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Proban Tablets: One tablet/10kg dog given every 48 hours. It has to be given pretty much every 48 hours to keep up the toxity in the dog. So if you miss one.. well... Frontline plus: top spot every two weeks. Can work out very expensive, especially if you have more than one dog. Tick Collar - Bayer makes Kiltix and Virbac makes Prevent tick. Bayer collar claims to last up to 6 weeks where the Virbac brand claims 2 months. It is all dependant on how often you wash the dog, how long the dogs coat is and how often the dog goes swimming. All these can affect the length of time the collar is effective. The collar is also only really good for the neck, and chest areas (where most ticks attach).. It is not really effective for between the pads and rear ends, where ticks can also attach. The companies claim that the product is waterproof, however when you wash the dog, you remove some of the poison (dont wash with collar on) however if you have long haired dogs, it can take up to a week for the poison to work its way back through the coat. Final: Tick rinses. These last between 3 to 7 days. Fido's tick rinse claims 3 days and Permoxin claims 7 days. Some of the other brands such as Maldacin and Malaban last 7 days as well, however you cannot use these while on Proban or tick collars as it uses the same poison and when used together it can poison your dog. Best method.. daily checks. Even using any of the above, they are not 100% guaranteed. Every product still recommends daily or twice daily checks. Areas to avoid: creeks, srubby and long grassed areas, as these are where ticks love to reside. However short grass where scrub is nearby can also have ticks as possums, birds, bandicoots and kangaroos/wallabies are natural hosts to ticks and the tick can hitch a ride anywhere. If you find a tick on the dog, no matter how long and what signs are presenting (there is another thread on ticks), you need to keep the dog quiet for at least 48 hours, even if there is no visible signs of paralysis. Tick toxin can affect internal organs, and serious paralysis often leaves an interal organ scarred. If you have to see a vet for the tick anti-toxin, it will cost at a minimum of $250. One of my bitches this year (first year in 12 we had a tick on this property) she had to have the syrum, it cost me $250, and she was only very mildly affected. If your dog is affected by ticks, you need to keep the dog quiet for at least 3 weeks after the syrum.

The only problem I have is a dog escaping... even with a remote fence collar on. Digging under existing fence.. GRRRR. Bloody border collies.. damn smart ones. Have become totally reliant on the collar as she has worked out that it is the thing that bites.. NO collar.. out.. Nevermind.. WOUld love to go.. any info always helps when you are training yours or others.

Think the poll is too narrow scoped. I have one sort of hyper active dog.. very quick to learn, no issues, but when young hard to keep attention. She has been a good all round dog, except her recent attempts of getting under the fence... have one of those remote fence collars, which goes around the existing chain wire fence... It has gotten to the stage where NO COLLAR = escape. One other dog has high prey drive.. a mind of her own and intelligent... WHen she wants to work she is brilliant.. when she doesn't well dont bother. She loves barking at the neighbours horses when they get too close to the boundary fence. My boy... the most laid back of them all..had some confidence issues.. Many said "hes a boy, he will grow out of it"... it is a lot slower process as you are building the confidence along with trying to train them... Then again.. in many ways he is the best one of the three. Each of mine have their own personality and temperament...Would not swap any of them for another. But for me.. would never take in a rescue.. do not have the time or inclination needed to retrain a dog with issues.

I used principle puppy with all mine.. I used to get it by the 20kg bag from Hay you now Petwise. From what I was told, Principle was aimed at the higher shopping centre market, but did not doo too well as most people who bought in supermarket bought lower priced brands (ie lucky dog and pal)..Trying to get the large bag was always a problem as no one sold it. Will see with a name change it will sell better than principle...But if it is still targeting the supermarket shopper.. maybe it will come the to same problem. THen trying to beat Eaukanuba or Iams in a pet store is also hard to beat...(ever notice sales people always direct you to the MOST expensive dog food??)

Make sure any dry food you get does not have colours in it. AS this can cause coat problems. Pedigree meaty bites is one. Think also Country Kennel is another, and Delish is another.. (base grade dry foods) Personally found no real difference in poo consistancey, coat shine and weight between the premium and lower grade dry foods. Its a personal preference really. With Bonnie (except bonnie lite) be careful as it is made primary from roo meat.. all my dogs hated roo... to buy a 20kg bag... and they don't eat it.. well... At the moment I am on Supercoat. Tis ok.

