Nekhbet

Older bitches are that price. Males are always $143 and young bitches are between $209-$242. Hey I dont make the pricing. And hey I quit this position anyway so I wont be having to talk anyone into it. In fact I did direct people to good clinics who did they speys within their price range ... beleive it or not I dont tell people if you dont like it leave, I care more that they get the surgery done on their bitch then convincing them to fork out $450+ here. I agree on both halves - yes there is a limit to how cheap you make things and how much vets should subsidise, but at the same time when my boss was going to charge me nearly full price for my own bitch ... suffice to say she remains entire We have only one person who has desexed a female dog at that price and for that one I did agree on the price because of what the dog actaully ended up needing.

I dont advocate check chains on puppies, heck even on some adult dogs. Depends on what you are trying to achieve and how confident you are in the knowledge of the equiptment. I do use them occasionally but there are better pieces of equiptment to get the same result. Puppies do much better on a flat collar with encouragement to follow you then letting them run riot and give it a cracking correction. Had someone ask about a check chain for a 10 weeks old jack russell once, could not believe they thought it was a good idea!

yes it is a shame that some vets value vaccination scaremongering over the dogs mental health. Argued about this with my boss, and especially for some more reactive breeds they HAVE to go out and be exposed to the world during critical period. Makes them nicer for said vet to handle the next time too

Sounds like this dog needs to learn to respect its owner and learn consequence before being completely put into a positive training club. Owners can be very vague as to what "he's fine at home" means as well ... no dog thats an angel suddenly turns into a nut job once a week. Definately one on one behaviour modification before attending obedience is a better idea then plugging away in a group situation. StaffnToller ... There is ways and means for every dog out there, you just have to work it out with the right reaction/equipment for the behaviour you can get a dog to do anything.

Desex both. Rememver your kelpie is not a full adult yet, and while the fights are not too bad (although in my house not even a bitchy look is tolerated let alone a fight) when he's mature enough you may be spending a lot in vet bills. Snip snip. Treat both dogs equally, and do NOT accept guarding behaviour from your dog. You are simply a posession to them, not a leader/owner so expect squabbling and you not having control when they do start fighting. Get a good trainer/behaviourist in to help you now.

Do many people realise that most vet clinics subsidise the cost of desexing animals out of their own pocket to encourage clients to do it? That a female spay, being an abdominal surgery, at rates of $150 and such is rediculously cheap? If you had to have a normal abdominal surgery on your animal expect it to be 2-4 times the price for the same thing if not heinously more for a large dog. I'm sick of people questioning our pricing at the clinic and scoffing at how expensive things are - hey if speying a dog was so easy why would a surgeon need to go to uni for 5 years to know how to do it? You're paying for a surgeon, for the use of the clinic, the time of the other staff required, the medications, the equiptment, disposables etc. We charge between $209-$244 for juveniles. If you want an older dog speyed its $440-$550. Bloods, surgical fluids, full hospitalisation etc are a non negotiable so its an incentive to do it earlier.

remember our dogs are not wild canids any more so I disagree with the more the merrier. I stick to a good dry like Eagle Pack/Royal Canin for the large/giant breeds supplemented with raw meaty bones and table scraps. Havnt gone wrong yet.

my dogs are trained in Serbian, just easier for me I tell you what command refusal exercises are hilarious. You can scream some commands at my dogs and all you get is "look crazy person talking gibberish at me" looks on their faces. Funnier ... at training and the out command for my dogs is Pusti... so along we're training, suddenly one of the greek guys pipes up "hey why do you call your dog that" "what ... Mina? Thats her name" " Naah, that other word, dont you like him " *me seriously confused* "Um she's a bitch ... " "If she's a bitch why do you keep calling your dog a poofta" :( through tears of laughter I had to explain in Serb that Pusti means "let go" and not the greek version they all thought I was yelling for the past few weeks I had been there

It is distressing the first time the right opportunity arises - it can really shake you. My Malinois snapped at a child once after having been tormented and hurt by neighbourhood children, I tell you what I was in tears for days with the decision if it was fixable or not. Persistance and training - I modified her training completely and children became another of those non negotiables and she will readily accept pats and cuddles without stressing or feeling like she has to lash out. Remember its never the end of the road. There are various different methods out there but do what works for your situation first and foremost.

