JulesP

Gold. Although I'm not sure that anyone gave Xena that memo. Exactly - what is weak nerve in one breed is perfectly acceptable in another. Chomping sheep would suggest to me a lack of confidence on sheep. If they can't move the sheep they will sometimes try chomping. Some rude sheep need a chomp though Poppy is pretty strong and does little chomping. Brock and Amber are not so confident and do more chomping. Amber thinks she is a corgi and likes to poke with her sharp little nose! No one is safe from this. Maybe it is a sable thing!

I don't consider it weak nerved for a border collie to not want to tug. They weren't bred to chomp things. Chomping sheep is bad.

And he does that with an impressive level of drive

My advice would be further testing at the vets. Being fussy with food was really the only problem I had with my dog until recently. She would eat a food for a week and then refuse to eat it. Bones were always eaten. Hopefully your pups are ok. What breed are they?

Snail bait is very quick. My dog was gone in a couple of hours. But it doesn't cause bleeding. Rat bait causes bleeding. Very sorry you lost your pup.

I go to herding training at Nyora. http://www.herdingtraining.com/ There is also training at Diggers Rest http://www.herding.webs.com/ Paul McPhail has also started to do some training in Boronia - http://belokakelpies.com/ There was no change in behavior from 2 of my dogs. It did seem to increase one of my dog's bossiness towards other dogs. She was also much more into the herding then the other 2. It hasn't made any of them display unwanted herding behavior towards people or animals.

This. If I couldn't afford treatment I would euth not palm the dog off. I love mine too much for that There isn't really any need to immediately put to sleep a dog with a liver shunt. There isn't any special medication. It is a matter of treating symptoms as they arise. So antibiotics if the dog develops a UTI. Diuretics if fluid is in the belly. The Hills L/D food is pretty pricey but you could do a home made diet. The tests are expensive. $500 for a ultrasound (50-70% chance of finding the problem). CT scan $1500 (needs a general so dangerous for dog with liver problem). $4000+ to inject dye whilst dog is open + liver biopsy. Then after all that a lot of the liver problems can't be operated on and you have to treat with medicine anyway. The operation to fix a single shunt also has a 50-70% chance of working with a 10-20% chance of the dog dieing in the first 24 hours due to hypertension. My local vet didn't push me to go to the specialist. I was given the option of treating medically straight away. The specialist also didn't push for the tests. I guess because Amber's symptoms suggested she wasn't in a great way anyhow. Might be the same for this pup. Luckily the ultrasound picked up Amber's shunts. It still cost me $1400 in tests to find out what was wrong. I don't have pet insurance but have a line of credit account for such emergencies. Not everyone can come up with this sort of cash. Can't say I thought about giving Amber away as an option though! It is disappointing when a breeder does not offer support. Very disappointing. Makes you wonder why you bother doing the whole registered breeder thing. Undoubtedly there is an element of the breeder feeling defensive but suck it up and be there for your puppy buyer. I don't think the breeder needs to offer monetary support or even to replace the pup but emotional support would be a good thing to offer.

So what do we think the breeder should have done?

Thanks

I would say that 2 dogs seemed like a good idea at the time but the reality of 2 large hairy dogs is a bit much for her. It is good that she has realised this rather than toss the pup outside and neglect it. Probably too embarrassed to call the breeder.

Seriously?? You don't ever practise a heel when actually out on a walk? It seems like an ideal situation to practise it to me. I call Kivi in regularly wherever we are for a little stint of heeling here and there. He loves it. That's assuming he has actually left heel in the first place. He seems to think he can make me cue a heel by wrapping himself around my left leg while we're walking until I'm tripping over him. I wonder how he got that idea? :p Plus, a heel is super useful out on walks when the footpath is crowded or a bike/pram is coming through. I have 'hang about' as well, which means come to my nearest side, but since we taught him heel we don't use it much anymore. We don't walk on leash much, but when we do my expectation is simply that they will remain as attentive as they are off leash and walk on a loose leash. I never do heel training on walks after they know heel. All walks as pups are training not walking though. The dogs regularly offer nice bouncy heeling which is cute.

It would be good if Amber didn't try and chomp joggers however if the joggers insist on nearly trampling us I reckon they are fair game! If Poppy embarrasses me when off lead by greeting every person like they are her best friend in the universe I like to pretend that she is my friend's dog :D My expectation is that there is no pulling. Don't care were they walk. Recalling is also mandatory.

Fingers crossed for China and hugs for you Sandra777.

How do you come to terms with a pet having a chronic illness? Amber is fine today but could die tomorrow, next week or in years. Is that any different to any pet? You never know what might happen. She could get bitten by a snake tomorrow! So how do you relax and get on with things knowing that your pet is so sick? Although right now she is doing zoomies around the garden with Poppy!

I know how you feel Dogslife. I had 4 dogs a year ago. I lost Fern to old age at 15yo. Even though she was 15yo and had a great life she was my heart dog so that hurt. 8 weeks ago I lost a 5 yo border collie, Brock, to poisoning. I am still processing how it happened as it was rather traumatic, and I miss him. Now I am facing losing my 20 month old BC, Amber. She might go down hill fast or she might last for years. Just don't know. Next April will be the 4th year in a row that I will have to tick the pet deceased' box on my council registration form. Not happy. Even when rushing and busy I always take the time to stop and pat the pets. Taken ages to write this as Poppy and Amber are wanting pats, lol.

The dogs have been put down.

Something that works for a horse electric fence would probably work. So I would go to a stock feed place. There are lots of different sorts of attachments. You could even buy some pigtails and just put them in the ground and run the wire through. That would involve no attachment to the fence. Pigtails - http://www.electricfenceaustralia.com.au/electric-fence-online-store/temporary-electric-fencing-products/thunderbird-10-x-pigtail-tredin-post.html

You need to have more than 4000 square metres in Cardinia to have 4 dogs. That is off their website. An acre is 4046.86 square metres.

Would be weird not to have a border collie but I've thought a sheltie might be the go as a retirement breed. Maybe a corgi.

Laekenois Smooth Collie Rotti (big border collie)

They probably can't answer that. You have to apply for the permit and then they go around and ask your neighbors. Think they do a home check too. Seville & Wandin you are probably looking at over a million for 20 acres. Which might help narrow down areas You need to go further out to get more reasonable prices. A friend lives in Eden Park and think they can have 3 or 4 dogs without a permit.

No Yarra Ranges are annoying. 2 dogs only no matter how much land you have without a permit. Think the rangers are pretty reasonable though.

Unless Cardinia has changed in the last month you can have 4 dogs without a permit if you have an acre.

I would take to the vet too. Hope he is ok.

Shite! The problem is anything too fatty, which would put weight on, might upset her tummy. Has the vet given her the all clear? That is a fair amount of food to be eating and not gaining weight. Maybe make up some of those Satin balls? Natures Gift tinned food and Proplan Sensitive always put weight on my dogs. They lost weight on Black Hawk, which I fed after a bag of the Proplan.