blondeborder

O.K. So they're eating their dry "dry", loving meat off the bone, raw mince, eggs. Seem very happy with it. ( although they loved thier cooked food it dissapeared quick leaving them bored ). Expect several to go to their new homes on the weekend, so they should be prepared for whatever diet they end up on

In the first post you said you were feeding once a day??? was that just that particular part of the diet or are they getting one meal a day??

Agree with everyone else no weetbix ( a pet hate of mine) dry dog food not soaked and raw bones. At 6 weeks they have very sharp little teeth and they are perfect for shredding stuff.

They get their mince once a day and bickkies twice a day. Plus additional feeds if they look like they want it. Just gave them their 1st chicken wings, they are loving them, working kinda like a dummy, my house hasn't been this quiet in weeks! LOL

I thought though that dogs do need some carbs? My girl usually has oats, wheatgerm and rice in her dinner? Not a great deal, mainly meat, but I do give some.

Thanks eveyone More chewing it is. I wasn't sure if thier little teeth could handle it yet. I used to feed whole raw eggs to my girl when she was a pup. She loved them, great fun for her, but we stopped giving them as we were worried that she might take a fox bait if she came across one, as farmers lay poison eggs around here. I would love to feed goats milk but am having trouble finding any, (they probably don't need to much milk now anyway.) I will try them with some unsoaked dry today, they have eaten mums before LOL

I have 9 six week old Border Collie puppies, They are currently getting fed : soggy puppy biscuits ( Advance )with Puppy milk twice a day, and cooked mince with cottage cheese, yoghurt, egg, weetbix, cooked grated pumpkin and carrot with puppy milk once a day. I give them as much as they can eat. Does all this sound reasonable? I want them to have the healthiest possible start before they're off to their new homes. Any advice is appreciated.

Hi, I have a litter planned with my red (blonde) border collie. The father is black and white but had 2 red pups in his litter. Gypsy ( my girl ) was the only red pup from black and white parents. As I understant the male has a 50/50 chance of being a carrier of the e gene. And Gypsy is ee. So... if he is a carrier does that give a 50/50 chance of reds? Always seems to be less in the llitters I've seen in real life. Any more info is appreciated.

OK so we did well with our odds.... 5 reds and 4 black and white, 5 boys and 4 girls. Dad was a carrier:)

My little one cut her paw pad this morning, we think it was on some glass as we were staying at a B&B last night. It bled at first but stopped quite quickly. I've cleaned it in some warm salty water and applied some antiseptic. She isn't limping but doesn't look like she wants to put pressure on it either. I tried putting a sock on but it was removed rather quickly She's happily snoozing and wandering around the house, doesn't seem to be too bothered.

Is this the right way to go about it? Do you think it needs vet attention? I'm hoping the little flap will dry and fall off... I'll try keep her off it as much as possible, but she's a one year old Aussie so that's going to be easier said than done!

When my BC cut her paw we put a baby sock on over the bandage and taped around the top, (not too tight). This helped keep the bandage on and clean. Her paw was quite a bit worse than yours, but they heal really quick:)

Hi I was wondering if anyone knows the prevalence of heartworm in the south of WA? I am thinking it would be more of a problem in the tropics? I have always used advocate on our girl, (Border Collie) without problems but we are breeding her in a week or so and have read lots of bad things about border collies and heartwormers recently which i was not previously aware of. Any suggestions?

I decided to stop heartworm treatment for at least the time being... have a healthy litter of 9 Border Collie pups. 5 Australian red, and 4 Black and white. Thanks for all your help:)

Hi, Just doing some reading and came across an article about a worm that lives under a dogs skin in a burrow? Fact or fiction?

just out of interest are you a registered breeder ?

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No. I live on a farm, my dog is not from a registered breeder as with most border collies who live the farm life! She's beaut at rounding up sheep, but I don't think she'd be interested in the show ring!

I am REALLY sorry about this - but - if you don't know what the colour permutations are for the breeding you are planning then you should not be doing it!

Thanks:( There can be a lot be learned from peoples personal experience above and beyond what I've read in books. I know quite a bit about the ee gene. Was hoping for a decent convo. with likeminded people, thought that was what a forum was all about, not for you to decide who should and should'nt be breeding.

