Jumabaar

My boy was sedated out in the car park so everyone was relaxed and he wasn't stressed. We reversed him in a quiet room with just me and we walked out quietly. Since you are looking at having him sedated anyway it is something to ask about :)

Neuter classes are gaining lots more popularity- particularly in NSW. And please talk to your breeder about what shows they are talking about because while weeks away is possible that may not (probably not) be what your breeder wants to do!

I sold a male that I was lucky enough to borrow to show occasionally. I picked him up in the morning and dropped him off in the afternoon. He loved all the attention. My plan was to get semen so if necessary he could be desexed when the owner wanted to. Unfortunately health problems made the whole situation moot. But I was grateful that I found someone who was willing to support my desire to produce happy amazing companions in the next generation. I also wasn't in the position to keep a male at that time. I suggest asking questions and seeing if the breeder could store semen if you are doubtful of keeping him entire. These can be difficult but at the same time this can be an opportunity for a breeder to create healthy, well built puppies in the future so I can understand them at least bringing up this option with you. You can have anything you want in the contract i.e. that you can desex after 6mths if you are finding having an entire dog or that he can only go to local shows. You might even find it a fun day out with the family to take him to the shows yourself and let the breeder do the actual showing. I know of a few families who have done this and their children have had the opportunity to learn to show their dog and enter junior handler competitions. They are also allowed to be shown as neuters so if you did desex in the future it is something you/your children could continue to enjoy as a fun outing.

Yup outside is for having fun and forgot about full bladders until they came inside and relaxed then remembered they had to go. You have to stop the play before coming inside so they remember their bladders before coming back inside. Also watch out for the double wee'er- I had one that would get rid of some of the pressure then try to go back to playing. I had to be the meanie and remove her play mate until she finished off the rest of it, otherwise there were accidents. Oh the joys of puppies. Mine were Kelpies so I did teach them to sleep separately and did separate them some of the time but there were days where I was lazy and we all just hung out. If they looked over tired I would pop them in their crate so they could crash. Mine are house dogs who are currently curled up asleep on the bed. Teaching them to chill out around each other is important as well as chilling out away from each other.

I remember putting icky tasting substances on collars and leads to discourage helping each other out with them. I only have collars on when supervised because no deterrent is is going to be completely reliable when pulling on collars is great fun! Hot chilly was highly desirable though rather than icky and created mass diarrhoea so that is not a suggested substance :laugh: I didn't allow them to pull around a lead and went straight onto a long line so they didn't learn to pull. Instead learnt that I was just going to walk off and they had to keep an eye on me because there would be random jackpots and treats and games and general fun stuff. Plus getting to go new places. On the few occasions there was pulling I stopped so they didn't get to go anywhere until they checked in and we could play some chasies.

I think this is the most important point. None of the owners realise the danger. And quite possibly the staff do not either. And it is a huge shame that such an amazing concept is not reaching its potential- the idea of pet dogs getting to do fun stuff with their owners. Honesty and a desire to ensure a situation will not happen again are the most important ingredients in any accident or mishap. Be it through naivety or any other cause the centre has thus far not achieved this.

I have raised siblings together twice! Not easy but they are independent and pretty amazing. The biggest thing was teaching them that its ok to be left at home solo. I was also fussy about resources so there was never an opportunity to guard things from each other. I also did some solo toilet stops because they would play with each other rather than go straight to the toilet late at night- which was simply not cool during winter :laugh:

