a pup develops, it is a good healthy representative of the breed, and worthy of being bred from.

Hi @Patty81 I can't really be very helpful, but I just did a quick check on the national Schutzhund Clubs page, and there are only 2 clubs in Victoria lsted there. ONe is the one you know about, and the other is called Eagle Heights Dogsports Club in Endeavour Hills. I don't know if there are any members here who do Schutzhund training. Most of us do obedience and Tracking through ANKC , and in some states the two are incompatible. Probably the best thing is to have a look at the two clubs Facebook pages, and then maybe ask if you can go (without dog probably) and have a chat with them about what they're offering. They'll probably just be getting themselves organised to resume after lockdown, so it might be good to give them a couple of weeks.

Oh it's a shame you got a grumpy rough judge and a not helpful steward .. but so glad the other competitors in your breed were helpful. And what a shame about the weather. And reading your description, it's a tribute to Chase's temperament and your training and handling, that Chase didn't seem to mind too much .. that's a relief, because rough handling by the judge can really have a big impact on some pups. I'd be so cross,... there's no excuse for it with baby puppies. Luckily most of the judges I've seen have been really nice with the youngsters, handling gently. So glad it hasn't put you or Chase off showing. We'll look forward to the next episode ...

This!!!!! There's almost no limit to the ways baby puppies can act up .. including, behaving absolutely perfectly!! But it's all about the impression he gets about showing .. you want him to be happy and confident, so you have to pretend to be confident. Hope you have a really lovely steward and judge who will help to put you and Chase at ease. Just check if babies of non table breeds are being examined on the table. I think that's what's happening here under COVID protocols.

Thanks so much for posting this, @Powerlegs. It was referenced by Dr Christine Zink in a webinar I was watching last week on the Avidog site - my dogs are enrolled in their Fit For Life canine fitness program, and there are some really helpful webinars as well. It's so refreshing to have some work which covers the various pros and cons acroass a range of breeds.

Teehee -- you reminded me that my Pippa as a youngster did chew bits off a lickimat/ Her Toppls have survived with no damage --- so far

From what I know, and for my breed, the unevenness of the dam's scores would be a bit of a worry, rather than the total score . (and how worrying the total score is, depends to some extent on the breed average. It would be good to know a few more familial scores .. good sign that the breeder has shared those two .. although again the 2:5 is a bit uneven. Can you get a bit of an opinion from your own vet? My 12 year old boy (2:2 hips} had a dam who was 6:7 .. sire was low. But his breeder places a lot of emphasis on familial scores - siblings and other offspring. And my bopy was xrayed at age 8 .... not for scoring, but by the same vet who took his scoring radiographs - hips were still good with no significant arthritivc change, and nmy boyis still running in Mastera agility at age 12. TO some extent it's going to depend on what you want for your puppy, but all other things being equal, it should probably be OK. Maybe just be cautiouys about keeping the puppy lean, not overexercising etc.etc

Or a White Swiss Shepherd?

Thanks for the update, and the pics. Scout and Chase are both absolutely lovely. And good luck with keeping him a little bit calm. Don;t know if you have any, but my favourite go to for stiffed frozen, are WestPaws Toppls. They wash and freeze really well, and the smaller size fits on top of and just inside the larger size .. and they have sort of vanes that you can tuck small bits into. My BCs find them much more attractive and easy to get at than the Kongs. https://k9pro.com.au/toppl-by-west-paw/

Yay!! Thanks so much for the update. I'm sure I'm not the only one who was keeping an eye out. Good for you for following your instincts and taking him in today. That will have eased your mind, and good for getting the video. The Pain relief should definitely help him feel better. And it never hurts to have a blood panel run .. it gives you a good baseline. (I was reminded by your experience, of the day I came home from work to find my then Border Collie boy 'not himself' .. I couldn't locate a particular problem, but decidef to take him in to my vet anyway. I had to chuckle when I saw the way the receptionist had entered the reason for consult .. "depressed dog". Actually while I was waiting in the waiting room, he bumped his head against mhy knee and gave a little yelp .. so that helped to isolate the problem to a strain in the nexk region .. NSAID fixed him with no problems. ) Hope little Chase gets back to his normal self .. and stops causing you worries. Oh and then you'll have time to take photos .. hint, hint.

