Staff'n'Toller

I completed the elimination diet and my little one did very well. Her coat regrew and thickened, her skin improved, the yeasty/mousey smell went away and ears cleared up. She finished up on an extremely low pred dose.

however she lost one kilo in the process.(she is a near 3 kilo dog) She indeed went to a boney condition which I did not deem as satisfactory. Full bloods and urine post diet all came back normal. Due to the weight loss the vet advised me to pull her off the diet and onto a high cal diet as she was concerned at the weight loss.

Now four weeks out we have a better weight but back to the smelly itchy dog I thought was gone...vet suggested Hills allergy food but I am dubious because 1. It has chicken as a main ingredient (my girl was fed fresh chicken as a normal diet) 2.it is only reccomended for feeding in a period of 8 weeks and Im after a long term solution. Im happier to go non commercial but happy to have a combo of both a homemade diet and commercial, if for anything but balance. I was told by the vet that it is a human perspective one must eat different things (dogs do well on one thing)so maybe Im being to judgemental on diet variance.

Any ideas on what I can do from here...I want a happy NONitchy dog in GOOD condition.

What did you use? Z/d???? Roo and Potato????

I think Inc's aren't really supposed to have one as it means only one person needs to authorise a payment.

You must have a credit card linked to the account as a back-up payment source so if your club doesn't have one that's where you can become unstuck.

I found this on the pdf document from bluedogtraining.com.

Not sure if it relates?

Level 5:

Dog stiffens on approach and exhibits one or more of the following:

freeze,whale eye, low growl, piloerection, exaggerated guarding posture (rear end up high and

front end low and covering resource in a very stiff and still manner).

Raineth, Zig and I have always been one step forward and two steps back.. It can be very frustrating.

Well, what can I say about today - other than it was totally awesome.

I got so much out of it and Steve spent heaps of time with us.. He is doing up a training program for Zig and I to follow, so we may just go and do Rally-O next term, instead of obedience because I want to give his program 100%.. I know the higher obedience class won't tolerate that level of excitement (I have already been spoken to a couple of times, by someone in the class about talking to Zig too much and making him too excited)..

I came home and did a few minutes in the back yard with Zig, the same as what Steve was doing and the 'drive' he shows to do the same things, is unbelievable.

It is well worth the time and money to pick this his brain and get him to show you how to train..

Poor Ziggy was so sick going up and coming back. We stopped 3 times on the way up and the towel in his crate was soaking wet with drool. But he was fine as soon as he got out of the car.

Coming back we stopped 4 times to break it right up but it really made no difference.. He pants with his head down the whole way, poor guy.

He is exhausted after the trip, working with Steve and then the trip home.. So sound asleep on the lounge now..

Have you tried cerenia tablets?

I would be worried that any gundog with decent prey drive would head out into the bush hunting a lot.

Wei's may be too anxious for the visiting/kenneling that they require.

Although you say they don't want another working dog, they could possibly try AWDRI, stating their requirements for a laid back personality, they get all types of working mixes through there, and apparently quite a few don't make it to the website if they can match the dogs with their current applicants.

Perhaps something like mini poodle or mini schnauzer might be worth considering?

Gah.. I just got off the phone from Hills pet food after calling the vets to see if giving him the AD food will cause problems. As it is suspected he has addisons his phosphate levels are high ( not neccessary an indicator for addisons in akitas as he is a pacific rim dog and if the blood doesn't get spun down straight away the phosphate levels can actually increase for some reason) any way after doing my own research on the AD food i.e reading the can after I had fed it (I know I am stupid) I noticed that it has a increased level of phosphous in it.

So I rang my vet and they basically stated that I should only feed it if I think it is not going to cause more harm..

I had a slight panic over that information so I called Hills to see if they had any more info for me and they are going to get a vet tech to call my vet and see what they can do as he needs to eat and the AD seems to be the only thing he will wolf down straight away.

I just feel stupid, and worried and now I think the vets I go to will put me into the crazy basket.

--Lhok

Have always found the vet helpline to be excellent at Hills/RC so try not to worry too much until you hear from them. :)

Anyway as the class progressed I overhear her saying to another person there that she was planning on breeding her puppy

Oh, sorry, not sure how I missed that line! :laugh:

Eep sorry my fault, I'm so bad at condensing my posts and getting to the point!! Should've made that more clear :laugh: yes, she's planning to breed, despite all the health issues. I didn't say anything as I thought it may have been for the reasons you mentioned but sadly not the case

Maybe - don't worry too much about it - she's going to have to find a good breeder practice anyhow, hopefully if the dog has to have airway reconstructive surgery the vet will set her straight.

