PossumCorner

There's an answer for you above Nat, from JulesP. Join us at Croydon, do puppy training/socialisation in January, then I can take some shots of pups during lessons. Croydon's not far: like, we go to Seaford from here for evening beach-runs for the dogs.

Frodo had a course of Rimadyl after his recent dog attack ordeal and major surgery (among other drugs). No side effects, he seems to have made a wonderful recovery so I can't speak against it. Anything that helped him cope with that ongoing post-op pain and misery I am grateful to the vet for prescribing.

Where would you be driving from - for Flyball, Berwick is probably closest for SE Melbourne - unless you are nearer to Frankston. Did you look at the Flyball Assoc. website, www.flyball.org.au - it lists all of the flyball clubs and contacts. For Agility, look at the VCA (Dogs Victoria) website for clubs - www.vca.org.au - Edit to add - just saw your other post: Cranbourne is neat between Berwick and Frankston, did you go to the Pet Expo on Sunday?

Thanks Darren, I'd missed this notice. Hope to make it on the 8th as we've missed getting to the last couple of RRCV "Open" Lure-coursing days.

Jeeze do they still make it!! We used to use it on our foxies and springer spaniels over 50 years ago, no kidding, everyone in the district "swore by it" and I never saw skin probs on the dogs of anyone using it. It's older than that cos my grandparents all knew it from way back further. Had a leaping red and white greyhound on the wrapper, was supposed to be named after a specific dog. Edit to add: just looked it up, Tilleys product, different wrapper, contains tar and sulphur, same as excema ointments made for people used to (probably still do).

Welcome to Croydon - you'll both be okay it's great. See you at our Open Day on the 7th October if not before. What time is your class, the 9.30 or 11.00?

It'll be on for the next two Saturdays, but not the week-end of 29/30 September as that is the big Flyball Comp down at Yarram, an overnighter, so all the instructors will be going there. After that training will still be at Lilydale but it might change to one evening a week once daylight-saving kicks in, used to be Wednesays from 6.00 til 8.00 but varies. Anyone is welcome to come watch, we prefer in general without dogs so the training dogs aren't distracted. It is only for intermediate and advanced flyball dogs - they can't participate in training at Lilydale until they have completed the beginner-flyball course at Croydon Club on Sundays. (Spectators' dogs are fine so long as they are on lead and quiet and not on the training or crating areas). And Leopuppy I'd meant to tell you the Aussies videos from last year's Open/Champs are available, I'm not sure if it's been mentioned in the Aussies Newsletter yet.

Oops. Saturday training was cancelled at Lilydale, fairly short notice. It will be on this coming Saturday at 10.30 for sure, (unless it is absolutely bucketing rain).

Croydon Club is excellent (and close) - at Silcock Park, (James Rd, off Lincoln Rd) training Sunday mornings between 9.30 and 12.00. Come visit us any Sunday (without Toby for the first time), to be able to arrange a suitable class to join, wander round and watch some training etc. Or even come along to have a look at the Croydon Flyball training this Saturday morning at 10.30 at Lilydale High School, meet some Croydon members and instructors there. Border Collies love flyball, you will see quite a few Toby-dogs at training.

She looks so good natured, I didn't like those other dogs, they were too ready to have a go, didn't look like play it looked like ganging up when she was in the water, plain nastiness. Will you do agility or flyball with her, she seems keen to use up that energy?

Same in Melbourne, Coles have it on special at 99c per can today, don't know how long the special goes for.

Good suggestion, good advice (Arya's reply is spot on also). My own experience with ADT was not good. Signed up before I watched a class which was totally unattractive, feet on leads to force-drop a dog wasn't a good look to me. Had to pay my hundreds up because I had signed for a set of courses: but never went back. Others find them great I know, but to me it was too commercial aside from the method. (This was about four years ago). At VCA affiliated clubs there are generally other member's children around who would be happy to spend time helping your dog to be kid-friendly with parent's and instructors' co-operation.

Any news on how today went? Someone must be home by now.

You mean two sleeps to go don't you - or is everyone planning to sleep the night before??

They are terrific numbers, it should be spectacular, I'm hoping to get there for a look on one or both days.

