Mas1981

I think they are training us beginners for only about 4 weeks and then we get put into groups so you will miss out on all the training as such.

Thanks for the heads up Mason's mom, haven't looked at how to get there yet but will keep that in mind. Another thing to remember is that Beechboro rd North is closed this weekend so maybe go Reid and up Lord or else take Alexander Drive

Yep, so early to bed :D early to rise, we have to be at Gnangara by 8am, the getting out of bed is the hardest part for me but looking forward to the tracking. When I contacted Trackwest this week they said if we need to hand on money or forms could we pls try be there by 07h30 am

I was actually thinking that I may also give the Holsitic Select cat food a go, I have 2 very fussy cats though!

I've been out all day - sorry. They are dried Marigold flowers. But if you got to the health store/s they should have known them as "Calendula" anyway. For the sake of your dog's skin health, would it not be worth having him not sleep in the bed with you so that you didn't feel so inclined to bath him as often? Detergent is oil stripping. Not good. Just to clarify the detergent was for the bedding, a natural one with no perfumes etc. I would love to not have to bath him, he actually doesnt get smelly, the only reason he gets bathed is because it seems to help with the itching, I think a lot of it is a contact allergy.

I did that last year, took Ruby to a retrieving trial in Upper Swan. Won't do it again! She got loose and came running to find me I was so embarrassed amongst all the fabulous retrieiving folk Plus the uphill/downhill climb with a dog and other stuff was horrid!!! It was very steep and slippery. I am thinking you cant just hold the dog on a lead then? Upper Swan is about 20 mins from my place it would be at least 50 mins from up your way then. Yeah was she tied out or what RS? How did she get loose? She is a good retriever though she went to fetch her mum

I did that last year, took Ruby to a retrieving trial in Upper Swan. Won't do it again! She got loose and came running to find me I was so embarrassed amongst all the fabulous retrieiving folk Plus the uphill/downhill climb with a dog and other stuff was horrid!!! It was very steep and slippery. I am going to go and have a look, there is one on the 18th and one on the 25th its just around the corner from me

I am the same except mine goes on the stomach and backside too. Mason has a lovely big chest and any weight he picks up also goes straight to the front.

Yes, see you there??

I agree i get medium for my lab

I think most clubs are pretty much the same, what you need to find is someone to help you one on one and show you some little tricks etc. Mason couldnt heel to save his life before the long weekend, we were shown how to teach him and now I find him on walks actually heeling and focussing on his own for stretches of time ( i wont lie they are not long periods of focus but its better than nothing )

I dont know why but I just cannot put any wet slimy food into my pocket, think its my OCD streak

That's ok - might as well have a chat about our allergy dogs along the way . Stormie is likely to know better than I but I wonder ..... is it possible that a dog could be mildly sensitive to something (eg pollens at this time of the year) but in the absence of another irritant is not symptomatic (to our eyes), but when the 'other' irritant is present, a synergistic affect occurs that the dog's system can't handle and therefore becomes symptomatic? What I mean is : Perhaps your dog is a bit on the sensitive side to pollens (which would answer to "this time of the year") but might be able to normally manage that without too much ado, but the washing powder you wash his blankets in makes it more than he can handle (which would answer to the "morning/night itching"). (This can be read vice versa as well.) I don't know what washing powder you use, Masons Mom, but I know that whenever I have washed any of my dogs' blankets I use a lot less than I would normally use in a similar load of my own clothes, regardless of how grubby the blankets are. I also tend to use the low irritant and environmentally friendly stuff. Malaseb is good shampoo, but I wouldn't want to be using it too frequently either (to me, every two weeks is too frequently, if there were any way I could avoid it without being deleterious to the dog's welfare). I don't want to turn this thread into a "Erny recommends and uses Calendula Tea wash" ..... but I do and is something I'd rather try than anything that froths. The calendula tea, what flowers is it again? I stay quite far from health shops etc but I am going to a large mall later and they have 2 health stores so I can ask at both if they have those flowers I do try keep the wash powder to a minimum but the problem is that he sleeps in the bed with us :D I am going to get a detergent from the Health store to see if it makes a difference.

Puppyhood was hard for me, the last time I had had pups was 10 years earlier so I had forgotten how hard it could be, the thing i struggled with is that my pup would go to the loo up to 5x a night ( number 2's) when we went in for desexing we mentioned it to the vet and they said it wasnt normal ( we didnt know) and they put him on Protexin which helped a lot and i ended up changing his food. He was the cutest puppy ever and very easy to train.