Hi, I have a litter planned with my red (blonde) border collie. The father is black and white but had 2 red pups in his litter. Gypsy ( my girl ) was the only red pup from black and white parents. As I understant the male has a 50/50 chance of being a carrier of the e gene. And Gypsy is ee. So... if he is a carrier does that give a 50/50 chance of reds? Always seems to be less in the llitters I've seen in real life. Any more info is appreciated.

Where abouts are you in southern WA? your local vet should know the incidence of it in your local area.

We are in Rosa Brook just inland of margaret river. Will be calling our local mobile vet soon, he's really good, the ones in town just read the back of the packet and recite it to you, they are terrible for info.

I do not recommend daily, monthly or yearly treatment for heartworm when climatic conditions are not appropriate for heartworm development. Heartworm needs temperatures above 18C (day and night) for one month to develop. If the temperature is higher, 27C (day and night), then it only takes 10 days for heartworm to develop. If either of these situations occurs, you should treat for heartworm. If the temperature has been under 14C at any point for longer than a few hours, then there is no need to treat for heartworm, as this drop in temperature prevents heartworm development.

It nearly always drops below this temp. here at night. Think i'll forget about heartworm at least for while shes pregnant and feeding pups. She's long haired too so probably would'nt suffer too many bites from mozzies. Thanks for the info

Hi I was wondering if anyone knows the prevalence of heartworm in the south of WA? I am thinking it would be more of a problem in the tropics? I have always used advocate on our girl, (Border Collie) without problems but we are breeding her in a week or so and have read lots of bad things about border collies and heartwormers recently which i was not previously aware of. Any suggestions?

I have ALWAYS wormed bitches as soon as they come in season, then again 1-2wks before they are due to have the puppies. Never had any problems and never had puppies poo out worms. I worm the bitch again once pups are weaned and start worming puppies from 2wks of age. I use Drontal tablets and liquid.

She is just showing signs of coming into heat, LOTS of swelling going on, no drips yet though. Will be worming her today, she was tapewormed a few days ago, and has had advocate for heartworm 2 weeks ago, so is covered there for the moment. Will wait to worm her again until 2 weeks before pups are due. I have revolution for her am tempted to give it to her now, but have just read so many bad things about heartwormers and border collies, She has always been fine with Advocate, but this is new, catch 22 don't want my baby getting heartworm, but I don't think It's common down south, but I don't want to poison her either.....

All I can tell you is when I lived in Queensland and Heart Wormed monthly I would Worm the bitches with broad spectrum wormer ie = Drontal etc.

But as the all the dogs were on Ivermec for Heart Worm and Ivermec also does stomach worms I would still continue with the monthly Heart Worm procedure through out the pregnancy.

I would re worm the bitch again with a stomach wormer when I did the pups at 2 weeks.

This procedure has never had any adverse effect on the bitch or the pups.

Forgot to say I wormed the bitches as soon as I saw them in season if they were to be bred with.

I was using Ivermectin before I think (Advocate).?, but wasn't too sure how safe it was for pregnant bitches. So I have been to the Vet and they put me on to revolution for fleas and heartworm which is apparently better tested. Think I'll just worm her with drontal now( She's just starting to show signs of being on heat), and then use the revolution later on in the pregnancy, instead of the Advocate.

Hi,

I am just wondering what everyone else is using for worming pregnant bitches. I am thinking of using drontal and revolution?

Does any one know of any herbal remedies which are safe for dogs and have a calming effect.

My 10 month border collie has been ordered to have complete rest for 2 weeks, by the vet, for a posible "pulled" toe. (we are still not too sure of the actual injury, x-rays showed nothing, but she seems to have pain in the toe and has been limping for a while.) She has been confined to our small lounge room or chained outside for short periods on a 1.5m lead and has been pretty good so far, but its only been 24 hours...and the vet gave her rimadyl which is supposed to relive the pain and swelling.I was thinking of soaking her bickies in chamomile tea, or mabe trying valerian?

Does any one know how safe these are and how much to give.

Ummm I hardly think chaining the dog outside is a sensible option...

I'd suggest obtaining a crate and keep her crated, take her out on lead for toilet breaks as necessary.

