Staranais

Yes, I volunteered at the SPCA myself when I was younger (although not in ACT), most of the grass roots staff were passionate about what they did, and did make a difference. That does not change the fact that the SPCA are an organisation with huge power and no transparent appeals process. That's just scary. There is so much potential for things to go wrong.

Most people are shocked when you explain to them that there is no official channel of appeal against decisions made by the RSPCA, and that they are therefore a law unto themselves. Should the RSPCA make a bad call, treat you badly, there is no one to appeal to. They're the only organisation I know that is not accountable to anybody for their behaviour. Most people merely support the RSPCA since that's what a nice person is supposed to do, not because they know anything about the charity.

It's a ML, so I'd think probably not safe.

Ah, this is my point. Accepted definition by whom? You are the only person I have ever talked to who seems to think that calling oneself a dog behaviourist implies that one is AVA registered . Can you please tell us who decided that only people with AVA registration should be called behaviourists, or is it something that you just made up yourself? Can you please also give us the Australian Veterinarian Association link to how one becomes a behaviourist, so we can see what they say on the subject?

:rolleyes: So it sounds like you are saying that you personally don't feel it's right for someone who is not an AVA member to call themselves a behaviourist or a qualified behaviourist? But that there are no laws to back you up, it is just your opinion? If that's the case, then it's nothing like someone calling themselves a vet or a solicitor, as you claimed. Advertising yourself a vet if you're not one is breaking the law, and you can be convicted and fined for doing so.

Very interesting! Are you able to tell us which bacteria & which shellfish? I've never heard of this happening with shellfish powder, but I think any food inhaled into the lungs can potentially cause a serious infection. Hopefully your dog recovers well.

4paws, can you please provide the piece of legislation that states that only people with one of the four academic qualifications you have listed can legally call themselves a "behaviourist" or a "qualified behaviourist", please? I have never heard of anyone say this except you, so no offence, but I'd like to see some evidence that this is the truth.

How's your tracking going, people? Did a wee experiment with my little girl today - she's informed me that in short grass, 15min tracks are easy-peasy, 1 hour old tracks are achievable, and 4 hour old tracks are just a little beyond her abilities at present... :rolleyes: Guess we'll stick to training at 1 hour old for a while!

I've never trained a pup to pee on pads, but no one else has answered, so I'll tell you what I'd do. :rolleyes: I'd be toilet training him from the very start like a puppy. That means no unsupervised time in the house - crate him when you're not directly supervising him. Encourage him to go on the pad when he's likely to want to pee (after released from the crate/after exercise/after feeding/after sleeping). And when he starts to go to the bathroom in the wrong place, interrupt him gently, stick him on the pad & make a huge fuss of him going in the "right" place. That's what I'd do.

haha, yes, it's a little owl... hence I said it's a little owl in the original thread lol! Oh duh, sorry. I was having a dumb moment - I was thinking you meant little owl as in a, teeny weeny owl. How blonde! :rolleyes: Kirislin, that is very funny! You had me doubting my spelling for a minute...

Be patient with him. Remember he is only a baby. He won't be a grown up until he's at least 18 months old! He will take a while to learn how to go to the bathroom in the right place, just like a human baby does. You just need to be patient, keep trying to prevent him having accidents, and keep showing him the right place to go. You've gotten good advice about not exercising him too much. His bones are still soft when he is a baby, and you can hurt his bones by taking him for long runs or long walks as a baby.

It's a synonym for Impetigo/Superficial pustular dermatitis.

If my girl needs a pee when we're out walking, I try to direct her to the nature strip on purpose. I mean, what are the other options? Letting her go on the actual footpath is gross in case someone steps in it, letting her go on someone's front lawns is very rude, and letting her go in the gutter is apparently bad for the fishies. ETA - she does pee on command, and I usually ask her to pee before we go, but she often still needs another go while we're out. I think the exercise loosens things up, so to speak.

I've heard good things about Calendula tea for the temporary relief of itchy skin (tee hee Erny, I beat you to it!) I'd also go see the vet on Monday, though. Did the vet diagnose this as definitely puppy pyoderma? And did the antibiotics not work at all, or only temporarily? From what I understand of puppy pyoderma, if that is what it is, then it usually resolves by itself before the dog is a year old. A 3 or 4 week course of antibiotics (something like Rilexine) should also clear it up - if not, they recommend we do culture & sensitivity testing on the bacteria, to ensure we're giving the right antibiotic. Most pyodermas are secondary to something - allergies, endocrine, mites, moisture or trauma of the skin, etc - so identifying any underlying contributing factors is also a good plan.

No one has bought up the term qualified behaviourist except yourself. Everyone who recommended Mr Singer just referred to him as a behaviourist - i.e., someone who works with behaviour. I believe everyone was using that term correctly. However, although it's off topic, I'd still be interested in you providing the piece of legislation that states only the four type of qualifications you list can legally call themselves "qualified behaviourists", please. Thanks.

It's true, you have a point. But on the other hand, if Dr Hazel had worked professionally as a GSD handler with the RAAF or run a business for 30 years specialising in resolving dog aggression, (or if Mr Singer had university qualifications in dog behaviour), I think there's a good chance that they would have both listed these things on their professional websites. Assuming that Dr Hazel hasn't done these things, or Mr Singer doesn't have those qualifications, is an assumption, but I don't think it's an unreasonable assumption based on the information that both trainers have chosen to present about themselves.

