dancinbcs

Thanks dancinbcs - she has been acting abit funny which I have put down to her reacting to my pregnancy. She is quite clingy towards me, is acting weird around my husband (shakes randomly and acts scared of him sometimes for no apparent reason) and is doing some odd behavioural things like taking 3-4 false jumps before jumping on the sofa i.e. she walks as far away from the sofa as she can then inches forwards, then stands on her back legs, then backs up again etc before finally jumping up on the sofa like normal... It's very odd to watch, I'll try to video it :) I'll see about a vet visit if the food doesn't fix it and if she doesn't "normalise" once the baby is here. That doesn't sound good. I don't want to panic you and there may be other explanations but one of mine was having the same problem jumping in the car as if she couldn't work out exactly where the edge was, she started reacting more to noises like fireworks, etc that had never worried her before, became more affectionate. Just odd things I put down to her age. She turned out to have a brain tumour secondary to lung cancer. I think I would get a full vet check done on your girl asap including checking for any neuro signs. If she does have a neuro problem you need to know before the baby arrives. Dogs with neuro problems can be very unpredictable and potentially dangerous. I know this also from experience after being badly attacked by a dog of mine that had brain damage caused by meningitis. He had no idea he had done it at the time.

Puppy pens are perfect to contain dogs inside the house or to fence of a section of the house that is too big for baby gates. For a small breeds the cheap pens from places like the Reject Shop are fine. for larger and stronger breeds you need something like these. Puppy Pens

If changing her food back doesn't fix the problem I would be getting a full vet check done on her. Regression of toilet training can be from many ailments including neurological ones. Also take careful notice to see if her behaviour has changed in any other way, even seemingly insignificant things when added up can point to a problem.

I have a 30" crate for my 6.5 kg JS but he would be a lot taller than an Aussie Terrier who might fit in the 24" crate. My 25 kg BC can actually get into the 30" crate and somehow turn around but it is far too small for him. I got my 30" from OzGrooming World who advertise on here. Bengo crates

What size are the dogs that need to be crated? That will determine if you can fit two crates in or not. The airline crates are usually taller and narrower than the wire crates so something else to take into consideration. The only thing I would not use is a soft crate. They get very hot inside and the dogs can chew their way out.

The correct heights at withers, according to the breed standards are: Keeshonds - Dogs 46 cms (18 ins), Bitches 43 cms (17 ins) Japanese Spitz - Dogs 34-37 cms (13.5 - 14.5 ins), Bitches 30-34 cms (12 - 13.5 ins) So the size difference depends on what size JS you have. A 12" JS bitch is a lot small than an 18" male Keeshond but a 14.5" Male JS is not all that much smaller than a 17" Keeshond bitch. Also keep in mind that a lot of pet JS are well oversize of the upper limit of 14.5" and 15-16" is not uncommon.

This is how a GSD should move in a two beat trot. They can also do a faster 4 beat suspension trot that no other breed can do.

Great news Erny. You might be interested to hear that my boy who turned allergic to fleas, grass etc and had food issues after having the heartworm injection, is now back to being a normal dog. After two years of many different Chinese Herbs, including one to adjust the immune system, he is itch free and off all medications for his skin. The only supplements he he still on for skin are Krill Oil and coconut oil. Diet wise I had him settled on mostly turkey with veges and a little Black Hawk, and that seemed to be the only thing he could handle without developing the runs. At one stage he was on a small daily dose of Scourban for several months, I couldn't give him the coconut oil and any change in diet was not possible. Imagine my surprise then at the side effect when I decided to try him on Rose Hip Vital Canine for his back pain that seemed to be worrying him a bit, following a fall. The surprise was that his gut immediately settled down and I now have him back on his old very varied diet of mostly raw with a little dry food and the coconut oil and he is fine. So no itches, coat growing in nicely, normal digestion and a much brighter and happier dog since putting him on RHVC.

If you can fit two suitable sized wire crates with the seats folded up that would be best and safest. If the crates fill all the available space then they don't need to be anchored as they have nowhere to move to. If there is space around them they would need to be tied down somehow, maybe to the baby seat anchor points or tie them to the seats in front so they cannot move around. Wire crates offer more protection in an accident and allow greater air flow so if you need to travel the dogs in summer the dogs would be cooler. I have two 36" crates in the back of my wagon and they only just fit so have no room to move around at all. Measure the car and the dogs and work out what will fit.

Oh, I can understand them not doing front dew claws because that is often just to make the legs look neater and there is a lot of evidence now to say that it is preferable for dogs to keep the front ones, especially if they do dog sports as it prevents wrist injuries. I have a breed where the front ones are always left on by most breeders.

Yep, hormone levels. The puppies produce hormones that trigger labour and the amount needed depends on the size of the breed. In a toy breed one puppy usually isn't an issue as they normally have small litters anyway but in a large breed that should have 6+ in a litter then there is a problem. The larger the breed the more likely they will not go into labour with a singleton. I have known of a couple of singleton BCs born normally but the great majority of them have needed a caesar to be born. Then sometimes the bitch has no milk. Not always but if it does happen you need a foster mum fast.

You have a very weird vet who clearly knows nothing about purebred dogs. I have never heard of any vet refusing to do rear dew claws on newborn puppies. Some object to doing front ones so the breeders of breeds where they are removed, find vets who are happy to do them. Show dogs do not get desexed so you cannot wait until then to do dewclaws. I find it odd that your vet would object to the simple and quick removal or rear dew claws in babies but is happy to inflict more pain and much more healing time on the dogs by doing them when they are older.

