sandgrubber

Today I asked a vet -- one who I know keeps up with the veterinary literature -- whether kennels should accept titre test results. He gave an unqualified NO. He says titre tests measure only the amount of antibodies present . . . thus, in a sense, they tell about exposure to a virus, or a the dummy version of a virus in a vaccination . . . but they do not measure the dog's ability to fight the virus. I tried Google on "what do titre tests measure" and found that most of the articles that came up agreed with this point of view. The following link explained it succinctly without a lot of jargon http://www.caberfeidh.com/Titers.htm Curious to know what people think, cause this contradicts opinions that are often voiced on this forum.

I believe it is learnt behaviour. We are thinking it is also a seperation related behaviour. She used to escape when we first got her and that was because she was so close to me. Always escaped when i wasn't at home. She still is close to me but we thought we had done enough independence training to get around it. If I could afford it at the moment i would, cheapest around here is $25/day. She would have gone there from day one but circumstances worked against me... (too many things went wrong with the new house) In looking at kennels for sale, I'd swear I've seen a couple in the Melbourne hinterland that were getting $12 to $14/day for small dogs . . . they allowed lots of yard time and had high fences. You might find that kenneling is more affordable if you're willing to drive for an hour or so.

I'd suggest looking at http://www.rjwalsh.com.au/mini/index.htm . . . they make a lovely mini sulky great for pulling dogs . . . also http://www.chalosulky.com./ they sell leads, harnesses, etc., as well as some DVD's that I think have training tips, and gear to attach a dog to a cart. I haven't seen anything in NZ . . . but there may be some mushers around who have some idea. Cart pulling should be a great activity for a Rotti . . . it's one of their original uses as a farm dog in germany . . . and they certainly have the strength for it.

Curious: Is Digi biting aggressively? Or just using his mouth in a playful fashion that is very frightening to your son? I have a Newfie in kennels at the moment who occasionally grabs me by the arm. He's being friendly, but it's a little frightening to me. Otherwise, he's a lovely dog . . . extremely calm and great with other dogs. I like having him in kennels because he automatically becomes Alpha dog due to his size . . . but because he is so calm, he imparts calmness on the whole mob. If it's just scary but friendly mouthing, I'd guess you have a good chance of training the behaviour out. Or curtailing it with a muzzle.

I asked for advice about sulky harnesses a week or so ago and someone gave me a warning to look out for the law . .. that dogs pulling wheeled things were outlawed. I've been through the WA Animal Cruelty legislation, the Dog Act, and various laws relating to what is permitted on the roads and have not been able to find anything that says or implies that a dog-drawn (or goat drawn, or pony drawn) cart/wagon/sulky is not permitted on public roads. I find a bit on what is a legal dog trailer, but that's it. Can anyone give me any pointers as to where the Law becomes a problem?

Last I heard Liz Franks was seeing occasional patients through Andrew Buchannan at Mill Point Vet practice. You might contact him to try and learn her whereabouts. I recently sold a pup to an nice English physio who does myotherapy on humans. She might be willing to try a dog patient. She's NOR -- I think Hillarys . . . PM me if you want a contact.

I 100% agree. But why is it then that time and time again we have the labrador being touted in the media as the perfect family pet (no effort required and fine for the novice) and time and time again I come across labs that are either grossly overweight or bad mannered because the owners seem to believe that no training is required and just because their large dog isn't aggressive bad manners is okay. Where is this myth coming from? I completely understand why labs are popular they are great dogs but surely lab breeders must be dismayed by the fact that they fall into the hands of people who are unable or unwilling to give them the lives they deserve. I like labs, I like the breed description of labs, I love to see labs working be it as gundogs, seeing eye dogs or drug detector dogs, but there are too many members of joe public out there who own labs who shouldn't, or don't understand that they can sometimes be a large boisterous dog that needs correct training and upbringing. ETA: clarification. I agree only 50%. Some Lab puppies are terrors, but many are quite good . . . not destructive, not rambunctious, reasonably placid from day 8 x 7 = 56 on. Many of the Labs I get in boarding kennels have had no formal training -- nor did the Labs I was brought up with -- and most are great with children, older people, and complex social situation (apart from being notorious beggars). I expect and enforce good behaviour from my dogs, but many of my dogs get no formal training. I have never had a Lab take laundry off the line, destroy a retic system, or ruin furniture (ok they get it dirty, but that's because I allow them to get up on it and don't have a way to ensure they are clean before they get on the sofa) . . . they dig holes, but I've got ACRES of sand, so that's fine. The pups do jump up on people, but if consistently discouraged they pretty much stop doing so before well before they reach 12 months. All my dogs are calm. The only area where I have needed to do serious training is recall under strong distraction (which is inadequately treated in most beginning obedience or puppy training classes). The only 'training' -related complaint I've gotten from puppy buyers comes from people who let young children play with the pup without restriction, and end up with a pup the treats small children as littermates (chase, scream, and bite). I now warn puppy buyers about need to discipline their children when playing with the puppy. I think the word biddable is key. Because Labs have become a very popular family dog, much recommended as such, it is good if breeders who sell to a lot of pet homes select for traits that make them fit the bill and will easily comply with people's reasonable expectations without a lot of formal training . . . and if they choose to run more energetic (maniacal) and high strung bloodlines, they should be careful to advise puppy buyers that they are likely to have an energetic animal that requires considerable discipline, particularly in the first year.

