Mas1981

Thanks for the replies guys. Here is some more info: I have not done any drop/down stays since he has started this and the only group stay I have done is one in class yesterday but he was miles from another dog and I was going back and feeding every few seconds ( I was only about 3 feet away anyway and he managed to do it for a minute), this past month I have been doing only really short stays for a few seconds to try and correct this - trouble is if I leave him for more than say 15 seconds or so I am guaranteed that he will drop.

My dog is 16 months old and I have taken him to obedience classes right after he finished pup classes, he was always brilliant at sit stays and never moved a muscle. About 2 months ago he started dropping in the sit stays and nothing I do seems to fix it, I have so far tried the following: - changing the word I use to tell him to stay - changing mys signal - going back and feeding him every few seconds The only way he will sit for more than 4 seconds without dropping is if I stand so close to him that he has no choice but to sit - I did this for a month now thinking that maybe it would help if I just move back a foot at a time per week etc but it does not help as soon as there is a gap he lays down again. If i have his dinner bowl full of food and he can smell it or see it he will do a perfect sit stay from any distance. I really dont know what to do to fix this and I am feeling very dispondent with my obedience at the moment as I know I wont be able to compete with a dog who wont do a sit stay!!

I think most people just assumed that the pup had gotten off the property somehow and was on the road etc. My dad ran my favorite rabbit over years ago when I was in hospital in similar circumstances- he felt awful for years.

Vaders mum sorry for your loss, I would say go with your gut on this one. Great pics Tiggy.

I do see his point but on the other hand I dont like to vaccinate, the only animal of mine I vaccinated annually etc was my old horse and that was because of agistment he had to have those etc but none of my other pets I have vaccinated anually, I did my cats before they left RSA as they needed to be done for quarantine laws and they had to be titre tested for rabies ( called something like RNN) but thats it! All of my other animals have never had a health concern and lived to ripe old ages.

Katie I would just get another saddle, a very padded one lol!!! Mason had a massage at the Assistance dog day last year and he loved it and was very well behaved! It is very relaxing for him, they were doing it for $5 ( money went to the Assistance dogs), I would love him to be massaged again!

I was very happy on the Holistic Select, the only reason we changed to raw was because my dog has allergies, the Holistic Select is the only food he can eat without getting a runny tummy and no bottom scooting.

When I took his jacket off this morning the one piece of skin had died and fallen off ( vet said not to worry if this happens and to start cleaning it 2x a day and apply ointment) so I guess it does not matter now if it gets wet lol.

My dog had a small hole in his shoulder glued together, I was wondering if he can get wet as he is an allergy dog and needs a bath to stop him itching.

Hmm, i think when OH gets a bike him and Mason can do the ET, I will stay at home and eat more chocolate lol

Fantastic! Glad it helped. I use the Calendula but have Zyrtec antihistamines on stand-by. If the Calendula doesn't work, I will use the Zyrtec. So far, after 12 months of hives and other sorts of lumps and bumps, the Calendula has been the saviour and the antihistamines remain unopened in the cupboard. I now have the Calendula to apply at the first sign of an allergy, and the vet gave me a stash of antihistamines - I'm hoping that I will be as lucky as you and not have to use them. Aaargh. I'm torn about this. I agree we overuse drugs- I will always try a natural alternative if I can find it. But... I was just reading the other thread on this and am leaning towards vaccinations- we live in a high density area with lots of dogs and I would hate for Honey to contract something if it could have been avoided by vaccinating her. ;) Another issue is my dog training club and kenneling, both require proof of vaccs. ;) As for worming- Ooops! I forgot anyway! :p Most kennels and clubs accept titre testing now, I have had to look into it a fair bit as I dont want to vaccinate my allergy dog.

My dog gets a bone once a day and then some mince and veg, our mince is more chunky though then human mince. I feed him this as I dont think bones provide enough meat for him. Think about it, back in the day us humans also ate all our meat off of bones, we now eat mince etc and do alright as a species.

Yeah I could not do it I am far too unfit and even if I was fit isnt it like 20Km or something? and in my book that 18km too far for me, Mason would be fit enough to do it though! I have a siamese x that I found years ago, she is extremely talkative all the time, she is pitch black but her features look siamese, she is also very tiny. PS my cats were very freaked out the day they came home, they had been in a tiny space for 7 months and now suddenly had freedom!

Mirawee the foal is just too gorgeous, I would love to own a horse right from a foal next time CC- those markings are very unusual, never seen a horse with markings like that, almost looks like a backward zebra lol I bet you are the happiest person today with being able to get your babies out of jail I had a spectacular wipe-out in agility last night, Mason was running off and I was going after him when he suddenly stopped and i tripped over him and went A over K, it was so embarrassing

Thanks Stormie, this is what my vet is worried about and i guess with valid reason, I am still undecided now as to whether to vaccinate. With the titre how often do you test them, is it just the once or is it yearly?

That is interesting as chicken is not that fatty??

I had the exact same thing happen with Mason and teaching weaves, he is so used to being rewarded for looking at me that he now does just that a lot of the time lol

I am in a bit of a catch 22 situation, my dog has a number of allergies and he was due for his yearly booster in July, I have waited until now to consider giving it to him as he has just had his allergy testing done. My dermatologist recommends not vaccinating him and only titre testing him from now on, the trouble is he has only ever had his puppy vacs, this would have been the first year he has had a booster. My vet wants to do a C3 and then only vaccinate him every 3 years after this ( I would rather titre test after this) his argument is that there is parvo in our area and he feels the vaccination may at the worst cause him to have a flare and it may be worth it if he is protected against these diseases. I trust both my vet and the derm and I can see both of their points of view - so now what do I do??

When we are out, I often use a stick to fish he drool off!! It is so gross, I really dont like drool.

I had ridgebacks and 3 cats, the one was semi- ok with with cats, she would lick them etc but I would not go so far as to say I would leave them alone together, the other ridgie was terrible with cats, she would try hurt them if she cornered them. My lab is wonderful with my cats, he is friends with them both , I often leave them unsupervised, the male will even walk on top of Mason if he is laying down and he will cuddle with him.

I would get x-rays done and keep him in a crate so that he is not moving around. If he is not using that leg at all I would get x-rays done ASAP.

I feed my dog raw meat and bones but I have to cook his veg, he does not like them raw.

He slept through last night so i will see if he sleeps through again tonight and then go from there.

We use Zyrtec, my dog takes 4 a day when he is very bad which he is at the moment, must be loads of pollens in the air!

Yes he is