Echo

Exactly what I do. With a good hot wash it does come clean, so it still looks OK. I find large pockets are much easier to reach into as well. Julie

I make my own. They are pretty easy to make. The metal attachments can be purchased at Bunnings for a few dollars. Different sizes are available, so you need to match this to the thickness of rope you want to use. I buy the rope at a place that sells boats/marine supplies. This rope is very strong and will not rot. Can be bought in different thickness, depending on what you want and is also pretty cheap. You can then cut to any length you require. You can make one for under $10. Julie

I am looking to purchase some of the sand - bags used to weigh down (hold in place) flexible tunnels for agility. Can anyone point me in the direction of an Australian manufacturer? Thanks Julie

Original post: Hi everyone, really hoping you guys can help me out! desperately need advice! we have 2 beautiful german shepherd puppies (brother & sister) who are 9-months old now, soooo cute! anyway... Dash (our male) started limping at about 5-months old so of course we took him straight to the vet who put him on anti-inflamatory tablets. they didnt do anything! so we then tried injections, once a week for a month, still nothing! next was a refered visit to the animal hospital cause to my horror the words 'elbow dysplasia' was being thrown around but wouldnt you know it, as soon as he entered the doors of the hospital he stopped limping!! this is after 3-months of limping everyday!! aagghhh - in a good way. good news is - he hasnt since.... until this morning... not sure if he's sprained something (took a bit of a tumble yest when we were at the park) or it's come back i've been told SeaTone tablets work a treat. any comments on that one? want to try a few things before heading back to the hospital for a massive bill again!! anything would be helpful right now - just wanna make sure my boy isnt in too much pain Last Post: You posted that you "desperately need advice". Despite Vet. advice and treatment already recieved, you are still experiencing problems with your dog. Vets are not the Gods that some people hold them up to be. You have been given very good advice from people here on diet, excercise and the weight of your dog. All of which can be contributing factors toward your dog's problem. You came here looking for advice, because the Vets have not been able to help you, but then you choose to ignore those that have offered advice, that is your perogative. Why bother wasting the time of people on here if you are going to dismiss their suggestions and go with what your Vet. said anyway? Maybe you should have ended your last post with: "Thanks for the advice, but I won't listen to any of it, except to buy my dog some chicken wings". Good luck with finding a solution to your dog's problem. Julie

I would agree with some talk being done during an excercise in CCD. Like someone already said, you could add the word Heel when changing direction or pace. Other than that, the other excercises are so short (bar the stays) that there really is no room for extra commands. Praise during excercises should not be allowed, even in CCD. Plenty of time for that in between excercises. If dogs need extra praise during an excercise to keep them working, then they are not ready for the trial ring. Like most have already said, I hate the stays as well. I do think they should remain as an excercise, but done differently. There is too much than can, and does go wrong, with strange dogs all in such close proximity, especially when some of them are entered before they are ready for this excercise. For the CCD stays why not do them on lead? Line the dogs up in the same manner, but have them 3 metres apart, and on lead with their handler standing in front of them. Dogs required to perform both sit/drop stay with one command on a loose lead. Handler is to stand still, with no voice or body movement, same as if they were on the other side of the ring. Then progress to off lead stays in Novice, with the same distance between the dogs, 3 metres. Much less chance of dogs eyeballing or breaking because the dog next to them has suddenly jumped up. Might have to add an extra group because you would fit less animals into the line-up, but who cares? I would also like to see the rule on using English language only (unless otherwise approved by Judge) thrown out completely. We are proud that Australia is a multi-cultural country, but penalise some competitors because they speak a different language. There are many people who do not use English when they are at home. It would make sense that these people would want to train their dog in their native language. What's the point of speaking one language to each other and a different one to the dog? It should not matter what word is used for a command in the ring, as long as it is only a single word. The judge does not have to understand what is being said. After all, if they say "down your dog" and the dog does it on one command, that's all that counts, no matter what word is used. That's my lot, unless I can think of something else. Julie

I agree about the weight. Much too heavy for a 9 month old. I have a large Male here, 3.5 years old, who weighs in at 36.5kg. Puppies should be kept lean, but not skinny. Any excess weight adds stress to the developing body and can cause problems. George is also a good suggestion. Many GSD people have been taking their dogs to him for a long time. He knows his stuff and is very good with the way he handles the dogs. I don't know where you live CoupeDash, but if you need to see a good Vet. then my recommendation would be Ray Fergusson at Monash Vet. Clinic. Once again, many GSD people take their dogs to see him for all types of complaints. Some will travel long distances just to see him. He is very familiar with GSD's and the problems they can present with. Julie

Congratulations to Harley. Any other tracking results available? Julie

Your dog looks like it is extrememely fit and just pure muscle. There needs to be a bit of fat as well, in case the dog becomes ill, as they have nothing to fall back on. It also helps to keep the dog a bit warmer in winter. I keep my dogs very fit as well and I applaud your dog's muscle tone, but it does need a light cover of fat to go with it. To the OP, I have several mature GSD bitches and they would all be around the 29kg mark. It depends on the height and general build of your girl, as to whether or not she is actually underweight. Pics. would help. Julie

Sorry, I mucked this up. Julie

Some puppies will also have a slight, watery dicharge from the eyes during teething. At 12 weeks, your pup could be starting the teething process. Julie