Great links!!! Thanks. I didn't know anyone except RJ Walsh was making dog sulkies. Have you -- or anyone else -- had any experience with Chalo sulkies? Sorry, No. Don't forget that unlike the USA, I think in Australia like the UK it is illegal to use a dog for draught work on a gazetted public road (including the adjacent footpaths). The sled dog fraternity here generally only use forest trails or private land. Buggar! I have a private limestone track that runs out behind my property, which should be ok for starters, but it would really be nice to be able to use public roads. Do you know if that's a national or a state law? Btw. A book called The Pawprints of History (S. Cohen, 2002) gives a wonderful description of the outlawing of dogs as draught animals in the UK , and all the horrible consequences (tens of thousands of dogs died, many poor families lost their companion/draught animals as a consequence . . . and child labour was often brought in to do the work that was once done by dogs. The second legislative triumph of the RSPCA -- after banning bull baiting and dog fighting -- came in 1839, when dogs were outlawed as transport animals within 15 miles of London's Charring Cross Station.

Great links!!! Thanks. I didn't know anyone except RJ Walsh was making dog sulkies. Have you -- or anyone else -- had any experience with Chalo sulkies?

You can purchase a Dogtown DVD from National Geographic http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/product.../4313/1074.html

Good suggestion, but, no. The dorsal harness is completely different in how it puts stress on the dog and the design needs to allow for attachment from the top.

Maybe I'm a ratbag, but I also think it would be good to refer the breeder in question to this thread. It may be painful, but I think when people get refusals, it's good for them to understand why. I also do $100 deposits . . . but not puppy shows in a park. I will refund the deposit if the buyer gives good cause for their change of mind. I pocket it if the puppy buyer is mucking me around . . . eg, changed their mind and didn't bother to tell me until week seven or eight.

I'm very close to getting a mini-sulky with a dorsal hitch as a way to challenge and exercise my dog mob . . . and take pressure off an ankle that has been giving me a lot of trouble. See www.rjwalsh.com.au/mini/index.htm to see the product line. Have a trainer lined up to help get it going. I'm a dismayed to find that, although sulky is made in Sydney, most of their sales are to the US, and the recommended sources our harnesses and other tack is in the US . . . which complicates the process of getting started and makes it a lot more expensive. Can anyone recommend a good Australian harness maker or dog outfitter who might be amenable to working on developing gear for the Australian market?

Please tell, how do you determine what is 'noble'. I see little resemblance between any GSP I've ever seen and Queen Elizabeth -- or most of her relatives. I don't think the [uK] Queen would appreciate nobility being identified with lounge lizard characteristics. She seems much more focussed on duty and honour and the stiff upper lip. Note, I'm responding as someone with a science background is annoyed by breed standards that include subjective words [like noble] and open ended terms [like broad, narrow, deep]. Subjective words leave too much to the judge's interpretation. Open ended terms result in directed selection for ever more extreme characteristics . . .which has to be unbalanced and probably unhealthy.

GREAT ANSWER! I'd find it pathetic if the vet nurse took time to write out an expiry date on, say, a worming tablet or a round of antibiotics that was intended for immediate use.

bull arabs are pig dogs & very goods ones at that, they were & are breed for pig hunting, but can be just as good as a house dog as well, they are fantastic dogs. Gina No offense meant. Just trying to help in fishing for words. The original post said 'restricted breed' -- which doesn't include bull arab, or, for that matter, pig dog. If it was a restricted breed with a two word name, almost has to be Presa Canario. There are five breeds restricted in Australia. APBT, Presa Carario, Fila Brasiliero, Japanese Tosa, and Dogo Argentino. The Presa Canario and APBT are the only ones known to exist in Australia . .. although the Presa Canario is very rare.

