Mystiqview

I would have thought one serious enough to go in for surgery at 9-10 months old would not be minor. It's not something common in my breed as compared to others. Or many just go undetected. I know some can be hard to hear. Mum and I both have them and it can only be picked up by an ECG.

I have three clam shells running in my yard under the palm trees. I have found the ones with the seats in better rather than the scalloped clam shape. Mine lye in it and rest the head on the seats as if they were lying in a spa sipping wine. As far as children coming in...... I have an acre dam - un fenced where there is a bigger chance of drowning in. Especially if they get stuck in the silt.

Most people would think the 6 week vet check would have picked up something like that and would not think of doing the next until 12 weeks when it is due the next vaccination. Not only that, as the girl at work said...... "thought we would get our next dog from an ethical breeder". Their last one had issues and was a pound puppy. I certainly do not blame them for being slightly peeved

Today I was talking to a colleague from work who has about a 10 month lilac border collie bought from a registered breeder in Victoria. It has a serious heart murmur that was missed at 6 weeks, possibly again at 12 weeks. It has now had to have surgery to correct this defect. Once they opened her up, the pup bled out and had to be closed up and is now "skating on thin ice". If she survives the next two weeks they will try again to correct it. The breeder has claimed there was nothing there at 6 weeks and has offered no support.. I know faint murmurs can be missed until when the dog is older.. but if it is that bad that they now have to look at open surgery....surely someone would SHOULD have picked it up much earlier??? Please give thoughts and prayers to this little girl.. Poor people they paid over $1200 for her and now another $3000 in treatment.

I have heard from others and unfortunately it is all antidotal stuff: Diets too high in protein are believed by some to make them grow too fast and then turn out... Lift the bowl up off the ground a bit so their feet are under the bowl rather than standing around the bowl Some say give them Vit C As I said, this is stuff I have heard around the traps from many a breeder. I don't know if any are true or just urban myths.

I give goats milk or lactose free milk to the bitch during and after whelping. Lactose free carnation milk is also ok. Have never given calcium syrup. There is also studies done that if the bitch is on a good quality diet and is healthy, the old method of dosing them up on calcium is not needed

Give your dog time to adjust. As someone else said. It is his house now. He gets all the attention rather than compete for it with another animal. What about making his environment more interactive so he is not so lonely? Activities he can enjoy, explore and be his own? If/when you give this dog back you will be in a similar situation again. I think if you get another dog, you get another dog.

Any of the current available tick products are not 100% water fast. If your dog spends a lot of time swimming or has regular baths, it will wash off some of the active ingredient decreasing its effectiveness. Does not matter whether you go frontline, advantage etc. If, while on holidays, your dog is going to be doing a lot of swimming, nothing beats regular physical checks. Even if it not going swimming, nothing beats regular checks. Talk to any number of vets where ticks are prevalent and they will all tell you stories of dogs coming in with tick paralysis while being on some form of tick preventative.. To rely on any of the tick formulas for total tick prevention is stupid and courting an expensive trip to the vet for treatment. Wile some on here can say they use XYZ product and found/claim they never had a tick problem, there will be someone else who can tell you they use a tick product properly and still end up with their dogs at the vet on a drip and hundreds of dollars poorer, just for the sake of not doing regular checks of their animals and relying on the tick formula. Edit: I live in an extreme paralysis tick environment and the advice from our vets who treat plenty of cases daily is no product is guaranteed and should be relied on exclusively Also. Ensure you read the information leaflet in the product you buy. It provides some very useful information on the product.

When I was an AMO for council, I was scratched by a cat as we were taking it out of the trap at the pound. My arm swelled up twice the size and I needed hospitalisation. It was not a ferral cat per sae (although a few choice words were said at the time). It was someone's cat "who gets locked up at night" and the owners did not see it a problem to let it wander during the day. The neighbours had trapped it and had taken photographs of the cat killing a number of native birds and other wildlife. Other council staff also have had to be treated on a number of times from handling cats and being scratched and bitten. The fact is, if the cat wanders and comes into contact with other wandering or ferral cats, they can contract Feline flu. Bacteria in claws can cause nasty infections. The trap needs to be on your property. It also needs to be observed that if a person is wishing to trap an animal, all care and attention needs to be considering to the basic welfare of the animal (ie water and not be left in the hot sun all day). We recommended placing the trap in a shady area and not to leave the trap out all day while the person was at work and could not keep an eye on the trap. It is also a requirement that if the owner of the cat sees the cat in your possession or in a trap in your property, has every legal right to request the animal to be returned. Hence why we always recommended that the trap be not so much as hidden but not in plain sight if the person trapping the animal wishes to not later be targeted by neighbourhood disputes and wishes to be anonymous. If the person is not wanting that option, or does not want to approach the neighbours in person, some councils offer a "fact sheet" which can be downloaded and placed in their letterbox. The owner of the cat may just throw it in the bin and do nothing to confine the cat to the property, but it maybe a first option to try. But really.. It is the responsibly of all pet owners to keep their animals confined to their property for the animal's safety and the safety of the community - regardless of whether it is dog, cat, poultry or livestock.