Can only hope. :p

Anyway as the class progressed I overhear her saying to another person there that she was planning on breeding her puppy

Oh, sorry, not sure how I missed that line! :laugh:

Are you sure she's actually planning to breed?

Some people simply choose not to desex their dogs for their own personal beliefs or reasons.

I know this is an old topic, but I've been thinking about it a lot in the context of our club where we have inflexible rules on some things. (Largely imposed by our national body.)

One of the problems with a training club is that the instructors are members who give freely of their time to help others - in many (most?) cases this means they don't have the time or inclination to learn a variety of tools or methods. They are applying the method they have used on their dogs to their teaching.

This contrasts to professionals who's job it is to understand a variety of tools and deal with a variety of dogs.

I'm not saying in a perfect world that all club instructors shouldn't be able to use a variety of tools, I'm just saying that in reality they can't, but the clubs need them in order to continue operating. For this reason clubs (or at least the clubs I instruct at) tend to adopt a one size fits all approach. Doesn't work for everyone, but is manageable from the club's perspective.

A good example of this is handling in agility. Most SEQ ADAA clubs teach Greg Derrett exclusively because that's what we've all been taught. At our club there are two of us who have an understanding of other handling systems, the effort to upskill everyone to understand APHS or Susan Garrett's new system would be massive/unworkable so for the time being we stick to what we know. Greg's system is not suited to all people, but........

I have recommended people look at other venues when our methods don't suit them or their dog. It's all about what we can do with limited numbers of people and knowledge.

Maybe that's the club's motivation?

I have heard of several clubs in Vic recently sending trainers to various seminars/conferences in lieu of paying wages.

You could also suggest having other professionals coming to do in-house information sessions, occasionally on how to introduce haltis safely and positively, for example.

Probably time for an opinion from an internal medicine specialist.

Not sure where you are exactly - but CARE Collingwood and Advanced Vet Care are open 7 days.

Try John Lawton at <http://www.specdog.com.au> and/or John Hodson <www.sportingoutbacksupplies.com.au> and see who is offering the best service.

John Hodson has an online store, John Lawton does not.

Do not buy blaze orange or black dummies - start with white ones as your dog will find them easier to see. I suggest before you buy any you find out which type RATG are using and for that you will need to ask someone who knows! because it could vary from State to State

Initially you can make your own - stuff a sock with tennis balls and tie the top. You can also make them from canvas fire hose.

The last RATG I entered, all the dummies were very dark green, and brand new, hard for the beginner dogs.

I have just bought a mix of white and dark green from SOS.

Dog snobs is hilarious. I just read the entire blog this afternoon. People at work now think I'm completely bonkers after sending them the sex toy or dog toy pictures

Hehe. Yeah the first time I saw the safestix I stopped dead in Petstock, I mean seriously, same colours and everything?! I was actually trying to think about how they could change the colours to make it look obviously like a dog toy, but yeah...I got nothin'. :laugh:

In tennis ball related matters - our fav here is 'other cuz' they have been the best for distance and bounce so far.

Hahahaha glad it's not just my long suffering mower...

Gus's best fetchy friend is a Tyre Biter retriever.

Although more than 2 people have pointed out to me it looks like a sex toy so it hides in my bag when it isn't in his gob.

Admittedly it does....

http://www.prestigep...s/94-31040F.jpg

There are a surprising number of dog toys out there that look a bit 'suspicious', or maybe I Just have a dirty mind :laugh:

Steph & Huski ~snorts~ pmsl :laugh:

You guys should subscribe to dog snobs. They have a blog post occasionally where you have to choose which is the dog toy...and which...isn't. :laugh:

If you have skype, a consultation plus some video taken at other times is an option.

I'm pretty sure most of them do offer skype consults if it's too hard for you to get to Sydney.

Boarding and training works very well for training issues, but less well for behaviour issues such as extreme anxiety.

I often pick up road kill. The dogs like roo meat and the cost is just right.

I used to cook rice and mince for the dogs. Atm woollies has 10kg on special for $10.00,

My Toller has announced he'd like to come live with you, dat OK?? :laugh:

The dog should be returned to the original owner under the circumstances, to keep it IMO is morally and ethically wrong.