Don't know Teachers Pets. Cost-wise Croydon would be the most reasonable probably. Like JulesP said, check the website and come to see us on Sunday morning around 9.00. Don't bring the dogs, first day to look around is best to be dog-free, so you can go into the club-house, talk to the staff, watch some classes etc. It is on Silcock Reserve, turn into James St off Lincoln Road. Classes are mainly on Sunday, 9.30 til 12.00 - some of the dogsports, flyball and agility, also train on weeknights or Saturdays. Also worth looking at the flyball website as Croydon Rockets are part of the CDODC - if your dogs are doing some basic obedience already they will breeze through the mandatory basic obedience classes at Club, then you can train for agility or flyball like you said to have some fun with your dogs, and go on to be competitive if you want to. Flyball is at http://www.flyball.com/rockets/

Yes I'll second that, good racing to the Victorian teams and safe travel.

Saw you with the dogs, thought you would have been at Lilydale for the lure coursing but that answers it, you were. Eight rings made taking photos a bit challenging so I caught up with old friends and slacked off.

Quite a few groomers use Fidos and swear by them. I bought the deluxe for dogwash business, and been happy with it, waited an extra week to have it made in red and black instead of "boring aqua". Had a flexi-shower plumbed in above it, great for nervey dogs that are terrified of hydrobath pump noise. Fido (Mavlab) also make a useful dog-bath without pump, just a bath, but good design/size. Their website is http://www.mavlab.com.au/fidos_hydrobath.html - (they also come with a good starter pack of the Fidos shampoos and conditioners).

Making a game of it worked for me. My three were terrified of/hated the power dog dryer in the salon. Started using the 'people' hair-dryer combined with treats. Big turnaround - now if one gets a bath, the other two line up to be 'dried off' also, and get quite snotty if they don't get an all-over warm air treatment and towel rub. Probably an element of jealousy contributed, but making it a fun episode made it much easier so now bath and dry time is win/win.

I'd read this too so buy salmon from the fish shop - $1.00 each for a head and tail and almost half a metre inbetween, just the side meat taken off but still a fair bit of salmon meat left on. Fresh. Although Frodo won't touch them (it took six months to kid him into eating a chicken neck or wing, he is Mr Picky Picky about everything) Piper and Young Rheneas would kill for fish any day. It takes them a long time to eat one, they are very very careful of all the bones. But love them. Chicken necks/wings wasted on these two, they swallow small chickens whole. If there is any first hand info about anything wrong with feeding whole fish, I'd be glad to know. In Thailand etc the fishing village dogs live on fish and maybe some rice as their entire diet and seem fine, but maybe if there is a problem we didn't hear about it.

I'll be there only to take photos. It would be roll-about-laughing to think of Piper or Frodo 'doing' obedience. Young Rheneas could 'do it' if he wanted to but he's made his feelings on this most clear. We should have great weather, deserve it after last time, forecast is 12-20 and fine, sounds okay. Hope our gear-shop will be open, need a BlackDog brace lead.

Rheneas had a major change of coat after he was desexed at about 12 months. Everything changed, coat length and 'balance' between undercoat and topcoat. It has never gone back, two years later the changed coat is now his normal coat. He would be a Shetland Sheepdog cross Spitz-type (maybe Pom, not sure of course, RSPCA rescue). Read somewhere that Irish Setters have a dramatic coat quality change once they are desexed - is this 'normal' for all breeds and crosses or more usual in some than others? I guess groomers would be the best people to have seen this (or not seen it) with many breeds to know which are affected.

Are you moving on to KCC Park when RSPCA finishes? Lure Coursing ticket sales are at 3.30pm What time is your last Flyblll Demo run at RSPCA? (think Easties are running it, last time I had Frodo there it was a Berwick-run demo). I wouldn't have minded going to both, but didn't think there would be time to drive to KCC Park, after packing up flyball after the last run. Plus then means missing training for Rheneas in the morning: dilemma - can't do everything.

Jen that's one of the aspects of it I don't like - I know all of our dog sports carry some risk to the dog that we accept, but this (to me) takes advantage of their willingness and drive to ask just too much.