Starkehre

If you were using one in a line up behind me, I'd probably not be too thrilled. I really don't need my dog trying to turn around while he's being judged. For individual judging? Fill your boots. I hear ya HW. In a Puppy In Show line up, I actually had a handler directly behind us (and I mean very close) throw his bunch of keys for his Puppy's attention and they hit my Puppy on the hocks. I was hardly surprised when my girl broke her lovely stack to turn to see what had hit her. Pity, the judge was giving my bitch a damn good look prior, (one of those times where everyone tells you afterwards as well as that knowing feeling you get in the ring). Don't think she saw what happened and I am too soft to do much else than give a bit of a glare. I guess in this situation I would have preferred a squeaker, LOL.

Jules, my Dyzney is having nothing short of incredible results on Rose-Hip Vital Canine. If you suspect arthritis, I would suggest giving that a try. I am on the human version also and have no more hip pain. I have had Dyz on Joint guard and Sashas blend for ages, and to be honest never really sore any obvious difference, just kept it up cause I thought I was doing the right thing. Since starting her on RHVC I have ditched both of those and just keep up the cartrophen shots 3 monthly. She is better now than she has been for nearly 12 months.

I never take my dogs to a vet for lameness, unless I suspect a possible bone injury. I use massage/myo/bowen/chiro/physio for all suspected soft tissue injuries and soreness.

Reverse sneezing can be caused by a lot of things including structural deformities and stress. The OP was asking if the skin issue could be related to the reverse sneezing. Yes, it could be, but only if the relation to both was allergy based.

Thanks guys, much appreciated. Anyone else any experience, opinions, thoughts advice please... :)

Our dogs are always nude at home. Absolutely no collars, too dangerous. If for any reason I had to leave a collar on a dog unsupervised, it would never be a correction chain. Our dogs are trained so we do not have to grab them. They come, leave, drop or whatever when asked... even in a pack of 4.

For me personally, the "value" (if you like) in the purchase of a puppy/dog comes into play with such things as health and temperament (if you are a pet puppy home). Not so much about the initial costs. You may find a breeder that is happy to "mark down" a puppy or offer extras off here or there, but if that puppy becomes ill later on with a serious issue that may have been avoided purchasing elsewhere, then there goes all that small saving and some. If it was me I would be researching everything you can regarding possible health issues in the breed/lines, longevity and ask as many questions as possible to find out the very best way to raise the puppy regarding diet/nutrition, exercise, training etc to ensure you get the best "value" out of your dog in the long run. Those initial outlays such as transport, vaccs etc are such a small component of the overall costs. I totally understand that you are the type of person that feels value is a very important part of every purchase you make. And normally that would be fine. Puppies are different. IAs a puppy buyer I look for he perfect fit of puppy, breeder, breed etc and then just pay whatever it costs out of respect and appreciation. At least that is how I look at it. And remember, for those extra couple of weeks the breeder was happy to hold onto the puppy for you initially, she could well have charged you for housing - food/boarding, but she didn't... not saying that all breeders would do this, but holding onto the puppy was offering a huge favour to you. I hope you can sort it all out. :) I think things would go more smoothly if you try to shift your focus away from money a bit (a lot) especially seeing as it is not an issue for you to raise the funds and focus more on everything else. Good luck.

Hi all. We are looking into purchasing a/some shu roo or similar products for our car for those long country trips. We have had too many near misses for comfort We are interested in hearing from anyone that has used these. We would like to know your thoughts on... How effective they are Which you think is best (the cheap pairs or the electronic one). Is the electronic one worth the additional cost? Are you aware of dogs being effected by the sound? Appreciate your input :)

Reverse sneezing can be caused by allergies. Demodectic mange (if this is what this dog has) is not an allergy based. It is an immune issue so no related. If the dog's skin issues were from allergies and not demodex, I would hazard a guess that the reverse sneezing was also caused by allergies, so related in that way.

