aussielover

Can you change their registered name then?

When you enter a dog trial or show, do you have to use the dog's full registered name? I've noticed on catalogues for agility trials that some dogs that appear to be on the full register (ie not associate) only have their normal name listed (unless that is also their registered name?) I understand that breeders probably want to have their dog's achievements recognised but personally I'd rather just enter my dog with her normal name, not her registered name which sounds ridiculous. Is it possible?

I quite like Advantix + Interceptor as a combination if you're after good all-round coverage. Advantix needs be be applied fortnightly for tick protection. I like to protect my dog from things that can actually kill her- such as ticks and heartworm, so I use Advantix + heartguard. Intestinal worms are not usually deadly to healthy adult dogs so I would only use an intestinal wormer on a as needed basis. I am not in a rural area and my dog doesn't eat wildlife carcasses or similar, only eats human grade meat products, so the risk of hydatids is relatively low.

I dont think we can stop PR's Julie, though I do believe that council need to made aware of the issues. There are particular 'rescues' who HP will not work with. The pics and notes on DOL are designed for experienced rescuers as a guide only. The dogs then go into care and are assesed, vetted rehomed responsibly. Only on Saturday I was asked to introduce a small breed dog to two families with young children. I had not previously met the dog though realised very quickly that he was unsuitable as he had rear end issues. I made that clear to the families, they were very grateful, and I then informed the staff. I have a good working relationship with council and believe that they will be very concerned with a number of issues involving PR's. Sorry...OT but what are "rear end issues" - just curious He didnt like being touched or handled around his rear end. It could be medical or behavioural, either way, not suitable for young children. Rescue is probably his best option where he can be assesed :) Ok - thanks. I was curious because I have an adopted dog myself - history unknown - who is not keen on being touched around the hind quarters either. I just wondered if this was common in rescue dogs. It's relatively common in many dogs, not just rescues. There are lots of things in that area that can cause pain- hips, spine, anal sacs etc

Great news

Hi Bobishisname, My 2 year old Lab also has atopic dermatitis, a very frustrating condition for both owners and vets We also had the skin prick and blood tests performed and she is allergic to pretty much everything- mainly dust mites but also pollens and grasses (so basically, allergic to life). Whilst she is not severely atopic (you couldn't tell just by looking at her), she gets quite itchy and has had episodes of recurrent pyoderma. We have tried lots of different things, and I'm happy to say that currently, she is very well controlled and pretty much back to being a normal dog. Unfortunately, this requires her to be on Atopica (cyclosporine) which is not cheap for a 27kg dog, but it does allow her to lead a comfortable and normal life. I think she will be most likely be on this long term, she is on a low dose every 2nd day, and we are starting to cut it back even further. I am fortunate enough to work at a vet clinic and so get it at a very reduced price, which makes it affordable for me at the moment (around $100 a month, so still not cheap). Low dose pred, as your dog is on, is also an option. However I would not say that being on either cyclosporine or atopica long term is completely risk free. I think over time, there is increased risk of side effects with both drugs. Pred is not really an option for my dog because she does react quite badly to it- marked PU/PD, excessive appetite, vomiting and lethargy and for some reason it doesn't really seem to reduce her levels of itch as well. Topical creams such as Neocort, Aristocort and Elocon have also been really useful for her as her main problem areas are tummy and armpits. They are not as useful for more generalised itch, or very hairy areas, however, I found Cortavance spray quite good for those areas. I wipe her over with Malacetic wipes every night as well, which seems to help prevent infections (she hasn't had any for over a year now). Antihistamines have not worked for my dog, except to make her sleepy (and therefore not itch as much), and I was giving her Iramine (chlorpheniramine) 16mg at nights. However, now she is well controlled on atopica, there is no need for this anymore. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of antihistamines is really individual to each dog. Your vet will be able to provide you with a list of antihistamines and their dose rates. Shampoo, both normal and medicated seem to make my dog more itchy, but they have worked well for other dogs. I believe the dermatologists are now recommended a product called Mediderm (similar to malaseb) as well as nutriderm conditioners. Regular bathing has not been effective for us, but is for many dogs. I have not bathed my dog in over a year but she gets regular (usually daily) swimming in the ocean which seems to help. She is also weird because she seems to get better over summer, where as most dogs are worse in spring and summer. I am not sure whether the more regular swimming in summer is the reason for this. I also like the essential 6 spot on (it smells lovely :)), it gives them a nice shiny coat but didn't really seem to help with the itch. We also went thru the desensitization injections (she's still on them) and they didn't seem to make any difference at all, so I'm guessing my dog was in the 30% of dogs where they don't help Unfortunately with atopy, each dogs responds to treatments differently, so it can be a matter of trial and error. We saw a dermatologist initially and keep in contact but I am currently very, very happy with my dog's progress and current condition. Personally I find the combination of topical creams/spray/washes + low dose immunosuppressives (cyclosporine or pred) is reasonably effective in the majority of dogs. The Pfizer trial is still going, ask your vet to find out about it for you. We were in the trial and my dog did brilliantly on the trial drug, however it won't be available for several years. I think it would be better to go on the control of cyclosporine (although I believe some clinics now use pred as a control) so you get 3 months free cyclosporine during the build-up phase which requires a higher dosage. But sadly, you don't get a choice as to which drug they go on. Good Luck with your boy, I know how frustrating it can be.

