cowanbree

I feed the frozen variety and find it excellent esp for my skin issue boy. It isn’t cheap but if you sign on as a breeder it works out ok, just over $100 for 20kgs. I have included it as part of my feeding for this current litter, makes up about 1/3 of their diet and they have done really well

Thanks everyone. Unfortunately all has not gone overly well for Cowan, he had to have a 2nd surgery this morning as he had a very slight leakage. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers, he needs all the help he can get.

Unfortunately while he seems bright enough and has no temperature at nearly 3 days he isn’t showing any signs of eating and will even start to gag if you wave food under his nose. My vet said he likes them eating within 48hrs but I am hoping given his age that he is just a little slower

I have a 9yr old sheltie that was operated on on Monday for a bowel obstruction. I was wondering if anyone else has had this, what was the recovery like and when did they eat again? I already know there is a high mortaility rate but am hoping for the best.

Thought I would update re Cowan. Took him back to the vet and had the blimp tests done and they indicated a partial blockage. He seemed happy enough within himself so my vet wanted to wait until this week so we could do a scan which wasn’t available last week. On Saturday night he vomited a few times so I took him to the emergency vet who kept him in overnight on a drip. Picked him up last night and he was fine until about 12pm when he started vomiting. Had surgery this morning and he has a tumor blocking the small intestine which they have managed to remove. Said his bowel is not in a good state with one end being quite swollen but they have sown him up and we are hoping for the best. Will know more after 48hrs. I can’t quite believe it. Other than not eating overly well he seemed completely normal right up until Sat night. He had more x-rays done on Friday and everything appeared normal

Depends how serious it is. If he is crowding you constantly on the move the first thing I would do is ask him to keep back. If he ignored me I would stop dead in the ring. In the stack it is a bit harder and depends on the person. Once again first thing I would do is ask him to keep back prior to going in the ring. If he ignored me I would ask him in the ring to stop crowding and not quietly either. If he still did it I would whip my dog round and reverse stack and stand on him. When he protests I would say I asked you to keep back. Most soon learn that you won’t put up with it

As long as they are desexed I haven’t had any issues with 2 dogs of the same sex together. Shelties are a reasonably mellow breed and get on well. The only time I have had issues has been either with entire stud dogs or bitchs around their season. Timing wise, if you have the time now I dont' see that as an issue

Believe me I have tried everything to get him to eat and he is only picking. Going back to the vet today as we have given him blimps (?) 12hrs ago and are now going to x-ray him to look for a partial blockage. Was quite interesting, they are little balls of various sizes that show up on x-ray. Ran full bloods again and still normal. He has lost another kg since last week which is a lot considering he only weighs 11kgs

I have a 9yr old sheltie that I have been having issues with not eating for over a mth now. He picked up a bug which left him coughing and vomiting for 3-4days and then all symptoms cleared. Since then though he hasn’t really been 100%. He seems bright enough but it has been very difficult to get him to eat. He won’t eat his normal dry food and only about 50% of the time will eat the special meals I am preparing for him. Tonight for instance he was having mutton mince with rice, he didn’t even look at it. He is not a fussy dog, there is something wrong. I have had him to the vet 3 times now and he has had bloods and x-rays done but my vet said everything is normal. Obviously everything is not normal or he would be eating but I am a little stumped as to what to do next. It is so frustrating as other than the not eating he has no symptoms at all. He is currently on Baytril but he is nearly finished the course and there has been no improvement. Any ideas?

I have only ever had one dog truly tested, a sheltie named Brody. I always thought he would defend me and he did. The guy had been following me through a secluded bush area and grabbed my arm and pushed me over. Brody didn’t just bark and carry on, he bit him, several times and meant it. I am not sure what would have happened if it had gone further as Brody was only an 11kg dog but fortunately the guy took off. Interestingly enough Brody did chase him but only about 100 metres and then stopped and came back to me. There is no doubt in my mind that he was defending me, he could have ran but he chose to stay

Given my location I have to fly most of my puppies to their new homes without meeting the owners and I can’t say any of them have ever asked that many questions of me or gone as far as to contact my vet. I think I would be a bit insulted to be asked to provide copies of my drivers license. I have no issues at all providing references but as long as they can prove that relevant health tests have been done and the puppy has a health and temperament guarantee the rest isn’t relevant. Ask to talk to a couple of their puppy buyers from the last litter, you will get a very good feel from that and if you are at all uncertain wait and buy local where you can visit. Colour really isn’t that important.

One of mine discharged for about 5-6mths and no further problems

Up to the individual I guess but I have never done it and never will. My dogs are used to company and sleep inside at night so I get a dog sitter in who stays over.

Thanks, looks great

I was wondering if anyone has successfully bred a bitch that does not swell. If so did you AI, did she whelp naturally and was it otherwise a normal litter? The bitch concerned had normal seasons as a youngster but in the past 12mths while there has been blood there hasn’t been any swelling. Progesterone tests confirm it is a normal cycle.

I was wondering if someone could remove the red eye on this picture. I have had a go but he ends up with dead eyes which looks very odd. Thanks

While I have final approval I have said his new owner can help name him and she hasn’t settled on anything yet. I have forwarded the suggestions

It is definitely genetic and I take it very seriously, had to eliminate one of my imports because of it. I would excuse the odd one or perhaps even two eyelashes very occasionally but any more than that is desexed in this house. ETA when I am looking for a stud it is one of the health questions I ask and yes would eliminate based on it

Thanks everyone for your great suggestions

That is actually going to be his blue sisters name Tarnished Silver and his blue brother is going to be Frosted N Silver Some lovely names so far and yes it is hard

I would love some suggestions for registered names for my wee tri lad. I would like them to have Black somewhere in the name. The sire is Stirl’ng Silver and the dam Black Chilli Pepper. If it helps here is a picture of the wee cutie

Nicole you could be writing my story. I have an aussie with more or less exactly the same story. After a lot of research I have concluded that it is just as possible that she has ovarian tissue growing in an abnormal place as my extremely competent vet leaving some behind so it really is impossible to apportion blame as much as I would like to considering the amount of money I have spent over the past 4yrs. At this stage I have decided not to operate as my vet and the reproductive specialist said it is major and very invasive surgery but rather treat her with the injection which works for 12mths and suppresses her coming into season without any of the side affects an entire bitch might suffer

I don’t think I am ever going to be the leave them to it type of person. My last visiting bitch was happy to mate but the minute he tied she freaked out and attempted to flip over onto her tummy. That would have caused some serious damage if I hadn’t been holding her. Then I also have a stud dog that will pull out before a tie if left to his own devices, he is the king of slips unless you hold him

Apollo Armand Benny Brock Brockie Brody Charlie Cooper Cowan Dash Gandor Hudson Jack Juggie Kasper Lestat MacKenzie Milosh Mistral Payton Raffy Reeve Shadow Sterling Tazz Zephyr

I prefer natural but always hold the bitch and generally use a table which gives me a lot more control and stops them wandering round too much.