CM, if you can possibly avoid it, please do. An already compromised dog is less likely to have a uneventful trip than a healthy one and too many healthy dogs die on this boat.

You're not serious??!! In wet cramped kennels for 12 hours (more including loading and unloading) and where humans won't go because of fumes??? Nuts. Very serious. and there is so much more, but I would be in trouble if I kept going

But it's ok for the animals ?? There is always carbon-monoxide on the decks from the cars being parked and then leaving. Levels vary depending on deck level, weather conditions etc. The levels would be dangerous for humans and animals if they stayed there for any length of time. For the short periods of time whilst parking and leaving, though definitely not good, are relatively short periods. During the crossing the fumes possibly disburse completely as some decks, I don't know. But as soon as the cars are started up again, the fumes just start to gather again. Deck 5 has the best disbursement, therefore the animals can survive usually unharmed within their own cars/floats/trailers/trucks etc. The crates provided are situated out at the deck edge, so as to get optimum ventilation. Unfortunately on a rough crossing, waves can crash over the deck and wet the dogs, so it can be a cold, wet trip. When passengers are leaving, they are calling each deck one by one to go to their cars. Often there is a slow/late passenger that holds everyone up on a deck. During these times people have their cars running for very long periods and it can get very uncomfortable while waiting.

Sadly, dogs have actually died from carbon-monoxide poisoning traveling this way on the Spirit. Yes. Horrible, I wouldn't take my dogs over on it. I'd prefer to fly them if they had to go. Yes, a dear friend of mine lost two dogs in the one pass and the third is permanently compromised owing to carbon monoxide poisoning. She had done this trip many time before, always having the dogs in the car or float, on deck 5. This time the official insisted she travel on deck 4. She was sure she shouldn't and stood her ground arguing the point. The official became so insistent and aggressive, convincing her deck 4 was absolutely fine, that she did as she was told in the end, telling herself that they must know what they are talking about. One died as the ship was leaving and the other shortly before they got to the car after docking on arrival. Heart breaking. After much research, evidence has been found that many animals - cats, dogs, horses etc have died during the passes. Hundreds of animals also cross safely with no issues. Still, not odds I would back. Any loss is too many. The kennels are another story altogether - wet, cold and if you have big dogs and arrive at the wrong time, you have to lift them high to get them into the crates above as everyone hogs the low ones. Scary stuff. I will never take my dogs on the Spirit. The thought terrifies me. After thought... if I have written anything above that may be inappropriate, slanderous, get Troy or myself into trouble, please advise and I will happily remove it. Oh dyzney was that your friend with the Rotties who were off to a show? Heart-breaking and so avoidable. I didn't know those details about transporting animals on this ship. No way would I ever do it now. Yes, she was going to a herding trial. Needed one more Started pass on her older girl that had recently had a leg amputated, as she just missed out at Melbourne's last trial for the year. So thought she would zip over there (as she has business in Tasi and it was like her 2nd home) and try for that pass as her girl wasn't getting any younger. She took a heavily pregnant girlfriend along for the fun girl's trip. She will never get really over it. Such a shock. She called me early that morning, just as they were driving off the boat... dogs still in the car, wretched smell. We were both just hysterical on the phone. Just complete shock.

You cannot check on your dogs at all and the attendants will not do it either. There is a good reason passengers are not allowed onto the decks once they have left their cars... the fumes.

