Perry's Mum

Perry and I often share a can of red salmon for dinner - she loves it.

Can anyone please recommend a dog chiropractor within easy reach of Canberra?

I recommend K9 force as well, particularly if the problems are serious.

Perry is ball obsessed as well - if I don't throw the ball for her she will go to the high end of the garden, drop it and then chase it. At the moment she has bad arthritis and is banned from balls except chewy ones inside the house - I have never seen such a dejected dog. If she is not allowed to go back to balls this week I am not sure how either of us will cope.

Vickie I got Perry when she was 13 months old - she had spent the first year chained to a log on a farm and had no training, and then spent 3 weeks with the woman who rescued her who had her inside the house and got her used to family living. When she came to me she turned herself into a puppy with all the usual puppy things like chewing anything and everything except chew toys, so I treated her as a puppy and she learnt very fast. Did not take her long to be toilet trained or to learn basic stuff like sitting and coming to her name because she was so keen to please me.

I take Perry to Weston Creek Veterinary Hospital - not cheap but they are good and they don't take shortcuts.

We have had a couple of visits from a physiotherapist and she says Perry's problem is related to neck and shoulder problems. I have started her on Joint Guard and she is already markedly better after the physio treatment.

That is cheaper than their shop in Canberra which charged me $69.99 earlier this week.

It appears to be in her front lower left leg - it is not swollen but she is favouring it intermittently. I am taking her to physio in the next few days (as soon as we can get in) and will get some Joint Guard tomorrow and some fish oil capsules. Thank you all for your suggestions.

Perry is a 5 1/2 year old female Koolie. She is very active and loves sheep and is obsessed with balls - she likes at least 1 hour of ball throwing a day including racing for the ball plus an hour's walk. For the last few weeks she has been limping on and off and the vet thinks it is the early signs of arthritis. Perry was an abused farm dog originally and has been kicked and beaten and may well have had broken bones. The vet is suggesting cartrophen injections plus Sasha's Blend plus physio. Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations for treating this?

The next Koolie Club Sheepdog School will be held at Binalong NSW (near Canberra) on 12 and 13 July. The trainer will be Brad Pellow who manages the large station where the school is held and is an experienced trialler. Cost is $120 for Koolie Club members and $130 for everyone else. The school is limited to Koolies, Australian Shepherds, Border Collies and Kelpies and crosses of these. The school is held on a large working station with excellent facilities - if the weather is poor we work inside in the large woolshed. PM me for details.

There is an English sheepdog trainer, Graeme Sims, who has several dogs and each of them has their commands in a different language - you can see him work on www.simssheepdogs.co.uk.

bump

The next Koolie Club Sheepdog School will be held at Binalong on 7-8 June 2008. The school is held on a very large working property with an endless supply of fresh sheep, well set up yards of varying sizes and a large woolshed that we can work in if the weather is bad. The trainer will be Brad Pellow who is an experienced trialler. Cost is $130 for the weekend or $120 for members of the Koolie Club – anyone can join the Koolie Club at a cost of $20 for the year and get the reduced price for this and future schools. The school is open to Koolies, Border Collies, Kelpies, Australian Shepherds and other breeds by negotiation with Brad. Dogs and handlers can have any level of experience from complete beginners to those who are already trialling and tuition is based on where you and your dog are at. Please PM me for a booking form or if you have any questions.

Poor Harvey and his poor carer - RIP Harvey and look for Amber who will show you around.

They live in a small rural town so the vet is more used to dealing with farm animals than pampered pets. They are trying to get an appointment for the university clinic next week and in the meantime she is on a small dose of antihistamines. Mita, what happened to your girl? Where they able to fix her problems?

Thank you both for these suggestions - I have passed them on to her distraught owner.

Can anyone recommend a really good vet in Brisbane (anywhere) for a long haired dachshund who has an itchy tummy which she has rubbed bare rubbing it on carpet? PM me if you prefer. This has apparently been going on since she was desexed. The vet in the small country town where she lives cannot find anything wrong with her despite allergy tests and thinks she may have been allergic to the sutures used. His only suggestion is to PTS which is not acceptable to her family who love her greatly.

I am so sorry.

I have redone all the links and put in a few extra photos so please try again.

