aussielover

It's very easy to deal with vet path, they are very accommodating and offer free courier service (this is in nsw) and one off payments. I've dealt with them for a few clients and my own dogs and have been very impressed. Being a newer test in Australia, some vets aren't familiar or comfortable with Titre testing. I'd encourage owners to urge their vet to get in contact with vet path in WA as I have found them very helpful and reasonably priced.

Get her vet checked. She may have a mild yeast/bacteria build up, this can often give them a very doggy smell. Bathe her in a medicated shampoo. I don't notice my lab has a particularly bad smell but I guess I could just be used to it. My border collie smells more doggy to me, especially when wet. My lab gets clipped for summer as well as we have a lot of ticks around

Wow, I must have missed that part - can you quote it please? So, I still dont understand how someone who can take their pup to work is the same is someone who leaves a babty puppy home alone all day? Just read the original post... Jed has clarified what she meant in further posts but the OP reads like people who work full time shouldn't get a puppy

I find that story very odd as my experience has been that they are very unwilling/unable to do anything if the dog is presented for veterinary attention at some stage, regardless of obvious abuse, neglect of maltreatment. I would have thought a hard copy of the vet history would be enough turn them away.

If Jed and others dogs can't handle being alone for a good part of the day, even if they receive lots of interaction before and after work and on the weekends then I actually think it's good they are upfront with their puppy buyers. That way, there is no disappointment. As others have said there are many dogs who can and do cope with this situation. If this is your situation, there are plenty of responsible breeders willing to consider your situation so go to one of them. Personally I think dogs are very adaptable and can thrive on a lot situations. I think a dog is better off in a home where the owner works full time but spends time exercising and training them out of work hours and allows them inside at night, compared to an outside dog with someone home all day but hardly receives any attention. I also work full time but my dogs go to doggy daycare or come to work with me. They are given the opportunity to do the work they are bred for and do agility. I think they have a good life but as always, I'm sure there are dogs out there who are better off and get more attention. With the increasing popularity of doggy daycare and dog walkers I would have thought working full time would be less of an issue.

I was part of a discussion recently where many people were implying that breeders were the main cause for overpopulation in animal shelters and that breeders and people who purchase purebred dogs were responsible for the death of 1000's of dogs each year that would have otherwise been adopted. The disturbing thing is that many of these people are working in the veterinary/pet industry. I do not believe this is true at all. The cause for over population in shelters is the irresponsible owners who dump them there in the first place. These people are solely responsible for the death of these dogs. Its unfair to blame breeders or other potential dog owners. Sure, some breeders and owners are part of the larger problem but most of the responsibility lies with the owner who dumped/surrendered the dog. Yes, buying a shelter dog is potentially saving a life but is not for everyone. I believe many shelter dogs would make suitable pets, some immediately and some with a lot of work. If you get a puppy, you run the risk of not really knowing how it will turn out in terms of looks, size or temperament. If you get an adult dog direct from a shelter again, you don't really know its temperament as the shelter environment often changes behaviour. An older dog will have had the opportunity to practice undesirable behaviours for months, even years and may take a lot of work to fix those behaviours. True 'no kill' shelters are even more of a risk because they won't euthanise unsuitable dogs. With so many healthy, good tempered dogs out there needing homes, I don't believe there is a place for rehoming dogs with serious behavioural issues such as dog aggression, resource guarding, anxiety/phobia or human aggression. A better option imo, is a rescue organisation who places dogs into foster homes before release. I rarely advise new owners to adopt straight from a pound. I know some people who would not have a dog if they could not get a dog from a responsible breeder. They have certain requirements which makes any random dog from the pound an unsuitable choice. Surely they should be commended not condemned for doing their research and only getting a dog that they are pretty sure will fit with their needs. Personally I have no problems with a mixed breed dog, although my preference is for a purebred pup from a good breeder. I would look to going through a reputable rescue group though if I couldn't get a purebred.

That's a really good point Ams. Just wondering if any cat experts have any input on this? My understanding is that cat flu is only spread by a carrier cat sneezing or coughing directly onto another cat and is not spread by bedding, bowls, general touching, etc. FIV on the other hand is the one that is far more easily spread just by cats being in the same area and sharing bowls, etc. Do I have this right? No I think you have it backwards. Cat flu if very easily spread thru direct sneezing/coughing or indirectly coming into contact with dirty bedding, food bowls etc FIV is like HIV and spread via blood or other body fluids but not very easily transmissible.

We actually insist that cats are not placed on the floor in their carrier. We ask clients to place them on a seat or on our front desk in an elevated position. Being on the floor really stresses them out, especially when people let their dogs go up to them. It's not very nice for the vet to have to deal with a stressed out cat! We don't get many dogs up on the seats unless they're in their owners arms or laps.