Your dog is exploding in the presence of other dogs and drive training ups the excitement. Regain control before continuously increasing drive. Supression training would be a start - you have to teach your dog there is limits to excitement and when it can be released. I also teach my dogs there are some non negotiables in life and one of those is when on lead we ignore other dogs unless the command is given to have a quick sniff. What do you do when your dog acts up? Is it on a halti/check chain/flat collar etc? Does your dog have a shut down command?

Ding ding here ... especially the part where he is like a child. Bertie is a dog first and foremost. And your vet saying that retraining is expensive and requires prozac (uhhh no) is doing the typical butt-covering exercise a lot of vets do - they don't want to condone a so called aggressive dog to live and then the owner comes back after something really terrible happens. I think Bertie has just been allowed to get away with things that, as a puppy, were not really that big a concerne for you but now as a more mature adolescent they have manifested as - well the behaviour you have seen. Bertie seems to have you controlled more then the other way around. Also attacking the older dog that is sick - are they of a similar size? Could the older dog have been trying to intimidate yours and being the right age/size Bertie tried to regain his status in the way he knew best. Or maybe Bertie really did let him know it was time to move over as he is weakened. At least try not to be scared or overly worried over Bertie. Do not avoid walks or be on tenderhooks with him but by all means be responsible. Get a behaviourist ASAP and a muzzle in the mean time to get you piece of mind. Dog aggression and human aggression links are not definate, this does not mean he will suddenly 'turn'. Best of luck with him!

I finally can put up a post... not that I dont trust or dislike anyone here I just wanted some time alone with my grief and it was just icing on the cake after what has been happening in my life as well. Kruegers hips were not good. I had them x-rayed and his left hip socket was barely formed with an eroded fomoral head, as well as a couple of healed fractures . He was such a good man, he loved a cuddle and when you scratched his back he would yodel and wave his head happily. Chased a possum even though it meant limping for days afterwards, big duffa. Well he got to the stage where he walked with a permanent stiffness. His weight went down again and even medication, supplements etc didn't work. On our last walk together his hip finally gave way and he wobbled alongside with a click - click - click. But he went with me for that walk, happily. And the lovely vet lady came to our place after you played with your fur brothers and sister, and you went to sleep there in my arms. You knew everything hurt baby and you welcomed the relief. I miss you skinny minny, hope you and my little bro are having fun together Your first days home at 13 months : for those that dont know Krueger was given to me because he was up for euth by the breeder - didn't want to bite or be security trained so he wasn't worth keeping. Poor thing was terrified of men, skinny, stringy, and had cracked teeth from chewing rocks. He didnt even know water was for drinking, he would tip the bucket and chew it all day slowly dehydrating until I tied it down! and after some TLC ... bye bye baby

could she have snuffled something up her nose? Has she been rooting around in the dirt? Maybe get a torch and see if you can see something up her nare, if not take her to the vet

If you are close to Berwick, try Berwick Vet Hospital - they do PennHIP x-ray readings and Dr Drummond can tell you the best way (surg and non surgical options) that will help him live comfortably teh longest

Biologically Canines are considered carnivores because of their dentition and digestive system. The fact that in the wild they consume digest from ruminants/herbivores doesnt technically make them strict omnivores. Dogs are definately NOT obligate carnivores. Felids are.

If you want a correlation between so called 'aggression' and leash pulling... leash pulling - lack of training and lack of leadership from the owner, hence the dog is doing what it wants. It is not learning calm behaviour, stress increases and dog become progressively worst. If it is a dog that is so inclined to become 'aggressive' and since leash pulling wont be the only time where I would consider the dog to be not under effective control of the owner, I would expect it. In short the dog is already doing what it wants. If that means it one day decides to take control of a situation and act like a lunatic on the end of a leash I wouldnt be suprised at all. Pulling dogs wont become aggressive, there is no direct correlation there. But pulling, straining and lack of control from the owner WILL mean the dog can take over a situation any way it wants. I have had and have large dogs of varying breeds. No one is allowed to leash pull from day one at any time they are on lead and are taught to ignore other dogs whilst on lead. (just to add that I am not finger pointing at anyone here or saying they are bad dog trainers/owners)

www.leerburg.com is one place to start, not really big on trainnig articles but they do have a muti-purpose forum