Everybody that thinks the original owner shouldn't get the dog back just because it isn't microchipped should be ashamed, if it was well cared for in a loving home and bonded with its owners they deserve it back, they made a mistake like most other humans do on a daily basis doesn't mean they should lose their dog.

What about the 8 days it would have spent in the pound as a stray before being processed for re-homing?

Does a loving home not positively identify their animals? I just lost a 14 year old dog this year who had an old trovan chip - I chipped her as a young dog - when I was a teenage owner, when chipping wasn't widely done. Given the dog's age, I can't see any excuse.

To say that morally the old owner deserves the dog back condones the fact the dog was not chipped or had collar tags. If the owner was not away at the time, and the dog was not claimed, no-one here would turn a hair about it.

How long has Vic had mandatory microchipping?

I've only ever adopted one dog from Victoria. That was 9.5 years ago. He was not chipped because it wasn't compulsory at the time. I chipped him after his adoption because NSW had had compulsory chipping for about 4 years at that time.

My cat, Molly, was never chipped. She was born before compulsory chipping came in NSW. By law I did not have to chip her because she was born prior to its introduction. She died only a couple of years ago without ever being microchipped. I was well within the law. I often go away for lengthy periods and my animals are in the care of others. I trust my sitters however I too could have ended up in a similar situation to this woman. I can't imagine the mean spirited comments I would receive on this forum if it was me trying to claim back my beloved Molly.

As for fault. I'm mystified why there has to be a 'fault' on anyone's behalf. I'm also amazed that people then judge openly on what they perceive is fault. I'm even more amazed, probably flabbergasted, that people are saying they would decide if the dog was well looked after or not before deciding they would give it back. By whose standards are we talking about here?!

Seriously folks, what the hell is this world coming to!

I'm not sure I'd come to threats to get one of my dogs back but I can tell you now that I would fight my hardest to get back any of my animals if they somehow ended up in another home without me personally giving them away!

There are a couple of loopholes in the mandated microchipping here. I'm not sure if they still exist, but one was BYB pups, and the other was registered breeders who didn't want to chip their young pups.

It's very rare though, that when being desexed, owners elect not to chip at that time, so perhaps the dog was not desexed? Had no rego tag and no ID reportedly. Was kept for the legally required amount of pound time and then had vet work done and adopted...

To work out your fortnightly debit amounts just look at your last bill, calculate it to a 12 month amount (ie monthly bill x 12) and then divide that by 26. Always aim to debit a few dollars more, not less obviously.

If every regular bill is set to automatically come out of your account each time your payment goes in, then you know that the remainder is able to be spent. You then adjust your living to that amount.

I still have my money organised like this to this day even though I could probably relax a little these days.

I do this too. It works really well, the hardest thing is starting, but after a few weeks you get used to it.

Most of my debits are a fixed monthly cost, give or take, so I pay a bit 'over' and end up in credit at the end of each bill cycle. It helps when you have one of those sh!t hit the fan type of weeks. :)

I get the simple savings newsletter too - granted, I don't use many of their ideas but there's some ingenious stuff there.

However, I feel deeply concerned for anyone having to live independently on a pension of any kind, particularly with kids. It just sucks.

As BC crazy suggests, thundershirts are best put on before anything starts, however I have used mine on a number of occasions for barking at the wind outside 'mid-problem' and my dog has settled and gone to sleep fairly quickly.

On a thunderstorm forecast day, if it's not too hot, ideally the dog could wear it all day.

All Natural Vet Care have a phobia/stress mixture which they claim works better than RR as the flower essences included in it are slightly different.

Panoramis and Comfortis have the same active ingredient (Spinosad) and are adulticides - kills fleas that bite the animal.

Panoramis has an added worm treatment.

Cowanbree asks a very good question, and the tie is fairly important, and perhaps not known to a novice owner.

You know what, before she dives in and perhaps opens up a large breed bitch that is already speyed - they could do an ultrasound now, or in a few weeks, and look for the presence of ovaries, uterus and/or puppies. :) A good ultrasonographer should be able to find them.

It might save a lot of hassle and the risks of a big surgical procedure.

I think I will buy her a very good quality bottle of wine.

I haven't met a vet that doesn't like wine. :laugh:

Good chocolates are nice too, just not lindt balls...we used to get them all the time.

The movie ticket idea is great too.

Do they bomb at work regularly?