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I would usually say that you should be able to feel ribs quite easily with a Labrador but your girl looks to be in excellent body condition with a nice waist so under the circumstances, I'd say she looks quite good! Perhaps she is quite well-muscled over her ribs? My dogs would pop if I fed them as much dry food as is recommended!

Always a little long-haired thing here for you when you're ready

Desexing her at some stage before she turns 1 yr will be fine She *shouldn't* by rights have a season before then but be aware that some girls do come into season before a year of age. If you choose to wait and she does come into season, then be prepared for the worst as caring for an in-season bitch is not fun and requires FULL TIME supervision. There is absolutely no need for her to experience a season before she is desexed. Op should be around the $200-$300 mark but don't be fooled into what some vets are calling "gold star" desexing circa $500 - run a mile if your vet recommends this and find another vet. You can always call around and get quotes - some councils offer cheap desexing clinics. More importantly, is she vaccinated and microchipped??

What! No-one wants to comment on the pretty TTS

What about trying something like "Boost Yr Girls Up"?? Have heard really good reports about the product and recently tried it with a bitch myself - she came into season

And this is Kaspar. Although his coat is very white, he has a very light pinky-chocolate nose and green/yellow eyes - basically, lack of pigment - we thought he was Albino or Luecistic (sp? - lack of pigment and coloured eyes).

"Tis really unfortunate that Chocolate TTs can't be shown They always seem to end up with stunning conformation as well! This is Jampa Rory

Excellent! Do tell us what you think :D

Have you tried an antihistamine? Sounds like contact allergy of some description (or perhaps a food allergy?) which *can* be quite difficult to diagnose - read some of the threads about allergies in this forum - WOW - some owners have gone through hell trying to figure out what their dogs are allergic to!. Back to the vets - it might take a couple of visits to get to the bottom of the problem. ETA: One flea bite can set up a good itchy reaction so be certain that you don't have any fleas

Yup! You got it RSG!

Gary Pitt = approx. just under $30 per visit and I can't recommend him highly enough! Thanks for the book link but still, do you know what *is* Good As Gold?? Just curious as I have 3 great produce stores but I've never noticed it!

*Except in QLD* Veterans entered into a Veterans CLASS must be entire. It is my understanding that because of some bizarre ruling, Veterans SWEEPSTAKES is a different story! From memory, this was clarified at the most recent ANKC meeting. In QLD, you are allowed to enter a desexed/neutered dog in Veterans CLASS as long as the dog/bitch is PROVEN. ie. Has registered progeny. Yes, Speciality shows also have their own definition. Hypothetically Trisven, your dog would need to be transferred to the "Main-Neuter" register as suggested by someone else and then could be shown in Neuter classes - I think you'd be pushing it to find a Neuter Veteran Class LOL .

What is Good As Gold?? I missed the T-Touch workshop as well which was a shame as apparently it was EXCELLENT Noisymina - what is the name of the T-Touch book you are using? Another suggestion for you Goldengirl, is to ensure your dog is all in alignment before you start doing massage, T-touch ect. I would recommend taking your girl to see Gary Pitt (dog chiro) at Morayfield and just check if there is anything "out". He's a lovely guy, very reasonably priced and he's worked wonders with my dogs.

With Comfortis being a new product to Australia, I know a lot of vets are PROMOTING its use.....if you don't think it's flea allergy and you honestly have NEVER seen a flea, try switching to Advantix - does fleas and ticks but slightly different formula to the Frontline Plus. You could try using tick collars in addition to the Comfortis (I think) but if the product you've been using works, then why muck around with a product that doesn't even cover what you need it to?? If you've never seen fleas on your dog and he has had allergic-type areas, it might just be a contact allergy to a plant or something?

Just get the bitch desexed and abort at the same time. A little more expensive (less expensive than raising a litter) but essentially, if you are thinking about the welfare of the bitch and the future of yet *another litter of unwanted puppies* - this is the best conclusion all round.

Wait until your Cocker is 12 months. In the meantime, you can take her to an offlead park and let her self exercise - I would recommend this sort of social/exercise outing for any pup under 12 months of ANY breed A short walk on-lead literally around the block will also break up the boredom and you could use this as a part of your own exercise regime - maybe go for a nice little walk with your pup as a warm-up for your long jog?? The beach is also good for self-exercise/short walk as the sand is obviously nice and soft for growing bodies with all the added excitement of a beach trip!

I would highly recommend Jetpets for the job. Organising NOW is an excellent idea just in case there are further veterinary requirements for your babies. Crate training is an absolute *must* - they will have to be in separate crates as far as I know but once again check with Jetpets as they can give you the full run down. Also check the crate sizes etc that you will need for travel - the international crate requirements are much larger than Domestic. Having a regular person to deal with makes the whole process a lot easier IMHO. Good Luck!!

Even more hilarious (especially for the General Public) to see a judge peed on at the Royal! :D

I'm of the informed opinion that the birds don't realise Bonnie is a dog.... they think it's a lovely soft blankie that they are perching on!

Back to square 1 with the toilet training! I don't care how old he is or whether he's entire - he is smart enough to learn *not* to pee where he's not supposed to..... Just some extra training practice for the humans

Another here for Phil Thomas!

Diet sounds great but it also sounds like you are lacking fibre - like extra bone (although I understand there has been an issue previously) but do try and build it up as Nekbet suggested plus the pumpkin (steamed and mashed will do wonders for the poo! More fibre and solids for this diet will discourage liquidy poop.

Ask for an autopsy. Could be so many different things at this age especially considering his history. Could be something as simple as a bowel blockage or as complex as SM; worm burden, pituitary tumour, heart murmur - geez - just about anything! If she wants answers, get her to have the pup autopsied or else unfortunately, this experience has to go into the "sh** happens" box.

Heard far more horror stories about bitches wormed and losing pups than situations as described by Sharonpuggywuggy above - sorry to hear about your girl As others here have mentioned, I worm the bitch prior to mating and again when the pups are 2-3 weeks. As I worm my dogs once every 3 months, the timeframe is the same as usual except the bitch ends up being wormed "out of sync" with my 3 month intervals

I don't worm pregnant bitches - while they are in season - yes - but not once they are mated.....personally I would worm the bitch & pups when the pups are 2 weeks.