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dancinbcs

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Everything posted by dancinbcs

  1. If the dogs were on lead how the hell did they even reach the woman? Surely the owner would have moved them away from anyone jogging towards him. If she jogged past them from behind then she put herself in danger running so close to unknown dogs. I really hope her eye is ok but if two Dobes "attacked" her they would have done a lot more damage than that. I had far more damage to my face from two bites from a smaller breed that did attack due to being ill with brain damage. If I hadn't been strong enough to grab his jaws and hold him off he would have done even more damage. I do question the intent of the dogs in this story but wonder why the owner wasn't able to keep the dogs away from her.
  2. 8 months is pretty late to tape them but it may be worth a try as the ears do keep lifting at least till 12 months and even later. I have had a BC with perfect half up and over ears, suddenly develop pricked ears at 12 months. If the ears feel really soft though, nothing will ever make them stand right up. Encourage him to hold his ears to the side like in the second photo by pushing them back into that position. You could try taping the fold into them so they sit like that even if they don't stand all the way up. They look much better that way than flopped down his face. To tape the fold in follow these directions. Place a piece of tape along the outside of the ear then fold the ear back where you want the fold and put another tape at right angles to the first, wrapped around the ear. In the photos below the red edges of the second tape meets with the red edge of the first tape with the ear folded back. Then flip the ear forward and the fold will stay put. This helps strengthen the ear and still allows it move and strengthen.
  3. All a harness does is let the dog pull harder unless it is one of the special no pull ones. With a puppy work on training it the right way from the start to walk on a loose lead.
  4. I thought Troy was planning on changing this because it does give a false impression that the blue ribbon breeders are somehow better when all it really means is that they probably have more dogs.
  5. I think soft crates are too hot for coated dogs except in mid winter and have not needed to cover a wire crate except to keep rain out at a show or when the dogs sleep in the car in below zero temps. I know how hot it gets inside a tent, even with the window flaps up or inside one of those all screen tents and have no desire to put my dogs, who prefer the weather much colder than I do, in a stuffy enclosed crate.
  6. Rough Collies are not at all difficult to groom and they shed less than the smooths do. I too think a Collie is worth considering. Go to some dog shows, have a look at the retrievers, spaniels, setters, poodles, schnauzers and collies and talk to the breeders. All those breeds would suit your situation and if you can successfully raise well behaved children, you should be able to raise a puppy. Just think of it as baby number 3 without the need for nappies. Puppies, like children have to be taught exactly what behaviour you want and they need to be rewarded and encouraged when they get things right. Puppies mature at about the rate of one month as equal to a year for a child so you have less time to get things right but the training principles are the same. Consistency, encouragement, reward and clear boundaries.
  7. I found the only way to get the council where I used to live, to do anything, was to call them every day. There was a large white dog that looked like a Bull terrier crossed with something quite a bit larger, that roamed loose and charged at people and attacked dogs, that lived round the corner from my house. When I rang the council they told me that had had lots of complaints and they had spoken to the owners but they couldn't manage to keep the dog in. I pointed out that if they fined the owners every time the dog was out they would soon find a solution to keeping the dog in. I promised to call them every time I saw the dog out and I did. Every day for a about two weeks and told them if the dog didn't disappear soon I would start calling several times a day. :D The must have got sick of me calling because the dog disappeared and I never saw it again. So nag,nag and nag some more. You will wear them down eventually and it will work.
  8. If the dog is easy to treat sometimes they can have the ear syringed out and then the ear rolled and taped around the centre tube from a bandage. This leaves the ear sticking up like a horn until it heals and works well, depending on the breed and type of ear. I have had one done with full surgery and ear taped back over the head and she shook the bandages off before I even got her out of the vets. The next three were done with tube method and one needed a drain as well. All done with just a local into the ear flap and the dog awake. My last one was done with the same method but he wouldn't stay still to have it done so was lightly gassed down for them to syringe it out and wrap it around the tube. None of mine ever thought about scratching the ear or had an Elizabethan collar. The biggest problem is them shaking their head and dislodging the bandages. In all cases, regardless of the method, taping or drains, the ears healed in a different shape due to scar tissue.
  9. Another thought. Have her parents been tested for L-2-HGA? If not get her tested by Genetic Technologies
  10. I'm not sure what the law is in Vic but NSW has just introduced a "Menacing Dog" category that will be treated somewhat like a Dangerous dog. If a dog is reported as menacing Council can act before it actually attacks anyone. As the law stood before an attack had to happen before they could do anything other than order the owner to contain the dog. This is why I have a real problem with the supporters of blame the deed not the breed idea, as in only acting on a particular dog once it has attacked. We need strong enough laws to PREVENT these deeds happening. Maybe not breed based but certainly based on a dogs general behaviour. It is too late after someone has been attacked. Sure you can punish the owner and the dog but that will never undo the damage done to someone who has been attacked. There should be a strong distinction between a bite and an attack as the intent is very different. Many dogs bite for many reasons including defending themselves, excitement, fear etc and a nip or a bite may result in a bruise, a puncture or a small tear in the skin. Dogs that do this are normal dogs but a dog that launches an unprovoked attack where it keeps biting and tearing at the person or other dog is mentally unstable and a menace to society.
