Leema

Stressed dogs hump. I think this is one of the principle motives behind humping - it's a stress response. Like calming signals are exhibited in times of stressed, as is humping. Also, I had a breeder friend tell me that dogs pretty much get humpy when the inside of their front legs are touched (e.g. if they are in mounting position). (So far I have found this to be pretty true. If my dog gets something in between his front legs, he feels the need to hump - but doesn't really hump otherwise.) When dogs play with one another, then it's almost inevitable that the inside of their front legs will be touched and get them going.

Another question - how much does it cost for each puppy's DNA test?

Thanks, poodlemum, but the boy is walking now! This boy didn't object to being put into a pillow case, so we did that. He also didn't object to being hobbled, so we did that (first with his front legs, then they seemed to come good and his back legs were a problem). He's still very loose and uncoordinated, but he has the best little attitude and probably thinks it is fun to do face plants.

Not sure if this seems viable to you, but how about you buy puppy pen (if your dogs are well behaved enough to not attempt escape) and that way the dogs can lie on the cool tiles while still be confined? (I like the Deals Direct puppy pens, 8 panels, good quality!)

Research on bitches, calcium, and labour. If you just cite them I can find the documents myself (university fees are good for something!). Cheers.

No to all.

I found it

Good work DOLers.

Hold the treat in a fist. When the dog doesn't interact with the fist (looks away, stops digging, biting, etc) give them the treat and say "okay". Repeat this process. When you hold out a fist with a treat in it, and the dog goes, "Nah, you ain't fooling me!" then you're reading for the next step. Hold out your hand with a treat on it and visible. Be quick. Your dog will probably go for it. Repeat the process as above: When the dog is not trying to get the treat, he gets it with the word "okay'. A more detailed explanation is here: http://www.dragonflyllama.com/%20dogs/Leve...rs/TL26Zen.html

I'm trying to find a YouTube video of a woman showing us the tricks of her 5-6 week old shelite babies. The shelties were licking something tasty off her fingers, as she got them to spin in circles and climb on a wobbly board. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Where is it?!

The 'new' vaccine (Duramine vaccine) is pretty much the same as any other C3 vaccine, however, it has been empirically tested to show it is effective for 3 years. No other vaccination has this empirical testing, and no other vaccine will have a vet sign off for 3 years. This was a significant investment for the company - to use a sample of dogs and keep them in controlled conditions for 3 years - and probably why they chose to make and market a new vaccine, to cash in on this investment.

Thanks Steve for your informative post. Can you please link the research study? For my own interest.

I do not recommend daily, monthly or yearly treatment for heartworm when climatic conditions are not appropriate for heartworm development. Heartworm needs temperatures above 18C (day and night) for one month to develop. If the temperature is higher, 27C (day and night), then it only takes 10 days for heartworm to develop. If either of these situations occurs, you should treat for heartworm. If the temperature has been under 14C at any point for longer than a few hours, then there is no need to treat for heartworm, as this drop in temperature prevents heartworm development. I do not live in a tick-prone area so do not routinely treat for ticks. If you do, and frequently take your dog to ‘bush’ like areas, it might be advisable to consider a spot on treatment. I also do not routinely treat for fleas. If you believe your dog has fleas, then you may like to use a spot on treatment (I recommend the more expensive brands such as Frontline over the supermarket-branded products). Small amounts of garlic in dogs’ food may help to reduce flea infection, but garlic and onion is slightly toxic to dogs and has an accumulative affect.

There is two arguments happening in this thread: 1) Is showing a neutered bitch wrong because it is against the rules? and 2) Is showing a neutered bitch wrong because it is against the tradition of dog showing? Universally, we agree that it is wrong because it is against the rules. However, question 2 is more the issue - but not the reason this thread was established in the first place (i.e. to ascertain 1). Hence the circular nature of this thread.

