Odin-Genie

Thanks everyone. My dog has been on antibiotics and vitamin B tablets for about 8 days now and his nose looks like its completely healed. The texture is still smooth but everything else looks normal. I was so happy to see his progress. All the discolouration is gone. The black colour has come back. All the sores have healed. Wow!!!

I have kept him inside 9am to 5 pm with walks at 5.30 am and 7 pm to avoid direct sunlight.

All sorted....sort of. The initial issue was anal glands but my GR had a thorough check up at the vets today. No infections and anal glands are completely clear. However she has developed a nasty hot spot on her bum due to the excessive humidity last few days. That's why she was so upset. The vet has now cleaned it and given medication.

Can anyone recommend a good chiro in Sydney? I'm on the upper north shore.

Anal glands can be an issue if hips are out of alignment.

Thanks. I didn't know that.

Find a good canine chiropractor and get her hips checked. I would also return to the vet to ensure there is no infection.

Do Chiropractors treat anal glands, or do you think there could be an issue with her hips?

Thanks everyone. Does the nose get back to normal? Are there any side effects of the medication?

Yesterday when we got home, our Golden Retriever looked really uncomfortable. She would get up, then immediately sit down and lick her anal area. She wasn't scooting, just sitting down.

She is nearly five and has never had issues with anal glands. Her poos are almost always very firm.

We rushed her to the vet who said that her anal glands are full. She tried to express them but came back to say that she could not empty them completely since my dog was getting very anxious. She also said that it can be a very painful procedure and that if my dog isn't better in a day then we should take her back, get her sedated and express the anal glands again.

We took our dog for a walk when we got home and she walked fine. When we got home, she was walking a bit and not sitting down as frequently. This morning she ran around the park.

However she continues to lick her anal area and prefers to sit down. Would that be because she is sore? She seems to be better but not 100%. Do we need to take her back to the vet, or wait another day? Is there anything else we can do?

There are a couple of different approaches but the cases I have treated have either been with topical steroid creams, or a combination of doxycycline (an antibiotic with immunomudulating effected) and niacinamide. Reducing sun exposure is also important.

Thanks Rappie. Does the nose ever get back to normal? Also, how much sun is too much? Can he go on say 30 minute walks when it's sunny?

My elkhound had a biopsy on his nose to check for canine DLE (discoid lupus erythematosus) since his sore nose wasn't healing. The results have come back positive for DLE. I am meeting the vet this Friday to get his stiches removed and discuss his treatment. But does anyone have a dog with this condition? If so, how do you manage it?

The good thing is that this is very local and is limited to his nose.

While looking at the rescue listing I came across a dog that was listed as 'mature' at six years.

My elkhound just completed five years and I still feel he is a puppy (even though he is not), and he behaves like one. My goldy will be five in three months, and she definitely looks and behaves like a puppy. Most people on our daily walks refer to them as puppies!!

So when do you start considering your dog mature? Or is it breed related?

Occasionally you have a dog come into your life that grabs your heart in a way that no other dog can. You love all your dogs but this dog just bonds and connects with you in a way the others can't/don't. When I was in my teens I was given a kelpieX dog called Nina. She originally belonged to my next door neighbours and apparently she was born in an Aborginal camp in the QLD outback and her friend had brought her back after a job there and given Nina to her (who knows if this story is true or not, as my neighbours were quite druggies) Anyhoo, they had Nina for 3 days before bringing her to me and asking if I could take her as she was "too annoying". Anyway I had Nina for 3 years before she got out of the yard and never returned. I was devastated and walked the streets for months looking for her. I called the pounds and shelters for the past 5 years checking if they had found her. Since Nina I have never given my heart or connected with another dog like that. Tonight however, I was calling Maybe but called her Nina by accident and realised in that second that I loved her as much as Nina. I have finally found a new heart dog. It's a wonderful feeling. I feel like I'm betraying my other dogs with this revelation but there's nothing I can do. I think I can also finally stop calling pounds and shelters and move on and let go.

I know it's all soppy and stuff but just thought I would share. :D

Beautiful. I'm happy for you.

