cowanbree

Yes, aggression at that time is not a huge issue and won't affect pet people as they will be desexed. Most of my girls get a little defensive at those times. ETA I am assuming you mean with other dogs, not her own puppies. I would never breed a bitch that attacked her own babies and I doubt I would keep one of her babies either

Close and the breed was shelties. Tegan was a top bitch wanna be and put over 100 stitches in my sweet wee gentle Kayla who had never even rolled an eye at her. I would have pts that day but the vet wouldn't do it so I rehomed her to a 1 dog family. She wasn't DA as she got on well with most other dogs just not suited to living with other female dogs

I had to hand feed Kell for about a week before she was able to eat from a bowl that I held. To begin with I had to place the food in her mouth and she tried to eat it. About 2/3s of it ended up on the floor but we did make progress. Soft mushy food was better. I would keep the fluids up and give him nutrigel which you put on the top of the mouth.

It took my old girl Kell a couple of weeks to show any marked improvement so I really don't think a few days means a brain tumour. She couldn't even stand for the first week and eating was a huge issue. She about 85% recovered, kept the head tilt and had a bit of an odd gait but lived on for another 2yrs without it reocurring and had quality of life right up untilt he end. Give it time and just keep him safe, crated if you have too

Horrific. I had a great breeder but she was 8hrs drive away and in those days the expense of toll calls meant all correspondence was by letter so not really anyone to ask those little questions too. Bitch had diarrhoea for weeks and hated her puppies to the point I had to hold her down to feed them. I found homes though the newspaper and word of mouth but found it very difficult to let them go. Looking back I realise the bitch had a milk intolerance and my set up left a lot to be desired so the bitch never settled . Took me about 5years to have another litter

I can't imagine any situation where I wouldn't be able to take my own back but if I really couldn't I would prefer to work with my fellow breeders to rehome the dog rather than rescue I guess not all rescues are alike but given it is my baby I would like to have the final say in where the dog ends up. That said I would be happy to take referals and would give a donation for that privilege and it would leave them free to take real dogs in need

Is he on arthritis meds? Bree used to do the same thing but since starting her on Sasha's Blend it has stopped so I can only assume her legs were hurting her

Kayla had lung cancer and in her final stages had issues with eating. i found adding water and making it a bit more mushy solved most of the problems

Kell was the dog nightmares were made of until she was about 12mths. She chewed everything and did so much damage I really didn't think I could keep her. Overnight it seems she changed and the next 14yrs she was as close to perfect as I will every get. Loved everyone and everything, 100% solid on and off lead and was a genuinely lovely dog. Was a terrible food thief though but what sheltie isn't. Her daughter Kayla was pretty close to perfect too, a lovely soft gentle dog that I was very privileged to own.

Living in town I used to debark all my shelties as a matter of course. There are 2 types of debarking, 1 is total voice box removal which is done surgically through the throat. It normally results in a dog that can make no noise at all and I would never do it. The other method is more voice softening, a minor procedure commonly done down the throat. They can still bark, just not as loudly. I would debark over using an electric collar any day. Shelties are barkers and debarked they could run play and be themselves which certainly wasn't the case when they were wearing collars

I add water to their food if I think they haven't drank enough. Works really well

It depends re the puppy. I have adopted a puppy to a man in his late 80's with no close family. I was very dubious and said no a number of times but after he told me all about the plans he had made if he was no longer able to look after her I felt I had to at least meet him. He is fitter than me and had all the time in the world to train a puppy. To this day nearly 10yrs later he still goes out biking and walking every day and offers a wonderful home. I am back up for his girl but I don't like my chances, think he might outlive me. What I don't want to happen however is for someone to take his dog out of a sense of duty which often happens, I would rather she came home

At 88 I would make it work. Get an older dog that is going to fit into your family and let her love it while she can. I know I would be terribly sad if i was not able to share my life with a dog. As a breeder I have several out with older people that I am going to take back if they can no longer have them. I do restrict it to two but as long as they are physically capable of having the dog I think they should be able too.

Thanks everyone. Just back from the vet and we have 3 tri girls and 2 tri lads. Rapped with the girls, fingers crossed my long awaited show girl is there.

I would refund purchase price plus any money you can get back, otherwise I think the loss is hers. Perhaps I might offer to pay half that loss but I don't think there is an obligation

She was fine. Temp has now dropped to 37.4 which I take to mean she is on her way. Have spoken ot the vet and if no puppies by morning will c-section

Thanks, more or less what I thought but as I am at work I was getting a little windy that she might be home in trouble. I am going to go home at lunchtime to check on her

I have a bitch due to whelp on Saturday. Her temperature has remained consistently at 38.1-38.3 checked 3 times daily. Last night at 5pm it went down slightly to 37.8 but was back to 38.2 at 11pm. I don't really feel this is low enough to be the temperature drop as they normally drop to at least early 37 - last time she was 36.7 but her normal was 37.8 but this morning has me wondering. Her temperature is 38.3, she ate breakfast but then vomited several times. I have never had a bitch do this until well into labour, is she in 1st stage labour? She otherwise seems quite happy and not at all distressed. She is a c-section bitch and progesterone tests take 24hrs minimum here.

It doesn't really sound like a lot of barking, If I was sure that was all the barking I wouldn't do anything

I chicken wired my deer fencing and fixed it into the ground and it works just fine.

I have, both for my own and for other peoples dogs. I have 2 dogs of a similar type, both very nice dogs in their own right and well deserving of their titles but one simply has that little bit of something extra than the other and always beat him. It was a very hard decision as Sterling is consistently competitive in BIG line up. Since then Dash has 4 of 5 possible BOB and a couple of in-groups so is doing really well. I too was pleased to seen the criteria for Grand change. Still think it is too easy though, in NZ you have to have 3 BIS and 50CCs

I use sealegs which is a human one from the chemist and find it great. Haven't had a failure yet and it helps them out grow it

I buy mine direct from the importer in NZ, is that not possible over there? I do have to buy a minimum of 4 bags at a time but that isn't a huge issue for me. It is a lot cheaper, just over $100 for a bag of lamb and rice and is freighted to my door.

My breed seldom whelps naturally after 63 days, more normal would be 59-63 but this girls previous litter went right to 63 days and the was c-section because she has a large amount of green discharge. I think doing an elective on what would be day 62 is safest for Chilli as she will receive the best care by a great vet and that is the most important thing but I am also mindful that the litter is sired by my 10yr old who has been a very sick dog so this might be my last chance to get something dwon from him.

Unfortunately progesterone testing won't be possible and weren't done when she was mated. They are sent away to another city and it takes around 36 hours to get results back which simply isn't practical and they aren't open over the weekend anyhow. She was well through her season when I first mated her and wasn't overly keen for the second mating 48 hours later. I intend to take her in for x-rays and will discuss options with him then but was hoping for some ideas first.