Sadly, dogs have actually died from carbon-monoxide poisoning traveling this way on the Spirit. Yes. Horrible, I wouldn't take my dogs over on it. I'd prefer to fly them if they had to go. Yes, a dear friend of mine lost two dogs in the one pass and the third is permanently compromised owing to carbon monoxide poisoning. She had done this trip many time before, always having the dogs in the car or float, on deck 5. This time the official insisted she travel on deck 4. She was sure she shouldn't and stood her ground arguing the point. The official became so insistent and aggressive, convincing her deck 4 was absolutely fine, that she did as she was told in the end, telling herself that they must know what they are talking about. One died as the ship was leaving and the other shortly before they got to the car after docking on arrival. Heart breaking. After much research, evidence has been found that many animals - cats, dogs, horses etc have died during the passes. Hundreds of animals also cross safely with no issues. Still, not odds I would back. Any loss is too many. The kennels are another story altogether - wet, cold and if you have big dogs and arrive at the wrong time, you have to lift them high to get them into the crates above as everyone hogs the low ones. Scary stuff. I will never take my dogs on the Spirit. The thought terrifies me. After thought... if I have written anything above that may be inappropriate, slanderous, get Troy or myself into trouble, please advise and I will happily remove it.

Both breeds are absolutely suited to Agility. They may or may not always be as fast as BC or Kelpies, but their strength, agility, stamina and work ethic lends them very well to agility. This is why they have been used in the military for so many years and now police work/schutzhund etc. I have been competing in agility with Rottweilers for around 14 years, successfully. When my dogs gain passes they place more often than not. GSDs that I have seen tend to be a little slower than Rottis, but also manage very well. I am not necessarily suggesting that a Rottweiler is best suited to you as I don't know, but just popping in to explain about agility :)

Losing such a close friend as Emma must be so hard. I am thinking of you guys and sending you loving thoughts. Emma will always be in your heart. She was a fantastic girl and loved very much. Run free beautiful Emma

Sounds to me like he is feeling nausea owing to the metacam being given on an empty or almost empty tummy. Vicious circle. When they feel nauseated, they won't eat, then back where we started. Glad he seems to be doing better. If he stops eating again, quit the metacam until he is feeling strong and energized from a few good days of food. It is way more important that he eats and rehydrates. Best wishes with your sweet boy :)

Wow, love her work ethic. awesome.

My understanding of the difference between identical and unidentical was always that identical is one fertilized egg split and unidentical is two eggs/two sperm, but in the one sac. I have not done any recent research though. The pups I have known of coming out of the one sack and have been different gender, I have no idea if they were one or two eggs.

Not uncommon, same sac twins, opposite sex. Congrats on your litter.

Sounds pretty normal to me. That's not to say there isn't anything wrong with Gus, I couldn't say, but my dogs would all eat themselves to death if they were given half a chance, I'm sure. And I love them that way. I train to them extremely high food drive as it assist with training. I would never expect them to have a "I am full so I will stop eating" switch, like cats and humans do (or are supposed to). His leaness could either be just an age thing, genetics or perhaps you are expecting there to be more of him than there should be, can't say without seeing him. Perhaps he isn't being fed enough. There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to quantities. I always look at the dog when feeding an adjust accordingly, not the recommendations on the pack. It certainly wouldn't hurt to get it looked at, but just judging from what you have said about the eating, alone it is not an issue as such.

Same :)

So sorry Pers.

I have had 2 bitches with IMT which is so close to AIHA it is ridiculous. They are both deadly idiopathic immune mediated dieseases. As you can imagine I have studied a lot and learnt a lot about immune mediated disease and according to all the specialist I dealt with (and these are the best in their field) they all believe there is a genetic predisposition in dogs that get it. We believe one of mine contracted it from Stibestrol and the other from Rimodyl. Of course we have no proof of this, but everything points to it. One of my bitches died, the other (much to the almost disbelief of the specialists) lived and is still with us, thankfully. We desexed her after this, even though she was intended to be our foundation bitch. At one stage I considered using one of her sons (born prior to her illness as her breeder's litter) over a completely unrelated bitch, but decided the risk was just not worth it. He has still never had a sick day in his life. Personally, I would not do it. I could not live with myself if a puppy person rang to tell me that their dog had contracted IAHA or IMT. I wouldn't lie, but telling someone you bred knowing these diseases are existing in the line would make me feel like the worst person... but that's just me and I don't judge others. For me there are enough unknown issues that can and do occur in breeding that I would not tempt fate with what I know is already there. I wish you all the best with your dilemma :)