aussielover

Actually I think if horses were kept like some dogs, they wouldn't be as much of a problem. I don't think as many horses would go around looking for people/other animals to attack as they aren't a predator. Most of the injuries with horses comes with close handling or riding them. Simply walking through their paddock at a distance doesn't usually result in an attack, where as dogs will fence rush and be more like (imo) to attack you if you come onto their property A lot of people who aren't familiar with horses are intimidated by them and therefore wouldn't approach a horse randomly. Where dog bites can occur when people say "but I just wanted to pat him"

I'm with Petplan and in my experience they have not been any slower than other companies when they generally send me a letter letting me know they have my claim and last time it was paid very promptly. My only concern now is my girl is a giant breed and over 7 so there has been a bit of a change in the % I can claim back. That's good to hear

Aside form the cross-breed promotion and colour bias What do people think of the other choices of purebred dogs? Personally I think in general they are quite good choices. I think Cavs, Pugs and Labs (and GRs) can make lovely family dogs. I don't really know much about mini schnauzers but they seem to have a lot of personality and of course are very cute.

Quick agility poll. Mainly focussing on weaves. Hopping: Stepping: Interested especially to know how many dogs hop thru the weaves vs step/stride. I have heard stepping is quicker, not sure if thats true? Obviously small dogs can't really step through the weaves. I've seen some VERY fast dogs hop thru weave poles and it certianly didn't seem to disadvantage them.

Can you fix this later? My dog does this... I've tried exchange for food but it isn't working. The instinct to have something in the mouth overides the instinct to stuff ones face full of food

Those black labs- you better watch out for them! Here is mine dominating me, you can see how frightening she is SO vicious.

I was in a similar situation until recently. If your dog needs specialist or intensive care and surgery, its going to set you back more than $5000. So this is a good plan if your dog doesn't have any accidents or illness for the first few years of its life. You might save up to $15000 by the time it needs a hip replacement or whatever lol. That was my plan... I had $5000 around the time of Mindy's illness (specifically set aside for her), but I still had to borrow off my parents. It would have been around $10 000 for all Mindy's treatments had I not received significant discounts.

OMG Allerzeit she is adorable and huge! Did you say she's only 14 weeks! What a gorgeous and cheeky face she has.

Large poos can be good for preventing anal sac issues I'd me more worried if there was an increase in frequency of stools rather than size. Size of your plam sound spretty normal for a golden retriever though...

It sounds typical of an allergic condition. My dog with atopic dermatitis also does the army crawl through the grass- she is allergic to grass! Typically these sort of allergies just get worse with age. Try the diet Nekhbet suggested but if you're seeing no improvement I would recommend you see a vet dermatologist and get a proper diagnosis. You will need to do a food trial and possibly have skin testing done if you see the derm. It doesn't greatly change your treatment options but obviusly if there's a food allergy you can get 100% resolution With atopy you can start on desensitization injections, young dogs (<3years) geberally respond better to these. Many owners see a 60-70% improvement on the injections and some lucky people see complete resolution! Otherwise your options are corticosteriods (cream, tablets, sprays), antihistamines and regualr bathing with medicated shampoos. Personally I use antihistamines (claratyne) daily in spring and summer for my allergy dog, she also gets the desensitisation injections. She also gets a cortisone cream on her tummy when she is really itchy. I use antibiotics and pred when appropriate as well (though rarely needed these days yay!)

I'm sure she'll get used to it with time Does she actually show fearful behaviour in the car? My pup howled and barked in the car. The drive back form picking her up was horrible- an over an hour of crying, howling and barking plus stops when she vomited or pooed! My sister wanted to return her lol. Maybe she just doesn't like going near the car because she always feels sick in it? I hope the puppy drops work for you, but if it doesn't then maybe consult your vet for something stronger. This may help her feel better about the car as well as stopping the vomit! BTW I rotty pups you will have to post a pic!

My dog often gets followed by younger dogs, trying to get her to play. She is quite antisocial now and generally only wants to play with her ball. As annoying as it is for her, the other dogs aren't trying to be harmful, only to get her to play. I honestly would feel bad if I intervened and told the other dog off or tried to stop it (although I know I shouldn't). She doesn't seem to mind (totally ignores the behaviour) and on the odd occaison the other dog is successful and she will succumb to a game of bitey face or chasey. I do pull any dogs off that hump her, one time she rolled over to her back and the owner of the humper said "look she wants it" I wasn't sure whether they were serious...

That sounds like a good plan I had similar issues with my pup from about 8-10 weeks she was horrible in the car and would poop herself and vomit from the stress. We think it is because she was flown down from rural QLD to sydney. Where are you keeping the pup in the car? Personally i suggest trying the pup in different locations. I found my puppy was most settled when she was in the footwell of the front seat. Obviously you need to tie the lead onto something ( I just jammed it in the door) do she can't wander all over the car. I also started with feeding a yummy treat like a roo chew, just starting the engine and that was it for 2 days. We did this about 3-4 times during each day. Then we progressed to short drives around the block and to puppy class (<10 min drives) for a few more days and she has never looked back since then Now she LOVES the car and hasn't ever been sick in the car again. I don't think crates are great for puppies that show fear/illness, at leats initially. You can move them back to a crate once they have gotten over this. My girl was happily going in her travel crate by 4 months old. Harnesses are ok but if possible have them in the front so they can see you. You could also try someone holding the pup, although this didn't work for me as my volubteer was too scared that the pup would toilet or spew on her. As I said, I think the footwell is a good option for a lot of dogs. If it is truly motion sickness (relatively rare)- you could try an anti nausea injection form the vets (cerenia) but I am not sure of the suitability of this for puppies.