My Border Collies love doing a variety of sports .. my boy was the first Rally Champion in Tasmania, and even my previous girl, who loved agility but didn't 'believe' in obedience, was prepared to play Rally with me, and my current slightly cray cray girl loves to play agility and Rally. They usually love tracking too. One of the things I really love about them is that if they have been trained to do it, they are perfectly happy to just lie around while they wait for some more action. Crate training from baby puppyhood is one of the easy ways to train this, and as @sheenahas said .. using baby gates or x pens for those times when you can[t directly supervise will help set good patterns. The over the top crazy BCs are usually ones that havent had their brain needs met .. they're well cared for, often, and exercised ..but mostly over-exercised so that their arousal levels are amped up too high and they haven't learnt to be calm.

I'm a Border Collie owner .. started with a BCxKelpie and then pure bred BCs for the last 30 years. So I'm partial to the breed but also protective in relation to it. I would have the same sort of questions as @Dogsfevr - but probably I would say that Border Collies are happiest when they're with their families. they are good dogs to have just hanging around the house waiting for the humans to be ready to do something interesting .. notice the word 'interesting' .. so mot specifically very active. Border Collies thrive on learning 'stuff' .. which is one reason why you see so many in dog performance sports. But they can also become bored fairly easily if left to their own devices. And a fit bored Border COllie is not an easy dog to own. As far as floors go ... even with well trimmed nails, slick flooring is potentially dangerous for any dog - particularly puppies. So easy for the dogs' feet to slide out in random directions if they hurry and than can cause traumativc or chronic injuries. Jogging over any more than a short diistance should ideally happen only after the pup's main growth plates have closed .. say about 14-15 months .. distances increased gradually, and ideally on non concussive surfaces. As far as breeders are concerned - yes .. you're best off looking for ANKC registered breeders .. and even then choosing ones who do full health profiles on their breeding stock .. hip and elbow xrays, mature eye exams, and full DNA profiles on the parents. Unfortunately there is an increasing number of problems arising, especially in dogs bred with an emphasis on 'pretty or rare' colours. The bad news is that many of the really good BC breeders have been swamped with enquiries for puppies (think 50 emails a day - even when they don't have any puppies available, and say so on their websites.) In Brisbane, you would definitely need to be considering storm phobia. It would be something to ask a breeder about .. they may know if there have been many sotrm phobic dogs in their lines.

So glad you;ve got her home where she belongs. Do hope that will help your recovery. And the Universe does do some weird things.

Yes they are similar Yes they are similar .. and do have covers for windows .. I think maybe they don't have a window at the back, and they're not quite as solid as the K9Royale. but the next best thing I think. I have one .. pretty sure from this supplier. Just had a look at K9Pro .. only seems to be one, and no covers on the mesh .. I have one of hthose too. I may be slightly addicted .

@sheena These ones are not as good as K9Royale .. but not too bad. I''ve bought things from these people before and they've been good.. https://www.pethomes.com.au/Dog-Products/Dog-Soft-Kennel/Dog-Soft-Kennel-BLUE.html

So very sorry you;ve had to farewell your dear little girlie. Sixteen years of love and care . All dogs should be so loved. Take care of yourself now.

Fingers firmly crossed for you .. and kudos to your breeder. What a tough situation for her too.

So glad all is well. I definitely think the dried liver treats were the culprit. For training purposes you are much better off using small soft treats which you can break into small pieces, so a 1 cm cube can actually make 4 rewards. Pup thinks it's a jackpot .. which it is , because the act of rewarding and our excitement are part of the whol reward picture. I was just thinking .. the only place my BCs get dried liver treats is at the vet office .. and that's just one each, so no problems. Now dear little Chase ... please no more scaring the momma.