Pretty Miss Emma

Kenzie had a distinct grieving period when we lost Emma. She was down all the time, became extra clingy, would mope, and spent a lot of time lying on my bed staring out the front window. I dealt with it by trying to keep as much as possible normal, although it's hard when you're in tears every few minutes. But I tried to make sure she still got her same walks, we'd spent a lot of time at the vet so we still popped in just to say hello, things like that. I did go to some extra effort in terms of organising play dates for her though. she hadn't experienced life on her own, and although Em didn't really play with her she was there for company, so I was lucky enough that a friend was able to pick her up during the day once a week and take her to her place to play with her dogs. And I have to say she did get lots of extra cuddles and treats, she just really needed someone to be with her. But after a month or so she started to get back to normal, so Kaos will bounce back eventually.

I've just been helping a friend through a relatively horrific experience with a rescue dog. They were given limitd information about the dog and then some issues showed up, these were sort of brushed off by the foster carer even though they really were quite extreme and as a result the new dog will now most likely have to be returned due to severe aggression issues. My friend is quite upset at this on many levels. They really wanted to help out a dog that needed a second chance, but they can't have themselves and their current dog being put in danger by this dog. Anyway, if and when they feel ready to get another dog I'd like to be able to give them some pointers on what to look for and ask of a rescue group so that they can be confident they are dealing with a group that assesses their dogs well and places their dogs appropriately. I'm hoping that this experience hasn't turned them off the rescue option as I know that they have always been conscious of trying to give dogs a home that were needing a second chance. So anyway, if you have tips that I can pass on to them I'd love to know as it seems a bt of a minefield with little independent rescues and I know that there are many brilliant ones out there, I'd just like to be able to help them find the brilliant ones when the time comes. Thanks in advance!

When Emma had to be PTS last year my Mum ended up paying for it and for her cremation and box. But I'm pretty sure it was just over $300-ish all up (she was about 17kg). And my vet was lovely about payment, they were happy to send a bill or give it to me when I came in to pick her up, but my Mum went back paid it there and then. However, I have an excellent relationship with my whole vet clinic so maybe that makes a difference. I would assume you would pay for the letha-barb or whatever they use by weight, and there would be a consult fee, other than that I'm not sure what else would impact price. ETA - the next day I received the most beautiful flower arrangement from my vet (and also another from Em's eye vet) and lovely cards from them. And that's one of the reasons I adore my vet!!!

I feel like I've heard of sort of desensitisation therapies for allergies. I don't know if it is specific to certain things or not and I don't really know how it works. I'm sure your doctor will have some ideas or refer you to someone who may be able to help.

My dogs don't wear collars at home, and the collars they wear when they are out and about have their tags on them. I have heard that rolled leather collars do less damage to coats (I have no experience with this, but have been told this by someone!). Something else - how tight is the collar? maybe if it is looser it will not leave a mark?

I would ignore the behaviour and don't force her in to doing things if she's highly worried about them. But try to develop her confidence. I've found with my older dog that if she is called over to someone it makes her more anxious (as there is too much effort being put in and they are trying too hard to get her attention). So if there is someone she is unsure of I give them lots of yummy treats and ask them to totally ignore her but to randomly throw treats (at first to the dog and then little bits closer so that the dog will make small moves closer for each treat). I have one friend who is adamant my dog must like them and she really doesn't want to be near him - he feeds her treats but when she's taken the treats he then pushes it too far and calls her over, which sends her straight back to not wanting to be near him. I guess it's almost a theory of less is more!! I don't know if any of that made sense (I'm a bit tired today!).

My cat is on a human heart med, so my vet writes me a prescription (because that's what I aksed for) and charges $10 for writing the script. Even with a $10 fee I'm paying about $16 for 4 months of meds as compared to $30 for 2 months. Often you just need to ask as they may not offer. Although the eye vet that Emma saw refused to give her the dog version of her eye meds (which were identical to the human version just with a different label) as they were nearly triple the price and she objectd to the pharaceutical company doing that when it was an identical product!!

I think that sounds like a great idea. Maybe your daughter might like to write (or draw) something to go with it - that might also make people realise how widely the pain from something like this reaches. Does your daughter have something to remember Bailey with? I only ask as that has always helped me a little bit - when my first cat died my Dad bought me a stone painted as a cat, which still sits on my dresser. And I have a soft toy my grandma gave me for my 2nd cat. I spent a lot of time holding them after my cats had gone. When I lost Emma last year I bought a necklace for myself (and also one that Kenzie has on her collar) that holds her ashes, so she is with me whenever I need her close by. Again, I'm so sorry that you have gone through this. i hope that there will be a bundle of furry joy for you in the future.

I have been told that apple cider vinegar and parsley are both natural anti-inflammatories. And even if they're not they certainly didn't seem to do any harm to my old girl!! I was also told to feed lamb rather than beef as the process of breaking down the beef was "hotter" than lamb, so added heat to the body. I have no idea if this is at all true, but my dog preferred lamb and chicken anyway!