I rarely ever got to see a placenta and definitely never got to check if they were complete. With a long coated breed that cleans the puppies as they come out, does the cords themselves and gulps down the placentas at the same time there is no way to count them. All the vets I have used have given oxy as routine at the after a whelping check and are happy to give experienced breeders a few shots to have on hand if you pick them up a day or so before the bitch is due. My current(repro specialist)vets request that we call them before using it during a whelping but if we are pretty sure they are finished we can give the final clean out shot a couple of hours after the last puppy and take them for the vet check later in the day. A number of vets now will not give Oxy out. Legally (as told to me by the vet), it is a vet administered drug and they are not prepared to lose their licence in giving it out. As for long coated.. I clipped the belly of mine before whelping. Clipped the belly and trimmed the pantyloons. In another 12-14 weeks they will be bald anyway. Its as much to see what is happening, as for keeping her/and the the puppies clean

Friend of mine has kept two entire daly bitches and one desexed daly bitch together without issue. I know some who cannot keep two desexed bitches/dogs together. They themselves are quite disorganised and to try to describe them rather all over the shop in their own ways. I think it depends on you a lot and how you manage the pack and what respect you gain from the animals. (in this I mean you don't have to be mean, cruel etc. more consistent). I have one bitch here who got stroppy when she was in season. Not a problem otherwise. No real fight to the death. Then I know others who also have poor management skills and had two bitches fight to the death. Personally, I agree with some other comments. I would be looking at getting in a bitch, maybe a bitch in whelp. Depending on which country and quarantine rules could not make this a viable option, but maybe something to consider. Keeping dogs when you have number restrictions is keeping a waste of space if you are wanting to breed. Don't get me wrong, I love my dog here, but even when I had two entire bitches, I could not use him on one as it was his mother. I could have used him on the other, however unless I wanted to repeat the mating a number of times, I can only use him the once too, as obviously I cannot use him on his daughter. At least if you keep bitches, you can go to which ever stud dog you want, and bring in the traits or lines you want and not be restricted as if you had a dog in your back yard.

It is quite popular with a number of dog clubs around here. Unfortunately many attach the ribbon down too low so others cannot see it. The second unfortunate thing is many people who go to dog training, let their dogs walk at end of lead and think it is quite ok to walk up to any and all dogs they see there and let their dog say hello and play without asking the other dog owner if it is ok or they mind. I have never needed the yellow ribbon on my dogs, however I think it is awfully rude and inconsiderate when others walk around all the dogs there (even when you are standing well to the side and to NOT be in the way) and allow their dogs to play and jump on all the others. I went to train my dog/s. If I wanted them to play I would take them to an off lead park where they could play. Public Club Dog Training is for only an hour once a week.. At training, all play they get are with me and me alone.

Having bred three sables, yes they are beautiful. Pity they are not recognised here in Australia. Fortunately though, no more as Mia has now been desexed. Love a good dark red/white. Not the wishy washy cream dogs.