Vaccinations are a matter of considerable debate within the dog world. You should conduct some research of your own and reach a decision you are most comfortable with - with it sounds like you have, and you need to stick to your guns. My recommendations are: • If you choose to give your dog ‘booster’ vaccinations, you do so every 3 years at maximum. You may wish to titre test prior to vaccination, to determine is vaccination is necessary. Vaccinate with either Duramine (3 yearly vaccine) or Parvac. • You should only vaccinate for kennel cough if you intend to board your dog and if the kennels you use require this vaccination. Use the intranasal vaccination 3 days prior to admission to the kennels. • Vaccinations for conditions other than Parvovirus, Distemper, Hepatitis and Kennel Cough are not recommended.

It takes about a week for a puppy to set into a new home. If he doesn't like food, only feed him during training session. He'll soon learn that he does like food when it is limited to his efforts! I couldn't get any training out of Clover from 8-9 weeks, and then it suddenly all came together. I know when you get a new dog, it is often a time of tension... Things suddenly look hard, sometimes you wonder if you've done the right thing, and when training doesn't seem to be working, it is frustrating too! Feel free to PM if you'd like. But your puppy sounds normal - just give him some time.

When I worked at kennels, we used to rinse a disinfectant through the bowl, then rinse with water, then refill. They never went green. Other bowls that were not rinsed with dinsinfectant went green. Here, I just scrub lightly with my fingers when I refill the bowl. I also allow my bowls to go empty before refilling (there are numerous bowls). I think this kills the algae a bit. Edit: I also use tap water, though, so the chlorine etc in it may be preventing growth?

I would expect that a piece of foam would get a bit gross after one or two weeks, unless you're planning some time of cover on it? I, too, would get it cut to the whole area. I preferred to cover the whelping box with newspaper and then towels on top of - easier to clean. Slowly the pups are getting more elaborate kinds of bedding as they get cleaner.

I commented on the original article... "Wow, $350 seems like a good price for a dog that is vaccinated, microchipped, desexed and vet checked. I wonder if Ms White's dog has any of these benefits." (or something to that affect.)

I think it's a matter of knowing your dogs and what would get to them. My dogs have shown only vague interest in caged birds, and that's when the birds have moved or rattled something in their cage. They will chase flying birds in the backyard, but I think the visual stimuli would be more of a lure than any smell. (My dogs would kill rats in a cage and pursue them from smell alone, but birds not so much.) I guess it depends on your dog. My next puppy will hopefully be raised with chooks, and hopefully in 10 years time all my puppies will be!

I don't have chickens yet, but my chook run will have corrugated iron at least to dog-head-height level so my dogs do not have visual contact with the birds.

Sorry I can't agree that we show our dogs to have them assessed as breeding stock. We show our dogs to see how judges think they comform to the standard. I can blow that theory out of the water. :D How many times do you see our top winning dogs/bitch's in their own breed never produce much to go on with, but the brother or sister that stayed at home because they could never beat their brother/sister go on to be our top producing stock. I think you misunderstood my post. ... I said, "I think we should move past the notion that the conformation ring is only for assessment of breeding stock."

Lovely teaser, corvus, but unfortunately need to wait for the 10th/11th for my internet to go back up to speed to watch it. I am enthused though!

I don't have a problem with desexed animals being shown, but I do raise issue with rules being broken. Rules are there for consistency and fairness, and when they are not followed or enforced then fairness is compromised. If we agree that the conformation ring is for assessing breeding stock, and we are nostalgic enough to believe this purpose should be continued, then we should consider: 1) That desexed animals could have already been bred from (i.e. desexed after litters), so they are still contributing to the breed. 2) Animals that are desexed have parents, and maybe siblings, that are entire who contribute to the breed. These desexed animals are an indicator of the breeding line, despite the fact of being desexed themselves. 3) Entire animals shown are not all bred from, so entire animals are not always breeding stock themselves. However, I think we should move past the notion that the conformation ring is only for assessment of breeding stock. History wise, yes, this was the original purpose. But change is upon us. The conformation ring is a nice day out for many of us, a fun place for us to spend time with our dogs, a socialisation venue for people and dogs. There is a lot more value to a dog show than simply an assessment of breeding stock.

I started using "uh-uh", with two distinct syllables, very sharp. But over time it's become "ah" or "uh". "No" and "argh" are used when they're actually in trouble!