pebbles

Perhaps it's just excitement at going for a walk and nothing to do with the equipment? Slightly different but Mick gets excited when we are going in the car. The other two jump in the minute the door is opened and most times Mick will too but sometimes he does crazy laps around the car before jumping in. IMO the reaction has to be seen before a call can be made.

An old breeder friend used to swear by Raleighs Antiseptic Ointment rubbed in to the dog's skin would promote the growth of hair on a bald spot caused by injury etc. It was in an orange tin, don't know if you can still get it!

My youngster crops grass, reckon he's part horse too, never seems to affect him either end but you can guarantee that if the old girl eats grass, she will throw up shortly after.

I bought 2 some time ago at Bunnings Mildura and have been checking back for weeks to get another. It's apparently a Bunnings line and they only let them out to some stores every now and then - they had them in again last week so keep looking!

I brought Mickey (Min. Pin.) home at 11 weeks. I put his crate in a puppy pen with newspaper on the floor. Toileted him at about 10pm-10/30pm and put him in the crate with the door open. Got up about 6.30am and he hadn't left the crate all night, paper was still dry. Took him outside and he did an enormous wee! He never did use the paper and I got my sleep lol. He has travelled long distances by car and has never soiled in his crate and was very easy to house train.

I only use flea treatment IF there are fleas present. Can't remember last time. I only worm adults when worms present in a faeces test. Seldom. Pups wormed to 6mths. Vaccinate to the 12 months booster only. Interesting article!

My old girl is like that - swallows anything as long as it will fit in her mouth. I gave up trying the bone way long ago and being a littlie cleaning her teeth wasn't on. I had to settle for a teeth cleaning at the Vets every couple of years. She is 13.5yrs now and her teeth are still great.

If the stairs are wooden how about a roll of the cheap garden wire tacked on the underside to cover the gaps?

When I had Afghans, I found the seasons were generally nearer to the 12 month cycle.

Just a word of warning about the wheat filled warmers! I made a couple for my older dogs for cold nights, heated them in the microwave and they worked great. After a few weeks of this one evening I thought they had a bit of a burning smell so undid the stitching at one end and some of the grains were actually black, hot and almost smouldering!! Scary stuff! My oldies now have a hot water bottle each wrapped in a blanket, I reckon a leak is better than a fire!

Well she is an Afghan!!! In my years of having Afghans I think I only had a couple who were totally reliable in the house. I'd be getting her Vet checked first as it does seem a bit excessive. If she has the all clear then it's just a matter of perserverence and this still may not be completely successful. My Affies all were kenneled outside and let in under supervision, one or two at a time. Being outside wont make any difference to the coats, just keep up the maintenance with brushing, extra bathing isn't necessary, powder and brush mud out when it's dried. Watch for any staining from grass etc. and just rinse those bits. Mine had an acre to romp in and Gippsland winters can be pretty rough but a daily check and brush kept them OK. It's not only coat but what's under it that should matter. ETA to make sense!

I had an understanding with the local Vets when I did grooming. If a new client came in with a dog obviously in a bad way I would tell them that if there were any complications found then the Vet would be called to do what ever necessary. I had the client sign authorisation to this effect and while I only had to resort to this a couple of times it covered all the bases. This was in a country town some years ago, don't know if the Vets now days would co-operate!

I haven't read all the posts in this thread but perhaps a look at Canine Epileptoid Cramping could be worth a minute. This is being researched in Border Terriers and I don't know if it is in other breeds. There's quite a number of videos on UTube relating to this in the Borders.

Darn dogs - do we ever stop worrying over them? Mickey is 13 months old and always leaps out of bed to greet me each morning - this morning, no sign of him, panic! He's curled up under his blanket and came out quietly looking sleepy. Nose and gums checked, temp taken, tummy felt, all OK! Running around now in his usual hectic way, had his breakfast, nothing wrong with him just his stupid mum having a panic and I've had dogs for over 50 years so be prepared for years of minor panics Actually it's worse than having kids, at least they can tell you if they're not feeling OK!

Ummm guess how my girl got her name - Pebbles!!!!!!!!

My 7 kids and all my dogs have been raised with cows milk - raw - we always had a cow and never had a problem with either the kids or dogs. This was years ago before we were told all the dreadful things that might happen - ignorance is bliss!

I feed chicken necks to 2 of mine but I have to hold them while they chew peices off. They swallow them whole if I don't hold them and scares the heck out of me to see them trying to get them down and the bulge in their neck as it goes down!

"The investigator, from US animal rights group PETA, videotaped Iams representatives visiting the laboratory, witnessing the animals in these dreadful conditions – and doing nothing. Even her pleas...." In the script!

If anyone connected with PETA wanted to come into my place, I'd shut the door too!

That's how my girl got her name "Pebbles" sounded better than 'Stones' She seemed to always have a stone in her mouth when she was a puppy but she grew out of the habit by about 9 months.

My 12.5yr old girl has always hated being cuddled or fussed over. If she wants a pat she will come and lean on my leg. I can then pick her up and have a couple of minutes smooge then she wants to get down and says 'that's enough!' This rarely happens, maybe once a week at most. She definitely would not be a children's dog. Guess some dogs can be like people and not be 'into' cuddling.

I've still got my Masons from when I had Affies. Not a lot of use for the Min Pins and they're all the larger size. Ah, memories of all that brushing!

cactus - I know there's a lot of different methods now and I hope things will work out for you. Your dog ending up with a sore neck is awful. We used to deal with pullers, biters, scared dogs, whatever, and I guess because we really only had the check chain to work with, many different approaches were in order depending on the problem. Sheesh - Nekhbet - the chain was never used as punishment but as a training aid along with voice and body language. 'Hard yanks' earned the ire of the instructor. Sure has changed from way back then!

cactus - The way we were taught way back when was that it wasn't the strength of the handler but the action used at the right time and in the right manner. We had light weight young teenage kids who had little trouble handling a fair sized dog. IMO your instructor really didn't know the correct method or timing. It's a pity the check chain has got a bad reputation through some incorrect instructions as I reckon it's the easiest, quickest, kindest method of training. Will add - along with using the chain there must also be body language. Hard to explain in writing but when we were given demo's of the right and wrong way it was very obvious.

That's it Hesapandbear - whiting and ?? oil - olive? parrafin? ? mixed to a paste and put on the inside tip of the ear. Oh boy, that was a lot of years ago lol.