Jed

CavnRott, this is the boy? He is "middle aged", I think. Trouble is, once you begin reading about SM, ALL your dogs have symptoms. My boxer scratches her neck, hops on 3 legs to scratch when walking, and rubs her face on the ground. Syringo? Doubt it. I believe that 99.9% of cavaliers face scratch, rub saliva on your antique couches and ski on your persian carpets just because they like to, not because they have SM I don't think he has enough symptoms. I think they would have. If a specialist was reading the scans, I would expect him to know. Although it surprises me which vets know SFA, and which vets know quite a bit. Biggest problem is vets who think they know mis diagnosing positive. UK breeders warned of this when 3 month old pups were pts by vets diagnosing SM - which could not be, too early for symptoms to show - so perfectly health pups were put down for no good reason. If I had a pet, I would want him to tick all the boxes before I scanned him - primarily because of the cost, even through the scheme. It is cheaper in UK - and of course, the distances to travel are shorter

Yikes, MM, that's scary. Hope you have an extinguisher now. I had one in the kitchen (anyone who knows about my cooking knows why!!) Glad everything was ok in the end - specially the rice. Dogs do like their rice "just so" My electric frying pan kept tripping the circuit breaker, no fires, but the pan went to the dump. Moved to a house once, there was the most horrible !!**BANG**!! and all the lights went out. The powerpole, not far from the house, was on fire at the top. Out came the firies, out came Energex (the next day) - the previous occupant had replaced one of the fuses with 10 gauge fencing wire. Asked him late --- "got sick of the fuses blowing". Pretty scary stuff. Anything electrical, imho, is scary. More so than it was, by the way.

Even if the dog tests A on an MRI, doesn't mean he will not throw pups with syringo. So you pay around $1400 to have the dog scanned, and really, you aren't any wiser than you were. I also think the researchers have somehow missed a big chunk of the pie - dogs with syrinxes go through life with never a problem. I don't know enough to know anything, but the whole thing bothers me a great deal. And I don't really know why. Rumour has it that the % in this country is lower because of the dogs imported here (and into NZ). Maybe I haven't had problems because I used "A" dogs without knowing it. Maybe a lot of us are in that situation. Trouble is - nobody knows.

It's not about the breed, it is about badly bred, dog aggressive, untrained dogs owned by idiots and the unaware, and not contained so they can run amok and do as much damage as they like. When staffies have joined pitbulls in the bans, other breeds will figure in attacks. Things would be a whole lot better if people controlled their dogs.

It'a disgraceful that the ANKC would be a party to this.

Apparently following the lead of the UK, state canine controls have brought in the Accredited Breeders' Scheme. This scheme in the UK has been bagged by breeders, who say is it simply a money raisiing/pr exercise and does not distinguish between breeders. I hoped the scheme in Aus would be different. But no, I notice that our registered puppy farmers are in on the act. Their websites often show sheds and runs, extremely ordinary dogs, prefixes no one has ever heard of, parroted information cut and pasted from club websites worldwide, and their ABN yet they are accredited breeders. Oh my Lord, how on earth are buyers supposed to find a decent breeder with this rot going on? Are the CCs simply rubber stamping anyone who pays the fee?

Sunnyflower, try not to panic before the diagnosis. Please ensure that the vet DOES know about SM. Lots of vets say they do, but don't. Ask him some questions about SM and be happy with the answers before you take the dog to him. The breeder I gave you in NSW may know a vet too. Good luck. And he should be able to live a pain free life with the help of medication.

Unfortunately, sometimes, it is a SBT. A pom on lead, was grabbed by a (purebred) SBT, also on lead, and his ribcage was torn away from his spine. One bite, because of the size disparity, was sufficient.

And they didn't run away until half of the one being vacuumed disappeared up the nozzle ... lucky he was bigger than the tube, or he would have been a goner

Not very often. I give discounts to people who have previously bought a dog from me as a matter of course. I don't care much about titiles, and I know the dogs don't, so pups go to the best home on offer - whether that is pet or show.

Congratulations, what lovely pups!! From the photo, the tri has very well broken up markings, how exciting.

Only the owner who has seen the bitch can make the call,not people who have never seen her. That decision should be made on how the bitch is at other times, how her mother and father were. If she was genuinely wanting to kill another dog, she would not be in my breeding program. Full stop. She might not survive past that day. The larger the breed, the sooner she would be chucked out. Sway, you raised this thread to see what other breeders think, which I feel is a good idea. Trouble is, the problems we see as "no problem" may well be a problem in the first, second and third generation, and if we aren't checking up on them, we don't know. A snarl and a snap, - ok - "kill" - nuh. not on. For the good of the breed. And the good of the other dogs in the kennel. Everyone has to make their own decision about that based on their own ideas about what is acceptable and what is ethical

Not picking on you Perry, I basically do the same thing. Giving 50% of the donations as cost of collection is a bit high for me. However - if we all donate to local charities, who is going to help the bears, and the tigers in poor counties? I worry about that sometimes, but I don't know the answer.