I would have loved to be able to support this trial. Unfortunately, it is the same weekend as the GSD National Show/Trial. Julie

Human treadmills are fine, if the dog can reach full stride. Some of the larger breeds, with a long stride will have to restrict their movement because the belt is not long enough and does not allow them to stretch out. Not ideal if you are training them for show, where you want the dog to stride out fully. For dogs such as this, a treadmill made for the purpose is much better. They have a much longer belt, allowing the dog to move without restriction. Julie

At 10 years of age, if your dog is healthy and has done well on what he is used to, I would not bother making a change. What you have been feeding him is not that bad and certainly better than canned rubbish, with low nutritional value. Start your pup on raw and maybe the older dog will show some interest when he sees the pup eating it. Watching another dog eat can sometimes stimulate a dog to eat things they would normally turn their nose up at. If he shows interest, fine. Give him a taste and take it from there. If he doesn't, I wouldn't worry. Just let him eat what he is happy with. Julie

Sounds good. Keep it short, make it interesting and get her out to different places as often as you can. Early socialisation and training are a must if you want a well adjusted adult GSD who is a pleasure to own. As long as you do not overdo it physically, you cannot over-socialise a young GSD. They do not need a lot of physical excercise, but exposure to as many sights, sounds, smells and people are a must at this age. Good luck with your puppy. Julie

I am not sure that leaving "it" with your brother for the night was a good idea. In your previous post, you said that Kaine is just starting to get better with his whinging after 2 days. This is because he had started to settle into a routine. He was getting to know you and his surroundings. Now you have disrupted this by sending him to another strange place, with strange people, who don't even really want to have him there, just so you can get a nice long sleep. Not really fair on the pup, in my opinion. New puppy owners should be prepared for some sleepless nights. It comes with the territory. Julie

Absolutely agree. Off to the Vet for a thorough inspection. Sometimes the cause of these things is not apparent to the naked eye. Julie

My vet recommended me to try a product called "Performa 3". It is a blend of Omega 3, 6 and 9. You can buy it from any produce store for a bit less than $40.00 for 5 litres. At $8.00 per litre, this is by far the cheapest product I have found for use with my 6 dogs. It is made for use with horses, so dosage rates for dogs are not listed on the container. My vet. recommended 10ml per day for our dogs, which are GSD's. I began using it because I had a dog that I could not get a good coat on. This dog now has a wonderful coat. Because it is affordable, I can give it to all my dogs every day. People often remark on how nice my dogs' coats are. As you have found, other products are very expensive if you have multiple dogs. I would recommend you give this a try. I am more than happy with the results I have with my dogs. Julie

If she is keen to still work for you, then I would give the obedience trials a go. CCD and Novice should be a breeze for her. There is no jumping or strenuous excercises involved. Working dogs like her just love to work. Give it a try and good luck. Julie

I agree. Removal of front dew claws is not a procedure normally done. I can't understand why your Vet. would ask you this, unless he thought they were going to be a problem if left. Julie

The wording of this piece of legislation is very poor. As it is now, it is an offence to train a dog to bite anything worn by, or attached to a person, effectively ruling out Sch. training. This also means we cannot use any tug toy for play or reward. It follows then, that a vast majority of ANKC recognised Obedience Clubs and their members are using methods of training which are an offence, according to this legislation. We cannot train our dogs to rush at or chase any animal. This means we are also guilty of an offence if we train our dogs in Herding. How can you train a dog to herd if it is not allowed to rush at or chase an animal? Here we have Obedience, Flyball, Agility and Herding, all recognised and promoted by the ANKC and its state member bodies, all possibly affected by this legislation, if the authorities chose to persue it. Even if you are not a Sch. enthusiast, the actions taken against the people from Southern Cross K9 should worry you. No matter what your chosen sport, under the current wording of this legislation, there is nothing stopping the authorities from targetting you, or your dog club, if the chosen method of training is to use a tug as reward. Or if you train your dog in Herding. Beurocrats and pen-pushers................they have a lot to answer for. Julie

Here is the web address for a Yahoo Group, set up to discuss this topic. If you register and take a look, there may be some helpful information for you here. Worth a try. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/PF-L/?v...group&slk=1 Julie

Put the puppy on lead before you take him outside. Then carry him out to the grass area and put him down. Then just follow him around on the grass only. If he attemps to make his way on to the concrete, guide him with the lead so that he stays on the grass. Do not give him the opportunity to toilet on the concrete. Praise verbally, or even treat with food, when you get the result you want. Julie

If it's a baby tooth, and it's not bothering him, then just leave it. Don't waste your money at the Vet. Just wait for it to fall out of its own accord. Julie

By the sound of things, your pup is doing well. Just keep a close eye on her whenever she is around the chooks and continue to discourage any chasing that she may do. She is still young and learning the rules, so until she is older and more settled, supervision is the key. Don't let her have any access at this stage which is not monitored. Having said that, you should try to give her as much experience as you can with them, while she is still young. She seems to be pretty casual about them in the photo. I don't think you will have any problems in the future if you do the correct groundwork now. Good luck and let us know how she progresses. Julie

Good luck with Beau's surgery. Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery. Julie