Get a biopsy done, sent off and find what is going on in the tissue layers. Only way I would trust what to do as a next step. ETA Gribbles has just come out with the Heska Allercept IgE Test to test which Ig your dog is producing. So allergice immunoglobulins to grasses, weeds, dust mites etc might be worth doing as well?

Stop worrying about the dogs behaviour. Use the drops as directed, Dermotic can even be wiped around the skin on the ear as well. If the dog was not handling the vet well then she probably didnt want to push the point with the dog, you can clean it yourself. Get the drops, massage them into the ear and wipe the excess with a tissue. Dont use ear mite drops, canker drops or cleaners if there is a lot of hair down the canal or just because. You can create infections. Yes most of the dogs we see have the same problem, yeasts making a stink in the ear canal. Take a look at the dogs diet, make sure you are feeding a good quality dry food (something like Royal Canin, Eagle Pack, Advance etc) and some fresh food as well. You can get skin formulas or if the whole skin over the dog is not looking too good try some natural therapies for skin.

Alfaxan is fast acting knock down and then maintained on Isoflurane. We use Thio for dogs and Alfaxan for cats. Wake up happy and running around at our clinic.

The allergies and demodex common genetic problem in Staffys. We see heaps a few that have barely seen a vet clinic let alone regular vaccinations, so obviously vaccination is no the exclusive cause. I also see a lot of these staffies with these problems bred from so of course its becoming more common. ETA sounds like your staffy was on a large dose of Cortisone. There is a new product now which is a non systemic cortisone because of the problems the tablets cause. Some vets treat mites with Ivomectin which is not sanctioned in dogs. As for spinal arthritis, any anti inflammitories are not long term solutions. Was surgery ever discussed and home made or low-allergen food sources to help her system? I dont know how you can link ProHeart injections with a tumour. It would have been there for a while, not spring up in 4 days. Once again ... tumors and GSDs not a suprise. Maybe the high stress of the vet visit contributed or sheer coincidence. Though I dont agree with the vet getting angry, yes. Dont believe everything you read on the internet. There is a lady whose dog has a virtual 0 T4 count, and because of what she read on the internet and vet journals now think she knows best for medicating her dog and how often testing should be. Far from it.

I wouldnt be giving little dogs anything bigger then a lab off cut or a chicken neck/wing. Yup marrow bones do nothing but wear down teeth, especially in littlies

my dog won't listen to me - but we did the puppy preschool!? (says exasperated owner of 7 month old uncontrolled lab) I cant tell him off, he'll hate me But he makes me feel guilty if I dont feed him and then he ignores me (says all owners of morbidly obese dogs) He only bites me a little ... sometimes ... he's really a good dog choker chains are only for large dogs, and theyre really cruel a harness will make my dog stop pulling (hows about some training dufus?) and best of all ... you should a puppy on a choker chain then it will never pull ... *sigh*

how much protein is in his diet? try a lower protein formula and feed him smaller meals - less poo and less undigested protein unless he has a digestion problem, or as has been mentioned an enzyme deficiency. Pineapple and the juice can be very acidic, I wouldnt be feeding it to a dog that small

I dont understand why people are so off the whole pasta and rice thing - a little is OK, whereas my lot will still swallow up 2 litres of cooked rice in one go when its left over. I have never had dogs so mad for it but it doesnt harm them and they love it. I dont see anything wrong with the diet you offer Lucy's Run, but I would add more raw meaty bones - lamb flaps, chicken carcasses, maryland, beef spine etc try a local abbatoir, wholesale butcher or chicken processing plant. They can have sales to public at cheap prices or even give bones away. There is also canine nutritional powders (like Vets All Natural) that you can sprinkle over to make sure your dog is getting everything it needs.