  11. I very rarely recommend Border Collies but in this case I already know of several who fulfill this exact role with people with anxiety and depression and know they are suitable. You have obviously never tried to enter the property of a stranger who owns a BC. Most of mine could really put on the guard dog act and have callers at the door backing down the steps. The neighbours will not come into the house unless the they are put out the back as they have seen how they react at the door and are not confident to come in, even if I know that the dogs are fine once I invite someone in. They read people well and will react accordingly if they detect any threat from someone, even if they are normally friendly with strangers. When camping at shows mine would give a deep throaty growl if anyone came near the tent at night. I have seen Aussies react the same way as they are very territorial and a black tri Aussie could suit but the merles do attract unwanted attention. German Shepherds would also be a suitable choice if she really wants something bigger but getting a GSD to show could be very expensive and of course you need to be an athlete to show a GSD and they shed so much more than most breeds. You need to run pretty well to show Borders and Aussies too but not for as long as you do with GSDs. Borders are widely available in NZ so there would be plenty of choice. It is all well and good recommending rare breeds but someone in this position probably doesn't want to wait two years to get a puppy.
  12. Ring or go and see Dr Ann Neville at Ann Neville, she has a fantastic track record with treating cancer dogs with Traditional Chinese Herbs.
  13. I always advise about 4 months after a season if this is possible and there is no chance of any dog getting to her. Keep in mind dogs can jump 7' fences so a bitch in season needs to be completely confined in a roofed run or in the house and watched when in the yard on the key days. If something does manage to mate her, then just go ahead and get her desexed as soon as her season is finished.
  14. I would be checking the medication and getting blood done to check her liver and anything else that may be contributing to the problem. If you can rule out all of that then it is either a brain tumour or some other serious neuro disorder and I would have her pts. Nothing they find in an MRI will be fixable and as my vet said to me once, even if they could do surgery, the dog cannot tell you if the pain is gone so you will never be able to trust them again. If she is pressing her head, she is in pain and very severe pain can come on suddenly. I was badly attacked and had my face ripped up by a 5 year old dog of mine who turned out to have brain damage, most likely from undetected bacterial meningitis at some stage before. He just snapped one day, let out a scream and launched an attack on me and I am sure that a few minuted later, he had no idea he had done it. He must have been in terrible pain as his brain was being compressed out towards his skull by the fluid trapped inside his brain. He showed very few signs that anything was wrong before he attacked me and he was pts a few days later, after discussions with my vet. The autopsy gave me the answer to what was going on and knowing that made the decision easier to live with. No amount of money would have changed the outcome for him. My last cancer dog also seemed to have a brain tumour as well as a chest full of tumours. She had been running around as normal then suddenly had a cough breathing problems, so we x-rayed her. We were doing a chest drain the same day, to try to buy her some more time, when she had a seizure and that made the vet suspect a possible brain tumour. I took her home and nursed her for a week but one morning she didn't want to get up and when I touched her head, she squealed in pain. I had her pts immediately and greatly regret making her suffer through that last week. Dogs are good at hiding pain and they are often suffering badly without us knowing. Dogs with neuro problems can be a ticking time bomb and are very dangerous to handle as you never know when they may suddenly attack.
  15. Milbemax is the same drug as Interceptor but as a plain tablet, not a chewable. Mine hate the chews so I am now using Milbemax and it works out cheaper as well. I buy mine online from Stefmar.
  16. The right male Border Collie would suit. They come in a wide variety of temperaments and activity levels, even within the same litter. A calmer puppy that is confident and outgoing would fit the situation to a T. They are very intuitive and able to read human emotions and prefer to be with their owner, where ever that may be, on a walk or just lying around. They are usually protective of their owners if they are threatened and most have a decent bark but they aren't a noisy breed. They are easy to prepare for shows and have the advantage of being suitable for all dogs sports including herding if she wants to try something different.
  17. Good news. Also keep in mind that herding breeds often do nip. It is no indication that they will ever bite harder because most never do but owning them means you do get nipped at times when they are excited and for this reason I always warn buyers to lock the dog away if kids are playing chasing games as the dog will join in and try to herd the kids and may nip in excitement. If they feel threatened they do exactly what they would do to a sheep that threatens them. They nip to make whoever threatens them, back off. Some are also very territorial. I would never have trusted most of my very social BCs with a stranger in the house. They have always been kept locked away from any tradies working in the house to ensure nothing like this ever happens. Visitors were always carefully introduced to the dogs one at a time, with the dogs on lead first. A dog that is wary about strangers in your home is a good guard dog. She just needs to learn when she should guard and when you don't want her to and that comes down to general control that you are already working on.
  18. A friend's dog, having been fine all day at a show and won best of breed, went to go back in the ring for best in group and suddenly threw up a whole onion he must have swallowed the day before. She had no idea he had gotten into the potato and onion box she had on the kitchen floor. The dog was fine, went into the ring and showed like he always did.