Mita, No problems at all. By the sounds of your dilema, you may have to keep the dog quiet longer. But best to talk to the vet with regards to that. Watch the food and water intake. Generally after taking dog home from vet, no food for 24 hours and no water for 12. WHen you introduce the food and water back, give it back frequently but slowly. Otherwise they may vomit it back up. The tick on Jemma was really small, and it was thought to only have been attached for approximately 12 hours. When I took her to the vet, there were 10 other dogs in there in various stages of tick paralysis. Some like Jemma had only a small tick, others roughly the same size/weight had more before succombing to the effects. Even if you find a tick on the dog and they have not shown any signs of paralysis, you should keep them quiet for 48 hours just in case it gets into their heart/lungs. I know the brochure Rappie is talking about.. Good simple brochure, available from Vet clinics. Best get yourself a copy of one. Rappie said to spray Frontline spray on the tick. Same can be achieved with Aeroguard or fly spray (depending on where tick is). paralysis ticks are usually (but not always) grey in colour. Brown ticks are that, usually brown, they may have a lighter coloured band across the back. Mine all wear tick collars with daily checks. The Bayer one (Kiltix) lasts up to six weeks. Frontline every two weeks for me for three dogs, is too expensive ($45/month for next 6 months) Same with Proban Tablets (bottle has 100 tablets, divided by three dogs every 48 hours..) You really can't avoid the daily checks.

Mita, The vet would of told you to keep the dog extremely quiet for at least the next three weeks??? If you don't, it may lead to heart or lung problems as the tick toxin can attack major organs and leave it with scarring. It has been 6 weeks since Jemma had her tick and the syrum, and still she shows some lingering signs of not being quite right. Easiest way to identify ticks is if the legs are all at the front of the body, it is paralysis tick, if the legs are along the body, it is a brown tick.

In Brisbane here, ticks are just as prominent in the inner city suburbs as in the rural outskirts. Natural hosts are Possums, bandicoots, magpies just to name a few. Many suburbs have trees and scrub and possums, therefore there is a risk of getting ticks. Best would be to talk to your local vet where you live. If your dog gets a tick and has to have the syrum it would cost you a minimum of $250. One of my borders picked up a tick here on the property (let it be known this is the first tick in 12 years on this property), it was only on her 12 hours and she was showing first signs of paralysis (slightly wobbly rear end). I picked it up very early and took her to the vet. She was only hospitalised for 4 hours (normally at least 24) and was given a sedative and the syrum.. walked out with a $250 bill. most of which was for the syrum. You then have to keep the dog totally quiet for at least 3 weeks as the toxin from a tick can affect heart and lungs. There may be lingering affects for up to 6 months. Tick treatments: Proban tablets every 48 hours, tick collars (have heard that the virbac one is not good for multi dog households, especially if you have puppies who lick chewing necks, have heard of cases where dogs have become sick and/or died. Have not heard the same thing about the Bayer product), Frontline plus every two weeks, and tick rinses - Fido's every three days, Permoxin every 7 days. With tick collars, you cannot use proban and or phosphate tick rinses such as Malaban, Maldacin as they use the same chemical and can poisen the dog. With long coated dogs, it can take up to a week for the poison to move throughout the coat.. While they say washing does not take it all out, it is something to consider whether it DOES reduce effectiveness of the product as it may not take it off the collar, but how much does it take off the coat?? No matter what precaution you use, all companies of tick products recommend daily checking. Most common places for ticks are around mouth/head/neck, armpits and front part of body. If in long grass or scrub, they can get into vulvas etc.

Forgot about the lime. We use it down the stables as well. Great stuff. There is another product called permoxin. Similar to Fidos, but a fraction stronger. Pyretherian based. Love Maldacin. However you have to suit up to use it or use it in a well ventillated place. Keep away from eyes and throat, nose as it burns when you breath in. (done it hey Mel - drank a whole litre of milk afterwards and my throat still burnt. - tried it in the hydrobath using warm water and breathed in the fumes) DOnt use warm water now in the hydrobath. Thing with fleas, and the hardest to control is the environment. If you neighbour has fleas so will you, no matter how hard you try.

The breeder of two of my dogs uses a product called Benelox on her 16 year old border collie with good results. their web page is www.benelox.com Looking at the box, they are based in South Australia.

Found for some reason, when I got infected with fleas here (do not normally have a problem but did so about 6 months ago) that frontline was useless on my medium-long coated borders. Changed to Advantage, along with regular baths in Maldacin (need to suit up.. poison), and saw some relief. Do not know whether it was the maldacin or the advantage, but had used Frontline and maldacin without any where near the same results. Trouble with fleas, you have to treat not only the dog, but the house, yard and anywhere the dog roams...as fleas can hitch a ride anywhere. And by only killing them in one spot and not the other causes re-infection. With the maldacin, it says on the tin to put the waste water/chemical into a pump hand sprayer and spray the bedding and other areas to also control the infestation in those areas. I also regularly flea bomb the kennels. And have hammock style beds with shadecloth as covering to limit the risk of infections in the bedding. Ie make it a sterile as possible for fleas.

Cat food is called cat food for a reason like dog food is called dog food for a reason?? Feline and canine diets are different. Cat food is generally more tasty than dog food and have heard of it being used to temp fussy eaters.. But long term?? Not something I would use or recommend.

Cat food is called cat food for a reason like dog food is called dog food for a reason?? Feline and canine diets are different. Cat food is generally more tasty than dog food and have heard of it being used to temp fussy eaters.. But long term?? Not something I would use or recommend.

