Staranais

At the end of the day, if you have a seriously aggressive dog, you're damn lucky if there's a trainer within your local area who can help you. In my experience, most trainers won't be able to resolve a severe aggression case, whether or not they admit it, and some will refuse to take the case on. So, if you have someone local who is both able and willing to help your dog, then you're lucky, no matter which methods they choose to use.

An apparently healthy dog can suffer from lots of health issues that can make an anaesthetic riskier - things like liver damage or kidney disease could mean that the dog will be less able to process or excrete the anaesthetic agent, for example. If a blood test reveals an issue that might make the anaesthetic risker, different drugs can be used, the dog can be put on fluids or monitored differently, or the procedure could just not be done. Most clinics offer pre-anaesthetic bloods as an extra for apparently healthy adult dogs, as if it was automatically included in the price of an anaesthetic it could push the price up so high that some people would not want the surgery at all. It needs to be offered though, since sometimes the testing does reveal important information about the dog's health, so the owner needs to be able to choose whether they want to pay for the peace of mind that comes with getting that information. It shouldn't be a guilt trip, it's a pity they made your friend feel that way.

Having said that, I have to admit that I'm inviting some of my dog's friend to my birthday party. Our birthdays are only one day apart, so I guess that's like giving her a party! But she's not getting a cake. Only I get a cake.

Exactly.

There's been a long thread on this here really recently, hopefully someone will know how to find it for you because I don't.

Vasectomy just snips the cord that carries the sperm from the testes, whereas desexing removes the testes. So a vasectomised dog has the same hormone levels as would a non-desexed male dog, and should grow & act the same as a non-desexed male. I've never seen a dog vasectomised, but I've vasectomised rams before, I can't imagine it would be particularly tricky to do a dog, the anatomy is very similar.

I'd contact Gribbles (Auckland) or NZ Vet Path (Massey, Palmerston North) to see if they can either do the tests you are after, or if they know of a laboratory that can.

No, I wouldn't. I bet a lot of people would, though.

Is there a reason why we shouldn't be able to, Staranais? Just that we can no longer get it here in NZ. Von Willebrand's isn't usually classed as a haemophilia, although it is a coagulopathy - I wonder if the OP's dog actually has something like vW disease, which would be more common in a female dog than haemophilia is?

I agree. ETA: Hey Staranais .. You're right. Steve (K9 Pro) is in a different State - ie NSW. I (Pro-K9) am in Victoria. Woah, not just in a different city then. My grasp of Aussie geography is so terrible!

I suspect they only tested the more common breeds - hence the malinois, kelpie, etc missing out. I agree with Koalathebear, I have heard people define intelligence in such a way that all dog breeds appear to be equally intelligent. I don't think this makes much sense. To me, intelligence is how quickly a dog can learn a new task to achieve a goal, or maybe how complex a problem a dog can solve to achieve a goal.

Think before you type. This is offensive, and in many cases, just plain wrong.

© I give permission for the results of the examination to be used at a future date for the purposes of statistical research which will be published and for use by the ANKC on the internet. Yes q No q It is optional here in Aus Oh, strange. I wonder why someone would tick "no", if it's anonymous (it is, right?)

Here, scores from all x-rays that are scored (as opposed to a vet just having a look at them) are automatically included in the NZVA database. I'd be surprised if aussie is different?

What kind of haemophilia is it, & how did the vet diagnose it? There are several different types of haemophilia, all inherited differently, although the more common types are X-linked and hence are very rare in females. Not every blood clotting disorder is a haemophilia either, though. If it's severe haemophilia, your vet is probably wise not to go with elective surgery, especially if they don't have the facilities or experience to do it. If your friend is dead set on the surgery, she can always ask for referral to a specialist. In any case they'll probably want some units of fresh frozen canine plasma standing by in case they need to do a transfusion, which will be rather $ for your friend. The Suprelorin is a good idea to discuss with the vet, if you can still get it in Aussie.

Tee hee, K9Pro is Steve, Pro-K9 is Erny, both post on this forum. I think they're in different cities? My grasp of Aussie geography is very average, sorry. I'd recommend either based on my experiences with them, though.

Depends if the butcher makes it himself from human quality offcuts, or if he purchases it as "pet mince" to sell on (rarer, but I've seen it done). The first may be OK, depending on what goes into it. But after seeing what is designated as "pet food" at the works, and how it's then handled in pet food factories, the second isn't something I'd feel comfortable feeding raw.

My dog's insurance doesn't cover OCD or DJD of either shoulder, since she had surgery for OCD in one shoulder as a pup. Each insurance company will be a little different, and you'll have to read your policy to see exactly what's excluded before signing it. I guess this is a good reason to insure your dog young, if you're going to insure them.

Hmmm, hard to say. If I could take her with me during the day to work or school, or if I worked from home during the day, I probably could spend less time with her in the evening if I wanted. She copes fine when I'm away at school, but that's because she's used to the routine - she knows that nothing happens during the day, her "day" starts when I get back from school & that's when we exercise/train/socialise. If there's any day that she doesn't get a decent work out, either from training or just from exercise, she's rather hellish to live with the next day.

Hmmm, if they're getting defensive when you ask questions, I'd worry that perhaps they weren't that educated or experienced so only had one method for dealing with issues. A good trainer should be able to explain the reasons behind what they want you to do, so that you understand what you're doing & you're on board. But, in your shoes I'd probably give her advice a try unless it was clearly making the dog miserable. And there's no reason it should, being tied up for five minutes or even an hour shouldn't be the end of the world to a healthy adult dog. Do they have a guarantee of any kind or free follow up help in case you get no results, or poor results, from following the advice?

If you've got a problem with the trainer's advice, best to bring it up with them. It's possible you're misunderstanding what they've said, or what they mean. Or if they know you won't or can't do something they've advised, perhaps they can find another technique for you to use.

I don't leash walk mine, it doesn't tire her out. In the city, I usually bike her to exercise her, so we end up going 10 - 15 km/hr for an hour or so, so I guess that would be usually 10 - 15km total. When we hike, I only go about 2 - 4km/hr, but we usually go all day.

I agree, if someone walked onto my land and shot my tied up dog in front of me, they'd need more than a hip replacement. Not to mention the fact that discharging a gun at an animal while wrestling with another person is a bloody stupid and dangerous thing to do!

I pretty much do expect to take my dog almost everywhere, if not into people's homes, then at least in her car crate. She's so high maintenance and high energy, and I'm so busy with school, that pretty much every minute I'm not at school has to be "dog time". The friends & family members who don't like dogs or don't welcome my dog, I certainly respect their wishes to have a dog-free home and would never raise the point again, but they simply don't end up seeing me all that often. I do schedule in a few dog-free evenings per week to spend doing non-dog things, but usually spend those with people who are really dear to me. On the other hand, I don't mind dogs visiting my house at all, so long as they're clean, well behaved, and behave OK with the cats. Or babies, or kids.

On the other side, IMO there are also things you can do when taking your dog to the house of non dog friends to keep them happier & make it more likely that your dog is invited back. e.g., I have found that doing simple things like being able to put your dog in a drop in the corner & leave her lying there quietly for half an hour while you have your coffee & chat makes non-doggy people much happier than having the dog wander around the place. I usually ensure my dog is really well exercised before visiting new people so she's more inclined to relax and stay still. And I always furminate my girl & would bathe her if she smells at all "doggy" before taking her to the house of a non dog friend, so she smells fresh & drops little fur while she's there. We might be used to the mild doggy smell that our dogs have, and the odd piece of shed fur, but I've found that non-dog people can find it quite offensive.