These are great before and afters BL. Can you tell us what the ages are in the two pics ? I would love to know how much more our boy might fill out. Here is our teenage fella at about 9 months (now one), he's choc in the foreground beachcombing with his girlfriend Scout Here is Dad And Mum ... I don't have a better pic of Mum, obviously she's not in absolute top nick with all the babies, but dad has certainly got some bulk to him. I think Archie has a similar face to his mum

Thanks for that, I am in Ellenbrook though so whenever I need food ( which is not often because my lab eats so little) I just pop over to Midland but If i have a problem finding food I will give him a call. I am looking for a specific flavour in a big bag as I have only seen the small ones so maybe he can help. Hmm, Petbarn is listed but neither of the stores near me are on there...Im sure Ive seen EP in at least one of them, surely they would also carry the Holistic Select range if they have EP Yes if they have the EP they have the Holistic Select here in WA.

Hmm, Petbarn is listed but neither of the stores near me are on there...Im sure Ive seen EP in at least one of them, surely they would also carry the Holistic Select range if they have EP Yes if they have the EP they have the Holistic Select here in WA.

Lol you will just have to come to dog shows ;) Toby won't even be able to go the 6th of June because I have a Rally Seminar. Isnt the seminar in July or is that a diff one?

I wonder how many people think Teddy is too fat? To me he doesnt look fat because he has a waist but maybe others would disagree with me?

My boy is also from WA

I'm not sure if that question was directed to me or to Stormie, Masons Mom. Or perhaps both of us. Neither... But Masons Mum - yep, that's how I personally think things should happen. Vets can do the basics (so long as its done thoroughly) like making sure things like flea allergy, scabies mites etc are completely ruled out and also putting the dog on a strict elimination diet to cover that aspect too. Once that's done, you're free to allergy test which can be done a few ways these days. Intra Dermal tests are the preferred, however you need a 12wk period of *drug free* for accurate results, which for dogs like Orbit, just isn't possible. We did 2 different blood tests - very simple and pain free and both tests gave us similar answers. It was a damn long process, but atleast I know what Orbits main triggers are. For example, I know that chicken and fish is completely out of the question. I also know that pollens are a big problem so I have methods to help there. Cats are another thing on his list, so I know to be prepared when we go to visit my mum because she has 2 cats and he flares up bad there. I think the same thing goes with stomach upsets too. These days, there are simple blood tests for EPI, or biopsy's can be done to diagnose Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome. I can't give exact figures off the top of my head re Dermatologist success rates, but we have had a number of clients who had referrals, who got marked improvements from their treatment without even needing to resort to allergy testing. They're specialists for a reason and know everything there is to know about animal skin. We have a cat whose allergies have been completely cured with immunotherapy, so they are out there!! Was directed at anyone who could answer And i have probably gone a bit off topic in a way so sorry for that but my dog gets very itchy this time of the year, no red spots on skin or anything visable. He also gets swollen eyes if he rubs his face on grass or sticks his face into some plants ( only happens this time of the year) our vet recons pollen is one of the things that sets him off not sure what else does but I noticed that when I wash bedding he scratches more so maybe washing detergent also causes him to itch. Washing him with Malaseb every 2 weeks helps and vet has offered antihistamines but I would rather try something natural. He also only seems to itch mornings and evenings.

I know what you mean, I used a Gentle Leader face harness for ages with Mason, it worked wonderfully until I would try him without it. We have gone right back to basics and I taught him to be around other dogs on a normal collar as the halter annoyed him and he would rub his face in the grass and then his eyes would swell It is best to try correct it without harnesses etc when they are young.

Feel free to train mine anytime, I am not doing agility this year because I know I wont remember all the work He is taller than Ruby though so he would probably have to jump higher

For those wanting to go to tracking on saturday just to let you know that Beechboro Rd north is closed the whole weekend.

Poor Mille has alot to live up to . I'm ashamed to admit it but yes, Ruby is the apple of her mother's eye and poor Millie must feel she has big shoes to fill But I'm going to put some serious time back into Millie's obedience, she was doing so well then I slackened off on it. Millie is also a smart girl, just a little, um, psycho? Hey she cant be as psycho as my 12 month old lab