The next Koolie Club Sheepdog School at Binalong will be on 19 and 20 April. Cost is $120 for Koolie Club members and $130 for others. The school is open to Koolies, Border Colies and Kelpies and crosses of those. PM me for details and a booking form. Here is my dog's report on the last school: Perry's report on sheepdog school Here is my report on sheepdog school with some photos taken by my photographer last weekend at Binalong. The farm we go to (you know it is a big one because it is not called a farm, it is called a station) is about 2 hours drive north west of our house. The last six kms or so are down this dirt road which is where we saw a big snake: http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o285/sc...BobbaraRoad.jpg Here is a view of the wool shed and shearer’s quarters from that road – as you can see there are cattle as well as sheep. I do not approve of this because I do not like cattle. http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o285/sc...ersquarters.jpg When we went to visit my foster mum and my Koolie foster sister Spy up in Armidale we drove up through lots of small rural towns. In one we had to stop and wait while a farmer moved his stock through the town. I was back seat driving and at the same time helping the farmer get those cattle through quickly. One of them had the cheek to stop and press her face to my car window and moo at me – the nerve of it – it was an insult to me as a professional sheepdog and I have held all cattle responsible for this breach of protocol ever since and given them a jolly good barking at. I thought you might like to see inside the woolshed – this is a big shed – it has 8 stands so that 8 shearers can work at once. It is a very old shed – well over 100 years old and originally it had 16 stands. Shearing has just finished for the year – they do it in February. http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o285/sc...rawoolshed1.jpg Sometimes if it is very hot or wet we work in this one. Sometimes Brad makes the people be sheepdogs and we get to watch them doing a rotten job as they move the sheep around the pen. Once my Mum had to move one sheep around and it was going OK when suddenly the sheep decided it had had enough, it stamped its feet and charged – I was worried she might be hurt – my Mum not the sheep – but it went straight past her and jumped out of the open window and was last seen running off jumping in the air for joy. http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o285/sc...raWoolshed2.jpg At sheepdog school the people all have their morning tea and lunch in the shed to get out of the sun. http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o285/sc...rawoolshed3.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o285/sc...rawoolshed4.jpg Usually when we first arrive we have a go in a small yard to get back into the swing of things and then we move down to one of the big yards. http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o285/sc...sheepyards1.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o285/sc...sheepyards2.jpg For the first go we get a handful of sheep – about 10-12 because that is easier to work: http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o285/sc...ngMarch2008.jpg http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o285/sc...datBinalo-1.jpg Most of the dogs get tied up in the shade between the cars to wait their turn but we sit with the people just before our turn. In the breaks we can go and play and have long runs in the paddock behind the cars: http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o285/sc...gintheshade.jpg Here is me: http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o285/sc...gandwaiting.jpg and this is my friend Jessie who is also a Koolie: http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o285/sc...rdog/Jessie.jpg At this school we were learning to work 3 sheep – this is pretty difficult but what you have to do in a trial. The sheep won’t stay together and you have to make them. Sometimes you just have to sit down and wait patiently because the one on his own will always want to come back to the others. http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o285/sc...eesheep3-08.jpg Sometimes the sheep try and hide behind the water trough and you have to creep up on them: http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o285/sc...nkingtrough.jpg Here I am putting them away – we had to put them through a narrow obstacle and then put them in a pen in the middle of the yard. I was the only dog to put them through the obstacle and everyone cheered me and started chanting “Perry, Perry, Perry” so to show them it was not a fluke I did it another six times but then I did not have time to put them in the pen so I had to put them away in the next yard instead. http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o285/sc...ngsheepaway.jpg Afterwards I went for a paddle to cool off in their water trough: http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o285/sc...kingwater-1.jpg but there is also a bath we can use to cool off in - here is my mate Harley who is also a Koolie http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o285/sc...andHarley-1.jpg Sheepdog school is really hard work and on the way home we always go and get a bowl of icecream at the local shops – I find people are often rude and stare at me enjoying my icecream – anyone would think they had never seen a dog enjoying an icecream before. Then there is a two hour drive home and a rest in front of the TV before getting up to do it all again tomorrow. Love Perry (now known as Princess Perry at school because of the diamante P on my nice new hot pink working collar)

bump

Hello fellow sheep dog enthusiasts, The thrills and spills of the National Sheep Dog Trial Championships will be on again every day between 11-16th March in the Village of Hall Show grounds just on the outskirts of Canberra.. As you know, there is no better way to to see the extraordinary relationship between human and dog than when they are working together on a challenging task. In this case, skill and teamwork pitted against the irreverent unpredictability of the sheep makes for great viewing. This year, the event celebrates its 65th birthday – having been held in Canberra since 1943. Some of you are entered in the trial, but for those who are not we would love you to come along and see handlers and dogs, from the local area and further afield, demonstrate their skill in this heritage sport. Even more, we would love your assistance. I know many of you, give up some time each year to help and it would be great if you could do so again. Here's some of the things we need assistance with (just a few hours of your time would make all the difference): Sunday 9th March – setting up the course, fencing the oval and general clean up of grounds Tuesday 11th March to Friday 14th March – announcing over the PA, collecting lunches and preparing morning & afternoon teas for judges and workers, helping in the sheep yards, collecting score cards from the judges and writing up scores on the results board Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th March – same as Monday to Friday + welcoming spectators and collecting entry fee at the gate, and of course cleaning up after the prize presentations If you are interested in lending a hand for a few hours, please contact Barbara Brown by email [email protected] BBQ for competitors and volunteers As a volunteer or competitor, you would also be welcome to attend the annual BBQ on Thursday evening of 13th March at the Hall Show grounds Pavilion. This year, local Hall band West Texas Crude will be playing their combination of country rock, rock and roll and blues. As the Nationals is a not-for-profit organisation they do need to cover some costs, so there is a charge of $10 per head but this includes a BBQ with hamburgers, sausages, salads, bread rolls etc... and tea and coffee (it's BYO any other drinks). Tickets can be organised at the Hall General Store, or email Barbara. Be part of living history In celebration of its 65th birthday in 2008, the National Sheep Dog Trials Association is starting to document the history of this heritage event, to preserve it for future generations.They would like to bring those records to life with more personal accounts and invite you to contribute any photos, press cuttings or stories you might have about the event in previous years.If you have any historical material, photos of any of trials or stories to tell, pop in to the official caravan at the event. Best of luck to those competing and look forward to seeing you there

After a great weekend we decided to make our next school Easter weekend to enable people who live a bit further away to come. The school will be held on a large working property which runs thousands of sheep so there is no shortage of real sheep to work. The trainer is Brad Pellow who runs the property and is an experienced trialler. Cost is $120 for Koolie Club of Australia members, $130 for everyone else - membership of the club is open to everyone even if you don't have a Koolie for $20. The school is open to Koolies, Border Collies and Kelpies. Beginners and suburban dogs welcome. PM me for further details and a booking form.

Angus was the most beautiful shepherd I have ever met - I am so sorry he has gone.