You cannot just steal the cat because it is a menace. That is not the way to deal with this. Maybe the people do not know or realise what the cat is doing. Cats don't just attack people normally so I would guess it has been traumatised in some way. Has anyone ever actually spoke to the people about this ? If not that seems the way to start or if everyone isn't brave enough or can't approach because of the cat a letter in their mailbox explaining the problem & that you all hope they will keep the cat indoors or accompany it if outside or you will have to contact the council. Give them a week to act & if they don't call the council & tell others to do the same. One call they may ignore, lots they won't. Legally, if the cat is outside of personal property boundaries or within your property property boundaries, you are legally entitled to "seize" the cat to the pound (or vet). You are not stealing the animal at this point. If you then choose keep the animal, then yes it is stealing. It is the same as for wandering dogs. You can "seize" an animal in the street/public footpath and take it to the local vet (who will call council for animal collection anyway), call council (who if they collect the animal will take it to the pound, or some welfare agencies such as Lost dogs home will take the animal to the pound as many welfare groups now run council pounds. (AWL - gold coast council pound & Ipswich pound. Lost Dog's Home for Brisbane pound). Unfortunately too many cat owners do not care and often give the excuse "my cat is locked up at night". This is only up to 12 hours where the animal is not doing what comes naturally (hunting etc). Aside from crapping in people's gardens etc, there is also cat flu. Not everyone vaccinates their cat, and roaming or ferral cats can easily pass this on. I have had my arm swell up by a cat scratch/bite when I was working in the pound assisting the vet. Other staff also have had similar incidents. When I worked at the pound, we did hire cat traps out to residents to trap nuisance and ferral cats. We very rarely had any cat traps stay in the office for more than a few hours. No sooner were they brought in, they were hired out again to someone else. I agree with tdierikx, if it was a dog, there would be no hesitation on calling the council. Unfortunately for the two councils I have now worked in, they do not react the same way to a menacing cat as they do a menacing dog.

Why tell them to take it to the pound! The cat is not a stray etc. it's home is well known. How would you like it if someone trapped one of your animals and took it to the pound - and then having to rely in the pound to scan it etc and hope they're not full and don't PTS before you find it?? If there is an issue then contact the Council and they will deal with it. It is the responsibility of the cat owner to ensure their cat is confined to their property. If the cat owner was responsible, the cat would not be menacing the neighbourhood. The person is quite within their legal right to take any wandering animal to the pound. If they contact the council and they come out... what do you think the council officer will do?? Leave it there and go "good kitty?" Whether you like it or not, it is their legal right.

If it is a menace. Some councils also hire out cat traps. Place it somewhere where your neighbour cannot see it from the front yard (more to keep neighbourhood peace). Place a foil tin of dine or simlar in the trap. When the cat enters it will spring close. Put the whole trap in the car and take to your local pound. In QLD, it is a legal requirement that all cats are confined to the property 24/7 and must be registered with the local council. Cats are not allowed to roam - not even during the day. You can report a menacing and or wandering cat.

There are many on this forum who have also worked with a variety of dogs, worked in shelters/pounds and retrained rescue dogs. I had a husky once from a back yard breeder. Damn good little dog. Was very obedient, did obedience (handler) competitions and demonstrations with her rather successfully. Great companion. That one dog cost me more in vet bills than a number of my past and current pedigrees combined. She had a rare immune disorder, and after a number of courses of failed steroid and other treatments, was put to sleep. Our first dobermann was a rescue from the neighbour's marriage breakdown. Purebred, not pedigree. That girl had no health issues until her old age where she had cancer. But 13 years from a dobe is still a damn good innings. I have worked in pounds as an council officer. I have retrained a rescue border collie, which I put a solid 18 months retraining into, only to have him revert back to his Henny Penny, the sky is falling down through an incident at a local dog training facility. Like many others here, I have bred a number of puppies over the years, and while 99% mine go as pets (as I prefer them to), some have gone onto sporting/working homes. A good breeder will match temperament of the puppy to the lifestyle of the family. I certainly will not sell the social butterfly to a non active family. Wrong combination! Depends on where you go as to how much you pay for a pedigree. There are those in my breed as in probably every breed who want to rip off puppy buyers. It comes down to how much people are willing to pay. If they are willing to pay a highlight robbery for puppies, then some breeders will ask that money. There are others who charge a fair price for a quality puppy from happy, good temperament and healthy (and health tested) parents. Your "rescue" may come from the same breeder or similar line which contains the same health issues as your example pedigree. It may have have the same health/temperament issues as another pup/juvenile from a BYB or registered breeder. It may be "cheaper" now, but still may be costing a lot more later on with the same or similar health issues. Mutts are not without their problems either. Cross two dogs who as a breed carry the same type of issues, there is a damn good chance you can produce those same issues in your cross bred. If you are wanting a dog for a specific purpose (EG agility) then it really does come down to a number of specific factors and traits in order to be competitive in that field. Just having a good temperament may not be enough. If you just want a pet, the criteria may not be as stringent and a rescue may tick all the boxes. If you really like this bitch, the breeder, the line and know the issues from the line. I would wait. Although I would question the 12 week wait?? I would be trying to get your puppy at 8 weeks when they are normally allowed (as far as ANKC goes) to be getting the pup and socialising it and starting early toilet, focus and other basic foundation/manners training (play drive games, basic obedience - wait, come etc). Mains registered? Don't know if it is standard practice in that breed, but in Border Collies, most are sold on limit.

