Staranais

That's a bit sad, but I guess they've got liability to think about, if they adopted them out then they'd need to be incredibly careful where they placed them. At least they have a good working life for the 10 years before that.

You can get black malinois. I've also seen photos of working malinois with "too much white", i.e. white all over the chest. And my dog's litter brother (malinois) was born with one white sock. I guess maybe those are mismarks, if you're interested in showing? Doesn't really matter for a working dog, though. Eta, and you can get blue (dilute) malinois.

OMG, snap. I have had several people recently ask me what my dog is, and say she's pretty, and where did I get her. Yes, she is pretty. No, you don't want one. Strangely enough, or perhaps not strangely, I didn't used to get that when she was a bit younger and she greeted strangers by shrieking and flailing and gnashing her teeth with excitement (and occasionally biting their trousers). It's only since she has learned appropriate manners & some impulse control that she's suddenly become attractive to random strangers!

He said it looks very minor. It would have to be minor because the first two vets that looked at it could see nothing Well fingers crossed that he's just seeing some sort of artifact or shadow then, instead of being right. Radiographs can be pretty hard to take & interpret. The specialist will be able to tell what's up.

Oh no! I'm sorry. I hope the specialist has good news for you & it's only minor.

I don't know, I'm never that impressed by testimonials. I figure even the worst dog trainer will have some clueless owner that they helped who will write them an amazing recommendation. Not commenting on this guy specifically, since I don't know him at all, he could be wonderful.

Yes, that sounds right. After puppy vaccinations, dogs should get another booster a year later, before going onto the 3 yearly program. It's only 3 yearly after the one year booster. I wouldn't get kennel cough for my dog unless I was boarding her, although do discuss it with your vet and ask why they're recommending it - perhaps there's a lot in your area or something. But if you do want to get kennel cough done, then yes, it only lasts for one year. It doesn't last for three years like the C3 does.

My mally has been washed only once in 18 months and she smells lovely. There's a slight smell to her, but it's subtle & not at all unpleasant. She gets brushed regularly. I don't think I could ever own a long coated dog!

Why does he need to be on a SD food for the rest of his life, after having salmonella? Do they think he has a higher risk of getting it again for some reason, and the SD is supposed to help?

You're welcome. :p

Yeah, if the bleeding has stopped, & the wound was a clean one, then I wouldn't worry about it myself. Just keep an eye on it for infection, but I reckon he'll be fine. That reminds me of a really gory photo I saw of a poor labrador that got its tongue caught in a paper shredder (they did sew it back together successfully). Now that would be worth worrying about! :p

I'm sorry, I don't know where in Queensland you'd go either. Perhaps your regular vet can refer you. & if there's a Vet School in Queensland, they probably either have specialists or will know where they are?

There should be a use by date! Perhaps it's just well hidden?

If it were me, especially if I didn't know which vet to trust, I'd go to a specialist to get the rads read. I went to a specialist when my young pup got shoulder OCD (a developmental joint disease). We had a specialist radiologist interpret our rads, & a specialist surgeon did the surgery. I was lucky to get a bit of a discount, but even if I hadn't it still would have been money very well spent.

I will be interested to hear what Rappie has to say. But I strongly suspect that if you get the OFA rads done at 10 months old and there is already bony degenerative change in the hip (DJD = the results of H.D), then it's only going to get worse if you leave it.

Canidae is good, I like it & so does my dog, but it is high in calories. So swapping to canidae won't make your dog lose weight. The thing is, with diet food, you're mostly just paying the same price for a food with more undigestible filler. IMO it's better (and cheaper) to just feed the dog less food, not feed him the same amount of "diet" food. Calories in, vs calories out. Exercise him more, or feed him less. If you feel bad feeding him less, then instead of just putting the food in a bowl you can teach tricks or clicker - make him work for every piece of kibble, he'll feel far more full. :p

Well done!

Well cooked chicken shouldn't have any higher risk of Salmonellosis than any other meat, so long as she observes proper food hygiene measures (such as change chopping boards & knives between cooked & uncooked meat, etc). Raw or undercooked chicken (or eggs) are the risk for salmonella, especially if he has other immune or gastro issues. Although, if all he has to eat is chicken off the bone, he will definitely be at risk of nutritional deficiencies?

It is still terribly bad luck for you guys, though. Even though there are lots of ways an incident like this can happen without being anyone's "fault", it's still a huge PITA for you and your poor dog. I hope her recovery is smooth and uneventful!

If it were epilepsy, it also wouldn't only happen when she was asleep. Don't worry, puppies all dream. Once you've stopped being worried, I bet you'll find it cute!

It's easy to second guess yourself after the fact. But if it was a high grade soft tissue sarcoma, then leaving it a week or two could have been long enough for it to grow bigger (making surgery harder on the dog and more expensive for you) or even may have been long enough for it to metastasise (making a cure impossible). It sounds to me like you did exactly the right thing given the information you had, and the vet probably did the right thing given the information that they got from the lab. It's just a huge pity that the lab gave an inaccurate diagnosis, for whatever reason, resulting in the unnecessary surgery.

Sounds to me like your dog doesn't understand the game yet (the game being: you offer behaviours, I'll tell you what I like & reward it, and then you offer similar behaviours, and I'll tell you which variation I like and reward it, and so on). I'd suggest you go and shape a whole bunch of other things, anything you like, and then give the book thing another go when your dog understands the game.

Nasty? Or perhaps it's just a breed that doesn't cope at all well with being shoved in a backyard and not trained or exercised, as so many people do to their dogs... I'm in two minds about this. I do not believe ACD or huskies or any of the other breeds on the "bad" list are nasty. How stupid of him to say that. Not to mention the fact that as far as I am aware merely barking or rushing at someone can be classified as an "attack". But on the other hand, I guess I'd rather see a nice but clueless owner get a small, low drive, calm dog (yes, like a bull dog or CKC or pug) than any high drive, high energy working dog or terrier type. So why could he not have worded his findings in a less inflammatory way? I don't know much about Burke's backyard - don't think we get it in NZ - is he always as melodramatic as that? Why couldn't he just say "if you're not hugely into dog training then get a calm breed, like these ones, since it tends to take less work to make them into a well mannered pet"?

I have read about this method, and it sounded really interesting. I love all of Sylvia Trkman's stuff. But, one thing confused me, and that is that she doesn't click them for stepping in the contact zone, her criteria for rewarding the dog is just that they run over the contact without changing stride & don't jump over or off it. Seems to me like a bigger dog could easily stride right over the contact? Has anyone used the method with a big dog, & if so can they comment if this was an issue? Sorry to go OT, Sheena! But perhaps it will interest you too since you have a bigger dog.

Thanks Tenille, I'll have a look!