sandgrubber

Timing on intestinal wormers for adult dogs is not critical. You haven't stated which intestinal wormer you are using, but most of them are pretty mild, so you could probably go onto it directly with no consequences. On the other hand, carrying a few intestinal worms for a few months won't hurt a healthy adult dog. I've had vets tell me that many adult dogs can shed intestinal worms with no treatment whatsoever.

I have a dog on a low dosage of phenobarbital. It made her sleepy at first, but she developed tolerance in a few weeks and there have been no noticable effects since (now four years). Higher doses can have bad consequences for the liver (if my memory is correct).

The victim could sue civilly for his pain and suffering. Although not a lot of point if the offender doesn't own anything or have the money to cover the compensation that could be awarded. Sad but true. I am guessing he could go for victim compensation from the state as well?? I think jail time is only appropriate if the person actually told their dogs to attack another person. Hefty fines are good! Justice for criminals is so hard to arrange. Jail time doesn't need to be long to send a message (at least to some people . .. but then, other people might brag about it). You can't get blood out of a turnip. If the guy doesn't have any money, he won't pay the fine anyway. Sigh!

They are trained to multi-task. Hoever some focus on just the one facet of detection. This might interest you, sandgrubber. http://www.searchdogsuk.co.uk/forensic_search.html :) Thanks. Interesting website!

Sure you can. Have you ever noticed black plastic boxes chained to shrubs outside feedstores, hardware stores and the like? The real problem with rat poison comes when the dog gets into the poison itself, not from eating killed mice or rats. That happens far too often according to my vet.

I don't understand why they would have a dog specialize in blood. Surely, a dog is capable of learning blood detection on top of, say, ordinary tracking . . . or arson detection work.

Would $13,000 even cover the medical costs? What about the time the poor guy is off work? Pain and suffering? Being mauled by a couple dogs is on the severe end of GBH. I'm glad to see the GBH charge stick. People are responsible for the actions of their dogs. But it would be good to see some jail time along with the fines. And it would be good if some of the fines went to victim compensation.

I ran into this by accident. Not a problem I've faced but it looked like a great intro. Made me sad to see that it had only been viewed 13 times. Vets like this need to be encouraged! edited to make video show

Shelf life of organic substances is highly dependent on temperature. Most oils are good for years if you keep them in a cold fridge; many will go off in a month or two in warm weather.

No worse than charging $50 (or whatever) for Ivermectin based heartworm meds that would cost you a dollar or two if you bought the same drug in a form meant for cattle or goats. Big pharma routinely takes advantage of the love we have for our pets.

The news story is incomplete and we don't know what happened. We don't know if the officer asked someone to control the dog. We don't know what body language went along with the barking. We don't know if the dog had any history. We don't know if the officer had a phobia of dogs or of pit bulls. We don't even know if the officer was trying to serve notice on the house where the dog was. But I'd say someone who shoots himself trying to shoot a dog is someone who shouldn't have a gun. In the video, the owner admits the dog was barking, but not that it was aggressive. Looks to me like a Hispanic ghetto area of Riverside . . . having a dog behind a robust fence is 'good practice' for such areas. Animal Control is generally glad not to have animals running loose.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/04/calif-tv-station-films-dog-calmly-playing-with-kids-after-cop-shoots-himself-trying-to-kill-it/?onswipe_redirect=no California deputy accidentally shot himself while trying to kill a dog that he said was threatening his life on Wednesday, but video captured by a local television station later showed the animal much smaller than reported and peacefully playing with children. According to a Riverside County sheriff’s spokesperson, the deputy was serving an eviction notice at around 2 p.m. on Wednesday when a “large” dog tried to attack him, KCAL reported. “A dog came at the deputy in an aggressive manner,” Deputy Armando Munoz said, according to The Press-Enterprise. “The deputy, (attempting to defend himself) pulled his service weapon, shot one round, and injured himself in the leg.”

Uhmmm? No one told that to my 10 yr old Lab.

Good to see dog attack considered as GBH! Good to see a fine high enough to deter. It would be good if some of the $$ went to the old fellow. Strange journalism. The guy was attacked. Not just his leg. Hope he recovers well. That can't be taken for granted at 82.