I have had a bitch go "out of labor" so to speak. Eat, poop, feed pups and sleep only to deliver another puppy some 4 hours later. All healthy and survived.

With the two bolded statements, I would be looking at a breeder who competes in the discipline you are looking to enter. They (SHOULD) know temperament, and be able to assist and BE HONEST in what the temperament is like for each individual puppy. With a registered breeder, you SHOULD again be able to determine any genetic health testing, hip/elbow scoring etc which is important for a competition home. A show dog who has not cut the grade, may have done so because it's structure or temperament is not suited for the discipline. By temperament, it can simply be not enough up and go or drive, or too easily distracted. Just because it has not made the show grade, will automatically make it suitable for a sporting discipline either. It could be also, the litter mate was just that little bit better, and the breeder cannot keep both. In which case, you could be lucky. I find it interesting looking through the BC ads on DOL and elsewhere, some of the comments made by breeders claiming their dogs are "top of their field, or "excellent conformation" etc. If the breeder does not now or never before stepped foot in the competitive arena, how would they know what is required for the basic discipline they are proclaiming their animals excel in? I can understand those breeders who have competed in their chosen field and maybe taking a break from it for a multitude of reasons. You would hope to think, they would have learnt a thing or two and know what they are talking about. If you are looking for an agility dog, I believe it is more important to have the correct structure than what is required for the show ring. Reason being, you are putting extra strain on the animal's joints and ligaments and it is more important they are sound to prevent injury. Showing, does not require the same physical stresses as agility does. Unfortunately with a rescue/pound animal, you cannot determine what the health of the line/parents etc are and whether you are an increased risk of injury through poor structure. For competition again, I would be looking at a puppy rather than a juvenile. You then start with a blank slate and you can train the traits YOU want/need. You do not have to waste time untraining bad traits through poor socialisation/previous ownership before training the good traits you are looking for/need. Regardless of your decision, thorough research of lines and health issues I believe is important. While I would like to think 99% of breeders are ethical. We know that is not the case, and sometimes "Murphy" jumps on your shoulder influencing a bad decision and possibly a bad breeder (whether they be registered or other).

Not any more around here. There are a few vets I have visited recently for vaccinations.. All charged a consult fee of $65 plus vaccine (normal rate, not weekend or anything). Have not walked out for anything under $110 lately for a C5 Vaccination. The "physical" has in once instance, been fairly lacking.. in that all they did was listen to heart/lungs. But definitely shop around.

The purple spray is "Centrogen" I use plain ole Iodine.. Dilute it to the strength you want. Cheaper than betadine. (Betadine is only already diluted iodine anyway)

I have a single tank heated Conmurra I bought new about 10 years ago now. Still going strong. No problems with the pump or heater. I could possibly replace the hose as it is a little stiff from age. Looking back now, I should have bought a twin tank. Not necessarily auto fill. But that is only because bathing for show I use conditioner on one dog. The only thing I don't like about it is the large removable lid. I prefer the smaller tank with a hinged lid. But I think each have their pros and cons. Definitely go heated. It is quicker if you have access to dump a bucket of warm water in the tank and top up with cold. Also make sure if you are buying second hand, the heater element works. NEVER turn on the heater if the water is not well over the element. They can be expensive to replace and can damage the bath. Some dogs "use" the water much more and others and create heaps of foam. Others hardly foam the water at all

Ezy dog collars. Nice and sturdy with a quick release snap. Made of neoprene and have found good on long haired dogs. Does not wear a hole in them. Have a look at www.petsupersavers.com.au

Gee. I should have put the prices up on my last litters. I was way undercharging Depends on breed and breeder. I think last I heard for mine the average is between $800-$1000. Of course there are those who charge way more for colour and fads. Of course some charge more because of lines, titles health tests etc.

That looks like a nice solidly constructed one. Without seeing, one of the better looking ones I have seen in aluminium. A lot I have seen are cheap nasty crap