Staranais

If I ran out and scruffed or rolled my malinois for digging in the garden, I'd a) probably get bitten for my trouble, and b) she probably wouldn't trust me for several weeks after the fact. Why should she? I'd have proven myself crazy & violent. Not all dogs will put up with that kind of cr*p from their owner.

Bought her a new shoulder. OCD sucks.

Well - I don't want to get a Shepherd, join the GSDCA nor get on its committee. But that shouldn't stop someone being able to explain it so that it CAN be understood. Unless there is skulduggery going on that prevents it from being clearly explained on a public forum and that the only way to find things out is to go 'underground' . I can lend you a 6 month old working line Shepherd for a couple of days if you would like a dynamic experience Erny If she lived closer, I'd be doing a weekend dog swap with her if she agreed - she could play with my malligator, and I'd get to play doctor with Mandela!

Ew really? I'm in NZ, not Aussie, so you may well have. Hopefully it's not as bad as the American ones.

I agree.

I had someone stop their car by the side of the road when I was training my malinois last month, and ask if I was a dog trainer and if I could help them train their dog. I was very flattered - at least until my girl suddenly broke her down stay to rocket towards the car, screaming with joy at the chance of going for a car ride with strangers. Ooops! Seriously though, over the years I have been asked by many people for dog training advice, mostly when they see my dogs in public. It's flattering, but to be honest, I do so much foundation work with my dogs, that with most people, I just don't know where to start helping them. I have also gotten a lot of bizarre dog training advice from well meaning strangers. I think every second person who watches Cesar Millan or Victoria Stillwell on TV suddenly thinks they are a dog training expert. When you have an aggressive dog especially, everybody has a theory about how you should fix your dog - even if they've never owned an aggressive dog themselves! And the number of things people have told me will make my dogs "dominant" are legion.

Agree with Poodlefan.

Big vet clinic chains are already all over America. I hope they don't end up over here. I spoke to a new grad vet who went over to work in one of the larger American vet clinic chains as her first job after graduation. They had a friendly recruitment person who came to the uni & signed up final year vet students, with promises of great wages, high tech facilities, etc. Turns out they treat the new grads like crap, work them to the bone, get them to milk the customers for every last $, and don't let them use their brains to do proper medicine - after studying 5 years to learn how to be a vet, she was supposed to forget all that and follow the flow charts on the wall to decide what medicine to give. She absolutely hated it, and came back after 6 months. Not somewhere I'd want to take my animal (or somewhere I'd want to work myself).

Exercise and mental stimulation will probably help - perhaps it will help a lot. But if she's that high energy & loves to dig that much, you'll probably need to manage the situation too. No easy way out of it, really. I'd confine her to a particular area, or fence off the grass during the day (either with a fence or ping strip). Easy, painless, and if the run or fence is solid enough, it's guaranteed to work. You could faff around trying to punish the behaviour, but seems like a lot of work, especially since she's already discovered it's so rewarding, I would suspect the training could easily break down as soon as she realises you're not always there to punish her. Sounds like she's a great dog otherwise. Really, there are lots of far worse problems she could have.

That's a good question, and I haven't thought about it. My parents would probably love to keep them, and they could keep the cats, but there is no way they could handle the dog. She would walk all over them, and although she would be very loved, she would be quite unsatisfied being a pet. I don't want her PTS - she is young and healthy and vibrant and lovely, and I would love to think of her living on after me, if we could find her a proper working home. I will discuss it with them tonight and tell them who to contact if something happens, in order rehome her to another working home. Thanks for making me think about it.

If the article is true, some of the things described are shocking. And I guess it could be true - there are some bad vets and vet nurses out there, just like there are some really bad registered breeders, some terrible dog trainers, & some shocking pet owners. No vet nurse or vet should hit an animal (except in self defence!) No vet should delegate procedures to a nurse who isn't trained to do them. No vet should recommend unnecessary procedures to owners. No vet should charge for procedures that were not performed. No vet should charge the client for injuries that happened at the vet clinic. Surely these things go without saying. However, I some of the writer's complains are unreasonable, and reflect a poor understanding of the veterinary industry. The nurse who wrote the article complains that she was expected to put a catheter into a dog. She also complained that she was expected to give injections. If she was crappy at it or untrained, they shouldn't let her do these things. But most vet nurses I know are great at putting in catheters & giving injections. Some are far better than the vets! These things are a basic part of a vet nurse's job. The writer also complained that she only got minimum wage - however, it was her choice not to become a qualified vet nurse, and she admits she can't even put in a catheter and was uncomfortable giving injections. Sorry, but I wouldn't pay her much more either. She should upskill herself if she wants a better wage. The writer of the article also complained that she saw nurses administering anaesthetic agents. It's true that nurses should not administer anaesthetic agent unsupervised - but in most practices, sinc the vet is focusing on doing the surgery, & they can't simultaneously monitor anaesthesia, they rely on the nurse to do this. Most qualified vet nurses are very good at this. If you want a vet to monitor your animal's anaesthetic instead of a nurse doing it, please be prepared to pay much more for surgeries, since you'll be paying two vets' time (costs more than the nurses's time)!