She's very lovely. I would still consider that quite light though, kinda like a light caramel.

she looks exactly like my GR. I love to see her do zoomies. But I have seen goodies much darker than her.

I would put my own dog down if it viciously attacked someone that hadn't laid a violent hand on me.

People should be able to have heated conversations and be angry without a dog jumping through a car window to attack them.

This dog should have been under way more control and is paying for its owner's foolishness.

PTS is a last resort, whatever the circumstances.

I've made that mistake once and I won't be doing it again.

Best you don't raise your voice in anger to someonme with a Maremma in tow.

I have seen it often enough, heard similar stories from others, and appraise all potential puppy owners of the fact.

As I said, its best to have a witness

If my maremma was already on paper as a dangerous dog and then he jumped through the window and viciously attacked someone because they were annoyed with me, he'd be pts. He's protected me on a number of occasions but not once has he gotten physical. Also I did say viciously attack which is what the dog did, I don't consider a bite or two a vicious attack but the dog mauled this person by the sound of it. Its overreaction is scary and the dog should be put down.

Not talking about this particular incident. But if a dog jumps out of a car and attacks someone, whose fault is that? Why is killing the dog the first reaction? Why isn't anyone saying "if my dog jumps out of the car and attacks someone, I should go to prison"!!!

A dog is not responsible for managing itself. We are.

I will never ever automatically PTS my dogs unless they were in severe pain that could not be treated. I would go to any lengths to save my dogs. They are part of my family. But because I care for them so much, I would also go to extremes to ensure they are never put in a position where they could be harmed (including by harming others).

Even if the dog in this story is PTS, the owner should have to spend some time in prison as well. Too often dogs pay the price for their owners' stupidity.

same here, all of mine are desexed, none are fat. If desexed dogs put on weight easily they should be cheaper to care for, cause they dont need to be fed as much.

Same here. Both my dogs are desexed and are quite lean and muscular. In fact people often look at my goldy and ask me if I don't feed her enough since they are used to chubby goldies.

My elkhound makes me smile when he sneaks up on the bed in the middle of the night and I wake up to furry paws on my neck!!! Or the time when I woke up to find him using my head as a pillow!!!

Yay took my very reactive dog there today, live half an hour away and did not know about this. Just brilliant, I warned the lady in the other pen and she was very understanding. Managed to get him running around, still on leash and once he settled he ignored the other dogs. Thankyou for this thread, hi to any dol-ers if you see my noisy bulldog please give us a huge area if space. I will always leave if he can't settle but this is great training for him as he can learn to ignore other dogs while he is safe behind a fence.

That's great hankdog. I'm probably more than an hour away, but I will give it a go when the weather clears. Did you have to book in advance?

Acacia Lodge at Londonderry will allow this. Large paddock. You do have to book a time. 1/2 hour $10 for up to 2 dogs. There is nothing on the website as yet but I believe it is in the process of being added. A lot of people want an off leash area where they are not mixing dogs.

That's a bit far but sounds like a good idea. Can you have more than two dogs (at a higher rate of course)?

My Elkhound does that. Whenever someone he likes pets him he sort of leans and puts his weight on their legs, or their shoulders/arms/chest if they happen to be sitting (and sometimes just flops into the lap)!!

But they are for public use so you can't really stop people from using them, apart from asking nicely and hoping people will be understanding. They've even had trouble at agility trials with people using the pens next to competing dogs, even when there are signs saying the pens are booked and the public cannot enter. They're also not very big, not much bigger than a backyard really.

I don't think there are any areas in sydney similar to keppala in VIC. Are you looking for a private area because your dogs are DA or because you want to do training without distractions?

I have heard that Deep Creek in Narrabean may become the property (with sole access rights) of a training club in the near future which may be something to look into. It's a nice area with a creek, waterfall and large grass area, most dogs love it. However it is heavily tick infested and snakes have been sighted. It is not fully enclosed and only about 500m back from a very busy road, so only suitable for dogs that are under pretty good control.

Thanks aussielover. No my dogs are not DA. In fact they are very good with other dogs. But I worry about strange dogs after hearing so many horror stories and would like a large place where I could get my dogs and their playmates together for a play date or just do some focused training.

