MolassesLass

2006 was probably my least dog-focussed year I can ever remember. We really didn't do much, but there was some small stuff. Frisbee Molly: Canine Freestyle Rookie Team of the Year, Howl-O-Ween Flying Disc Dogs Championships Open Winner, QLD Canine Disc State Championships Open Second, Brisbane Canine Disc Championships Open Equal Second Kara: FDA Title Duke: Catch percentage up around 60% now Me: Threw 30m+ for the first time in a comp.! (I need to consistently be throwing 30m+ for the next title) Showing Kara: Had some nice minor placings/awards Duke: 25 points collected from minimal showing, including beating a bitch who had gone BOB at a pointscore 2 weeks before Big Plans for 2007 Molly - CD obedience title - FDE frisbee title - maybe AD/JD agility titles Kara - CCD & maybe CD obedience titles - FDE frisbee title - maybe AD/JD agility titles Duke - Aust CH title - maybe CCD obedience title - maybe FDA frisbee title

Oh Kaffy I am so sorry to hear this. She was such a beautiful (and obviously special) girl. ;) Run free girl

DD is this a fair description of forced retrieval?

Problem is Rappie, I have recently moved, thus I have no relationship with any local vet. I doubt they are going to allow a new client to do anything out of the ordinary and I'm not paying a consult fee to find this out. Although not ideal, nor as painless as a local procedure; I should be able to rectify the issue slowly. If I can't then I will reconsider handing over my arm and leg to the vets.

Thanks people. It seems the likely answer I will get is no and as I'm not willing to risk a GA for this, I will just have to work something else out.

Any vets/vet nurses here able to tell me if it would be cheaper to go the non-GA route or would it be around the same cost? Pssssst - Duke's a Bullmastiff, if you want to get specific about things.

Will vets do a small procedure under a local or do they insist on general for anything? If specifics help, this is a nail that needs to be cut way back and cauterised.

Hmm, ok I have decided to add a new section to my puppy book. A little detail and pictures on doggy genitals, it seems to be such a common query. Funny too!

NILIF = Nothing in life is free

Do people feel that with a rescue dog like this (multiple homes and pound stays) that the owners should try to not go away at all for 6/12 months? Would having occasional 1/2 week stays with someone else be preventing him settling in properly? I rescued a BC that was similar a few years ago. This year she gained frisbee and agility titles, so we know there's hope. As I said earlier, he's not really an indoors dog. He's allowed in sometimes at night, he mostly made to sit on a mat and just be in the house rather than having free run. He will do that, with a few creeps off to check stuff out. I thought he had a high prey drive but at an attempt at lure coursing, the other dogs and the activity made his overly anxious and he didn't focus on the lure at all (in fact, both run attempts he ended up eliminating - indicating anxiety I think). It was fence attacking in the pound, not a good behaviour but belting him across the face wasn't going to help. Again, what title is the Fennell book you think will help, she seems to have quite a few? Fennell Book List

He is like we used to see in olden day zoos, that pacing, brain is elsewhere kind of thing. He is more here these days (they're had him around 7 months) but even then, his focus isn't on his owners. I'd say for the first 18 months he was a backyard dog, seeing people only when they dropped his dinner out to him. I feel his fear reactions to barking dogs behind fences is due to his pound trips (during the first visit to meet him, one of the pound staff repeatedly hit him across the face for barking back at the dog next to him). He's not brainless, he's in class 2 at obedience but I feel he does what's asked then because he has no choice (he's on lead etc) not because he wants to please or he likes the activity. He has been seen for a private lesson that was quite expensive and it was felt to be a huge rip-off as all the trainer suggested was using a halti and waiting until he gives the correct response and praise. Unfortunately that would mean waiting forever, meanwhile Rusty gets very worked up and his mum very upset. So I'm going to have to be very careful about suggesting other options like that and I don't know of any professional behaviourists. Anyone else have one they can recommend? If only I could explain to him how he's not going anywhere and it's time to love his humans! The Jan Fennell books recommended, what are the titles (none say leadership or anything)? ETA: Vickie, he has flashes of being interested. Yesterday out of a 3 hour visit (which involved a lot of time outs due to him fence attacking next doors idiot dog - which constantly does the same to me and my dogs) he once looked right at me and responded to my call of "come". Stopping just long enough to lick my face and bugger off after the other dogs again. I saw in him at the pound a great intensity to work IF he can be shown that pleasing his owners has benefits he wants. I can see what you're thinking, forcing him to be a part of his owner's day, forces him to consider them and think about interacting with them. Hmmmm

I think the point of a treatment plan such as you've mentioned is to treat the dog when it's NOT showing fear and thus you are rewarding the behaviour you want. You wouldn't take a human fearful dog, plant a stranger right next to them and then try to get it to eat treats. You'd have the stranger across the yard, at a point where they dog is not fearful yet and reward nice calm behaviour and then work closer, always rewarding non-fearful behaviour and stepping back once fear is shown. Praise tells a dog that they did what you wanted and to get more praise do more action. Thus, what humans think of as consoling/calming/quientening a fearful dog is actually telling the dog, they did exactly what you wanted them to. Well, that's what I think anyway.