Here are some articles I wrote regarding desexing. The first one is when the next one is how. http://www.primalpaws.com/primal-paws/2014/09/when-to-desex-dogs http://www.primalpaws.com/primal-paws/2014/09/how-to-desex-your-dog I have had entire girls for 10 years- 1 accident (well on purpose on their part) a 7 weeks after she first started bleeding) but used an injection to stop the pregnancy. This all while having 2 entire males and up to 8 girls on the property. If you are responsible and realistic- that dogs will be dogs then it is possible to survive with an entire bitch and not have puppies. So I don't really view population control as a reason to desex for responsible owners in the right living situation because they can stop that from happening. i.e. my 90yr old grandmother doesn't look after my girls when they are in season because she leaves them out the back unsupervised, but the remaining weeks and months of the year she does mind them regularly. If I didn't have the opportunity to take the girls when they were in season they would be desexed. From a health perspective there are pro's and con's to desexing and age of desexing. Cancer- some cancers have decreased risk with desexing, some are increased in risk, Orthopaedic conditions- hip dysplasia, cruciate ligament disease. Behaviour- studies indicating that there are more behavioural problems in desexed animals than entire animals. Then there is pyometra- and ultimately this is the reason I spey my girls at approx. 5yrs of age so I avoid this issue in older dogs. So it is a personal choice and I applaud people who ask this question and go searching for answers. Ultimately as long as you are confident and have a complete understanding of the issues I don't actually believe there is a right or wrong decision about desexing and when to do so. Spend the time to research- understand that not all information is equal (i.e. dogs naturally is not a great source of information generally) and work out what is the best decision for your household and dog. ETA- My girls are inside the house when in season or supervised out the back even with 7ft fencing.

It is all about risk. My puppies go lots of places that are low risk i.e. places where it is unlikely sick or unvaccinated dogs are likely to be. So friends houses, car rides and time spent in a backpack are all on the cards. I don't go to ovals or dog parks. The vaccinations are not 'boosters'. The reason we vaccinate more than once as puppies is to try and catch all of them as soon after maternal antibodies drop and they can respond to the vaccination. This means some puppies will be completely covered after their first shot. Depending on the vaccination type, some courses finish earlier than others. I chose to do the last vaccine at 12 weeks regardless of when their first was given. Ideally you can then titre test a few weeks later to have a positive result and the pup is then free to visit all the 'icky' 'risky' places that I avoid while they are young.

I would be interested in more info re Newcastle [email protected]

I have missed a ligament damage on one of my girls toes. She didn't even miss a beat at flyball!! It is really easy to do because they only care about the end results so they just continue on. Please don't feel guilty!! Seeing many similar situations made me write this blog Best to get a concrete diagnosis before getting too worried or plan too much. It may even be soft tissue rather than bone. So give him a big hug and do whats right once you know whats happening.

There are some interesting studies happening in the US regarding partially ruptured cruciate ligaments. They are using stem cells as therapy. To make sure it is appropriately diagnosed they are looking at it arthoscopically and using gait measurement systems to assess improvements in weight bearing. They are then looking at it again via arthroscope and checking to see if the damage is still there. It is still in the process but It is looking very positive!! They won't do it for ruptures greater than about 25%- at that point it is past being able to mechanically survive and at that point they recommend surgery. I was actually talking about ligaments outside the knee, rather than the cruciate. Typically ligaments do suck at healing but we can bias what happens to make the most of what is there. This is why I love working in rehab. I was lucky enough to work with some of the leading names (Vets and PT's) in Canine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation in the States who are on the forefront of research into the area. I am hoping to do further study to improve my skills in musculoskeletal ultrasound so in cases like this we can actually visualise structures around the knee that can tell us in great detail what is going on Tendons are another tricky tissue to work with once it has been damaged- but when you can see what is going on you can bias healing toward the best results. Bugger about being back in whoop whoop!! There are rehab specialists that do distance consults online if it does continue to happen.

Quick addition- Although you can't see a ligament under sedation there are a fair few soft tissue changes that do accompany the damage to the ligament that can be visualised. Also when manipulating the joint under sedation you are not looking for a pain reaction- you are looking to see if the ligament is actually working. If it is you can't manipulate the joint out of place like you can when it has ruptured. It is actually much more sensitive than doing when the dog is awake. I would be looking along the lines of soft tissue issues. The Ileopsoas is one muscle that can cause symptoms like you describe when damaged. It could even be ligaments on the outside of the knee that are partially damaged and healing. If it was a ligament then resting it was probably a ver good call. It would be great if you could get some help to do exercises to strengthen the ligaments, or have the muscles assessed. Are you still in Brissy? There might be a rehab therapist that can investigate a little more for you and hopefully shed some light on whats going on. And advise you on the best way to return him to full function.