Who knows . . . perhaps the dogs are kosher (which prohibits eating fish without fins) and don't like the shellfish taste (it isn't simply fishy . . . it is mollusc taste . . . try it yourself if you don't believe me). . . or maybe they just like the meat or meat rolls so much better than the dry that they're turning their nose on the stuff. No big worry. I don't think missing a week or two will have a long term effect on health. Next time I hit this problem, I'll have a go at mixing with chicken blood or some such and see if they'll accept it as a gravy.

Based on boarding kennel experience, "restrained" in the breed standard, is inaccurate (should read: "best if restrained"). I also don't understand what "noble" means. If GSPs represent nobility, good thing we're not a monarchy. I would not like to have beasts with this temperament in control. Most GSPs are dogs you would not want to greet in the morning before you've had your dose of java. Many pet GSPs don't seem to have had the early discipline recommended by many people on this thread; and many don't take 'no' as an answer. By in large, they are graceful, affectionate dogs; they eat huge quantities of food and stay lean; they mix well with other dogs and do a good job of making sure the whole pack gets tired; and they are less prone to digging holes than many gun dogs. Great dogs, but high energy and demanding of interaction.

Perhaps it was 'pig dog'? Not Bull Arab.

My own dogs haven't been arthritic and I have no personal experience with Sasha's blend. Sometimes I get dogs, in the boarding kennel, who come with a supply and instructions to sprinkle a spoonfull over their biscuits. My experiences is that, often, this results in the dog not eating the food. I tasted a tiny bit, and it really is STRONG. Of course dogs often like nasty tastes. Just curious, do people who use Shasha's blend have trouble with food refusal? Or do you do some sort of trick to camaflogue (sp?) the stuff?

Vets are damned if they do and damned if they don't. Buying a bottle of 100 tabs and dispensing them in envelopes or whatever is a lot cheaper than buying the individual foil wrapped bits. As a consumer, I am happy to benefit from this economy, as I hate throw-away foil wrap things, whether it's lollies or pills. I curse the vet who sells me Clavulox at $5/tab instead of Amoxiclav at $3/tab -- so far as I've been able to tell, they're exactly the same thing. BUT, chemistry is clear. Things degrade a lot less rapidly if they are kept cold. What's called the Q10 principle says the decay rate halves for every 10 degrees. A good first guess for organics. Many inorganics (like, say, asparin sp?) and some organicsdon't decay for donkey's years and you could store them at 40 C for years with no loss of potency. If you want your pills to keep longer, store them in the fridge. Expiry dates are inexact, and I seem to remember a lawsuit in the US against drug companies for giving unrealistic expiry dates, resulting in people (mostly doctors) throwing out perfectly good meds and making people afraid to buy in bulk.

Old age is relatively rare in greyhounds, unfortunately. But I've never heard that they are more or less prone to loss of eyesight than other breeds. Grumpyness has not been a feature of the blind dogs I've looked after (in kennels). Some are a bit tentative and passive. Some just stumble and bump into things. If you move furniture and the result is the dog bumping into the thing in its new position and avoiding the place where it used to be, I'd say serious loss of eyesight. Blurring of vision is hard to identify in older dogs, cause they generally don't move fast enough to bump into even a blurry object. If your guy has cataracts, it may take a vet opthamologist to provide an accurate diagnosis of the type and seriousness and prognosis. But unless you're thinking of doing surgery -- probably not advised for a dog of that age -- I don't see what use the diagnosis will be.

For people living in Perth, especially SOR, Vitality High Performance is a great option. $45 for 15 kg. It's mostly produced for export but can be picked up from the manufacturer in Naval Base. Beef/lamb + various grains, including a lot of rice, with generous supplementation of an Omega 3/6 rich oil (mostly flax seed). But whatever you use, do add a good amount of raw stuff . . . chook frames are generally cheap and very nutritious.

Banannas are a good source of potassium, so in small amounts they may do some good. Otherwise they are mostly a carbohydrate . . . about as good for your dog as white bread.

Molly whelped two weeks ago. About six days after whelping she got some sort of abcess in her mammary glands, accompanied with hardening of mass behind the teats and loss of appetite but not fever. The vet prescribed Amoxiclav for five days. She responded well, but it's been slow. I went back and got a script for another four days when she still had the hard lumpy htings -- though reduced in size -- after five days. At 10 days the lumps are almost entirely gone, although I can still feel one spot, presumably where the abcess was. Question: I've been taught a rule of thumb that antibiotics should be continued for two days after the patient is asymptomatic. Do others agree on this principle? Does asymptomatic mean lumpyness completely gone, or appetite and energy level back to normal?