How very cool - what a wonderful opportunity for you & your Mum! It doesn't look like a Morepork - is it a little owl? We get injured harriers & falcons in sometimes at the wildlife clinic I volunteer at, as well as moreporks - I love handling them. They're so fierce & so gorgeous.

I was wondering this too. Changing homes is stressful enough for a baby without a diet change, too. I'd keep him on what the breeder was feeding for a week or two, until he's settled in, and then think about slowly changing his diet. Still very smart to take him to the vet, though. Also... where are the photos? Did I miss the baby photo thread?

Yes, I had the same thought. It can be hard to think clearly when you're grieving. It can also be hard for someone without a medical background to understand what's going on in a hospital at the best of times, especially if they have a vet or doctor without great communication skills. But from what I know, the Vet Board (although it is composed of humans and therefore makes mistakes) doesn't deliberately turn a blind eye to negligence or incompetence. Yap, I hope you find some way to come to terms with your loss. I'm sure with time, and perhaps professional help, you'll start to feel better and be able to move on with your life. Sadly, this is something that happens to us all - the pain caused by the loss of a dog is the price of all the wonderful things we get from them during their lifetimes. It hurts to lose them, but having had them is usually worth it.

Actually, I'm not sure I buy that. I don't know of any law or etc that means that only people with certain qualifications can describe themselves as a behaviourist. Please fill me in. No one here said Mark was a qualified behaviourist, BTW. I don't know what qualifications he has. But I'd be thinking that anyone that studies and works with behaviour could, technically, correctly call themselves a "behaviourist". Just like anyone that studies and works with biology could truthfully call themselves a "biologist", whether or not they have a pHD in the subject.

Yes, I'd start now, if she's bored. It can't hurt! I get my E from the human health food shop, it comes in 100 and 200 IU capsules. Not sure of the officially recommended dose. My girl weighs 28kg, gets 2 capsules of fish oil most days, and a 200 IU capsule of E once or twice a week. I'd recommend discussing the injectable Pentosan/Catrophen supplement with the vet.

Doesn't matter - you can't catch it, anymore than your dog can catch a cold off you.

Thanks - that's who I was trying to think of. Mark Singer is a dog trainer and may be of great assistance, but he is not a qualified behaviourist. The most prominent "qualified" behaviourist in SA is Dr Susan Hazel I'd recommend Mark Singer too, from what I've read by and about him, he knows what he's doing.

I've seen both used, & I really like the idea of the nasal delivery not the injectable. I would get the nasal if I ever needed KC for my dog, since think it would be safer, and possibly more effective due to primarily stimulating IgA not IgG/M antibodies at the actual site where invasion occurs. But have no data to back me up, that's just from what I understand of the theory.

Her operation was a little different to your dogs, so you might be told to do something different to us, but I can tell you what happened to us in case it helps? My girl had an operation for shoulder OCD. In a way, that's kind of like shoulder dysplasia - the cartilage doesn't grow quite right in the joint, and eventually it starts to crack and peel off, leaving long flaps that catch in the joint & make the dog limp. So the operation involved opening up her shoulder joint, removing the loose flap, and drilling holes in the remaining cartilage to make the underlying bone bleed (this helps cartilage regrow). Recovery was long, since cartilage takes a long time to regrow, and we had to be careful not to stress it too much until it had hardened. She was in her crate except for toileting for about 2 weeks after the operation. She had to wear a giant Cone of Shame on her head until her skin had healed, on account of eating her stitches out, and then eating her steel staples out. During this time I was doing physiotherapy with her - icing the joint a few times a day, followed by passive flexion and extension exercises of the joint. Hopefully your specialist will give you the details of some physio you can do with her, if he thinks it will be helpful. She got pretty sick of the crate by week two, and even bored of the big bones that I got her. So from that point I fed her all of her meals by hand, making her earn each piece during the clicker training, just to give her brain something to do! Then for the next 2 or 3 months she had short on-leash walks a few times a day (just down to the letter box at first, but very gradually working up to 1 or 2km). She wasn't allowed to go up and down stairs offleash, or to run or jump at all, so when I was home I usually just kept her confined to the one room that I was in by closing doors. She was still crated while I was absent in case she did something silly like zoomies around the house or yard. She still limped at this stage. She had her first off leash runs a few months ago (that's about 4 or 5 months after the operation), and since she didn't limp more after those, I started to leave her out in the yard while I was gone from the house. It's now 7 months after the operation, and she limps very little now - you'd need to watch her very closely and know dogs very well to pick it - and her teeny limp doesn't get worse after exercise. I'm hoping with time that limp will disappear even further. However, the cartilage that regrows after an injury like that isn't as slippery or as strong as the original cartilage (it's fibrocartilage, not true articular cartilage), so there's a possibility she'll always have a very slight limp. I also feed her supplements now - green lipped mussels, glucosamine, fish body oil and vit E - and she gets a course of Pentosan (Cartrophen) shots every 6 months - to try to minimise arthritis in her shoulders. I don't, actually - really sorry. I've been doing it so long now that I just do it. But why not start a post in the training forum, asking for pages to visit, and also suggestions for tricks you can teach with the dog inside a crate? We're all pretty friendly in there.