aussielover

How do you register a dog with your state canine council? DO you even need to do this? I am interested in doing dog sports and the endurance trial when she is old enough. Do you need pedigree papers etc? all I have is vaccination and desexing certificates, microchip details and a transfer of ownership form. I'm actually not sure if my dog is even from a registered breeder, she was bred in QLD as part of the guide dog program. They did sell one of the puppies to a member of the public but all the rest were kept to be guide dogs.

did you have insurance before he was diagnosed with allergies?

Yes, my labrador gets 2 zyrtec per day if she needs it. Be aware that although generally safe in most dogs, like with any medication, adverse reactions can occur. Also, dogs do not respond as well as humans to antihistamines. You may need to trial several types before you find a suitable one. Check the doses with your vet though. Edit- my dog weighs 25kg.

I think doing stuff like agility and flyball would be potentially be more damaging than jumping on and off a bed and plenty of dogs do those sports and remain sound.

OMG elbie is soooo cute!!! he has the best puppy dog eyes ever!!! and he is clever too! I love the way Hoover butted in too!

What does he think of the crate? If he is happy and relaxed in it currently, there should be no problem with using it, in fact it should help settle him quicker as he knows that it is a quiet place. The biting and nipping is completely normal, possibly a bit of herding instict, but then, my labrador puppy also did the same thing, so its not necessarily that. Puppies like to bite things

This morning i went to the park and I spent the whole time trying to avoid a BC that kept trying to jump all over me and stealing my dogs ball. It wasn't so much the behaviour of the dog that annoyed me (though i think it is rude), but the owner, who stood in the middle of the park shouting COME and NO to the dog (which was clearly ineffectual). She didn't even apologise or try to put her dog on the leash. Now I think BCs are lovely dogs for the right person, but really a less active older person who just stands in the park screaming at her dog, is probably not the best type of owner for an active, young BC.

Is that because of her shoulder issues staranais? I give my dog joint guard treats because she likes them. I doubt whether it would prevent any issues arising though. Glyde is very expensive and it did not help my old dog with severe arthritis at all. It may help in less severe cases though. Cartrophen injections have around a 60-70% success rate, ie 60-70% of owners think it has lead to some improvement (so quite subjective)

As far as I'm aware, SEDA are not big on positive reinforcement. Not true. Jobs are also advertised externally for these positions. If someone better qualified outside of AQIS applies vs an internal AQIS employee, already being an AQIS employee won't give you the upper hand. You've just got to be better suited to the job. Edit: I didn't read the Customs bit properly. Not sure if Customs get their recruits from AQIS? (remembering these are two separate groups). Pretty sure I've seen these positions advertised externally also, plus dog handlers for Corrective Services. Thanks Rubystar, for some reason i thought you already had to be in customs or AQIS to be a dog handler? But perhaps i was getting mixed up with the police Interesting to hear about different guide dog schools... I should say that whilst check chains are not standard in Guide Dogs, there would be some cases where they would choose to use them.

I think my dogs as rather clever, but they ain't no Lassie! ha ha. My word labradors drop coat, all five of them. Two vacuum cleaner home. Talking about not clever, recently had floor coverings redone, but stupid stupid me, still thought carpet in the lounge and dining rooms would be AOK. I have cream carpet and a black labrador.... ;) teach them to get the phone for you when it rings though, the slobber is not nice....

Umm Guide dogs don't use check chains to train their dogs... not sure about seeing eye dogs, but I do know for sure that guide dogs no longer use check chains. They use positive reinforcement: clicker training, verbal praise and corrections with a soft martingale when necessary. It is really hard to get a job with them, i believe it is desirable to have experience or a certificate/university degree in working with people with disabilities. You can send your CV to Assistance dogs, but apparently they rarely employ people. The puppy raisers actually do a lot of the foundation training with the dogs. If you want to work for customs, you have to already be an AQIS or australian customs employee. They recruit their dog handlers from within the organisation. They also hire experienced trainers from outside to give seminars or occasional training sessions. I think your best bet would be assistance dogs, but you may have to start off volunteering, rather than with a paid job.

I prefer my dog to not retaliate, as this may cause a fight if the humping dog then starts to get aggressive.

I prefer my dog to not retaliate, as this may cause a fight if the humping dog then starts to get aggressive.

Yep same with my girl. She will look at me to remove the dog. She knows its up to me, not her to get rid of the dog. I would remove the humping dog as soon as possible, as it is not really good for your dog, and even though he is not showing any aggressive behaviour now, he might develop it if he gets really annoyed. I really can't stand humping dogs though. Its dangerous, though many owners think its funny. There are different reasons why dogs will hump- excitement, frustration, dominance, it feels good to them, sexual etc I think dog are more likely to try and hump a submissive dog as they know they will be able to get away with it.