I am glad we met on a 'behaving' day- also guessing it would have been abby since none of my other dogs manage sweet lol. I certainly don't doubt that your vets diagnosis was correct and to be honest there is very little going on in the field of imaging for soft tissue injuries here in Australia so I can also understand why it wasn't done. I just like the opportunity to look at whats going on with my clients because that shows me exactly what level of injury we have and gives me the opportunity to really target rehab. In some cases with low grades it might mean some exercise modification, a few additional exercises and the dog is back to normal. It also means I can have another look before giving the all clear to go back to sport and know that it has healed correctly. But this is 'new' in dogs- much more common in horses here in Aus. It sounds like you have a great team around you- which is the best way to get good results. Lots of minds, talents and experience means all the bases are likely to be covered!!

Hi Skip, It sounds like you have had a bit of a roller coaster ride when it comes to vets. Like humans animals can learn to compensate due to pain/inflammation. And can de-condition when 'rested'- just like horses. It might be that the area has completely healed but there is reduced range of motion because she learnt that too much movement caused pain and now its become a 'habit'. Alternately it might be a sign that there is something niggely there that is yet to resolve. Have you ever had a diagnostic ultrasound done on the area to determine what grade of strain it was? And has she undergone a rehab program after being rested? That would be my general recommendation to begin with (I am the vet behind primal paws) since it may not be something that needs an orthopaedic surgeon. They are great at the cutting and putting things back together but not necessarily with the after care to get dogs back to running at agility. It might be that your dog is completely sound and has naturally done her own rehab program- Kelpies are pretty darn smart (no bias here). But often being smart means that they become cheaters and continue on with their life compensating rather than actually resolving the problem or letting their human know that there is indeed a problem!!

Superlorin might be an option- it is an implant. It can cause them to come in before causing suppression depending on the time it is given. The benefit being it lasting 12mths at a time. I have used it on males without any hassles. I am not sure if it is 'on label' for use in bitches but there is information available on the internet regarding its use. I have not had experience with any of the other options.

I would suggest finding someone in QLD to talk to about using a brace. There are lots of considerations because it can speed deterioration if you are not taking it off and performing regular exercises. http://www.animaloptions.com.au might be able to recommend you a good animal physio because the person most people see up there has completely slipped my mind! They would be able to order and fit the Brace and make sure it is the right option.

Flea control- another vote for environmental control. After a few months of crazy vacuuming, mowing, moving dogs around and washing bedding I stopped requiring flea treatments. I did use advantage on most of the dogs, one was allergic and she had a few cap star treatments. This girl was ok with Nexgard so would use orals in the future as there appears to be less resistance so would help stop the cycle even quicker. Itchy skin- the best thing is to get a diagnosis and rule out bacteria and yeast infections. If it's likely to be an allergy then limit exposure. Most skin issues are due to compromised skin barrier so feeding natural oils and avoiding too many different lotions is actually often better than using lots of natural treatments. Also looking at boosting the immune system can assist.

Ooooh how could I forget Age of desexing and the number of dogs being desexed may change both HD and CCL incidence.

There are many things that I consider to be risk factors when I see young dogs Straight stifles. Dogs that like to turn and break/skid Overweight, particularly when growing up! Some I believe might be genetic- even if it is just allowing dogs with straight stifles to breed or slightly loose patellas. It is a chronic inflammatory condition so perhaps there are more processes causing inflammation? Dogs do not get as much free running. I also think its difficult to determine if it is actually becoming more common. This isn't exactly an unbiased group of dog enthusiasts. And I would also like to think that more people are taking pets to the vet and actually having it diagnosed rather than the dog going lame then 'coming good' without ever seeing a vet.

