Greytmate

Today my beautiful greyhound Sam had to be put to sleep. I am so sad to be telling you all this, I loved him so much and I am so very upset that he has gone. Some of you will remember Sam, I took him to so many GAP promotions where he always did his best to show how laid back and good natured greyhounds can be. So many people met him at different events, he worked hard to be a good ambassador for greyhounds as pets. He had a remarkable racing career before he came to live with me, being raced by the Footy Show in Victoria. He had thousands of fans and won races all over Australia to raise money for charity. So many people still remember the name 'You Idiot' and how his success raised the profile of the sport of greyhound racing. Sam loved life and was a happy and beautiful dog with a lot of dignity. He made himself right at home wherever he went. A few weeks ago Sam started to slow down a bit and we could see that something was wrong. He started treatment, but then last week he developed pneumonia. Intensive treatment saw him recover a little bit, but this morning Sam was clearly very uncomfortable. After some tests showed that he had an inoperable tumour in his chest, we made the very difficult decision to have him put to sleep, so that he would no longer be in pain. Sam was such a huge part of my life, I am finding it hard to believe that I will never see him again. I know that I will never forget this very special greyhound. Good bye my beautiful Sam.

Incontinence can normally be managed with medication, but sometimes there is a problem that needs to be corrected with surgery. I know of a bitch that is on the (human) pill to control incontinence, as the first and second medication that was tried did not work, and the third medication was too expensive for the owner to afford. This bitch was desexed at around 2 years of age. The pill is not 100% effective for her, but really helps. Good luck with sorting out the problem Mana.

They do in Victoria. Legislation requires shelters to kennel dogs individually.

I find it hard to believe that companies that make megabucks from selling pet food would not treat their own test animals in a good way. It makes sense that they would look after them properly, it does not make sense that they would do things in a way that was not good for the animals. We all know that animals are healthiest when they are happy, so testing on poor neglected unhappy animals would not give good test results anyway. I guess there will always be people that argue about whether individual kennelling of dogs is a good thing (safe for dogs) or a bad thing (boring for dogs). I am sure that if the dogs were not kennelled individually there would be descriptions of 'dogs crammed in cages together', and 'dog fights occurring'. One thing I do know, is that there are plenty of bullshit internet sites around, and that animal rights activism is a big business that makes heaps of cash from telling horror stories. In fact, that is the only way that it can stay in business. Quoting internet stories is not really research. Those that believe the stories that they find on the internet might be causing unneccessary distress to themselves. I have experienced first hand the dishonest tactics employed by animal rights activists in their attempt to gather 'information'. First they have a 'conclusion', then they scramble around trying to find anything that will prove their claims. Honesty does not come into it.

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I am not sure how big Norwegian Elkhounds are, but I would not start jumping them or putting them over the raised equipment until they are at full height. If the the growth plates at the ends of a dog's bones have not fully closed, then putting stress on them will cause damage that may show up as arthritis when the dog is older. The tunnel and the weaves and working the dog on the right hand side are good things to start when the dog is young. This can be started at the same time that obedience training is started.

Instead of 'vet shopping', you would be better off sticking to the one vet. This will give the vet a chance to rule out the most obvious causes of the itchy rash first, and then do further tests if they are neccessary. They will be able to observe the progress of any treatment, and work with you in eliminating any possible allergies, one at a time. A vet will always suggest the most likely cause of the problem first, and if you keep going to different vets, you probably wont get much further than this.

I agree with Amhailte, and what Ninaandted's friend was told at the lecture. However individual dogs vary somewhat, and different lines within breeds vary too. It's not just what is going on within a dog's mind though, the physical characteristics of a breed do play a part. You could expect a dog with big floppy ears to be totally absorbed in following a scent. When the nose is on the ground, the ears act to 'scoop' the scents towards the nose, giving a more intense experience for the dog. I am not surprised that Lulu the cav likes to follow her nose. In your obedience training, your task is to provide a greater motivation for your dog than the reward she gets from sniffing. I don't know a lot about Bostons, but I would guess that the reward she would get in running towards or staying close to a person who will interact with her may be motivation enough. Terriers love a game. Should you persevere? Yes. All dogs can be trained, you just have to learn what motivates your dog, and knowing your breeds' traits will help you discover the best motivational tools to use. Some breeds and individual dogs are more challenging than others. It is quite acceptable to have different expectations for different breeds though. If your goal is to have an obedience champion by two years of age, you might select certain breeds that will increase your chance of acheiving this. If your expectation is just to have a dog that will respect you and generally do as it is told, then you can have that with any breed.

