Anyone familiar with KEELAMBARA Aus Sheps?

[rainfallis]

My lab is 5 years old. So in total there were 3 instances where I've seen weak legs. Once at a dog park - recovered very quick (assumed it was just because of playing around a lot), second was at the doggy park too (assumed it was cause of play too but then seizure happened about 5minute after), then third time at home (assumed she was going to have a seizure but seems to have slept it off and is back to normal and has stayed that way for weeks).

[Dogsfevr]

Have the vets considered EIC in your dog ,do you know the carrier status of your dog ,if the parents where tested then you should know your dogs status .

[Simply Grand]

I'd strongly suggest a male rather than female Aussie Shepherd given you already have a female. Looking back at my last post I realise the typos were terrible, sorry! But I meant to say the females tend to be pushier and more strong willed than males. I would ask your breeder for a calm and relaxed but not fearful male pup as a match for your Lab. And ideally one that listens well to mum dog's warnings and manners corrections!

[rainfallis]

2 hours ago, showdog said:

Have the vets considered EIC in your dog ,do you know the carrier status of your dog ,if the parents where tested then you should know your dogs status .

uh.. wow, just went and read this. This completely describes my labrador. She was always fine, but I have noticed that she becomes weak after an exercise. Again, I didn't think much of it, didn't even stop to think that it might actually be a disorder/genetic syndrome. The vet didn't mention this at all. Thanks for the information.

 

1 hour ago, Simply Grand said:

I'd strongly suggest a male rather than female Aussie Shepherd given you already have a female. Looking back at my last post I realise the typos were terrible, sorry! But I meant to say the females tend to be pushier and more strong willed than males. I would ask your breeder for a calm and relaxed but not fearful male pup as a match for your Lab. And ideally one that listens well to mum dog's warnings and manners corrections!

No worries. I can see the logic behind how females+females might cause troubles. The breeder I've been in talks with have been extremely great and communicative. She has explained that the pup is reserved at first (like a typical ausshep) but has a very positive temperament. I will make sure to train it well too obviously.

[Roova]

14 hours ago, rainfallis said:

Also, could anybody suggest me a good mentally challenging dog toy? or something that I could create?

You're going to need waaaaay more than just one over potentially 15 years of owing a very smart breed   Labs are very smart too so hopefully she is also offered plenty of enrichment and brain activities (beyond walks).

 

For pups and adult dogs its a good idea to keep chew and play items constantly rotating and changing because with predictability come boredom.  A bored dog looking to keep his mind engaged will find his own entertainment and it may not be something you like.  Boredom can show in chewing inappropriate thing or in behaviours like barking, digging, obsessive behaviour's and it can contribute to separation anxiety.  You should also manage their environment so things you don't want destroyed are removed from reach  or access blocked behind gates.

 

Generally the things you see them get enjoyment from are what you try and provide. Some like digging, some eating, some playing, some chewing or ripping etc, some like it all!. Some people stop buying soft toys because their pup or dogs rips them up but every time that happens, the toy did its job.  Kept the dog busy and not chewing a table leg! Buying only indestructible toys is only useful if the dog enjoys interacting with them. 

Most pups and dogs like ripping and chewing so you can buy cheap soft toys from a second hand shops (remove hard eyes) or car boot sales and garage sales etc. Cheap and messy but easy to clean up and way less expensive than replacing plants or furniture. You could try stuffing a soft toy inside a box and letting your dog find it, then start taping the box up so he has to rip the box open. You can stuff the box with newspaper scrunched around kibble or  chew items, their favorite toy and then smaller boxes inside larger ones and so on. You can eventually get to the point of taping up every corner on the box and it becomes a real challenge for the dog to get to everything. He gets his own reward as he finds a piece of kibble or a soft toy for destroying. Soft cardboard like cereal boxes are easy to start with and you can move up to heavy cardboard.

You could try kibble in an empty milk container, a kids wading pool full of sand with toys or chew items buried underneath (start by letting them see you hide things under there), big meaty bones (non weight bearing), a tub of toys with treats dropped in etc. If you search the internet on enrichment for dogs you can see the limit is your imagination really!  Here's just one to get your started.  http://blog.smartanimaltraining.com/2014/02/06/enrichment-8-easy-ways-to-increase-your-dogs-quality-of-life/

 

The above is great for daily stuff but won't probably be enough to keep that smart mind engaged.  Working dogs need an outlet for their energy and mental needs so would benefit from ongoing training and sport activities like agility, obedience,herding,  trick training, cani cross, fly ball etc.   