My gorgeous boy not only plays with his poo - he rolls in and plays with all types of poo, horse, cow, other dogs!

It's a gross dog thing... we've learnt to keep baby wipes on hand to wash him down when we least expect we would need to!

I read it somewhere that it is dog's nature to roll in the poo? And others as well?

I have all kind of wipes with me just in case too!

Most dogs don't roll in their own poo or other dogs poo. They like rolling in possum, rabbit and cow poo because it smells good to them.

True. My Elkhound has been very particular about avoiding dog poos and areas that may have dog poos since he was a puppy. He wouldn't even pick up his ball if it rolls into the poo area of the backyard!!!! But he likes kangaroo/cow poos as we discovered to our horror when we took him to a farm for vacation. My Goldy has no interest in any kind of poo but she happily rolled over a dead bird (with intestines hanging out) in a park. She was put under the tap and washed immediately and then was given a proper bath when we got home

What an appalling site to see this morning, four glass boxes in the window of the new pet shop:

Box 1 around 7-8 cavoodles (?) or something x poodle

Box 2 7-8 Golden Retrievers

Box 3 3-4 Huskies (around 10-12 weeks old at a guess) plus 2-3 of another breed

Box 4 7-8 of lots of different breeds

Over crowding to the max. I spoke to a lady out the front who said she went in to ask about the GR's and they had no papers which was no surprise to me as a reputable breeder would never do this. Another lady at the bank said the police had come in yesterday as someone had complained. I walked in and was telling my 5 year old in a very loud voice about puppy farmers and that this is so wrong that these puppies are here and the owners of the shop should be ashamed of themselves. No-one challenged me which is probably a good thing as my blood was boiling. I couldn't get out of the shopping centre quick enough and I am still so angry.... :mad :mad

I have seen Malamute puppies in a pet shop window. While this is horrible for all puppies, it is particularly horrible to be crowded in a small glass case for large active breeds like GRs and Huskies.

What a great idea! I would be wrapped if there were something like this in our area. You could exercise your dogs in complete safety. Like a leash free but all to yourself. I hadn't heard of this before. I would hire it even for an hour a week purely for the peace of mind.

Hi BC Crazy, there are quite a few of these in the US but I haven't heard of any here except Kepala in Melbourne.

Hi, St Ives has dog pens (around the other side from the main oval). These are booked on Saturday from 12-5pm for dog obedience classes, and I think on Wednesday night for Agility classes, but other times, they are open to the public to use. There are 3 pens that have high fencing and water/taps in each, as well as poo bags. Hope this helps.

Thanks Adnil444. Can you book these pens so that others don't get in? I normally take my dogs to the dog park in our area very early in the morning or late in the evening when there are no other dogs usually. But I still have to keep an eye on all three gates all the times to ensure we have enough time to get out if other dogs are approaching the park. That means that I can't really focus on training or playing with my dogs.

Are there any dog exercise areas in Sydney that can be booked for private use (ie not sharing with other dogs) if you don't belong to any clubs? I believe Kepala in Vic has this. But I haven't found anything similar in and around Sydney.

I agree O-G some of the answers are ratehr so -so. I think even my mild mannered Whippets would fail that test as one will allow people to handle him but pretends they don't really exist, then other would jump all over them. Also if I leave a room in an unfamiliar place he would whine and not settle, they both stand at the door and stare were I have left as it is.

The small fluffy test would be a fail and greating a large dog woulkdn't go so well either. I imagine in a kennel environment they would be very stressed and would not cope very well at all. They are the best, easiest going dogs I have ever owned. I think their whole bloody system needs an overhaul but this test is very bad and if being performed by people with little knowledge it is even more dangerous

When I rated my dogs they easily were at 157. That's because I know that in a kennel environment, they would resist going in and out of doors, will not be very responsive. That doesn't mean they are problem dogs. They get along well with all people and dogs, have no territorial/guarding problems, and are generally happy and relaxed.

How many dogs really wag their tails and happily settle down in a stressful pound environment? They might as well just decide to PTS randomly picked dogs.