JulesP

He was only 5.

No family. I've got the girls in the house so I can check the garden before they go out.

The other dogs woke me up barking. I got up to yell at them and found Brock panting really heavily, unable to walk and shaking. I called the vets and they told me to take him to emergency. I got 15 mins there and he died. The vet met me at the surgery. He had green foam so the vet says it was snail bait. I don't use snail bait. I had to take the other dogs to the vets so he could make them vomit. They are fine. I am in shock and live by myself. I don't know what to do. Brock was fine at 11.00. The girls woke me at 2.00

Brock just died is anyone up?

I had horses, the dogs are cheap compared to them. 3 dogs is hindering my house search though. Mainly because I am being sooky about it, I am sure they will be fine. The pets are high on the list of why I want to keep this much too big for me house.

I assume you are asking because of the C section? My first and only breeding attempt resulted in a C Section, an emergency one because the the vets didn't listen to me. I can still remember the moment quite clearly when the vet asked if I wanted to save the bitch or the puppies. Just a horrible experience. So I haven't bred again. Hopefully nothing will go wrong for you the second time but I guess you need to weigh up how you will feel if it does.

I have. A little puppy that looked well depressed. It moved all hunched up like it was a really, really old dog. Wouldn't interact with the other dogs. Wouldn't do much of anything. Got put on prozac. What a difference. Tail up, eyes bright and a spring in its step. Was very interesting to see.

Ross is an obedience and herding judge. Not sure about agility.

I just started this approach a couple of weeks ago as the squeaking was starting to drive me nuts. She is supposed to sit quietly and she gets a pat. I can't do it when I am inside obviously. And she does a lot of squeaking at me through the window. I can go out for 5 mins and get home and it is like I have been gone all day. She squeaks for visitors too and when she gets to dog school. It is really, really loud. Doesn't last for a super long time though, thank goodness.

I usually recommend them to small ladies with big, strong dogs. Mainly for the safety of the handler. Most manage to get the loose lead walking happening but a couple I have been worried about. ie a Newfie with a 5 foot lady.

Poppy (border collie) has always made a horrible high pitched squeaking noise when I've got home. Whilst I didn't pat her when she did it, it didn't really bother me. She now makes this noise every time she sees me and as I work at home that is a lot. She squeaks when playing with the other dogs as well. We get in the car to go somewhere and it is squeak, squeak, squeak right in my ear for a couple of minutes. Apparently the neighbors can hear it too and they are about 100 meters away. Any ideas? If I am outside I stand and wait until she is quiet before I pat her. If she starts squeaking I remove my hand until she stops. She has given me a headache this morning.

Here are the ingredients which might help. Ingredients for Hills Prescription Sensitive Stomach: Brewers Rice, Whole Grain Corn, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Dried Egg Product, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Chicken Liver Flavor, Flaxseed, Lactic Acid, Soybean Oil, Oat Fiber, Dried Beet Pulp, Potassium Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Iodized Salt, L-Lysine, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), L-Tryptophan, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), preserved with mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid, Phosphoric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract. Protein 24.9 Fat 15.3 Carbohydrate (NFE) 53.2 Crude Fiber 1.6 Calcium 0.70 Phosphorus 0.63 Sodium 0.36 Potassium 0.72 Magnesium 0.083 Vitamin C 207 mg/kg Vitamin E 574 IU/kg

Having looked at all the sensitive foods (Amber has allergies) I couldn't see why a lot of them were called sensitive. The ingredients in the Advance one are really bad. I would probably feed a natural diet. Mince and rice for a while to let her tummy settle down. Not balanced but shouldn't hurt her for a bit. Try and freeze mince/bones first to reduce salmonella risks. After trying every food available (including Artemis) I am actually feeding Supercoat Sensitive. Very embarrassing but it is working. It has heaps less ingredients then a lot of other kibbles. So I guess it could be called bland. I know a couple of other people have had success with it for dogs with tummy problems.

Glad you survived TO :D

I always suggest a merle Aussie Shep to people that want a merle border. Red you should be able to get. You need to look for a breeder that has it pop up in a litter though rather than someone who is deliberately breeding for it. You might have a little bit of a wait.

Gawd you guys are making me nervous and I am not even trialling I am a hopeless case! Good luck everyone.

Next time think about me ;)

Totally agree with Poodlefan. Think happy thoughts and sort of walk in a happy bouncy way. I know I tend to walk slower too when I stressed out, which causes the dog to lag even more, causing me to stress and walk slower etc.

Meant to say too that sometimes when something is going wrong we do get tempted to drill and work at it. And that makes it worse.

Yeah well Corvus can only add theory to the conversation...... Deep calming breaths..... Back to the OP...... It might be as simple as you are training too much. I have found Poppy doesn't need half as much work now. The less work and the bouncier the heeling is. If I drill too much I flatten her. It is hard not to train heaps as she is very happy to work but I do get better work in the ring the less I do now. Your dog should be pretty established now. Have a little break and see if you get renewed enthusiasm.

Where did I say "it" was the dog??? "It" is whether an animal enjoys an activity or not. Way to quote me out of context. This is a thread about competition obedience with a dog. It is you that is out of context.

Why is it helping it??? Why is competing at a high level of obedience helping a dog? The dog doesn't give a rats arse if it competes or not. You aren't training it to save it as we are talking about competition obedience on this thread not basic manners.

My dog used to hate obedience but she loves it now, changing that around was about challenging my handling skills and methods. At what point do you say it's the dog that doesn't enjoy it, rather than it's the way you are training them? (genuine question) ETA: asking because I see quite a number of people at my obedience club whose dogs don't appear to enjoy training but under the right instruction and the right level of enthusiasm from the owner the dogs blossom. It isn't really about how well the dog does the activity. It is how happy they are to be doing it. Waggy tails etc. Poppy was better than Brock at agility but I felt like she didn't seem enthusiastic about it. In obedience her eyes glow and herding well that is another zone again. Brock was pretty crap at agility but loved it. He looked really happy doing it. I am not talking about basic obedience btw, but competition stuff.

My dog with the most drive is also rather painful to live with. She doesn't run around all day but she is soooo intense. No one likes her, poor dog. Everyone wants to steal my lowest (no drive) dog. I do obedience (and well all dog sports) for the dogs. If they don't appear to enjoy something then I don't do it with them. I don't try and make them enthusiastic. For me they need to want to do it. I just don't enjoy training dogs that aren't in to it.

Poppy is much more into 'me' then food. She does work for food but if I don't use food and talk to her/pat her I pretty much get the same or better result. This is pack drive.