Just because you're vaccinated does not mean that you will not get it. (Many think this) It is the same with us, just because we are vaccinated against measels does not mean that we will get it at some point in our lives. The hope is that it will not be as serious as if we were not vaccinated against it. I have only done the C5. I live isolated away from suburbia and take care where I take young puppies, so never have found the need to vaccinate any higher.

Miko only took one shot to be PTS. Ceaser took two because of his body weight. The worst part of that, was he was fighting inbetween the two syringes,, spasimming. After he finally stopped breathing, one last sigh then his bladder emptied on the floor. Not very dignified for an old gentleman. The cost of the disposal was only about $30.. the rest was for the consultation of $60, the Drug $120 for Ceaser.. Less for Miko. Maybe they charge so much so that people do not put their animals to sleep quickly. Although if they are suffering with illness..don't know there..still hard decision. Even harder staying with the vet while they do it.. But it was the least I could do for them.

Know it all too well.. About $140 - $200 a dog. Had to do it to two dogs last year through illness related problems. The worst was when the vet sent me the Vaccination reminder for one dog, two months after putting him to sleep. Needless to say.. I don't go to that vet any more. When I told the other vet surgery I go to to take Ceaser off the books, they sent me a sympathy card.

Bigbum. The herding (ANKC) talked about here is largely different from the sheep dog trials I do (Working Sheep dog Association). The ANKC herding stuff is more working the dog from behind DRIVING the sheep. The Working Sheep dog trials are more HEADING sheep which is using the dog to keep the sheep (ideally) 180 o in line with the handler. We used a round yard containing sheep, we would get the dog to run one direction then the other. A working border collie will naturally try to keep the directly opposite you and the sheep. you move one way.. the dog will keep that 180 o line. While the dog is moving in an either clockwise or anti clockwise direction, you would be giving your verbal command (BACK/BEHIND) followed by the accompanying whistle for that direction. If you don't have the round yard, I use what I described in my earlier post. I have the dog on a longish lead with a stick (guide) which I use to encourage the dog to move in either a clockwise/anti-clockwise direction around me. The same goes for above.. give the command as the dog is doing the direction followed by the accompanying whistle. The dog learns the whistle command through association. To test it - just use the whistle, if the dog goes that direction - reward it. Initially you may also have to use hand gestures - think of a sweeping gesture around the body in either a clockwise or anti clockwise gesture (similar to the hand signal for "Finish of the recall". I know other busy trainers who use a lunging whip/stock whip behind the dog to get the same effect. They russle the whip on the ground behind the dog to get it to move away from it. then give the word/whistly command while the dog is going in that particular direction. For this they generally have the dog tied on long lead which is secured to a stake to give the handler free use of his hands. HAVE TO STRESS>>> they don't hit the dog with the whip. You could try the stake way.. and once the dog is moving in the direction you want, you can also reward it by throwing food infront of it as it is moving. have you ever seen a horse lunged? If you have, the direction training is very similar. The animal is going in a circle around you while you are providing various stimulii which the horse/dog is reacting to.

Bigbum: Get the dog on a reasonably long leash and a short stick to guide the dog to a direction you want. First teach get the dog to go either clockwise or anti clockwise direction.. For clockwise I use HERE/BEHIND and Anti-clockwise BACK/OVER. (first one is distance command, the other proximity command or closer in). As the dog is doing the direction, you are giving the command at the same time using short whistles with either inflection going up or down depending on which direction you want. It is ideal that the dog has a basic understanding of the direction command first before introducing the whistle. In sheep dog trials, some use the whistle more than verbal commands. Whistle commands are great for long distances. For example: we have to Cast the dog to behind the sheep which could be the length of a football field. The use of the whistle to stop the dog at 180 degrees to you/sheep is easier than shouting "STOP". I use a combination of both. I have found that if I want the dog to REALLY STOP.. I use the whistle... they hit the dirt like there is no tomorrow. whereas the verbal one, they dog will more likely to try and override you with their instinct.

My dog will stop on a long whistle. Come on short whistles and go either left or right depending on the inflection used.. yes I have a working sheep dog. The use of whistles has been a long standing practice.

Lia, Even in obediece trialls, aggressive dogs pose a problem if they show aggression or bite someone or another dog. The dangers with agility is it is off lead, but in saying that the prelim stuff is all on lead, and at my club, we dont let more than one dog on the course at any one time. Ideally it would be better if you solved your aggression problems. However, if you are a confident handler, and jump the dog before it jumps someone else, you are well on your way. If you are based in BRisbane, I would recommend TLC trainers. They use positive methods to train their dogs and they are canine behaviourists to boot. I have a dominate male dobermann, I just have to be on the ball with him at all times. I have not done agility with him, but obedience trials. You just have to know when he is sizing up another dog and correct it immediately. But in the scale of things, hes not aggressive so to speak, male dominate, something I know I just have to work on and its part of my dog. (No off leash parks for this boy)