My older BC works for treats (I get better results with that), the 16 week pup mostly is working for praise (loves a treat but not essential). I think depends on the dog!! I do use treats to help learn to go to the toilet on cue. And also even if you start with treats you can use them in conjunction with praise and then start fading them and using mainly the praise. Horses for courses! But I think the main thing is the consistency and the routine, with BC's the moment they see inconsistency they'll take advantage of it (ok, well that's my experience so far!!!). Little Hamish is pretty much toilet trained, he knocks at the door to go out, but I expect that if I take him out he goes to the toilet (there is no play/treats/exploring until he has done a wee). So he will go every single time I take him out even if it was only 5 minutes earlier that he was taken out.

I found the vet I go to by chance sort of. Before I started going to them I was travelling 45min (30+km) to get to the vet that I knew and loved. At my current vet, there are 2 vets I mainly see - one usually for the cats another for the dogs, but happy to see either. There is another vet and the only reason I don't ask for her is because she doesn't work as often, but am also happy to see her! They even get in really good locums. I love my vet!!! I'm looking at moving and when i do I will still probably travel to this vet unless it is something that is an absolute emergency! Oh and I have referred others to this vet and have found that several of my friends use this vet and love them. I did try somw others in the area but wasn't really impressed by them, but I then got lucky!

Thankyou so much everyone. It's amazing how one year down the track you still miss them exactly the same as the day they went. It's easier to deal with, but that hole can never be filled - although it is possible to be happy and have a new fury friend, but they are each their own dog and will never be a replacment. But it always serves as a good reminder to give them a big hug every day and make the most of your time with them.

I'm pretty sure this is who cremated my Emma and they were lovely.

My last BC pup and my current BC pup pretty much only had free-play plus a short walk. With Kenz she had this til at least 9 months old possibly older. A walk for my pups is one that is done at their pace with lots of stopping for sniffing and it's more about learning to walk on a lead and to be able to do simple obedience behaviours in a distracting environment. But we do lots of brain work!! Currently Hamish is probably doing about 30 minutes each night of thinking work (broken up in to several short sessions), and I have to say when it is bed time he is tuckered out!! He also has Kenzie to play with so they do lots of wrestling, etc and that also helps to wear him out. He's a working dog so he loves using his brain and I love it because it means I get a tired puppy. I have to say personally in terms of adding glucosamine to a puppy's food - I think it's just spending unnecessary money. I would have thought a puppy shouldn't need this unless there is already some existing problem.

Again, haven't used Mornington Lodge but they were the only ones on my emergency accom list when I went away last year (have heard great things and I had a dog with special medical needs and they were more than happy to accommodate all her requirements). My parents visited them once to check out the facility and said that it looked great!

Well, this is my first ever brag on here! Kenzie and I had our first weekend of obedience and rally-o trialling. This is my little reactive girl who I have been working super hard with to just try and get her to be in a trialling environment and stay calm. And I have to say that was one of our biggest achievements of the whole weekend, she coped really well in the environment and only reacted maybe 3 or 4 times over the 2 days and was in really close proximity to strange dogs and dogs doing super fun things. So for me that is my first big brag - we can actually go to trials and not have a meltdown!!! Obedience we found out she can do a brilliant stand for exam (we were entered in CCD, although on the 2nd day everyone was saying the stand for exam was much more than what it should be for CCD and she got 19 for it - yay!!), however, heeling in a ring is not her strong point (or any point at all for that matter!!!). Down stays great, sit stay we have some work to do. So I was really pleased that although there was no way we would pass that, particularly, she would do a stand for exam and not have a problem with a complete stranger touching her! Rally-o I was hoping she might be ok, but Saturday showed that the environment was just a bit too much for her and she really struggled to focus on me in the ring. Sunday first trial she was similar to Saturday, we were scoring ok, but not passes (I was just happy she was scoring and we weren't being DQ'd!!). But her second trial somehow we managed to pull a pass and not just that it was a pretty decent pass at that!!! She scored 7th in her ring, and we were up there with some pretty experienced dogs and handlers!!! Cannot tell you all how proud I was of my little girl (well proud enough that when I found out the score all I could do was burst in to tears!!!)!!

I'm so sorry to hear about Bailey Owey. My thoughts are very much with you. My beautiful old Miss Emma will have met him at the rainbow bridge and she will take care of him, she was PTS 1 year before to the day of Bailey's passing (she always pretended to not like puppies but really she loved them and loved looking out for them!). BC's are a beautiful breed and there are wonderful breeders out there and I hope your family gets to experience the joy of them some time in the future. Just remember you did everything you could for a gorgeous puppy.