Although we were outside with her, the tying option was unsucessful, too much activity, horses etc.

Unfortunately there is nowhere here to get a crate, though next time I'm in the city I will check them out, think she will love it as a kennel for summer and then if any injurys occur, I can just shut the door.

We got a second opinion yesterday from another vet, who thinks rest probably will not help at this stage, as the injury is already a month old and the ligaments dont repair themselves, although we will persevere.

We got a second opinion from another vet yesterday who believes she has torn the ligament in her toe. He could bend it right back, which made us feel a little ill. He seems to think it is a minor injury, which will probably not improve, even with rest, and she will probably learn to live with it and just stop favouring it after a while. The main issue was to keep her nail short as she will rest this toe, and if the nail gets long and keeps the toe in an elevated position after it heals,it will never align back with the others. He said sheep dogs often will collapse the whole paw like this, making them kind of flat footed as they tend to put a lot of stress on their joints ( funny, the other vet hardly talked to us and cost $340 more).

Ive stopped the rimadyl and I'm going to continue to keep her quiet and, with luck, the fact she's a puppy will be on our side and she will heal.

Does any one know of any herbal remedies which are safe for dogs and have a calming effect.

My 10 month border collie has been ordered to have complete rest for 2 weeks, by the vet, for a posible "pulled" toe. (we are still not too sure of the actual injury, x-rays showed nothing, but she seems to have pain in the toe and has been limping for a while.) She has been confined to our small lounge room or chained outside for short periods on a 1.5m lead and has been pretty good so far, but its only been 24 hours...and the vet gave her rimadyl which is supposed to relive the pain and swelling.I was thinking of soaking her bickies in chamomile tea, or mabe trying valerian?

Does any one know how safe these are and how much to give.

Update - We got a second opinion from another vet yesterday who believes she has torn the ligament in her toe. He could bend it right back, which made us feel a little ill. He seems to think it is a minor injury, which will probably not improve, even with rest, and she will probably learn to live with it and just stop favouring it after a while. The main issue was to keep her nail short as she will rest this toe, and if the nail gets long and keeps the toe in an elevated position after it heals,it will never align back with the others. He said sheep dogs often will collapse the whole paw like this, making them kind of flat footed as they tend to put a lot of stress on their joints ( funny, the other vet hardly talked to us and cost $340 more).

Ive stopped the rimadyl and I'm going to continue to keep her quiet and, with luck, the fact she's a puppy will be on our side and she will heal.

Do you have a crate for her? BCs can be such a bugger to keep off there feet (one of the reasons for bandaging it rather than keeping it open).

If she seems to be licking the betadine off maybe a bandage would be a good idea.

Think I might need one. Even just to let it soak in for a while before it gets licked off.

Are they still running the Puppy Classes? Not that she will be able to go for a while.

Do you have a crate for her? BCs can be such a bugger to keep off there feet (one of the reasons for bandaging it rather than keeping it open).

No I don't have a crate for her. She seems to be doing a lot better a keeping off her feet than I thought she would, as long as I ingnore her. Any excitement could be a problem though. Poor little thing, she does love to run around.

Mabe I will get some non stick wound pads and bandages to keep on standby. Don't think she will be able to keep it up too long!

Ok have just read a article that said to wash and make sure that its clean and then put betadine on it. They also said it was best to let it air dry and don't worry about wrapping it. Keep her quite and give the vet a ring if your worried.

Cheers for that, i thought it would be best to leave unwrapped, I'm trying to keep her inside today, and quiet, but they're about to burn off over the road, and there is about to be a lot of sirens and action, so we'll see how it goes!

I'm hoping it won't get infected, I've put on betadine and she seems to be doing a pretty good job of keeping it clean, but I'll be straight to the vet if it looks dodgy.

Help! My 5 month border collie has a deep cut to her paw pad. The large pad in the centre has been cut so about a quarter of the pad has been detached? I have been told that the paw pads can't be stitched and that dogs aren't very succeptible to tetanus, so I am unsure whether a trip to the vet would be a waste of time. I have been putting betadine on it ( she did it last night on I don't know what.) and it seems pretty clean.

Any-one with any suggestions?? I'm feeling really guilty.