Actually they have found that seemingly trivial things like the direction of a hair whorl, and whether the dog is left or right "handed" are indicators of success in a guide dog training program. http://www.journalvetbehavior.com/article/S1558-7878(08)00078-6/abstract As for the original article, it does seem a bit unnecessary. In my experience working with dogs, I find that smaller dogs aggressive behaviours are better tolerated by owners, the general public and even those of us who work in the animal industry. I also think that a lot of the behaviour comes down to the genetics of the dog and the amount of training the owner has done with it.

Clicker training? I found this helped with both my lab and my border. They are both food obsessed, actually the lab is more food obsessed but the border had more difficulty actually focusing on training around the food. I just use a marker word now with my lab as she knows when we are training. I'm still using the clicker with my border though as it helps focus her on the task.

Just ignore it, at least they're not letting their dogs run up and approach yours (even if it is for the wrong reason!) I have the opposite problem, with a labrador and a border collie, people assume they are friendly and let their dogs run up to them. They are friendly but its hard enough walking 2 dogs and the border collie does get nervous of other dogs soometimes. Luckily my lab always puts herself between them. I especially hate when they let their aggressive SWFs run up and bite my dogs legs and think its funny So at least you don't have that problem. Personally I wouldn't let my dogs approach another being walked on lead without asking the owner first. I would probably cross the road to avoid this if necessary. AT the same time I wouldn't exactly run away screaming and there's no way I'd be picking up my dogs lol.

Yes lower north shore is a very high tick area. In summer you will usually see around 1-2 tick cases per week on average. I used to live around there and also work in a vet practice.

With the addition of a new dog : Blondie the Border Collie, i'm going to be busy next year! I probably won't get to agility trials as much but I'd like to focus on RATG for Mindy and Herding for Blondie Mindy: I'd like her to get her SDX and SPDX, she only needs one more pass in each ADO and JDO, 4 and 2 more go respectively. Possibly ADM and JDM but realistically I don't think we will go to enough trials Do some more ADAA trials Get her NRA in the Retrieving ability test Blondie: Start training and trialling in agility: aim for JD and maybe AD titles. Get started in herding and maybe do some ANKC herding tests.

As the title suggests... Any tips on getting a dog fetch a ball?

Yes but I don't know how to upload them? Assume I have to go through YouTube or similar?

Now our agility trialling year is over, I can't believe what we have managed to achieve! Mindy now has gained her ADX, JDX, and GDX titles and is one qually away from gaining her SDX and SPDX titles! She also has some passes in ADO and JDO. This is more than I had ever imagined we would be able to achieve in a year. Mindy has come on so well after starting lessons with the wonderful Vickie! Looking forward to a great year as well next year!

Good girl Mindy!!!! Yeah it was fun, was almost too much fun for the girls Awwww so cute!!!

It might be worth getting a referral to see a veterinary dentist to see if there are any options that are not extraction, such as crown reduction or orthodontic work. Agree. Removing a canine in a young dog can lead to jaw problems. I have a friend whose dog has had a plate for a similar problem. Was around $2000 I think.

Well done everyone! Ruby star- would be so fun running your dogs together lol! Our partner is another black lab and they're so cute together! What am amazing achievement DD! Congratulations that's awesome winning at nationals! Kazak your boy is very cute, nice to see less common breeds out competing :) Can I just add that whilst I was doing mindys ANKC titles I worked out she also gained her AAD title (AADA) in just 3 trials. She's really coming along nicely! With a lot of help from Vickie!

Really depends on the vet, prices can vary considerably depending on location of the vet. Also depends on how difficult and how many teeth need to be removed As a range id say between $300 for a simple extraction and scale and polish to up to $800 for multiple difficult extractions

She can get an injection immediately to terminate the pregnancy (she needs 2 injections 24hrs apart). Definitely try to confirm with her previous vet whether or not she is spayed as I'm sure you wouldn't want to put her thru unnecessary surgery. If she is not spayed then desexing ASAP is the best option. Pregnancy can be detected 4 weeks post mating by ultrasound.

So happy with my girl who gained her ADX and JDX titles this weekend with a total of 3 first places and 2 second places over the 2 days.

Thursday at 1.30 erskine park $5. PM for more details if still interested

I agree that drive level doesn't affect clicker training, at least at the level of what the average person wants to achieve. I have a low drive/energy dog, yet she responds very well to clicker/marker training and has been taught lots of tricks this way. Using positive reinforcement, she even enjoys agility and retrieving training now. I could get more out of her but I'm happy with the way we are going at the moment. I've seen others with even lower drive dogs than mine also achieve success with clicker training. It's lots of fun for the owner and dog and can only help to build the relationship, so I can't see any downsides to giving it a go :)

Even though the person who dumped the dog did the wrong thing, perhaps they did it in the hope that it would have the outcome it did- rescued by a caring person and able to enjoy the last days if it's life being loved by someone else. I thinks it's unfair to assume the owner knew the dog had cancer or even the reason behind dumping the dog at all. In some cases old, sick or "ugly" animals are the first to be adopted as people feel sorry for them. It's the young healthy staffy types and working breed types that are overlooked in many cases.