Scottsmum

Thanks Perse. Lol @ the boss! As for Scott...He wont use a treat ball. Little shitter. He never gets a bone + other protein

Thanks (terrible) WM. ;)

Ill keep it short. On my phone. I was hesitant to medicate Scottie (for anxiety) & its one of the best things we've done. His quality of life improved significantly.

Ha ha ha - You're a dag TTD. Thanks for the update :)

All. the. time.

Thanks TSD. He is pretty fussy - I wouldn't be able to get him to eat whole raw carrots. I do add mashed (boiled and smashed) sweet potato to his mince. Will see what other chicken bits I can find for him - he doesn't get them often anymore as he tends to bury them then eat them off schedule messing his meds up. Will also be a little stricter with the kibble.

Thanks DDD. how do you keep your oldies trim, taught & terrific?

Awesome - hope you love it as much as we did

So ... can I ask a weight Q for anyone who pops in? (preface this by saying - off for a three monthly check up & script refill next week & will ask the vet then too) In the last 10 months Scottie has put on just over a kilo (about 1.15 kg). From smack on 10 to 11.15 At first i thougth some of it was down to new scales - and I have a fair idea where the bulk of it came from. I was feeding him some really high calorie treats during March- without realising how calorific they were -he put on close to a kilo. Since then I've been really conscious of his weight and have cut back on treats and been very careful with feeding etc. He's been on CCD meds (Vivitonin) for just on 3 months now. Since starting the Vivitonin I've been even more controlled with his food - as the meds work best on an empty tummy. Treats are extremely limited - maybe a bully stick once a month. Usually if he gets treats (we use ziwipeak as training treats) they're in place of his meal (eg - we use Ziwipeak for training and conditioning exercises and that's his dinner). He gets no more than 3/4 cup of VIP grain free dry a day (1/4 cup measured out twice a day with a 1/4 cup measure). Occasionally if he's been off his food for a few days or its extra cold or he's really carrying on I'll give him an extra 1/4 cup after dinner or he'll get an extra 1/4 cup of dry if I'm out of meat. He goes through about 800 grams of pork mince a week, occasionally chicken mince, canned tuna, pork meat cubed up or some times dog meat with tripe (kept in the freezer as back up). But all in all - less than 1kg human quality meat per week the majority of the time. I try to add vegies to his food when possible. Bones are drumsticks or chicken wings - again - as part of his ration. Dinner is taken away before we go to bed. If I'm home - left over breakfast is taken away by midday. When I'm not home - breakfast is left in his crate with him.I try to encourage him to eat - because his meds works better if he eats. (meds work best if he is medicated, walked then fed 30+ minutes later) Exercise is lower than it could be because of winter and rain and the new deafness - so his off leash is basically non-existent compared to what it was 18 months ago - but he is walked twice a day totaling between 2-5 kms a day. So despite regular exercise, limited treats he's still gaining weight. Could it be the Vivitonin? Where do I start - I don't mind if his weight stays around 11kg but I don't want it continuing to go up! and 11 is really at the upper of what it should be. Our lovely Jumabaar said he was good at 10 - so I'd like to aim to get him back there. I could try a different dry but he's so fussy - he refuses almost anything other than VIP. OR do I just try and hold out for better weather and the chance for more exercise?

All my info is from facebook (and taking it). So here goes: Lasts ages - but each batch of golden paste should be used up within 2 weeks. Kept in fridge. Can be frozen indefinitely as far as I know - again - should be used within 2 weeks after coming out of the freezer. Dose needs to be built up slowly. You start at.... about 1/8th teaspoon - several times a day - I think it stays in the body for approx 6 hours. Build up slowly to a point where you feel better - or you see the dog exhibiting signs of feeling better - if you take too much it upsets your stomach (same for dogs). As a side note I accidentally over dosed Scottie the first day and he pooed 3 times on a walk around the block T powder rarely has the circumin content on it - but it's fairly safe to assume that the stuff from the supermarket is lower in C - BUT I've never found much difference between supermarket and vege market stuff - myself. There is a test you can do - you mix some or set some in water - more pure T powder will settle with minimum discoloration of the water. The less pure stuff will colour the water orange.