No no no. An elimination diet is only a short term diet, the dog will be fine for a short period. Elimination diet does not include supplements as you would have to test each of those as well. They are definitely NOT suitable for young growing dogs, even for the short term. A proper elimination diet should take at least 6 week, sometimes up to 12 weeks. A lot of people with adult dogs choose to keep going on the diet or a similar diet (if there is a food allergy) in which case supplements have to be added. If the dogs growth is going to come into concern such as a Giant Breed puppy then you would need to work alongside a Derm. What people decide to do with supplements doesn't make it right, supplements should not be added to an elimination diet unless a Derm has advised the person to do that. which is why i suggested food trials need to be done under the supervision of a specialist.

No no no. An elimination diet is only a short term diet, the dog will be fine for a short period. Elimination diet does not include supplements as you would have to test each of those as well. They are definitely NOT suitable for young growing dogs, even for the short term. A proper elimination diet should take at least 6 week, sometimes up to 12 weeks. A lot of people with adult dogs choose to keep going on the diet or a similar diet (if there is a food allergy) in which case supplements have to be added.

Curly Coated Retriever Portugese Water Dog Lagotto Standard Poodle All gundogs and all low shedding. My labrador has played with all these breeds quite happily, i think the temperament and play style is reasonably similar to a labrador. But if you want a labrador- type dog, get a lab!!!

Just so you know, elimination diets are not completely balanced and you will have to add supplements. Its really best to do these sorts of diets under the supervision of a specialist or vet. And Mason2009 is right, pumpkin or potato is better than rice as they seem to cause less of a reaction than rice.

Yes I completely agree. I take my dogs to a huge unfenced park where dogs are allowed off leash, but it's easy to avoid another dog if you choose to do so. I would never venture into one of those small fenced off areas, they're an accident waiting to happen IMO. totally agree, we only ever go to large, unfenced parks. People with out of control dogs, who just want to sip their lattes and have a chat tend to use the fenced dog parks. Be really careful about who you let your dog socialise with. Also don't let your pup run up to any dog, it may get annoyed and have a go at your pup. It might be nice to organise someone with an older, friendly and well socialised dog to accompany you.

can anyone really tell what they would do ie. save their dogs or a random stranger? I think not. You have to be in the situation to know how you would react.

I wouldn't call either a labrador or a poodle laid back. Labradors can be calm and steady when they receive enough training and stimulation and so can poodles. Lab x poodle is an unsuccessful cross for its original purpose as a low shedding/hypoallergenic guide dog. The majority had the wrong temperament- flighty and weak nerved (opposite of what you want in a guide dog) and few were low shedding and hypoallergenic. Guide dogs have had better success with lab/golden crosses in terms of temperament. I would say most lab/poodle mixes have a temperament closer to a poodle than a lab. They tend to be more sensitive than labs. PWD have a closer temperament to labs in my opinion (but i've only ever met two- they get along fabulously with my lab, due to similar play style and energy levels). And labradors are perfect dogs (in the right hands!)

I don't think either labs or poodles are particularly laid back. The crosses have failed in their original purpose- to breed a non shedding guide dog. They lack the temperament (many are quite flighty and neurotic) and many do not have the non shedding coat. The lab x golden has actually been a much more successful cross for the guide dog breeding program.

You're welcome, and of course if you're not sure Dr Jean will not mind if you want to email her with questions that you might have in relation to thyroid function and/or testing. She's a wonderful lady who has never not had time to respond to even the most insignificant of my questions. And her responses are generally very prompt, as are the results of the blood tests (I get mine generally in 1 - 1.5 weeks, and this counts the days taken by Fed-Ex to deliver the bloods to her). Hey erny, what made you think your dog had thyroid problems apart from skin problems? just curious because i have an allergy/itchy dog. she seems pretty normal apart from her itchiness though so unsure if i should do thyroid testing. thanks

I think 2-3 hrs at a time is too long at this stage, especially if you haven't done any training with her before hand and considering she is only probably around 9 weeks (?). I found a crate quite useful for separation training, but you can easily do it without a crate. Practice leaving the puppy for very short periods say 2-5 minutes at a time. Ideally it should be a length of time where they don't cry or bark at all. Leave some toys and a kong or treat ball to keep them occupied for a bit if they cry or bark instantly. Leave her alone for say 5 minutes and then come back, play with her in the yard and bring her back to be with you. Repeat this at least every hour. This will help show the pup you are not leaving her forever. Gradually increase the time she is alone. If she does start crying or barking wait for at least 10 seconds of silence before you go out to her. When you need to leave her for longer periods leave lots of toys, food in kongs, treat ballas, bob a lots or even plastic drink bottles can keep them entertained for ages. A nice juicy bone is also a good treat to leave them with. A lot of puppies don't like to be separated from you for the first week or two. Your puppy should get over it soon if you are consistent and fair

cute can i have one too