One year ago today was the day I lost my beautiful Emma. It was a bad week for many good dogs, but somehow we move on without them. There are still many tears. And I still miss my beautiful girl more than I imagined I would. Sometimes your heart is touched by someone and they just stay with you forever and ever and ever. Kenzie and I now have little Hamish in our lives and he is our little connection to Emma so a tiny part of her will always be around. There are even a few things he does that are just like her, and now when he does them I get to smile because there is a little bit of Em still in the house! I would do anything to have my girl back but I'm so thankful for the 3.5 years I got with her as they were a brilliant time for both of us. Love you and miss you Miss Emma.

I know someone who uses them, they seem happy and haven't had trouble claiming. Only thing to keep in mind is that they don't offer lifetime cover if your dog has a chronic condition - pet plan are the only ones that offer this from my recent research.

I am a converted lover of crate training! It is really really useful for toilet training, and also so that they have somewhere they feel nice and safe that belongs to them. My baby puppy has been sleeping in a crate since coming home and he loves it, if he needs the toilet at night he whinges to tell me and then goes straight back in to sleep. His puppy pen that he spends days in when I'm at work also has a crate attached to it for him to sleep in. Definitely start out now as you intend things to be for life. If the pup will be allowed indoors let that happen now, if they are going to spend time outside start giving them outside time from day 1. He will probably be too old to go to a puppy school when you get him. But I would strongly recommmend taking him to obedience school as soon as he's fully vaccinated. They learn so quickly when they're babies I like to make the most of their enthusiasm and willingness to learn. But more importantly in my mind is it's a great place for dogs to learn how to socialise and appropriately interact (or not interact) with other dogs and get them used to a variety of different breeds. People often assume obedience classes are about learning sit, stay, etc but there are so many other things that puppies learn in that environment (how to settle while other dogs do things, how to just hang out and be quiet with their people, focus on their people, how to work around other dogs, how to not meet another dog even if they want to, how to politely meet another dog, etc, etc, etc). As for coming home... When I picked up Hamish Kenzie came with me and ignored him at the breeders!!! Then in the car she realised she couldn't ignore him forever. She bowled him over a couple of times at home to let him know that she would be telling him where he could go. Of course now they love each other and she howls if I take him out without her!!! I just let Hamish have a wander around (back yard first as he needed to do wees and poos straight away because we'd been in the car and it was all new and exciting), then he was allowed to have a wander inside. The crate was also good for the first few days in terms of Kenzie wanting some space so either she would go to her crate to get away from Hamish or if Hamish was bothering her he'd go to his crate with a chewy, it gave each of them some space til they were used to each other. Can't wait to see the little one - enjoy the baby phase it ends too soon!!!!

Hmm, I might have to look in to VAN. That's the grainy one, yes? And maybe I'll try bran instead of psyllium husk plus more roughly chopped veg rather than grated carrot. Thanks for the ideas I'll get to trying them!!

I started my beautiful old girl Emma when she was almost 10 years old!!! So I'd say not too old!!! We did NADAC which was great for her because of her age and she got to jump much lower heights! Bt for me it's about having fun with my dog so as long my dog is happy and looks like they're smiling then that's all that matters!!! Kenzie is 2.5 years old and we haven't trialled in ANKC agility yet, but we will eventually when we get around to it. She loves doing the training though! Hamish, we'll he's only 13 weeks, but he'll start when we get around to it. We might practicing some foundation groundwork soon but that's mainly because I've now learnt it's good for getting focus and helping your dog move with you (and it doesn't matter what you do they're good things to have!). I think it sounds like your dog is a great age to be doing this sort of training!!

What do you use I guess as a bit of filler when you feed your dog? Kenzie is on reduced rations to try and lose some weight (she is not at all happy about this!!), so I'm wanting something to make her tummy feel more full that is low calorie. She has taken to trying to steal the cats food, something they and I are not happy about!! And yes it should be inaccessible to her (she is climbing to get to it - unfortunately one of my cats can't jump baby gates etc so I can't section it off like that). She also tends to have a bit of a problem in that she often has full anal glands, so I'm wanting something that will be bulky at the other end to try and help with this. Currently, she gets a grated carrot with her dinner and at the moment also some rice, plus a little bit of kibble and 2 chicken necks (she also gets some kibble during the day when she is working/training). She will also usually get one "treat" (bully stick or something along those lines) most days when she is at home when I work, if she comes to work she doesn't usually get this. I have also put psyllium husk in her food to try and help with the anal gland issue but I don't know that it has helped much (and she tends to have poo that is quite jelly-ish when she has a lot of psyllium husk). I tend to gently express her anal glands every so often, more to be preventative than anything else (the moment she does a butt scoot it usually means they are starting to fill!). So if anyone has any brilliant ideas or remedies for either issue here I'd love to hear about it!!!

Quick question... I know some stations are supposed to be performed before the sign, some after. How do you know which? When I was looking through the descriptions I recall seeing one or two that specified after (I think!). But read the rules, read the descriptions coudn't find anything definitive - so all help appreciated!!

Haven't ever used it, know 2 people who have in the past but it has changed hands since then. I have heard through the grapevine that the conditions are much better there now, but don't know anything about it first hand.