Good breeders select the best stud for what they are trying to achieve with each litter, no matter who owns him or were he lives. No dog suits every bitch so buying in a "stud dog" makes no sense unless you have a rare breed where choices are limited. In dogs there should never be a "breeding pair". In numerically strong breeds one of the main indicators of a breeder who is breeding for profit only is that they always use their own dog or dogs. Except for an initial male to show there should never be any need to buy in a male in breeds were there are plenty available. This only leads to the temptation to just use your own dogs because it is cheaper and easier. Once you have an established line you may buy in a bitch you can breed to dogs you have bred but there should not be any need to buy in many bitches either. The best breeders I know of have everything descended from just one or two top quality foundation bitches and even 20-30 years down the track are still breeding down that same line and using outside studs as well as boys they have bred themselves. Also keep in mind that puppies of either sex may not turn out suitable to breed from, let alone suitable to breed to something you planned to breed them to.

Except in the few breeds like Briards that are required to keep their rear dew claws, all reputable breeders should be having rear dew claws removed at about 3 days old so puppies should never be sold with them. I cannot believe all the dogs I am hearing about lately with rear dew claws. Checking for and having rear dew claws removed is all part of being a responsible breeder.

I remember a very well known vet and exhibitor telling me this happened to a puppy he sent from Australia to NZ. It was definitely entire when it left and not when it arrived. Apparently the stress of the flight can cause this to happen. Sometimes they come back down and sometimes not and it is no different to anything else going wrong with the development of a "show potential" puppy and is not the fault of the breeder who sent him in good faith. What happens now depends on if the testicles come back down or not in the next few weeks and what guarantee you had worked out with the breeder. In most cases if the dog does not turn out as required the is returned or the owner can sell it as a pet and possibly get a refund of any price difference from the breeder. The cost of transport is up to the purchaser who made that decision to import.

Hard to pick a conditioner without seeing his coat because what suits one dog will not suit another. A small amount of organic coconut oil (a flat teaspoon at most) dissolved in warm water, used as a final rinse where needed, will help with dry coat but don't use it anywhere you don't want to flatten the coat. Trimming the dead ends is the only way to get rid of them but you will need someone to show you how or to do it for you.

I need commission on those brushes but after trying so many different ones before buying my first MP in 1985, I would never use anything else on a Border Collie and that first brush is still going strong all these years later. I also use them on my Jap Spitz and find them perfect for his coat as well.

The hot dryer would probably be the cause or it could be dead hair if he hasn't done his junior drop yet. Most go down to so little hair that you don't want to take them out in public but the odd one misses the junior drop and the hair then tends to look rather dead. You can carefully trim the split ends with thinning shears or a stripping knife but it would be best to get someone to show you how to use them so you only trim the ends and don't cut any chunks out of his coat. Shame you aren't closer or I would be happy to demonstrate. Once the ends are trimmed follow up with a heavy conditioner or something like moroccan oil to stop it happening again. Oops forgot to add that using the wrong brushes on a dog can damage the coat and cause split ends. I find pin brushes particularly bad for this and over use of slickers as well. I stick to my Mason Pearson Bristle/Nylon and a Collie comb.

I am very wary of any diagnosis of "vaccinosis". I know of Border Collies who were wrongly diagnosed with it by vets in the US as those dogs turned out to have TNS so no wonder they reacted badly to vaccines. As similar conditions to TNS are seen in many species I would bet that they are more common in other breeds of dogs as well but no one has bothered to look for them.

I too use Milbemax and it is exactly the same stuff in a tablet as Interceptor Spectrum chews that my dogs detest. I use the Milbemax every 6 weeks.

It is nothing but common sense that the more you vaccinate against, the greater the risk of a reaction but they also forget to mention that the dogs that have the worst reactions can have hereditary immune system faults like TNS and these should be kept as separate data. I have only used the C3 for over 20 years since having a dog react badly to the KC component and my vet advises only vaccinating for what you need. We don't do lepto or rabies as routine here so no need to worry about them. Not a vaccine but the Heartworm injection is another to be very wary of. I will never use that again after stuffing up my dog's immune system with it and fighting skin problems for years after giving that shot. We finally seem to have won the battle but it has been a long and expensive exercise to get him back to normal again.

Bitches lose fertility with each season and it is best to breed them the first time on their 2nd to 5th or 6th season, so in a bitch that cycles every 4 months you need to breed younger than one that cycles every 6-8 months. We had one girl start at 6 months to the day and cycle every 4 months so by 22 months, when we mated her, she was already on her 5th season. Her fertility was fine but she wasn't a great whelper. I also kept one of her daughters who started later on 6 month seasons that got shorter until she too was cycling every 4 months. Bred at 3 years her litter was only 3 puppies in a breed that averages about 6.

A sure sign of a shonky breeder is that they charge more for different colours. Reputable breeders charge the same amount for all puppies in the litter, regardless of colour or sex. Average price for a well bred puppy from fully health tested parents is about $1000 to $1200.

Yes, call Dogs Qld. What exactly does your receipt state about papers?

Check the inside of his elbow for a puncture wound. Borders often bite one another there to disable the other dog. It seems to be a breed thing. Older dogs tend to do this to obnoxious puppies. If you have a good chiro I would try there before the vet as they are often better at working out where an injury is.