The science relating to desexing, age of desexing, and health is complex and not well resolved. This is a review of a recent study that compared the health records of desexed vs non-desexed Labradors and goldens based on a large number of vet-clinic health records. http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2014/07/potential-risks-of-neutering-and-age-at-neutering-for-godlen-retrievers-and-labrador-retrievers/ The confusing thing is that the risks appear to be different for goldies and Labs. And that's statistically significant. The comforting thing is that the differences aren't huge in any direction. It's not like your dog will be condemned to cancer or protected from cancer depending on whether or not neutered and, if neutered, at what age. It's more like the odds vary between 30% and 35%, depending on what treatment you follow. By in large it fits in the BFD category. Bottom line comes down to how you feel about it. If you don't like the idea of a true eunuch, who has developed without normal dose of male hormones, then go for a breeder who desexes early. If you don't like the idea, go elsewhere.

Ataxia means motor dysfunction. Not necessarily the hind legs. My old girl is affected more in her forelimbs than hind limbs, although she doesn't fit the classic description. That is, she has a pronounced tensing up . . . like a person making a fist . . . then she lies down. Episodic ataxia is recognized in humans and they seem to be getting a grasp of the genetics (my amateurish lit skimming finds there are both autosomal dominant and autosomal recessive forms, genes have been identified as well as different alleles causing different forms of ataxia). I think they have ceased to consider it epilepsy as they understand the genetics better . . . though I claim no expertise.

I recently read an account of someone whose dog has severe grand mal epileptic seizures that aren't responding to medication. Sounds really awful. In my boarding kennel days, I tried to care for a dog who was on her way out with serious cluster seizures. Heart wrenching. I have an old girl who will get a mild focal seizure once in awhile, but she responds well to a tiny dose of phenobarb. She just tenses up and gets uncoordinated for a couple minutes . . . wags her tail the whole time. This has been going on for four years, and if anything, her seizures are getting lighter. I've known other dogs who have similarly mild episodes. These conditions are so different from each other, it amazes me that they can be called the same disease. I wouldn't knowingly consider a pup with severe epilepsy anywhere on its pedigree. The light version is really no big deal . . .many allergies are more trouble. . . . low scare factor for me. There has been a lot of discussion of epilepsy as possibly hereditary. Does anyone know whether the apparently inherited cases stay true to the type of seizure, eg., does grand mal gets grand mal, while ataxia gets ataxia?

Temperament is more important than breed. Circumstances can also be important . . . barking dogs don't fit in some environments, some people have a use for guarding, others not, etc. For most new owners, though, a pup with a lot of drive is not a good idea.

In my experience, Lab heads may continue broadening until around 3 yrs. You can have sire and dam with broad skulls and still end up with offspring who have narrow skulls, however. Early desexing may interfere with the process . . . it tends to produce leggier dogs. I'm not sure whether or not that extends to skull development. In Oz, I believe the technical term is "boofy" :) . Here in the US, we say "block headed".

I've always found the best way to avoid such problems is by going out when no one else is around and about. Say, just before dawn.

done

In behavioral terms, flatties are closer to Labs than goldies, or so a leading study of breed temperament shows. In particular, goldies are more timid, less playful, less curious. I haven't known any flatties well, but after studying this article, I decided they were a breed worth considering. Seem to have all the things I value in Labs, but more-so.

Tastes vary. Reverse this statement and I'd agree . . . standard poodle and Grey, fine . . . no thanks you to mini or toy poodle or whippies.

Ditto

I have three Labs in Central Florida. It gets humid and stinking hot here for months on end. My Labs have a doggie door so can seek out the air con if they want. When I go out and come home, they are invariably outdoors, lying in a shady spot. Often they are wet . . . they have an old horse trough they can jump into. They've also dug some holes, which they lie in. I agree with GrufLife, clipping a Lab is not the end of the world. It probably does help their energy balance. The coat will cool a dog ONLY if the air temperature is higher than a dog's body temperature . .. ie, above the century mark. Otherwise, the insulating layer of the coat it holds body heat in. Do you put on a jumper to stay cool in hot weather? A dog's coat functions just like a jumper. One of my Labs has a very thick undercoat. I use a Furminator on her. This is more extreme than an undercoat rake in that it does actually cut a bit, and takes out some living hair as well as the dead stuff. Not sure about Oz, but in the US the Furminator is expensive in pet stores but reasonable on Amazon.