  19. Puppies can usually work out how to lap from 2 weeks if need be. As soon as they can see and stand, lapping should be possible and I have never heard of any being tube fed after that. With the slow start this little one has had, maybe she wasn't at that stage until 3 weeks but by now she should be able to eat well. To get a puppy to lap hold a saucer up under the chin with a little milk in it. Dip your finger in the milk and then in the puppies mouth. Then dip her chin in the milk. In most cases the puppy will lap. If that doesn't work and she will eat mince, mix some with a little milk and gradually increase the amount of milk until she has to lap rather than pick up the meat. You can gradually add other stuff like dry food soaked in milk to the mix and then start varying the texture. She should also have water available at this age so watch and see if she works out what to do with the water.
  20. Is heartworm preventative even required in Melbourne? I thought heartworm only went as far south as the Riverina. I never dose for more than absolutely necessary. I am lucky enough to live in the one corner of Sydney with no ticks and only use flea treatment in summer if there are fleas around. This last summer the dogs only needed treating once for fleas. We do have some heartworm in Sydney so I err on the side of caution and use Milbemax every 4-6 weeks for heartworm and intestinal worms. Vaccinations are C3 only as puppies, a booster 12 months later then 3 yearly. Due to two of my dogs having a severe adverse reaction to the heartworm injection, I will never use that again.
  21. I think there is a wide variety of situations that should be taken into consideration. Some dogs are easy to keep entire and have sensible owners who never have a problem with them. I personally prefer entire males but the ones I have owned as an adult have all been show dogs. We had entire male pets when I was a child so I am used to living with them. If owners prefer the dog to be desexed that is fine and if the dog is being too much of a problem when the hormones kick in, they are better desexed. Escape artists should always be desexed. Breed probably makes a difference too. Many people with the smaller terrier breeds and a few other small breeds, seem to have problems with them marking inside the house. That is not a problem I have ever had with the dogs I have owned. If they are to be desexed I prefer them done after they stop growing but sometimes it needs to be done earlier. I really don't think there can be any hard and fast rule with males. Coming from horses I am used to the decision being made on the temperament and manageability of each individual animal. Bitches are a whole different story. I do believe all bitches should be desexed if they are not used for breeding or when they finish being bred. The risk of pyo is just not worth leaving them entire. I prefer bitches to be desexed after they have a season if possible but if that is going to be a problem, they are better done at 6 months.
  22. I get my food grade one from Alternative Therapies. Alternative Therapies
  23. I feed it to my dogs and sprinkle it on them only if I need to as it does dry the coat and make it coarse. The BC gets a teaspoon full and the JS a half teaspoon, added to wet food each day. It is supposed to work as a wormer and flea repellent from within. I haven't trusted it for worms and still use monthly heartworm/wormer but it does seem to work for fleas. You need to avoid inhaling it so I would be a bit worried about sprinkling it on beds inside. Last summer one dog had a reaction every time I walked him in certain grass areas. I tried rubbing the DE into his legs and belly before a walk and the itching stopped. I assume that the itch must have been caused by some sort of grass mite rather than the grass itself. Thankfully we haven't had the same problem this summer. We have only had one flea picked up this summer so only used Advantage the one time and so far no fleas since for about 3 months. The other thing it is great for is ants. They hate it and will run from it as soon as you sprinkle a little where you want to get rid of them from. If you need to sprinkle it around, putting it in a metal chicken salt shaker from the supermarket, works well and saves a lot of mess. BTW, I am in humid Sydney.
  24. Be very sure that Amstaffs are not a banned breed where you are going to as well. Most pets fly well so long as they are not the sort that worries about noise or strangers. A 5 year old bitch I bred flew to Canada, west coast, via Hawaii and then onto Newfoundland to be with her owners who were working their for a year. She had an overnight stop on the west coast at a kennel before being crated up again and flying across the continent. She bounced out as if she had just been for a car trip. A year later, they all returned and the dog flew home via the same route and then did 30 days quarantine. She was totally fine during the whole ordeal. They rang me before they accepted the jobs to ask how I thought the dog would cope. They had offers from family to mind her for the year but didn't want to go without her and had decided that if I said no, they wouldn't go at all. I told them there are no guarantees and there is always a risk with air travel for dogs and humans but I really couldn't see any reason that the dog would not breeze through it and she did. Lots of show dogs and dogs owned by service personnel, fly back and forth overseas all the time. For the numbers being transported the problems are very few. Avoiding hot weather is vital but apart from that all should go smoothly.
  25. Off lead area or not you must have effective control of your dog and that means making sure they do not interfere with any other person or dog that does not want to interact with them. If your dog cannot be recalled instantly it should not be off lead if any other person or dog is in the area and they have not given you permission to allow your dog near them. I have no idea where this notion of an off lead area as a free for all, for dogs to do as they like, came from. An off lead area should be somewhere dogs can be trained off lead, play fetch or just run around, so long as they do not cause any issue with anyone else. Public parks are just that and anyone can walk in an off lead area and should be safe from being injured by dogs.
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