In scenario 2, what makes you think it was prey drive? There are many reasons why a dog would bolt after another dog. You haven't told us what your dog did when it got to the other dog, so it makes it hard to work out why she did, and how to stop that. It might even be a leadership issue. What did you do in scenario 1? Or is the dog still in the drop position now? :D

The price has nothing to do with the competition. The price is set by brand positioning. The product is seen as a premium product, so will be charged at a premium price. Don't ever think that grocery prices in supermarkets will ever drop any lower than what consumers are prepared to pay, regardless of competition and regardless of the actual cost of producing the product. Same company as the canned food, different factory. The treats (straps) are made of meat by-product and caramel. Mmm smells good in that factory. The other treats are made in another factory again. I am not sure what the latest treats are made from, but a few years ago they were made from by-products. Treats are just that, treats. They are not intended to form a large part of a dog's diet. The canned food is very nutritious and a balanced diet, containing muscle meat, not whole chickens, and not by-product. But the treats are just like lollies for dogs.

The Nature's Gift treats are made in a different factory than the canned food, and made out of different ingredients. The canned food is great, almost good enough to eat yourself...lol

Check your garden for Wandering Jew plant. It is a common weed that many dogs are allergic to.

The ingredients list won't give you the weights. The heating process may destroy a few of the nutrients, but most will remain. The nutritional information panel on a can of food is based on what is in the can after cooking. This comment is not directed at you Erny, but I have to say that I find it ridiculous that a lot of people will regard a can of tuna or sardines as a healthy and nutritious food item for human consumption, yet will regard any can of dog food with disdain. I'm not sure if they realise that the canning process is the same for all food, human or pet food. It is far safer and more nutritious to give a dog a good brand of canned food than it is to feed them one of the poorer quality fresh 'pet minces' that are available from some butchers.

No it doesn't. The canning process preserves the food, there is no preservative added to canned food. Some canned food is very good for dogs. You cannot judge a food by the way it is packaged, it is what is inside that counts. If you read the labels on canned food you will find that there is a huge difference between different brands. While there is better quality food available than canned food, some canned food is much more nutritious than many brands of dry food. For weight reduction, read the labels on any commercial food, and don't feed any that have sugar listed as one of the ingredients.

I didn't see this topic before. The GAP dogs have been getting Big Dog barf mix for the last few months, and I can highly recommend it. Their coats are so shiny, and they are so healthy and full of life. Not one single dog has turned its nose up at the product. The product is very easy to store and serve, and smells ok too. Big Dog is so generous to be supporting our program by supplying us with this food. The proprietor, Chris Essex is a top guy. ;)

I have a dog and cat nail file. It's like a human nail file but bigger. It has a V-shaped profile. Yes I have painted my dog's nails in the past. Polish with silver sparkles in it.

I found a cheaper alternative to a Dremel at Super Cheap Auto. It was $40. It has a remote attachment so that you don't have to hold the motor part close to the dog. That website is great Erny, and will help ensure that the dog is not burned by incorrect use of the tool.

If a dog is on advocate, the only reason you would give a drontil is for tapeworm. Tapeworm is usually only a problem if the dog has fleas, and is not really a killer worm (in adults anyway), so I would not give a drontil to an advocate treated dog unless I suspected that the dog might have tapeworm.

The important thing about socialisation, is that these experiences must be enjoyable for the puppy. Otherwise they will have the opposite effect to what is intended. Gradually build up to louder noises instead of exposing them to loud noises straight away. Have a supply of tasty treats so that the dog associates things with a reward. Make sure that your puppy does not get overtired and is allowed to sleep undisturbed. Other experiences for your dog could include - Water features and fountains Ceiling fans Glass sliding doors The beach Boats

We feed 3 or 4 cups of coprice working dog, and 2 or 3 barf patties a day to all of the foster dogs in our program. They are all doing really well on that diet. Coprice sponsor the Greyhound Adoption Programs in a few states, and we are grateful for their support.

We use Advocate on the GAP dogs. Spot treatment is easy to apply, and does fleas, heartworm, mites, and all intestinal worms except tapeworm.

I would stick to the gradual changeover. It can't hurt your dog. Perhaps try to find a better grade of mince than pet mince. If you can't afford human mince, then try racing mince. I agree with RnB, fasting might be dangerous for a puppy, especially one that has vomiting or diarhoea.

It can happen with any change of diet. It can also happen for other reasons too. Perhaps start off with a mix of barf, and the dry food you were feeding before, and gradually change him to the new food over a week or two. Some pet mince is better than others, it may be that the pet mince you are buying is not a really good one. Keep an eye on your dog, I hope he's feeling better soon.

Do you mind me asking where you brought them? Mine are just normal dog coats and don't fit the sleek greyhound shape as well as I'd like They are weatherbeata coats and we got them at a special price after I contacted the wholesaler. We had to buy 100 to get the good price though, and cannot choose what colours we will get. They fit really well except we need to shorten the strap, so it looks like we will be having a sewing day next week. When people buy a greyhound from us they get a free coat. We will also be selling some to raise funds for GAP, so if you want to buy one they will be $30. Here are some websites that have patterns for hound coats. Greyhound Manor Greyhounds in Need

I have just purchased 100 water resistant greyhound coats, that should last me a while. If greyhounds get too cold in winter, they grow a yukky fluffy winter coat, and they shed it all when the weather warms up again.