 

If you truly want a back yard dog as a companion for a dog which can't exercise a great deal or one where you know you honestly don't want to do training and mental enrichment,  you might need to look for a less demanding breed?  Just a thought, I'd hate to think either of you end up unhappy together.

 

 

[Scottsmum]

Lots of enricichment toys / ideas out there. 

 

Kongs, ice blocks etc. We used to hide kibble in empty toilet rolls and kitchen roll centre's then put thise in cereal boxes so my boy had to root out his food. 

 

These look cool too: 

 

 

Assuming you have a food driven dog. Also, naturally youll have to supervise well in multi dog homes. 

 

Scent games are a good idea too. 

[Dogsfevr]

On 07/04/2017 at 9:34 PM, rainfallis said:

uh.. wow, just went and read this. This completely describes my labrador. She was always fine, but I have noticed that she becomes weak after an exercise. Again, I didn't think much of it, didn't even stop to think that it might actually be a disorder/genetic syndrome. The vet didn't mention this at all. Thanks for the information.

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Then you need to see if your dog may have this issue as bringing in a second dog will require extra management or separation & not solve you situation at all.
Your dog may be stressed due to feeling  insecure when having a moment ,this could have been going on for awhile ,seeking a vet who is maybe more willing to listen to the issues & not suggest another dog to solve the problem

 

Edited April 10, 2017 by showdog

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

for a lab -

 

snuffle mat (make sure what ever you put in this is deducted from the daily food ration).

 

bob a lot (for dry food)

 

hide the stuffed kong (ie stuff a kong with food and freeze it - normal wet food is ok, I use a bit of kibble in the bottom and then kibble mixed with yogurt if I haven't got any of my home made dog food).

This:
 

 

[Purdie]

You have a dog who is not well and stressed and needs a lot of attention.

I would worry that the older dogs condition could get worse if put under the stress of dealing with another dog in the home.

Bringing a puppy into the home could be a disaster as puppies can be in the face of the older dogs;chew on ears tail and legs and jump on them.

I have seen a few people who have got a second dog ""to keep the older anxious one company''and it didn't go well and they ended up with 2 stressed out dogs.

If you go ahead with the pup you need to have separate areas where the older dog can relax without disturbances from the pup.

If it was me i would wait until the Lab grew old and passed away before getting another dog.

[Papillon Kisses]

RSPCA QLD has some enrichment ideas here: https://www.rspcaqld.org.au/what-we-do/training/animal-training-fact-sheets#Enrichment

[asal]

gee that is a well behaved dog, those plastic bottles would be totaled by the end of they day as instant chew toys by mine

[LisaCC]

23 hours ago, Mrs Rusty Bucket said:

 

bob a lot (for dry food)

 

 

If for an Aussie, my Aussie figured that out in about 5 minutes at 10 weeks old 

They really need hands on training, yea mentals toys are good of course, but if you aren't giving them proper mental stimulation through proper outlets they aren't going to thrive. These are working dogs, I don't subscribe to them being the "easy working dog" at all.

I've had a Lab now I have an Aussie and the only similarity between them I would say is they both have a sense of humour if you could call it that. Can be clowns.

I too would be cautious bringing in a new pup/dog into a home with a dog with health problems, but especially an energetic working dog like an Aussie. If you go ahead I suggest you have appropriate spaces to seperate them when they each need their own spaces to calm and relax alone. 

Edited April 10, 2017 by LisaCC

[persephone]

On 4/6/2017 at 10:03 PM, Rebanne said:

Why would a vet recommend to get another dog for your dog to have a friend? Are you aware that sometimes a sick dog is attacked by others from it's own pack? Friend of mine had a dog who had a couple of seizures and her other dogs attacked him. For the rest of his life she always kept them seperate if she couldn't directly supervise them.

AGREE! that advice is NEVER something I would give  if the current dog had an illness which caused drastically altered behaviour  We have had  a bitch killed here -  

[persephone]

On 4/7/2017 at 7:47 PM, rainfallis said:

My lab is 5 years old. So in total there were 3 instances where I've seen weak legs. Once at a dog park - recovered very quick (assumed it was just because of playing around a lot), second was at the doggy park too (assumed it was cause of play too but then seizure happened about 5minute after), then third time at home (assumed she was going to have a seizure but seems to have slept it off and is back to normal and has stayed that way for weeks).

Honestly ..there is NO WAY I would introduce a puppy into this type of situation . 

if you lab does have EIC ... having a pup to run after will probably see more  of the weak legs etc  . Why would you want that ? 
if she has  seizures ..then there is a risk of a new pup making this more frequent.

PLEASE - get the lab's condition DIAGNOSED correctly - THEN make a decision . I suggest a change of vet , too.