CooperRR It might be worth looking into PenHip scoring because it gives a different value to traditional X-rays. I would also discuss what about the X-rays indicated HD and if the vet was able to luxate the hip while your dog was sedated. Are there any changes to muscle quantity or tone? I know you have decided agains the TPO but these few bits of information will help you with the 'What ifs' that you might have in the future. This is a link to some great information on the different hip scoring methods as well as the different procedures. http://www.asecvets.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/PennHIP-and-JPS.pdf Also have you desexed your dog or is it possible to wait till Cooper is fully grown? Regardless of your chosen path spending time exercising all the muscles around his rear end. There is a Facebook group called Canine Conditioning and Body Awareness Exercises which has some great resources on this, although seeking professional advise regarding the specifics would be ideal if it is in any way possible. My other suggestion is to always keep him very very skinny!

Oh what time you are having! I think if ever there was a time to sit down and just hug your dog I think it would be right now! You both sound like you need one. If you are on FB have a look at the 'canine conditioning and Body awareness' group. It is a great page where you can get a little bit of an understanding of what would be 'danger' exercises and things to avoid even if we can't give you any specific advice. Lots of lovely people with amazing advice- although be prepared to be jealous as most of them are american and have much greater access to therapists. If nothing else it will give you ideas to maintain his good leg to try and reduce the risk of it going. Pain relief is the biggest thing and you have that taken care of. And the fact that he is not overweight and has a great deal of fitness are all things that are amazing. So in that case he is actually miles ahead of most of my clients where we are trying to drop their weight by 10-15% and they don't have much muscle to work with.

Access to assistance is a huge factor and I agree you made the best decision for Mac. Clicky usually means icky on so many levels. It certainly makes the decision for surgery much more clear!! There is so much we don't know because we have never even considered the possibility. 2 years ago I had no idea how much difference having strong supporting muscles could make to so many different conditions! There are so many times where I hear a case and think 'yup there is the treatment' then stop and think about how that treatment could be made better. Most of the time that leads me to sending off a heap of emails to see if anyone has any additional experience. I love Facebook and the internet- so much knowledge and information that I can get to world wide and give my clients the best treatment

One of mine has a taste for donna covers at the moment. Not doona's or sheets or lounges just the cover. it had been 12mths since the last donna cover victim but about a month ago my new beautiful cover developed a hole in it Previous items include Watch- on a 1.5m high shelf with nothing around to climb on to get it Sunnies- numerous 2 lounges (4 more with holes under the cushions) A few books (thankfully not text books) HSC notes a week before exams 3 laptop power cords (same laptop) Jeans pockets x 4 To be fair appart the donna eater all the other destruction happened more than 5 years ago. I think it might be because I have learnt to put things behind doors/gates that are particularly appealing for little gremlins. Actually I lie- I also have a sock monster. It has become so much part of my life that I almost forgot. Weekly sock buying trips are just part of the routine now

Westiemum- regardless of time to surgery, type of surgery cruciate rupture on the other side is at least 40-60%. I have to say with early rehab regardless of surgery I have seen significantly lower rates of bilateral disease. This is because we should be spending at least as much time and energy working on the 'good leg as we do the 'bad' leg. Further the requirement for surgery should be made on a case by case situation. It is not a last resort but one of many options that all have benefits and risks associated. There are times where I absolutely itch to get in with a scalpel because the benefits are so huge- ear ablations are a really good example. CCL is a little more grey IMO and the whole situation- dedication of owner, access to appropriate complimentary therapy, underwater treadmill, multimodal pain relief and the degree of laxity in the joint at present should all be considered. I have had clients dogs who have a ruptured CCL who's leg is so stable due to muscular strength that surgery would actually put them further behind on the road to recovery. Meniscal damage is another factor. I hope the OP can find someone who has experience that can judge the actual dog and injury to help give them the information they need to make an informed decision. Here is a link to a pretty amazing Physical Therapist in the US who I hope to meet this year!! I really wish we could do the studies on our furry friends that humans have! Please, please take the time to read it. http://www.puprehabfl.com/#!dog-rehabilitation-blog/c1ojl/information-on-cranial-cruciate-tears