Sunnyflower - if you haven't watched this, it may give you more info

Sorry to hear that, Ti. I thought she came from someone "good", but it's a while ago? That's why you need a switched on vet -- although there is more recognition of it more recently. The scratching might have been in response to an allergy or an itch. And I think (from memory, which is a bit shaky) there is another syndrome where they chase imaginary flies? Friend had one years ago, which chased bright lights. Too lazy to look it up, but it is a brain thing. Don't fret ti, it could have been syringo, or maybe not. I guess heaps of dogs have been misdiagnosed one way or the other. It's all so sad. Poor dogs.

Thanks, CL, missing cocker kisses. Phoenix misses her Cocker sister too, I think. They'll be together again wrecking the joint before I know it.

My pleasure Sunnyflower It's a very nasty thing to have to face as an owner - imho, one of the worst. However, look on the bright side -- if he is coping ok now (although he probably does have some pain) he will cope a lot better on medication, and chances are that the SM will not worsen -- not 100% sure about that, but I think so. So, you can make him a lot happier since you read this thread. And it is proven that raw food (BARF, basically) is very helpful for dogs with MVD. The diet helps the connective tissue in the heart, and the progress of the MVD is much slower. One of my bitches was Gr 1 @ 8. She is nearly 14 now, not medicated, and not much worse, maybe Gr2, but probably Gr1 still, and never had any medication, or any problems with the murmur. Always fed a raw diet. No proof the raw diet did the trick, but it can't hurt. Good luck, let us know how he goes, we'all all be plugging for him. And you.

Humane Society of the United States (I think!!). Whether they are good or not depends on what you read - I wont risk my $$. I feel for the bears, and the tigers, and the food dogs - but I want to be sure my $$ goes to them, and I have been frightened off HSUS

Leather. I had a cream one for 11 - 12 years. Still in good condition (thought not "as new") vacuumed and wiped clean. Vinyl is good too, but leather is better. Only complaint is that it can be a bit cold to begin with when you sit on it on cold days. Heaps better than fabric - I have never tried micro suede though, so have no idea about that.

I can't see any problem with selling the dog either. The labourer is worthy of his hire. When I rescued, I did sell the dogs I could. Some I gave away. Complaining about "adoptions" vs "sales" is getting into PETA territory, bagging breeders for making a profit.

Sunnyflower, don't forge to check up on the (maybe) cheaper MRI in Sydney. Not your fault at all. It was her responsibility to register ALL pups from the litter. The fact that he is not registered says a lot about her ethics though. Papers may seem unimportant to a pet owner, but it is still the responsibility of the breeder to register the pup.

I am bemused about the CO2 in the bedroom - and I guess there are always "what ifs". Checking the insulation is now a biggie for me, and not believing stuff about fire retardant. If the mobile and the torches hadn't been easy to find, the outcome would have been worse. And I am satisfied that I did all that I could and the outcome was as good as it could be. Thanks for the cyber Dane drool.

Yep, Sunnyflower, a GOOD chiro is a very good idea. I had a dog doing all that - was cured by a chiro visit. Lucky she wasnt a Cavalier!! Sunnyflower, ensure that you send copied material to the breeder so she can't say she doesn't know. Miss B, have you spoken to your breeder about your boy?

Bitches can live nicely together. I have had bitches intent on killing each other. I have some strong feelings about that. It doesn't happen any more - I have no idea what I would do with something like staffies, or terriers, but I don't have them. I would never keep a dog which seriously attacked another, nor would I breed with her. My alpha bitches over the past 20 years have not been aggressive, just firm - one boxer girl would stand between any other dogs intending to squabble. I think one of the problems we have inherited is that people kept and bred with bitches who were keen on killing others. Because I have my own line of boxers, I've got rid of that. The cavs simply don't fight, and the cockers don't seem to either. Additionally, I've always had cockers, (cavs for 15 years) so I can't risk a boxer which wants to kill another bitch. But - in the past, I've had bitches (sisters) who would continue until one fell over --- whacking them with things, and jamming buckets over their heads when they let go did work, but you had to be fast!!

Yellowgirl, also be aware that a dog being rehomed will often exhibit behaviors which indicate stress and or unhappiness. Including losing all toilet training. It is possible or probable that these behaviours will cease once the dog has settled, but sometimes, they go on because the dog, for one reason or another, is terribly unhappy. Maybe it's not such a bad thing - maybe she was trying to tell them something?? And if they didn't have time to toilet her, would they have time to care for her in times of need, or when she is old? No, not the right home. IMHO, when something like this happened, and I gnashed and snivelled because I thought I had a good home for the dog, something else happened to show me that it hadn't been the right home. Maybe a better home would come along - or maybe the dog was meant to stay with me. I remember Nellie - Nellie was a biggish dog, supposed to be a malamute x - and perhaps she is. No one would take her. She was a nice dog, good watch dog, obedient, not terribly brave, but not a loony. Some people took her, and returned her because she hid in the laundry, which I thought quite strange. I wondered if they had terrified her. I resigned myself to having Nellie forever. Then my friend lost her dog after 15 years, and she was keen, as she wanted to register a "black and white female dog" with council for 30 years. Nellie has been here for nearly 8 years now, friend says she is the dog who never does any wrong. And she doesn't. It would be difficult to find a nicer, easier going, well behaved dog. My friend says Nellie is just the perfect dog --- and she is. Good luck, don't despair.