Staff'n'Toller

I'm pretty sure they come back with their handlers for retirement. I doubt their handlers would allow PTS after so much work with them. The dogs would have a 'pet passport' in regards to health etc, shouldn't be too difficult to bring them back into the country.

For starters, don't take her bones away , and secondly, don't escalate any punishments for not giving up her bones. Bones are very valuable and if you escalate your behaviour she will more than likely escalate her communication about not being comfortable. I wouldn't be feeding smaller bones that she will swallow whole or in two parts. Go bigger. My IGA sells lamb ribs that are 5-6 ribs in a square, that's probably a better idea. Many Retrievers just eat fast and would do so if you were there or not. If you are concerned about resource guarding then the very best book is Mine! by Jean Donaldson.

Buy some sand bags from Dot Mitchell.

Yeah my Geordie has the 'shifty' eyes as well. He also grunts a lot, Toller grunt.

12 monthly is good. Palpation of the abdomen and ascultation of the heart is something the Vet needs to do and lumps, abnormally feeling kidneys/liver/spleen can be felt this way. Dogs with heart murmurs can be asymptomatic for quite some time. My Stafford girl is only alive today because of my concern and an 8 year blood screen. Two Vets both commented that she looked in very good health but bloods showed a slow regenerative anaemia due to a slowly bleeding small intestine tumour. I also found an adenocarcinoma in my old Kelpie's anal gland just because she seemed a bit strange and was scooting- usually these things don't come up until they grow to the outside and ulcerate, luckily I caught it so early it was still confined to the gland. I don't ever doubt the usefullness of wellness blood tests now, from 7 years of age, if they are normal at 7 then that's awesome as you have baseline values to compare to.

Be nice wouldn't it? ;) Would be awesome to spend 5 days studying SG/GD methods though!

http://www.agilityclick.com/category24_1.htm There are 2 US clicker trainers presenting at the APDT conference this year too.

Please provide references for this statement. You might have manufacturers making an appointment to see you in court - I have scoured the literature re Cartrophen and can find no references to long term kidney and/or liver damage. Sylvia Maybe my dog who died from from those causes, because his arthritis was so bad there was no alternative? Why are you so aggressive? I was reporting my experience, and after losing an extremely special dog, it is hard to even discuss his treatment, and I wanted to warn of the unintended consequences. It is strange that you have reacted so strongly and unpleasantly. We are meant to be sharing our experiences, and just because mine is different, you do not have to react as you have. My vet said all along that long term it could affect him. And yes, I know the difference between it and Carprophen, which is also known as Rimadyl. Cartrophen helped him a lot, but eventually it caught up with him. I console myself that without it we'd have had to let him go much sooner. My vet told me that it gradually built up and his kidneys failed. It got so that after each injection he became incontinent, and while the injections helped his pain, we'd worry about him having the whole course. We got him through them, but they also stopped being as effective, which the literature does warn of. NOTE, I said, TOO MUCH, not to avoid it altogether. With most drugs there is a downside as well as benefits, and it is always a balance and quality of life is very important. Also, my dog did not suffer from arthritis in the cruciate ligament leg. Even though it required a lot of surgeries because he reacted to the line used, we took a very proactive path and he had a lot of laser treatment as soon as the stitches were out. It really made a huge difference, and if stem cell had been available I would have used it. And I am not saying that I would never use it again, just that I would not want to use it too much. Your attitude is the reason I rarely post to this forum, and I shan't bother posting to this group again, too many painful memories. I'm sorry that you lost your dog, but I am puzzled as to why you continued with the whole course if you felt the injections were a direct cause? Did you have regular screening pathology done to get an idea of kidney values? There is a caution on using Cartrophen in dogs with bleeding disorders- this can include dogs with tumours- hence why we send blood for a full body profile before starting to rule out any other underlying issues.

I always tie the perspex up for learner dogs. Given that's it's a bit chilly, you may wish to stick some clear pvc there for a while.

http://www.snooza.com.au/products/snuggler.shtml ?? I actually think I know what you mean I was going to buy one a long time ago but never did. Just trying to think what they were called.

So many good seminars this year! I was thinking today I need to convince my boss it's in his best interest to sponsor me to attend Susan Garrett's. Wish me luck hey?

Dusty's expression is a classic. "What is dis u bring me?"

Not necessarily, it's just the fact that they fold instead of me having to take them apart that is appealing. Croydon sounds good at this stage...I'll PM you before then Jess, cheers! :rolleyes:

Aaah ok thanks, I haven't ventured down to Altona since the M1 upgrade was giving me lots of grief. :rolleyes: I wonder if he's come up with something....if you're in Melbourne trialling later in the year Jess, do you mind letting me know? Would love to come and have a look at one of yours.

Anyone managed to make these in Oz and sourced the side hinges?

Sadly, I have, but in older dogs. I would be wary of too much Cartrophen in such a young dog. Long term, it can damage the liver and kidneys. Instead I'd be doing maybe one course after healing, then use supplements like glucosamine chondroiten and perhaps musseltone for inflammation if it develops. If they really want to go the whole hog, it has been reported that using stem cells at the injury site will do wonders. Are you sure you're not getting confused between Cartrophen and Carprofen (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory)??? They are both very separate medications.

Totally agree there. It's fine for your dog to be on long term, we have a few of the same dogs at our clinic. Some have tried using Tucker Time in the past but that's at your own risk. Pancreatitis is so serious I wouldn't be risking another attack. If you switch to Z/d she may lose weight- you may have to increase the servings.

If you can get periods of not pulling on a correction collar in order to deliver well timed corrections then yes, but quite often this isn't the case, owners can't get the loose lead bursts without professional instruction. I've seen dogs who were perfect on prong collars and terrible when switched over to flat collar as well. You have to have been around in the times when they were commonly used though...makes me sound old haha. Whether any piece of equipment is a management tool or a behaviour modification tool is entirely up to the handler's attitude.

In a specific training sense I've worked with young pigs and rats.

Really?!! We see so many skin issues related to that brand that I am pretty much happy to wager $50 on that being the answer to the "what food" question, when a 'skin' dog walks in the door- and on nurses wages that's saying something!!

It's either frontline or advantage that works for stickfast fleas - one product works and the other doesn't. I can never remember which one it is b/c we don't have them here. Sorry.

Yeah - I agree. That's why I mentioned "digestive problems" as well as allergies. Thanks for the explanation of possibilities. I wonder if, for some dogs who can't tolerate commercial diets, it's the "meat meal" component that could be contributing. I always thought of "meat meal" as being the 'rubbish swept off the processing plant floor' so I appreciate the explanation in previous post. You learn something new every day, huh? It is such a complex topic and yes, it is so individualistic. By-product meal is the crap stuff (heads, feet, feathers etc.) to have chicken meal or lamb meal in the ingredients panel it must be identifiable as *meat* before processing. Meal is dried meat. So that's where you get the better quality protein- hence why super premium is more expensive.

As others have said, Royal Canin or Eagle Pack are far more palatable. I would be going with one of those and forgetting the calcium powder. The Eagle Pack holistic anchovy smells very appealing to dogs. Omega 3 is good, but perhaps you need to consult a K9 Physio so they can isolate which muscles are involved?

I would be concerned that the tumour on the spleen is connected to the leg. Could be totally unrelated but I think if you have doubts then you need to go further with it. I would be sending the xrays off to a specialist, we use Charles Kuntz down here in Melbourne, he is great with offering a 2nd opinion.

I have heard that too...I guess for 36hrs after worming the dogs you just pick up and bag it instead of putting it in the compost.