cowanbree

Thanks Liz, will have a look at that

Given she is 12 weeks and currently has to be totally seperated from my other dogs I really hope not for all our sakes

Does anyone have any miracle cures for puppy vaginitis? Vet tells me she will grow out of it but as she is attracting the attention of my males and causing war that isn't really a suitable answer. He has given me antibiotics but said it probably wouldn't help - and he is right as we are 12 days in and if anything it is worse

Don't I know it. The poor cat is bald from his ears right down to his shoulders and quite bruised. We have certainly had our battles, took 5 days for her to sleep more than 3 hours at night, she bites and jumps all over everyone nipping and scratching and has put holes in half my clothes. After some very hard work she has improved but she is a lot of dog in comparison to my lovely gentle shelties. I figure they make them extra cute so you don't kill them until they grow and and aren't quite as baldy behaved. In relation to living alone both my aussies are kennelled separately and there isn't an issue but the reason I have 2 is because they really are too rough to play with the shelties and I felt so sorry for them without someone their own size to play rough and tumble with

I live alone and have multiple pets, add them one at a time and you don't notice the numbers creeping up as much. However I am a sheltie breeder and have 2 aussies and aussies are very full on for the shelties. It involves a lot of time and commitment to have these 2 breeds and they are never left alone together even as mature adults. Love the aussies but they are so rough and the 15-20kg weight difference does cause some issues. I have a 12 week old aussie puppy currently and she is dynamite, makes shelties look like little angels. Last night i went out of the room for 5 minutes and she got the cat by the neck and pulled all his hair out. She didn't intend to hurt him, just jolly good fun.

My neighbour put a rolling pipe about 3 inches above the top of the fence to keep her cats in. They theory is that they can't get a foot hold as every time pressure is put on it it turns. Might work with a dog although personally if he was my dog he would be in a roofed run. He may not be happy but he would be safe.,

Scan done at 28 days I think, no pups. Very nearly sent her home as she was a leased bitch. She had 6 pups which is a huge litter for a sheltie

This is what I did and it was great as the safety of dogs in a trailer in an accident isn't great but it is so handy. In then end the disadvantages of towing a trailer got the better of me and I traded for a Van. Love it but don't love the cost at the pump station.

The Dyson car kit has a specially made mini turbo head that picks up all dog hair. Only think I have ever found to work.

Got any greyhound people nearby? They will know who has a scanner. I get mine done by the sheep scanner, he does a much better job than the vet and is cheaper

I get a dog sitter in for most of the tribe except for Cowan who is extremely special needs so if he can't go with me I stay home. Not only is it a lot cheaper than boarding them but they get more attention and are comfortable in their own home.

My vet and I don't really agree on a lot. He has nothing against people breeding their pets and has even allowed them to use his dog at stud. He sometimes need a firm kick to make him look at alternatives other than conventional medicine and is very pro vaccination. However he is my vet and a darn good one. I am not living with the man and as long as I know he will listen to me and will do his best by my animals I am happy. He has seen my dogs through some very serious illness and a number of my animals would not be here without him. Time and time again I have got this poor man out of bed for emergencies/ c-sections etc and he has always been there even at the end when sometimes we have to say goodbye. He is certainly far from perfect but I personally wouldn't change vets over different opinions as long as he respected mine. I regularly get the vaccination speech but I just roll my eyes and go hmmm. He sighs and we move on.

Just be direct and casually give him the card of a good groomer with a coment along the lines of thought you might like this. Other than reporting him that is about all you can do

I think a lot would depend on your breed. I can imagine a staffy for example would spark up and look quite impressive around bitch's in season but I can assure you a sheltie with his tail over his back and not baiting is less than impressive. In the end unless rules are changed people are still going to do it but I stand by my original comment that it is selfish and unsporting to not at least leave your bitch home in standing season and be considerate of your other exhibitors by keeping well away at other times.

I am betting you don't have a entire male that is unshowable when there are in season bitch's near? I think the first time you do, you might change your opinion. You can not train against instinct and some dogs have a stronger drive than others. Bitch's have to stay home for 2 weeks a year, surely that is not too much to ask.

As euthanasia is such a large part of a vet and vet nurses job I would expect that they would become somewhat hardened to it. I am sure my vet feels empathy for every distraught pet owner he deals with and I know for a fact that he hates doing them but if each one affected him personally his work would be a rather unhappy place to be considering on average he does 2plus a day. I personally find the decision to euthanasia far more difficult than the procedure itself which has always been quite peaceful for me. In fact so peaceful that my sister who was with me for the last one piped up just after Kayla had passed and said I wish we could have done that to Nana. Not the best time for that comment but I totally agree. Kayla had a lovely passing while dear Nana suffered terribly.

One of my pet hates, I think it is quite selfish. I have entire males that have been used at stud and if there is an in season bitch anywhere in the vicinity I might as well not be there. It isn't a huge issue if they are only a few days in and their owners keep them away from the other dogs as much as possible but anything over about 5/6 days should stay home in my opinion. I don't get to many shows myself but I would still never show an in season bitch even in the early days of her season

When I brought my new lounge suite I decided the dogs were not allowed on the couch but they are so cute.

I plan quite a long way ahead but it seldom ends out working that way. Point in case is my current puppy. She was specifically bred to put to my blue boy. Pedigree wise it is a superb mating but unfortunately the dog herself does not complement my blue boy so back to the drawing board. Not only do I still not have the right bitch to put to my blue (this is my 2nd try) but now I have to look for an outside stud that will suit her - sigh

I just add water to mine, it certainly slows them down

Not sure that I agree with that. Come in and try and take my animals and prepare for war. My pets are part of the family and I would be highly emotional about any attempts to remove them without my consent.

I should back quietly out of this thread as I am far from a solo dog owner but just wondering if any of the people who say they only want one dog have ever had two?

I haven't done agility for years but maybe the people who don't want to own another dog but would love another dog to compete with should consider running someone else's dogs. Like a lot of breeders I concentrate on showing but have a number of dogs here that would have done very well in agility and I would have loved to have seen them with titles other than showing. Alternatively perhaps consider a smaller dog. Just as competitive but not as much work as a bigger dog

Thanks you have given me some great ideas. I am going to start him in Rally O after Christmas but this will give me something to work with in the meantime

I am looking for some ideas to increase the confidence of one of my dogs and make him more independent and less clingy. He is nearly 2 yrs old now and is extremely clingy to the point it is driving me mental. I don't mind that he wants to be with me but he is always wanting physical contact in some way. If we are sitting he has his head on my foot or is leaning against my legs. If we are out and about he is constantly touch my hand or leaning against my leg. He is honestly a lovely dog with a gorgeous temperament but if I try and make him sit on his mat he gets very anxious. I need him to be more independant. . Ideas anyone?