Cougar- have you considered rehoming? If the dog doesn't have any serious issues the perhaps it would be kinder to both of you- your life will be easier and he may find a home that understands him a bit better?

Is she actually itchy? It sounds most likely to be atopic dermatitis or food allergy given her age and breed. Demodex mites (especially if she's not actually itchy) is also a possibility but I assume your vet would have done skin scrapings to rule this out. Ask your vet about doing a food trial to rule out food allergy. The most accurate type of food trial is a home prepared diet where the dog only receives one novel protein and one carbohydrate for a period of at least 8 weeks. A novel protein should be a protein your dog hasn't had at all before such as kangaroo, fish, venison, rabbit etc. Usually the carb recommended is potato, pumpkin or sweet potato. After 8 weeks, the normal food is reintroduced and if the dog is food allergic then symtpoms should recur and there will be a flare up of the skin Commercial hypoallergenic foods such as hills z/d, royal canin hypoallergenic are also acceptable is fed as the sole diet, but may not diagnose up to 30% of dogs with food allergy. During this time I would also have your dog on excellent parasite control such as advocate 2 weekly to rule out and treat fleas or sarcoptes mites (if present) which can also make a dog itchy and cause rashes. If your dog is atopic there are a range of options you may pursue without seeing a specialist, although a specialist is generally recommended if you wish to pursue desensitization to allergens. Its hard to say what the primary cause for the problem is over the net, and especially because we don't know if she is itchy as well. Often when the dogs are itchy, it predisposes them to secondary infections, so treating the itch can eliminate the need for antibiotics. There are antibacterial wipes such as Malacetic wipes or Hibiclens (chlorhexidine scrub) that you can use daily to help prevent infection, although this won't address the underlying cause.

I think those particular collars are hard to actually see. Personally I prefer harnesses with more visible writing. We have a nice one that has velcro patches that say "in training" and "please don't pet" It's very obvious to people not to approach a dog wearing this. Realistically though I agree with tdierikx, people who let their dogs run up to others aren't really going to care for colour coded collars.

A 56kg lab??? Surely that is animal cruelty. Labradork- well done to you for managing to pick up your 17kg puppy! I have to say from your description, the bulldog didn't seem healthy enough to seriously harm your dog. I also get annoyed when aggressive dogs (and they are usually all little ones in my area) are unrestrained in their front yard. My poor dog has actually had her legs bitten by small dogs, she is very passive and won't defend herself at all. Its very annoying though because now every time she sees a small dog, she rolls over in submission, which the owners think is hilarious.

Formal obedience training isn't necessary for agility and can sometimes actually make it harder. Just make sure that Lucy can work well under distraction and has a solid recall and a desire to work for you :) I'm sure you guys will have heaps of fun! In sydney, there are often summer camps run for all levels of dogs, I'm not sure if your area would have similar, but it may be something you could look into if you want to start now?