Same here re: post.

It really is. And kind of scary smart :)

I've been buying Scotties prescription meds from an online pharmacy - I'm very happy with them. They're based locally but don't take drop ins so you have to post the script to them - then they confirm they've received it. Once that's done you can buy on a case by case (or pack by pack) basis or purchase all of your refills at once. They send all meds out by courier and they're always here the next business day. Payment by paypal. Amazing customer service. I'm saving about $40 a packet - so saving 120 a quarter. I have to go back to the vet every 3 months for a check up and new script. Vet charges for the consult and $20 to write the script but I would be going back to the vet every 3-6 months anyhow and I still think I'm coming out in front. This is them - not that they'd be much help to you :) http://www.willowbark.co.nz/ I also used to buy my last dogs meds from a compounding chemist in Sydney I think - not quite the same but I'd call and pay by credit card & they'd dispatch the next day to my vet so the meds could be left in the fridge til I could pick them up. I'd say give them a try - as different suppliers are always going to be different.

Lovely

Gorgeous T. They're going to look great printed and framed

I second this. PS - She's adorable

I wondered too...

No videos of Scottie that I know of ...

What I think is worse (than the bolded bit above) is that Dingoes are getting a worse and worse wrap because of this monster-hybrid wild dog and their gene pool is also diminishing. It's getting harder and harder to find a pure dingo (genetically speaking) and, I believe, they'll soon be extinct - replaced with this super mutt. I wish more was being done for the Dingo - from this point of view and from a PR point of view At this rate not many will mourn their loss and that is a tragedy.

I think The Spotted Devil is bang on :) One word of advice - we let our "new" dog Scottie sleep on our previous dogs blankie - which I had put away as I wasn't ready to part with it. It was really hard for me to walk past and see a little black and white "person" sleeping on her blanket only to realise it wasn't her. But he had no problems using it :)

We all start somewhere! If there isn't anything - I can step you through "chicken in a box" LOL - otherwise known as "starting on primary" ;) Scottie and I often go back to "chicken in a box" even though you're not technically suppsoed to go back after you've gone onto an odour.

I) Yes it's absolutely normal for dogs to work differently. Scottie is slow and methodical - he takes his time and even though he moves at a snails pace when he's on scent he puts the breaks on and does a little handstand. It's adorable. I've learnt so much from sitting in and watching other dogs in class. Here are two nice, very different styles. I believe technically the pounce on the box is frowned upon but ... Don't discount "just sniffing" - a big sniff day is 100000000% tiring - Scottie slept the entire afternoon after his first ever nosework class - it was the very fist time since we'd owned him when he didn't demand an afternoon walk! Nosework or scent work uses so much of their brains and tire and lots of people say that too :) Not just me

Yes Jennifer is great! I have another contact who works with Jennifer too. Noseworks can be taught differently too - eg Fenzi classes teach it differently to K9 Noseworks which does effect how easy it is to transition to competition. This! I've done Nosework classes with the group in Sydney who are (pretty much) leading the way (https://www.facebook.com/K9NoseTime) , I also did a round of classes with an organisation which shall not be named :) and I did some of the Fenzi classes - which as much as I love the idea of I cant follow along (I did conditioning and nose work with fenzi and really flunked out in all cases - I found I needed someone to show me what to do with Scottie - I struggled to comprehend the notes, figure out "how to make my dog do it" and then get the desired result) But - that said - we did the classes at the first organisation and went on to scent there. Then after a break of about 3 months when they weren't running scent 2 - I found Marion at k9 nose time and asked her about it - she put us back in basic and we started from scratch and I don't think there were any ill effects ... Basically Thistle (well, Thistle's mum) you can't really stuff nose work up - you let the dog take control and you're just the transport to the game ;) You'll be amazed how good it is for them :)

Yeh - in the original link they actually said they had to elevate the hides for the CCD dog :) But good to point out in case people don't follow the clicky link :)

Go Murph! ***I*** Stuffed up Scottie's ORT :/