I used to have a real life sized Lassie-dog. Clover was scared of it! Mindy ate it... Are you going to use them for toys?

what do you mean by tormented by other dogs Agilitydogs?

To the OP= your first post made it sound like had been an ongoing problem, not just a once off. BUt perhaps I misinterpreted it? If he's only done it once or twice, then tell him off, remove him from the situation (I would take him home, or at a minimum leash him) and consult a trainer if it gets worse. Agree with the other advice- lots of recall practice at home, take him on a long line at the park if he has no recall etc. I think you'll find this situation can be relatively easily fixed

LOL me too!!!

Hey how long does this training go for? Also is it hell getting from the north to parra at that time on a fri night?

I decided to go with petplan. In my experience (working at vets) and hearing from others experience, they are SLOW to pay up, but they usually eventually do. They are also the only company that will pay direct to the vet. I pay $32.95 a month (with a $500 excess) on the lowest level of cover but it still covers up to $10 000 worth of accident and illness. I chose this with the fact that I would probably be able to cover up to $7000 a year in emergencies myself and I always have $500 avail for Mindy's emergencies. I've seen HBCs and tick cases where the bill has been in the 15-20 thousands, so I got pet insurance to cover me for this. Obviously I only got it for emergency/accident coverage, I;m not sure how it would compare if you got it for regular vet visits etc. In my experience, the highest level of cover is not really worth it, very time consuming to fill in all the forms for a vet visit that may have only been $70-80, also a lot of companies make a fuss about paying even this small amount. If you're faced with a $7000 dollar bill the fuss is worth it a lot more I would imgaine!

What about cows and pigs :D They can be quite vicious if you are trying to do something they don't like (or if you fall over in their sty!)

I agree with this so much. Yep, if you really want one, you'll come up with the money... There is really not that much point in trying to justify the cost. You are going to get a lifelong companion who will hopefully bring you much happiness. It is different if you're looking at a working dog obviously. They have to decide how much they are willing/able to pay for a dog. Although buying from an ethical purebred breeder may give you some health assurance, it is no guarantee of a healthy dog, and I don't really think price reflects health at all. Can anyone really say that a $3000 purebred will give them more pleasure/enjoyment than a $50 rescue, or the dog they rescued from the side of the road etc... I am not saying one is better than the other, of course it all depends on the owner and the individual dog, but I don't think you can put a price on the happiness a dog can bring.

Also quite a few good agility clubs in the hills area. How far are you willing to travel?

No, my vets in the city are fine with me taking my dog home for monitoring Do they know you are a vet nurse? We recommend that sometimes animals stay in overnight because they can have a calmer, uninterrupted environment, rather than perhaps a busy family environment where they may want to participate or be disturbed. Most of our clients are happy with this, especially people with young kids, or people who are quite busy. Some people also don't want the dog being sick all over their house. But we would never force someone to keep their dog in overnight if they didn't want to. Anything more serious than a tummy upset usually gets sent to the 24hr vet for monitoring.

On Tuesdays and Fridays at 11am at St Ives Shouwground Canine Fun Sports $15 per session. canine fun sports Manly (the club at deep creek) is actually very good. I personally think the fee is reasonable, as it also covers you for obedience on Sunday mornings and Tues nights. It is then only $3 per session. The next year there is only a $20 renewal fee. Unfortunately they only have a join-up session once a month but this is only so that they can keep people of the same level together. You are welcome to come and watch any saturday though. They have a huge range of equipment and are a very supportive club, with a lot of triallers and experienced people who are always more than happy to give you tips. It is good if your dog has an excellent recall because there is a creek nearby and it is quite an open area (no fences). Also its a bit rude to let your dog run over and interrupt others (we've had some people bring out of control dogs in the past and it hasn't really been enjoyable for them) . But I am sure your dog is well behaved anyway Also Northern Suburbs train at st ives showground on saturdays but I think they are even harder to get into- you have to be at a certain level of obedience (almost trialling level is what i've heard?) to even start agility. Good Luck, agility is heaps of fun! If you choose Manly come and say hi to Mindy and I (she is a black lab) ETA- Manly actually ends up being cheaper if you're going to come on a regular basis. If you go to CSF (and they are also very good ) then if you do 3 lessons- its already $45. I think if you came to manly every week it ends up being around $4-5 a session which is pretty good as you get around 2-2.5hrs (other clubs are generally only 1 hour). we have a morning tea break at around 10, so if you came to watch you could maybe ask one of the instructors or come find me during the break :D and put your dog over the equipment and see if they like it...

They are such cute puppies!!! Is that the duck toy that makes a really annoying quacking noise when it rolls? Mindy got one on the weekend, i had to take it from her- the sound was REALLY irritating