No Kill isn't necessarily more ethical. Personally I'd adopt from a reputable rescue group- this frees them to take another dog from the pound, as well as maximizing the chances of the dog being suitable for me. This is highly important to me as I already have a dog, so it would be very important that any new dog was also suitable to live with another dog. I have volunteered at pounds before and although there are hundreds of dogs I would have love to taken home, unfortunately how they behave in the pound environment is not necessarily a good indicator of their real personality/behaviour.

Sorry can someone confirm whether K9pro does snake avoidance training (couldn't find anything on the website?) or can you recommend someone else equally as good within driving distance from Sydney (North Shore). Thanks

What kind of training do you do? I agree that manners and general behaviour should not require much more than a "good dog" or pat, but if I expect my dog to give 100% and do silly things like agility and some obedience exercises like decent heelwork, I need to use more than just a happy voice and a pat. You may be lucky and have one of those dogs that works best for a pat, however if you know what your dog likes most, be it a toy, praise, pats or food surely if you're training for competition you would want to use the most valuable reward possible. Sure, my dog will run an agility course or heel just to please me, but she'll do it better for food! I don't think that means she is any less well trained.

Thanks :)

Yep heartguard is a heartworm tablet. I don't do regular intestinal worming but I feel keeping her heartworm prevention up to date is important.

Mindy used to spew after having the endoguard tablets. She also spewed once or twice with comfortis. She used to only spew once though and seemed fine after that, not restless or anything. I now only give heartguard chewable once a month which she loves and tolerates quite well and also use advantix fortnightly for ticks.

I use Science Diet but only because we got given heaps of free bags. The brand of dry food doesn't seem to make much difference to my dog, she is happy with anything. She was on pal puppy for a while and did well on it. Advance puppy was too rich for her and gave her the runs and tummy upsets. She totally rejected My Dog tins though which I found interesting as she is a food obsessed labrador, so they must be really disgusting.

Does anyone know when the HDAC jumping trial actually is? When I entered, the date said 13-nov-12, but that was the trial date as well as the closing date? It also says HDAC (Dec) trial, so just wondering if its Dec 13 or Nov 13 (tomorrow?) Thanks. Also, I can't figure out how to log into the agility australia group on yahoo. I am a member as I receive daily emails, but I can't seem to log in using any of my accounts (google, yahoo etc). I can't find any email that actually tells me what my login name and password is

Please contact the Victorian Veterinary Surgeons Board if you have any concerns about the ethics or conduct of the vet in question. I recently was involved in a case where a young giant breed pup had a MRSA infection after orthopedic surgery, even though sterile technique was used, unfortunately sometmes these thinkgs happen. As far as I know the pup has recovered fully after being on a long course of antibiotics, although I suppose the long term effects of the infection and antibiotics are still unknown at this point, even though the pup is currently healthy and as energetic (and crazy) as ever. Good luck, I hope your Newfie makes a full recovery.

Yes I would get it as soon as I got a new dog. It would have saved me $1000's if I had gotten it when my current dog was a pup.

holy dog did you see us last week at training? she's fast and agile and I'm sort of blobby and clumsy? dagnabbit I'm the low potential of this duo. don't worry i'm not offended or having a dig but not all of us care a great deal about ribbons and titles it's about having some fun and for me ditching the hubby and kids for an hour or two here and there :) Well obviously none of us can ever hope to be as fast or agile as our dogs :laugh: I think agility is great because anyone can do it, whether you're old or young, fit or not so fit. I'm sure my dog would be a million times better if I were a better handler as well. Just for me, I prefer actually attempting to run the course with my dog (as unco as I am :laugh: ), as I think this helps improve MY health and fitness and I actually gain (a tiny amount) of exercise out of it. Sorry if I offended you.

It is what dogs do, and so long as the dogs ARE actually safely contained and don't piss off the neighbours there is no issue.

What great contacts my dog has :laugh: Just to prove she can actually do them properly when she chooses :D

Food reward training works great with my labrahoover! Of course its only useful when you actually have food on you.