Yup, I was more talking to Corvus, saying that if she did go to the vet with food bunnies then she should also tell the vet the bunnies were for food. Used your quote since you bought up the vet topic, was just elaborating on it. Make more sense?

Be careful you tell the vet what the bunny is for, though. Some common drugs can't be used in food animals in case it taints the meat, and others have certain withholding periods before the animal can be slaughtered. I wouldn't want you, or your vet, in trouble. :D

Oh really? Interesting, It says on the FCI website that they both are associate members, but perhaps it is out of date. Did the AnKC tell you they weren't members? On the bright side, that clears the way for a FCI associated body for working dog breeders in Australia. I'm grateful for Erny getting involved even though she has no shepherd. The more AnKC members complaining to the AnKC about their policies, the more likely they will listen.

Will be great when the clinical trials are finished & we have the full details, but sounds like a very promising drug for some inoperable cancers.

Yes. My pup had shoulder OCD before I got her insurance sorted, she is therefore not covered for anything to do with shoulder OCD (in either shoulder, even though it was only clinical in one shoulder). Is that specifically stated on your schedule? Yes. Would you please let us know which company you're with (or PM if you prefer?) Petplan - not sure if it's available in Aussie or not. http://www.petplan.net.nz/

Yes. My pup had shoulder OCD before I got her insurance sorted, she is therefore not covered for anything to do with shoulder OCD (in either shoulder, even though it was only clinical in one shoulder). Is that specifically stated on your schedule? Yes.

Yes. My pup had shoulder OCD before I got her insurance sorted, she is therefore not covered for anything to do with shoulder OCD (in either shoulder, even though it was only clinical in one shoulder).

What lovely looking dogs! It says it is from 1937. I would be much more keen on getting a GSD if they still looked like that.

Don't want to burst your bubble (sounds like you've been through enough already this week) but I've heard of dogs choking on squeakies if they can get them out of the toy. Make sure you inspect the toys regularly for damage. Good on you for contacting Kong, would be interested to hear what they have to say.

I should think any vet would be happy to write a note saying a dog shouldn't be revaccinated with another C3 within 3 years, if they have given the one licensed for every 3 years. Vet wouldn't get in trouble since that's the the manufacturer's recommended dosing interval, & so they'd be backed both by the vaccine manufacturer & the WSAVA. The council can't do anything to the vet, the vet is doing their job correctly & not breaking any laws or codes of practice.

That's horrible for your dog. I hope she is OK. But, folks have got to leave something with their dogs if they're at work for long hours to keep the dog entertained (especially if the dog has to be caged or crated, as my girl is). I don't know if anything is 100% safe to leave with a dog. Even bones can cause freak accidents. Rather than swearing off kongs and their like entirely, perhaps the trick is to get a kong either too small for the dog to put its bottom jaw in, or so large that the dog can't trap its jaw in there?

Please do! If I ever move to Aussie, I'd love my girl to keep her full pedigree. I don't think a person can actually join the FCI, so I think being a member of AnKC (or NZKC) makes you as much a member of FCI as anyone is.

I don't plan to write to the AnKC - I'm not a member of the AnKC. I do plan to write to the FCI, when I get a minute, since I am a member of another FCI associated organisation & therefore feel I have the right to complain to the FCI. I don't care what the history behind the sniping is, or which breed club is in the right. If the working breed clubs in Australia can't work together, I'd say you are all sunk. It is sad to see.

If it was salmonella or parvo, the pup would not be BAR and full of life after several days of diarrhoea. Coccidia is a good guess if it doesn't clear up, but from what you write it sounds like her stools are getting more solid already?