Brother and SIL's dog a BC rescued from Logan pound at what we think was 18 months old. Before then he had been in the pound 3 times. Rusty as he was named, lives in his own head. He rarely looks at his owners, plays deaf way too often and paces for hours on end at times (round and round the yard). He chases birds across the sky, tries to catch rain drops and flies and is a little over-stimulated in the car. He doesn't value food, won't play with toys, doesn't value pats or praise and seems to ignore aversives (he hasn't been struck or anything - talking about being locked away or being ignored or loud noises etc). Basically, he's a little insane. But I'm hoping with time and training he could be normal. I know people are going to suggest NILIF and TOT, but both seem to require the dog caring about the owner (or at least something) somewhat first. Rusty is quite happy to be left outside to his pacing if he doesn't obey a command to "come". How do you make a dog care?! Secondly and I think this one is beginning to get worse, he's fear aggressive with dogs behind fences. If he hears a dog barking at him through a fence or on his daily walk when he's getting close to the places he knows have barking dogs, he gets really worked up. You know the scenario, rabid worked up barking and frothing, scrabbling and hackles up. Again, he pays no attention and doesn't seem to care if the walk is ended by heading back the way we came, in fact, I think he may feel he won. He's good meeting dogs, never aggressive at all, although he sometimes rushes in a little too fast. He has got some dominance in him as he likes to hump other dogs. I have a few ideas of what could have caused these issues but not so much on things to fix them.

Kara (BC) likes to clean up Duke (Bullmastiff), looks like a calf suckling. Edit: Sorry if I offend.

Is TOT suitable for an 8 week old puppy?

I'm not trying to sway you either way, it's entirely your decision, however, you said: This is incorrect. Speying PRIOR to the first season reduces the chances of mammary cancer. - Neutering: fact and fiction

Fairly nuff.

But this was a containment system e-collar, they are supposed to be left on 24/7, aren't they?

It does say in the PDF file "Rufus, a young Labrador puppy, about to undergo veterinary treatment for electric and/or chemical burns caused by an electric collar that malfunctioned when it got wet. The hole burned into his flesh by the electric collar’s metal contacts (metal prongs), which can be seen on the left of the electronic device on the collar in this photograph.20" It couldn't be electrical burns all the way around because leather wouldn't conduct electricty. I could believe deep holes and any other metal contact areas being burned but not all the way around. Although, I too am not a guru. In fact, the vet letter doesn't blame it on electrical burn at all.

The Pet Loo :D

Given that 30% of collie-type dogs suffer moderate to severe reactions to any of the -mectin family of drugs, the 6/12 month heartworm injections really aren't a good idea for these breeds due the amount needed to last that long. That said, I've known many who have and do use it (and other -mectin containing products) with no reaction.

What an attacking and judgemental assumption you have made that because a group of people choose to rescue and rehome dog's of one particular breed they therefore think no other dog's life is "worth saving". ;) I have to wonder why they need to do this...

Forget it. ;)

And how are they doing this? They haven't said "ANKC Breeder's Permit", they've said "Breeder's Permit" which implies to most (and is confirmed by my discussion with the petition starter) a local council issued "breeder's permit". These council "breeder permits" are not only given to ANKC breeder's (some council require this, not all). The petition people have just as much issue with ANKC breeders doing the wrong thing as they do with accidental and purposeful cross bred litters. So the petition starter, plus I'd say the majority of other rescue groups are most definately NOT trying to dispose of all mutts. ;)

Knowing what your breed is though Morgan and without being more specific, your breed is not the norm. The weight of the effect of the issues within your breed is different to the weight in many if not the majority, of other breeds. When people post asking for specific times on desexing it is rarely questioned by anyone what breed it is, what the intended purpose of the dog is nor any questions to hear the ability of the owner to deal with an entire dog in the meantime. What happens instead is sometimes unnessecary scare-mongering about desexing or harsh judgement of not desexing. As the article on canine athletes says towards the end, each situation needs to be assessed on it's own merits and continued posting of our own personal decision for our own personal situations is never going to be as useful, correct or balanced as individual assessing would be. JMO. It does, if the procedures are available and two operations aren't considered more of an issue.